Category Archives: Germany

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08.10.2014 “The Roma have to stay”

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A primary school teacher from Ennepetal calls for the integration of immigrated Rroma families. He demands that the immigrant families be accepted and supported in their integration efforts, with special regard to the future of their children. The primary school teacher Folkert Köppe therefore decidedly speaks against a policy of expulsion, as the owner of the houses in which the families are currently located, intends to do. He announced a few weeks ago to terminate the lease of all families, although temporary leases have no legal basis in Germany. Folkert Köppe states: “Given the dubious behaviour of the owner of those dilapidated houses in the Hagenerstrasse, where the Roma currently live, it is time to address the children’s situation. They are the real victims of the current conflict, because a shift from here to another city would mean a new change of school for them. Here in Ennepetal, special collection classes have been established for these children, within which I am working as a teacher. And as such, I say in all determination: the Roma must stay! Because already now, some of them show significant academic deficits, caused by frequent changes of residency and thus of schooling. The exhaustive lessons show signs of success; the children are happy in school and we educators are gradually finding “the right turn”, to equip them with the basic knowledge important for their future. All this would be abruptly terminated by a departure, and the children would have to start all over again elsewhere” (Köppe 2014). According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation In Germany, an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. Before the genocide by the Nazis, there were many more. Many have been living for generations in Germany, speak fluently German, go to work, and send their children to school. They are the living proof that integration is possible.

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08.10.2014 Germany: dispute over antiziganism study

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Fleischhauer/Petrovich (2014) criticise the study on antiziganism issued by the anti-discrimination agency in Germany, as being strongly biased and politicised. They accuse the agency of having “fudged” the methodology used by scientists to obtain clearer results. The German anti-discrimination agency denies this accusation: “The scientists who carried out the study cannot agree the interpretation of the anti-discrimination agency. “The difficult job of studies is that politics likes clear results, which science often cannot deliver”, says Wolfgang Benz, one of the two project managers. […] The social sciences are not an exact science. It’s about moods and attitudes, for which there are no exact measurement instruments. Therefore, it is important to formulate the questions so that they do not suggest a particular answer. The researchers intentionally designed a catalogue in which one has to rate statements on a scale of one to seven. […] The research team had made ​​the conscious decision to only interpret the values ​​ ​​6 and 7 as a dismissal. However, Luders and her colleagues have added to the 10.9 percent those who chose the scale value 5, to get a value higher and thus more media-suitable.” The dispute initiated by the Spiegel-journalists therefore concerns the qualitative weighting of the applied analytical tools. Indeed, statistics, their design and evaluation should be reviewed critically, for all studies. However, in the case of the methodology applied by the German anti-discrimination agency, one cannot identify a one-sided interpretation of the results, as the Spiegel-journalists claim. The negative values ​​of 5-7 are all above the mean 4, representing no opinion in favour of a rejection or acceptance of a statement. The accusation that the study results were artificially inflated, therefore only applies to a limited extent. It depends on how the statement “quite accurate” is weighted with respect to the statements “accurate” and “very accurate”. The researchers state, concerning the use of the Likert scale: “The scales were made uniformly, using a Likert scale of positive values ​​from 1 to 7, which were adjusted in a verbalised form to the respective question content. The context for the decision in favour of a finer scale division was the wish fore more graded answers instead of having a clear dichotomy into positive and negative, as for example, a 4-scale would have created” (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes 2014: 34). The authors remark that is was the particular wish of the client, therefore the anti-discrimination agency, not to create values as high as possible, but also to capture gradations: “It would be contrary to the scientific intention of the study as well as towards adequate courses of action intended by the client, to cancel the graded answers in favour of the determination of maximum values possible​​. Therefore, the scaling values ​​were summarized in the presentation of the results as follows: 1 and 2, 3-5, and 6 and 7. Therefore, more nuanced opinion groups are eventuated: those who clearly agree or reject and a middle section, with opinions not as distinct (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes 2014: 37).

