Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

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04.04.2014 Stereotypes of criminal Rroma gangs

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20 Minuten (2014) reports on tricksters in the canton Aargau. The number of offenses, which were carried out by con artists, is said to have increased rapidly in recent times. This information is followed by a detailed description of the specific offenses and the appearances of the offenders, who are said to have dark hair. The remark at the end of the article, which states that the perpetrators are mostly Rroma is problematic: “According to the police, it mostly involves Roma, who are travelling in cars with foreign licenses. Victim of con artists are predominantly elderly people.”  The reference to the ethnicity of the perpetrators is unnecessary; it merely encourages racial prejudice against members of the minority. Rroma are not more criminal than members of any other ethnic groups. To ascribe them a culturally related delinquency lacks any reason and respect. Stereotypical notions of criminal Rroma gangs can be found in Western Europe since the 15th century. They have survived to the present day.

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02.04.2014 The Rroma and the French mayoral elections

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Rigaux (2014) discusses the relationship between French mayoral elections and the Rroma. The latter played a prominent role in the campaign, often in the figure of a scapegoat for social ills or in the form of slums. The frightening thing about the terminologies “Rroma question” and “Rroma problem” is their inevitable reference to the “Jewish question” under National Socialism. However, in the case of France, the important question is how to integrate immigrant Rroma as successfully as possible. To accuse them of a cultural unwillingness to integrate is counterproductive. But precisely this happened again and again in the course of the election campaign. Another point of contention are the so called “integration villages”, which are meant to facilitate the integration of the Rroma immigrants into French society. The proponents see the integration villages as a positive method to prevent the emergence of slums, to promote the enrolment of children in schools, to prevent begging and other unwanted activities and to foster the willingness to integrate among the immigrants. Critics fault the high cost of the institutions and see it as unfair advantage for one ethnic group at the expense of other taxpayers. In this discussion about the integration measures for immigrant Rroma, once more only the visible Rroma are in the focus. The ones who are living an integrated life in France, making up between 100,000 and 500,000 persons, are never addressed or considered in these discussions.

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02.04.2014 The Spiegel reinforces notions of criminal Rroma families

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Lehberger (2014) reports on the indictment of several members of the Goman family, “a network of Roma clans related by blood or marriage, whose exact relationships gives headaches to authorities. Not all members of the group are criminal. A demarcation […] is a challenge due to complex family ties.” The defendants are alleged to have defrauded seniors of tens of thousands of Euro through deliberate fraud. The initial differentiation, that not all family members were involved in criminal activities, is soon after followed by mentioning the Mannheim investigation unit “Cash Down”. This police group is said to be specialized in the analysis of criminal structures among Roma clans. If this is true, the Mannheim police actually makes itself punishable. Investigations directly aimed at ethnicity are illegal. They violate the anti-discrimination legislation. The article further nourishes stereotypes of Rroma kings, who supposedly coordinate criminal activities. If Lehberger were not explicitly referring to ethnic peculiarities, discrediting of the described individuals would be understandable, due to the offenses they are accused of. However, in this fashion an inevitable connection between the events and ethnic membership to the Rroma is made, which unjustifiably discredits a whole minority.

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02.04.2014 “Cause commune” shows the possibility of successful integration

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The documentary “Cause commune” by Sophie Averty shows the positive example of successful integration by five immigrant Rroma families. In the municipality of Indre, in the Loire-Atlantique, citizens, politicians, and immigrants together committed for a successful integration of immigrant families. The downside of this policy was the selection of the immigrant Rroma families, with five chosen. The rest were referred to other communities. Averty sums up: “The necessary condition is a commitment on the part of citizens and politics as well as the desire of families to integrate. The first approach of the mayor was to refuse the eviction in order to avoid the application of a pass the buck policy. And that changed everything for the families. […] The mayor, who based his views on the knowledge of the community police and the citizens collective, selected five families. Today, all the men work, the women do housework and the children are enrolled in school. But there are no supports payments! Each family pays a rent, water, electricity, the canteen of the children and there are no delays” (Barbier 2014).

