09.05.2014 When the homeless are automatically assimilated to Rroma

Several newspapers in Salzburg report on homeless Rroma who have took shelter under bridges after the closing of the emergency shelters. They are now being evicted again. Newspapers present once more a highly biased image of impoverished Rroma, which is regularly interpreted by right-wing nationalists as deliberate anti-social behaviour. The mentioning of ethnicity in newspaper articles is mostly counterproductive to the social position of the represented group. In addition, beggars, thieves or homeless are often automatically assimilated to Rroma through the view from the outside, although the ethnic membership is far from obvious: “The church aid organization has announced to provide the Roma beggars 15 to 20 beds now once more. [ … ] The Caritas had opened the night shelter “Arch South” in the district of Herrnau until January 11. In this emergency shelter, only men were admitted. After that, the emergency shelter moved into the vacant care institution of the archdiocese in the district of Mülln, where ten men and up to 15 women were housed. At the end of March, this accommodation was closed” (Salzburg 24 2014). How the newspapers know about the ethnicity of the homeless, which is anything but easy to determine, is not discussed (compare Salzburger Nachrichten 2014).