Category Archives: News Switzerland

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20.12.2013 Undifferentiated Coverage of the Grandchildren Trick Scam and Rroma

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Ruch (2013) reports about a Polish Rroma clan who is allegedly behind the rising cases of so-called Grandchildren scam in Switzerland. The otherwise analytical report misses the critical use of ethnic categories. Instead, the popular public image of a mafia-like, hierarchical Rroma clan is dished, which stand behind the criminal offenses. Due to the indiscriminate attribution ofethnicity, Ruch feeds the idea of a culturally conditioned delinquency among Rroma. He states, “behind the vast majority of grandchildren trick in the German-speaking lands one finds the same group of offenders. A widely branched, Polish-German Roma family which earlier sold worthless carpets as expensive Oriental rugs and therefore stood in the crosshairs of investigators. In 1999, they probably invented the grandson trick scam in Poland, which they perfected successfully until today. The several hundred members of the clan are professionally organized according to the police. They operate literally call center and earn so well with this trick that they can afford a lavish lifestyle with expensive sports cars and extravagant family celebrations”. From Ruch’s article, it is not clear that there is no direct relationship between ethnicity and the offenses described. Instead, a cultural explanation is presented, an explanation that needs no further discussion because it is justified by itself. Such a reasoning is racist. Most Rroma are integrated citizens who are never named in the media. Unfortunately, journalists like André Ruch are still not aware of this.

Other Swiss newspapers such as the NZZ (2013) wrote uncommented that the perpetrators are mostly belonging to a Polish Roma clan.

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13.12.2013 The Tale of the Thieving Rroma Clans

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20 Minuten (2013) reports about two young girls who were arrested by the policie in Lucerne while trying to break into a house. Apparently, the girls come from a Roma camp in France. This short news confirms and is in line with the suspicion expressed in the Weltwoche (Gut, Philipp / Scherrer, Lucien 2013). In its article from early November it again talked of a “culture of crime”, which is brought into Switzerland by the Rroma. Articles with ethnic attributions that are not contextualized do promote racism towards an already heavily marginalized minority. More sensitivity in handling ethnic attributions would be highly desirable.

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06.12.2013 The Media Coverage on Rroma in Switzerland is One-Sided and often Defamatory

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On behalf of the Federal Commission against Racism, the Research Institute for the Public and Society of the Zurich University made a study on the quality of the reporting in Swiss media about Rroma (Ettinger, 2013; compare NZZ, 2013; 20 Minuten, 2013; Südostschweiz, 2013). The study examined a representative sample of Swiss media of the period from 2005 to 2012. The study concludes that the contributions are highly selective and unbalanced: in the daily press on Switzerland,  Rroma are almost only referred to in relation to asylum abuse, begging, theft, or prostitution. They appear primarily as perpetrators or in the case of prostitution as the victims of clan-related forced prostitution. While some Rroma come to word in various newspapers, the tendency to let officials talk about them dominates “Because of the focus on crime and deviant behaviour, representatives of the executive branch (24%), respectively of the police (12%) and the judiciary (6%) are the ones who most frequently come to word” (Ettinger 2013). The coverage is dominated by an image of an enemy that hypes up individual cases as precedents and builds them to an attestation of the culturally determined Rroma delinquency, which needs not be further explained: “The explanation of the rationale behind their statements is waived in particular by spokesman for the police (60 %), who limits their statements to delinquent behaviour of Roma, and almost without exception the citizen who argument on the basis on the basis of their subjective concerns whose aversions and fears are expressive statements that do not require a justification.” The alleged facts are therefore based on suspicions and on the willingness to believe them as facts.

In the reporting on Rroma outside of Switzerland in turn dominated by the perspective of portraying Rroma as the victims of discrimination and exclusion. The usual defamation about Rroma in Switzerland are largely ignored.

However, the study does not sufficiently question to what extent journalists and concerned citizens just assume that the people one reports on are Rroma. The attribution of a Rroma identity to conspicuous people is not looked into and considered to be problematic, but simply taken as given. This became clear in particular in the study of the Zurich street prostitution that simply postulated that the women in question are Rroma. How these statistics came about, is not problematized: “The majority of sex workers surveyed include the groups of the two Roma groups Romunro or Olah on”  (Sex Educatio 2012: 43). A clear identification of ethnicity is anything but simple, as the case around the blonde Rroma girl has shown.

On the Rroma Contact Point side, we find it would be great to give unspectacular topics such as the lives of integrated Rroma a voice and speak of their everyday life in order to create a counterweight to the negative representations. Ettinger notes: Although “Roma themselves come to word in no small numbers in reporting, t in 13 percent of the contributions they present their reactions. But the opinions the Roma and respectively Jenische are usually only reactions to existing problems. Roma or Jenische therefore are not able to contribute their own issues and positions in the reporting.”

The aspect of the political instrumentalisation of the Rroma to political ends falls short in this study even though Ettinger notes that Rroma are exploited before votes for partisan political ends. But the continuous values projection on Rroma by politically varied oriented daily and weekly media are too little criticised. Yet it is precisely the Rroma who are continuously abused as a counter point to the construction of a civic identity. Ettinger’s study therefore lacks a historical perspective on the aspect of discrimination that could thematise the socio-political aspect of the exclusion. This view would show that there is a tradition of prejudice against Rroma that has been perpetuated for centuries. A good source in this respect is Klaus-Michael Bogdal (2011) study on the dissemination of false, distorting culturalisms. Another problem is that the misrepresentation of Rroma on poverty-related phenomena such as illiteracy, begging, prostitution, high childbirth rates, or low level of education is not discussed critically. It is not enough to expose these representations as racist. They must be identified as wrong and distorting representations. Otherwise, the impression may arise that while the coverage was indeed distorted, there nevertheless is a culture of delinquency and exploitation among Rroma, which, due to political correctness, one must not mention. In the context of the poverty immigration to Germany, numerous journalists are arguing this way. Rather, social problems such as poverty and exclusion must be considered as such. In addition, cultural explanations that are based on prejudice and not on effective knowledge must be recognised as such and deconstructed.

