Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

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13.06.2014 The immigration debate and the discussion about safe countries of origin

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Hofmann (2014) focuses on the German migration policy based on the currently discussed draft bill to declare Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia to be safe countries of origin. The key point of the debate lies in the estimates of how strong the discrimination of minorities in the states in question really is. While proponents of the draft law point to neighbouring countries who also declared Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia as being safe countries of origin, refugee organizations and left-wing politicians refer to Rroma slums and repeated reports of explicit discrimination. The federal government takes the position that the situation of the Rroma in the Balkans is difficult but does not fulfil the claim of an actual persecution: “Although the economic, societal and social situation of the Roma in all three countries is “difficult” – however, “ a persecution of Roma does not take place.” Eastern Europe expert Dusan Reljic is quoted stating that in his opinion, there is no direct discrimination by the state, but an indirect exclusion through the weak economies that favour the discrimination of minorities such as the Rroma: “In societies where there is less and less to distribute, it is hardly possible for the less educated to make a living”, said Reljic. For Rom who was rejected as an asylum applicant, the return to a Southeast European country means “a catastrophe that is associated with greatest personal sacrifices.” Finding a job is possible only with great difficulty.” The European Union should therefore attach conditions to the inclusion into the association of states as the strict observance and enforcement of minority rights. As the debate shows, there are no detailed reports on the effective level of discrimination, only general estimates. This is inaccurate for a detailed assessment, if ultimately human fates depend on these political decisions.

Demir (2014) criticizes in his article about the immigration debate, that the term “poverty immigration” is used in the political discussion as a synonym to the immigration of Rroma. The immigration from the Balkans is clearly not limited to Rroma, but also includes a variety of other ethnic groups. Therefore, the term “Rroma problem” is inappropriate and ethnicizes a phenomenon that includes and encompasses much more than a single ethnic group. The complexity behind the migration movements, the structural conditions, the different ethnic groups, the various educational levels of individual migrants, the economic situations, the political values of the different actors, all these factors are lost in reductionist modes of argumentation. Simplicity is elegant, but from the viewpoint of a scientific will to truth, simplicity is very dangerous.

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13.06.2014 Tribute to the victims of the Marzahn labour camp

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On June 15th, the state association Berlin-Brandenburg of German Sinti and Rroma commemorated the victims of the Marzahn labour camp. In the 1930s, Rroma living in Berlin were brought to Marzahn labour camp after the rise of the Nazis, in order to “clean” the city for the Olympic Games of 1936: “Thousands of Gypsies were here – between the cemetery and the former sewage farms – interned and forced to work in labour camps before they were transported to concentration camps. […] In the “Gypsy camp Marzahn”, from the summer 1936 onward, at least 1,200 people from infants to elderly were held under inhuman conditions. By the spring of 1943, almost all inmates had been deported to Auschwitz. From there, almost no one came back” (Tessman 2014). The chairman of the state association, Petra Rosenberg, will remind with a speech on June the 15th that the persecution and marginalization of the Rroma continued after the end of World War II and the German government recognized these injustices only after long efforts by political activists (Tessman 2014).

Hungary News Eastern Europe News Switzerland

13.06.2014 Zoltán Balog differentiates between “worthy” and “unworthy” taxpayers

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Pusztaranger (2014) writes about a recent interview with Zoltán Balog (Fidesz), the Minister of Human Resources, on the Hungarian radio station Lánchídrádió. In the conversation, Balog says that the state must “make a difference between problem families and those who are capable, giving support to the government (through taxes).” To this end, the state secretariat for social affairs and inclusion will be responsible for beneficiaries in the future and the state secretariat for family and youth for providers. According to Pusztaranger, Balog differentiates the category of “beneficiaries” into additional subgroups: “self-inflicted fall into need or without fault”; thus “guilt” is introduced as a new rating category for poverty. This is the historic Christian discourse of “the worthy and unworthy poor. […] Since the Middle Ages, the “worthy poor” were the ones who could not sustain themselves for their livelihood, especially the sick, the elderly, widows and orphans. The “unworthy poor” were healthy and able-bodied people to whom idleness was ascribed.” Among the beneficiaries Balog identifies the disabled, vulnerable children and Rroma. The fact that he considers the Rroma as self-inflicted in distress, Pusztaranger deems as being obvious. This assessment is worrisome insofar, because Balog is also the person responsible for the Hungarian Rroma strategy. In his lecture at the University of Zurich, in the summer of 2013, he had pompously highlighted the massive efforts and successes of Hungary to integrate the Rroma. That these promises were not just empty words is greatly to be hoped, however, very doubtful given the latest news.

