Category Archives: Bulgaria

Bulgaria France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

17.10.2014 France: Thirty civil rights organizations calling for a respectful treatment of the residents of informal settlements

Published by:

Amnesty International France (2014) reports on a new collective charter of thirty French civil rights organisations, which is currently being elaborated. In it, the initiators demand a more respectful treatment of the residents of informal settlements by the French authorities, especially Rroma: “It [the charter] has the goal to change the mentalities and opinions with which one meets the residents of the sites, by communicating the recognition and respect of their fundamental rights and dignity. The illicit nature of an occupation does not allow use illegal means to end the situation; numerous rules shall limit the scope of the public authorities and the owners [of the occupied land]. Once made ​​public, one will be able to distribute it on the sites and slums in different languages, depending on the people present (French, English, Romanian or Bulgarian). To know ones’ rights is essential in order to assert them and to be protected, or to protect ones family.” It is in fact essential that a fair balance between the right to property, which in France has constitutional status, and the fundamental rights of the residents is ensured, not least their right to accommodation.” The charter on the fundamental rights of the residents of informal settlements will, in addition to the residents themselves, also be distributed to political deputies, bailiffs, police authorities, and other public authorities, in order to enforce its compliance, if somehow possible. One should add to Amnesty International’s remarks that the forced evacuations of informal settlements complicate a long-term integration of Rroma immigrants. The evictions don’t solve the existing problems and the question of integration, but simply push them from one location to the next. Particularly affected are the children, who often visit local schools and are hindered by the evictions at a successful education. The rigorous expulsion of the minority reflects the unwillingness of the French government to engage in an active integration policy. Furthermore, by the one-sided media focus on the informal settlements it is suggested that there are only Rroma belonging to the lower class, which are poorly educated. However, the Rroma from the slums only constitute a minority of the minority in France. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They belong to the middle class or even the upper class and are constantly ignored by the French media, the public and politicians. For fear of discrimination, many of these integrated Rroma keep their identity a secret.

Bulgaria France Hungary News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania Serbia Slovakia

17.10.2014 Information event: correct and incorrect knowledge much about Rroma in France

Published by:

Ouest-France (2014) reports on an information event for residents of the Nantes agglomeration. The towns of Saint-Sébastien et Saint-Jacques Saint organized the event to inform the residents of the municipalities on local Rroma. However, the focus was only on recently immigrated Rroma families, who enjoy strong public visibility. Already integrated Rroma were not discussed. In the municipalities, around 60 families live in rented housing units and are supported by measures aimed at integrating them into the professional and social life. A further 38 persons live in illegal settlements. While the conveyed information is correct, it nevertheless distorts the view on Rroma. For example, it was incorrectly said that Rroma, Manouche and Gitans are three different Rroma groups: “The Roma are one of three European gypsy groups arriving from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia… They differ from the Manouches and the Gypsies, who are called “travellers” by the administration. Originally from India, the Roma arrived in Europe in the 14th century. Protected by the kings of Bohemia in the 17th century, they are sometimes called Bohemians. […] After 1989, they were attracted by the mirage of the West. 1,500 of the 20,000 in France live in the agglomeration of Nantes, all coming from the south-east of Romania.” However, the differentiation between Rroma and Sinti, called Manouche in France, is a political one. The Rroma all have the same migration history and linguistic background. The term “Gitans” in turn is among some familiar as the name of the Rroma from the Iberian Peninsula. However, they also build part of the Rroma, and are historically and linguistically no separate category. Also the finding that only 20,000 Rroma live in France, and that they come exclusively from Romania, is wrong. Moreover, Rroma arrived in Eastern Europe in the 9th century, not only in the 14th century, which is true for Western Europe. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, i 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma live in France. The majority of them are integrated, work, are fluent in French and send their children to school. Many have lived in France for generations, and not just since 1989, and come from all over Europe, not only from Romania. The recently immigrated Rroma, who enjoy strong public visibility, therefore constitute only a minority of the minority.

Bulgaria Finland News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania Spain

10.10.2014 European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) wants to foster the civil society integration of the Rroma

Published by:

EurActic (2014) reports on the plan of the European Economic and Social Committee to better foster the civil society integration of Rroma. It recommends that the governments and aid organisations of the European member states should provide more social housing for marginalised families and should improve the cooperation with the minority representatives. The evaluation of the integration efforts of the different countries varies considerably. While the committee gives very good grades to for example Finland, the assessment of the Romanian Rroma-policy is very mediocre. Valeria Atzori, the EESC Representative for Rroma issues, states: ““Roma are not travellers by choice. They are obliged to leave because they are thrown out of their settlements,” she said. “When they have houses, they stay.” This is one of the first EESC conclusions following visits to countries with Roma minorities over the last few months. EESC experts met with the Roma community, NGOs and national authorities in Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, and Spain. Through these meetings, the EESC aims at exploring civil society initiatives in the Roma integration process, and provide recommendations to EU institutions in November. According to Atzori, the situations vary considerably between countries. […] In Romania, the government still lacks political will to help the Roma, despite the creation of a National Agency for Roma Integration. NGOs and the Roma were defensive in their meetings with the EESC, and blamed both the government and the EU for not doing enough. Romania is also confronting deeply rooted stereotypes about Roma. Atzori said that due to a few Roma that are exploiting the system, a lot of Romanians believe that the minority deserves the deplorable situation they are in now.” What is not mentioned in the analysis is that the different EU-countries are dealing with very different conditions. The economic situation and political stability in the states are not equal, and difficult economic situations facilitate mechanisms of social exclusion. On the other hand, the will of political and civil society to integrate the minority is without doubt a critical factor to a better integration of the Rroma. In Mid-October, the European Economic and Social Committee will be rewarding eight organisations that have been particularly committed to a better social integration of the Rroma.

Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Kosovo News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania Serbia Slovakia

08.10.2014 Wolfgang Benz: „The return of enemy stereotypes“

Published by:

The German historian and researcher on prejudices Wolfgang Benz has published a new book in which he thoroughly investigates the mechanisms of prejudices towards Rroma. Benz tries to comprehend the reasons for the emergence and adherence of the negative stereotypes, which are consciously instrumentalised politically by various protagonists. In his article for the Tagesspiegel, he conveys the most important theses of his book. Part of these are self-appointed experts, who blame Rroma living in misery for their own fate, by playing off liberal self-reliance against societal injustices: „Sinti and Roma are rejected and despised, because they are poor, are regarded as placeless and without culture. Cherished through fears of foreign domination, enemy stereotypes are being reactivated. Self-appointed experts argue that they have to blame themselves for their misery in Slovakia, in Hungary, in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Rumania or Serbia and the Kosovo. The situation of the Roma in Southeast Europe has become a tourist attraction, topic of hypocritical sensitive reports, which are being created with the point of view of master men – and confirm the majority in their rejection of the minority. Roma-foes call the object of their interest unashamed once more “Zigeuner”, even though (or because) it is hurtful. By the use of generalisations, fears are fuelled, and dubious knowledge about Sinti and Roma is spread, fears are evoked, which allegedly threaten us. The unpleasant characteristics, which are projected sweepingly on all Roma from Southeast Europe, are welcomed reasons for discrimination. Immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania are seen as the incarnation of a threat, which is usually equated with Sinti and Roma. The traditional stereotypes of the “gypsy” have sowed the seeds for generations, the new images of the slums from which they come, and the poverty in which they live, are seamlessly compatible. […] Xenophobia, racism, petty-bourgeois fears for their property and identity weaknesses condense into an enemy image of poverty migrants, whose feared attack on social funds, bourgeois order and the German way of life must be resisted. Right-wing populists and -extremists benefit from it, and operate their enemy image with success – in the middle of society.” The perpetuation of prejudices has become a vicious circle which is difficult to break. A possible way out is a public, media-catchy discussion of the integrated Rroma, the “invisible Rroma”. However, many of these integrated Rroma keep their identity a secret, for fear of discrimination among friends and colleagues, at work or in the housing market. Here again, there exists a vicious circle of legitimate fears that cannot be so easily overcome (compare Benz 2014).

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

01.10.2014 Bulgaria: vote-buying and the Rroma

Published by:

Sergueva (2014) reports on the illegal vote buying in Bulgaria. In the last elections for the European Parliament, the problem did become particularly manifest: on the one hand, we have found that some employees were forced under threat of dismissal by their employers to select certain parties or candidates. On the other hand, votes of people with low incomes were bought with financial incentives. This was also the case with Rroma with low income: “Forced to survive with a minimum income of 340 leva (174 Euros) per month, Maya Ivanova did not hesitate for a second to sell her vote for the legislative elections taking place this Sunday in Bulgaria. “Who would reject 50 Leva, today, in such a misery?”, this 51-year-old woman from a Roma household states, that was met by AFP in Bobovdol. Only to “us, the Roma, one gives merely one meat dumpling and two sandwiches”, she adds: “The 50 leva are taken by the organizers.”” According to Transparency International, about 6% of the surveyed voters already have sold their vote once. Just as many are ready to do the same. Antony Galabov by Transparency International explains this with the very high rate of poverty in Bulgaria. According to estimates, 20% of the population in Bulgaria now lives below the poverty line. In many Romany ghettos, according to Vania Noucheva from the IMRI institute in Paris, there are usurers whom many slum-dwellers are in debt of and therefore can be extorted votes. Under the pressure of the European Union, several countermeasures have been decided now: at the next elections, a thousand persons suspected of vote-buying will be monitored. The notice on the ballot saying “Vote-buying is prohibited” exists since 2007, but was not of much use so far, Sergueva states.

