Monthly Archives: August 2014

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27.08.2014 Sweden: Textbook about the discrimination of the Rroma

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The Local (2014) reports on the plans of the Swedish government to create textbook about the discrimination of the Rroma in the country. The teaching material is supposed to be based on the white paper on the discrimination against Rroma in Sweden, which the government published this March. The white paper documented a largely ignored history of exclusion and marginalisation of the minority. In response to the negative findings of the investigation, a commission against Roma discrimination was initiated. It is now tasked with the realisation of the textbook: “On Thursday the government announced it had asked the commission to create school and teaching materials from the white book, to be used in all of Sweden’s secondary schools. “If we are going to fight the alienation of Roma that we see today, we must be aware of this dark history of abuse”, Ullenhag told newspaper Dagens Nyheter. The Swedish National Agency for Education, the Living History Forum, and the Roma discrimination ombudsman will collaborate to produce the school materials. Ullenhag said that Swedish students should already be learning about the history of Romani people in Sweden, but that the quality of available materials and information had been poor.” In November 2013, Sweden was in the headlines all over Europe because it became public that the police had created an illegal register with thousands of Rroma, which classified them as potential criminals solely because of their ethnicity.

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27.08.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma gangs as con artists

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Weder (2014) of the Thurgauer Zeitung reports on a “Rroma clan” from Germany that is said to betray unsuspecting mostly elderly people out of tens of thousands of Swiss francs, by offering the cleaning or the sale of oriental rugs at exorbitant prices: “Their appearance is serious, friendly and courteous, their practices are audacious and ruthless. They pretend to be carpet experts, the police searches for them for fraud. They fool unsuspecting people, con huge amounts of money out of them and disappear without a trace. Their trick: they clean old oriental rugs and sell new – for supposedly unbeatable prices. In fact, the carpets are barely worth anything and the quality of the cleaning is more than questionable.” Behind the tricksters one suspects predominantly the “Goman-Clan”, a Rroma family from Leverkusen who is said to be specialised in this activity, as a representative he Canton police St. Gallen confirms. The offenses described here shall not be trivialised. It is a crime which must be punished. However, it is very problematic to explicitly address the ethnicity of the perpetrators and to present it as an explanation for criminal offenses. This suggests that the crimes are a cultural trait of the Rroma. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. With this, one defames the majority of the respectable, integrated Rroma, which are not delinquent and one engages in intellectual arson, by sustaining a pejorative view of the minority. Moreover, the notion of hierarchically organised family gangs who commit crimes under the command of a clan chief has to be questioned. The idea of ​​hierarchical family goes back to the false assumption that Rroma have a strictly patriarchal family structure, with clear hierarchies and relationships of dependency. While it is true that the family has an important status among the Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian.

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27.08.2014 Rroma settlement in Bobigny: controversy over planned eviction

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The French judges’ syndicate criticised the decision of Bobigny’s mayor to evict the local Rroma settlement in defiance of a judge’s decision from July the 2nd. The judgment rejected a request for eviction by the new mayor by referring to the fundamental rights to accommodation and family life and in recognition of the demands of the European Court of Human Rights. The mayoral decree refers to the allegedly precarious security situation in the settlement, whereby no judicial assessment is necessary. In early February this year, a little Rroma girl of the settlement in question had died, victim of a fire. The judges’ syndicate appraised the planned eviction as undermining of the judiciary: “Contacted by Metronews, the syndicate of judges condemns the strategy of sapping a court judgment: by acting this way, the mayor’s office “changes the judge”. “The mayor has the right to issue this decree and we do not know whether he has filed an appeal against the judge’s decision, which was made on July the 2nd, the syndicate explains, but this way he subverts a judgment.” The mayoral decree is already now controversial and will be studied by a new judge on Monday, as an emergency, at the administrative court of Montreuil at 14:30. “It will be interesting to see how he will judge” assures the syndicate which will observe the verdict with vigilance” (Bonnefoy 2014). For several years,  a debate has raged in France on how to deal with the informal settlements, built by Rroma immigrants. While many politicians from right to left are in favour of a rigorous eviction policy, individual exponents advocate long-term solutions, which aim at integrating the Rroma immigrants. Approximately 200 people live in the settlement of Bobigny. The organisation Ligue des droits de l’homme points out that the children of the camp attend local schools and would be the primary victims of a forced eviction (compare Breson 2014, Le Figaro 2014, Libération 2014). On the evening of August the 26th, it was announced that the administrative court of Montreuil endorsed the decree of the mayor. The settlement can therefore now be evicted at any time (France Bleu 2014, Mediapart 2014).  

