Igor was an excellent student of medicine and specialised in obstetrics. Although his skills seemed in demand in his hometown in the north of Montenegro, he could not get a full-time job at the local hospital.
He was ineligible, in his words, because the policy of the ruling party was that only those “who support them and also get family members to vote for them” can get – or keep – good jobs.
So, Igor, not his real name, decided to turn the new page and depart for California, on the invitation of a friend from Podgorica who was already there.
He would work in the medical business only indirectly – as a labourer on the medical cannabis farms in Humboldt County.
Medical use of marijuana has been legal in the State of California since 1996. As of this year, it has been legal for recreational use as well.
“My cousin had already been there once. In six months, he paid off his mortgage on his house in Podgorica and bought a new car,” Igor said.
“I have a sizable bank loan here to deal with and if I can’t stay there [in California] long term, I would like to open a private practice in Podgorica,” Igor added, selecting the very last cigarette from a pack. “This is where I have arrived; nothing left here for me anymore,” he concluded, squashing the empty pack.
Igor is one of growing number of Montenegrins, many of them with skills, embarking for the same American destination after meeting insurmountable hurdles at home.
Inability to find work at home on one hand, and enticing daily pay rates on the other, have led to a new slang term for migrant workers seeking jobs in harvesting and trimming marijuana – “trimmigrants”.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