This finding is contrary to the assertion of Spiegel-journalists that the anti-discrimination agency requested clearer results and therefore forced them for the presentation. In terms of a critical analysis, the demand for a nuanced presentation of the results is clearly to be agreed with: the heterogeneity of reality is rarely black and white. On the other hand, one must also realise that people can often be influenced by the views of the majority in their beliefs and subordinate themselves to social constraints. This phenomenon is studied in the social sciences, under the term “new institutionalism”. This includes stereotypical views about minorities such as the Rroma. That the federal agency for anti-discrimination did not totally evaluate the results is confirmed by the finding that the majority of the respondents were aware of the genocide against the Rroma through the Nazis. This point was communicated in the study as it is.

Fleischhauer (2014) himself didn’t create his research and viewpoints in a value-free space, and therefore can be described as a political journalist himself, as can be read in his commentary on Spiegel Online. There, he comments in a condescending ductus about the anti-discrimination agency, and alleges that the director has lost touch with reality outside of discrimination questions: “Who only meets people who believe in the same thing, eventually loses touch with reality outside his own world. There, one easily panics if one faces contradiction.” This is a meaningful comment insofar, because Fleischhauer outs himself as strongly prejudiced himself, and loses somewhat credibility (compare Saarbrücker Zeitung 2014, Süddeutsche Zeitung 2014, RP Online 2014).

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01.10.2014 Demagoguery against Rroma in the Internet

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Meier (2014) reports on open agitation against Rroma in a Facebook group from Duisburg. A user posted a wanted poster with a blurred photo, in which he claimed that two dark-haired, veiled women had tried to abduct a child. The offenders are Rroma, the initiator suggested. However, according to the police, theses accusations are unfounded: “The police sees the story, which reproduces the century-old stereotype of child-abducting “gypsies”, as invented. Nevertheless, the Facebook does not fail its purpose: “to Auschwitz”, “rape them”, “to the gas chamber”, these are comments under the “wanted poster”. It was shared about 6,000 within a few days, spread by other users. A stupid conflagration of hatred, having no consideration for the law, logic or spelling.” Meier sees the many affirmative responses to the inflammatory posting as a symptom of general, increasing xenophobia in Duisburg, that is not directly only towards, but in particular against Rroma. The inflammatory facebook group was in the meantime taken offline and an investigation for demagoguery was started. The accusations were not without impact, as the many supportive comments on the social network show, as well as similar expressions at town hall meetings. They stand in a tradition of negative stereotypes, which have been spread about the Rroma for centuries: already in the Middle-Ages, the minority was accused of abducting and trafficking children. It is thought provoking that these allegations still find so much response. In Germany, according to the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. The majority are well integrated, work, send their children to school and live in apartments.

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01.10.2014 Rroma and Migration in Germany: discussion instead of polemics

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

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01.10.2014 Remembering instead of suppressing: addressing the Rroma Holocaust at German schools

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Mirwald (2014) reports on the work of Petra Rosenberg, chairman of the national association of German Sinti and Roma in Berlin-Brandenburg, as an expert on thematic days in German schools. Rosenberg continues the work of her father, Otto Rosenberg, which campaigned until his death for the equality of the Rroma and informed about the history of the minority: “the 62-year-old graduate teacher described the terrible experiences that her father documented in the book “The burning glass”. The young audience, who in the classroom is currently learning about the Third Reich, learned that Otto Rosenberg, who was one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement of the Sinti and Roma in Germany, was able to write down his memories only in old age. Her father was a broken man, who was never able to work again. He woke up at night, cried and asked why he had survived as the only one of eleven siblings. “As a child I didn’t know anything. I only felt the grief, took his hand and cried with him”, Petra Rosenberg described scenes from her childhood. […] It was shocking to hear that doctors and scientists that had questioned and examined Otto Rosenberg in 1936 as race researchers in the camp Berlin-Malzahn, were able to practice after the war in Frankfurt am Main, and that the policeman who sent Otto Rosenberg to Auschwitz, later worked in Ludwigsburg as a detective in a high position.” Even after the war ended, discrimination against Rroma therefore continued, and it took the collective protest of many Holocaust survivors and their descendants, so that the injustices were finally officially recognized. Unfortunately, the prejudices about the minority continue until today, as the debate on the so-called “poverty immigrants” reveals.

