Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

25.06.2014 Lynching and Rroma as social scapegoats

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Willsher (2014) discusses the role of the Rroma in France in the context of the lynching of a young Rrom in the Paris suburbs. In addition to a political instrumentalisation of the minority for political campaign purposes and as scapegoats for social ills, Willsher also notes that Rroma are equated with petty crime, leading to a prejudiced association of thieves and Rroma: “It is illegal to compile data on the basis of ethnicity in France, so there is no evidence that the gangs of children who swarm around tourists to filch money, valuables and wallets, or pick pockets in the Métro, are in fact Roma. Because the word “Roma” has become synonymous with petty criminal and delinquent, the public perception is that they are.” Willsher as well as the people she interviewed have, besides the awareness of social inequalities, no understanding of the majority of Rroma who are living integrated lives in France. In the French media, they are continually ignored. The fact that these integrated Rroma do not call themselves Rroma is a consequence of their fear of discrimination and disadvantages if they do so, something journalists and politicians do not seem to be aware of. Thereby, the wrong conception that equates Rroma with an underclass that is uneducated and lives on the edge of crime, is becoming prevalent. That these ideas persist in the minds of people can be seen in the statements of Nassima Kleit, an assistant of the general council of Seine-Saint-Denis. She admits racism against the minority, but simultaneously reproduces xenophobic prejudices and culturally motivated crime: “Of course, we can’t put a gloss on this and say there’s no criminals among the Roma, and of course we need to change cultural attitudes that see Roma parents sending their children out to beg or steal; but we can only do that by educating them and getting them out of these shanty towns into places where they can live with dignity […].” Kleit confirms with her statements the misconceptions of criminal, culturally determined Rroma gangs, as the Weltwoche repeatedly conveys them. However, there is no ethnic-based culture of crime. If anything, there are massive social inequalities that make criminal activities appear more attractive to certain social layers than to others. As already said, it is wrong to equate the Rroma with a social underclass. There are educated and well-off people among Rroma. Rroma are part of all social classes.  

Bouvet (2014) identifies the latest incident not only as the outcome of a failed policy towards Rroma, but primarily as a failed social policy in France. The lynching incident shows that the social policies of the last decades have not been able to create a social balance: “What the lynching of Pierrefitte tells us is the failure of social policy, which was conducted in France for decades in neighbourhoods such as that of the Cité des poètes […]. The failure of employment policy and integration, not least those concerning the young people, who did not prevent an unemployment rate of more than 35%.”

Piquemal (2014) points out that the incident with the young Rrom is symptomatic of the ongoing expulsion and oppression of immigrant Rroma in France. The violence against the minority has increased. Since one hinders the immigrated Rroma to install themselves in the long term, one also makes it impossible to them to build a longer-term existence, which includes regular schooling of the children, adequate housing and a job. This rigorous expulsion policy must finally come to an end. Nathalie Godard, from Doctors of the World, states: “One clearly notices it on the site: with this policy, groups get fragmented, they are scattered throughout the territory of the department. But still they do not leave Seine-Saint-Denis. It’s always the same persons living here, some for a very long time. We follow the family for years, even if it is increasingly difficult for us to work. This is really complicated. Today, we use our time to find them again. With each eviction, all relationships that you try to create, to treat them, for example, must be restarted again. Everything is falling into the trap doors. I do not want to talk about the school to you! How do you want to enrol children, when they sometimes only sleep one or two nights at the same place.” What is also continuously hidden in the French press is that there are 100,000 to 500,000 integrated Rroma living in France. Therefore, the people living in the slums Rroma make up only a small percentage of Rroma in the country. Nevertheless, only they are present in the media.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