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15.11.2013 Rroma and the Zurich Street Prostitution

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20 Minuten (2013) with its article on a lawsuit against two Rroma pimps presents a perspective of culturally determined relations of exploitation, reproducing the notion of clan-like dependencies, ratios, exactly as the Weltwoche does over and over again: “The District Court of Zurich convicted the clan chief in the summer of 2012, among others for human trafficking and sexual assault, the son for promotion of prostitution. [… ] The prosecutor told the Superior Court of the brutal and unscrupulous actions of the accused. These corporal punishments and threats made the exploited victims docile with corporal. The women who were purchases as goods had to give all the revenues of the clan chief.” What is questionable is of course not the charges of the violence done to these women, , but the finding that it is due to culturally determined structures and relations of exploitation. The article implies the fact that this pimping is a Roma-specific phenomenon.

Hasler’s (2013) article discrediting human trafficking also gives the impression that this case is the consequence of clan-like, strongly hierarchically organized Rroma groups: “Since 2008, The Zurich stree prostituion on the Sihlquai and the Langstrasse was dominated by Hungarian Roma. The area allocation among the pimps was not without tensions. [… ] The son did not hesitate to send his partner and mother of his children to prostitute herself and they harass her when she opposed it. He used such physical violence that the woman had to be driven to hospital by ambulance. At the conclusion of the criminal investigation, the wife of the public prosecutor announced that she wanted to marry the 25 year old.” Several authors explain convincingly that the notion of clan-like, hierarchical structures among the Rroma is wrong (Daniels, 2013, Mappes – Niediek 2013, Martens 2013, Tabin 2013). Representing pimping as a culturally driven phenomenon can only be described as absurd. That on needs to decidedly combat human trafficking is beyond question.

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08.11.2013 Generalisation on and defamation of Rroma in the Weltwoche

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The article about the alleged Rroma children in the world Week 44 /2013 is both factually and in its argumentation on a weak foundation:

It is based on a report of the Association of Towns published in 2011, the Bern Police spokesman Alexander Ott and various cantonal police forces. A bit thin an argumentation to generalise the given examples to an entire ethnic group and thus to actually defame it. The quoted anonymous sources from police sources make things even worse, as they suggest at best a form of conspiracy theory.

A true proof to the core message is not presented here.  The individual case described about a Rromni who rented a child for 250.- euro may be true. But to take the tragedy of this story for the thesis of existing organized gangs can only be regarded as journalistically and scientifically untenable.

Any counter-arguments to the thesis of the Weltwoche are completely ignored: For example, the study of professors Tabin and Knüsel showing that beggars earn less than 20.—CHF per day in Lausanne is not mentioned here. In addition, beggars organizations are actually a legend from the Middle Ages. No word about this either.

But the article dwells on the prostitution of underage Rroma boys. There is no mention that their customers are actually committing a criminal offence. Victims are made to be perpetrators, and the fate of innocent children is criminalised.

On cannot condone the generalizations about criminal Rroma, exploited by clans and tribes. The Weltwoche may have good reasons to write against the EU and the Schengen agreements, but we ask them not to build their argument on prejudice against an entire ethnic group. Maybe this paper should replace the term Rroma with the name of a different ethnic group and ask themselves if they could still publish it.

 

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08.11.2013 Rroma and the Zurich Street Prostitution

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Bracher (2013) in her article presents a shocking picture of humiliated, exploited women to be reintegrated back into Hungarian society by the Hungarian Baptist Aid Charity after their exit from prostitution. Two-thirds of them were Rroma. The women were all victims of pimps – often their own brothers, uncles or friends – who threatened them with violence or already applied it and under whose influence they mostly still stood. The interviews were all done by Bracher in the presence of a member of the charity and favour a victim’s perspective with a “Loverboy” havin pushed the women into prostitution. It is says for example: “With 24 Valeria met a man who promised her an income opportunity in Budapest. Whether she then knew then that it was about prostitution? She denies it, perhaps out of shame. When she learns in Budapest what is expected of her, she wants to go home. But the man threatened her that he will kill her grandmother. […] Onlyl last February Katalin did return from Zurich. Her then boyfriend took her to Zurich and told her there that he had sold her to a pimp. He brought her in a hotel where she was coerced into prostitution.” Without any intention to playing down forced prostitution, a question arises due to the discrepancy between Bracher’s representations and the opinions of women and prostitutes organisations  These paint a different picture that does not correspond to the exploitation of Rroma by Rroma. The prostitutes organisations Dona Carmen (2013 ), Hyra (2013) and the Zurich Institute against the trafficking of women and women migration (2013) describe forced prostitution as a marginal phenomenon that constitutes the exception, not the rule. Rather, the economic misery is the cause for prostitution, usually voluntary. Poverty is therefore what needs to be addressed, not the prostitution itself. Moreover, one should not only always speak about, but one must also discuss with the prostitutes: “It is not a great job. It is a tough job. But it annoys us when sex workers are always portrayed as victims. They are not. Many of them are strong, wise women who make a living and that of their families and are small entrepreneurs. They are victims only because of the stigma of sex work” (Boos 2013). Here, however, great caution should be exercised before playing down forced prostitution. Dona Carmen (2013) refers in its presentation on police statistics on declining, even almost non-existent cases of human trafficking in Germany. The reliability of these statistics is to be doubted, as the identification of human trafficking is far from clear and simple. The same goes for the other side, the one claiming that each case of prostitution is the result of trafficking. To describe the exploitation of Rroma by Rroma as standard case is to be decidedly questioned. It corresponds to the Weltwoche view that sees Rroma society as a hierarchically organised clan structure.

