Category Archives: News Western Europe

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

26.09.2014 Integration of immigrant Rroma in Douaisis

Published by:

Labreigne (2014) reports on the successful integration of immigrant Rroma families in Douaisis, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Five Rroma families were accepted on probation and under restrictive requirements into subsidised housing for one year. Now, they will be offered a normal lease and the restrictions will be removed: “For the price of a long accompanying work, through human and financial resources that were committed to their follow-up, the five Roma families that are accommodated in Douai, Lallaing, Sin-le-Noble and Flers-en-Escrebieux are now “on the rails of integration, ready to pursue their professional and family adventure in the district: not only are they integrated into their accommodation, but they also have proved their ability to work. We could give them rights, in relation to social security and towards the CAF [Caisse d’allocations familiales], because they are able to pay. It is therefore not necessary that they remain in this system, justified Jacques Destouches.” The successful integration of the five families is also a good counter-evidence to the prejudice loaded conceptions that Rroma are not capable of integration, the involved people state. The persons responsible are convinced that one could refute xenophobic stereotypes with the project. While this project is commendable, it nevertheless conveys a very limited view of the life of Rroma in France. The recently immigrated Rroma constitute only a small portion of all Rroma in the Republic. The vast majority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. They are the living proof that an integration of the minority is possible, if they are not actively hindered in doing by prejudice and discrimination (compare L’Observateur du Douaisis 2014).

Bulgarien Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

26.09.2014 Louis de Matignon Gouyon: half of the Rroma children from informal settlements do not attend school

Published by:

Louis de Gouyon Matignon (2014) reports on the lack of education of Rroma children who live in the informal settlements of France. The lack of training of the children is partly due to the lack of appreciation of education by some parents, as well as the result of the fear of deportation by the French authorities. But above all, it results from discriminatory practices by French schools. Thus, some schools keep fictitious waiting lists to prevent Rroma from enrolling their children: “It is now assumed that 53% of Roma children do not attend school. The missing schooling of our young fellow Europeans (usually Romanians or Bulgarians) may result from the will of the parents to handle basic needs such as food, shelter or clothing with priority; or missing schooling may also result from a bad attitude or from a lack of funds on the part of schools: some schools apply fictitious waiting lists to discourage parents from enrolling their children. Some individual initiatives, based on private funds, such as the creation of small libraries or the establishment of courses by volunteers, are laudable, but they are not sufficient in order to prevent illiteracy among the Roma.” It must be stressed here that Gouyon Matignon assumes that 50% of Rroma children from the informal settlements do not go to school. This does not mean that half of the integrated Rroma children do not attend school. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are living in France. The vast majority of them is integrated, goes to work and sends their children to school. Gouyon Matignon therefore falsely equates the Rroma from the slums with all Rroma in France, which is not true. Many Rroma can read and write. Gouyon Matignon therefore unintentionally reproduces a stereotypical notion of ​​the Rroma. But he is not alone with that: many other authors and institutions equate the Rroma with the visible Rroma from the slums (compare Pozycki 2014).

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

26.09.2014 Lyon: false barriers to displace Rroma were lifted

Published by:

Rue89Lyon (2014) reports on the lifting of the barriers that were set up by the authorities of Lyon in the whole city. The barricades had been erected a few weeks ago in all major squares to prevent travelling Rroma from settling down. The reactions and experiences with the barriers were entirely negative, the authorities of Lyon state, this is why the barricades are now being removed. A petition of business people and residents of Lyon had led to the establishment of the controversial barricades: “This Wednesday morning, one could witness that the Place du Pont (another name for this quarter of the seventh arrondissement) had been freshly cleaned and freed from the false barriers. These were supposed to deter populations classified as undesirable to the region (the majority of them Roma from Romania). They gather there every day to try to run an illegal market. [….] The result [of the barriers]: the public space was even more overloaded with rag pickers and their buyers, who still spread everywhere. At the entrance of the supermarket Casino, the passerby had to wander through the illicit market. Not to mention the illegal garbage that accumulated in the interior of the enclosed fences.” The impression that Rroma are to be equated with beggars and illegal traders is completely wrong. Rather, it is a prejudice that almost exclusively immigrant Rroma do illegal trading in public places. As already expressed many times, the recently immigrated Rroma represent only a small portion of all Rroma in France. However, they are the ones with the greatest public visibility, which is why they are often mistakenly perceived as representative for all Rroma. The majority of the minority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. Rroma therefore belong to all social classes and are not to be equated with an underclass. These integrated Rroma are proof that an integration of the minority is easily possible if they are not actively prevented from doing so by prejudice and discrimination (compare Fournier 2014).

