Daily Archives: March 29, 2014

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29.03.2014 The integration of the Rroma: poverty or minority problem?

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Alexander/Bewarder (2014) spoke with the CDU-politician Gerda Hasselfeldt on the issue of the social integration of Rroma. Hasselfeldt visited Romania for a three-day state visit and spoke with local political leaders on the issues of migration, Rroma and poverty. Hasselfeldt minted the much-cited and controversial phrase “He who is cheating flies”. However, she speaks decidedly for the free movement of people, which for her is not open to discussion. This is not without problems as Hasselfeldt explicitly identifies the subject as a Rroma-problem. As Mappes-Niediek has stressed on several occasions, the ethnicization of a poverty problem hinders the social integration of Rroma. This does not mean that Rroma are not affected by ethnic discrimination, but the term “Rroma-problem” inevitably implies a cultural component. Not surprisingly, Hasselfeldt also invokes cultural explanations: “The problems are very complex. We must, for example, deal with, why the Roma in Romania are so hard to integrate. One reason is probably some completely different values, which were described to us several times in conversations. For example, many girls from Roma families are already married at the age of twelve. This is unimaginable for us and frightens me.” The insistence on different values is based on stereotypes that are not true for many Rroma. Arguing with them is counter-productive and impedes the integration of the minority. This can be read in the comment section of the article, where many false prejudices are cited.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

29.03.2014 Rroma writer Hejkrlíková: giving Rroma a voice

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Fischer (2014) reports on Jana Hejkrlíková, a Rromni writer from the Czech Republic. She experienced life before and after the Prague Spring. She describes the political event as a turning point in her life and that of many other Rroma: “When I was little, my life was very different than elsewhere in the Czech Republic”, translates Veronika Patočková, co-initiator of the book tour, the conversation into German. Jana Hejkrlíková lived together with her mother, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins in a house. “You could not disguise or retreat yourself. They were all around you.” The law of the Roma provides for that. The family as a refuge, as a home. However, the situation changed with the so-called normalization after the Prague Spring. Large Roma families were torn apart, resettled into small families. “Since, I have lived in two worlds”, says Hejkrlíková. [ … ] “In school, we had to pretend as if we were Czechs”, she says. Their language was prohibited. Most Roma children were sent to special schools, which often still happens today.” For Hejkrlíková, it is important to point out to the public that there are Rroma writers too. She aims to deconstruct prejudices with her books and to demonstrate similarities between Rroma and Gadje (compare Weser Kurier 2014).

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

29.03.2014 Racism-lawsuit against Jacques Domergue

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The French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed a lawsuit against the UMP politician Jacques Domergue. Domergue said in public, on the occasion of the mayoral elections of Montpellier that: “The Rroma have no place in the city centre. I tell you very clearly. I will be very uncompromising concerning security (…). I am on the line of Estrosi. I see today how Rroma attack young people and old ladies at cash machines. I will not tolerate this. Without further ado, they will disappear from the city centre.” Domergue is not alone with his racist remarks. Last year, many French politicians, from left to right, from candidates to elected ministers, made racist remarks against Rroma. At least, the French law doesn’t tolerate these transgressions passively. However, whether the lawsuits, whose verdicts usually turn out very mild, will change something in this practice is not clear (Dubault 2014, Le Figaro 2014).

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29.03.2014 General attorney Rolf Grädel reinforces racial prejudice

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Summer (2014) reports on the results of a recent crime statistic for the canton Bern. Overall, less violence was committed in 2013. On the other hand, the number of burglaries has risen. At this point, Summer begins to talk about crime-tourism. As a source of information, the general attorney of Bern Rolf Grädel is quoted. Grädel reinforces racial prejudices of criminal Rroma networks: “For them, our country is not only attractive because of the prey, also, the risk of getting caught is not very high, Grädel” said. Moreover, in Switzerland, the penalties imposed would hardly deter the perpetrators from committing further crimes. In Roma circles in France, there is apparently a leaflet circulating, which recommends Switzerland as a destination, because the penalties are significantly milder there than anywhere else.” This statement is highly racist, because it implies a direct correlation between ethnicity and criminal offenses. It would not hurt Rolf Grädel to choose his words a little more carefully. The cliché of hierarchically organized Rroma networks, which educate children to become criminals, stubbornly persists. Especially the Weltwoche cites it regularly. However, these ideas are based on suspicions and crude generalizations, which is almost never discussed. Real complexity is replaced here by one dimensional explanation that present reality in a very biased way. 

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29.03.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Sweden

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Several newspapers report on the publication of a white paper by the Swedish government which discusses the discrimination against Rroma in Sweden. The Swedish minister of interior, Erik Ullenhag, announced in a public statement that the discrimination against Rroma in Sweden was especially large at the beginning of the 20th century, but still remains today. He said that he was shocked about how much this contempt towards this minority was anchored in history. This is reflected in the fact that even today many still keep their identity secret to the outside world. The publication also deals with discrimination at the workplace, denial of suffrage, schooling, child benefits and pensions, as well as racial biology registrations and forced sterilization. Om the occasion of the publication of the white paper, the chairman of the Rroma council of Gothenburg experienced herself during her stay in Stockholm that reservations towards Rroma are still massive. Employees of the Sheraton Hotels denied her access to the dining room, when she tried to enter the room in a traditional Rroma dress in the morning: “She was staying at the four-star Sheraton Hotel, a stone’s throw away from parliament and the government quarter, but when the 45-year-old went down for breakfast she was offered a modern-day example of the discrimination that the white-paper on Tuesday admitted had been endemic in Sweden. Nyman, who wears a traditional wide black skirt and frilly blouse and who recently fielded questions about beggars in an online chat, said she was almost knocked over by a staff member who rushed to bar the Roma expert and speaker from entering the breakfast room.” Nyman is particularly shocked by the fact that the hotel manager did not excuse the behaviour of the staff, but even justified it. A few days later only, the manager apologized in an open letter for the discriminatory treatment of the Rromni (Government Offices of Sweden 2014, The Local 2014/I, The Local 2014/II, The Local 2014/III, The Local 2014/IV, NZZ 2014).

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