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27.08.2014 Oberwinterthur: continuing conflict over transit site

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Herter (2014) spoke with Urs Glaus, president of the foundation “Future for Swiss Travellers”, about the continuing problems at the transit site of Oberwinterthur. The site was closed by the authorities on the weekend of August 23rd and 24th, due to the hygienic conditions which were unsustainable. The place is now being extensively cleaned and repaired. When and how it will be reopened is not yet decided (compare Eppenberger 2014, Hirsekorn 2014). Unfortunately, Glaus also spreads the opinion that some Rroma don’t use toilets for cultural reasons and that it would therefore be reasonable to establish separate sites for travelling Rroma. That problems with a minority of travelling Rroma are supposed to be solved by seggregated sites and not by an open dialogue is disconcerting. As Glaus himself states, there are only occasional travelling Rroma groups that cause problems on transit sites. Most of them adhere to the rules at the sites and stick to the hygiene standards. Therefore, Glaus demand for separate sites is difficult to comprehend. It means a concession to a nationalistic distinction between decent Swiss Jeniche and problematic “foreign” Rroma. However, disputes over transit sites and stands are a pan-Swiss problem, because there are by far not enough sites for all travellers. Due to the presence of foreign travellers, this problem is exacerbated and the competition degenerates in ethnic distinctions, which cannot be deemed to be objective. Foreign travelling Rroma are scapegoats in order to identify a clear culprit for all grievances. This does not do justice to the complexity of the problem. Most Rroma are sedentary anyway and don’t travel. Urs Glaus states: “Not all Roma leave dirty sites. But there are some groups that have a different cultural background, don’t use toilets for example, or do not want to be seen on the way to the toilet. Therefore, not all transit sites are suitable for the Roma, also the site in Oberwinterthur is not. […] Are shared sites for Swiss travellers and Roma conceivable? No, but this has nothing to do with discrimination, but with the different needs and experiences of Roma and Swiss travellers. Their origin and culture is different. In general, it is not end well if Roma want to stop on sites of Swiss travellers.” Of course there are differences between the Rroma and the Jeniche. But the demand for separate transit sites spreads false notions for the necessity of a segregation of the two groups, which cannot be in the sense of a modern, multi-ethnic society, which should rely on compromise and cooperation and not on isolation and separation.

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27.08.2014 Migration policy in Lower Saxony: Rromni to be deported after 28 years

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Akdag (2014) reports on an absurd case of regulatory practices. The Romni Suzana S., who has been living in Lower Saxony for 28 years, is supposed to be deported to Serbia, along with her five children. Even after almost three decades, the single mother still has no residency permit: “Suzana S. is 32 years old and just like her children she was born in Germany. When she was five years old, Suzana lived with her parents in Serbia for four years, but she doesn’t speak any Serbian. Emsland is her home and for her children this applies anyway. “I feel like a German”, she says. […] “I do not know how to feed my children in Serbia. There, we will have to live on the street”, says S. She and her children are Roma. Many members of the minority in Serbia suffer from harassment by the authorities and are exposed to racist attacks by the population. S.’ advocate Jan Sürig was in Serbia and is aware of the situation: “Even today, Roma in Serbia live forcibly on the margins of society, often in inhumane conditions. They are discriminated against in virtually all levels of everyday life.” […] The many applications for a residence permit were rejected.” In early September, Serbia is supposed to be classified as a safe country of origin by the German Federal Assembly. Then, asylum applications based on discrimination will only have a very small chance of approval, as the official status is more important than individual experiences of discrimination. Akdag criticises in particular that the district of Emsland justified its decision with the explanation that Suzana S. didn’t actively attempt to integrate because she receives welfare. Her language skills and working efforts and the schooling of children were classified as irrelevant. Now, the family S. is trying to receive a residency permit by approaching the commission for hardship cases. What is particularly disconcerting about the described circumstances is that Suzana S. and her children do not speak Serbian, which means that in the case of a deportation to Serbia, they would be excluded more than ever. That immigration authorities did not consider this is hard to understand.

