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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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26.07.2014 Bucharest: exhibition on Rroma massively defamed

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Jacob (2014) reports on a racist hostility towards an exhibition of the Rroma painter George Vasilescu in Bucharest. Vasilescu showed a series of portraits of 15 contemporary Rroma musicians in the renowned Muzeul Țăranului Român museum (museum of the Romanian peasant). Even before the exhibition opened, the nationalist politician Bogdan Diaconu published a racist tirade against the portrait display on his website: “The member of the social democratic Romanian party USP, which otherwise primarily disparages the Hungarian minority in the country, called the exhibition a “irresponsible insult” to Romanian culture. The museum director Nitulescu has transformed his exhibition hall into a “rubbish dump” and thus “offends common sense”, [he stated]. “The culture” must “be protected from such damage and dirt”, [he added]. With the display of Roma musicians, “the museum promotes homosexuality.” It is significant that Diaconu cannot even have seen the exhibition as it only opened a few days later. His hostility towards the museum director and the exhibition is therefore clearly biased with by a massive racial prejudice. In his absurd, xenophobic argument, he equates interest and compassion with the Rroma minority with homosexuality, which reveals his pathological way of thinking. After Diaconu made his public statement, which received massive media coverage, Nitulescu received numerous hate messages and even a death threat. Nitulescu responded with an open letter in which he criticised the hostility of Diaconu and accuses him of demagoguery. The prestigious daily newspaper Adevãrul however rejected the publication of the letter.

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26.07.2014 Rroma settlements along the Tour-de-France evicted

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Various French daily newspapers report on the eviction of informal Rroma settlements along the route of the Tour-de-France. In the opinion critical observers, the closing of the settlements in Bondoufle (Essonne), each housing up to 50 people, is undoubtedly due to the media presentation of the Tour-de-France and the city. These are supposed to appear clean and tidy to the viewers from all over the world. However, the camps were evacuated under the pretext of security flaws and lack of cleanliness, whereby the Tour de France was said to be in danger. The affected Rroma families are now homeless, as no alternative accommodation were offered. The Rroma and the aid organisations are particularly upset because the mayor had insured in January of this year, that the settlements would not be evicted if they were well maintained, would not grow bigger and if the inhabitants actively collaborated with the social services. However, the mayor of Bondoufle, Jean Heart, denied this towards AFP. His statement was supposedly only valid for a single Rroma family. It has to be emphasized that the evacuation of the informal settlements complicates a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants significantly. With the forced evictions, the problems and the question of integration are simply moved from one location to the next, but not solved. Furthermore, the media focus on informal settlements suggests that there are only lower class Rroma who are poorly educated. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, there are 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma living integrated and unobtrusively in French society (Rroma Foundation 2014). They are totally ignored by the French media, the public and politics (compare 20 minutes 2014, Lesacq 2014, Le Parisien 2014, Le Nouvel Observateur 2014, Lemonnier 2014).

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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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23.07.2014 Hungary: dispute over a Rroma-hostile, socialist politician

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Bognar (2014) reports on a political debate around the socialist politician Albert Pásztor. Pásztor was nominated by the Democratic coalition as a candidate for mayor of Miskolc. But Pásztor is not without controversy as he repeatedly expressed racist view towards Hungarian Rroma. In 2009, at that time chief of police in Miskolc, he stated that the Rroma were responsible for most of the crimes in the city and its surroundings: “We can calmly announce that the thefts in public space are committed by Gypsies”. He added that he does not really believe that a coexistence between Magyars and Rroma is possible. Because of this clearly racist abuse, Pásztor is criticised among left-wing politicians. But not among all of them. Márton Gulyás, head of the Krétakör Foundation, learnt this during a demonstration of the democratic coalition against the incumbent Fidesz party in Budapest. Gulyás held up a banner saying “Left solutions instead of antiziganism”. Thereby, Gulyás wanted to give expression to his displeasure with the nomination of Albert Pásztor. The banner was snatched away from Gulyás and he was slapped by several demonstrators. Thereafter, several Hungarian politicians spoke up and either condemned the action or declared it as symptomatic for the disunity among the Democratic coalition: “The head of the Hungarian liberals, Gábor Fodor, in turn, explained that the left belies itself with the support of the candidacy of Pásztor. The politician of the party “common dialog for Hungary”, Gergely Karácsony, even stated that the left has “completely emptied” in moral terms.” Bognar’s article shows that xenophobic slogans against Rroma also occur repeatedly among left-wing politicians and question the ideas of a democratic state in which all citizens are truly equal. In this context, it should be mentioned that it is mainly the right-wing nationalist Jobbik-party, which promotes and disseminates racist ideas towards the Rroma-minority.