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01.11.2013 The Cliché of Rroma Stealing Children

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The “Bote der Urschweiz” paper (The Messenger of Central Switzerland) (2013) confirms in an article about the Rroma blonde girl Maria who was found in Greece, the biological relationship to a Rroma family in Bulgaria. Both the biological parents and the foster parents now raise claims to the care of the girl. The media attention about Maria encourages still strongly rooted prejudices about Rroma, both of biological and social nature: Rroma have to be dark-skinned and dark-haired. In addition, the case is hyped for all the wrong reasons: It reinforces the still widespread but absurd ideas about Rroma and children theft or sale. The foster mother is reported as having bought Maria for 500 leva (about 315 francs) from her biological mother, which the latter, however, denies. The Bulgarian Child Protection Authority claims that the biological parents are not able to adequately care for their children. Which is why they want to give Maria to a foster Bulgarian family (NZZ 2013).

Versek (2013) also criticised the concept of child-stealing Rroma which is reinforced by the overall reporting as absurd and non-credible. What give to thin is in fact the uninhibited association of Rroma with human trafficking. In the case of the Jews, the public would never allow such a link, for Rroma however yes. “In recent weeks, ​​the story of the little blond Maria who was discovered in a Greek Rroma family made Europe’s headlines. Even before the details of the case stood firm, the picture in the public mind was created as if it were a terrible case of kidnapping or at least of human trafficking.” As Verseck sees it, it is the vicious circle of poverty falsely is often described as the Rroma culture that needs to be broken.

Von Daniels (2013), states that the ideas of organised clans which are involved in begging and organised crime, are largely wrong. The police in Vienna recently tried to smash a so-called Rroma network. Only they could not find any. What they found, was “third world to touch”, therefore blatant poverty. The idea of Rroma who exploit other Rroma is found among  those who want to criminalise them and discipline them. This is done for both the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator. Thus, the Rroma themselves are not readily integrable for Manual Valls, which manifests itself in a criminalising perspective on them. This apparent, lack of integration will is elevated to a cultural characteristic: “”These people have long been aware of impoverished and socially marginalized,” says the also representative Kawczynski from Hamburg. What is often referred to as ethnic tradition, is a sign of social neglect. Once this misery meets German conditions, it has a hard impact – for both sides. Residents are disgusted by the squalor of the homes in which Roma will live.” It is therefore the poverty that needs to be combated, not the culture of the Rroma.

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25.10.2013 The case of Maria strengthens stereotypes on Rroma

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The exaggerated reporting bordering hysteria by the media on the case of the Rroma blonde girl Maria reinforces stereotypes about Rroma families with numerous children and irresponsible parents. Michele Widmer (2013) from the Tagesanzeiger writes that Maria is  with great probability from a Bulgarian family with eight or ten children. The mother had to leave the child during a stay in Greece due to missing papers and sold her to another Rroma family. While the prosecution speaks of child trafficking, the defence claims the innocence of the Greek Rroma family: they cared care for the girl and only unlawfully adopted her (Blick 2013 I / II).

Mappes-Niediek (2013) explains in his contribution that blonde, blue-eyed Rroma are not unusual in Bulgaria. With the case of Maria, more prejudices about Rroma stealing children are once again stoked, prejudiceswhich are even reflected in European fairy tales. Skinheads in Serbia have tried to take away a blond son from his dark-haired Rroma father. Mappes-Niediek states: “Although the Roma in the Balkans are often designated as “black” and also sometimes even called that, blond hair and blue eyes in the minority are not uncommon. A population genetic analysis of the researcher Kalydijewa Luba at a Roma population in Bulgaria has shown that around half of their ancestors have a genetic no different from the rest of the genome of the Bulgarian population.” Mappes-Niediek (2013/II) expands his coverage of the topic in a detailed article in the TAZ. In it, he calls the actions of the authorities as “King Kong schema”: In a view loaded with prejudices, a blond, blue-eyed child cannot possibly belong to a dark-skinned black-haired Rroma family: “A pattern of actual theft of children by Rroma does not exist. Such a scheme is not documented, not historical. What there is, is a pattern of stories. That soon the “black man” comes and takes you away with him, is an integral part of the education meant to scare children and not only in the Balkans.”

In Ireland, as a reaction to Maria’s story, a seven years old blond girl was taken from her parents. It required a positive DNA test to disprove the official suspicion of child abduction. The procedure ran into massive criticism on the Irish authorities action and response (Basler Zeitung 2013).

Leuthold (2013) of 20 minutes gives a surprisingly sophisticated contextual report on the social exclusion of Rroma in the wake of the media attention to the case of Maria. It emphasizes the prevalence of prejudice and the massively larger impediments of integration by the majority of the European societies. As can be read in the comments section, this emphasis on the systematic exclusion raises once more the question of the relationship between social structures and the personal power of action of individuals and groups. It is wrong, in fact, to attribute to Rroma a pure victim role, but it is also questionable if their fate alone ascribes her own actions. It is the combination of socio-political structures and the reaction to it, which lead to the real behaviour patterns of individuals.