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26.09.2014 European Centre for Antiziganism Research criticizes the status of safe countries of origin

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Graff (2014) spoke with Marko Knudsen, the head of the European Centre for Antiziganism Research. Knudsen decidedly criticises the new asylum law that defines Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being safe countries of origin in the interview. For him it is beyond question that the Rroma are affected by marginalisation and discrimination in the three countries. The opinion that Rroma are not actively persecuted in these three countries, he deems inappropriate and trivialising. Therefore, the European Centre for Antiziganism Research will file a suit against the new law. The centre justifies its charge with the following three points: “Where is Germany’s historical responsibility, which is justified through the Nazi era? Unfortunately, it is nonexistent. For me as a Roma, this decision is absolutely reprehensible. As a German, I am ashamed. For this reason, we, as the European Centre for Antiziganism Research, see ourselves forced to take legal action against this law, because: first, it violates the principle of equal treatment. Second, it violates European anti-discrimination law. Third, there is political persecution of the Roma in Europe because of antiziganism that is passed as an unquestioned European cultural code from generation to generation, whereby it is implemented in the majority of society” (Knudsen 2014). Knudsen sees the strengthened nationalism in many European countries and the exclusion of minorities resulting from it, as well as extreme economic hardships, as equally important reasons for asylum for being open political persecution. Exactly this issue was the core of the political debate: are the Rroma in Southeastern Europe actively persecuted or are they “only” affected by extreme poverty and discrimination. There was no consensus concerning this issue. Knudsen also criticizes the pressure exercised on the part of the European Union on the new member states, that did not improve the situation of minorities in the countries concerned. However, this assessment has to be questioned. It is absolutely the responsibility of the European Union to pressure its new Member States to a better compliance with minority rights. If they are not able to actively implement the requirements, this is not the fault of Brussels (compare Martens 2014).  

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24.09.2014 Vom Odenwald: one-sided praise of Zoltan Balog’s Rroma policy

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In his article for the Budapester Zeitung, Herrolt vom Odenwald (2014) criticises the Austrian writer Erich Hackl’s questioning analysis of Zoltan Balog’s policy. In his article “How to plough the sea?” Hackl (2014) criticised that Zoltan Balog denied that Rroma from Hungary were deported from Hungary to Germany during the Holocaust. This misinterpretation of history is totally inappropriate, so Hackl, and was criticised by many other newspapers. The Hungarian Rroma press centre reacted immediately with the publication of reports by Holocaust survivors. Rroma were deported with the help of Hungarian authorities to Nazi Germany, this is beyond debate. However, the criticism of Balog’s statement only takes a marginal role in Hackl’s text. The predominant part of the article deals with the struggle of the Rroma writer Marika Schmiedtberger and the Rroma activists Rudolf Sarközi against the oblivion of past atrocities. However, vom Odenwald sees this differently: from his perspective, Hackl’s entire article is a systematic discrediting of Balog, in which all positive achievements of the politician are deliberately hidden. And yet, he himself does exactly what he accuses the Austrian author of doing; he interprets his text in an extremely one-sided way: “the (upper) Austrian writer Erich Hackl just got lost in Hungarian politics, and from much that he believed to have to comment on, he negated reality. This concerns first and foremost the situation of the largest ethnic minority in the country, namely the Gypsies. I prefer this terminology to the consistently used term “Roma and Sinti” by solicitously politically correct (PC) media. […] Hackl however applied total poetic freedom in his article “How to plough the sea?”, for the (more left positioned) weekend supplement “Spectrum” of the “bourgeois” Austrian daily newspaper “Die Presse”, and was not concerned with ethno-linguistic subtleties from comparative linguistics. He and his publishing medium were in fact primarily concerned with denouncing the alleged disgraceful, racist politics of Hungary towards the Gypsies, especially under its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And, according to the popular saying “beat the sack, but mean the donkey”, do verbal bashing against Zoltán Balog, the minister largely responsible for integration and the Gypsies.” Odenwald’s statement that the term “Gypsy” is politically unproblematic is wrong. Rather, it would be correct to say that there is no consensus on the context in which the use of the term is appropriate. Many Rroma reject the concept because of its negative connotation. The criticism that Erich Hackl one-sidedly criticises Balog is also wrong. Balog has repeatedly attracted attention for his ill-considered and indiscriminate remarks about Rroma: for instance, in the Hungarian radio station Lánchídrádió he called the Rroma “unworthy poor”, because they actually were healthy and fit for work, but still burden the state as recipients of social benefits (Pusztaranger 2014). ­If one makes incautious remarks, one must be able to tolerate criticism. Odenwald then continues to enumerate extensively what Zoltan Balog has done for the Rroma: thanks to Balog’s effort, the “history and culture of the Roma” is now part of the national curriculum in the upper year education. Moreover, the minister for human resources champions a better economic integration of the minority. Nobody discredits these efforts. However, the extreme sensitivity of supporters of the incumbent Orban government to critique reveals that they want to suppress legitimate criticism themselves. Otherwise, they would not react as fiercely and emotionally to questioning or analysing comments. Pröhles Gergely (2014) response to Erich Hackl’s article also belongs to this category.