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27.08.2014 Integration policy towards Rroma in Dortmund

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Völkel (2014) writes about the integration efforts of the Workers’ Welfare Association (AWO). The social workers of the AWO try to help immigrated Rroma in their integration efforts by assisting them in their search for housing, jobs, as well as with German language courses. Völkel states that since the AWO offers this support for free, conflicts arise with people smugglers who help the newcomers with agency appointments and different application procedures, in return for exorbitant prices. As a positive example, the journalist presents the family Ion-Lazar. The Rroma, originally from Romania, try to integrate successfully by all means: “As for instance Fabian Lazar-Ion (39) and his wife Anisoara (31). The two Romanians from Galati in the Moldavian region have gone to Spain nine years ago to work there. They fled from the lack of prospects, the hatred against Sinti and Roma and the discrimination in their homeland. In Spain, they were doing well. They learned Spanish and had both work and earned a living. But then came the economic crisis. “We couldn’t find work anymore”, states the father of two children. He heard from his sister Gabriela Lihcah that there was work in Dortmund. […] First, they searched unsuccessfully for work, housing, and some perspectives. Their life changed when they met Mirza. The street worker and the translator Tatiana-Iolanda Christea invited them for breakfast and showed them possibilities. […] Both have found mini-jobs or seasonal work. But it is financially not enough to move to another part of town, away from the drug trade and the so-called illicit worker district.” The article demonstrates successfully that reductionist notions of anti-social Rroma, not willing to integrate, are wrong. The portrayed Rroma, who fled from the economic crisis to Germany, just want to live a normal life and provide a good future for their children. Already now, 110,000 to 130,000 “invisible Rroma” are living integrated in Germany. Many of them have done so for several generations. They are the proof that an integration of the Rroma is possible without problems, if they are not actively prevented from it by marginalisation and discrimination.

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22.08.2014 The ambivalent concept of “poverty immigration”

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Eisenring (2014) reports on the debate about the so-called “poverty immigration”, that has now lasted for several years. This, he states, is now increasingly felt in Germany, whereby the immigrant Rroma receive particular attention. Of the unemployed Romanians and Bulgarians in Germany, many are Rroma, the journalist claims. In his ethnisising statement he forgets that ethnicity is precisely not recorded in the statistics and that the assessment is therefore a conjecture: “However, such average numbers conceal that in cities like Berlin, Dortmund, Duisburg, or Offenbach there have been deprived areas for a long time. Consequently, the unemployment rate among Bulgarians and Romanians in May was at 34% in Duisburg, at 27% ​​in Dortmund, and at 23% in Berlin. The cost of housing, health services and schools are transferred to the cities. However, this has not so much to do with the full freedom of movement, but with the generally difficult integration of Roma and Sinti, who often come from the two countries – a problem that also concerns other European countries.” The controversial thing about this assessment is that statistics on unemployment convey that there is indeed a poverty immigration. However, the number of Romanians and Bulgarians claiming welfare – 13% – is below the average number of foreigners with 16%, as Eisenring himself shows. Unfortunately, in terms of the Rroma, he argues uncritically and culturalising by ascribing them a generally difficult integrability. That there are well-educated Rroma and many who are very willing to integrate, he implicitly denies. Similarly, he denies that there are already now 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma living integrated in Germany, but are not perceived as Rroma. Moreover, the term “poverty immigration” is a highly politicised, prejudiced terminology, as it is often used synonymously with the immigration of Rroma and is based on political views, that there indeed is a mass immigration of poor, uneducated Rroma into the German welfare system. It is important to identify and critically question this indiscriminate equation of real facts and political views and opinions.

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22.08.2014 Sicily: turmoil because of a signpost against begging Rroma

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Adam Weiss, legal director of the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), criticizes in a recent press release a sign in a Sicilian supermarket that openly asks not to give any money to “Gypsy beggars”, because “their begging allows them to earn from 60 to 80 euro a day, an amount of money that a specialised ITALIAN worker doesn’t earn, considering that the total sum is free from tax” (The Local 2014). For Adam Weiss, the discriminatory sign is an expression of a broader discrimination of Rroma in Italy and completely unacceptable. The shame level on racist statement is never lowest towards Rroma, he states: “Discrimination against the Roma community is getting worse in Italy, with members of the Roma community increasingly being subjected to gang violence, he [Weiss] said. While there are more examples of anti-Roma discrimination in Italy than elsewhere, such problems are being documented by the ERRC across Europe. In Italy last year the ERRC discovered victims of theft were asked to fill out a police form in which they were able to name “gypsies” as the culprits, without any other options of ethnicity. Rights groups successfully campaigned to have the tickbox removed” (The Local 2014). Furthermore, the impression that large amounts can be earned by begging is wrong as is the belief that the most begging is done by organised gangs. Jean-Pierre Tabin (2013) concluded in his study about begging in Lausanne that one averagely earns 15 to 20 francs per day beging in Switzerland, which is only a fraction of the alleged 80 Euros in Sicily. In addition, no correlation between child beggars and organised networks was found, contrary to what is repeatedly claimed.