20.06.2014 Biggest Rroma camp in Marseille was evicted

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Various French newspapers report on the eviction of the largest Rroma camp in Marseilles. The illegal settlement was founded in response to the eviction of a camp in Capelette, in October 2013, and was home to around 400 people, including one hundred children. Most of them are now homeless, as the inter-ministerial circular which requires an early social diagnosis as well as the organisation of alternative accommodation, was very badly applied. Only eighteen families were accommodated in a different location. Once again, children, many of whom went to school, are particularly affected. Their further education is in doubt because of the eviction, and the long-term integration of the families is additionally complicated. Some of the residents have been moving from one camp to the next since ten years. During summer, the number of closures of Rroma settlements massively increases in France. In winter, many communities have a moratorium in evictions on humanitarian grounds. Most of the residents will move to other informal settlements, resulting merely in a shift of the problem from one place to the next. Papin (2014) comments: “Hundreds of people, consisting of members of organisations, members of the Front de Gauche and citizens, were present this morning. All request that long-term solutions have to be found. Otherwise, the problem is merely displaced. In a few days, one will discover that families have created another camp at a different location. Without a permanent solution to accommodation, the story of the evacuation of the Rroma camps will remain an eternal problem.” The next clearance of another camp is already announced. The fact that Rroma are repeatedly accused of voluntarily wanting to live in the camps is absurd and shows the lack of any understanding of social inequality (compare Civallero 2014, Fiorito 2014, Gruel 2014, L’express 2014, Libération 2014, Miguet 2014).

News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

20.06.2014 Miskolc: Rroma to be displaced with relocation-bonus

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Pusztaranger (2014) reports on the planned extension of the local football arena into a mega stadium by the right-wing nationalist Fidesz government in Miskolc. To this end, a Rroma settlement is supposed to be removed in order to make space for a large parking lot. To incite the residents to move voluntarily into the social housing in the agglomeration, the city government gives the residents of the settlement a relocation-bonus of 1.5 to 2 million forints, approximately 4,500 to 6,000 Euros. Both the Rroma themselves, as well as the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, which are to receive the Rroma, protest against the project, albeit for entirely different reasons. While the Rroma demand living space in the city itself and do not want to be displaced outside into the agglomeration, the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages protest for racist reasons. They do not want any Rroma in their housing estates: “In the villages of the surrounding area, protest initiatives against potential newcomers from Miskolc have already been started; in the community Sátoraljaújhely, by decree, they are denied any social benefits and public employment measures for up to five years (Nol); in Ónod, an arson attack on a house inhabited by Roma was recently carried out, after the Fidesz mayor had spoken out against newcomers in the media.” In so-called “site visits”, Jobbik representatives control the documents of the Rroma and agitate against the minority.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

20.06.2014 Nancy and Bastia: Several Rroma accused of child trafficking

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Le Point (2014) reports on the arrests of several suspects accused of being involved in the trade of infants. The ethnicity of the suspects is stated to be that of French travellers, the babies however are said to be Rroma. Whether the author of the article uses the terms interchangeably or whether he means a different ethnicity is not evident. The accused are supposed to have smuggled infants from Corsica to France and sold them in Marseille and Ajaccio. Only inaccurate information is available about the exact background and motives of the events. One of the biological mothers is said to have given birth to her child under a false identity to facilitate a resale. By making the ethnicity of the accused explicit, something anything but obvious, the article suggests that the offense is a Rroma cultural peculiarity. This is much more the matter of extreme behaviour by some individuals. Something that is not stressed at all. With this, all those Rroma who are living blameless lives are discredited. The phenomenon of child trafficking, as repeatedly portrayed in the media, has to be critically reviewed, as scientific social studies demonstrate. These refer to the prevalence of criminal explanations of human trafficking over the perspective of the people involved and their backgrounds (compare Ortoli 2014, Oude Breuil 2008, Oude Breuil et al 2011). 

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20.06.2014 Norway criminalises begging

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Numerous French newspapers address a new Norwegian law, which will make begging punishable starting summer 2015 all over Norway. From then on, beggars can be punished by fines and up to three months in prison. The right-wing nationalist Progressive Party, FrP, initiated the new law. The party member and justice minister, Anders Anundsen, claimed a clear link between begging and theft. However, this association of begging and organised criminality is very controversial in scientific research (compare Tabin et al 2012). For the the new law critics, it is beyond question that the new regulation is directly aimed against Rroma and wants to criminalise them. Justice minister Anders Anundsen said in a public statement that the vast majority of beggars in Oslo are Romanian nationals and that many are logged in criminal records. Based on the described case, once can see once more that suspicions towards Rroma are made into alleged facts by non-critical analogies. Neither the membership of the beggars to the Rroma is truly clarified, nor is it clear that all or most of the beggars have actually committed criminal acts. Baard Vegar Solhjell, from the left Norwegian socialists criticised that 200 years ago, the Norwegian constitution adopted a travel ban on Jews. The ban on begging stands in a clear, ideological line with this prohibition, since it is targeting towards an exclusion of the Rroma. Since the proponents of a ban have a clear majority in parliament, the adoption of the bill will be only a formality. Norway had just legalised begging nationwide in 2005. This was shortly before the outbreak of the biggest economic crisis since hundred years (compare Frémont 2014, L’essentiel 2014, Le Matin 2014, Libération 2014).