 

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25.10.2013 Rroma and the Zurich Street Prostitution

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Marth (2013) informs on the changes of the Zurich street prostitution since the opening of the urban Sex-boxes and the closure of the open scene on the Zurich Sihlquai. Social control in the new place have led to the pimps but also related prostitutes to avoid it: “Where they are and were their women went, one does not know. Probably in a different European city. Relocation to other places in Switzerland were not observed in any case – as far as one could judge.” The street prostitutions on the Sihlquai was used to present a one-sided picture of prostituted Rroma women, although their Rroma appurtenance was anything but clear.

Scharrer (2013) adds that the walk by “opportunity clients” at the new site has been lost. In addition, the number of prostitutes has decreased from 32 to 14. Critics complain that the closure of the street prostitution has worsened the working conditions of prostitutes, that it pushes them in the illegality, all the while while not fighting human trafficking: “The measures taken by the city council since the beginning of this year measures [are] mostly of a repressive nature. The result: They worsen working conditions on both the road prostitution and in the sex-boxes. They do not prevent the trafficking of women and impede access to low-level support.”  Amazing is that this opinion by Scharrer is derived from the of the organisation on women migration and trafficking (FIZ). Besides their declared fight against human trafficking, FIZ argues for a differentiated view on prostitution: sex work and trafficking should have be clearly distinguished. The largest part of prostitution is done voluntarily. The connection between prostitution and human trafficking is referred to as a victim discourse. The FIZ therefore opposes a holistic ban as it was imposed in Sweden (Boos 2013). The important question as to whether prostitution committed out of economic necessity can be qualified as being voluntary. Moreover, such a view trivialises prostitution which happens under duress conditions, be they those of pimps or under the free market.

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06.09.2013 Kosovar Rroma and the Swiss Asylum Policy

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On the basis of the fate of a Rroma family from Kosovo, Eggenberger (2013) highlights the problems of the Swiss asylum policy. Smajli, the father, tells of discrimination and marginalization by the government and by ethnic Albanians who constitute the majority population in Kosovo. His story of persecution by debt collectors was not believed by the Swiss immigration authorities. The problem: it can’t be proven. The Federal Office for Migration bases its assessments of asylum applications on political reviews of the situation of the applicants’ countries of origin. If these opinions state that minorities are not subjected to persecution, this conclusion is applied to each application. Since personal life stories often cannot be fully proven, it is the official country reports and not the personal history that prevails on the assessment of the application. The official estimates by the Kosovar government are one-sided, so Smajli: “There is still fighting in Kosovo and there are still deads. Only the government does not want this to filter out. Homes of minorities are destroyed or burned down. If you go to the police, one is not heard. Access to the labour market is restricted to ethnic Albanians.”

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06.09.2013 Street Prostitution in Zurich

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Dammann (2013) reports on the verdict in the trial of a pimp of the Zurich street prostitution scene. According to the indictment, the man massively abused six Hungarian women have forced them into prostitution. He has now been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The judgment once more raises the question of how the distinction between volunteer and forced prostitution is useful, since often, these concepts cannot be clearly distinguished. From a legal perspective, the term “forced prostitution”  does not exist. It is argued that structural phenomena such as migration and poverty are transformed in victim-perpetrator schemes and that the sex workers are represented as one-dimensional victims without own power to act. Many movies and books make prostitution as something that is done voluntarily although often due to poverty. Against this, one has to look at the repeatedly imposed sentences against brutal pimps, especially in the area of ​​street prostitution. Dammanns hint that these men are often Rroma who exploit their women is also absolutely to be understood in a non-cultural way. Mutual exploitation has nothing to do with culture, although some observers like to assign it to Rroma, but is the result of individual acts of amoral people.

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30.08.2013 Begging and Rroma in Lausanne

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Prêtre (2013) reports on the increasing begging of Rroma in Neuchatel. The article explains in detail how Rroma beg or extort money through tricks, something perceived by the local shop owners and workers as a burden. Ironically, Neuchatel’s police chief is the one quoted at the end of the article as stating that one must effectively differentiate between begging and criminal activities. There are Rroma who live under blatant poverty and work hard. A common way of looking at begging or stealing among Rroma is to present these activities as being part of their culture, something which is completely absurd. Apart from some traditional activities such as knife sharpening (actually among Jenische), panhandling or delinquent behaviour has nothing to do with the Rroma culture or identity.

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16.08.2013 Hungarian Rroma and the Zurich Street Prostitution

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Staat (2013) focuses on the lives of Hungarian street prostitutes on the Sihlquai in Zurich. She describes the circumstances that lead young women into prostitution, as being dominated by poverty. But they are not just either victims or they prostitute themselves entirely voluntary: Lack of educational opportunities combined with socio-economic poverty are forcing young Rromnja to prostitute themselves or they are being forced or enticed by relatives or acquaintances to do so. Staat says: “For it is precisely this mix of poverty, lack of education, violence and hope for easy money that drives Hungarian Roma women to Zurich into street prostitution.” This representation may correspond to reality, but it be considered with caution when read in terms of the world of the Rroma. As an example, Staat tells the story of a Rromni who prostitutes herself for her family in Zurich. This may be true of women with similar biographies, but great caution should be taken before interpreting the circumstances portrayed as being a cultural phenomenon, as it is often just done. Poverty is not a cultural phenomenon, even if in the case of Rroma it certainly has cultural causes: the exclusion by the majority society. If one represents or understands poverty resulting from marginalization as being a cultural characteristic of Rroma, one actually ethnicises exclusion. One certainly needs to distance oneself from such a view.