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11.06.2014 Médias-Press-Info propagates criminal Rroma begging networks

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In a highly biased article, burdened with prejudice, Depauw (2014) from Médias-Press-Info writes about criminal Rroma begging networks in Brussels. All beggars, no matter in what form they appear, are said to be meticulously prepared for the role they have to “play” in front of the passers-by. The collection of funds for a fictitious organization, simulating disability or children begging with hollow hands, they are all said to be part of criminal, hierarchically organized begging networks: “All of these beggars are in reality part of well organized networks that leave nothing to change. The roles and the locations of allocation of each person are precisely planned. The heads of these networks know very well what the average income of each beggar is.” However, Depauw says nothing about the exact structure of these networks and gives no arguments on the plausibility of his own reasoning. Would he do so, the massive prejudices and value judgments in his article should strike him. He automatically makes all beggars to be Rroma, although the ethnicity of beggars is far from obvious. That there is organized begging may be the case, but its organisation, its frequency, and in particular its profitability is clearly refuted by sociological studies. The incomes from the begging are anything but high, as Tabin (2013) shows in his study regarding Lausanne. Beggars that do indeed beg because of poverty are not interesting to the editors, because they do not obey to the logic of sensationalist and investigative journalism. And yet, the journalists could benefit from a little more sense for the complexity of the world. Reality goes beyond villains and heroes.

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11.06.2014 Pope Francis calls for more respectful interaction with Rroma

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Newspapers in various languages report on the invitation of Pope Francis to greet Rroma with more respect. The Pope spoke with Rroma at a congress for pastoral care in the Vatican: “Francis criticized the discrimination against Roma and Sinti in the labour market, which often culminates in exploitation and modern slavery. Also in the educational and health care system, Sinti and Roma are disadvantaged. The Pope called for greater efforts word wide to better integrate Rroma into their countries. Members of these minorities are too often excluded from the political, economic and cultural life, he said. They would often be exploited and be forced to beg. Sinti and Roma are regarded regularly with hostility, he concluded” (Domradio 2014). Francis further criticized the lack of respect for the Rroma in Italy, which he himself had experienced. But he also urged the Rroma themselves for more efforts towards a successful integration: “The reality is complex, but surely they themselves are also called upon to contribute to the common good. And that is possible if they take responsibility, if the duties are just as respected as the rights of every individual person” (kipa 2014). Francis appeal is a valuable contribution to the development of society towards the full integration of the Rroma. However, his statement that Rroma are often forced to beg, has to be treated with caution. The idea of organized begging gangs persists, although sociological studies indicate that many beggars to so because of poverty and are not part of criminal networks. In addition, many beggars are identified as Rroma through the observer’s viewpoint, although their ethnicity is not evident. The reference to the agency of the Rroma is important, but it should not be forgotten that discrimination is often so strong that the radius of action is extremely limited (compare Davies 2014, L’Orient-Le Jour/AFP 2014, Radio Vatikan 2014, Wooden 2014).

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11.06.2014 Anti-Rroma pogroms in the Czech Republic have increased

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Maegerle (2014) reports on increased pogroms against Rroma in the Czech Republic. Of particular concern is the increasing violence against the minority that is tolerated by middle-class residents, or even supported. Maegerle states: “The current Czech extremism report suggests that actions against Roma are the biggest threat in the country. Marches and demonstrations against Roma were held in České Budějovice, Duchcov, Vítkov and Ostrava. […] Hundreds of neo-Nazis tried to start a pogrom against around 350 Roma in the town [České] of approximately 100,000 inhabitants. The attacks were accompanied by hooting and applause from the public.” The right-wing extremist scene in the Czech Republic remains dominated of the “Workers ‘Party for Social Justice” (Dělnická strana sociální Spravedlnosti – DSSS), as stated in the report cited by Maegerle. The party abuses and exploits the minority for its scapegoat politics, in which the Rroma are held responsible for all possible social ills. For the complex economic, historical, political and legal backgrounds of these grievances, for which society is responsible as a whole, the right-wing extremists shows no understanding at all. That it is very much possible to successfully integrate the Rroma is shown by Rosenzweig’s (2014) report on a small town in the Czech Bohemia.