Tschechische Republik Dänemark News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

26.09.2014 “Red card Against Racism: diplomats support Roma football club”

Published by:

Radio Praha (Kraus 2014) and Le Matin (2014) report on a charity match between a Czech Rroma soccer team and a diplomatic team with the ambassadors from Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and Denmark. Organised by the Swedish ambassador Annika Jagander, the game is meant to draw attention to the discrimination against Rroma: “In the still young season, two teams have refused to compete against the TJ Junior Roma, and instead preferred to pay 3,000 crowns (about 109 Euros) of fine. As a reason, the county division cites an incident dating back to 2011. A match between FC Děčín und Lokomotiva Děčín then ended in a brawl and the police had to intervene. […] “Football and sports should actually bring people closer together: both people of the same as well as from different nationalities. That this no longer works, we feel very bad about. That’s why we want to show the red card to racism” (Kraus 2014). Libor Šimeček, chairman of the Czech Football Association, meanwhile denied that the case has anything to do with racism. One will now examine in detail why five of the eleven teams in the league do not want to play against the Rroma team, he stated. The club from Frantiskov had announced that they did not want to play against the team because of the aggressive behaviour of the players of TJ Junior Roma. The Czech Republic has a population of 300,000 to 400,000 Rroma. Exact figures do not exist. Many are integrated and have a job. However, numerous are also affected by strong exclusion and social problems. Particularly, since the economic crisis and the strengthened nationalism that occurred since the end of the Eastern Bloc. Also, in several schools there is still a segregation of ethnic Czechs and Rroma (compare Le Monde 2014).

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

26.09.2014 Roubaix: disagreement on integration assistance for Rroma

Published by:

Renoul (2014) reports on a dispute within the Roubaix’ government concerning the integration support of immigrant Rroma. While the social democratic assistant to the mayor, Sylvane Verdonck, actively tries to help Rroma currently living in the former doctor’s office of Dr. Lamarre, and their integration efforts, the liberal-conservative mayor and his security assistant reject this help: “the mayor of Roubaix, Guillaume Delbar (UMP), on Monday expressed his four truths to Sylvane Verdonck (UDI), his assistant for integration. According to our sources, he has lost his confidence in her. In question is an initiative of the deputy, who was been publicly denounced by the mayor’s cabinet and that of the assistant for security, Margaret Connell (UMP). For several months now, Sylvane Verdonck has sought solutions for the Rroma who are housed at Dr. Lamarre. The deputy finally had the idea of a project that combines employment, housing, and citizenship.” The project proposal was not received well by Guillaume Delbar. The UMP-mayor had campaigned, among other things, with the promise to adopt a ban on begging and had actively opposed a second integration village in Roubaix. The head of the social democratic local fraction, Grégory Wanlin, meanwhile announced that they wanted to remind Guillaume Delbar that during the election campaign he had promised to help those Rroma who actively strive to integrate. Once again, it should be stressed that the recently immigrated Rroma account only for only a small portion of all Rroma in France. The vast majority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. They are the living proof that the integration of the minority is possible, if they are not prevented from doing so through prejudice and discrimination.

Frankreich News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

26.09.2014 Dammarie-les-Lys: informal settlement Rroma being evicted

Published by:

The Rroma of an informal settlement in Dammarie-les-Lys, on the Île-de-France, will have to leave their dwellings by December 8th. A local court decided it. Around 100 people had settled on a community plot that, among other things, encompasses a dilapidated building. In this unoccupied house and around the building, the immigrants settled down on June 12th. Functioning sanitary facilities were not available. Several of the children are enrolled in local schools. Their future education is now being threatened: “They have the right to three months extension on the site”, adds Myriam Leroux, of the association “Essonnian solidarity for the Roma and Romanian families” (ASEFRR), a member of the collective Romeurope. She is accompanying them since their expulsion from the neighbouring department of Essonne. “They are all rag pickers. They sell at the flea markets of Montreuil on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Otherwise, they live by begging. The women makes 5 to 10 Euros a day. What to eat from. They are also enrolled in the Restos du Coeur [a French soup kitchen]”, she says. And afterwards, where will they go? “For them it is the system-D [self-help]!” It should be stressed that forced evictions of informal settlements complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. Due to the expulsions, the problems and the integration question are simply moved from one location to the next, but not solved. Also, due to the media’s and aid organisations’ focus on informal settlements, one suggests that Rroma are exclusively belonging to the lower class and are poorly educated. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They are completely hidden from the French public. The recently immigrated Rroma from Eastern Europe constitute only a small portion of all Rroma residents in France (compare Bordier 2014).

Bosnien Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa North Macedonia Serbien

26.09.2014 European Centre for Antiziganism Research criticizes the status of safe countries of origin

Published by:

Graff (2014) spoke with Marko Knudsen, the head of the European Centre for Antiziganism Research. Knudsen decidedly criticises the new asylum law that defines Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being safe countries of origin in the interview. For him it is beyond question that the Rroma are affected by marginalisation and discrimination in the three countries. The opinion that Rroma are not actively persecuted in these three countries, he deems inappropriate and trivialising. Therefore, the European Centre for Antiziganism Research will file a suit against the new law. The centre justifies its charge with the following three points: “Where is Germany’s historical responsibility, which is justified through the Nazi era? Unfortunately, it is nonexistent. For me as a Roma, this decision is absolutely reprehensible. As a German, I am ashamed. For this reason, we, as the European Centre for Antiziganism Research, see ourselves forced to take legal action against this law, because: first, it violates the principle of equal treatment. Second, it violates European anti-discrimination law. Third, there is political persecution of the Roma in Europe because of antiziganism that is passed as an unquestioned European cultural code from generation to generation, whereby it is implemented in the majority of society” (Knudsen 2014). Knudsen sees the strengthened nationalism in many European countries and the exclusion of minorities resulting from it, as well as extreme economic hardships, as equally important reasons for asylum for being open political persecution. Exactly this issue was the core of the political debate: are the Rroma in Southeastern Europe actively persecuted or are they “only” affected by extreme poverty and discrimination. There was no consensus concerning this issue. Knudsen also criticizes the pressure exercised on the part of the European Union on the new member states, that did not improve the situation of minorities in the countries concerned. However, this assessment has to be questioned. It is absolutely the responsibility of the European Union to pressure its new Member States to a better compliance with minority rights. If they are not able to actively implement the requirements, this is not the fault of Brussels (compare Martens 2014).  

Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

24.09.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and arranged marriages

Published by:

The British tabloid Daily Mail reports about arranged marriages among Rroma. It refers to the Channel 4TV documentation “The Gypsy Matchmaker”. At the outset, Styles (2014) claims that 250,000 Rroma from Eastern Europe have migrated to the UK in the past decade. This is an absurdly high number that makes no sense, and is not proven by any sources. Rather, it seems to be the result of the polemical debate about the alleged mass immigration of poor migrants to Western Europe. Thereby “poverty migrants” are often equated with Rroma, although ethnicity is not identified in most statistics. Building on this polemic, Styles claims that immigrated Rroma have brought their tradition of arranged marriages to the UK: more and more underage Rromnja would marry in exchange for bride money with older men, often at the age of thirteen. As a result, he stats that it is impossible for them to complete school or training. This tradition goes back to the traditional Rroma code “Pachiv”, Styles claims. The word “Patjiv” means “honour” in Rromanes and is indeed associated with the preservation of traditions. However, this does not mean that arranged marriages are the norm among Rroma. They are only found among traditional families and only in certain groups, mainly among the Vlax (Romanian) Rroma. Styles present this as if arranged marriages of minors is the normal case among Rroma: “Fresh-faced and delicate, Esme, from Oldham in Manchester, might be barely 15 years old but to many in the Roma gypsy community, she’s a catch. Originally from Hungary, she is just one of the estimated 250,000 Romany gypsies who relocated to the UK from Eastern Europe over the last decade. But with the influx of people has come their traditions – including the custom of marrying off girls and boys once they reach the age of 13.“ Although Styles points out that this tradition is questioned among critical Rroma, by citing the statement of an older Rromni, this remains a marginal note. The impression remains that of an entrenched tradition that makes it impossible to the married persons to shape their own life and violates the British law, which defines marriages below the age of sixteen as illegal (compare McDowall 2014, Steele 2014).