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

18.06.2014 Lety: protest against pig farm at the site of the former concentration camp

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Several newspapers reported on the protest by activists in several European countries, who objected to the presence of a pig farm at the site of a former concentration camp in Lety, in the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic itself, several representatives of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM) were present. They remembered the approximately 1,300 Rroma women and children who were interned between August 1942 and May 1943 in the concentration camp of Lety. Most of them were then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and gassed there. In Lety itself, around 330 Rroma died, most of them children. They perished of typhoid fever, hunger, or because of the catastrophic conditions in the camp. Under the communist government, an industrial pig farm was built on the site of the former concentration camp. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, members of the Rroma community and human rights activists have called for the demolition of the pig farm and the establishment of a memorial (compare 20 minutes 2014, L’essentiel 2014, The Times of Israël 2014).

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

18.06.2014 Lynching of a Rroma in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine

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Many newspapers report a case of lynching in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine. Neighbours of a local Rroma settlement accused a sixteen-year-old Rrom to have broken into one of their apartments. The group penetrated into the camp and abducted the young man with violence. They locked him in a basement and beat him severely. He was found along the National Road One on June 13th, lying unconscious in a supermarket shopping cart. His condition is critical; he is in a coma: “According to the current status of the investigations, that have been entrusted to the criminal investigation department of Seine-Saint-Denis, the prosecution of Bobigny remains cautious about the facts and the motives of the perpetrators. What is known is that a group of individuals arrived at camp where Darius and his family lived, late afternoon on Friday. According to a witness, the group was in possession of long weapons and opened fire around 17:30 without hurting anyone, before abducting the adolescent into a Clio” (Seelow 2014). The mother of the adolescent notified the police after the abduction of the boy. The victim was detained several times by the police for theft offenses. Lynch-law against minors is severely punished by the French judiciary. A couple, who had imprisoned and abused a fourteen-year-old thief in Toulouse for hours, was sentenced to three years in prison. However, until now, none of the perpetrators of this abuse has been arrested. Representatives of various organizations see the act as symptomatic of the increased intolerance towards Rroma in France. At the last European elections, the right-wing nationalist and repeatedly xenophobic National Front achieved a new high in votes. This act was preceded by a series of car break-ins, which the resident blamed the Rroma for. According to Libération (2014), the inhabitants of the local Rroma settlement have left their home precipitately. Ironically, Manuel Valls, who was repeatedly blamed for racist remarks against Rroma, condemned the incident decidedly and asked for an immediate arrest of the perpetrators (compare BBC News 2014, 20 minutes 2014, Le Figaro 2014, Le Monde 2014 I/II, Le Parisien 2014, Rollot 2014, Seelow 2014, Vincent 2014).

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

18.06.2014 Obrnice receives award for its integration policy

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The Czech town Obrnice was awarded the European integration award for its successful inclusion of the Rroma into social life of the city. Rosenzweig’s (2014) article focuses on the work of the two social workers Milan Grundza and Zdeněk Nistor. They check if everything is in order and at night, send young people back home or tell them to linger somewhere else. The peculiarity of the social work of the two officers: Milan and Zdeněk are Rroma. Their work is said to be representative for the successful integration of the minority in Obrnice. However, it is noticeable that Rosenzweig mentions only positive aspects and denies still existing problems. The mayor of Obrnice, Drahomira Miklošová, sees the reason for the success of her integration strategy in a policy of simultaneously promoting and demanding: “Receiving this award from Strasbourg was a wonderful moment and gave me energy to keep on going. This has convinced me not to give into the negative voices that say that the situation requires radical solutions. For me, it is vital that nothing is freely given – I always say that the rewards are only given in exchange for something else. I will help you, but only if you do something in return. If you take this approach, I think that all cities in the country could make the same progress […].” However, it remains unclear how the integration policy in Obrnice, in addition to the example given, proceeds in detail.

