Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

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16.07.2014 Daily Mail: again racist article about Rroma as welfare scroungers

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In a highly one-sided, racist article, Styles (2014) reports about a Rroma who is said to abuse the British welfare system. The article is largely identical to the text of Rawle (2014) from April 3rd of this year, which also portrays the Romanian Rrom Yonn Lazer as a welfare scrounger, who is said to act deliberately and shamelessly. The repetition of the same subject with the same informant makes it obvious that the aim is not objective journalism but stirring up resentment among the readers. Lazer is presented as proof that the British immigration policy has failed and plunges the state into ruin. Objective facts are not mentioned. Instead, the stereotypical, racist notion is spread that all Rroma immigrants are impoverished, poorly educated, and abuse the British social welfare system. In addition, Styles claims that Lazer is in direct dependence of a clan chief in Romania, to whom he has to give a share of all his incomes. This is another popular stereotype about Rroma, which is based on prejudice and not on facts. Through the presentation of many prejudices, the article makes itself untrustworthy, but reinforces resentment among the readership. Styles vilifies all members of this minority by establishing a clear link between ethnicity and social abuse. Thus she makes herself indictable for racist defamation. Right-wing populist views are presented as if they were objective facts. That these are extreme, individual cases is not discussed.

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16.07.2014 “Memories of Holocaust victims are lost with the graves”

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Stoll (2014) and the SWR (2014) report on the expiry of the concessions of graves of Holocaust survivors. The graves of Rroma who survived the Nazi genocide are more than just resting places to the members of the minority. They are also memorials to the victims of National Socialism and thus have an historical value. Approximately 3,500 tombs are affected. Romani Rose calls for conversion of the tombs of Holocaust survivors to honour-graves with eternal resting right. It is significant that the Jewish cemeteries were granted this status a long time ago, whereas the Rroma have been denied this expression of respect until now: “The chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, has urged the federal and state governments on Monday to do more for the tombs of Sinti and Roma. The graves are also places of memory to the victims of the Holocaust, he said in Heidelberg. […] “If the graves are eliminated, then the families also lose the memory to a part of their biography and to the people who have fallen victim to an unique racist crime”, says Romani Rose […]. He goes even further: he states that the sites are also “learning sites” for the population: through them, one conceive what was once possible in Germany and what appears inconceivable today” (SWR 2014). The Rroma Holocaust was only recognized in 1982 by the chancellor Helmut Schmidt. This only happened after massive protests by Rroma in Germany, who did not want to tolerate the continuing discrimination against them in the post-war period any longer. Rose emphasizes that the survivors’ graves are also places of remembrance for the rest of the family members who did not return from the concentration camps. He appeals to the policymakers that one finally recognises the graves as eternal resting places.

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

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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).

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16.07.2014 Seville: pogroms against Rroma

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Wagner (2014) reports on pogroms against Rroma in the southern Spanish town of Estepa. After a series of break-ins, a mob of angry citizens formed which made Rroma responsible for the burglaries and invaded the local Rroma settlements. Several homes were destroyed. Fortunately, nobody was injured: “The protesters blamed the members of the minority for an increase in crime in the village of the province of Seville. According to media reports from Sunday, they attacked five Roma houses and put two of them on fire. In the incident from Saturday, no people were injured. The illegal rally had been organized on the social networks. The municipality of Estepa had stated the day before that the number of burglaries has increased dramatically in this town of 12,000 inhabitants. They convened an emergency meeting and announced a strengthening of the police forces.” The pogroms are symptomatic for failed European social policies that do not succeed in effectively addressing the social and economic inequalities. Instead, racist slogans that blame marginalised groups such as the Rroma as scapegoats for all ills, find approval among more and more people. A very worrying development that has been confirmed by the recent European elections, in which the right-wing populists gained massively in vote shares in all European countries. A society that disrespects its most vulnerable members – its minorities – is a failed society, as it violates the basic principles of democracy: the equality of all citizens.