Deutschland Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

24.09.2014 Vom Odenwald: one-sided praise of Zoltan Balog’s Rroma policy

Published by:

In his article for the Budapester Zeitung, Herrolt vom Odenwald (2014) criticises the Austrian writer Erich Hackl’s questioning analysis of Zoltan Balog’s policy. In his article “How to plough the sea?” Hackl (2014) criticised that Zoltan Balog denied that Rroma from Hungary were deported from Hungary to Germany during the Holocaust. This misinterpretation of history is totally inappropriate, so Hackl, and was criticised by many other newspapers. The Hungarian Rroma press centre reacted immediately with the publication of reports by Holocaust survivors. Rroma were deported with the help of Hungarian authorities to Nazi Germany, this is beyond debate. However, the criticism of Balog’s statement only takes a marginal role in Hackl’s text. The predominant part of the article deals with the struggle of the Rroma writer Marika Schmiedtberger and the Rroma activists Rudolf Sarközi against the oblivion of past atrocities. However, vom Odenwald sees this differently: from his perspective, Hackl’s entire article is a systematic discrediting of Balog, in which all positive achievements of the politician are deliberately hidden. And yet, he himself does exactly what he accuses the Austrian author of doing; he interprets his text in an extremely one-sided way: “the (upper) Austrian writer Erich Hackl just got lost in Hungarian politics, and from much that he believed to have to comment on, he negated reality. This concerns first and foremost the situation of the largest ethnic minority in the country, namely the Gypsies. I prefer this terminology to the consistently used term “Roma and Sinti” by solicitously politically correct (PC) media. […] Hackl however applied total poetic freedom in his article “How to plough the sea?”, for the (more left positioned) weekend supplement “Spectrum” of the “bourgeois” Austrian daily newspaper “Die Presse”, and was not concerned with ethno-linguistic subtleties from comparative linguistics. He and his publishing medium were in fact primarily concerned with denouncing the alleged disgraceful, racist politics of Hungary towards the Gypsies, especially under its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And, according to the popular saying “beat the sack, but mean the donkey”, do verbal bashing against Zoltán Balog, the minister largely responsible for integration and the Gypsies.” Odenwald’s statement that the term “Gypsy” is politically unproblematic is wrong. Rather, it would be correct to say that there is no consensus on the context in which the use of the term is appropriate. Many Rroma reject the concept because of its negative connotation. The criticism that Erich Hackl one-sidedly criticises Balog is also wrong. Balog has repeatedly attracted attention for his ill-considered and indiscriminate remarks about Rroma: for instance, in the Hungarian radio station Lánchídrádió he called the Rroma “unworthy poor”, because they actually were healthy and fit for work, but still burden the state as recipients of social benefits (Pusztaranger 2014). ­If one makes incautious remarks, one must be able to tolerate criticism. Odenwald then continues to enumerate extensively what Zoltan Balog has done for the Rroma: thanks to Balog’s effort, the “history and culture of the Roma” is now part of the national curriculum in the upper year education. Moreover, the minister for human resources champions a better economic integration of the minority. Nobody discredits these efforts. However, the extreme sensitivity of supporters of the incumbent Orban government to critique reveals that they want to suppress legitimate criticism themselves. Otherwise, they would not react as fiercely and emotionally to questioning or analysing comments. Pröhles Gergely (2014) response to Erich Hackl’s article also belongs to this category.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

19.09.2014 Berlin: threatened child removal of Rroma evokes resentment

Published by:

Youth workers of the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg have threatened to take away the children of Rroma families if they continue to live outdoors. According to the journalist Long-Lendorff (2014), during the summer months Rroma migrant workers and their families have been living in and around the Görlitz Park and on a wasteland of the Kreuzbergian Cuvrystraße for many years. The concern about the children welfare is therefore exaggerated. However, this is seen differently by the youth welfare office: “Employees of the youth office presented the families earlier this week a letter in which they were asked to look for an accommodation at least for their children. These were in danger due to the outdoor life. “We’ll be back in a few days. If you still live overnight with your children here, we will take your children into care”, the letter says […].” Those responsible acknowledge that a child removal cannot be for the children’s good. However, there is too big a housing shortage in the district, so that one cannot simply provide housing for all families affected. The Rroma association Amaro Foro and the Senate commissioner for integration, Monika Lüke, criticised the planned action as totally inappropriate: if anything, one has to provide housing for the whole families and not unnecessarily destroy them. Moreover, child removal would also align to a very questionable historical continuity of earlier removals: Children were taken away from Rroma families in several countries of Europe during forced assimilation programs. Sterilisations and child removals often went hand in hand. The children trauma cannot in any way be compared to poor living conditions. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that most Rroma are committed to integration, but are hindered to do so by structural obstacles and mechanisms of exclusion (compare Berliner Zeitung 2014).

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

19.09.2014 European Commission: Rroma health status worse than the rest of the population – Is it really true?

Published by:

In early September, the European Commission (2014) has published a new study, which analysed the health of Rroma in the European Union. The study comes to the conclusion that members of the minority face more difficulties when trying to access health institutions, mainly due to the Rroma marginalisation. Women are particularly affected by poorer health care. Furthermore, life expectancy is said to be much lower than among other population groups, while at the same time the average age is significantly lower than in the European majority populations. With regard to infectious diseases, the survey found a lack of comprehensive, reliable research. However, some studies show an increased rate of infectious diseases among Rroma, which is thought to be connected to a lack of vaccination of the Rroma children. The proportion of chronic diseases (asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure) is significantly higher among the minority, the report states. Regarding a healthy lifestyle, the available information is said to be inadequate. The data available suggests that the Rroma lifestyle is less oriented towards an better health than compared to the majority population. Rroma are particularly affected by the economic crisis, which finds expression in an more difficult access to health care. The generally poorer health is thereby connected with a lower education rate, poorer infrastructure, and with greater unemployment among Rroma populations of the EU, it is claimed. The study repeatedly points to the lack of available data on the health status of Rroma in the European Union. Nevertheless, it comes to clear findings. From the Rroma Contact Point viewpoint, the authors of study questions far too little whether investigated Rroma were already marginalised and therefore relatively easy contactable persons for a research or whether they were integrated ones, who are generally ignored in such researches. Many Rroma are integrated, keep their identity a secret and are therefore difficult to contact for such a study. These integrated, invisible Rroma, which have generally good health, seem not to have been considered for this study, which cast doubts on the representativeness of the results. The authors themselves state a lot of uncertainties regarding the proportions of the Rroma population in Europe: “The debate over the size of the Roma population is a direct consequence of the lack of clarity regarding Roma identity, as it makes counting the Roma difficult or even impossible. […] As a consequence, it is impossible to make use of random sampling in research. A general lack of statistical data on the situation of Roma in all sectoral fields makes the planning, design, monitoring, and evaluation of policy and programmes difficult if not impossible. It is not possible to identify Roma ethnicity from national surveys, national demographic data or any kind of national health statistics” (European Commission 2014: 35). With this finding, the authors question the reliability and representativeness of their own study. While it is clearly important that health issues that are the result of exclusion and marginalisation are identified as such and fought against, this study also raises the question of the production of a negative image of the minority, which can be exacerbated by such research and then be exploited by politicians (compare EurActiv 2014, Meunier 2014).

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

19.09.2014 Harassment of immigrant Rroma in Enneptal

Published by:

Gruber (2014) reports on the fate of some 100 Rroma in Enneptal. Many of them moved to Hasperbach after their expulsion from Duisburg. Now they face a renewed one. The landlord of the apartment building in the Hagener Strasse has informed the Rroma families that their leases will not be renewed. No clear explanation for the termination was given. However, it is assumed that reservations and discontent against the Rroma minority played a significant role. The decision is heavily criticised, in particular by social workers who were committed to a rapid and long-term integration of the families: “The social worker from the association “future-oriented fostering” (ZOF) however speak of a human tragedy, if the announcement should become reality. The Roma would exactly experience the same thing as in Ennepetal as this population experienced for centuries in all countries and places. They will be deprived of any chance to settle down permanently somewhere and to integrate into the society. This is unfortunate, especially in Ennepetal, said ZOF project manager Eduard Pusic, because here, in close cooperation with the city, politics, the food pantry, child protection, and residents, successful structures were created within a very short time which enabled the Roma a perspective that now is threatened to lapse.” The association ensured that the Rroma children were enrolled in local schools and that the women and infants received care. An expulsion would mean that the integration efforts of both sides will be unmade and that they have to restart at a different location from zero again.

