Daily Archives: April 30, 2014

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30.04.2014 “Merkel: Fair chances for Sinti and Roma”

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The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, argues in her latest podcast for a better integration of Rroma in Germany. This better integration is planned to take place through education, public relations work and increased contacts between ethnic Germans and Rroma. Moreover, one should decidedly take action against right-wing extremism in Germany. The chancellor stated: “The fight against right-wing extremism, racism, is part of our daily work. And there are also the necessary legal paragraphs, but they are, I think, not sufficient by themselves. We need a social climate in which everyone knows that racism and nationalism and other extreme movements, right-wing extremism, are prohibited and that civil courage must be shown when we face something like that in everyday life” (Video-Podcast der Bundeskanzlerin #11/2014). The interviewer, Marian Luca, counters that the latest study by Amnesty International shows that in many European countries the majority population accepts discrimination against the minority tacitly. The chancellor replied: “These hints by Amnesty International need not only be taken seriously, but also be pursued them. There are disadvantages and prejudices against Roma and Sinti; to deny this would mean that we do not face reality. This also exists in Germany. Therefore, the task for me is also to get to know each other better, so that one can do away with these prejudices, that one gets to know the biographies of many Sinti and Roma and sees how successfully they get involved in our society.” Another point of criticism is the lack of usage of available funding for integration by European member states. Merkel wants to improve this through specific discussions with government representatives. For this purpose, she will meet with representatives of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma next Monday. It is to be hoped that this will not just remain a lip service, but that concrete measures to improve the integration of the Rroma will be taken (compare Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2014).

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30.04.2014 Discriminatory views about Rroma in Romanian politics

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Bird/Candea (2014) inform about institutionalized racism in Romanian politics. Discriminatory attitudes towards members of the Rroma minority are common in all political parties of the country, they state. As a starting point they take a racist joke of the social democrat Dan Tudorache, who is said to have written during a winter storm earlier this year, that it was so cold that he had seen a “gypsy” with his hands in his own pockets. Rroma activist Ciprian Necula condemned Tudorache’s statement in the media, but was in turn confronted with a lot of negative comments. Rroma politician Damian Draghici announced on the occasion of the incident that Romanian politicians showed no skills or awareness about discriminatory statements: “When you are five years old and you put your hand on the oven, you know it burns,” he says, making a comparison, “but if you have never put your hand on the oven until you’re 30 years old – you will get burned at 30. […] What is necessary, he argues, is to educate such people about what discrimination means.” Bird/Candea see the situation more realistically than Draghici. They state that it is immaterial whether behind discriminatory remarks one finds naivety or bad intentions. What is crucial is the marginalization and degradation of the minority in the political and social everyday life, as the National Council Against Racism confirms. The pejorative attitudes towards Rroma are taught to the ethnic Romanians from an early childhood and repeated regularly, the authors state: “Prejudice is recycled from generation to generation and ingrained in Romanian children at an early age. In Romanian playgrounds it is common to hear elders tell their children they should behave or “the gypsies will come and kidnap you” and, if they have paint or mud on their face or hands, that the infant is “dirty like a gypsy.”” The segregation of the Rroma in the schools, in the labour market and in the residential districts of Romania continues to be present, Bird/Candea confirm. It is time to finally end this. This includes the better education of the general population, which allows to reduce prejudices which are based on ignorance.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Serbien

30.04.2014 Civil courage against discrimination in Serbia

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Ernst (2014) reports two experiences of discrimination by Serbian Rroma. In both described cases, one the refusal of entry into a McDonalds store, the other the expulsion of a cleaning lady from a bank, the moral courage of those affected had an impact on the outcome of theses injustices. In the first case, the woman who wanted to buy sandwiches in the fast food store for three Rroma children in Novi Sad complained to the local ombudswomen. She in turn sued McDonalds and won. In the second case, the cleaning lady turned to the media: The store manager, who had expelled Mrs Uskokovic from the bank, was put in the pillory of the media. Ernst sees the two incidents as examples of the importance of civil courage against socially tolerated discrimination. Only through the commitment of each and every person, can the exclusion of minorities be ended in the long term: “These are two unpleasant stories that confirm what is known or suspected about Roma discrimination in the Balkans (Mrs Uskokovic, the street cleaner from Nis, has a dark complexion, but it is unclear whether she refers to herself as Roma). Therefore, they is nothing news. […] But what is crucial: citizens as Maja Rogic and Lidija Uskokovic give rise to hope  – because they do not put up with everything.”

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