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11.06.2014 Appleby Horse Market: positive stereotypes for once prevalent

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Several British newspapers report on the annual horse market in Appleby. Around 10,000 Rroma from all over Europe come together in Appleby to groom their horses, present and trade them. It is striking that for once, neither stealing nor begging Rroma are mentioned, but rather, positive aspects such as the attractiveness of the horses and the ritual of washing them are highlighted. However, it is also striking that travellers, Irish Travellers and Rroma are once more amalgamated, although Irish Travellers and other travelling communities are not the same as Rroma. Only a fraction of the Rroma is indeed travelling. In addition, the stereotype of Rroma as fortune-tellers is conveyed. Arkell (2014) states: “Gypsies from around Europe descended on the Eden Valley for the annual event, where traditionally travellers parade their horses before potential buyers, racing them at high speed along the ‘mad mile’ before cooling them down with a dip in the River Eden. The fair, which runs until next Wednesday, is the largest and one of the oldest of its kind anywhere in Europe, attracting 10,000 gipsies and 30,000 visitors each year. […] Gipsies come from around the world to meet friends, conduct business, and trade horses, while visitors come to admire the animals and visit the market stalls, palm readers, and fortune tellers” (compare Faratin 2014, The Northern Echo 2014, Williams 2014).  

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11.06.2014 Controversy over “safe countries of origin”

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On the occasion of the current political debate in the German federal council on declaring of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia as safe countries of origin, Baeck (2014) reports on a demonstration in Bremen. All the federal states have to agree to the request. The protesters called the Bremer members of parliament to reject the application. This application is said to affect especially weak, vulnerable migrants, and to undermine the fundamental right to asylum: “The project is motivated by “racism” and “antiziganism”, said a speaker at the rally yesterday. In fact, people should be deterred to come to Germany by law. This is justified by rising numbers of asylum seekers and a low acceptance rate for people from these countries: In the first four months in 2014, a fifth of all first asylum applications came from people from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina – 6,682 of 32,949 applications. If the three states (along with Ghana and Senegal) are declared as “safe”, the asylum procedure is shortened. To prove individual prosecution would become more difficult, asylum applications would be considered to be “evidently unfounded.”” Critics see it as particularly problematic that the new draft law recognises the social exclusion of the Rroma, but at the same time rejects their persecution. By this, the government is said to downplay the real situation on site. The reason for the increase in asylum applications from Southeast Europe is said to “be due to the social and societal problems of the Roma, but not because of a persecution of this group.”

The Green Party politician Claudia Roth criticized that it is extremely problematic to conclude on the basis of the definition of safe countries of origin that there is no real political persecution and exclusion. German interior minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) sees this differently and refers to the support of the draft law through the German population. To which part of the population he refers to and how big this one is, remains unclear (Deutschlandfunk 2014). Wagner (2014) meanwhile reports on the case of a Macedonian Rroma-family, which was deported back to their country of origin in the middle of the night. The family became homeless and the father was charged for the „denigration of the Macedonian state“.

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07.06.2014 Maria: custody adjudicated to Greek charity

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The custody to the blonde, Bulgarian Rroma girl Maria, who caused headlines around the world last year, has been awarded to the Greek charity Smile of the Child. Maria had been taken from a Greek Rroma couple by the authorities, because she did not appear to be the biological child of the dark-skinned couple. The story fuelled racist ideas about Rroma as child traffickers that were deliberately fomented worldwide. As it turned out afterwards, her biological parents, a Bulgarian Rroma couple, gave Maria to the Greek Rroma, due to extreme poverty. The incident also triggered a debate on racial assessment criteria among the authorities, because Maria had been identified and removed from the family solely because of her appearance. It is biologically possible that dark-skinned parents give birth to fair-skinned children. The foster parents were deprived of custody by the Greek court. Soon they will be charged with child trafficking. According to the welfare organisation, the biological parents have not submitted an application for the return of their daughter. Representatives of the Bulgarian consulate had requested that Mary should be transferred to a Bulgarian care facility, which was rejected by Greece. The Greek charity, which now is adjudicated the right of custody to the girl, also circulated racist stereotypes: “In comments that went around the world, the head of Smile of the Child told the media that he believed Maria was “either sold at maternity, or later abducted, for other … begging, they use these children for begging, or later for prostitution, or, even worse, for selling for other purposes” (Neos Kosmos 2014). Despite the rectification of the case by the biological mother of Maria, who stated to have left her daughter out of sheer poverty in Greece, strong reservations towards Rroma as traffickers remain. This can be read in the comments section of the article from The Daily Mail, which is teeming with racist views (compare Die Welt/AFP 2014, Hall 2014, Savaricas 2014, Wareing 2014).

