Daily Archives: November 21, 2014

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe Romania

21.11.2014 Tagesspiegel: emphatic, but one-sided depiction of Rroma in Romania and Bulgaria

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Appenzeller (2014) reports on the visit of Neukölln’s education councillor, Franziska Giffey, in Romania and Bulgaria. The Berlin politician, who, among others, is in charge of the integration of immigrant families from Southeast Europe, wanted to get an idea of the Rroma situation in their countries of origin. However, Appenzeller’s Rroma representation remains one-sided, despite an emphatic perspective and the reference to well-educated immigrants: “The often heated debate revolves around Bulgarian and Romanian Roma families who are accused of migrating into the welfare system. Since they do not get regular jobs here, they sign up as contractors. The men then find underpaid work in the construction business, the women work as cleaners, gladly also in luxury hotels. […] And these people have children, many children. They go to German schools without speaking a word of German. […] A focal point of the Roma immigration in Berlin is the district of Neukölln. The official figures estimate 5,500 people, councillor Franziska Geffey, responsible for education and schooling, estimates twice as many.” However, critical studies could not detect any mass immigration of Rroma, as is repeatedly claimed. In addition, the claim that Rroma are needy, poorly educated, and have many children, is a massive generalisation. Rroma build part of all social strata and professions.

Appenzeller then discusses the educational journey of Giffey to Romania and Bulgaria. There, the education councillor was able to see the misery of the Rroma with her own eyes, the journalist emphasises. Unfortunately, Appenzeller reduces the Rroma situation in Romania and Bulgaria to marginalised Rroma in the slums, and the present, but not omnipresent racism, as he represents it: “Politics begins when looking at reality. Franziska Giffey wanted to know from what environment Roma families come from. This reality has opened her eyes. She has seen that Roma children have no way to be admitted to normal schools in their homeland. She saw that their parents have fewer opportunities for jobs, because they are discriminated against because of their origin and darker skin colour. She has experienced how these families are stigmatised by the prejudice that Roma are lazy and not willing to work. […] German politics may well ask the question of how the EU intends to sanction two member states, who brutally discriminate against an ethnic group that lives on their territories for centuries.” Rroma are discriminated against in Romania and Bulgaria, but they are not faced with an all-embracing state racism, as Appenzeller claims. The plight of marginalised Rroma in the two countries is the result of weak economies and the historical discrimination and exclusion of Rroma – in the case of Romania their enslavement that lasted until the mid 19th century. – The marginalized Rroma in the ghettos, who get all the media attention, are juxtaposed by an big part of integrated Rroma, which belong to the middle class, and some even to the upper class (compare Mappes-Niediek 2014).

France Germany News Switzerland News Western Europe

21.11.2014 Swiss German media: one-sided coverage of Rroma

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Schindler (2014) reports on the November 18th Rroma Foundation’s press conference. The foundation presented the results of their five-year study on the coverage of Rroma in the Swiss German print media. The result is devastating: the various newspapers (NZZ, Blick, 20 Minuten Tages-Anzeiger, Beobachter, Weltwoche, Wochenzeitung (WOZ)), despite their different political orientation, all report in a one-sided way on the Rroma. In the media representation, the minority is reduced to a minority of marginalised, criminal Rroma. The majority of integrated Rroma – in Switzerland 80,000 to 100,000 people – is hidden: “If the is a report on Roma in Switzerland, the texts are exclusively speaking of beggars, thieves, and prostitutes, which are organised in patriarchal clans and cause problems. How many Roma are living in Switzerland, how unobtrusively they live and how well they are integrated, the reader does not learn – unlike in Germany or France, where the media report more balanced, according to the study. In the international departments however, the attention reduces them to victims, the study states. They are described almost exclusively as poor, uneducated and socially excluded” (Schindler 2014). Sutter (2014) focuses on the social effect of this one-sided reporting, in her reportage for SRF 2 Kultur. She emphasizes that at the press conference Stéphane Laederich appealed to ethical responsibilities of journalists. They should ask themselves whether a mentioning of ethnicity in relation to criminal offenses is morally acceptable: ““We want to point out that the image of begging clans does not correspond to reality.” The stereotypes that can be repeatedly found come in part of the Western European middle Ages. The image of child stealing, pagan, thieving Roma has legitimized their persecution and murder several times in the past. In connection with the reporting in Switzerland, Stéphane Laederich speaks of “intellectual arson that can all too easily turn into a real arson.” Therefore a ticking time bomb in the current European climate where right-wing nationalists celebrate great successes in voting” (Sutter 2014). Now the journalists are asked to act. It is up to them to replace this one-sided reporting with a differentiated picture of minority, and to encourage the readers to think critically. That alone can be the aspiration of good journalism. Therefore, the reference that the media necessarily report about the negative or extraordinary, misses the concerns of the Rroma Foundation: journalism hast to be more than just information, it must provide a realistic notion of the world and its minorities (compare Jirat 2014).