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19.09.2014 Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are declared safe countries of origin

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On September the 19th, the decision as to whether Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina will be declared safe countries of origin on part of Germany will be made. The debate about the security against persecution and discrimination in the three states is discussed especially in reference to the fate of the Rroma. In this regard, there are major disagreements whether and how Rroma are exposed to discrimination. While the proponents of the new law assume that the Rroma are indeed affected by poverty in the three countries, they claim that they are free of persecution. Just the opposite is stated by many refugee and asylum organizations, and also by the central council of German Sinti and Roma. These different views concerning the security situation of minorities in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina reveal that the assessment of marginalization and discrimination are based on very different criteria: supporters of a poor security situation refer to meaningful individual cases of discrimination – famous are cases that proof the difficult access to health care and other institutions, or show the harassment by government officials: “Already now, the reasons people have to flee from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are examined too superficially, criticises the Frankfurt lawyer Reinhard Marx. […] Especially [application from] Roma of the Western Balkan countries are already now mostly rejected without detailed examination “as manifestly unfounded”, the lawyer says. He tells of hearing reports and decisions of the branch offices of the BAMF [Federal Office for Migration and Refugees]. Refugees have reported “racist assaults, attempted rape of girls and suchlike.” “In reasoning of the refusal, this was not addressed all”, says the lawyer, the reasons for flight are not carefully examined, “which for me is no longer the rule of law” (Grunau 2014). In contrast, the proponents of the new law refer to the recognition of the Rroma by the political establishment of the countries, the appreciation of Rromanes, and the historical evidence in all strata of society of the integration of the minority, especially in the countries of former Yugoslavia. Ottoman tax registers proof this already for the 15th century, where Rroma are listed as lawyers, doctors and policemen (Rroma Foundation 2002). This integration does not mean that there is no discrimination since 1989, through the strong growth of nationalism in the countries of South Eastern Europe. Again, different evaluation criteria are applied: according to the proponents of the new law, there is discrimination but no systematic persecution. How can one accurately measured and assess the severity of discrimination? In Bosnia-Herzegovina, because of the Dayton Agreement, there is only a constitutional protection of Bosnians, Serbs or Croats, but no official recognition of other minorities. But this does not mean that minorities such as Rroma are not discriminated against in everyday life, the critics claim. The different opinions reveal that the knowledge about Rroma is still dominated by a lot of uncertainties and gaps in knowledge, and that the discrimination of a minority in various countries is anything but easily to determine. Therefore, in doubt, the individual experience of discrimination should always be favoured over a general assessment of the security situation. One owes that to persons who indeed suffer of discrimination. – Neues Deutschland (2014) reports that the stricter asylum law is being adopted because of the approval by the red-green government of Baden-Württemberg. The Green minister president of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, is now criticised because of his decision in his own party. Other German daily newspapers confirm the decision: Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are now safe countries of origin from Germany’s viewpoint. This means that asylum applications from these countries will be handled in an expedited fashion in the future and that discrimination will no longer be recognised as a reason for asylum (compare Brey 2014, Deringer/Lierheimer 2014, Frenzel 2014, Handelsblatt 2014, Lang 2014, Mappes-Niediek 2014, MDR 2014, Möhle 2014, Scholz 2014, Wallraff 2014, Wölfl 2014).