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16.07.2014 Stereotypes: illiteracy among Rroma

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Michel (2014) informs about the work of the Hamburg counselling centre Karola. Karola has set itself the task to help needy women and girls from immigrant families. This has resulted in a focus on Romnja, who need support when being in contact with the authorities or when learning how to read and write. Michel puts the focus on the language courses, which is an interesting, but also very prejudiced aspect. Again and again we read in articles that Rroma can not read and write, and that this illiteracy is part of their culture. However, it is rather a phenomenon of exclusion, poverty and lack of education that affects only part of the Rroma. Many can read and write. Michel refers to the study of the organization Romnokher: “There are no official figures on how many Roma are illiterate in Germany. A representative study of the organization Romnokher of 2011, on the educational situation of Sinti and Roma, comes to the conclusion that 18 percent of the 26-to-50-year-olds have never been to school. 44 percent of them visited a school, but did not graduate. For the younger generation, the level of education is higher: Nine percent of the to 25-year-olds did not attend school. Still, obstacles remain – and the worse the education of the parents, the more difficult it is for their children in the school.” The study interviewed 275 Rroma from West Germany about their educational situation, belonging to three different generations. Whether this sampling is sufficient for a reliable assessment of the education of Rroma in Germany – the Rroma Foundation currently assumes 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma in Germany – is not without doubt, because the sample is very small (see Strauss 2011). Karola’s integration assistance, described by Michel, is very positive. However, one has to be cautious when identifying individual histories as representative for all Rroma, and therefore to treat them as cultural traits. If a Rromni reports that she did not go to school because her parents were afraid that she might have a relationship with a boy, this must be seen as individual experience and not as a cultural characteristic. The same goes for Romnja, for whom it was free to decide whether they wanted to go to school or did not go because of distrust towards public institutions. Many Rroma can read and write. As Michel herself states, there is no reliable data on the educational situation of the Rroma in Germany.

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11.07.2014 Far-right groups in Poland

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Zurawski (2014) reports about Polish far-right groups who blame the Rroma-minority for criminal activities. In this dynamics, Rroma are used as scapegoats. Beside actual physical violence against Rroma, shouts such as „Cyganies raus“ (Gypsies or Rroma out) are exceedingly common. Rroma in Poland are increasingly afraid of these developments. Human rights campaigners think that there is a direct link between these groups and the Hungarian extremist Jobbik party. This direct link is denied by a Jobbik activist. Jobbik Politicians were only present to offer to help. The right wing politician Robert Winniki, who said at a rally all Rroma should be driven out, sees in the Jobbik and it’s success as an inspiration for his views.   

Zurawski, Wojciech (2014) Polish far-right groups stir up anti-Roma hatred in the shadow of Auschwitz. In: The Independent the 9.7.2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/polish-farright-groups-stir-up-antiroma-hatred-in-the-shadow-of-auschwitz-9595882.html  

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04.07.2014 Frankfurt’s cultural campus: apartments for Rroma

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Gedziorowski (2014) and Michels (2014) report on the project of the association for the promotion of Roma, which wants to build subsidised housing for needy Rroma families in Frankfurt. The housing project of the association is one of twenty applications for a grant by the municipal housing association Frankfurt Holding that wants to build collaborative apartments on the cultural campus of Bockenheim. An independent committee of experts will critically examine the twenty submissions: “The association wants to realise twelve residential units with space for up to twelve family members. Not only migrants, also German Roma and Sinti should live there. Beyond the accommodation, the place is supposed to be a contact point for “questions of common life” of Roma and non-Roma in the neighbourhood. Residents will be advised and supported with translations” (Gedziorowski 2014). The problem with projects that are only geared to certain ethnic groups is that they cause resentment among other socially disadvantaged people. All vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Germany must be helped. While helping specifically Rroma is commendable, it is problematic because of the criticism of special treatment. In addition, a-mixed housing should be aimed for, and not a segregated accommodation only with Rroma, as this would be the case here. Furthermore, the statement of Joachim Brenner, the managing director of the association for the promotion of Roma, that more and more Rroma come to Germany since the free movement of persons with Romania and Bulgaria, is not really smart as it promotes fears of a mass immigration, a view spread by conservative parties. As critical analyses show, no massive influx of Rroma to Germany can be recorded. Moreover, not all immigrant Rroma are automatically poor and poorly educated. Also in this respect, one should remain critical.