Bosnia Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe North Macedonia Serbia

01.10.2014 Rroma and Migration in Germany: discussion instead of polemics

Published by:

Dribbusch (2014), on the occasion of the nomination of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia as safe countries of origin, argues for more discussion culture rather than reductionist polemics. Unfortunately, she mixes economic migration and political asylum and does not questions enough, how these categories intermingle, blend, and are dealt with: “The economic integration of people who have come to stay, must be openly debated because a solely humanitarian appeal is not enough to create acceptance. The question is: should taxpayers in Germany be responsible for offering a Roma woman from Bulgaria and their children, or a young African from Chad, better life opportunities? The answer could be yes. But only if there is also integration assistance, that means, not only should asylum seekers been freed of [current] work interdictions, but should also been paid language courses and qualification measures. […] If one wants to open up new possibilities for a poverty policy, it is also appropriate to set limits. It is acceptable that Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia are now defined as “safe countries of origin”, to speed up the asylum process. The asylum applications from Serbia recently skyrocketed.” Dribbusch is right when she calls for more integration help that consist of concrete offers and not just acceptance. However, she conveys a very one-sided notion of the minority, if she portrays Rroma as “economic refugees”. She negates the well-educated migrants, as well as individual experiences of discrimination that exist spite the safety from political persecution. Moreover, Rroma only constitute a part of the migrants from the Southeast Europe. There are also a lot of ethnic Serbians, Macedonians, Bosnians and others, who migrate to Western Europe (compare Die Presse 2014, Kılıç 2014).  

Bulgaria France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

26.09.2014 Louis de Matignon Gouyon: half of the Rroma children from informal settlements do not attend school

Published by:

Louis de Gouyon Matignon (2014) reports on the lack of education of Rroma children who live in the informal settlements of France. The lack of training of the children is partly due to the lack of appreciation of education by some parents, as well as the result of the fear of deportation by the French authorities. But above all, it results from discriminatory practices by French schools. Thus, some schools keep fictitious waiting lists to prevent Rroma from enrolling their children: “It is now assumed that 53% of Roma children do not attend school. The missing schooling of our young fellow Europeans (usually Romanians or Bulgarians) may result from the will of the parents to handle basic needs such as food, shelter or clothing with priority; or missing schooling may also result from a bad attitude or from a lack of funds on the part of schools: some schools apply fictitious waiting lists to discourage parents from enrolling their children. Some individual initiatives, based on private funds, such as the creation of small libraries or the establishment of courses by volunteers, are laudable, but they are not sufficient in order to prevent illiteracy among the Roma.” It must be stressed here that Gouyon Matignon assumes that 50% of Rroma children from the informal settlements do not go to school. This does not mean that half of the integrated Rroma children do not attend school. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are living in France. The vast majority of them is integrated, goes to work and sends their children to school. Gouyon Matignon therefore falsely equates the Rroma from the slums with all Rroma in France, which is not true. Many Rroma can read and write. Gouyon Matignon therefore unintentionally reproduces a stereotypical notion of ​​the Rroma. But he is not alone with that: many other authors and institutions equate the Rroma with the visible Rroma from the slums (compare Pozycki 2014).

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

17.09.2014 The visible Rroma of Sweden

Published by:

Gyldén (2014) reports about begging Rroma in Sweden. The very detailed article reports explicitly about the life circumstances of immigrant Rroma in Sweden, who earn their revenue with begging, playing music or with collecting scrap. On the other hand, the journalist presents the Swedish political system and the local economic mode that, according to the journalist, is not designed and adapted to begging with its “protestant work ethic”. Glydén article attempts, as many before him, to portray the life of the Rroma, but he ends up addressing only the living conditions of a minority of the minority: “They live there, at the edge of a clearing under birch trees, fir trees and squirrels. One moment, they are reminiscent of trolls from myths. But the lives of Corneliu, Aurelian, Florina and others – forty people in total – have nothing of a children’s story. These Roma, who originally come from Bacau (250 km north of Bucharest), leave their camp near a terminus of the metro, in the suburbs, every morning to pursue their “jobs”: the sidewalks of Stockholm, its parks, its metros. Some play the accordion; others collect returnable bottles from the trashcans. Most of them beg.” In his argument, Gyldén depicts the scenario of Rroma as poverty migrants, who, since the advent of free movement of workers with Romania and Bulgaria now try their luck in Sweden. But he ignores an important part of reality: First of all, critical studies show that there is no mass immigration of Rroma to the north. In addition, there are also ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians and other ethnic groups from South Eastern Europe, which migrate to Western Europe. Furthermore, Gyldén negates the well and very well educated Rroma, which also form part of the migrants or have lived in Sweden for a longer period of time. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, they constitute between 15,000 and 20,000 people. After all, Gyldén relativizes, with reference to a Swedish journalist, the stereotype of organized begging networks: those emerged, after detailed investigations, as a construct.