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17.09.2014 Survey of antiziganism: prejudices against Rroma in Germany remain

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

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17.09.2014 Halle: militia against immigrated Rroma

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The Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (MDR) (2014) reports on the planned establishment of a militia in the neighbourhood of Silberhöhe in Halle. The initiative for this self-organised monitoring in urban area is due to the influx of Rroma immigrants. However, the police did not detect any rise in criminal activities since the arrival of the Rroma. The concerns from alarmed residents are therefore primarily based on prejudices against the people unknown to them: “The language barrier is one of the basic problems. Not only that the Sinti and Roma bring another culture: communication, an approach to each other seems not possible. One local resident at least describes it like this. This lack of understanding often evolves into rejection and prejudice. Many local residents, young and old, feel threatened. Nevertheless, opinions are split among the local residents as whether a militia must really be started. While some advocate it outright, others demand that in case of offenses, the police should act. The police officers think poorly of a militia. This would not solve the problems in the district, but rather enhance them.” In this article, in spite of the will to be differentiated, a one-sided notion of the minority in Germany arises. Rroma in the country consist not only of recently immigrated people, but also from those who live in Germany since generations. An estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma live today in the German Federal Republic. Before the genocide through the Nazis, there were much more. Most of them speak perfectly German and have a job. These Rroma are totally ignored by the residents in their delusions, when they request a militia against the immigrants. Silberhöhe was also the place of an incident between a young Rromni with her baby and a group of children and adolescents who attacked and insulted the mother and the child. The police is investigating for assault and demagoguery. That the perpetrators were children and adolescents is particularly disconcerting (compare Mitteldeutsche Zeitung 2014 I/II).

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

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

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

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05.09.2014 Roma-village Fântânele: article confirms immigration fears

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Schwarz (2014) tries to portray Rroma from the Romanian village Fântânele in a more differentiated fashion. In spite of this, by creating a one-sided depiction, he manages to fuel fears of a mass immigration to Germany. The Rroma he portrays correspond to many stereotypes that people have about this minority: due to their membership to Pentecostal church, contraception is forbidden and the families of the village have an average of ten to twelve children. Of the seven thousand residents of the village, thousand live today in the Harzerstrasse in Berlin-Neukölln, he states. With this statements, Schwarz nullifies his own attempt towards a balanced reporting, as he presents a seemingly incontrovertible evidence that a mass migration to Germany indeed takes place. That Fântânele is not representative of all villages in Romania, is not stated. On the other hand, Schwarz presents a detail account of the relationship of local Rroma community to the Pentecostal church, to which almost all villagers belong: “Today, the church is the core of the community, it sets all rules. It forbids its members to drink and smoke. There is no pub in Fântânele, and no one smokes. Equally, it prohibits abortions and any kind of contraception. The new religion stabilised the families and promoted the cohesion of the community. The sobriety requirement preserves families in crisis from descending into the underclass. They also save themselves a lot of money that others spend on liquor and cigarettes. However, the limitation of the talents to sacred music ended an important source of income, and the prohibition of contraception boosted the birth rates. Families with ten, twelve children are the rule in Fântânele. […] The Roma who emigrate in order to work as a demolition labourers, as a flyer distributors, or as a construction workers, have no different motivation than the Romanian doctors who get headhunted from German hospitals: all of them hope for a better life and a better future for their children.” However, Schwarz does not mention distinctly enough that Rroma only represent a portion of the immigrants to Western Europe. Many ethnic Romanians, who account for the majority of the country, migrate to the north. In addition, not all Rroma belong to the Pentecostal church, which prohibits contraception. More than a few Rroma have qualifications and practice contraception. By focusing on this specific village and this group of Rroma, Schwarz reproduces the notion of a mass immigration to Germany, despite all his historical contextualization and differentiation of Rroma groups. This assertion is qualified by critical research (MiGAZIN 2013).