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07.06.2014 Paris: 20 Rroma charged with child trafficking

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Several French newspapers report on a current trial against twenty adult Romanian Rroma. The residents of a former settlement in Seine-Saint-Denis are accused of inciting some forty children between nine and seventeen years to commit thefts for them between 2011 and 2012. Each child is said to have been forced to deliver the adults several wallets and mobile phones per day. Revenues from the stolen goods were used to pay off gambling debts or to support relatives in Romania. After surveillance of the children, the instigators of the criminal network were arrested in September 2012. While two persons are accused of human trafficking, the other defendants are accused of incitement to commit criminal activities. Once again, the explicit discussion of the ethnicity of the defendants suggests that there is a culture of delinquency among Rroma. The fact that these are extreme cases of individual members of the minority is completely ignored. Thereby, all Rroma who live integrated and blameless are discredited. In addition, the phenomenon of child trafficking, as it is shown repeatedly in the media, 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 organized begging, child trafficking or criminal networks (vergleiche France 3 2014, Le Figaro 2014, Le Parisien 2014, Midi Libre 2014, Oude Breuil 2008, Oude Breuil et al 2011).

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07.06.2014 Valls must appear before court because of racist statements

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Several French newspapers report on the decision of the court hearing against the new head of government and former interior minister Manuel Valls. Valls had publicly announced last year that Rroma did not want to integrate, had an extremely different lifestyle than the French, and had the tendency to return to Romania and Bulgaria. The organization “La Voix des Roms” then filed suit against Valls because demagoguery. Now, the incumbent head of government will have to appear before the criminal court on May 28th, 2015. Valls’ lawyer announced that he questions the competence of the tribunal. Only the court of justice of the Republic, a special institution for ministers, is empowered to judge the actions of incumbent ministers, he stated. In October 2013, Valls already appeared before court due to a lawsuit by MRAP (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples). Valls was then acquitted (compare Europe 1 2014, Lacombe 2014, Le Parisien 2014, Schweitzer 2014).

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05.06.2014 “Anti-Roma Racism Is On The Rise”

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Wall (2014) reports on the correlation of a new advance of rightwing-nationalist right ideas in Europe and the instrumentalisation of Rroma as scapegoats for general social ills. Rather than drawing attention to the complex reasons for economic stagnation and social inequality, right-wing nationalists and politicians abuse the minority as an easy-to-understand explanation for these nuisances: “Anti-semitism is once again on the rise. […] Racism often functions as a device used by populist politicians to gather votes. In tough economic times, like the 1930s depression and the current ongoing austerity, racism can be electoral gold for the unscrupulous. If troubles can be blamed on an identifiable group, the racism can be nurtured and made to grow into deep-seated and enduring hatred.“ As a particularly questionable trend, Wall shows that the threshold to discredit the Rroma is continuingly decreasing. He sees a clear link between the political and media defamation of a minority, the establishment of an institutionalized hatred against them, and their physical destruction. Therefore, a responsible journalism is so important: “When politicians and tabloids raise fears about the Roma, we should remind them of where such fears led in the past. Fear leads to prejudice, prejudice leads to hate, hate leads to violence. It is never ever justified. Saloon-bar banter needs to be countered with some stark presentation of the facts about where such banter led in the last century.”

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05.06.2014 “As a Rom in Serbia, life is Hell”

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Schaefer (2014) reports on the fate of the Serbian Rroma family Novakovic. The mother of the family, the 21-year-old Albena Novakovic, lived with her parents in Germany until she was deported as a ten-year-old, back to Serbia. They faced massive discrimination upon arrival and economic hopelessness: “On that day in Serbia, for this young woman, began a life that she would prefer to forget quickly. “I am Roma. And that is the reason why a normal life in Serbia is not possible for me”, she says with a clear expression. “I’m insulted beaten and discriminated against in Serbia. But the worst thing is that I have no future there as a Rroma. No one wants to give me a job. As a Roma, life there is Hell.” That’s why Albena and her husband oppose the plans of the German government to classify Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as safe countries of origin. The discrimination of the minority is anything but a relic of the past. Currently, the family lives in Germany again, in Heinberg. But the fear remains that the immigration authorities knock at the door and ask the family to come along. To return to a home that is not one for the family. Regarding the assessment of asylum cases, there is still the problem that personal experiences of migrants have no value 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 outweights the individual experience.