Bulgaria Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

02.04.2014 Criminalization of Rroma in Duisburg

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Cnotka (2014) reports on the official cancellation of Rroma registered in Duisburg. The administration of Duisburg is said to have deliberately deleted many Rroma from the local registry, particularly the ones residing in the disputed tenement “In den Peschen”. However, the persons concerned are still resident there. This procedure is said to consciously push the concerned Rroma outside the law and enable their arrest and deportation. This viewpoint is contradicted by the city of Duisburg, which denies any criminalization of immigrated people: “Rolf Karling from the association “citizens for citizens” says that the city takes the Roma all their rights by unsubscribing them from the registry: “you can arrest and deport the people now at any time.” This view was contradicted by the city of Duisburg […]: Bulgarians and Romanians can stay legally and without a special permit in Germany. Just because they are not reported in Germany, they can not be arrested or deported.” Eduard Pusic, from integration organization “Zof”, claims that the Rroma were deregistered under pressure from the owner of the tenement. Overall, one could see anyhow an exodus into the districts Meiderich and Homberg. The Rroma of the tenement “In den Peschen” were repeatedly in the focus of a heated debate about immigration from Eastern Europe during last year. Polemicists instrumentalised this house and its inhabitants as a negative example of a “culture war” between Germans and Southeast-European immigrants. The integrated, unobtrusive Rroma, which make up the majority, were again once more not heard. Sanches (2014) quotes interior minister Thomas de Maizière, who, regarding the immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, claims that an above-average number of people from those countries would abuse social benefits. He contradicts several statistics and findings that cannot detect any additional usage of social benefits by immigrants from this region. These alleged facts are in fact emotionally charged views on an alleged mass immigration into the German social welfare system.

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02.04.2014 Elections in Hungary: Hungarian Rroma party (Magyarországi Cigány Part, MCP) aims to strengthen the rights of the Rroma

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Murphy (2014) reports about the Hungarian election campaign on the occasion of the forthcoming parliamentary elections of the 6th of April. On this occasion, the newly established Rroma party Magyarországi Cigány Part tries to give more emphasis to the concerns of the Rroma. The president of the party, Aladar Horvat, held a campaign speech before the residents of Ozd, a former industrial city, with a majority of Rroma: “If we stick together, we can fix our problems. No one else will”, the soft-spoken 49-year-old told Agence France-Presse in Ozd, a rusting former industrial town right on the Slovakian border. Vast steelworks once employed thousands of Roma in Ozd, a town of about 34,000 inhabitants, but today, they lie derelict. Widespread unemployment and poverty has fuelled mistrust against the Roma, and far-right party Jobbik – the country’s third biggest party – is building on that anger.” So far, there were only two Rroma politicians in the 386-member parliament of Hungary, two of them members of the ruling party Fidesz. Murphy describes the distrust of many Rroma against the Hungarian politicians as being massive. The consistent poverty and discrimination over the years made many lose their faith in politics. In addition, several Rroma criticized that a party focusing on ethnic membership was not working in the sense of a successful integration, but would rather make it more difficult.

Bulgaria France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

02.04.2014 Insidious racism in France

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Several French newspapers report on the latest publication of the National Commission for Human Rights (CNCDH). The commission concludes that racism in France is in overall decline, but that it has become more insidious, subtle and sneaky as a result. Christine Lazerges, the president of the commission, concludes: “In the long view, racism in France decreases, the time of the riots is long gone, but the racism that is propagated today is much more insidious and no longer limited to the extremist edges. It pervades all strata of society.  […] The scapegoats today are particularly Rroma, who are stigmatized, including from the government, and then the Arab Muslims.” Whether the time of racially motivated riots actually belongs to the past may be doubted. Marches of right-wing groups against ethnic minorities such as the Rroma regularly take place in several Eastern European countries. The results of a recent survey, mandated by the commission, makes clear that negative stereotypes towards the Rroma are persisting in the minds of many people. 85% of the thousand respondents said that they believed that Rroma often exploit children and 78 % that they live of theft and the black market. In addition, the suspicion towards anti-racism actors is said to be significant. The commission recommends to continuously foster the education of the population, because it has been shown that there is a clear link between educational alienation and racism. The commission’s authors acknowledge that the Rroma are a heterogeneous group and are not belonging to a homogeneous culture or a single religion. However, they mistakenly assume that the Rroma live in France only since the early 20th century (CNCDH 2014: 201). However, they appear in France in early chronicles since the beginning of the 15th century. Tassel (2014) emphasizes the particular context in which the book is published. On the weekend of March 30th, the right-wing nationalist National Front, which bases significant parts of its policies on xenophobia, achieved a new high in the electorate. In addition, a new Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, has been inaugurated. He is notorious for his repressive policies towards the Rroma. The commission also emphasises the distinction between visible and invisible Rroma, a differentiation that has been fostered by the Rroma Foundation for quite some time: “Only a small minority of the Rroma define themselves in this way – between 15,000 and 20,000, who generally originate of a recent immigration from Bulgaria and Romania – live in a very large uncertainty, that means in the slums. The others are not “visible” and do not live in a state of extreme poverty. The vast majority consists of Gens du voyage, an estimated 350,000 people” (CNCDH 2014: 201-202). This view is contradicted by Tcherenkov/Laederich (2004: 4, 513), who make a clear distinction between travellers of European origin and Rroma. The latter are almost invariably not travelling and belong to the groups of the Manouche, Sinti, Gitans, Kaldersha, Lovara and Yugoslav Rroma (20 minutes 2014, La Croix 2014, CNCDH 2014, Tassel 2014, Vincent 2014).