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22.08.2014 Integration of immigrant Rroma-children in German schools

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Der Westen and Radio Ennepe Ruhr report on the integration of children from immigrant Rroma families in the public schools of Ennepetal in North Rhine-Westphalia. This is said to proceed in a largely positive fashion. According to the journalists’ estimates, the families were a part of those families that received media attention while living in the “Rroma house” in Duisburg and who subsequently  moved to Ennepetal. Around 30 adults and 80 children are now living in the worker housinf of a former metal factory. While it is stressed that the integration of the families has enjoyed top priority from the start and will be actively promoted by the community, one is nevertheless irritated by the fact that the children are not integrated into regular classes, but are rather taught in so-called “integration classes”. Of the 52 Rroma-children who were enrolled into these integration classes, in which their viability for the regular school is assessed, only six now will go to regular classes with the new school year starting. For those responsible for integration, this seems to be a success. However, from the perspective of a real integration, the segregated teaching of Rroma children is extremely problematic, as they can hardly socialise with other children. Anke Velten-Franke from the mayor’s office sees this differently: since Rrroma children are taught in the buildings of the middle and primary school, they were able to make contact with other children during school breaks, she states. It is to be hoped that the politician proves right. Principally, segregated schooling, especially in the context of negative experiences from the Czech Republic or Romania, where it is still widespread, should be seen very critically, since it fosters and maintains the discrimination and marginalisation of the minority. The focus on the recently immigrated Rroma families should not obscure the fact already now 110’00 to 130,000 Rroma are living integrated in Germany, many for generations. Their children are not taught segregated. In addition, Stefan Scherer commits a gross error in judgment when he reproduces without comment that the social workers of Ennepetal would share a fear with many other residents: “The Roma are not sedentary people. The fear to invest a lot of money and energy, and then they move to the next town or the next country is still present in Ennepetal” (Scherer 2014). However, most Rroma are not travellers and never were. The alleged wandering lifestyle is rather the result of their continuous expulsion, which was and is reinterpreted in a false analogy to a travelling way of life (compare Radio Ennepe Ruhr 2014).  

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22.08.2014 Germany: ongoing debate about the status of safe countries of origin

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Çaliskan (2014), general secretary of the German section of Amnesty International, reports on the upcoming recognition of Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as safe countries of origin by the German Federal Assembly. On this occasion, she elaborates on the contradictions behind the concept. According to her, the assessment that the countries concerned are free of persecution is not based on in-depth research and analysis, but on statistical findings that there are more applications for asylum from these states while there is a declining recognition of the applications; and are thus rejected by the courts as being unfounded. Çaliskan criticises this practice as a trivialisation of real discrimination taking place that particularly affects minorities such as Rroma: “The fact that only a few of the asylum seekers were recognised is not a proof of the “safety” in Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is rather a proof that even now the asylum applications are not examined thoroughly. Because the human rights situation in the three countries is anything from rosy. Especially Rroma are not “safe” from prosecution. They are structurally disadvantaged, living on the margins of society, often literally on the edge of cities, industrial areas, some families on dumping grounds. Often they are virtually cut off from work, medical care, and the children of reasonable education. Moreover, governments do not protect them from racist attacks and politicians partly stir up prejudices against them.” The denial of the status of “safe country of origin” would guarantee a more detailed examination of each case and protect the victims more effectively from discrimination and persecution. Admittedly, each case is still assessed in spite of the status of safe country of origin, but never as thoroughly and detailed, as it would if the status would not exist. Officially, a country can respect the security and rights of minorities. However, this does not mean that this really happens in everyday life and in individual cases, as shocking individual destines show. The legal evidence of an individual experience of discrimination is often difficult to prove, especially when official documents or witnesses are missing.