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05.06.2014 Daily Mail promotes ethnic tensions with Rroma in Sheffield

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Reid (2014) reports on increasing ethnic tensions in Sheffield, England. The immigrant quarter Page Hall is said to have become a social tinderbox, triggered by a massive immigration of Rroma from Slovakia, who, according to the statements of residents, don’t try to integrate into the community. It reports on increasing crime, prostitution, and disorder. At the end of May, a mass brawl between Yemeni and Rroma boys raised media attention (Corcoran/Glanfield 2014). Reid represents the statements of individual residents as incontrovertible evidence of ethnic tensions in Page Hall. However, it is very doubtful that the neighbourhood has become a social tinderbox because of individual incidents. Once again, it is argued with a cultural alterity of the Rroma who, according to the opinion of the individual residents, are not willing to integrate into English society. Various phenomena are mixed together, which must be distinguished for a real understanding of the situation: the poverty and lack of education of immigrant Rroma families have nothing to do with Rroma culture, but are the result of exclusion and destitution. In addition, there are also many well-integrated Rroma who are never mentioned in the media. It is astonishing that Reid attests other immigrant groups such as the Pakistanis, Yemenis and Somalis a will for integration, which she denies the Rroma. At least, Reid admits that the statements of her informants are charged with strong emotions, as is the controversial declaration of MP David Blunkett: “‘We have got to change the behaviour and the culture of the incoming Roma community,’ he said in a controversial statement on the growing tensions, ‘because there’s going to be an explosion otherwise. […] Page Hall’s problems have grown since a very large number of East Europeans moved into the area. At first it was a trickle, but according to figures given to me by the local community centre, more than 900 Roma Slovak families now call it home. […] Given the strength of feeling that this influx has generated, it would be understandable if there was a measure of exaggeration about the newcomers’ behaviour – and it is, of course, impossible to verify all the stories told about the Roma in Page Hall. But one thing is certain: many residents believe them to be true.” Then Reid refers to the notion already regularly disseminated by the Daily Mail: that immigrant Rroma of South-eastern Europe all want to exploit the British welfare system. That this opinion is driven by strong political beliefs and prejudices is not mentioned. Extreme cases are presented as normal and therefore all Rroma who live integrated lives are denied existence. It is striking that Reid uses the terms “Eastern Europeans” and “Rroma” interchangeably and thus discloses her own prejudices: “There is no doubt that local indigenous families and immigrants who came to Britain a long time ago – and who, they point out, have paid their taxes – feel aggrieved. Talk to them and they will tell you that, thanks to our open-borders policy, countless East Europeans can come here and immediately become entitled to welfare hand-outs of up to £2,000 a month and free state services. In Page Hall, I saw dozens of cars with Slovakian number-plates belonging to Roma who have driven across Europe to join relatives or friends in Sheffield. Everyone has a horror story – again difficult to prove – about the new incomers. Mohammed Akra, a 65-year-old who runs the Eastern Eye takeaway, talked to me of East Europeans abusing the child benefit system and having babies to boost their state hand-outs.” Reid conceals the fact that the statistics paint a different picture. The migration to Western Europe has not increased noticeably since the free movement of workers with Romania and Bulgaria. Many Rroma remain in their countries of origin, where they want to build a better future, despite the poor economic situation. Reality consists of more than eye-catching extreme cases, but Daily Mail has still not understood that, as doesn’t Breitbart News Network, which spreads the same information (compare Walker 2014 I/II).