Greece News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

18.06.2014 Rroma and blonde children: racial prejudices remain

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The Greek newspaper Greek Reporter reports on a new case of possible child abduction. Neither the authorities nor the journalists seem to have learned anything from the case of the blond Rroma girl Maria. Instead, they continue to set out from racial prejudice and criteria: a begging Rromni in Rhodes is accused to have kidnapped and abused a blonde, blue eyed, male infant that was with her. Prosecutors demand a DNA test as well as a clear proof confirming the woman’s motherhood (compare Zikakou 2014). The idea of Rroma as child traffickers exists since centuries, as critical literary studies have shown. They are the projection of distrust on the Rroma, who just arrived in Europe, and were accused of paganism and a criminal disposition. These prejudices are an expression of uncertainty in contact with a new group of people who through their mere presence question the rigid power structure of medieval society. However, Rroma converted shortly after or even before their arrival in Europe to Christianity and clearly demonstrated their willingness to integrate.

Hungary News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

18.06.2014 “Günter Grass honors Hungarian Rrom Jenő Zsigó”

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The Hungarian Rrom Jenő Zsigó was awarded a prize by Günter Grass’ “Foundation for theRoma people”: “With the award, Zsigó’s lifetime work is rewarded, the secretariat of Nobel laureate said in Lübeck on Thursday. Zsigó was the founder and long-time director of the institution Romano Kher in Budapest, and chairman of the Hungarian Roma parliament. […]Since the 1980s, he was “an independent and dedicated spokesperson for political and cultural affairs of the Roma in Hungary” The foundation stated.” Zsigó was co-founder of the Hungarian Rroma parliament that championed both politically and culturally the interests of the Rroma and initiated the first scholarship program for Hungarian Rroma, who are still heavily discriminated against in the education system (compare Focus/DPA 2014, Hamburger Abendblatt/DPA 2014, Tiroler Tageszeitung/DPA 2014).

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18.06.2014 “It is time for historians to write Romani history into the mainstream”

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Taylor (2014), an historian at the Birkbeck University in London, talked about her new book “Another Darkness, Another Dawn: A History of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers”. At the beginning, she addressed the intense politicization and instrumentalization of Rroma by politics and journalism. The Rroma are once again made to scapegoats for all social ills and abused in political debates about immigration, debates that are dominated by fear mongering.

From a historical perspective, Taylor states that until today, Rroma are not part of the official historiography. However, Rroma are not granted separate history either, rather, they are ascribed an existence in a timeless bubble untouched by modern life. Taylor wants to overcome this deficiency with her book, and wants to complement the official, popular history with the history of the Rroma. She does it by connecting important historical upheavals, such as the emergence and decline of empires, wars, political upheavals, the expansion of the state of law, enlightenment and social crises with the history of the Rroma and examining mutual influences: “If exploring the history of Romani peoples was a way of holding up a mirror on the societies in which they lived, it was also a salutatory lesson that it is naive to believe in a progressive view of history: things don’t always get better, especially if you belong to a stigmatized ethnic group. […] Carrying out the research for this book showed how the enslavement of Gypsies coexisted under the Ottomans with remarkable cultural diversity and autonomy; how branding, mutilations and ‘gypsy hunts’ occurred at the same time that Gypsies established themselves across Europe and the Americas; and how despite developments in education and attitudes toward minorities across modern Europe and the U.S. has failed to bring anything like active acceptance of the place of Romani peoples within its societies.” Taylor’s book seems to be an interesting, new contribution to the historiography of the Rroma, even though one cannot critically assess her book with her own review. Her book should be read with a critical attitude, as many scientists and Rroma experts, despite their good intentions, reproduce and maintain false information about the Rroma.