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27.08.2014 Integration policy towards Rroma in Dortmund

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Völkel (2014) writes about the integration efforts of the Workers’ Welfare Association (AWO). The social workers of the AWO try to help immigrated Rroma in their integration efforts by assisting them in their search for housing, jobs, as well as with German language courses. Völkel states that since the AWO offers this support for free, conflicts arise with people smugglers who help the newcomers with agency appointments and different application procedures, in return for exorbitant prices. As a positive example, the journalist presents the family Ion-Lazar. The Rroma, originally from Romania, try to integrate successfully by all means: “As for instance Fabian Lazar-Ion (39) and his wife Anisoara (31). The two Romanians from Galati in the Moldavian region have gone to Spain nine years ago to work there. They fled from the lack of prospects, the hatred against Sinti and Roma and the discrimination in their homeland. In Spain, they were doing well. They learned Spanish and had both work and earned a living. But then came the economic crisis. “We couldn’t find work anymore”, states the father of two children. He heard from his sister Gabriela Lihcah that there was work in Dortmund. […] First, they searched unsuccessfully for work, housing, and some perspectives. Their life changed when they met Mirza. The street worker and the translator Tatiana-Iolanda Christea invited them for breakfast and showed them possibilities. […] Both have found mini-jobs or seasonal work. But it is financially not enough to move to another part of town, away from the drug trade and the so-called illicit worker district.” The article demonstrates successfully that reductionist notions of anti-social Rroma, not willing to integrate, are wrong. The portrayed Rroma, who fled from the economic crisis to Germany, just want to live a normal life and provide a good future for their children. Already now, 110,000 to 130,000 “invisible Rroma” are living integrated in Germany. Many of them have done so for several generations. They are the proof that an integration of the Rroma is possible without problems, if they are not actively prevented from it by marginalisation and discrimination.

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27.08.2014 Migration policy in Lower Saxony: Rromni to be deported after 28 years

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Akdag (2014) reports on an absurd case of regulatory practices. The Romni Suzana S., who has been living in Lower Saxony for 28 years, is supposed to be deported to Serbia, along with her five children. Even after almost three decades, the single mother still has no residency permit: “Suzana S. is 32 years old and just like her children she was born in Germany. When she was five years old, Suzana lived with her parents in Serbia for four years, but she doesn’t speak any Serbian. Emsland is her home and for her children this applies anyway. “I feel like a German”, she says. […] “I do not know how to feed my children in Serbia. There, we will have to live on the street”, says S. She and her children are Roma. Many members of the minority in Serbia suffer from harassment by the authorities and are exposed to racist attacks by the population. S.’ advocate Jan Sürig was in Serbia and is aware of the situation: “Even today, Roma in Serbia live forcibly on the margins of society, often in inhumane conditions. They are discriminated against in virtually all levels of everyday life.” […] The many applications for a residence permit were rejected.” In early September, Serbia is supposed to be classified as a safe country of origin by the German Federal Assembly. Then, asylum applications based on discrimination will only have a very small chance of approval, as the official status is more important than individual experiences of discrimination. Akdag criticises in particular that the district of Emsland justified its decision with the explanation that Suzana S. didn’t actively attempt to integrate because she receives welfare. Her language skills and working efforts and the schooling of children were classified as irrelevant. Now, the family S. is trying to receive a residency permit by approaching the commission for hardship cases. What is particularly disconcerting about the described circumstances is that Suzana S. and her children do not speak Serbian, which means that in the case of a deportation to Serbia, they would be excluded more than ever. That immigration authorities did not consider this is hard to understand.