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02.04.2014 Invisible Rromni in the book “Baxtale Romnia”

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The Nordstadtblogger (2014) reports on the publication of the book “Baxtale Romnia” by Magdalena Stengel and Helene Pawlitzki. Together, the photographer and the journalist visited integrated Rromnia living in Germany, England, France, the Netherlands, and Hungary. In the book, these invisible Rromnia give information on their lives, their decisions and their favourite recipes. Through that, they create positive counter-images to the persistent negative stereotypes about Rroma: “street prostitution, poverty, problematic houses, welfare fraud, truants: with these keywords, media report on Sinti and Roma in Germany. In contrast, success stories are all but missing: about well-integrated, educated, successful and creative Romnia one rarely reads or hears […] These are women who have succeeded in securing a nice place in life – sometimes against considerable opposition, says the author of the book-texts, Helene Pawlitzki […]. They are self-confident, successful, strong, and they know what they want. What life has thrown at their feet, they have taken up and made the best of it. For us their life stories were very inspiring.” The book launch will take place on April 4th in the Nordstadtgalerie in Dortmund.

  • Nordstadtblogger (2014) “Baxtale Romnia” zeigt erfolgreiche Roma-Frauen aus Europa: Studentinnen präsentieren ihr fotografisches Kochbuch. In: Nordstadtblogger online vom 30.3.2014. http://nordstadtblogger.de/10114
France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

02.04.2014 Manuel Valls and the French Rroma policy

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Manuel Valls is the new prime minister of France. President François Hollande is taking the consequences of the bad result the Socialists made in the French municipal elections. Valls is notorious for his repressive policies towards Rroma. Cécile Duflot, the minister for social housing, criticized Valls policy repeatedly in the past two years and described it as a threat to the Republican pact. Valls accused the immigrant Rroma sweepingly of not wanting to integrate, whereby justifying his repressive policy of forced evictions and deportations, which is no less rigid than the one of the Sarkozy government. He also spoke out against voting rights for foreigners, which was not implemented until now. Duflot will no longer be a minister in the Valls’ government (Beguin 2014, Le Figaro in 2014, Le Point 2014 Metro News 2014).

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02.04.2014 Pierre-Alexandre Bouclay’s supposed truths about the Rroma

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Bouclay (2014) offers himself as revelator of hitherto undisclosed grievances of the Rroma in France. He claims that the French welfare system fosters organised crime amongst Rroma through its humane legislation against minor offenders. That the ideas of organised gangs build upon suspicions and cultural stereotypes about Rroma is not discussed here. This is also the case about his massive criticism of the EU-funds for the Rroma integration, which he dismisses as largely ineffective because they are said to disappear in the black economy. That these are rather problems of coordination between EU-policies and national policy programs, he totally denies: “A circular on minors from 1945 prohibits that a child is placed under police custody. In 2012, 8’000 Rroma children were arrested at least once in Paris. They are systematically released. The mafia networks didn’t expect as much. With humanism and indulgences, one promotes the spread of organized crime. 17.5 billion Euros were assigned by the European Commission for the integration of the Rroma for the period of 2007 till 2013. It is of public notoriety that a significant proportion of these funds was diverted to fraudulent organizations and corrupt politicians. A part of this assistance is blocked today, due to lack of transparency.” Bouclay’s supposed revelations about Rroma and inefficient EU-funds build on crude generalisations and assumptions. What he represents as a public general knowledge are rather myths of public opinion, an opinion, which satisfies itself with simple explanations, regardless of their truthfulness. More critical, complex analysis would not hurt Bouclay.