  • Taylor, Becky (2014) It’s Time Historians Get Past the Stereotype of Romani Peoples and Write Them into History. In: History News Network online vom 15.6.2014. http://hnn.us/article/155822
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18.06.2014 “Judicial ethics body: citing “Gypsy crime” unethical”

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Politics.hu (2014) reports on a verdict of the Hungarian national council of judicial ethics. The council passed judgment that the verdict of judge Erika Mucs from Gyula was unethical. The judge concluded in lawsuit on the prohibition of the right-wing extremist citizens militia Szebb Jövőért Polgárőr Egyesület (Civil Guard Association for a Better Future) that the term “Gypsy crime” is legitimate, as “criminals” and “gypsies” cicrles would not coincide but strongly overlap. Lajos Makai, president of the Hungarian judicial council, subsequently started proceedings against Mucs. The investigation came to the conclusion that Mucs’ behaviour is unethical and that she broke the judges’ moral code. The latter since she didn’t evaluate the case she was handling objectively. Tunde Hando from the national judicial council said in a statement that the objectivity of the judges must be comprehensible in speech and writing. In addition, a new code of ethics is being adopted, which will be published at the end of 2014 and to which all Hungarian judges must obey.

News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

13.06.2014 Daily Mail: residents of Hexthorpe announce pogroms against Rroma

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Brooke (2014) of the populist newspaper Daily Mail reports on social turmoil in Hexthorpe, England. According to residents, social unrest is imminent unless the authorities take action against tensions with immigrated Rroma. Brooke’s and his witnesses’ reasoning is based on mistrust, prejudice and strong generalizations. It is telling that the Rroma themselves, which are blamed for noise, trash, and more crime, remain a faceless mass and don’t have their say in the article, apart from a photo with youths in tracksuits. However, that they are indeed Rroma is anything but clear. Instead, political propaganda on Rroma abusing welfare is mixed with striking extreme cases. Such journalism is demagogic, as one can read in the comment column. There it is teeming with xenophobic statements and invitations to vote UKIP. This has nothing to do with objective journalism anymore.

News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

13.06.2014 Daily Mail: Rroma-palaces in Rumania accused to be built with criminal funds

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Reilly (2014) reports the Rroma-palaces in Hunedoara, a city in central Romania. The magnificent buildings are said to be built almost exclusively with money from criminal activities. The same applies to the sports cars of the homeowners, who are also said to be paid for with criminal funds acquired in Great Britain. Reilly unmistakeably mixes political views on delinquent migrants with racist prejudices against Rroma. That there are also Rroma who successfully emerged from the system change, and made their money by clever trading activities in post-socialist capitalism, remains completely unmentioned. Instead, all owners of the magnificent buildings are accused to be part of criminal organizations. The Rroma palaces are now threatened by demolition due to lacking building permits: “Gaudy palaces suspected of being built by Romany criminal masterminds on the back of criminal gang activities in the UK and other European countries are facing demolition. Authorities in Hunedoara, a city in central-western Romania, are threatening to tear down the so-called ‘gypsy palaces’ dotting the region because all were built illegally, and many of them are safety hazards. Police believe most were constructed on the back of illicit criminal enterprises abroad.” As Reilly herself notes, the finding that the palaces were built with illegal funds are based on presumptions. Based on assumptions, one should not publish articles that put other people in the pillory.

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13.06.2014 Die Welt defames Rroma through connotation with criminal clans

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Die Welt (2014) reports on a trial against 45 members of a Polish Rroma clan, who is said to have been robbing seniors for money and jewellery by applying the so-called “grandson trick”: “Since November 2012, the Hamburg prosecutor’s office and the department of organized crime (OC) in the state criminal investigations department conducted investigations against the Polish perpetrators, based on suspicion of gang based commercial fraud. After an extensive criminal investigation, OC investigators closed on the family gang, which is regarded as the inventor of the so-called grandson trick. […] For the past 15 years, the police is aware of the deceptive practices of the Polish Roma clan. That the trick is very successful, is shown by numerous YouTube videos, where the family members brag about their wealth.” The reference to the ethnicity is completely unnecessary. Through the correlation of the facts described with a criminal, Polish Rroma clan, Die Welt suggests a clear connection between the offenses described and the ethnicity. This connotation is completely unnecessary. It reinforces racist ideas and resentment against the minority. In addition, the newspaper nourishes stereotypes of organized, criminal clans among the Rroma. However, this idea is wrong. The majority of Rroma are living respectable and inconspicuous lives. Rroma are not organized hierarchically, as repeatedly suggested by the newspapers. This idea is the result of the projection of the feudal, medieval order onto the Rroma. The Sächsische Zeitung and the Luxembourgian Tageblatt argue in the same problematic way (compare Flückiger 2014 I/II).