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04.07.2014 Minority Rights Group International: Rroma in Europe still heavily discriminated against

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The latest report by Minority Rights Group International (2014) criticizes the continuing, strong discrimination against members of the Rroma community. For Hungary, the report passes criticism on the lack of protection against racially motivated violence. The perpetrators of a series of murders that brutally killed six Rroma between 2008 and 2009 were only identified and arrested after massive criticism of the initial investigation. The case revealed institutional racism in the Hungarian police. The protection of the Rroma population from parading right-wing groups is also insufficient, criticizes the documentation, for example concerning the parade of right-wing extremists in Gyöngyöspata, in 2011. The Hungarian law enforcement is pervaded by a strong double standard, the report states: Rroma are repeatedly sentenced to harsh prison sentences for acts of violence against ethnic Hungarians, so-called “anti-Hungarian crime”. However, these judgments are disproportionate when compared to the racist actions against Rroma, which are only insufficiently being investigated by the police: “The resistance of the police to considering bias motivation and effectively investigating crimes reported by Roma victims was illustrated by the inadequate official response to the ethnically motivated ‘patrols’ of extremist paramilitary organizations in the village of Gyöngyöspata in 2011, where the local Roma community were subjected to weeks of abuse and intimidation by armed vigilante gangs (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 173). The report regrets the continuing status quo that the Rroma are not or not sufficiently heard in the public discourse. Therefore, it is necessary that the minority gets help by the state or other organizations in combating this discrimination. However, if the state itself reproduces these racisms or tolerates them, little will change in this situation (compare politics.hu 2014).

Concerning Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, the report criticizes the prevalence of a sexist image towards Rromnja. These are presented as hyper-sexualized and promiscuous in the public debate, giving a racist explanation for the high number of children among certain Rroma. The fact that ahigh numbers of children is a result of poverty and of a lack of education, and therefore also occur among ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians and Slovaks, is completely disregarded. Therefore, a demographic issue that affects society as a whole is portrayed as an ethnic problem and thus underlined with racist reasoning. Particularly problematic are sterilisations that are still performed on Rroma without the consent =. They testify that eugenic thinking continues until today and is even actively pursued (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 29-30).

Regarding Greece, the report criticizes the continued segregation of Rroma children in public schools, which continues despite repeated admonitions by various courts. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in May 2013, that the implementation of a separate Rroma class at the primary school of Sofades constitutes a discrimination of the right to education. This was the third court ruling that condemned segregation of Rroma children in Greece. In addition, the report criticises the right-wing party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), who repeatedly agitated against Rroma and was involved in numerous violent actions against minorities. The neo-Nazi movement reasons along highly racist arguments. Member of parliament Dimitris Koukoutsis accused the Rroma of  genetic criminality (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 169-170).

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04.07.2014 NPD-posters: Meeting on campaigning limits