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 =Several western Swiss newspapers report on the trial against a Romanian Rroma couple. The two Geneva residents Rroma were indicted for having trafficked and financially exploited several Romanian countrymen for begging, stealing, and prostitution in Switzerland. The pair was acquitted of the main charges, because the evidence did not confirm the suspicion. However, they were sentenced for an offense against immigration law: “The Rroma that until yesterday were accused of trafficking, were acquitted of the main charges incriminating them. The defendants are not hideous slaveholders, who held dozens of begging Roma under their relentless thumb, the judges of the criminal court adjudicated analogously, but nonetheless sentenced them for the infringement of the federal law of foreigners (LEtr). According to the court, the persons transported to Geneva could even travel back to their country even if they had not paid back the price of their bus ticket within two weeks. […] Nevertheless, the defendants were found guilty of the violation of the foreigners’ act. They enriched themselves by helping people without work and residence permit to travel to Switzerland, which is prohibited. Moreover, the couple knew very well that these people were destitute and therefore would be forced to engage in illegal activities: begging, theft, or prostitution […]” (Foca 2014/I). As the judgment points out, equating migration support with forcing people to steal, beg, or to prostitute themselves is simply false. In many articles on human trafficking, it is incorrectly assumed that smugglers are automatically traffickers and their customers’ victims of trafficking, which is not confirmed by the research literature. That research shows migrating people have much more self determination, and questions the characteristics and omnipotence of transnationally operating gangs. In addition, the incomes from begging is very modest, which makes it unattractive for actual organised crime. Rroma are not more delinquent than other ethnic groups, which is distorted by the one-sided media focus on criminal or poor Rroma (compare Focas 2014/II, Guillain 2014, Lecomte 2014, Le Matin 2014 I/II, Oude Breuil et al 2011, Tabin et al 2012).

Hungary News Eastern Europe

21.11.2014 Stereotype representation of Rroma in Hungary

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On the occasion of the asylum application of 60 Hungarian Rroma in Switzerland, SRF-editor Marc Lehmann reports on the conditions in Hungary and Miskolc (Voegeli 2014). In doing so, the former Eastern Europe correspondent reproduces numerous prejudices and misinformation about Rroma that are not based on critical facts, but rather stem from stereotypical views. Lehmann claims: “Most [Rroma] are poorly educated and no longer meet the demands of today’s working environment. That’s why the unemployment rate in the Roma community is about 70, 80, maybe even 90 percent. Most live on welfare, which is indeed minimal: maybe about 150 francs per head. For children there is extra money. Therefore, many Roma families have many children. […] They are indeed not treated well in the current political climate. But one has to say that there have been many attempts to integrate them. However, Rroma cannot be easily integrated. They are certainly not entirely innocent of their situation, what also has to be said. Some like the support of the social system. In addition, the Roma are simply not well organised. They are not easily accessible for those who would actually like to help them. They are divided into clans, each clan is just looking for itself. A solidarity among the Roma cannot be detected.” Lehmann’s assertions that the Rroma do not want to integrate, and have many children to receive child benefits, are absurd. Likewise, is the statement that each Rroma group just looks for itself. While it is true that integration and social advancement also depend on the initiative of the Rroma themselves, that does not mean that Rroma are not exposed to massive discrimination in Hungary. Lehmann does not say a word about the Rroma-hostile policy and propaganda of the right-wing extremist Jobbik, the second largest party in Hungary, which is tolerated by and sometimes even supported by the other parties. He also negates the important fact that the Rroma he describes only constitute the marginalised, visible part of the minority. Most seriously is probably the fact that Lehman simply ignores the entire Rroma history, and the massive discrimination they suffered. Many Rroma are well educated and belong to the middle class or even the upper class, but are not perceived as Rroma and therefore do not appear in the statistics cited by Lehmann. Almost all Rroma want to integrate and have a better life, those who deniy this, overstate the importance of self-initiative and underestimate the power of mechanisms of social exclusion. In addition, he denies the 80,000 to 100,000 Rroma living in Switzerland their existence from, and instead equates Rroma in Switzerland with harvest workers, construction workers, beggars and prostitutes from abroad, which de-facto only constitute a minority of the minority: “Also in Switzerland, the fact is that there are Roma who work here as harvest workers, or in construction; young women, who are involved in prostitution. There are certainly beggars. And where compatriots are, it feels attractive to others.” That Lehmann does not succeed in conveying a differentiated notion of the Rroma, one can read in the comments section of the article. There, one rightwing-nationalist slogan follows the next. Furthermore, most of the houses in the Rroma district of Miskolc, which are now being demolished, were in good condition, and anything but a ghetto, as Lehmann falsely claims (compare Odehnal 2014).