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22.08.2014 European Commission: Denmark fails to integrate its Rroma

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Weaver (2014) reports on a recent statement of the European Commission on Denmark. The Commission criticizes the poor efforts of the Danish state to integrate its estimated 10,000 Rroma. Two families from the town of Helsingør in the northeast of the country are cited as examples of how a lacking integration policy favours drifting into illegality: “The two familes – Nika and Stallone – number in the hundreds, and many of them have been sent to prison for crimes committed throughout Denmark. Laza Stallone, who last year slammed Helsingør’s efforts to support the Roma community, has been convicted of crimes several times, including a case in February in which he and two of his sons were found guilty of extortion and making death threats to a former employer. The Nika family are also no stranger to northern courtrooms. Last year, Petar Nika was sentenced to 18 years in prison for 14 cases of theft, mostly by fraud targeting the elderly and infirm. Other family members have been convicted of crimes ranging from theft and fraud to receiving stolen property.” If the European Commission has indeed communicated these two examples in such detail and the information does not originate from the Copenhagen Post itself, one can only call this representation of the situation as very unfortunate and unprofessional. Due to the detailed description of the offenses it is indeed suggested that there is a “culture of crime” among Rroma, which is not the case. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. In addition, it should be pointed out that there are no exact figures on the number of Rroma in Denmark, as the spokesperson for the European Commission, Mina Andreeva, communicated correctly. Therefore, it is indeed difficult to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of initiatives to integrate the Rroma. The Rroma Foundation does not estimate 10,000 Rroma in Denmark, as the article communicates, but 1’500 to 2’000.

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20.08.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma as con artists

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Schorno (2014) reports on attempted trick thefts in Rapperswil-Jona in Switzerland. According to the cantonal police of St. Gallen, the two perpetrators, between 20 and 30 years old and with a “roma-like appearance”, tried to rob two pensioners by distracting them, but were put to flight by the victims themselves: “An unknown woman suddenly hugged a 82-year-old passerby, trying to loose a golden chain of her arm. However, the sprightly pensioner did obviously not agree: A resounding slap landed on the face of the trick thief. […] Only a short time later, two women were begging an 88-year-old man for money. The pensioner generously took out his wallet – one of the two women grabbed it at once, but had to realise that her supposed victim had more power than she did. The man simply didn’t part with his wallet and the duo had to leave without any plunder.” Mentioning the ethnicity of perpetrators is not necessary as it only encourages racist stereotypes about a culture of crime among Rroma. However, Rroma are not more criminal than any other ethnic groups, but this is suggested by the media through the explicit thematisation of Rroma in connection with crimes. Moreover, the statement that the perpetrators had a “roma-like appearance” is based on racist criteria: it is undoubtedly meant that they were dark-skinned. However, there are also many light-skinned Rroma. Whether the criminals are in fact Rroma is not necessarily clear here. It is an expression of suspicions based on prejudices. A cultural interpretation of crimes is necessarily racist and ignores and discredits the majority of Rroma living a respectable and integrated life. More caution when using ethnic criteria, prejudices and resentment would be appropriate.

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20.08.2014 Stereotypes: foreign Rroma as an uncivilized horde

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Graf/Garne (2013) report on conflicts on the transit camping site of Oberwinterthur. According to the city police of Winterthur, unsustainable conditions prevail on the site: “Human faeces lie the walkway next to the landfill of Rietberg. Around the transit site for travellers, paths and the forest edge are used as outdoor toilets. Since July, complaints with the city police were frequently discussed, confirmed the deputy commander, Daniel Beckmann. For Beckmann it is obvious: “The current situation is unsustainable.” The site that cost 500,000 francs was inaugurated in the spring of 2013 with the guideline to offer space to the caravans to the Swiss travellers. Currently, the site does not meet this requirement at all, says Beckmann. Foreign Roma currently exclusively occupy the site. Swiss Travellers don’t find any space since other Roma immediately occupy every vacant parking space, he states. […] It is necessary to reinstall the initial purpose of the site and if possible without exposing oneself to the charge of discrimination.” The dispute over transit sites and longer term camping sites is a pan-Swiss problem, as there are not enough sites for all travellers by far. This problem is exacerbated due to the presence of foreign travellers, and the conflicts degenerates in racial distinctions that can’t be objectively verified: of course there are Rroma that are as described in the article, but these are not representative for all Rroma by far. Moreover, most Rroma are sedentary anyway. A priority of nationals on camping and transit sites, as also referred to by the city police commander, is not legal and would contradict international laws on equal rights. The insistence that foreign Rroma occupy “Jeniche sites” is therefore a prejudiced judgment that is not based on objective facts.

