12.11.2014 Rroma attend anti-racism rally in Waterford

McCormack (2014) reports on an anti-racism rally in Waterford, Ireland. A racist pogrom against Rroma took place at the end of October, culminating in the attack of a house inhabited by Rroma. The protesters accused the Rroma of burglaries and thefts. The residents could be brought to safety thanks to the police’s intervention. In response to the pogrom, a rally against xenophobia took place in early November. A Rroma family from Dublin, who had kept their identity a secret until now also took part: „Roma woman Jennifer Ciuciu (20) concealed her true identity for three years for fear of persecution when she moved from Romania to Ireland with her family. […] So Jennifer and her four siblings said they were “Romanian instead of Roma gypsies.” And in the aftermath of the recent “anti-Roma protests” in Waterford, they have no regrets about denying their roots. “Some people are so racist. If had to go back I would hide it again because I wouldn’t like what happened here to happen to me”, she said standing in the middle of John Robert’s Square at last week’s Waterford Against Racism protest.” Chief superintendent Pat Murphy condemned the anti-Rroma pogrom as racist scapegoat politics by people who are not interested in public safety. In the UK, there are an estimated 90,000 to 120,000 Rroma according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation. The majority of them are integrated and have a job. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups, but are particularly affected by discrimination and exclusion. In recent months and years, right-wing populist parties and the media have fuelled fears of a mass immigration of Eastern European Rroma, which allegedly would abuse the British welfare system and do not want to integrate. Such prejudices and misinformation also spread because of uncritical media coverage.