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05.06.2014 ECRI: Rroma in Romania still too much discriminated against

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RTS (2014) addresses the newest report by the European Commission against Racism (ECRI). This comes to the finding that the Rroma in Romania are still too much discriminated against. The commission’s experts deplore the persistent derogatory remarks by Romanian politicians, who maintain and sustain the negative public opinion towards Rroma. The segregation of Rroma children in schools is still a current issue. The report summarizes: “The law on the status of national minorities has not yet been adopted. Moreover, the 5% threshold set for the eligibility of candidates in local elections can hinder the ability of national/ethnic minorities to elect their representatives under the same conditions as the majority. Public insults and defamation on racial discrimination grounds are not prohibited under the law. […] Stigmatising statements against Roma are common in the political discourse, encounter little criticism and are echoed by the press, the audiovisual media and on the Internet. No effective mechanism is in place to sanction politicians and political parties which promote racism and discrimination. Significant hurdles hinder the implementation of strategies for Roma integration, such as the poor allocation of funds from the national budget and the ineffective coordination between the ministries. Furthermore, the impact of these strategies has never been evaluated. School segregation and discrimination towards Roma pupil remain a serious reason for concern” (ECRI 2014). The report criticizes in particular that the Rroma are accused of willingly not wanting to integrate. One also establishes a clear link between delinquency and the culture of the Rroma, what is clearly racist (compare Zonebourse 2014).

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30.05.2014 Bild newspaper portrays Rroma as traffickers

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Engelberg (2014) reported on a case of forced marriage between a German and a Belgian Rroma family. A fifty-year-old, German Rromni – Esma J. – is said to have looked for a bride for her twenty-five year old son in Belgium. Thereupon, according to Engelberg, a seventeen year old, Belgian Rromni was married to the son of the mother. For the bride, the family is said to have had paid 16,000 Euros as a bride price. After the wedding, the young Rromni, which according to her testimony did not agree with the marriage, was forced to   have sex with the groom several times so as to produce offspring. After about seven months, the bride was able to free herself from her husband’s family and she phoned her sister. The groom’s mother was accused of sexual abuse, as she arranged the marriage and is said to have urged the daughter-in-law to have sexual intercourse with her son. For lack of evidence, she was discharged. The presentation of Engelberg leaves many ambiguities open and gives space for questionable cultural explanations. For example, Engelberg claims a clear link between forced marriages and the culture of the Rroma at the beginning of the article, which does not correspond to reality: “Esma J. (50) hides behind her red criminal record an does not want to be recognized. The charge against her is severe and enables a deep look into the culture of the Roma. Esma J. is accused of sexual abuse.” If it is in fact a forced marriage in the sense of modern human trafficking, this should not be trivialized. However, given the unclear background of the events, one should be careful with hasty accusations. In any case, the association of Rroma and forced marriages has to be put into perspective. Although arranged marriages do indeed exist among the Rroma, these should be by no means be equated with forced marriages nor are they the norm.

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30.05.2014 Celebration of Saint Sara in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

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Dunlop (2014) reports the annual procession in honour of Saint Sara in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, taking place on the 24th and 25th of May. According to legend, Sara was the servant of the three holy Marys who came to France as a result of the persecution of the Christians and founded a Christian community there. Another explanation is that Sarah-la-Kali, as Saint Sara is also called, is a Christian modification of the Hindu Goddess Kali. This hypothesis is supported by the Indian origin of Rroma. During the procession, a statue of the saint is carried from the church to the sea. The ceremony attracts thousands of tourists and goes against the usual negative image of the Rroma. For the incumbent mayor of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Roland Chassain of the UMP, this is not a contradiction. Nicolas Sarkozy is said to appreciate riding and the music of the Rroma very much. Immigration policy is another matter, he states. With this, Dunlop points to a contradiction that is insufficiently discussed. When it comes to economic incentives, such as the famous St. Sara festival, the prejudices are happily laid aside for once. However, this tolerance disappears quickly when it comes to the removal of informal settlements, when the Rroma are again the hated minority: “Gitanes, Tigani, Roma, Gypsies – call them what you will, this is one day a year when, in the remote marshlands of the Camargue, they shed their minority status and become the majority. The sleepy seaside town, a stronghold of the National Front but ruled by the centre-right UMP, is transformed, the locals are outnumbered. “I am not anti-Gypsy”, protests Mayor Roland, “but their young are not disciplined, it has changed. It was different 40 years ago.”” However, Roland neglects in his explanation important historical and political upheavals. Not the young generation, the continued marginalization of the minority and economic crises lead to an escalation of the conflict between the minority and right-wing nationalist groups.

