‘My father already had five daughters when my mother became pregnant again.
He made a bet with his friends: his next child would be a boy.
His honour and motorbike were at stake. I was born and my father named me... BINGO.’
BINGO is a young gypsy from Moldavia who came to the Netherlands in search of better fate. In order to survive as an illegal immigrant he works for a demolition company together with Sergei, a former boxer from Russia, and Umar, a biology teacher from Grozny, Chechnya.
Bingo shares a tiny one-room flat with these two in Transvaal, a rough neighbourhood in the Hague, a haven for many illegal immigrants from all over the world.
The three men are hired by Sait, a shady Turkish labour subcontractor, who is also their landlord. Each morning Sait brings the three workers from their flat to the workplace (a demolition site) by car. Their work is very tough and dangerous; they get underpaid but none of them dares to object, realizing that they are totally at the mercy of Sait.
Despite the hard circumstances Bingo maintains his sense of humour and joy of living. While his older friends become dispirited, the young gypsy follows enthusiastically his dream of earning enough money to build a house in his homeland Moldavia. Bingo always eases the tension between the men with his jokes, escapades and music. This is how the three companions in distress manage to get along (of course not without occasional quarrels) because they know after all they must help each other in order to survive.
Bingo’s life is thrown into shock when Sergei gets badly injured in a work accident. The young gypsy suddenly realises his vulnerability as an illegal immigrant. When Bingo suspects Sait of dumping Sergei, he stands up for his pal. The quarrel ends up in a fight: Bingo beats Sait and the humiliated boss swears to get Bingo.
Umar advises the gypsy to leave the town immediately because Sait will send men after him.
Bingo hasn’t any choice but to run away.
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