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Schlegel (2014) reports on a meeting proposed by the German federal ministry of the interior on the limits of political campaigning. The background of the meeting is given by the controversial election posters of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), which used racist slogans as “stop gypsy flood” or “money for grandma instead for Sinti and Roma” during last rounds of elections. Despite the massive criticism against the xenophobic campaign, several administrative courts pronounced judgments in favour of the defenders of the election posters, who appealed based on freedom of expression. The offense of demagoguery could not be assigned to these posters, which was stated as one of the reasons for the rejection of a ban. In return, other cities had frbidden the posters, following the pressure from local politicians or because Rroma had filed complaint. The unclear legal position of the controversial posters is the key topic of the event organised by the federal ministry of the interior that will be discussed in detail during this meeting. The viewpoints of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma will be an important part at the event. The council has repeatedly criticized the demagogic nature of NPD election advertising and condemned it decisively. Joachim Krauss from the German centre for research on Anti-Semitism criticizes the argumentative emptiness of the right-wing nationalist campaign advertising, as well as the political instrumentalisation of Rroma by the established parties: ““There is almost never a substantive justification for the rejection, and yet many people do not want Sinti and Roma as neighbours”, says Krauss. The fact that the NPD was able to use the issue, is also due to the other parties. AfD and CSU likewise expressed themselves dismissively towards Sinti and Roma with the term “poverty immigration”” (Schlegel 2014). In this case, a racial discourse about Rroma was established with the term “poverty immigration”, which equates them with social parasites and anti-social behaviour, although Rroma only account for a fraction of all immigrants.

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04.07.2014 Reims: two squats were evicted

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Livoreil (2014) provides information about the eviction of two occupied houses in Reims, which were inhabited by immigrant Rroma. Following a court order, about twenty people were evacuated from the two buildings. The eviction was not primarily political, but legally motivated, as the assistant of the mayor states: “Apparently, the action executed yesterday followed a legal agenda and was not strictly political. The assistant to the mayor, responsible for the security, Xavier Alibertini, announced: “This eviction will not be followed by more.” In Reims, there are half a dozen occupied homes, of which most are located in the city centre. These are identified by social workers who are in daily contact with the most precarious of the precarious” (Livoreil 2014). A community organization, commissioned by the government of Reims in 2013, takes care of the integration of inhabitants of the occupied houses. Several people were already provided with jobs and for four family flats could be organised. It should be stressed here once again that the French press reports in a highly one-sided way about Rroma in France. About 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma living in an integrated way is never reported (Rroma Foundation 2014). The focus lies solely on the recently immigrated Rroma living in slums.

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04.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: prison sentences against Rroma child traffickers

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Nicolas (2014) provides information about a trial against fifteen Croatian Rroma by the French prosecutor’s office. The prosecution requested for five of the fifteen defendants the maximum sentence of ten years of imprisonment. The Rroma are accused of deliberately having instigated minors to steal and to having traded them amongst each other. The children were literally educated to steal, the prosecution states. The charge is organised crime, human trafficking and group theft. The accused are charged with the involvement in over a hundred thefts, of which the vast majority was committed in France. The gangs were allegedly built on hierarchical families, that were lead by a clan chief: “For the judiciary, those offenders, who settled on sites in  Lorraine and Alsace, belong to family structures that are completely hierarchiszed, with up to seven clans operated in the mode of groups that are directed by family chiefs from afar. The operation mode was always the same: burglaries during a few days, aimed at homes in a given sector, virtually raids to find jewellery and money” (Nicolas 2014). With this charge, Nicolas conveys a common misconception about Rroma. The accusation of criminal, hierarchically organised family-gangs, who commit crimes on the command of a clan chief, has been transformed into an unquestioned fact. However, this supposed fact is based on massive prejudices, misinformation and culturalising racism. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. A cultural explanation for crime is necessarily racist and ignores and discredits the majority of the blameless Rroma, living integrated. The idea of hierarchical family ties traces back to the projection of the medieval caste system onto the Rroma. However, this is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important place among the Rroma, the organization is largely egalitarian. In addition, the stereotype of arranged marriages is communicated, which is only true for a minority of the Rroma. Furthermore, the phenomenon of child trafficking, as it is presented here, has to be critically questioned. Social science studies show that social realities behind begging or petty crime are largely hidden. Similarly, the structural differences of the societies involved and any related reasons for a migration from Romania to France. The research conveys a more complex, contradictory notion of the subject and points out that crimes such as incitement to begging or trafficking of children are pervaded by a wide variety of morals in the analysis and assessment by authorities, which deny the perspective and motivations of the people concerned and force on them their own ideas of organised begging, child trafficking or criminal networks (compare Oude Breuil 2008, Pernin 2014).