Prostitution is a good example to highlight the complexity of supposedly one-dimensional phenomenon. Liberal representations of prostitution, such as the one, amongst others Mr. Valentin Landmann (Westnetz, 2013), assume a largely voluntary prostitution. Feminist representations in turn see almost all prostitutes as victims of organized trafficking (Schmid 2012). FIZ (2013), in its latest brochure writes that one must distinguish between human trafficking and sex work: The work in prostitution, whether due to lack of alternatives and lack of training is sometimes the only way to make money, but sometimes women also decide for it. It is thus wrong to always see all prostitutes as victims. Not sex, but the violence and exploitation in prostitution should be criminalised: “The distinction between sex work and trafficking is essential for the fight against the trafficking of women. Exactly as the distinction between marriage and domestic violence. Not marriage, but the violence in marriage, not sex, but violence and exploitation in sex must be punished.”

Keywords: Street prostitution, commercial, moral, economic, gender, law, society, prostitution, human trafficking, Switzerland, abroad, Rroma, Hungary, Education, Beobachter, FIZ, Das Magazin, Westnetz

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16.08.2013 Organised child trafficking versus autonomous beggars

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Jirat (2013) reports on the “Agora” project, a project founded on the initiative of a Bern Migration Policeman in 2009. The goal of the project is the prevention of organized child abuse and human trafficking, of which mostly young Rroma are reportedly affected. By contrasting two studies on this topic, Jirat is precisely calling this status of beggars in question. The data of the Bernese immigration police, who found a strong presence of beggar gangs in Berne, is of dubious origins: “The foreign police view is necessarily limited: The focus is always a possible crime (human trafficking and/or child abuse), and there are always potential perpetrators who are also mentioned over and over again. “Mostly, they are Roma.” That’s the key point.” The perspective and analysis of the immigration police, so Jirat, is a strongly biased. It functions according to the logic of perpetrators and victims. The sociological perspective would be too simplistic. Thus, the study of the Lausanne sociology professor Jean-Pierre Tabin was did not find its way to the public. At the request of the Canton of Vaud, Tabin examined the relationship of begging and child abuse. The empirical study came to the following conclusion: There is no correlation between begging children and organized networks. The minimal begged income accounted for this activity makes it unattractive for organized crime. Several studies and also this one cameo the realisation that the average begging income in Switzerland amounts to an average of 15 to 20 francs per day (Friedli / Schüpfer 2013). This contrasts with the statement of the Bern Migration Police Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Migrants (KSMM), stating that a child might beg up to CHF 600 per day. Tabin et al. even provide state that during their studies (over a year) they had found almost no begging children: «Sur toute la durée de nos observations nous n’avons pas vu d’enfant mendier. Dans un seul cas, l’âge du jeune homme qui mendiait était peut-être inférieur à 18 ans. Cela ne signifie pas qu’il n’y ait jamais de mineur qui mendie dans les rues : mais cette mendicité est très épisodique et, d’après les informations que nous avons pu recueillir, les parents sont très rapidement informés (par la police, par les associations, etc.) du caractère illicite de cette mendicité» [For the whole duration of our observations, we did not see any child beg. In a single case, the age of the young man begging could possibly have been below 18 years. This does not mean that there are never any minor who begs in the streets, but rather that this mendacity is very seldom and of short duration, and, according to information we have been able to gather, parents are rapidly informed by the police, NOGs, etc. of the illicit character of this mendacity.] (Tabin et al 2012). Jirat considers the plan of the Bernese immigration police to try to get begging children in a childern’s home and then to return them to their home countries as a state racism. Rroma children are represented as of organized crime, because this represents the views of the immigration Police. He appends a chronology of the regulatory practices of exclusion of Rroma in Switzerland.

Comment: The truth is often more complex than the one or the other extreme. It would be wrong to say that organized begging does not exist at all, but it is equally wrong to present it as the norm. There are several books, such as Rolf Bauderdicks “The Gypsies: Encounters with unpopular minority” or Karl-Markus Gauss “The dog eaters Svinia” which discuss organised begging. Gauss talks about Rroma pimps, who lend money to other inhabitants of Lunik IX and then force them to pay their debt by begging in Western Europe. Bauderdick sees the misery of many Rroma as self-inflicted, as they would mutually exploit themselves. These representations are not completely wrong, but they portray them as phenomenon that for many seems to be the norm.

As Mr. Tabin convincingly demonstrates in his study, begging is not really financially lucrative for it to operate on a large scale. That begging children are quickly brought into the context of organised networks is actually not surprising, as many people cannot imagine that parents send their children begging. These cases certainly exist, and as shown by Mr. Tabin, the large part of begging is not organised, but rather happens within the family. Cultural peculiarisms also come into play. In the course of the Rroma debate in Germany, one could read in renowned German newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or die Welt, articles that spoke of Rroma kings and beggars networks, as well as texts that stated that this presentation was an invention. Cultural peculiarities of Rroma to such as a reported patriarchal family structure are often used to explain to existence of phenomena such as Rroma kings. This is symptomatic of the common lack of knowledge about Rroma. In addition, one must also be aware that journalism or social science representations about Rroma are never produced in the void. The authors have beliefs and views that they project into their texts. Rroma kings, are almost certainly an invention with. However, it also depends on the definition of a Rroma king. For the same reasons, it would be equally wrong to say that there is no mutual exploitation among Rroma.