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27.08.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma gangs as con artists

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Weder (2014) of the Thurgauer Zeitung reports on a “Rroma clan” from Germany that is said to betray unsuspecting mostly elderly people out of tens of thousands of Swiss francs, by offering the cleaning or the sale of oriental rugs at exorbitant prices: “Their appearance is serious, friendly and courteous, their practices are audacious and ruthless. They pretend to be carpet experts, the police searches for them for fraud. They fool unsuspecting people, con huge amounts of money out of them and disappear without a trace. Their trick: they clean old oriental rugs and sell new – for supposedly unbeatable prices. In fact, the carpets are barely worth anything and the quality of the cleaning is more than questionable.” Behind the tricksters one suspects predominantly the “Goman-Clan”, a Rroma family from Leverkusen who is said to be specialised in this activity, as a representative he Canton police St. Gallen confirms. The offenses described here shall not be trivialised. It is a crime which must be punished. However, it is very problematic to explicitly address the ethnicity of the perpetrators and to present it as an explanation for criminal offenses. This suggests that the crimes are a cultural trait of the Rroma. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. With this, one defames the majority of the respectable, integrated Rroma, which are not delinquent and one engages in intellectual arson, by sustaining a pejorative view of the minority. Moreover, the notion of hierarchically organised family gangs who commit crimes under the command of a clan chief has to be questioned. The idea of ​​hierarchical family goes back to the false assumption that Rroma have a strictly patriarchal family structure, with clear hierarchies and relationships of dependency. While it is true that the family has an important status among the Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian.

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22.08.2014 Germany: ongoing debate about the status of safe countries of origin

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Çaliskan (2014), general secretary of the German section of Amnesty International, reports on the upcoming recognition of Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as safe countries of origin by the German Federal Assembly. On this occasion, she elaborates on the contradictions behind the concept. According to her, the assessment that the countries concerned are free of persecution is not based on in-depth research and analysis, but on statistical findings that there are more applications for asylum from these states while there is a declining recognition of the applications; and are thus rejected by the courts as being unfounded. Çaliskan criticises this practice as a trivialisation of real discrimination taking place that particularly affects minorities such as Rroma: “The fact that only a few of the asylum seekers were recognised is not a proof of the “safety” in Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is rather a proof that even now the asylum applications are not examined thoroughly. Because the human rights situation in the three countries is anything from rosy. Especially Rroma are not “safe” from prosecution. They are structurally disadvantaged, living on the margins of society, often literally on the edge of cities, industrial areas, some families on dumping grounds. Often they are virtually cut off from work, medical care, and the children of reasonable education. Moreover, governments do not protect them from racist attacks and politicians partly stir up prejudices against them.” The denial of the status of “safe country of origin” would guarantee a more detailed examination of each case and protect the victims more effectively from discrimination and persecution. Admittedly, each case is still assessed in spite of the status of safe country of origin, but never as thoroughly and detailed, as it would if the status would not exist. Officially, a country can respect the security and rights of minorities. However, this does not mean that this really happens in everyday life and in individual cases, as shocking individual destines show. The legal evidence of an individual experience of discrimination is often difficult to prove, especially when official documents or witnesses are missing.

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22.08.2014 Integration of immigrant Rroma-children in German schools

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Der Westen and Radio Ennepe Ruhr report on the integration of children from immigrant Rroma families in the public schools of Ennepetal in North Rhine-Westphalia. This is said to proceed in a largely positive fashion. According to the journalists’ estimates, the families were a part of those families that received media attention while living in the “Rroma house” in Duisburg and who subsequently  moved to Ennepetal. Around 30 adults and 80 children are now living in the worker housinf of a former metal factory. While it is stressed that the integration of the families has enjoyed top priority from the start and will be actively promoted by the community, one is nevertheless irritated by the fact that the children are not integrated into regular classes, but are rather taught in so-called “integration classes”. Of the 52 Rroma-children who were enrolled into these integration classes, in which their viability for the regular school is assessed, only six now will go to regular classes with the new school year starting. For those responsible for integration, this seems to be a success. However, from the perspective of a real integration, the segregated teaching of Rroma children is extremely problematic, as they can hardly socialise with other children. Anke Velten-Franke from the mayor’s office sees this differently: since Rrroma children are taught in the buildings of the middle and primary school, they were able to make contact with other children during school breaks, she states. It is to be hoped that the politician proves right. Principally, segregated schooling, especially in the context of negative experiences from the Czech Republic or Romania, where it is still widespread, should be seen very critically, since it fosters and maintains the discrimination and marginalisation of the minority. The focus on the recently immigrated Rroma families should not obscure the fact already now 110’00 to 130,000 Rroma are living integrated in Germany, many for generations. Their children are not taught segregated. In addition, Stefan Scherer commits a gross error in judgment when he reproduces without comment that the social workers of Ennepetal would share a fear with many other residents: “The Roma are not sedentary people. The fear to invest a lot of money and energy, and then they move to the next town or the next country is still present in Ennepetal” (Scherer 2014). However, most Rroma are not travellers and never were. The alleged wandering lifestyle is rather the result of their continuous expulsion, which was and is reinterpreted in a false analogy to a travelling way of life (compare Radio Ennepe Ruhr 2014).  