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02.07.2014 Rroma and asylum in Canada: renewed controversy over minority policy in Hungary

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Katawazi (2014) covers the asylum case of a five-member Rroma family in Canada. The family fled from discrimination in Hungary to Canada and applied for political asylum. However, Canada has declared Hungary a safe country of origin, whereby asylum applications from that country are seldom accepted. The Buzas’ family applied for admission based on humanitarian grounds in December 2013. The request remains unanswered until today. Nevertheless, Canadian authorities have set the family’s expulsion for July 3rd this year. Through the support of the public, the parents hope to avert the deportation: “In a statement to the public, Renata Buzas said she hopes to stay in Canada in order to protect her children. “Each day, my children suffered from mental and physical abuse at school because of their Roma origins. No mother can tolerate that. Here in Canada they don’t have to be afraid; they can be themselves, they can evolve and flourish,” said Buzas” (Katawazi 2014). Regarding the assessment of asylum cases, the problem remains that the personal experiences of migrants are not relevant compared to the official country analyses. Since individual fates are often difficult to prove, the regulatory assessment of the security situation in the countries concerned outweighs. Regarding the case of discrimination against minorities, the security situation is difficult to assess, because the individual experiences do not necessarily correspond to official assessments.

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02.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: Rroma arrested because of organised copper theft

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Certain (2014) and Labarre (2014) report on the arrest of seven Rroma in the Pays de la Loire. The detained persons are accused of having been involved in the theft and organised trafficking of copper. Most of the suspects live in an informal settlement Rroma in Saint-Herblain. The article suggests, as many before it, that hierarchical organised structures exist among Rroma and favour organised crime: “The network was ultra-hierarchised. With a boss, henchmen and assistants. In order to unravel the involvement of one or the other, and to investigate the black market, it took almost a year of investigation by the theft-brigade of Nantes. This was rewarded this week by eleven arrests, the majority in a Roma camp of Saint-Herblain, the hub of the commerce.” The stereotypes of organised, criminal Rroma clans persist. It has often been pointed out that this is not a Rroma-specific phenomenon and hierarchical structures are not part of Rroma culture. The reference to the ethnicity of the perpetrators is therefore completely unnecessary; it only encourages racial prejudice against members of the minority. Rroma are not more criminal than the representatives of other ethnic groups. Already in June, Le Matin (Grabet 2014) reported on the trial against three Serbian Rroma in Vevey, who are accused of being involved in the organised theft and black marketing of copper.

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02.07.2014 Évry: demonstration against imminent eviction

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Lemonnier (2014) reports a rally in Évry, in the south of Paris. On June 28th, Rroma and activists gathered at the place of the human rights in Évry, to demonstrate against the imminent evictions of the local Rroma settlements. The demonstrators marched with posters and banners through the streets of the city to the county seat of Essonne and demanded the compliance to basic human rights that are in conflict with the planned evictions. They also rallied against the unworthy treatment of Rroma in France. In Évry, two informal Rroma settlements exist, with about 150 inhabitants each. The closure of the camps is scheduled for the next two weeks. They were founded in response to the evacuation of a camp in Ris-Orangis. Considering the children enrolled in school, one waited until the end of the school year, the general counsellor of the district states: “From the very beginning, we have said that the camps cannot be created in the long term, says the general counsellor of the concerned canton, Claude Vazquez. However, we waited until the end of the school year to authorise the evacuation of this camp, considering that 27 Rroma children are enrolled in the institutions of our community and to enable them to finish the year.” From the perspective of those affected, this apparent benevolence towards the Rroma is a farce. They demand better treatment of Rroma in Évry. First of all, this has to begin with the reduction of the number of forced evictions. Manuel Valls, who is repeatedly criticised for his restrictive, uncompromising policy towards the immigrant Rroma, was mayor of Évry from 2001 to 2012. The demonstration against the planned evictions has therefore a more political character. Of the 100,000 to 500,000 integrated Rroma living in France, one never hears something in the French media. Thereby, one denies them existence and reproduces a one-sided picture of the ethnic group that is being exploited by many politicians for political purposes.