The Agora project sees all begging children as being part of organised begging gangs who need to be rescued from this situation and reintegrated. They are therefore seen as victims. Mr. Tabins study in turn takes a position in favour of the beggars, seeing them this as a self-motivated and autonomous. In any case it is very difficult to describe the begging of Rroma children as a cultural phenomenon. Journalists such as Mappes-Niediek decidedly write against this and see the supposed beggar gangs as being in reality a symptom of poverty, ghaving nothing to do with organized crime: “There is prestige hierarchies in Roma neighbourhoods, there is commonly clientelism, even dependencies, mostly through the informal money lending. But numerous social workers, anthropologists, humanitarian staff working in Roma slums and sometimes living there, have not noticed structures of command and obedience. […] Is also a false impression to think that human trafficking, crime and children’s begging is the rule among poverty migrants from Bulgaria and Romania. Begging with children is banned everywhere in Europe and basically also rare because by its nature, it plays in the greatest public form” (Mappes-Niediek 2013).

Keywords: Begging, Switzerland, children, Rroma king, organized crime, stereotypes, organized crime, exploitation, immigration Police, prejudices, Canton of Vaud, organized begging, Jean Pierre Tabin, Norbert Mappes-Niediek, Jan Jirat, Corina Friedli, Linus Schüpfer, Tages Anzeiger, WOZ, TAZ

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09.08.2013 Dispute over Water in the Northern Hungarian Town Ozd

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In the northern Hungarian Town of Ozd, a dispute over drinking water arose. The city administration turned off drinking water to the local Rroma. The reason: they are wasting public commodities. Particular point of contention: the government of Ozd received one and a half million forints for the water supply of the Rroma quarters in qustion by the Swiss Confederation. In Ozd, during summer days, temperatures rise to over 37 degrees in the shade. The Fidesz party, currently ruling in Ozd, is repeatedly accused to promote policies that are against Rroma (Schroeder 2013).

The Tagesanzeiger (2013) adds that the Swiss government planned to finance the building of a water supply for 7 million Swiss francs in the Rroma quarter. We need to note that this is a huge sum by Hungarian standards and that its effective use should be investigated prior to funding. The project was on the verge of implementation: “The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) confirmed that Switzerland finances, in the context of the EU enlargement contributions to Hungary, several infrastructure projects, including the drinking water system in Ozd totaling more than 7 million francs. With this project, which stands now just before its implementation phase, Switzerland wants to achieve, among other things, a sustainable water supply for the Roma population, wrote the EDA.”

Human rights activists and social workers on site describe the situation as dramatic: Especially Women and children are particularly affected by limited access to safe drinking water. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) gave to understand that the Hungarian project partners who will create the water supply financed by Switzerland, had assured that all city residents would have access to drinking water. How local circumstances actually look like remains unclear. With some doubts remaining,  one should pay more attention to critical descriptions (Tagesanzeiger,  2013/II).

Baumann (2013) substantiated the charge that the city of Ozd had decided in June to close 27 of the public water sources and to reduce the overall pressure. According to local authorities, it is possible as before, to get free water every 150 meters. The Rroma living in Ozd have no running water in their homes, so they depend on the availability of water at public facilities. The real issue therefore appears to be getting water without payment.

Knopf (2013) clarifies the reports with the note, that the order of Interior Minister Sandor Pinter means that most hydrants were reopened in Ozd. The reopening of the water supply affects all residents of Ozd and not just Rroma. At issue is a redevelopment of the entire water supply system. The EDA stated it awaits the the result of the investigation of Hungarian Ombudsman for fundamental rights.

Odehnal (2013/III) adds in his article dated 9 August, that only 15 of the 27 blocked water pumps were reopened and that the water pressure was reduced from 50 to five litres per minute. Moreover, only the main water pipes of the village were renewed. The connection  of the houses to the water mains has to be paid by the home owners themselves. According to Odehnal, this is a crucial point, as almost none of the Rroma in Ozd have water connections in their homes. They thus will not benefit from the Swiss aid project. In addition to the cost of a private water supply there is the hurdle of mandatory reporting: Many Roma pay rent, but live illegally in their homes. Without registration form, it is not possible to apply for a water connection. Odehnal comments succinctly at the end of the article: “When the steel mill was still in operation, Ozd spent 6 million cubic meters of water a year. Today, it is approximately 1.3 million. The reservoir and the lines are still designed for the old sets. Water shortage? The workers of the water company laugh, “No, that is something that never happened here.”“

  • Baumann, Meret (2013) Streit um Wasserversorgung – EDA wartet ab. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom 7.8.2013.
  • Knopf, Simon (2013) Roma von Ozd sollen wieder Wasser bekommen. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom 7.8.2013.
  • Odehnal, Bernhard (2013/III) Wer einen Wasseranschluss will, muss zahlen. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom 9.8.2013.
  • Schröder, Alvin (2013) Trotz Hitzewelle: Ungarische Stadt stoppt Wasserversorgung für Roma. In: Spiegel online vom 5.8.2013.
  • Tagesanzeiger (2013) Kein Wasser für Rroma. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom 5.8.2013.
  • Tagesanzeiger (2013/II) Schweizer Geld für die Stadt, die den Roma die Brunnen stilllegte. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom 6.8.2013. 
Tschechische Republik Ungarn News Osteuropa News Schweiz

09.08.2013 Rroma Murders in Hungary: Four Right-Wing Extremists Sentenced to Long Prison Terms

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Odehnal (2013) reports on the judgment in the ongoing process against four right-wing radicals that has been ongoing for several years. The defendants are accused of having deliberately killed six Rroma. The judgments of the judges, three life sentences without parole and one thirteen years sentence, are not yet final because of the defence resource. Theses right wing activists, in a series of attacks, had set fire to the Rroma houses and shot at the people fleeing from the fire. Only by analyzing mobile phone data of the defendants could it be proved that they were at the times in question near the crime scenes. However, the trial does not address the dubious role of the local police. Odehnal comments: “As the German executive following neo-Nazi murders, the Hungarians first investigated feuds amongst the victims. […] In Tatarszentgyörgy the police suspected a faulty heater as a trigger of the fire, although there were shell casings at the scene everywhere.” Representatives of the Fidesz party pushed the responsibility for the lack of investigation on the incumbent Socialist Party in power at that time.

