Category Archives: Germany

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01.08.2014 Halle: alliance against right refutes prejudices against Rroma

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In response to racist abuse against Rroma on the street and on the Internet in Halle (Silverhöhe), the “alliance against the right” has issued a statement in which it refutes the racist prejudices against Rroma and gives context around the the xenophobic slogans: “Apparently, for quite some time now there were prejudices against several Roma families who rented apartments in Silberhöhe. In the Facebook group, anti-Roma prejudices are connected with inhuman comments and calls for violence. The spraying of anti-Roma and Nazi slogans and symbols in Silberhöhe in the night of July 18th, 2014, we see as a direct result of the coverage of the Facebook group” (Halle Spektrum 2014). A detailed refutation of the common stereotypes about Rroma and “poverty immigrants”, with whom the minority is often mistakenly equated follows: Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. The authorities have experienced no increase in crime, as members of the demagogic Facebook group claimed. Most children of Rroma immigrants go to school and are required to do so by German law. The prejudice of not wanting education is therefore also not true. Another racist stereotype is the accusation that Rroma only migrate to Germany to exploit social benefits and that the majority does not work. This prejudice is also refuted by critical studies: to receive social funds one has to provide evidence of previous work and of payments to social security. One is not automatically entitled to social benefits. In addition, there are also many well-qualified immigrants who are members of the middle class or even the upper class. Mistakenly, it is always assumed that immigrants from Eastern Europe are only Rroma: but there also are many ethnic Bulgarians, Romanians, Macedonians, Serbs, etc. Rroma constitute only a minority in these countries (Halle Spektrum 2014 I/II). An estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma live in Germany. The vast majority of them is integrated, has a steady job, pays taxes and lives in Germany since several generations.

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26.07.2014 Stereotypes: fifteen Rroma sentenced for child trafficking

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Numerous French language newspapers reported about the verdict against fifteen Croatian Rroma in Nancy. The Rroma were convicted of inciting their children to commit about a hundred thefts in France, Germany and Belgium. The defendants were sentenced to prison sentences of two to eight years. While all Rroma were convicted for incitement to theft, individual defendants were indicted for trafficking and forced marriages. The court of appeal of Nancy thereby confirmed the judgment of the criminal court. The prosecution demanded maximum sentences of ten years. The evidence of the prosecution was based on the survey of 120 suspects, who confirmed the existence of organised, hierarchical gangs, let by a clan chief: “These children had no choice”, said the prosecutor in front of the audience. “It was not a matter of education and self-realisation, only one thing was important: to steal. It was a downright education to steal. Families borrowed children, according to their potential in theft and even bought wives for their sons to strengthen their teams” (Nicolas 2014, see 20 minutes in 2014, La Dépêche 2014 RTL 2014). The stereotype of criminal, hierarchically organised Rroma clans who commit thefts under the command of a clan chief, is widely spread. It cannot be critically evaluated at this point whether the judgment is justified, as the evidence is only discussed in passing. But it is important to emphasise that Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. The idea of hierarchical family ties traces back to the projection of the medieval caste system on Rroma and on the equation of Rroma families to criminal organisations. However, this is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important place among Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian. The case discussed here is therefore an exceptional occurrence and not the norm. In addition, the stereotype of arranged marriages is conveyed, which also is only true for a minority of the Rroma. The phenomenon of child trafficking as it is presented here, has furthermore to be critically assessed. As social science studies show, social realities behind begging or alleged child trafficking are largely hidden. Similarly, structural differences between the involved societies and related reasons for a migration to France need to be highlighted. The research conveys a more complex, less black and white notion on the subject and points out that crimes such as incitement to begging or stealing are pervaded by a wide variety of morals views in the analysis and assessment by the authorities. The authorities often deny the perspective and motivations of the persons concerned and impose their own ideas of organised begging, criminal networks or child trafficking on them. Not uncommonly, behind the accusations one just finds impoverished families in which the children supplement the family income by begging, and whose way of life thereby contradict the bourgeois notions of a normal family and childhood (compare Cree/Clapton/Smith 2012, O’Connell Davidson 2011, Oude Breuil 2008).