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02.07.2014 Institutional racism in the British police

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Green (2014) reports on institutional racism against Rroma among the British police. Jim Davies, Rrom and himself policeman in the Thames Valley police force, had started a lawsuit against his employer because of racist treatment of members of the Rroma community. Both he himself and Rroma people being in contact with the police are affected, he states. Davies accuses the police force to have discriminated against him for years because of his origin. In response to the discriminations, Davies founded an association for police officers of Rroma or traveller origin, the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association (GRTPA). In reaction to the accusations, the Thames Valley Police has begun internal investigation into the incidents criticized: “In a statement, Thames Valley Police said it would “not tolerate any form of discrimination towards any minority group”. It added: “In light of the issues and observations raised by PC Davies, a review of how Thames Valley Police engages with Gypsy Roma Traveller communities will be commenced. “This review will be conducted independently and will involve a review of existing policies and procedures to ensure Thames Valley Police serves all of its communities and ensures that any racial stereotyping or outdated practices and procedures are amended or removed.” Davies also states that most policemen with a Rroma background keep their identity a secret, because they otherwise will also be faced with prejudices and discrimination. With the founding of his Rroma police organisation, Davies wants to strengthen both the role of Rroma policemen as well as the acceptance of the police among the general Rroma population.

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02.07.2014 Ireland: investigation confirms ethnic profiling leading to child removal

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Several Irish and British newspapers report the results of an investigation by the Irish ombudswoman for Children – Emily Logan – regarding the child removal by Irish authorities. In the two studied cases, children were taken away from their Irish Rroma parents because they were blond, but the parents are dark-haired. After DNA tests confirmed the biological parenthood, the children were returned to their parents. The authorities took away the children last October, shortly after a blonde Rroma girl was removed from a Rroma camp in Greece. The case confirmed racial prejudice of Rroma being child traffickers, but also proved to be unfounded. The Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, the justice minister Frances Fitzgerald, and the Irish police commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan apologised for the inappropriate behaviour of the Irish authorities. Such an incident should not happen again and one is striving to implement improvements in the training of police officers: “Ms Fitzgerald also met with the families privately and issued a personal apology. “We regret the pain that they went through,” she said. “It happened out of a determination to protect children, but that determination got skewed.” The Government has pledged to implement a range of recommendations – such as cultural training for gardaí and better information-sharing – aimed at ensuring such a mistake does not happen again” (O’Brien 2014). The incident has left a large uncertainty among those affected. A seven-year-old girl, fearing to be taken away from her parents again, has dyed her hair black. The parents of the two-year old albino boy were in a state of shock and despair for a long time. One of the two families has taken legal action against the authorities. The minister of justice meanwhile announced that it was open to a compensation of the families. In a personal statement, the ombudswoman Emily Logan explains the process of her investigation. She comes to the conclusion that the actions of the Irish police officers were prejudiced and clearly guided by ethnic criteria: “After interviewing 42 people and weighing up the information, I concluded that the readiness to believe that Child A, a two-year-old boy, might have been abducted exceeded the evidence available and was tied inextricably to the fact that his family was Roma. Whatever doubts gardaí had in relation to the boy should have been decisively put to rest when his father informed them the toddler had albinism” (Logan 2014). In the case of the seven-year-old, blond Rroma girl, a combination of misinformation by the hospital, where the girl was born, the past experiences of a police officer and again ethnic profiling led to the child’s removal. Logan complains that the officers were asserted in their prejudices by the case of the Greek Rroma girl (compare BBC News 2014, Logan 2014 II/III, Phelan/O’Connor 2014).