Bosnia Bulgaria Czech Republic France Germany Hungary News Eastern Europe News Western Europe North Macedonia Romania Serbia

17.09.2014 Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: safe countries of origin for Rroma?

Published by:

The daily news of the ARD (2014) reports on the ongoing discussions and protests because of the declaration of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being “safe countries of origin”. Accordingly, the federal government will soon enact a law that puts these three countries on the list of countries safe of persecution. Thereafter, minorities like the Rroma will have very poor chances of obtaining asylum in Germany. This is being criticised especially by social democratic politicians and non-governmental organisations. Recently, the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma has spoken out. Its chairman, Romani Rose, criticised in his statement that the three countries are anything but safe for Rroma: “In the three countries, the argument goes, there is no persecution, torture, violence or degrading treatment. […] Life for Rroma in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is anything but safe, Rose declared. “Large parts of the minority in these countries have no chance in the labour market, they are excluded from any participation in social life.” For Roma, which are merely tolerated in Germany, the implementation of the plans could mean deportation.” While it is true that the Rroma in the Balkans were exposed to little discrimination until 1989, and many of the common stereotypes about the minority originated in Western Europe, this does not mean that the exaggeration of ethnic differences and the marginalisation of the Rroma have not become a real issue since then that affect many members of the minority. The adoption of the new law is due to an increase of asylum applications from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are turned down in the majority of the cases as being unfounded. However, these decisions are also criticised, since individual fates of exclusion and persecution get too little attention and are not considered appropriately due to lack of evidence. The status of safe countries puts administrative estimates about the protection of the civilian population, especially minorities, over the individual experiences of those affected. Whether this is a smart procedure that meets the real-life experiences of victims of discrimination, should be critically assessed. What matters in the end is the individual fate and not the official status (compare Amtsberg 2014, Attenberger/Filon 2014, Die Welt 2014, Ulbig 2014).  

Eastern Europe correspondent Mappes-Niediek (2014) contradicts this opinion: He claims that the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are often affected by poverty, but are not persecuted. In Macedonia and Serbia, the Rroma rather build part of local communities and are found in all social classes and positions. Even the Rromanes is widely accepted in Macedonia: “Traditionally, in Macedonia and Serbia, it is far less disparagingly spoken about Roma than in the neighbouring countries of Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The major, wearing his chain of office and shaking hands, attend Roma celebrations. In the newspapers one respectfully speaks of “citizens of Roma nationality”, and ethnic Macedonians also attend Roma pilgrimages. The European cliché that Roma steal is unknown in both countries. […] If Roma are exposed to persecution somewhere in the region, then it is the EU-country Hungary, where right-wing extremist groups inflame the atmosphere, literally hunt for Roma and the police looks the other way. However, from EU-countries no asylum applications are accepted in principle. Even discrimination based on ethnicity is likely to be far less in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia than what Roma have to endure in Hungary, the Czech Republic or France.” Thereby Mappes-Niediek addresses an important point: the difficulty of assessing the discrimination or acceptance of a minority that is already perceived very one-sided in the public in its entirety and complexity. For Mappes-Niediek, the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are particularly affected by poverty. This is certainly true for a part of the minority. But he also hides a part of reality: in particular the integrated Rroma, which can be found in all the countries of Europe and are not perceived as Rroma by the public. Rroma should not be equated with an underclass. They build part of all strata of society. Regarding the aspect of discrimination, the individual fate should still favoured to a reductionist, generalising assessment: because mechanisms of exclusion in a society cannot be read on a measuring instrument. They are subtly distributed in all spheres of a nation and not necessarily occur in the open.    

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe North Macedonia Romania

17.09.2014 Survey of antiziganism: prejudices against Rroma in Germany remain

Published by:

Several German newspapers report on the latest study by the centre for anti-Semitism research in Berlin and the institute for prejudice and conflict research. For the study “Between apathy and rejection – Population attitudes towards Sinti and Roma” around 2,000 German citizens were interviewed. The study concludes that about a third of Germans feel Rroma as neighbours as being very or quite unpleasant. There is less sympathy towards Rroma than towards any other population group. Seventeen percent of the respondents consider them as very unappealing. This result is clearly linked to the opinion of the respondents that Rroma are responsible for the reservations towards their minority due to their own behaviour. This point is based on the false assumption that a visible minority of the minority can be equated with all Rroma. However, most Rroma are not delinquent and are integrated. This is ignored by the media and by the public. The following three results show how ingrained prejudices and resentments against the minority are: fifteen percent of the respondents consider Roma as criminals, fourteen percent as not assimilable, ten percent as lazy. Again, the prejudices are based on the public perception of a visible minority of the minority. The majority of the Rroma are integrated and are honest. The final result of the study is of particular concern: every second respondent thinks that a restriction of the entry requirements is an appropriate way to solve the problems with the minority. Again, there are misconceptions about a mass influx of poorly educated and delinquent Rroma. Rroma constitute only a part of all immigrants from South and Eastern Europe. Many of them are ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, etc. There are also many well-educated Rroma, who are also hidden in the media. Romani Rose, president of the central council of German Sinti and Roma, raised severe concerns about the results of the study: “anti-Semitism is outlawed in Germany, antiziganism enjoys largely a free rein”, criticised Romani Rose […]. He warned against connecting poverty with ethic origin. “The Jews were too rich, the Roma are too poor.” This is an unacceptable generalisation” (Peters 2014). After all, Rose sees it as positive that around 80% of the respondents knew about the persecution of the Rroma during National Socialism. Nevertheless, knowledge about the minority needs to be deepened more through history lessons. This contrasts with the opinion of almost a third of the respondents who feel no historical responsibility of Germany towards the minority. One in five is for the removal of the Rroma from Germany: a very thought-provoking insight. In response to the poor results, an expert commission shall be set up to report to the Bundestag regularly on discrimination against the minority in the fields of education, employment or housing. The anti-discrimination commissioner of the state, Christine Lüders, also sees a special need for action in the fight against prejudice among police forces. Rroma in Germany are still more frequently suspected of criminal activities as members of other ethnic groups. She argues that “indifference, ignorance and rejection together form a fatal mix that [enable and foster] discrimination against Sinti and Roma” (compare Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes 2014, Die Zeit 2014, Fürstenau 2014, Gajevic 2014, Gensing 2014, Lambeck 2014, MiGAZIN 2014, Süddeutsche Zeitung 2014).  

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

22.08.2014 The ambivalent concept of “poverty immigration”

Published by:

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.

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

13.08.2014 Anti-Rroma demonstrations in Halle-Silberhöhe

Published by:

Halle Spectrum (2014) reports about an anti-Rroma rally in Silberhöhe, a district of the city Halle in Saxony-Anhalt. In Silberhöhe, numerous Rroma families have been living for several weeks. At the rally, around 200 people expressed their anger about the neighbourhood’s new residents. On banners, slogans like “We live here!” could be read. According to estimates of Halle Spectrum, in addition to angry residents, there were also members of the extreme right among the 200 protesters: “According to police representatives on site, several participants were known to the police, some of them as criminals […]. A total of eight criminal complaints were filed, among other things for libel, assault and criminal damage. In five cases, simple physical violence had to be applied to enforce dismissals. In one case, the offense of demagoguery is being examined.” – Demonstrations against ethnic minorities such as the Rroma are always also an expression of the ambivalent policies and public opinion towards minority groups. Under the header of “poverty immigrants”, the press repeatedly stated that uneducated Rroma would supposedly migrate en masse into the German social security system, would not want to integrate and would create social tensions. That Rroma were made to an instrument for political debates on migration has rarely been explicitly addressed. Beyond the problematic and political notion of the “Rroma question”, there is the reality that gets far too little attention: For generations, 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma have been living in Germany in an integrated fashion. They work, pay taxes, and contribute to public prosperity. Among the immigrants there are many well-trained, highly skilled workers, who are rarely mentioned in the one-sided discussion. Among immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria, there are not only Rroma, but also ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians and members of other ethnic groups. Conspicuous immigrants are not seldom simply made to be Rroma ​​because of prejudices. The right-wing nationalist protesters, who rebel against foreign immigration, deny all this. The Rroma are not social parasites, but people like you and me. Rroma are not an underclass, but belong to all social classes. Most of them want to integrate many already have, but are not perceived as Rroma.

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

08.08.2014 Chronicle of the „Rroma house“ in Duisburg

Published by:

On the occasion of the evacuation of the so-called “Rroma house” in Duisburg, Jakob (2014) takes look at the history of the three apartment buildings that housed up to 1,400 people at peak times. Since 2009, the residential complex “In den Peschen”, which had been purchased by the real estate agent Branko Barisic, was in the headlines. It was mostly due to the voices of angry residents who were complaining about noise, pollution, and petty crime. The Rroma themselves – if they really were all Rroma from Romania and Bulgaria, as it was claimed – remained largely unheard and were stylised as a bunch of uneducated poverty immigrants abusing the German social welfare system and spreading disorder and chaos. Again and again, culturalising arguments were evoked, one spoke of two colliding worlds, of the alleged anti-social behaviour and backwardness of immigrated Rroma. That the immigrants are socially disadvantaged families who are looking for better life in Germany was largely concealed. Likewise, that poverty has nothing to do with ethnicity and therefore there are also poor ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians who move to Western Europe. However, that it a mass exodus of “poverty immigrants” into the German social welfare system occurred, as was repeatedly claimed, is doubtful: there were always well-educated migrants, who didn’t receive any media attention. Critical statistics could not detect a mass influx from the new Schengen countries Romania and Bulgaria. Many stayed at home in their familiar social environment.