News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Slovakia

21.11.2014 Rroma in Slovakia from a German perspective

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Bauer (2014) reports on the visit in Slovakia of a German delegation of politicians and church leaders of Schwäbisch Hall. The delegation wanted to get an idea of the Rroma situation in their home country, Rroma who who sometimes beg on the roads of Hall. While the representatives from politics and the church were able to reduce prejudices about organised begging gangs, the one-sided focus on marginalised Rroma gives the impression of a culture of poverty among the minority: “For the Roma from the 835-strong resort [Kaloša] 300 kilometres east of Bratislava, begging in Hall is a business model that enables their families to survive an allows them to build a simple house after a few years. “The fear of some citizens of Hall, that the beggars belong to organised criminal gangs is completely unfounded”, says Bettina Wilhelm, Halls first female mayor. She was part of the delegation to Kaloša, the place of origin of most of beggars in Hall. […] Since the fall of communism 25 years ago, many Roma have no work, they live on welfare and child support. In return, they must work a certain number of hours per month in charity. Also because of this, they return after 14 days in Hall to Slovakia. Neither to craftsmanship nor to agriculture, they bear reference. Since the collective farms were closed, the land lies fallow. Not even for their own use do they grow vegetables.” In Slovakia, according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 450,000 to 550,000 Rroma. Not all of them are losers of the 1989 turnaround, as this article suggests. Rroma belong to all strata of society, many of them are well integrated.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

21.11.2014 Persistent segregation of Rroma pupils in the Czech Republic

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Beger (2014) reports on the continued segregation of Rroma pupils in the Czech Republic. The disproportionately high allocation of Rroma into so-called “practical schools”, with which the students have almost no chance to a job in a free market economy, was repeatedly criticised in recent months and years. A few weeks ago, the European Commission has threatened to initiate proceedings against the Czech government for violation of the anti-discrimination legislation. But  in spite several verdicts of the European courts, including the case “D. H. and Others vs. the Czech Republic”, which the condemned the Czech rulers for discrimination, until now, little has changed on segregation: “On a recent visit to Děčín, in the north of the Czech Republic, Amnesty International met Tereza. After her eldest son was transferred to a school for children with ‘mild mental disabilities’, having missed classes following a broken leg and surgery, she was determined not to let history repeat itself with her younger son, Dan. Despite pushing for Dan to remain in mainstream education, the director told Tereza that she didn’t want him in the school, and didn’t have the resources ‘to be bothered’ with him. Currently, both sons of Tereza attend a ‘practical school’. The prospects for Romani children who do make it to mainstream education aren’t much better. Many are segregated into ‘Roma only’ schools or classes with lower educational standards, with Romani parents given little choice as to where to send their children. In January 2014, a primary school in Ostrava rejected 12 children at registration; 10 were Roma. All the children lived in the catchment area.” Whether the Czech government will fulfil the demand of the European Commission to end desegregation, is still uncertain. In the Czech Republic, there live an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 Rroma (compare Jurist 2014).

News Western Europe

21.11.2014 Jean-Marie Le Pen sentenced for racist remark against Rroma

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The Paris appeal’s court sentenced Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the right-wing nationalist Front National, to a fine of 5’000 Euros. The strident politician had claimed at the Summer University of the Front National that Rroma would steal as naturally as birds fly. In French, the word “voler” means to fly as well as to steal. In its judgment, the court of appeal upheld the first instance verdict of the criminal court in December 2013. Le Pen’s defence attorney – Mr. de Saint-Just – decidedly referred to the right to freedom of expression. This would clearly be violated by the judgment of the appeal’s court: ““This final verdict is a massive violation of freedom of expression”, judged Mr. de Saint-Just on Monday, assuring that his client “will go before the European Court of Human Rights that fights for the freedom of expression and that normally supercedes the appeal’s court, unless it is Jean-Marie Le Pen.” “It’s not about freedom of expression, it is about a racist expression, which is a crime”, Mr. Pierre Mairat, the lawyer for the movement against racism and for friendship between people (Mrap) stated. “This last, politically incorrect expression of Le Pen corresponds to his leaving: that of a man who has always associated his statements with hatred, responded Mr. Patrick Klugman, lawyer of SOS Racisme, saluting “a welcome verdict”” (Libération 2014). Jean-Marie Le Pen has been repeatedly noticed for his anti-Semitic remarks gainst foreigners, minorities and the trivialisation of the Holocaust (compare Le Huffington Post in 2014, Le Monde in 2014, Le Parisien 2014).