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23.07.2014 Halle: agitation against Rroma

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German newspapers report on agitation against Rroma in Halle. Around 700 people have organised themselves over Facebook and deliberately incite hatred against immigrant Rroma. This happens both in the social network, as well as adds on public sidewalks, walls, and junction boxes, on which xenophobic slogans were attached. In the meantime, the authorities removed them. The prosecution has taken up investigations on suspicion of demagoguery: “But the anger of local residents become more intense and has gone public. On the weekend, doorways were smeared, among others with the slogan “Roma out”, with the S replaced by the runes of the squadron-SS. On a specifically founded Facebook group, expressions like “filthy pack” and “brutes” were posted. OnemMember of this group is also the CDU member of parliament Christoph Bergner – what has let to protest at the political level” (Wiemann 2014). Bergner, in return, tries to appease and dissociates himself from the xenophobic manifestations decidedly. He wants to take the concerns of local residents seriously but dissociates himself from the hostile comments, he stated. The message about problems with immigrant Rroma is symptomatic of a one-sided reporting, which usually portrays Rroma pejoratively. The difficulties with the immigrants seem to be exaggerated. There are also other voices, which don’t report any problems with the new residents. Not all immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are Rroma, since they represent only a minority there. There are also ethnic Bulgarians and Romanians who migrate to Germany. In addition, a minority should not be equated with an underclass. There are also many Rroma who belong to the middle class. The negative propaganda against Rroma negates all these details. This is dangerous. Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma, meanwhile calls for stronger involvement of the authorities. The state is too lenient towards inflammatory language, as the last election campaign showed, when racist slogans such as “money for grandma instead for Sinti and Roma” were tolerated upon reference to freedom of expression, Rose states (compare Halle Spektrum 2014, Möbius/Prasse 2014, Wiemann 2014).

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16.07.2014 A discussion about discrimination: „Why do Roma have it so hard?“

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Koetting (2014) speaks about the ongoing debate on Rroma in Germany. The interlocutors were the South East Europe expert Norbert Mappes-Niediek and the political scientist Markus End, as well as the audience. Here, a first problem is created: a listener speaks of the hospitality of Rroma in impoverished slums in Slovakia. Despite great empathy, the listener reproduces stereotypes, by equating Rroma with a life in poverty and a lack of education. She speaks of “ordinary people” that met her with much kindness. But that Rroma are not a social class, but rather belong to all strata of society, is not mentioned. There are many well-integrated Rroma, as the numbers of the Rroma Foundation show. The South East Europe expert Mappes-Niediek also confirms this false equation of Rroma with an underclass. However, he admits that tens of thousands of guest workers, many of them Rroma, came in the 1960s and 70s as guest workers to Germany and have integrated successfully. The program shows the problem that one only ever speaks about the visible representatives of the minority: the beggars, the slum dwellers, the criminals. However, the world consists of more than what you see at first glance: the integrated, invisible Rroma, which make up the majority of the minority, also build part of it. Regarding the importance of education, Mappes-Niediek notes critically that education in Romania or Bulgaria does not necessarily allow a social advancement, as in Germany, but that the economic and social exclusion is maintained in spite of good educational qualifications. Most listeners use their individual experiences – negative and positive – and equate them with the “culture” of the Rroma and thus ascribe them a robot-like habitus, which does not do justice to the heterogeneity and especially individuality of Rroma. Many reproduce the stereotypes of travelling, poor, music playing Rroma only apply to a portion of the Rroma. Markus End points out that the media convey a highly one-sided, value loaded notion of Rroma: for instance, an Internet newspaper headlined: “Not only Roma come, but also academics.” Through that, one undoubtedly assumes that there are no Rroma who are scientists, which is clearly racist.

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

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

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

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Several German newspapers report on the latest publication of political scientist Markus End who studied the stigmatisation of the minority by national media on behalf of the documentation and cultural centre of German Sinti and Roma. The study entitled Antiziganism in the German public. Strategies and mechanisms of media communication takes a critical look at the representation of Rroma by and in public media. End did not only focus on extreme, obvious cases of stigma and racism, but rather on the subtle ways of thinking in racist discourses that constitute the basis for the minority’s rejection. One of the author’s central finding is that journalists who are usually producing a differentiated coverage also use the false and prejudiced presentation ways in the case of this minority because they don’t work critically enough with alleged facts. The racist stereotypes are found among all types of media, in Boulevard as well as in so-called quality media.