Pester Lloyd (2014) criticises that the democratic coalition now campaigns to the detriment of Rroma by nominating a Rroma-hostile candidate: “Pásztor is – even for the left spectrum – not an isolated case, racist stereotypes – against Roma mainly – are deeply rooted in Hungarian society, across the political spectrum and in all educational levels. But to make such a person the common top candidate of the relevant left-wing parties DK, MSZP […] is new, and a clear signal that the Roma are only an object of political speculation for the “left.”” Pester Lloyd accuses Pásztor to deliberately deny in his experience as a police chief the exclusion and marginalization of Rroma and to reinterpret it as a criminal mentality, which is clearly racist.

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23.07.2014 Paris: Lynch victim awakens from coma

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The young Rrom Darius, who fell victim of a lynching in the Parisian suburbs, has awakened from an artificial coma, as several European newspapers reported. Darius can speak and recognize his family. However, how he has experienced the incident himself, and what his views are, is not discussed. He was probably not yet interrogated. The perpetrators of the incident are still unknown. The prosecutor of Bobigny has initiated a proceeding for attempted murder: “The boy was nearly beaten to death in mid-June, in a case of severe vigilante justice of a dozen residents in a deprived district in the north of Paris. According to the police, he was violently abducted from a Roma camp, abused in a basement, and found a few hours later unconscious in a supermarket trolley. He suffered serious head injuries. According to data from legal circles, the victim was known to the police for theft” (Die Welt 2014). The exact circumstances of the incident are still not verified, as are the allegations with regard to the victim. The incident led to massive accusations on French politics, which negatively politicises against Rroma since years and instrumentalises them for election campaigns. Other critics, in return, point out that the lynch case is the result of many years of failed social policy that has created law free zones of misery (compare Le Monde 2014, Le Parisien 2014, Millot 2014).

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19.07.2014 Forced expulsion of Rroma in Meaux

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Duplan (2014) reports on the eviction of 75 to 150 Rroma who had lived in Meaux, in the Île-de-France, on an abandoned industrial wasteland. The new owner of the site, who purchased the property recently, requested the eviction of the property by the mayor. The lawyer of the displaced persons labelled the action as being illegal: “This arrangement is miserable and illegal, rants Julie Launois-Flacelière, the lawyer of the expellee. The president of the tribunal of Meaux declared herself competent of the matter, although she didn’t had to do it. Usually, it is the district court that must become active, because this concerns the evacuation of a building.” In the ordinance that forces the Roma to leave their refuge, only five residents of the occupied house are mentioned. The security forces, however, evacuated all of them: 145 people “who were not able to defend themselves before the hearing”, said Madame Launois-Flaceliere.” Since barely a week had passed between the act of the bailiff and the supposed hearing, the lawyer has filed an appeal before the court. On the part of the prefecture, one points out that the safety rules had not been adhered to on the site, there were in fact real dangers to residents. The argument to have acted for the good and the security of the displaced persons is found in many forced evictions in France. It cannot hide the fact that the welfare of the Rroma was not the priority of the major’s office. Otherwise, one would have indeed corrected these issues. In the French press, one only reads of Rroma living illegal settlements or occupied houses. That these visible Rroma constitute only a minority of all Rroma in France – according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation between 100,000 and 500,000, who predominantly live integrated, is completely negated by the journalists. In addition, the continuous evictions of immigrant Rroma complicate the integration considerably.

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18.07.2014 Informal Rroma settlement in Lyon was evicted

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Several French newspapers report on the eviction of an informal Rroma settlement in Lyon. The settlement, which was below and in the vicinity of a railway bridge, was home to about 250 people, including many children and infants, as well as pregnant women. Families with small children and expecting women were offered temporary accommodation. The settlement had been recently created. Most of the residents were living on the site only since a few months, the authorities stated. The anti-racist movement MRAP announced in a communiqué: “The few nights of hotel that the prefecture has proposed to six families cannot replace a correct diagnosis and support to the totality of people present, as the circular [of August 26th, 2012] states, which was signed by Mr. Valls himself when he was interior minister […]. [MRAP] “condemned” that this “forced evictions violate European and international law” and “recalled that France was sentenced several times for the violation of fundamental rights of the Rroma population” (Libération 2014). The ongoing evictions of informal Rroma camps have been criticised for quite some time now. During the summer months, the evictions of Rroma settlements always increase massively. In winter, many communities grant a humanitarian moratorium. Since most of the displaced join other informal settlements, the problem is just shifted from one place to another. Only few long-term solutions have been implemented so far. These include, for instance, the tolerance of the settlements, which enables establishing an existence, enrolling children in school, and the continuous search of a job. Another option is integration programs, which actively foster the social integration of immigrants. However, these are controversial since they specifically refer to Rroma and thereby ascribe the minority a special status. On the 100,000 to 500,000 integrated and invisible Rroma living in France, one almost never hears anything in the French media (compare RTL 2014, Rue89Lyon 2014).