In his comments, Odehnal (2013/II) is sceptical about the social resonance of these sentences. In the Czech Republic, after a similar trial, there were increased marches of right-wing members and incitement against Rroma. Odehnal sees as a problem for the missing results of integration that the political elite of Hungary and other Eastern European states has not been held accountable for not acting against racism in their own countries. Thus, Rroma were sidelined as before, in spite of funding from foundations, the EU, and Switzerland.

Baumann (2013) adds that the victims’ relatives accused the local police of serious corruption in the investigation of the murders. They tried to cover up evidence. Even the racist motives behind these actions were not at all part of the process. The secret service failed to monitor two of the offenders until shortly before the crime. Eng (2013) adds that the perpetrators are supposed to have planned the murders after a dispute with Rroma.

The Basler Zeitung (2013) describes the sentencing more precisely: Two of the four defendants asked the court to not have to listen to the verdict. They were then led back to their cells. The judgment is only the first instance one and can be challenged in higher courts.

Ozsváth (2013) gives a voice to the families of the victims in his report. They are still stunned by the perpetrators lack of repentance and by the dysfunctional police investigation: They even contributed actively to the elimination of proofs.

Civil rights leader Aladar Horvath himself Rrom, see the court’s judgment as appropriate, but states that the crucial issues have not been discussed: the racism that motivated the killings and the objectives in connection therewith: “The sentences have been very high, and that is appropriate for the actions. Unfortunately, however, they were imposed only for simple murder motives. The indictment stated that the killers wanted to spark a civil war. They should have been charged with crimes against humanity and terrorism with the aim of genocide.” While Hungary denies its own past, as Horváth states further, racist murders are possible again. According to Horváth, Hungary’s role in World War II and the crimes of the communist dictatorship were processed insufficiently (Verseck 2013).

Kerenyi (2013) sees the sentences of the four right-wing as being just the tip of the iceberg of a total social phenomenon: According to a new poll, 80 to 85 percent of the population were “overtly or covertly racist against Roma”, 36 percent are committed explicitly to that Roma should be “separated from the rest of society,” that is, should be moved or deported to ghettos. A particular concern is that pejorative comments about Rroma belong to the current fashion educated circles. Kerenyi assessment of Culture Minister Zoltan Balog is also interesting. Balog, who held a flowering lecture on the Hungarian efforts to integrate the Rroma at the beginning of the summer at the University of Zurich, in which in spite of all the eloquence raised serious questions about the congruence of reality and his statements. Kerenyi comments: “Balog is a contradictory personality through and through. He belongs to the temperate wing of Orbán’s team, which does not prevent him to grant regularly honours to racists and anti-Semits.” Also, the condemned right-wing radicals are only a part of the perpetrators, who committed a series of assassinations of Rroma between 2008 and 2009. These offenders were up to now neither identified nor prosecuted.

Balzer (2013) spoke to the Hungarian journalist Szilvia Varró about the social backgrounds of the Rroma murders. A large part of the Hungarians, by far not only right-wing extremists, have great reservations about Rroma. Moreover, it is common to simply ignore radical or controversial events: “Racism and resentment were a problem already earlier. We Hungarians have never dealt with our past. Not with our role in the Second World War, not with the revolution of 1956 and even with the series of murders against Roma.” Most Hungarian media have not reported about the murders. Varró then started a project together with the filmmaker András B. Vágvölgyi: Actors known in Hungary were hired to retell the story of the action and the statements of the relatives. This piqued the interest of the usually apolitical tabloids of Hungary. While the reactions from the right side were understandably negative, the echo of otherwise indifferent people was positive: They started to be interested in the topic and question ethnic categorizations: What if it was her son who had been shot? The state media did not pay any attention to the movies. The above-mentioned films can be watched under the following links:

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMjVjZDx7ug

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5z9aVB0Ktc

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzc2N9MirPI

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrWahe1pCWY

  • Basler Zeitung (2013) Roma-Mörder verliessen während Urteilsbegründung den Saal. In: Basler Zeitung online vom 6.8.2013.
  • Baumann, Meret (2013) Hohe Strafen für Rechtsextremisten in Ungarn. In: NZZ online von 6.8.2013.
  • Eng, Adrian (2013) Lebenslang für Mordserie an Roma in Ungarn. In: 20 Minunten Schweiz online vom 6.8.2013.
  • Kerényi, Gábor (2013) Auch die feine Gesellschaft schimpft über die “Zigeuner”. In: Berliner Zeitung online vom 9.8.2013.
  • Odehnal, Bernhard (2013) Haft für das rassistische Quartett. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom  6.8.2013. 
  • Odehnal, Bernhard (2013/II) Ungestrafter Rassismus in der Politik. In: Tagesanzeiger online vom  7.8.2013. 
  • Ozsváth, Stephan (2013) Ermordet wie auf einer Jagd. In: Tagesschau online vom 6.8.2013.
  • Verseck, Keno (2013) Roma-Mordurteile in Ungarn: “Ein Zigeunerleben ist nicht so viel wert”. In: Spiegel online vom 6.8.2013. 
News Schweiz