In the course of the debate on immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, the tendency prevailed to speak of “poverty immigration”. However, this expression was implicitly assimilated to the meaning “immigration of poor Rroma”. Such coded statements are as problematic as open hostility towards the minority. Romani Rose criticises the same problem concerning the use of terms “poverty”, “crime”, and “Rroma”: “problems, crime, poverty. There are many stereotypes who are associated with the ethnic group. “The stigmatising debate has intensified lately, said Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma. The fact that Roma and Sinti are repeatedly mentioned in the same sentence with crimes lead to the fact that the allegations against individuals are made into an identity-feature of all Sinti and Roma, he explained. The same is the case with the allegation of poverty: “Poverty is not an identity-feature of our minority. What does poverty have to do with ancestry?” No group is so heavily marginalised in Germany as Sinti and Roma, Rose states (Ambrosi 2014). Christine Lueder, anti-discrimination commissioner of the federal government, criticised the excessive passive tolerance of discrimination by the German government. It should do more to tackle stigmatisation and marginalisation of this minority. Romani Rose demands from the German government an annual report on discrimination against Rroma in Germany. As the media themselves report about these shortcomings, they – first of all – have the responsibility to do something about it. Therefore, in the future, Rroma should be represented in the broadcasting councils of the public channels. At least, in Germany, in contrast to most other Western European countries, there is a consciousness for the Rroma living in an integrated and invisible fashion, having a German passport:  one estimates them at around 100,000 persons (compare Emmrich 2014, Grunau 2014, MiGAZIN 2014, Neues Deutschland 2014, Rroma Foundation 2014, Scholz 2014, Verein Roma-Service 2014).

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16.07.2014 Stereotypes: illiteracy among Rroma

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

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11.07.2014 Right-wing extremism in Germany

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Baş (2014) presents the results of a research study. In this study, researchers analysed the developments of right-wing extremism in Germany. Its results show that hatred against asylum seekers, Rroma, Sinti, and Muslims has increased. While hatred against migrants was present for a long time, nowadays it is becoming more specific and targeted against the groups mentioned above and also much stronger: “Negative views about asylum seekers stand very high at 84.7% in the new Länder, and at 73.5% in the old Länder. But Rroma and Sinti draw the resentment of more of half of the Germans, and nearly half of the Germans reject Muslims.” (Baş 2014). This horrifying numbers are not coupled to regions or political ideologies. They’re found instead throughout the whole population. As important factors for right-wing extremism are seen educational and economical standards.

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04.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: prison sentences against Rroma child traffickers

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

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04.07.2014 Frankfurt’s cultural campus: apartments for Rroma

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

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04.07.2014 NPD-posters: Meeting on campaigning limits

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

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

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

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

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

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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 University of Leipzig: majority of Germans rejects Sinti and Roma

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Steinmetz (2014) reports on the study “The stabilised centre – right-wing attitudes in Germany 2014” from the University of Leipzig. The report comes to the conclusion that right-wing extremism generally decreases in Germany, however, the rejection of individual ethnic groups has increased. The authors connect the positive trend towards a decreasing number of extreme right-wing positions to – among others – the stable economic growth in Germany. However, the country is an island in this respect, as in other European countries right-wing nationalist views are strongly increasing. As a right-wing extremism, authors of the study identify advocates of dictatorship, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, social Darwinism, trivialization of Nazism and chauvinism. Steinmetz summarizes the findings as follows: “Almost half of all German citizens want to ban Sinti and Roma from the inner cities, the study found. 56 percent of the respondents state that this group tends to crime. And almost as many would have a problem if Sinti and Roma would stay in their neighbourhood. The representative survey is based on numbers that the opinion research institute Usuma collected in the spring of 2014. Nearly 2,500 people were interviewed in person.” The authors of the study further detect an east-west division, with East-Germany having five percent higher approval for extreme right-wing positions than in West Germany. In addition, they show a clear correlation between a lack of education and the susceptibility to extreme right-wing positions. Therefore “6.8 percent of people with a high school degree, but 20.8 percent without A levels [are] xenophobic” (Universität Leipzig 2014/I). Nevertheless, extreme right-wing positions are present among the followers of all parties. The susceptibility to xenophobic opinions lies among voters of the CDU, SPD and the Left at around 17 percent. The authors identify the latent willingness of up to 31 percent of the population to agree to far-right positions as worrying: “The amount of the undecided suggests that these people could again completely agree with extreme views in the case of a deterioration of the economic situation, said the sociologist Elmar Brähler” (Locke 2014). That can be interpreted in terms of a passive tolerance and therefore approval of these extreme positions. This tendency is disturbing insofar as the seizure of power by right-wing extremists has only been possible in the past, because a significant part of the population passively tolerated it. The phenomenon that resentments align against certain groups is called “secondary authoritarianism” by the authors. This kind of racism can – among others – be explained with the subordination of society to economic values​​, and with aggressions toward deviants and weak persons: “Not migrants in general are rejected, many Germans think now: they contribute something to us. But those that trigger the imagination, that are fundamentally different or have a good life without work, attract anger towards themselves.” Scientists call this phenomenon the secondary authoritarianism. The position of the economy in Germany plays an important role. “[The Economy] has become something like an unquestionable authority”” (Universität Leipzig 2014, compare Ambrosi 2014, Berliner Zeitung 2014, Business-Panorama 2014, Clauss 2014, Conrad 2014, Decker/Kiess/Brähler 2014, Die Welt 2014, Der Westen 2014, Netz-gegen-Nazis 2014, Neues Deutschland 2014, Osnabrücker Zeitung 2014, Van den Berg 2014).