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27.06.2014 Fassin: lynching racially motivated or not?

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In his newest article for Libération, the sociologist Eric Fassin (2014) poses the question, of why only a few newspapers speak of a racist lynching of the young Rroma, and instead portray the incident as a vigilante justice between robbed banlieue residents and a criminal youth, both of which are poor. He contrasts this to the case of a young Moroccan Jew, who was tortured to death in 2006 by a group of Muslim immigrants. At that time, no one had any doubt that the act was racially motivated. However, this time one does. Even the public prosecutor denies that the offence was committed with racist motives. The thefts committed by Darius, which are regarded as nearly proven, are cited as the actual motive for revenge. Fassin criticises that the victim’s presumption of innocence, valid until his actions are really proven, are completely disregarded. He sees the reduction of the incident to a vigilante justice between robbed and thief as a trivialisation of the intellectual arson against Rroma in France. Negating the defamation of Rroma by politics and the media, also negates some of the possible motives: “In reality, masking the racism of the lynching is abandoning finding the culprits among the responsible people. In other words, it is the denial of the responsibility of politics towards the increase in Roma-phobia: if this act has nothing to do with racism, it has no political relevance. Nevertheless, the “lapses” in public discourse are so numerous and deliberate that it is appropriate to speak of an actual landslide.”

Fassin is certainly right that in the investigation of the lynching case, all aspects need to be analysed and considered. The racist discourse against Rroma is an inherent part of this. However, one also has to be cautious to jump to conclusions and to insinuate motives of the  perpetrators that are not proven. The investigation has to show what motives stand behind the vigilantism. On this issue, Fassin engaged in a dispute with the deputy editor of Libération, Eric Decouty. Decouty (2014), in his commentary on Fassin’s article, criticises that the argument builds upon unsecured facts and is therefore not unproblematic. Rastello (2014) agrees in her analysis with the assessment that the evidence on the exact course of the event is still not verified: witnesses’ statements are contradictory, for example regarding the exact time of the abduction as well as the number of involved persons. Witnesses on  the Rroma side fear further reprisals and therefore hold back statements. On behalf of the residents, there is supposedly a “law of silence”, which is the result of the bad acceptance of the police in this impoverished neighbourhood. In addition, the offenders’ motives are still not clearly established.

Fassin (2014/III) replies that he goes from the position that the racist discourse is in part responsible for the committed crime. Pejorative words and opinions expressed about Rroma in recent years manifested themselves into a real act of violence in the case of the lynched Rroma. To trivialise the issue of intellectual arson against the Rroma is dangerous, as is the silence of the public on this incident, he states. However, what Fassin does not take into account prominently enough is the social dynamics of the suburbs themselves and the misguided social policy that allows this misery. The inhabitants of the suburbs are themselves victims of mechanisms of exclusion (compare Bilefsky/De la Baume 2014, Fassin 2014/II).

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27.06.2014 Hungary: “living as in the Third World”

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The Budapester Zeitung (2014) discusses in one of its latest contributions the increasing impoverishment of a broad middle class in Hungary. The deepening of social inequality happens despite good employment rates, as wages are not sufficient to maintain a good standard of living. This depletion favours economic, competitive thinking, envy and also racist slogans against minority groups such as the Rroma. The right-wing nationalist Jobbik party was able to achieve a new record of expressed votes during the last elections: “According to the definition by Eurostat, every third Hungarian is threatened by poverty and social exclusion; compared to 2010, the number of poor increased by more than 100,000 people. Particularly frightening are the estimates in the report concerning how many children are affected by poverty. In today’s Hungary, 620,000 children grow up in poorly insulated homes, 200,000 children live without electricity and thus in the dark, 170,000 children and 140,000 children know no toilet, no bathroom with tub or shower.” This finding is very serious because the impoverishment of the youth reduces their future opportunities of social advancement, what exacerbates social inequality: “A recent research commissioned by the pro-government weekly Heti Válasz and the internet portal Origo.hu classified more than two million people as belonging to the lowest stratum of society, whose lives is virtually hopeless. At least, these people will never ascend into the middle class, the GfK market research institute and the Research Centre for Social Sciences at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences found out (MTATK). Because it is much easier to socially decline within society than to rise socially.” The article uses only statistical information and reproduces deadlocked categories of well-educated, networked rich people and isolated, poor people with deficient education. A little more complexity beyond these categories would have done no harm to the article.  