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22.08.2014 The ambivalent concept of “poverty immigration”

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Eisenring (2014) reports on the debate about the so-called “poverty immigration”, that has now lasted for several years. This, he states, is now increasingly felt in Germany, whereby the immigrant Rroma receive particular attention. Of the unemployed Romanians and Bulgarians in Germany, many are Rroma, the journalist claims. In his ethnisising statement he forgets that ethnicity is precisely not recorded in the statistics and that the assessment is therefore a conjecture: “However, such average numbers conceal that in cities like Berlin, Dortmund, Duisburg, or Offenbach there have been deprived areas for a long time. Consequently, the unemployment rate among Bulgarians and Romanians in May was at 34% in Duisburg, at 27% ​​in Dortmund, and at 23% in Berlin. The cost of housing, health services and schools are transferred to the cities. However, this has not so much to do with the full freedom of movement, but with the generally difficult integration of Roma and Sinti, who often come from the two countries – a problem that also concerns other European countries.” The controversial thing about this assessment is that statistics on unemployment convey that there is indeed a poverty immigration. However, the number of Romanians and Bulgarians claiming welfare – 13% – is below the average number of foreigners with 16%, as Eisenring himself shows. Unfortunately, in terms of the Rroma, he argues uncritically and culturalising by ascribing them a generally difficult integrability. That there are well-educated Rroma and many who are very willing to integrate, he implicitly denies. Similarly, he denies that there are already now 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma living integrated in Germany, but are not perceived as Rroma. Moreover, the term “poverty immigration” is a highly politicised, prejudiced terminology, as it is often used synonymously with the immigration of Rroma and is based on political views, that there indeed is a mass immigration of poor, uneducated Rroma into the German welfare system. It is important to identify and critically question this indiscriminate equation of real facts and political views and opinions.

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20.08.2014 Rroma willing to integrate in Dortmund

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Bandermann (2014) reports on a Rroma family from Romania who is trying to integrate in Dortmund. The article attempts to show that the ideas of the anti-social Rroma, not willing to integrate, are actually loaded with prejudices. Anisoara and Fabian Lazar-Ion, who worked eight years in Spain before the economic crisis, just want to live a normal life and want to provide a good future for their children. In Romania, they did not see any possibility to build an existence. Too strong was the discrimination, too weak the economy, too corrupt the politicians: “Fabian and Anisoara Lazar-Ion do not fit the image of Roma parents who send their children to steal. Because the couple has a plan. The two want to work honestly and get a fair wage. Social assistance? “For us, no perspective”, they say briefly and succinctly. Both do not hang around on the street and take their fate into their own hands. […] Both have a heart’s desire, in addition to a secure future. Fabian is proud to be a Roma. He calls himself Gypsy – and asks the Dortmund people: “We are not all the same. There are parents who lack education. We do not agree with the fact that they send their children out, so that they commit crimes. Also his wife sees their own countrymen critically: “They simply have no plan for their lives. But it is a false impression that all gypsies are criminals.” The 39-year-old had to experience himself how it feels to be discriminated against: in his former homeland Romania. “I had several interviews. Once it was known that I’m a gypsy, I had no chance.””  The fate of Fabian and Anisoara Lazar-Ion is a good example that willingness to integrate is not a question of ethnic origin. Already now, 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma are living integrated in Germany, many of them for generations. They are the proof that the inclusion of the Rroma is possible without problems if they are not restrained by marginalization and discrimination.

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13.08.2014 Anti-Rroma demonstrations in Halle-Silberhöhe

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

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