Weaver (2014) reports on a recent statement of the European Commission on Denmark. The Commission criticizes the poor efforts of the Danish state to integrate its estimated 10,000 Rroma. Two families from the town of Helsingør in the northeast of the country are cited as examples of how a lacking integration policy favours drifting into illegality: “The two familes – Nika and Stallone – number in the hundreds, and many of them have been sent to prison for crimes committed throughout Denmark. Laza Stallone, who last year slammed Helsingør’s efforts to support the Roma community, has been convicted of crimes several times, including a case in February in which he and two of his sons were found guilty of extortion and making death threats to a former employer. The Nika family are also no stranger to northern courtrooms. Last year, Petar Nika was sentenced to 18 years in prison for 14 cases of theft, mostly by fraud targeting the elderly and infirm. Other family members have been convicted of crimes ranging from theft and fraud to receiving stolen property.” If the European Commission has indeed communicated these two examples in such detail and the information does not originate from the Copenhagen Post itself, one can only call this representation of the situation as very unfortunate and unprofessional. Due to the detailed description of the offenses it is indeed suggested that there is a “culture of crime” among Rroma, which is not the case. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. In addition, it should be pointed out that there are no exact figures on the number of Rroma in Denmark, as the spokesperson for the European Commission, Mina Andreeva, communicated correctly. Therefore, it is indeed difficult to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of initiatives to integrate the Rroma. The Rroma Foundation does not estimate 10,000 Rroma in Denmark, as the article communicates, but 1’500 to 2’000.
- Weaver, Ray (2014) Denmark failing at Roma integration, says EU. In: The Copenhagen Post online vom 18.8.2014. http://cphpost.dk/news/denmark-failing-at-roma-integration-says-eu.10526.html
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