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29.03.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Sweden

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Several newspapers report on the publication of a white paper by the Swedish government which discusses the discrimination against Rroma in Sweden. The Swedish minister of interior, Erik Ullenhag, announced in a public statement that the discrimination against Rroma in Sweden was especially large at the beginning of the 20th century, but still remains today. He said that he was shocked about how much this contempt towards this minority was anchored in history. This is reflected in the fact that even today many still keep their identity secret to the outside world. The publication also deals with discrimination at the workplace, denial of suffrage, schooling, child benefits and pensions, as well as racial biology registrations and forced sterilization. Om the occasion of the publication of the white paper, the chairman of the Rroma council of Gothenburg experienced herself during her stay in Stockholm that reservations towards Rroma are still massive. Employees of the Sheraton Hotels denied her access to the dining room, when she tried to enter the room in a traditional Rroma dress in the morning: “She was staying at the four-star Sheraton Hotel, a stone’s throw away from parliament and the government quarter, but when the 45-year-old went down for breakfast she was offered a modern-day example of the discrimination that the white-paper on Tuesday admitted had been endemic in Sweden. Nyman, who wears a traditional wide black skirt and frilly blouse and who recently fielded questions about beggars in an online chat, said she was almost knocked over by a staff member who rushed to bar the Roma expert and speaker from entering the breakfast room.” Nyman is particularly shocked by the fact that the hotel manager did not excuse the behaviour of the staff, but even justified it. A few days later only, the manager apologized in an open letter for the discriminatory treatment of the Rromni (Government Offices of Sweden 2014, The Local 2014/I, The Local 2014/II, The Local 2014/III, The Local 2014/IV, NZZ 2014).

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29.03.2014 General attorney Rolf Grädel reinforces racial prejudice

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Summer (2014) reports on the results of a recent crime statistic for the canton Bern. Overall, less violence was committed in 2013. On the other hand, the number of burglaries has risen. At this point, Summer begins to talk about crime-tourism. As a source of information, the general attorney of Bern Rolf Grädel is quoted. Grädel reinforces racial prejudices of criminal Rroma networks: “For them, our country is not only attractive because of the prey, also, the risk of getting caught is not very high, Grädel” said. Moreover, in Switzerland, the penalties imposed would hardly deter the perpetrators from committing further crimes. In Roma circles in France, there is apparently a leaflet circulating, which recommends Switzerland as a destination, because the penalties are significantly milder there than anywhere else.” This statement is highly racist, because it implies a direct correlation between ethnicity and criminal offenses. It would not hurt Rolf Grädel to choose his words a little more carefully. The cliché of hierarchically organized Rroma networks, which educate children to become criminals, stubbornly persists. Especially the Weltwoche cites it regularly. However, these ideas are based on suspicions and crude generalizations, which is almost never discussed. Real complexity is replaced here by one dimensional explanation that present reality in a very biased way. 

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

29.03.2014 Racism-lawsuit against Jacques Domergue

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The French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed a lawsuit against the UMP politician Jacques Domergue. Domergue said in public, on the occasion of the mayoral elections of Montpellier that: “The Rroma have no place in the city centre. I tell you very clearly. I will be very uncompromising concerning security (…). I am on the line of Estrosi. I see today how Rroma attack young people and old ladies at cash machines. I will not tolerate this. Without further ado, they will disappear from the city centre.” Domergue is not alone with his racist remarks. Last year, many French politicians, from left to right, from candidates to elected ministers, made racist remarks against Rroma. At least, the French law doesn’t tolerate these transgressions passively. However, whether the lawsuits, whose verdicts usually turn out very mild, will change something in this practice is not clear (Dubault 2014, Le Figaro 2014).

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29.03.2014 Rroma writer Hejkrlíková: giving Rroma a voice

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Fischer (2014) reports on Jana Hejkrlíková, a Rromni writer from the Czech Republic. She experienced life before and after the Prague Spring. She describes the political event as a turning point in her life and that of many other Rroma: “When I was little, my life was very different than elsewhere in the Czech Republic”, translates Veronika Patočková, co-initiator of the book tour, the conversation into German. Jana Hejkrlíková lived together with her mother, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins in a house. “You could not disguise or retreat yourself. They were all around you.” The law of the Roma provides for that. The family as a refuge, as a home. However, the situation changed with the so-called normalization after the Prague Spring. Large Roma families were torn apart, resettled into small families. “Since, I have lived in two worlds”, says Hejkrlíková. [ … ] “In school, we had to pretend as if we were Czechs”, she says. Their language was prohibited. Most Roma children were sent to special schools, which often still happens today.” For Hejkrlíková, it is important to point out to the public that there are Rroma writers too. She aims to deconstruct prejudices with her books and to demonstrate similarities between Rroma and Gadje (compare Weser Kurier 2014).