Graf, Michael/Garne, Jigme (2014) «Unhaltbare Zustände» auf dem Durchgangsplatz. In: Der Landbote online vom 15.8.2014. http://www.landbote.ch/detail/article/unhaltbare-zustaende-auf-dem-durchgangsplatz/gnews/99280218/

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20.08.2014 Rroma willing to integrate in Dortmund

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Bandermann (2014) reports on a Rroma family from Romania who is trying to integrate in Dortmund. The article attempts to show that the ideas of the anti-social Rroma, not willing to integrate, are actually loaded with prejudices. Anisoara and Fabian Lazar-Ion, who worked eight years in Spain before the economic crisis, just want to live a normal life and want to provide a good future for their children. In Romania, they did not see any possibility to build an existence. Too strong was the discrimination, too weak the economy, too corrupt the politicians: “Fabian and Anisoara Lazar-Ion do not fit the image of Roma parents who send their children to steal. Because the couple has a plan. The two want to work honestly and get a fair wage. Social assistance? “For us, no perspective”, they say briefly and succinctly. Both do not hang around on the street and take their fate into their own hands. […] Both have a heart’s desire, in addition to a secure future. Fabian is proud to be a Roma. He calls himself Gypsy – and asks the Dortmund people: “We are not all the same. There are parents who lack education. We do not agree with the fact that they send their children out, so that they commit crimes. Also his wife sees their own countrymen critically: “They simply have no plan for their lives. But it is a false impression that all gypsies are criminals.” The 39-year-old had to experience himself how it feels to be discriminated against: in his former homeland Romania. “I had several interviews. Once it was known that I’m a gypsy, I had no chance.””  The fate of Fabian and Anisoara Lazar-Ion is a good example that willingness to integrate is not a question of ethnic origin. Already now, 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma are living integrated in Germany, many of them for generations. They are the proof that the inclusion of the Rroma is possible without problems if they are not restrained by marginalization and discrimination.

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20.08.2014 Lynching in Paris: case remains unresolved

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The lynching of a seventeen-year-old Rrom in the suburbs of Paris remains unresolved. Although the victim of the vigilante justice, who was beaten nearly to death, has in the meantime come out of the coma, he can only remember few details of the incident, because he was unconscious for extensive parts of it. Even though there will be a confrontation with the potential suspects in which Darius is supposed to identify them, as an informant of the newspaper Libération states, there is little hope that the case will ever be solved. Although Darius (the young Rrom) insists that he did not commit a burglary on the day in question, the evidence suggests he did not always act within the bounds of legality either. It is stated that both sides have no interest for the case to be resolved: “Undoubtedly, Darius is the victim of an attempted murder, but he has also been accused of things. The perpetrators of this private revenge will admit to nothing. The Roma are also not totally innocent. If one presents the suspects to the Roma to identify them, I do not believe that they will help us. From both sides, no one has an interest that the matter comes out” (Tourancheau/Le Devin 2014). However, this can be seen differently. The informant not only assumes that Darius, but also other residents of the now abandoned, informal settlement in the Cité des Poètes were involved in illegal actions. Whether these allegations are based upon physical evidence is not clear. Furthermore, it is problematic to put theft on the same level as attempted homicide. Anyhow, the incident around Darius has shown that the social policy in the suburbs of Paris is still strongly deficient, so that crimes are not solved with the involvement of the police but with vigilante justice.

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15.08.2014 Saint-Étienne: displaced Rroma live in the streets

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Brancato (2014) reports on the fate of some 200 Rroma who were expelled from their informal settlements in mid-July. Since then, they have been wandering in the streets of Saint-Étienne and are regularly prevented by the authorities from setting up a camp at a new place. The organisation Solidarité Rom calls for a round table with the Rroma and local authorities to discuss the issue of accommodation, employment and integration. Meanwhile, the organization provides the Rroma with the essentials. However, the Saint-Étienne’s government seems to have no interest in integrating the Rroma, as the security advisor of the mayor, Claude Liogier, shows: it is not the duty of the city to find jobs for the Rroma, he states. He adds that he thinks that the lifestyle of the Rroma is very different from the customs of France. Thereby, Liogier reproduces almost an identical reasoning as the one of Manuel Valls at end of last year when justifying the continuous expulsion of Rroma. Liogier does not seem to be aware of that this is an extremely one-sided and politicised interpretation of culture. Pierre Rachet, president of Solidarité Rom, states almost the exact opposite: some thirty Rroma families, who were part of an integration program in Saint-Étienne a few years ago, now live integrated and have steady jobs. Repeatedly, the media suggest that poverty, illiteracy, educational alienation, abundance of children or living in slums are part of Rroma-culture. That these are rather the symptoms of exclusion and socio-economic hardships is hidden most of the time. Rroma belong to all social classes and should not to be equated with an underclass, as it is claimed repeatedly, also by self-appointed Rroma-experts. In France, there are living 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma, the majority of them integrated and since generations. Eventually they should also be addressed in the media (compare Despagne 2014).