The vice president of the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma, Silvio Peritore, suggests in an interview on the occasion of the new study that the Rroma, or more precisely a deliberately constructed image of immigrant Rroma, was used in campaigning. Many populist politicians stated that the Rroma come in masses from Southeast Europe to Germany, in order to live at the expense of the welfare state. Populism completely negates that there were and are a lot of non-Rroma that migrate to Germany and Western Europe, as well as that many well-qualified migrants come. Another problem is the equation of all Rroma, both the integrated living as well as the new immigrants, to a picture that doesn’t do justice to reality: “You must distinguish. We have 70,000 German Sinti and Roma who are completely integrated, have jobs, the children go to school. These people cannot be compared with immigrants who come to Germany to find work. Twelve million European Gypsies are just not a homogeneous mass. What all have in common is the concept of the so-called Gypsy, with which they are labelled. […] Many are afraid to be known as so-called Gypsies because they could then face problems at work or in finding accommodation. I myself have concealed my origin for a long time.” Peritore is optimistic that one can change the public image of the Rroma to the positive among those who have not totally deadlocked their opinion. It is significant in this regard that the susceptibility to xenophobic opinions is significantly higher where there are fewer foreigners (Leurs 2014).

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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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25.05.2014 “A People Uncounted” gives Rroma and Holocaust survivors a voice

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Various American newspapers report about the new movie by Aaron Yeger, which focuses on the marginalization of the Rroma in Europe. In an interview with NPR (2014), Yeger explores the question of why no exact figures on murdered Rroma exist as well what the marginalization and destruction of the minority meant for the former communities. As for the number of victims, the lack of written documentation by Rroma themselves as well as the absence of official documents is probably the main reason. The film focuses on the aspects of exclusion and persecution that are recapitulated by eyewitnesses. Language and traditions are only briefly touched upon. The New York Times comments: “While travelling to Budapest, Vienna, Montreal, Ukraine, Romania and Germany, the film, the first feature by Aaron Yeger, presents a range of lucid commentators, some of whom touch upon distant Roma history. But the primary focus here is on the disenfranchisement and ruthless persecution the Roma have long suffered in Europe: in Romania in the mid-1400s, by the Habsburgs in 1500, by Henry VIII and again by the Habsburgs in 1721. […] The darkest hour was the Holocaust, in which hundreds of thousands of Roma perished in concentration camps. Much of this movie is composed of survivors who give harrowing accounts of their experiences, and their warnings about rising ethnic hatred in Europe should not be ignored” (Webster 2014). Miller (2014) also points out that the image of the Rroma in the United States is shaped by stupendous reality TV shows such as Gypsy Sisters and My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. These convey a stereotypical, one-sided picture of the Rroma. “A People Uncounted” tries to live up to the complexity of the fate of the Rroma (compare Broadway World 2014, Documentary Trailers 2011, Scheck 2014).   