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29.03.2014 The integration of the Rroma: poverty or minority problem?

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Alexander/Bewarder (2014) spoke with the CDU-politician Gerda Hasselfeldt on the issue of the social integration of Rroma. Hasselfeldt visited Romania for a three-day state visit and spoke with local political leaders on the issues of migration, Rroma and poverty. Hasselfeldt minted the much-cited and controversial phrase “He who is cheating flies”. However, she speaks decidedly for the free movement of people, which for her is not open to discussion. This is not without problems as Hasselfeldt explicitly identifies the subject as a Rroma-problem. As Mappes-Niediek has stressed on several occasions, the ethnicization of a poverty problem hinders the social integration of Rroma. This does not mean that Rroma are not affected by ethnic discrimination, but the term “Rroma-problem” inevitably implies a cultural component. Not surprisingly, Hasselfeldt also invokes cultural explanations: “The problems are very complex. We must, for example, deal with, why the Roma in Romania are so hard to integrate. One reason is probably some completely different values, which were described to us several times in conversations. For example, many girls from Roma families are already married at the age of twelve. This is unimaginable for us and frightens me.” The insistence on different values is based on stereotypes that are not true for many Rroma. Arguing with them is counter-productive and impedes the integration of the minority. This can be read in the comment section of the article, where many false prejudices are cited.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

26.03.2014 French mayoral elections: Rroma give their requests a voice

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Courtel (2014) reports on a group of Romanian Rroma who made use of their right to vote as EU-citizens and participated in the French municipal elections in Tourcoing. In addition to their EU-citizenship, they had to prove to be members of their community since more than six months. The participation of immigrant Rroma has mainly socio-political symbolism: in the media, they are accused again and again to not wanting to integrate. Now, they could actively demonstrate their desire for integration with their participation in the elections. Whether their specific demands – access to the labour market, material security – will be heard by the by the elected politicians is another question. Also in other municipalities in France, immigrant Rroma – which are usually visible in the media in contrast to the integrated ones – went voting: “The Rroma from Tourcoing are not the only ones: in Villeurbanne, in Saint-Denis, in Vitry … they also wanted to make use of their European legal rights and go voting. Some of them had access, the request of others was denied, under the pretext that they had no fixed domicile.” Based on the last example, the deprivation of the right to vote as a result of an ascribed homelessness, one can see how cultural stereotypes continue to influence reality. Most Rroma are not travellers.

On occasion of the French mayoral elections, Mathis (2014) reviews the statements of interior minister Manuel Valls towards Rroma. In September 2013, he alleged all Romanian Rroma a general unwillingness to integrate into French society: “The residents of the camps do not want to integrate into our country because of cultural reasons, or because they are in the hands of begging or prostitution networks.” Mathis identifies Valls expressions as deeply shameful and populist, as a disgrace for a French minister. Valls remarks are a clear case of state racism against a minority, a reductionist populism, which does not differ between different individuals of a group. The Rroma are Europeans, both politically and historically, this can not be repeated often enough.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

26.03.2014 Île-de-France: Rroma hindered at entering a bus

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Several French newspapers report about an incident in a public bus in the region of Île-de-France. A 23-year-old Rrom and his two colleagues were hindered at entering the bus 213 by the bus driver shouting with racist remarks at them. The bus driver massively insulted the Rroma and did not want to let them on the bus: “The Romanians walk, they do not get on the bus. I do not care, you can have two Navigo-passes, you will not get on my bus, the bus driver insisted. The bus is not public. You dirty Romanians, I do not like your visages. I take onto my bus who I want. […] Dirty Romanians, you are like dogs.” The Romanian Rroma has filed a complaint against the Parisian bus company Régie des transports autonomous Parisiens (RATP). A call for witnesses of the incident of the 28th of February was started. Meanwhile, RATP has urged all its bus drivers to accept all passengers unconditionally. – The event is thought-provoking, especially in the context of the strong growth of votes for the national-conservative Front National (Le Figaro 2014, Fouteau 2014, The Local, Metronews 2014, Respect Mag 2014).