Jacob tries to show that the immigrants were largely left by themselves in their attempt to integrate and that a little bit more help by the authorities and residents would not have allowed the situation to escalate in such a way: “Little by little, the citizen protests against the Roma mixed with right-wing radicals. In the Internet there were calls to attack the house. In the local elections in May, right wing extremists received nowhere more seats than in North Rhine-Westphalia [NRW]. Pro NRW, which had demonstrated in front of the house, has since then send four representatives into the city council, the NPD one representative. The city saw the Roma mainly as a problem: a year ago, city director Reinhold Spaniel explained in the taz that the “social behaviour of many Roma” was “an impertinence”. The city was “completely overwhelmed” by them financially, Spaniel said. Duisburg feared the influx of other “economic refugees” and probably also an escalation of the situation. The Roma should go. […] While the neighbours were giving interviews to the TV-crews, Horst Wilhelm B., former caretaker, sat separately on his scooter and watched the exodus of the Roma. “They are pigs”, he says later quietly. He meant the neighbours. “They simply did not want any Gypsies here.” They were already offended when the children went to school and made ​​some noise. […] He himself didn’t want to live in the house any longer either, but the city didn’t do anything to give the people a chance in Duisburg. “Maybe”, says B., “everything would not have been so bad if the people had got some help.”” Jacob shows memorably that the integration of the people doesn’t only depend on their adaptability and willingness to integrate, but also on the willingness to incorporate them by residents and authorities. When both sides endeavour a successful integration, integration is usually effective. That this is absolutely possible prove the 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma who live integrated in Germany, often since generations. They are mostly ignored by the media.  

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe North Macedonia Romania

01.08.2014 Halle: alliance against right refutes prejudices against Rroma

Published by:

In response to racist abuse against Rroma on the street and on the Internet in Halle (Silverhöhe), the “alliance against the right” has issued a statement in which it refutes the racist prejudices against Rroma and gives context around the the xenophobic slogans: “Apparently, for quite some time now there were prejudices against several Roma families who rented apartments in Silberhöhe. In the Facebook group, anti-Roma prejudices are connected with inhuman comments and calls for violence. The spraying of anti-Roma and Nazi slogans and symbols in Silberhöhe in the night of July 18th, 2014, we see as a direct result of the coverage of the Facebook group” (Halle Spektrum 2014). A detailed refutation of the common stereotypes about Rroma and “poverty immigrants”, with whom the minority is often mistakenly equated follows: Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. The authorities have experienced no increase in crime, as members of the demagogic Facebook group claimed. Most children of Rroma immigrants go to school and are required to do so by German law. The prejudice of not wanting education is therefore also not true. Another racist stereotype is the accusation that Rroma only migrate to Germany to exploit social benefits and that the majority does not work. This prejudice is also refuted by critical studies: to receive social funds one has to provide evidence of previous work and of payments to social security. One is not automatically entitled to social benefits. In addition, there are also many well-qualified immigrants who are members of the middle class or even the upper class. Mistakenly, it is always assumed that immigrants from Eastern Europe are only Rroma: but there also are many ethnic Bulgarians, Romanians, Macedonians, Serbs, etc. Rroma constitute only a minority in these countries (Halle Spektrum 2014 I/II). An estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma live in Germany. The vast majority of them is integrated, has a steady job, pays taxes and lives in Germany since several generations.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

01.08.2014 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria: Rroma settlement evicted

Published by:

Clashes between the police and resident of the Rroma district of Stara Zagora occurred following the decision of the mayor Zhivko Todorov to evict the residents of 55 homes. The eviction began on the morning of July the 21st. The houses had been built without the necessary permits. Residents and sympathizers formed a human chain and a barricade to prevent the authorities from evacuating the homes. Three policemen were injured in the clashes, as the residents threw bricks at the police. Two demonstrators were subsequently arrested. The administration mobilised nearly 1,000 police officers to ensure the safety during the eviction. Immediately after the evacuation of the residents, the destruction of the houses began. The owners of the houses wanted to claim their rights at the European court of human rights. Mayor Zhivko Todorov answered that there is no way to legalise the buildings since they are located on private land of the Borova Gora park. The residents called the administration to provide them with alternative housing. They said that they are willing to pay for water and electricity. The Sofia Globe (2014) reports that the city of Varna plans to evacuate 200 more homes built illegally (compare Daily Mail 2014, Der Standard 2014, Novinite 2014 I/II/III/IV, Sim 2014). In Bulgaria one has to state that the uncompromising destruction of informal Rroma settlements hinders a long-term integration of the minority that suffers from high levels of discrimination and marginalisation. In Bulgaria there are an estimated 700,000 to 900,000 Rroma. Many of them are integrated and are not mentioned in the public debate about the minority.