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21.05.2014 Once more: north migration is an economic and not a Rroma phenomenon

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Peters (2014) reports on Rroma in Sofia and Berlin. She portrays the famous image of marginalized Rroma below the poverty level, for which the conditions in Germany represent a major development step, even if it is only by receiving a minimum wage. Thereby, she characterizes a fairly accurate picture of the economic causes of migration, but mixes these too imprudently with ascribed characteristics of the Rroma. Although she also mentions the large proportion of well-qualified immigrants and the discrimination against Rroma in Germany itself, she only covers these issues very marginally. The reductionist, defamatory statements of the Bulgarian deputy prime minister, Zinaida Zlatanova, are cited as evidence for the strong marginalization of the Rroma in Bulgaria, what is identified by Peters as the main reason for the northern migration of the minority: “Bulgaria is home to many different ethnic groups. We have problems only with Roma”, says Zlatanova. “And these problems exist in every country that is home to Roma. This is not a Bulgarian problem. In France, Hungary – the same.” The exclusion of Roma children in ghettos and their own schools? “We should not tear the Rroma from their natural environment. Better they go to segregated schools than never.” Whether Germany benefits from identifying the phenomenon “poverty migration” as a “Rroma problem”, is very questionable. Also in Germany the Rroma are exposed top exclusion. The exclusion of the Rroma must not be concealed that is out of question. However, the marking of migrants as Rroma migrants creates more problems than it solves. The Rroma want to integrate and not undergo special treatment, which excludes them additionally. This only creates new resentments, as can be read in Peters’ own assessment: “We must take care of the Roma, who come to us”, says Giffey [councillor for education in Neukölln]. The dilemma is this: If you do that – then more and more come.”

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16.05.2014 Romeo Franz criticizes the German and European Rroma policy

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EurActiv (2014) gives a voice to the German European Parliament candidate Romeo Franz. Franz is a German Sinto who has campaigned for the social recognition of the minority for many years. In 2011, he joined the Green Party. Franz criticizes in the interview both the German and the European Rroma policy. Too little is done and many things only half-heartedly, he criticizes. Many journalists have no sense of the discrimination that takes place due to naming ethnicity: “I have been discriminated my whole life as a Sinto. But as a 14-year-old, I was already demonstrating for our rights. It is my duty, as a German Sinto, to get involved and fight racism. […] There are deep-seated clichés and prejudices, which are being passed along within German families. […] such racist prejudice can even be stirred up in the media and politics. In daily local reporting, for example. If someone is a criminal, their ethnic affiliation is not mentioned in the news report – except regarding Sinti and Roma. In that regard, there is no sensitivity at all among journalists.” He sees is as particularly concerning that also Germany consciously promotes the segregation of the Rroma: in his constituency Ludwigsburg, a Rroma container village is under construction that wilfully marginalizes the Rroma. These double standards are also found in the German migration policy: While Angela Merkel just announced plans to better integrate the Rroma in Germany, at the same time the cabinet declared Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia to safe countries of origin. This allows the deportation of immigrant Rroma: “The German government wants to make it easier to deport people from the countries mentioned. At the same time, the Roma situation in Serbia is even worse than here – no access to running water, education or healthcare. They are constantly suffering from racist encroachment. Their life is in danger. In Brussels far to little for the social acceptance and integration of minorities is done, Franz criticizes. He wants to change this by pursuing a policy of human rights.

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09.05.2014 Integration support in Ennepetal loaded with prejudices

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Scherer (2014) reports on the advice on integration of the association “future-oriented support” of Duisburg in Enneptal. It had been invited by the local working group in order to get advices on integration of immigrated Rroma. Unfortunately, in this case also, the prevailing habit is to talk about Rroma, but not with them: “A major issue will be schooling. “The test will reveal which children have already been vaccinated, which have ever been to school and what type of school is fitting”, says [mayor] Wilhelm Wiggenhagen. For the enrolment of about 50 school-age children, there are also first thoughts and considerations. Integration classes – which do not exist in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis so far – could be a solution […] A concern is: the Roma are historically not very sedentary people. “In the worst case, we therefore take a lot of money and personnel for children, who after a few months live in a different country”, says the mayor of Ennepetal.” Wiggenhagen assessment mixes two different phenomena. One is the stereotypical view that most Rroma are travellers, which is wrong. The other is the migration to Germany because of societal and economic reasons. This migration has nothing to do with a travelling lifestyle. The article also conveys a picture of Rroma who are difficult to integrate, when the association “future-oriented support” speaks about the necessities of clear rules for the immigrants: “What the Roma need, are clear rules and consequences, if these are not adhered to.” Here, once more characteristics that are the result of poverty and lack of education, are mixed with cultural features (compare Scherer 2014/II).

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