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26.03.2014 Stereotypes: Article about tricksters reinforces prejudices

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The Landbote (2014) reports on a case of confidence trickster in Winterthur. The article explains in detail the details of the crime, which revolves around the attempted fraud against a Swiss merchant. The perpetrators of the crime are called Serbian Rroma, which is a clear allusion to racist notions of culturally-related crime: “The merchant should have changed 240,000 francs for 200,000 euro and would have received a commission of 10,000 euro. In truth, the native Serbian Roma simply wanted to give the victim counterfeited euro notes.” Mentioning the ethnicity in connection with criminal offenses is unnecessary and nourishes misconceptions about culturally related crimes.

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26.03.2014 The rise of the right-wing populists

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Reinecke (2014) reports on the new upsurge of nationalist parties in Europe. Until now, their influence has remained modest. However, especially in view of the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament, a reversal-trend is looming. A strong growth of nationalistically enclined voters has to be expected. In France, the share of votes for the National Front has already risen to 23 percent: “Admittedly, the conservatives and social democrats will retain the majority in the European Parliament. But if extreme right-wing Euro-sceptics become the strongest party in a core state of the EU – then that is a symbol. Something starts to slide: populism, fears of foreign domination and prosperity chauvinism become stronger.” Reinecke encourages not to stand idly in the face of this swing to the right, but to take action against those who question the free movement of persons and the European Economic zone. One should not simply shrug in reaction to the vote against the free movement of persons by Switzerland. Concerning Rroma, he names the political instrumentalisation of the ethnic group by right-wing publications such as the Weltwoche, which has repeatedly stirred up hatred against the minority. That such tendencies cannot be met with silence, can’t be stressed often enough.

Bade (2014) complements these reflexions with his thoughts on the German immigration debate. He begins with the economic idea that the increasing impoverishment of the middle and lower classes make more and more people susceptible to “defensive attitudes and scapegoat theories”: “In this dangerous mélange of problems and prospects, pragmatic evaluations, integration and socio-political as well as socio-legal discussions are burdened by cultural and socio-racial defensiveness from the context of negative integration. They are enforced by the populist exploitation of yet unknown issues for election purposes.” Bade therefore argues as Reinecke that the Rroma are exploited and abused by being designed as scapegoats for political debates about values and impoverishment. It is significant here that one never talks with but always about the Rroma. Through this, a highly one-sided image of the minority is actively encouraged.

Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of the German Sinti and Rroma, emphasized in an interview with the Südwest Presse (2014) his unease about the rise of right-wing groups and their modes of argumentation. He criticizes once more the political instrumentalisation of the Rroma for campaign purposes and the equation of poverty-migration with the group of the Rroma: “This is a harmful discussion. In the last federal election campaign they wanted to poach votes from the right-wing „Alternative für Deutschland“ and the right-wing NPD. The NPD did not let itself slow down by this and advertised with the slogan “Better money for grandma than for Sinti and Roma”. With this, it left the level of our constitutional order. […] We demand guidelines in the election campaigns, which prohibit racist and discriminatory election propaganda. A legal basis is missing.” He perceives as particularly outrageous and frightening that despite the historical awareness of their discrimination, Rroma are blamed for social ills. The extreme right-wing parties are said to want to undermine the state of law. That is why it is so important that democratic parties defend the rule of law. A considerable fear to identify oneself as Rroma in the public remains. This fear of disclosing one’s own origin is a clear indicator of the still strongly rooted reservations of the majority against the minority.

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26.03.2014 “Admission for Gypsy strictly forbidden”: prohibition sign triggers furore

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The Local (2014) informs on a prohibition sign at a bakery in Rome, which prohibits members of the Rroma minority any access. The bakery in the neighbourhood of Tuscolano had a sign with the words “entry for Gypsy strictly prohibited” (È severamente vietato l’ingresso agli Zingari) placed in the shop window. The Rroma organization 21 lugio criticized the sign as analogous to racist practices under National Socialism and apartheid. After the bakery received an anonymous complaint, they removed the sign from the shop window. However, it is very worrying how much approval the prohibition sign obtained, despite some protests: “But in some quarters of Rome the bakery owners got full support.“It’s right – they’re all thieves,” one city shop-keeper told The Local. “You have to be careful around them, how can you distinguish between a good and a bad one?” she said, not giving her name. Another shop owner lamented that only yesterday she had been robbed by someone from a traveller community.” The passive tolerance of such discrimination by a large part of the majority population is especially worrisome, as it is what makes such racism possible.

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