Bulgaria Finland News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

30.07.2014 Finland: hard-working Rroma

Published by:

Kosonen/Woolley (2014) report on the successful integration of Rroma in Finland. The Finn Olli Toivonen has employed several Eastern European Rroma immigrants in his property management company, where they provide excellent services. The Romanian Rrom Ioan Ciurariu is named as a prime example. However, the integration of immigrant Rroma remains difficult, because the will to work is not sufficient in the competitive labour market: “Having a job makes Ciurariu an exception among the Romanian and Bulgarian Roma in Finland. Many of his Roma friends are envious of his good luck, asking Ciurariu to help them find work. Ciurariu wishes he could do more to help them but there are not many jobs available to the Roma. “We’re strong and want to work,” Ciurariu says about the Roma of his acquaintance. Mere desire to work is not enough to open the doors for an applicant without qualifications or language skills.” According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, there are 7,000 to 15,000 Rroma living in Finland. They are widely integrated into the labour market and bring higher qualifications. The prejudice of uneducated poverty immigrants, who migrate in masses to Western Europe, should be critically reviewed. Rroma are not more mobile than other population groups. Too often, economic circumstances are equated with the culture of the Rroma. However, there are also many Rroma who belong to the middle class. Rroma should not be classed with an underclass.

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

23.07.2014 Halle: agitation against Rroma

Published by:

German newspapers report on agitation against Rroma in Halle. Around 700 people have organised themselves over Facebook and deliberately incite hatred against immigrant Rroma. This happens both in the social network, as well as adds on public sidewalks, walls, and junction boxes, on which xenophobic slogans were attached. In the meantime, the authorities removed them. The prosecution has taken up investigations on suspicion of demagoguery: “But the anger of local residents become more intense and has gone public. On the weekend, doorways were smeared, among others with the slogan “Roma out”, with the S replaced by the runes of the squadron-SS. On a specifically founded Facebook group, expressions like “filthy pack” and “brutes” were posted. OnemMember of this group is also the CDU member of parliament Christoph Bergner – what has let to protest at the political level” (Wiemann 2014). Bergner, in return, tries to appease and dissociates himself from the xenophobic manifestations decidedly. He wants to take the concerns of local residents seriously but dissociates himself from the hostile comments, he stated. The message about problems with immigrant Rroma is symptomatic of a one-sided reporting, which usually portrays Rroma pejoratively. The difficulties with the immigrants seem to be exaggerated. There are also other voices, which don’t report any problems with the new residents. Not all immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are Rroma, since they represent only a minority there. There are also ethnic Bulgarians and Romanians who migrate to Germany. In addition, a minority should not be equated with an underclass. There are also many Rroma who belong to the middle class. The negative propaganda against Rroma negates all these details. This is dangerous. Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma, meanwhile calls for stronger involvement of the authorities. The state is too lenient towards inflammatory language, as the last election campaign showed, when racist slogans such as “money for grandma instead for Sinti and Roma” were tolerated upon reference to freedom of expression, Rose states (compare Halle Spektrum 2014, Möbius/Prasse 2014, Wiemann 2014).

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

18.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: problem house “In den Peschen” being evicted

Published by:

Several German newspapers report on the eviction of Duisburg’s “problem” house “In den Peschen”, which repeatedly made it to the headlines over the past year. Constantly, the press reported about dwellings occupied by Rroma families, about dirt, noise disturbances, and about increased crime. The allegations combined numerous reservations on immigrant Rroma: they are poor, uneducated, anti-social, abuse the German welfare system and cause social tensions in the affected districts.  However, not all immigrants are poor and many immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are not Rroma. But the polemical debate about the so-called “poverty immigration” suggested just that: a mass immigration of low-skilled Rroma into the German welfare system. Thus, an economic phenomenon was presented as an ethnic problem, what doesn’t do justice to reality.

The large building complex which has 47 apartments has now been declared uninhabitable by the Duisburg city council. All remaining residents have to leave the house in the following two weeks. The building’s residents are also accused of having illegally obtained child benefits. Another common misconception, which is also projected onto the immigrant Rroma: “Although around 100 children from In den Peschen are registered in the clerk’s office, these were not found by the staff during their visit. This may indicate that the children have been reported only in order to receive child benefits. […] Duisburg is particularly affected by the immigration from Romania and Bulgaria. Currently, nearly ten thousand people from these two countries are reported in the Ruhr city. A task force implemented by the city will visit 50 more “problem properties” in the next few weeks, and if necessary issue “un-inhabitability-declarations”” (Frigelj 2014). Once again it must be stressed that there is no mass immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, as critical statistics excluding seasonal workers prove. In addition, immigrants belong to different ethnic groups and different social classes. However, the focus is – in the sense of sensational journalism – only on the problem cases that are falsely equated with Rroma (compare Frigelj 2014/II, Hänig 2014, Kaiser/Peters 2014, Cnotkaund/Mohrs 2014).