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

21.11.2014 International Day of children’s rights: Rroma children should be fostered more in school

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On the occasion of the International Day of children’s rights, Dubuc (2014) reports on the education of Rroma children in Romania. According to Eugen Crai, director of a Romanian school fund for the promotion of Rroma, the enrolment rate of Rroma children is still unsatisfactory. In 2005, only 46% of Rroma children over 12 years went to school for more than four years. George Puiu, a schoolteacher from Fantanele, sees one reason for this in the lacking practical orientation of the schools. Parents, who are affected by extreme poverty and went to school themselves only for a short time, would not sufficiently appreciate the value of education and instead need their children as labourers for the family income: “At the edge of the measures, which the government implemented since 1990 to integrate the children into the school system, various programs have been launched, such as the “Let’s go to school” UNICEF initiative. In Fantanele, where one of 250 schools is involved in the initiative, the faculty decided to develop two projects, in order to connect extracurricular and educational activities to make the school more attractive: a day of sporting encounter with the other schools and an excursion to the zoo and the botanical garden of Bucharest. “This allows the children to put into practice what they have learned in the physical and science classes… but also to create a link between the school and the community, by including the parents – spectators, but also mediators and accompanying persons”, explains the director of the school, Dora Stefan.” – The article wants to provide a balanced presentation of the topic. Nevertheless, it hides important aspects: racist teachers or school authorities that impede Rroma access to education. A visit to the zoo or the botanical gardens will change little about this. The part of Rroma, who are well educated and do not live in ghettos, is ignored: from the estimated one and a half to three million Rroma in Romania, many build part of the middle class. In addition, access to the labour market is not egalitarian, as in many other countries. In addition, Romania has its history of Rroma slavery; a historical responsibility towards the minority that is often ignored.

News Western Europe

21.11.2014 Great Britain: survey confirms discrimination, but perpetuates biased Rroma image

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A survey conducted on behalf of Anglia Ruskin University and the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups, which interviewed 120 Rroma and Irish Travellers, confirms the discrimination and exclusion of Rroma and Irish Travellers in the areas of health care, access to education and the labour market, and indicates elevated levels of infant mortality and lower life expectancies. However, due to the very small group of subjects it seems likely that only already marginalised Rroma and Irish Travellers were interviewed for the survey. Of the 90,000 to 120,000 Rroma, who have been living integrated in England for generations, belonging to all social strata, not a word is said of in the study. The study seems concentrated on the easily identifiable, marginalised Rroma and Irish Travellers, who only represent a part of these groups. The investigation is understood as a critique of the Rroma policy of the British government, which so far only undertook insufficient efforts to help the minority integrate successfully: “Nearly nine out of every 10 children and young people from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller background have suffered racial abuse and nearly two thirds have also been bullied or physically attacked. As a result many are scared to attend school. The infant mortality rate of Gypsies and Travellers is three times higher than the national average. The life expectancy of Gypsies and Travellers has been estimated to up to 12 years shorter than that of the general population. They are significantly more likely to have a long-term condition and suffer poorer health. Gypsies and Travellers use mainstream health services less than other members of the population because of practical difficulties, such as complex procedures for registering and making use of services. Traditional occupations such as scrap metal dealing are being made more difficult or disappearing altogether due to Government policies. Roma are often exploited by gang masters.” In addition to the one-sided focus of the study on a marginalised minority of the minority, it is must be criticised that one didn’t deal precisely enough with terminologies and cultural explanations. While the distinction between Irish Travellers with European roots and Rroma with Indian origins made, the differentiation between “Gypsies” in opposite to “Rroma” and “Irish Travellers” remains unclear. Moreover, the claim that clan chiefs often exploit Rroma is the reproduction of a popular prejudice about Rroma. Rroma are not organised in hierarchical clans, but structured largely egalitarian (compare Lane/ Spencer/Jones 2014).