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15.08.2014 Migration and Rroma in Canada: trial against a corrupt lawyer

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Metro News Canada (2014) reports on the newest developments in the case of the Hungarian Rroma family Pusuma. The father of the family, Jozsef Pusuma, worked for an NGO as an investigator of hate crimes in Hungary. In July 2009, according to the family’s statements, a fatal incident occurred: during a walk they were brutally attacked by right-wing extremists, the daughter remained unharmed only because of the sacrifice of her father, who protected beneath himself. The attackers said that this would not be the last attack, if Jozsef did not stop his activities. Subsequently, the family immigrated to Canada. The Pusumas have now been living in the sanctuary of a church in Toronto for two years. Fearing to be deported, they have never left their refuge. Their asylum application was rejected. Against the lawyer himself, who should have represented their case, a lawsuit because of misconduct was submitted: “The family, originally from Hungary, is one of 18 complainants against Toronto lawyer Viktor Hohots, the subject of an ongoing disciplinary proceeding by the Law Society of Upper Canada for failure to “adequately prepare” a defence of his clients’ asylum claims. […]“Jozsef and Timea have finally been summoned to appear as witnesses in the lawyer’s misconduct case. They have been waiting for this moment for almost three years now, because it’s their chance for vindication,” said the family’s new lawyer, Andrew Brouwer, of the Refugee Law Office clinic. “But now they are facing a Catch-22. They are required by law to attend the hearing. If they don’t, they could be arrested for contempt of court. But if they do go, they face arrest for deportation the moment they set foot outside of the church.” The new lawyer of the family and numerous supporters demand a temporary residence permit for the family, so they can attend the lawsuit without fear of deportation. – Canada is being criticised for uncompromisingly applying the status of safe countries of origin, which Hungary has been assigned by the Canadian law, and to address to little the individual stories of asylum seekers (compare Brosnahan 2014).

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15.08.2014 Stereotypes: Rrom sentenced for burglary and copper theft

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Schleer (2014) reports on the trial against a Romanian Rrom in Rheinfelden. Because of repeated burglaries, the 24-year-old was sentenced to two and a half years of jail by the Lörrach district court. As witnesses, four other Rroma, with whom the defendant allegedly committed the crimes, were questioned. The culprit was granted mitigating circumstances, as he confessed all committed crimes. Mentioning the ethnicity of the perpetrator is not necessary as it only encourages racist stereotypes about a “culture of crime among the Rroma”. Rroma are not more criminal than any other ethnic groups, but this is exactly suggested by the media through an explicit thematisation of Rroma in connection with various crimes. A cultural interpretation of the offences is necessarily racist, as it ignores and discredits the majority of Rroma living a respectable and integrated life. The idea of ​​hierarchical family ties goes back to the projection of a medieval caste system onto Rroma. This is wrong. While it is true that the family has an important place among the Rroma, its organisation remains largely egalitarian. Rroma are also often used synonymously with Romanians or the Romanian language. While Romania has indeed a large Rroma minority, an estimated one and a half to three millions, Rroma make up only a minority of the total population of 22 million. However this fact is often interpreted one-sidedly by the Romanian side, who quite often state that Rroma are indeed responsible for many crimes, whereby the difference between Rroma and ethnic Romanians is exaggerated to that of good Rumanians versus evil Rroma. That Rroma are often made ​​responsible for crimes, this without any evidence, can be seen in the article of the Basler Zeitung about a burglary series. On the ptential perpetrators, the article states at the end: “On the identity of the perpetrators, the conjectures go apart. Some say they are adolescents, others burglary tourists “or Roma”” (Gygax 2014).