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania Slovakia

16.07.2014 A discussion about discrimination: „Why do Roma have it so hard?“

Published by:

Koetting (2014) speaks about the ongoing debate on Rroma in Germany. The interlocutors were the South East Europe expert Norbert Mappes-Niediek and the political scientist Markus End, as well as the audience. Here, a first problem is created: a listener speaks of the hospitality of Rroma in impoverished slums in Slovakia. Despite great empathy, the listener reproduces stereotypes, by equating Rroma with a life in poverty and a lack of education. She speaks of “ordinary people” that met her with much kindness. But that Rroma are not a social class, but rather belong to all strata of society, is not mentioned. There are many well-integrated Rroma, as the numbers of the Rroma Foundation show. The South East Europe expert Mappes-Niediek also confirms this false equation of Rroma with an underclass. However, he admits that tens of thousands of guest workers, many of them Rroma, came in the 1960s and 70s as guest workers to Germany and have integrated successfully. The program shows the problem that one only ever speaks about the visible representatives of the minority: the beggars, the slum dwellers, the criminals. However, the world consists of more than what you see at first glance: the integrated, invisible Rroma, which make up the majority of the minority, also build part of it. Regarding the importance of education, Mappes-Niediek notes critically that education in Romania or Bulgaria does not necessarily allow a social advancement, as in Germany, but that the economic and social exclusion is maintained in spite of good educational qualifications. Most listeners use their individual experiences – negative and positive – and equate them with the “culture” of the Rroma and thus ascribe them a robot-like habitus, which does not do justice to the heterogeneity and especially individuality of Rroma. Many reproduce the stereotypes of travelling, poor, music playing Rroma only apply to a portion of the Rroma. Markus End points out that the media convey a highly one-sided, value loaded notion of Rroma: for instance, an Internet newspaper headlined: “Not only Roma come, but also academics.” Through that, one undoubtedly assumes that there are no Rroma who are scientists, which is clearly racist.

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

16.07.2014 New study: Rroma in German media still heavily discriminated against

Published by:

Several German newspapers report on the latest publication of political scientist Markus End who studied the stigmatisation of the minority by national media on behalf of the documentation and cultural centre of German Sinti and Roma. The study entitled Antiziganism in the German public. Strategies and mechanisms of media communication takes a critical look at the representation of Rroma by and in public media. End did not only focus on extreme, obvious cases of stigma and racism, but rather on the subtle ways of thinking in racist discourses that constitute the basis for the minority’s rejection. One of the author’s central finding is that journalists who are usually producing a differentiated coverage also use the false and prejudiced presentation ways in the case of this minority because they don’t work critically enough with alleged facts. The racist stereotypes are found among all types of media, in Boulevard as well as in so-called quality media.

In the course of the debate on immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, the tendency prevailed to speak of “poverty immigration”. However, this expression was implicitly assimilated to the meaning “immigration of poor Rroma”. Such coded statements are as problematic as open hostility towards the minority. Romani Rose criticises the same problem concerning the use of terms “poverty”, “crime”, and “Rroma”: “problems, crime, poverty. There are many stereotypes who are associated with the ethnic group. “The stigmatising debate has intensified lately, said Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma. The fact that Roma and Sinti are repeatedly mentioned in the same sentence with crimes lead to the fact that the allegations against individuals are made into an identity-feature of all Sinti and Roma, he explained. The same is the case with the allegation of poverty: “Poverty is not an identity-feature of our minority. What does poverty have to do with ancestry?” No group is so heavily marginalised in Germany as Sinti and Roma, Rose states (Ambrosi 2014). Christine Lueder, anti-discrimination commissioner of the federal government, criticised the excessive passive tolerance of discrimination by the German government. It should do more to tackle stigmatisation and marginalisation of this minority. Romani Rose demands from the German government an annual report on discrimination against Rroma in Germany. As the media themselves report about these shortcomings, they – first of all – have the responsibility to do something about it. Therefore, in the future, Rroma should be represented in the broadcasting councils of the public channels. At least, in Germany, in contrast to most other Western European countries, there is a consciousness for the Rroma living in an integrated and invisible fashion, having a German passport:  one estimates them at around 100,000 persons (compare Emmrich 2014, Grunau 2014, MiGAZIN 2014, Neues Deutschland 2014, Rroma Foundation 2014, Scholz 2014, Verein Roma-Service 2014).

rroma.org
en_GBEN
de_DEDE fr_FRFR en_GBEN