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18.07.2014 Prejudices: Geneva security chief in search of the Rroma problem

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Habel (2014) reports on the visit of the Geneva security officer, Pierre Maudet, in Bucharest. Maudet laments the increasingly large number of offenses committed by Romanian citizens in Geneva, in addition to the already known begging Rroma. These are said to be combated most effectively through an improved cooperation between Romania and Switzerland. Unfortunately, a very one-sided notion of the Rroma is created: During his stay in Bucharest,  Maudet visited almost exclusively the Rroma district Ferentari where around 18,000 Rroma live in poor conditions. However, not all Rroma live in ghettos and are poor. In addition, it is very problematic to conclude that poverty leads to an increase in crime. As can be analysed in the article, Maudet sees the delinquent Rroma as involved in begging, stealing and prostitution networks. These are common stereotypes about Rroma: ““The delinquency originating in Romania is about to exceed the North African delinquency in Geneva, explains Pierre Maudet. Violence against older people or homosexuals, prostitution networks, burglaries, pick-pocketing, theft by deception and shop window theft, break-ins into cars… In the end, more than 400 arrests per year were made – “In 2013, we counted 1284 Romanian suspects”, clarifies the state counsellor […].“ However, begging is not to be equated with criminal begging networks, as critical studies show. In addition, begging income is very modest. Prostitution and human trafficking are not the same. Maudet indicates that he also sees economic grievances as a reason for migration to Geneva. But he also presents this problem incorrectly as a “Rroma problem.” Rroma are not more criminal than members of other ethnic groups.

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18.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: problem house “In den Peschen” being evicted

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Several German newspapers report on the eviction of Duisburg’s “problem” house “In den Peschen”, which repeatedly made it to the headlines over the past year. Constantly, the press reported about dwellings occupied by Rroma families, about dirt, noise disturbances, and about increased crime. The allegations combined numerous reservations on immigrant Rroma: they are poor, uneducated, anti-social, abuse the German welfare system and cause social tensions in the affected districts.  However, not all immigrants are poor and many immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are not Rroma. But the polemical debate about the so-called “poverty immigration” suggested just that: a mass immigration of low-skilled Rroma into the German welfare system. Thus, an economic phenomenon was presented as an ethnic problem, what doesn’t do justice to reality.

The large building complex which has 47 apartments has now been declared uninhabitable by the Duisburg city council. All remaining residents have to leave the house in the following two weeks. The building’s residents are also accused of having illegally obtained child benefits. Another common misconception, which is also projected onto the immigrant Rroma: “Although around 100 children from In den Peschen are registered in the clerk’s office, these were not found by the staff during their visit. This may indicate that the children have been reported only in order to receive child benefits. […] Duisburg is particularly affected by the immigration from Romania and Bulgaria. Currently, nearly ten thousand people from these two countries are reported in the Ruhr city. A task force implemented by the city will visit 50 more “problem properties” in the next few weeks, and if necessary issue “un-inhabitability-declarations”” (Frigelj 2014). Once again it must be stressed that there is no mass immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, as critical statistics excluding seasonal workers prove. In addition, immigrants belong to different ethnic groups and different social classes. However, the focus is – in the sense of sensational journalism – only on the problem cases that are falsely equated with Rroma (compare Frigelj 2014/II, Hänig 2014, Kaiser/Peters 2014, Cnotkaund/Mohrs 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 Daily Mail: again racist article about Rroma as welfare scroungers

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In a highly one-sided, racist article, Styles (2014) reports about a Rroma who is said to abuse the British welfare system. The article is largely identical to the text of Rawle (2014) from April 3rd of this year, which also portrays the Romanian Rrom Yonn Lazer as a welfare scrounger, who is said to act deliberately and shamelessly. The repetition of the same subject with the same informant makes it obvious that the aim is not objective journalism but stirring up resentment among the readers. Lazer is presented as proof that the British immigration policy has failed and plunges the state into ruin. Objective facts are not mentioned. Instead, the stereotypical, racist notion is spread that all Rroma immigrants are impoverished, poorly educated, and abuse the British social welfare system. In addition, Styles claims that Lazer is in direct dependence of a clan chief in Romania, to whom he has to give a share of all his incomes. This is another popular stereotype about Rroma, which is based on prejudice and not on facts. Through the presentation of many prejudices, the article makes itself untrustworthy, but reinforces resentment among the readership. Styles vilifies all members of this minority by establishing a clear link between ethnicity and social abuse. Thus she makes herself indictable for racist defamation. Right-wing populist views are presented as if they were objective facts. That these are extreme, individual cases is not discussed.