Germany News Western Europe

21.11.2014 German Federal Supreme Court asked to take a stance on its hostile judgments on Rroma

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Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma, has demanded the German Federal Supreme Court in a statement on the 4th Roseburg-symposium to take a stance on its jurisdiction against Rroma under National Socialism and in the post-war period. In 1956, the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) had largely rejected the claims of Holocaust survivors for compensation, on the grounds that there had been earlier official measures against Rroma: “In January of 1956, the Federal Supreme Court had largely denied compensation to “gypsies” who were persecuted by the Nazis. The exclusion and resettlement policy of the Nazis until 1943 was denied to have been motivated by their racial fanaticism, but was said to be part of the “usual police preventive measures”. The judges of the Federal Supreme Court justified their verdict with the suggestion that due to the nature of the people, there had always been measures against the “Gypsy plague”. Without any relativization it says: “They tend, as experience shows, towards crime, particularly thefts and frauds, they often lack the moral drives to respect the property of others, because they appertain like primitive men an unrestrained occupation instinct.” It was not until 1963 that at the Federal Supreme Court recognised that Rroma were persecuted in Nazi Germany before 1943. However, the racist police considerations, which allege a collective predisposition to crime for Rroma, were still recognised. Rose therefore demanded an official dissociation of the Federal Supreme Court from its past verdicts, as he stated at the symposium: ““Then, the Supreme Court adopted the justification strategy of the Nazis and their demagogic agitation”, criticized Rose. Until today, there has been no dissociation on part of the Federal Supreme Court. “We would appreciate it very much if such a statement – in whatever form – would be possible today.”” – In Auschwitz-Birkenau alone, 30,000 Rroma were murdered. Researchers estimate at least half a million casualties among the Rroma (Rath 2014).

News Eastern Europe

21.11.2014 Fidesz mayor Ferenc Haszilló agitates against Rroma

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Ferenc Haszilló, the recently re-elected mayor of the Hungarian city Kecel, has come under massive attack in the Hungarian media and politics, and has announced his resignation from office. The reasons for the furore around Haszilló are  a recordings of statements, which he made in 2012 after an official interview with the local television. The utterances, not meant for publication, include massive defamations of Rroma and Jews, criticism of the ruling party and great sympathy for right-wing extremist views: “An employee of the local television, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed Magyar Narancs the authenticity of the recording, but explained it should never have become public – it was leaked with the malicious intention to cause a scandal and bring the Mayor and city into disrepute. […] Regarding the Roma, he [Ferenc Haszilló] says: “dirty, worthless assholes, who grow up in piss, are as stupid as animals and come to the municipality if they need a little firewood; I wish I could go out and kick them in the face, the Jobbik is probably right about that.(…) One can not allow that they freeze to death (laughter) … The truth is that should they all die (…) and the state also … on this subject I totally agree with Jobbik, kiss my ass … one should chop them into shithouse.” – The context that led to the publication of the recordings is still unclear. Although Haszilló has now apologised for his comments, they are evidence of a great sympathy for misanthropic views that degrade certain ethnics groups and declare them inferior. Such statements meet the statement of facts of demagoguery and racism to the full extent and should be punished accordingly (Pusztaranger 2014).

France Italy News Western Europe

21.11.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Italy

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As in the beginning of November, the Local (2014) reported about the discrimination against Rroma in Italy. Subject of contention are the numerous camps in which the Italian authorities deliberately hold the minority at the margins of society. The conditions in these state camps are heavily criticised: the air is insufficient to breath, an inmate says, as well as the hygiene: tuberculosis, scabies and lice are much more frequently than usual. The permanent monitoring in the camps, which is part of the facilities, leads particularly among children to anxiety and sleep disorders as well as phobias, the Rroma Rights Centre criticises in a report: “It [the Rroma Rights Centre] also warned of daily discrimination and violence against Roma in “an ever-growing climate of racism”, including repeated cases of local residents attacking camps with Molotov cocktails while police turn a blind eye. Although over half the 170,000 or so Roma and Sinti people in Italy are Italian citizens with regular jobs and houses, hate crimes against the poorest strata are rife, fuelled by inflammatory comments by politicians on both the left and right quick to paint Roma as crooks. […] Camp dwellers are prevented by council regulations from applying for public housing even if they were born in Italy, trapping them permanently in fenced-off centres far from schools, shops, health care centres or workplaces.” Because of this strong discrimination against Rroma, the European Commission has threatened legal actions against the Italian government for violation of the anti-discrimination legislation. Rroma belong to all social strata, but are indeed particularly affected by poverty and discrimination. Since the euro and economic crisis, various parties especially instrumentalise them as scapegoats for social ills. As in France, the public image of the minority is marked by extreme prejudice and misinformation: in the minds of many Italians, Rroma are synonymous with the residents of camps in the suburbs. The aspect of social exclusion is largely ignored.

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