19.07.2013 The Relationship of Rroma and Jenische in Switzerland

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De Graffenried (2013) deals with the difficult issue of the relationship between Jenische and Rroma in Switzerland. A big wedding on a field in the Valais last summer generated a lot of media coverage, and cast a negative image on involved Rroma. The field was very dirty after the festivities. However, actual impetus for discontent was the public image that resulted from the incident. Swiss Jenische found that the coverage which often equates Jenische with Rroma, to misrepresent them. The cultural differences that are highlighted by members of the two ethnic groups are both factual and political. Certain cultural differences are decidedly emphasized to distinguish their identity from the other group. The Director of the Foundation “Future of Swiss Travellers” Urs Glaus notes in an interview with “Le Temps” that “Les gens du voyage suisses sont à 90% des Jenisch. Ils ont un mode de vie très différent des gens du voyage étrangers, surtout des Roms, comme c’était le cas en Valais.” [90% of Travellers in Swirtzerland are Jenische. They have a way of life very different from foreign travellers, and especially of the Rroma, as it was the case in Valais.]

Source:

  • De Graffenried, Valérie (2013) «Roms et Jenisch sont très différents». In: Le Temps online vom 2.8.2012 (15.7.2013).  
News Osteuropa News Schweiz Rumänien

12.07.2013 A Romanian Rroma School from a Swiss perspective

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Staat (2013) reports on a village in the heart of Romania, Roşia where Rroma children can go to school in a school specifically for Rroma without fear of discrimination: The Waldorf School. The report puts them in the context of the migration to Western Europe and the debates surrounding the Freedom of the new EU member states Romania within Europe. Rosia was a three-part Village: The top of the hill inhabited by the Romanians, where there is a bakery and a small food store. On the slope, the more affluent and Rroma. Rroma in the valley are the poor, most of whom are illiterate and had to be convinced by the teachers of the Waldorf school and the community to send their children to school. Through the school they should be able to have a better life than their parents, even if for the most of them, this remain an utopia. The article is written emphatically, but he uses many of the clichés that we already know from the media: The Rroma are poor, often illiterate, discriminated against, which is why many of them are attracted to Western Europe. The presentation is one of people being victims who need the helping hand of the West. The more successful Rroma briefly spoken about at the beginning of the article remain shapeless. She reproduces, despite her empathy, a dichotomous world view of the rich West and the poor East and through this, indirectly confirms the polemical statements of politicians who predict a mass emigration to take advantage of the social system of Western Europe.

Source:

  • Staat, Yvonne (2013) Ein Fenster in eine andere Welt. In: Beobachter online, Ausgabe 14/13. 
Bulgarien Ungarn News Osteuropa News Schweiz Rumänien

28.06.2013 Human Trafficking, Rroma, and Switzerland

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The Swiss TV (2013) interviewed Jean-Luc Vez, Director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol). According to Fedpol’s Annual Report 2012, during the year, 5’055 reports of human trafficking were logged. According Vez, the clear increase in reports is due to the introduction of the witness protection program for victims of human trafficking. According to the report, 69% of those affected are from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and are members of the Rroma minority.

Source:

  • Schweizer Fernsehen (2013) Menschenhandel – es kommt Licht ins Dunkel. In: Schweizer Fernsehen online vom 25.6.2013. 
Deutschland News Schweiz News Westeuropa

14.06.2013 Street Prostitutes at the Zurich Sihlquai and Bilateral Cooperation

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Bracher (2013) reports on the plans of the Hungarian Minister of Education and Labour, Zoltan Balog, who visited Switzerland for a lecture at the University of Zurich last week, to improve cooperation between the Hungarian and Swiss authorities. After the lecture, he met with representatives of the Zurich police and the office for trafficking and migration to discuss an improved action against pimps. Goal of improved bilateral cooperation is an increased, protected exit from the industry with a professionalized protection program for those prostitutes who want to testify against pimps. Many of the women have children, around 60% of them,  (Bracher 2013/II) and will not testify against their oppressors due to fear.

In this context, Käppner (2013) discusses the legalization of prostitution in Germany that has not led to greater protection for women, but exposed them to the more brutal reality of the free market. Prostitutes have to accept for a pittance all interested suitors: “The good intention to strengthen prostitutes by law turned into the opposite. The woman is the resource that is used as efficiently as possible. Outside this exchange transaction she loses all value.”

In addition, despite the legalization of prostitution, trafficking of women is still moving in a gray area: between so-called voluntary prostitution for economic reasons, manipulation by intermediaries and effective human trafficking, the boundaries are often blurred. The legalization of prostitution really favours the exploitation of women, even if this seems to contradict the workings of the rule of law. In this context, the question of the ethics of an economy and a society that has so uncritically internalised the mechanisms of supply and demand needs to be raised. 

Sources:

  • Bracher, Katharina (2013) Ungarn fordert besseren Schutz für Roma-Prostituierte in Zürich. In: NZZ am Sonntag vom 9.6.2013.
  • Bracher, Katharina (2013/II) Angebot für Dirnen mit Kind. In: NZZ am Sonntag vom 9.6.2013.
  • Käppner, Joachim (2013) Die große Puff-Lüge. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung von 10.6.2013.
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