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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 Seville: pogroms against Rroma

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Wagner (2014) reports on pogroms against Rroma in the southern Spanish town of Estepa. After a series of break-ins, a mob of angry citizens formed which made Rroma responsible for the burglaries and invaded the local Rroma settlements. Several homes were destroyed. Fortunately, nobody was injured: “The protesters blamed the members of the minority for an increase in crime in the village of the province of Seville. According to media reports from Sunday, they attacked five Roma houses and put two of them on fire. In the incident from Saturday, no people were injured. The illegal rally had been organized on the social networks. The municipality of Estepa had stated the day before that the number of burglaries has increased dramatically in this town of 12,000 inhabitants. They convened an emergency meeting and announced a strengthening of the police forces.” The pogroms are symptomatic for failed European social policies that do not succeed in effectively addressing the social and economic inequalities. Instead, racist slogans that blame marginalised groups such as the Rroma as scapegoats for all ills, find approval among more and more people. A very worrying development that has been confirmed by the recent European elections, in which the right-wing populists gained massively in vote shares in all European countries. A society that disrespects its most vulnerable members – its minorities – is a failed society, as it violates the basic principles of democracy: the equality of all citizens.

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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 Far-right groups in Poland

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Zurawski (2014) reports about Polish far-right groups who blame the Rroma-minority for criminal activities. In this dynamics, Rroma are used as scapegoats. Beside actual physical violence against Rroma, shouts such as „Cyganies raus“ (Gypsies or Rroma out) are exceedingly common. Rroma in Poland are increasingly afraid of these developments. Human rights campaigners think that there is a direct link between these groups and the Hungarian extremist Jobbik party. This direct link is denied by a Jobbik activist. Jobbik Politicians were only present to offer to help. The right wing politician Robert Winniki, who said at a rally all Rroma should be driven out, sees in the Jobbik and it’s success as an inspiration for his views.   

Zurawski, Wojciech (2014) Polish far-right groups stir up anti-Roma hatred in the shadow of Auschwitz. In: The Independent the 9.7.2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/polish-farright-groups-stir-up-antiroma-hatred-in-the-shadow-of-auschwitz-9595882.html  

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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 Minority Rights Group International: Rroma in Europe still heavily discriminated against

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The latest report by Minority Rights Group International (2014) criticizes the continuing, strong discrimination against members of the Rroma community. For Hungary, the report passes criticism on the lack of protection against racially motivated violence. The perpetrators of a series of murders that brutally killed six Rroma between 2008 and 2009 were only identified and arrested after massive criticism of the initial investigation. The case revealed institutional racism in the Hungarian police. The protection of the Rroma population from parading right-wing groups is also insufficient, criticizes the documentation, for example concerning the parade of right-wing extremists in Gyöngyöspata, in 2011. The Hungarian law enforcement is pervaded by a strong double standard, the report states: Rroma are repeatedly sentenced to harsh prison sentences for acts of violence against ethnic Hungarians, so-called “anti-Hungarian crime”. However, these judgments are disproportionate when compared to the racist actions against Rroma, which are only insufficiently being investigated by the police: “The resistance of the police to considering bias motivation and effectively investigating crimes reported by Roma victims was illustrated by the inadequate official response to the ethnically motivated ‘patrols’ of extremist paramilitary organizations in the village of Gyöngyöspata in 2011, where the local Roma community were subjected to weeks of abuse and intimidation by armed vigilante gangs (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 173). The report regrets the continuing status quo that the Rroma are not or not sufficiently heard in the public discourse. Therefore, it is necessary that the minority gets help by the state or other organizations in combating this discrimination. However, if the state itself reproduces these racisms or tolerates them, little will change in this situation (compare politics.hu 2014).

Concerning Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, the report criticizes the prevalence of a sexist image towards Rromnja. These are presented as hyper-sexualized and promiscuous in the public debate, giving a racist explanation for the high number of children among certain Rroma. The fact that ahigh numbers of children is a result of poverty and of a lack of education, and therefore also occur among ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians and Slovaks, is completely disregarded. Therefore, a demographic issue that affects society as a whole is portrayed as an ethnic problem and thus underlined with racist reasoning. Particularly problematic are sterilisations that are still performed on Rroma without the consent =. They testify that eugenic thinking continues until today and is even actively pursued (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 29-30).

Regarding Greece, the report criticizes the continued segregation of Rroma children in public schools, which continues despite repeated admonitions by various courts. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in May 2013, that the implementation of a separate Rroma class at the primary school of Sofades constitutes a discrimination of the right to education. This was the third court ruling that condemned segregation of Rroma children in Greece. In addition, the report criticises the right-wing party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), who repeatedly agitated against Rroma and was involved in numerous violent actions against minorities. The neo-Nazi movement reasons along highly racist arguments. Member of parliament Dimitris Koukoutsis accused the Rroma of  genetic criminality (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 169-170).

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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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