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

13.06.2014 History of Rroma pogroms in Bulgaria

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Lausberg (2014) reports on the tragic, historical continuity of Rroma pogroms in Bulgaria. The acts of violence against Rroma have especially increased since the decline of the communist system, but actually reach back for centuries: “Racism against Roma has a centuries-old tradition, which was once stronger and sometimes weaker, depending on historical events. Especially after the end of the communist regime in Bulgaria, the Roma in Bulgaria see themselves threatened by violent, racist acts. Resentment because of their skin colour, language and culture as well as discriminatory treatment by authorities, police and judiciary is part of everyday life for the Roma in Bulgaria.” He continues to go into the details of individual pogroms and incidents and tries to give possible explanations for the racist violence. One aspect is economic crises and the resulting impoverishment of broad sections of the population. Combined with a low level of education, more and more people are willing to accept racist slogans in such a situation. Furthermore, there is completely one-sided information about criminal Rroma which is supposed to underpin their alleged anti-social behaviour. Another problem is that racist acts of violence are often not identified as such, but are trivialized as “normal” criminal acts. Lausberg also discusses the various reasons for a migration to Western Europe, which are often excluded in the polemical debate about mass immigration: “The reasons for the emigration of Bulgarian Roma especially to western states of the EU, including the federal republic, are on one hand the hope for better economic prospects in the target countries. On the other hand, it is the manifest racism of the (white) majority of the population, which is also responsible for the emigration. […] In Sofia, and other cities, at the end of socialism mostly teenagers or young adults who hunted Roma formed militant racist groups. On 29.10.1992, a group of students from the Lovech-sports school attacked three Roma in a disco. Three days later, one Rom due to cerebral haemorrhage caused by the blows. On 31.10.1993, the Roma Club in Varna was attacked and the furniture destroyed. In winter 1992/93, begging Roma street children were systematically beaten by students of an elite university.”

Hungary News Americas News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

13.06.2014 Lawsuit: administrative country assessment versus personal experience

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Humphreys (2014) reports on a trial in Canada on the occasion of an asylum application of a Hungarian Romany family. At the centre of interest lies the case of the Rrom Mario Gyula Varga. While the mother and the half-brother of the man were able to present to the court convincingly that they were victims of domestic violence by the father of Varga, a violent pimp, and were persecuted by neo-Nazi groups, the application of Mario Varga himself was rejected as implausible. From the perspective of the judge, the applicant could not demonstrate convincingly that he was indeed a victim of violence in Hungary. Instead, he had argued with the general persecution of the Rroma in Hungary. This general discrimination against Rroma the judge ruled improbable: ““It seems to me that [Mr. Varga’s lawyer’s] submission is that the only reasonable assessment of country conditions in Hungary is that each and every one of its 200,000 to 500,000 citizens of Roma background has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, and that on the balance of probabilities, each and every one’s life is at personal risk, or that each and every one is at risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. If it be so, then Hungary is a failed state. Yet it is not”, Justice Harrington wrote in his ruling last week.” The case shows that evidence for individual asylum applications is extremely difficult to prove. Official governmental countries analyses are juxtaposed with subjective experiences, which usually are express only orally, but cannot be verified. Then, the credibility of the argument is an important criterion. The verdict is therefore also associated with the assessment of the conditions in a country and related value judgments. The estimation of compliance with the rights of minorities in Hungary is far from evident, as can be read in the critical, Hungarian press. Violations of minority rights and rights against discrimination repeatedly occur. Therefore, the verdict of judge Harrington that Hungary is a failed state, if the arguments of the applicant are true, is not that far-fetched.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