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13.08.2014 Investigation of war crimes against the Rroma in Kosovo

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Ernst (2014) reports on the legal and political investigation of the war crimes committed against Rroma, Serbs and other minorities during the Kosovo War. The accused are the leaders of the liberation movement of Kosovo (UCK), who, according to the just-concluded report of the American judge John Clint Williamson, but also according to the findings of the Swiss correspondent of the council of Europe, Dick Marty, were involved in systematic acts of violence against ethnic minorities in the Kosovo. The Kosovo ministry of foreign affairs stated that the actions of the UCK were correct and committed for the sake of the independence of the Kosovo. Williamson’s report contains no new facts or insights, it stated. Nevertheless, a trial on the responsibility of the UCK, built on the insights of Williamson’s report, will be held: “In the coming year – probably in the Netherlands – a special tribunal will be initiated. International judges will then evaluate Williamson’s allegations on the basis of Kosovar law. This court will formally report to the European rule of law mission EULEX in Kosovo. The unpublished accusations are directed against a ring of high functionaries of the UCK, which are accused of crimes against humanity. It is a matter of a “brutal attack on almost all Serbs who wished to remain in the Kosovo, the Roma and those Kosovo-Albanians who opposed certain UCK groups.” Large parts of the minority population of the Kosovo south of the Ibar river were displaced. The crimes were so numerous and so systematically committed, that they meet the statement of facts of a crime against humanity.” Ernst sees the continuity of former warlords as current policy makers in Kososvo as a decisive factor for the slow investigation of war crimes. These policy makers were not held accountable for these facts not for the intimidation or even murder of witnesses of the war crimes, and is due in part on the inadequate work of the international Kfor peacekeepers and international police and judicial authorities, which neither were able to prevent the atrocities nor did pursue them. Regarding the fate of the Rroma, their persecution and displacement is only known among very few. However, their discrimination and marginalisation continues to the present day (compare Echo der Zeit 2014, Robelli 2014, Rroma Foundation Reports 2008, Schulte von Drach 2014).

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13.08.2014 Gilles Bourdouleix sentenced because trivialization of the Holocaust

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Gilles Bourdouleix, wha was the mayor of Cholet in the department of Maine-et-Loire from 1995 to 2008, was sentenced to a fine of 3000 Euro for his statements trivialising the Holocaust against the Rroma. Therewith, the court of appeal of Angers confirmed the judgment of the criminal court, which had passed the sentence in January of this year, however this time not suspended. The judgment of the court reads: “With the public uttering in sufficiently audible voice to be perceived (…) his regret that the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the German authorities during the Second World War towards the travellers were not committed long enough, the defendant has in fact made ​​such a glorification” (Delève 2014). The prosecutor, who viewed the offense of glorification of crimes against humanity as proven, called for a prison sentence of 6 months on probation. During a confrontation with travellers that camped illegally on a field of his congregation, Bourdouleix announced: “Hitler may not have killed enough of them.” According to his own statement, the travellers had provoked him with the Hitler salute, which is likewise punishable. A journalist of the newspaper “Le Courrier de l’Ouest”, who was present at the incident, wrote an article about the events and published an audio recording of the statement on the newspaper’s website. Bourdouleix denied all allegations and threatened a lawsuit for defamation. The recording was a manipulated montage, he stated. Bourdouleix’ lawyer stated that they will appeal to the court of cassation. Bourdouleix was forced to resign from the UDI party in response to his Holocaust trivialisation. The maximum penalty for the glorification of the Holocaust is five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 Euros. Bourdouleix was additionally sentenced by the court to pay the organisations La Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH), Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (Mrap), la Fondation pour la Memoire de la Deportation, la Licra und la Fondation nationale des déportés et internés, who had filed the suit against him, one symbolic euro of compensation. – In most of the cited articles, as well as in the verdict, travellers are used synonymously with Rroma. However, most Rroma are sedentary. There are also other ethnic groups which have a minority of travellers, such as the Yeniche, who have European roots (compare 20 minutes 2014, Le Cain 2014, Libération 2014).

  1. 20 minutes/AFP (2014) Son dérapage sur les Roms lui coûte 3000 euros. In: 20 minutes Suisse online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/faits_divers/story/29343403
  2. Delève, Elise (2014) Propos anti-Roms : Bourdouleix condamné en appel à 3.000 euros. In: France info online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/justice/article/propos-anti-roms-gilles-bourdouleix-condamne-en-appel-une-amende-de-3-000-euros-548821
  3. Le Cain, Blandine (2014) Propos anti-Roms : l’élu Gilles Bourdouleix condamné en appel. In: Le Figaro online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2014/08/12/01002-20140812ARTFIG00122-propos-anti-roms-l-elu-gilles-bourdouleix-attend-la-decision-en-appel.php
  4. Libération/AFP (2014) Gens du voyage : le maire de Cholet Gilles Bourdouleix condamné à 3 000 euros d’amende. In: Libération online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2014/08/12/bourdouleix-condamne-a-3-000-euros-d-amende-en-appel_1079498?xtor=rss-450
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