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30.05.2014 “Central Council of Sinti and Roma sues Pro NRW”

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Publikative.org (2014) reports on a lawsuit filed by the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma against the right-wing nationalist party Pro Nordrhein-Westfalen (Pro NRW). On the occasion of the European Council elections, the party produced a commercial that openly and with one-sided, emotional means, presents propaganda against the Rroma. The complaint reads, among others: “In the movie, pictures of streets and residential areas that are littered, of aggressive people and of a man in the street with a large knife, this with superimposed slogans like “quickly identify asylum fraudsters” and “seethe with anger, let it out”, are complemented with a rap song, in which the repeated refrain “like a gypsy” (as a gipsy ) is highlighted” (Pulikative.org 2014). The Central Council decidedly denies that the campaign video can be classified under the category of freedom of the press or freedom of expression. Rather, the video explicitly agitates against the Rroma, by portraying the minority sweepingly as benefit scroungers and criminals. This is contrary to the principles of German law and therefore must be decidedly condemned. This assessment is fully to be agreed with. To campaign at the expense of a minority that has been marginalized for centuries, can only be described as a shameless and foolish (compare PRO NRW SPOT Europawahl 2014, Ruhrbarone 2014).

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30.05.2014 German court decision: Serbia not a safe country of origin for Roma

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The administrative court of Stuttgart, in what is perhaps a landmark ruling, recognized the refugee status of two Rroma from Serbia. Thus, it challenged the views of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, which at the end of last year came to the conclusion that no persecution of Rroma could be established in Serbia and deportation was therefore justified: “As reasoning, the judges said that the Roma were experiencing extreme disadvantages in their home country and were forced to live on the margins of society, as a spokeswoman for the court said on Monday. The main reason for the judgment was the restriction of the free movement of Roma in the southeast European country. For Roma, under certain circumstances, it is punishable under Serbian law to apply for asylum in another country. This equals a persecution, the court judged.” The verdict has the character of a precedent insofar, because the Rroma are not persecuted in Serbia, according to a federal decree that will be adopted shortly. Thus, the discussion about the discrimination against Rroma in former Yugoslavia and their status as refugees is once more opened. The decision also highlights that the assessment of discrimination against a minority is far from evident and easy. While some assessment are based on the legal foundations of a country, other evaluations are based on everyday practices, such as discrimination in the labour market and the education system, that are far more difficult to prove than law-related disadvantages (see Focus online 2014/I, SWR 2014).

The federal government wants to take a completely different direction. According to the daily newspaper Neues Deutschland (2014) the government wants declare Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as safe countries of origin. German interior minister Thomas de Maizière stated that Cabinet would discuss the bill on April the 30th. De Maizière had previously proposed, to also take Albania and Montenegro onto the list of safe countries of origin, but this proposal failed because of the criticism of the SPD: “SPD and the Union had approved in the coalition agreement, to take the three states of Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina onto the list. Asylum applications from people from these Balkan countries can then be processed faster – and are usually rejected. […] De Maizière said that Serbia had candidate status as a member state of the European Union. Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina went for it. “From these states one must expect that they deal well with their own citizens”, de Maizière said.” This contrasts with a perspective that emphasizes the individual destinies of those affected. For the German Institute for Human Rights, the concept of safe countries of origin is problematic in itself, because it greatly complicates the presentation and verification of individual persecutions (compare Focus online 2014/II).

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30.05.2014 Immigration policy and Rroma in Canada

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Farber (2014) reports on the immigration case of a Hungarian Rroma family. The father of the family, Jozsef Pusuma, worked in Hungary in the movement against segregation as an investigator of hate crimes. In July 2009, according to the family, a serious incident took place: they were on a walk, when they were brutally beaten up by right-wing extremists, the daughter was unharmed thanks to her father’s sacrifice, he protected her by putting her below himself. The attackers announced that this would not be the last attack if József did not stop his activities. Then, the family migrated to Canada: “Sadly, when he and his family sought refugee protection here, a lawyer hoping to make a quick buck latched on to them. They believed he would help, but he made matters worse. Though armed with evidence of Jozsef’s human rights work and the danger he faced if returned to Hungary, the lawyer never submitted that documentation to the Immigration and Refugee Board. In fact, at their hearing, the lawyer never appeared, sending only an interpreter/consultant. Unrepresented and without documentation of their claim, they were handed an order of deportation. The Pusumas will have to return to Hungary, perhaps to their deaths.” The family has been living in the shelter of a church in Toronto since two years. Out of fear to be deported, they never leave the refuge. Farber criticizes the Canadian government for its deficient asylum policy that does not recognize such evident cases of political persecution. Based on the case described, one sees once more how difficult it is for victims to prove their individual fates. Typically, the decisive factors are the official country reports that evaluate the security and political situation in a country.

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