13.06.2014 Marseille: forced eviction of Rroma settlement is imminent

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Several French newspapers report about the imminent eviction of an informal Rroma-settlement in Marseille. Around four hundred Rroma, including many children, would be affected by the planned eviction. Several aid organizations protested against the plans of the prefecture. The request for a moratorium on evictions was rejected by the administration. Paul Kopp, president of Rencontres Tziganes, criticized in a statement that the expulsion policy pushes the Rroma from one camp to the next, but changes nothing to their long-term situation. A moratorium on evictions would allow them to plan and implement a long-term integration. Civallero (2014) summarizes: “According to the prefecture, the population of the Roma in Marseille amounts to 1,200 to 1,300 people. In 26 areas settlements have formed, since the beginning of the year, five evictions took place, according to the organizations. In October last year, the largest camp in Marseille was evicted, located in the quarter Capelette of the 10th arrondissement, many families subsequently settled on the site of La Parette.” – In fact, it’s astonishing how persistently the French authorities evict the informal settlements at regular intervals, although new settlements are create shortly thereafter. Long-term solutions are needed. These depend primarily on the will of the policy makers. Does one give the Rroma the opportunity to integrate, or does one continue to marginalize them? Integration is a process that requires concessions and efforts from both sides, the migrants and society, respectively the state. Already last winter, the camp of La Parette was targeted, but at that time, the eviction was successfully prevented. Now the organizations and residents of the camp want to draw attention to the concerns of the Rroma with a poster campaign. The posters show the residents of the camp and ask the observer what are his/her thoughts towards the evictions (compare Delabroy 2014 Miguet 2014).

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

13.06.2014 Rroma in the Czech Republic: between self-determination and discrimination

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Schultheis (2014) reports on the Czech-German project “Roma-generation 2.0”. The aim of the project is to motivate the young generation of Rroma to break out of the victim role and to determine and shape their own future as far as possible. This in spite of the fact that the discrimination against Rroma is still strong, and there is marginalization especially in schools and in the labour market. Around one third of Rroma children are assigned to special schools for mentally disabled, which is clearly racially motivated and fighting such assignments is beyond the power of the Rroma alone. However, an active self-determination is an important first step to overcoming exclusion and towards the abolition and prohibition of segregation. Martina Horváthová, of the organizing committee of the project, explains: “The aim of this project is to talk to young Roma and non-Roma about what it means to be an active citizen. We want to give young people opportunities to demonstrate how they can get involved. We Roma have the right to use all opportunities of EU-membership – just like everyone else. Roma must stop to stigmatize themselves to a discriminated minority.” Magdalene Karvanov, from the Open Society Foundations, is committed to get Rroma parents actively engaged on the educational opportunities of their children: “We want that Roma parents become major players themselves and fight for better educational opportunities for their children. Through our campaign, we have managed to give them greater self-confidence. When we asked the parents before the campaign, what career they wished for their children, they said I do not know, they will probably live on welfare. And now they say: my child should become a doctor or lawyer. They have higher expectations and get more active themselves.”

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13.06.2014 Swiss Federal office for migration accuses Rroma of abuse of return assistance

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Von Burg (2014) reports on a new report by the federal office for migration. An external evaluation of the federal office comes to the conclusion that the return assistance is functioning well, but in some cases has issues. The abuse of return assistance through Eastern European Rroma is cited as an example. Thereby a poverty phenomenon that also concerns other ethnic groups is made to be a Rroma problem. As part of the immigration debate in France, Germany and Great Britain on the occasion of the free movement of persons with Romania and Bulgaria, one can observe repeatedly that Rroma represented according to political views and debates and exploited for them. Such a categorization is racist something that does not seem to come to the mind of Von Burg and the migration commissioner Eduard Gnesa. However, the following statements are clearly demagogic: “It was the Roma from Eastern Europe, who specifically exploited the system of return assistance: they made hopeless asylum applications and then travelled back home with repatriation grants of up to 4000 francs per head. The Swiss special commissioner for international cooperation on migration, Eduard Gnesa, says: «From this example one can prove it. If you give too much money, this leads to this effect.» Roma don’t receive return assistance anymore since two years.” How these people were identified as Rroma is not clear. Was it from their asylum applications or by other means? The refusal of return aid for a specific ethnic group is simply racist. The fact that members of other ethnic groups can also exploit the return assistance because of poverty is completely neglected. Eduard Gnesa and Christian von Burg show no understanding for the differentiation of different phenomena. Instead, they present the issue as if it were exclusively Rroma that take advantage of return assistance. Thereby, the federal office for migration, which is indirectly mentioned as the source of information and should be aware of such methodologies as the very first, practices an ethnicization of poverty phenomena. However, poverty has nothing to do with ethnicity, apart from the exclusion that leads to it. That the federal office for migration does not understand this is deeply upsetting and very thought provoking.  

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