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25.06.2014 Gerhart-Hauptmann-school in Kreuzberg being evicted: 40 Rroma were resettled

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The former school building of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-school in Kreuzberg, which housed 200 refugees, homeless and Rroma since 2012, is being evicted. In a first phase, the inhabitants are offered an alternative accommodation: “After long debates and political quarrels, on Tuesday, the evacuation of the school in Berlin-Kreuzberg, occupied by refugees, has begun. The district authority and the police are trying to make the residents move voluntarily to other accommodations, said a district spokesman. Accommodations are available in Charlottenburg and Spandau, for each of the 211 refugees, according to district spokespersons. However, the refugees from the occupied school shall only obtain new lodgings from the state if they follow the call for evacuation on Tuesday voluntarily” (Treichel/Mösken/Zivanovic 2014). The evacuation takes place on a decision of the district office of Kreuzberg. Many people, especially regarding the future stay of the refugees, criticize the action. Local activists tried to prevent the police from shutting off the building. According to journalists, around 40 Rroma have accepted the offer of the department and were brought to the site of a new accommodation. In contrast to France, until, there had been no forced eviction in Germany, since most immigrant Rroma are housed in rented affordable housing, which, however, also led to disputes. What is astonishing about the coverage of the eviction is that “refugees, homeless and Rroma” are mentioned. Focus (2014), rbb (2014) and the Berliner Morgenpost (2014) even speak of “Roma families, homeless, and drug dealers.” It is therefore assumed without further comment that Rroma inevitably find themselves in a similar situation as refugees, homeless or drug dealers. Why the ethnic affiliations of the other residents are not named, is not explained. This happens only with the Rroma (compare Die Welt 2014, Lang-Lendorff 2014, Treichel 2014). 

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25.06.2014 Lawsuit concerning the Rroma camp of Bobigny

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Jabkhiro (2014) reports on a lawsuit concerning the Rroma camp of Bobigny. The settlement had gained nationwide attention after a young Rroma girl had fallen victim to a fire in February. The residents are trying to fight against the planned eviction of the camp with the help of organizations and a lawyer. The newly elected major of Bobigny, Stéphane De Paoli, requested an accelerated procedure for the implementation of the eviction from the prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis. The city administration’s lawyer emphasised in his plea the illegal nature of the camp, as well as the lack of security provisions in the settlement, which required a closure. The lawyer of the residents referred to the good social integration of the Rroma: 90% of the children are enrolled in school and the sanitary facilities have improved. There is no sensible reason why families in which the parents work, the children go to school and who show a clear desire for integration, should be evicted, the lawyer stated. Why the eviction is discussed in court, since all previous evictions usually took place without the consultation of the settlement’s inhabitants, Jabkhiro does not explain. The elementary school Marie Curie of Bobigny had previously been selected by the government to be portrayed in a short film, to show the successful enrolment and integration of Rroma children (compare Territoiresgouv 2013). The residents’ lawyer complains that those responsible for social assessments, that are required following the inter-ministerial circular from August 26th, 2012, did not exchange any information with the persons in charge on site. In the case of Bobigny, the application of the social assesment did not take place. So far, analyses by officials have been carried out only on a single day and cannot be classified as professional. The verdict of the lawsuit will be announced on July 2.

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