Bosnien Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa North Macedonia Serbien

19.09.2014 Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are declared safe countries of origin

Published by:

On September the 19th, the decision as to whether Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina will be declared safe countries of origin on part of Germany will be made. The debate about the security against persecution and discrimination in the three states is discussed especially in reference to the fate of the Rroma. In this regard, there are major disagreements whether and how Rroma are exposed to discrimination. While the proponents of the new law assume that the Rroma are indeed affected by poverty in the three countries, they claim that they are free of persecution. Just the opposite is stated by many refugee and asylum organizations, and also by the central council of German Sinti and Roma. These different views concerning the security situation of minorities in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina reveal that the assessment of marginalization and discrimination are based on very different criteria: supporters of a poor security situation refer to meaningful individual cases of discrimination – famous are cases that proof the difficult access to health care and other institutions, or show the harassment by government officials: “Already now, the reasons people have to flee from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are examined too superficially, criticises the Frankfurt lawyer Reinhard Marx. […] Especially [application from] Roma of the Western Balkan countries are already now mostly rejected without detailed examination “as manifestly unfounded”, the lawyer says. He tells of hearing reports and decisions of the branch offices of the BAMF [Federal Office for Migration and Refugees]. Refugees have reported “racist assaults, attempted rape of girls and suchlike.” “In reasoning of the refusal, this was not addressed all”, says the lawyer, the reasons for flight are not carefully examined, “which for me is no longer the rule of law” (Grunau 2014). In contrast, the proponents of the new law refer to the recognition of the Rroma by the political establishment of the countries, the appreciation of Rromanes, and the historical evidence in all strata of society of the integration of the minority, especially in the countries of former Yugoslavia. Ottoman tax registers proof this already for the 15th century, where Rroma are listed as lawyers, doctors and policemen (Rroma Foundation 2002). This integration does not mean that there is no discrimination since 1989, through the strong growth of nationalism in the countries of South Eastern Europe. Again, different evaluation criteria are applied: according to the proponents of the new law, there is discrimination but no systematic persecution. How can one accurately measured and assess the severity of discrimination? In Bosnia-Herzegovina, because of the Dayton Agreement, there is only a constitutional protection of Bosnians, Serbs or Croats, but no official recognition of other minorities. But this does not mean that minorities such as Rroma are not discriminated against in everyday life, the critics claim. The different opinions reveal that the knowledge about Rroma is still dominated by a lot of uncertainties and gaps in knowledge, and that the discrimination of a minority in various countries is anything but easily to determine. Therefore, in doubt, the individual experience of discrimination should always be favoured over a general assessment of the security situation. One owes that to persons who indeed suffer of discrimination. – Neues Deutschland (2014) reports that the stricter asylum law is being adopted because of the approval by the red-green government of Baden-Württemberg. The Green minister president of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, is now criticised because of his decision in his own party. Other German daily newspapers confirm the decision: Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are now safe countries of origin from Germany’s viewpoint. This means that asylum applications from these countries will be handled in an expedited fashion in the future and that discrimination will no longer be recognised as a reason for asylum (compare Brey 2014, Deringer/Lierheimer 2014, Frenzel 2014, Handelsblatt 2014, Lang 2014, Mappes-Niediek 2014, MDR 2014, Möhle 2014, Scholz 2014, Wallraff 2014, Wölfl 2014).

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

19.09.2014 The forgotten victims of the Rroma-Holocaust

Published by:

With a joint letter, several institutions and scientists called attention to the continued ignorance of the Rroma-Holocaust that occurred during the Second World War. The authors call for an explicit focus on and recognition of the genocide of the Rroma by governments, international organisations, museums, scientists, activists, and by the media. The Rroma genocide should not be presented any longer as an event separated from the Holocaust, as it is usually done. This must be presented with a more in-depth research and discussion of the Nazi atrocities done to the Rroma, as well as an adequate representation of Rroma in committees and institutions, such as the council of the American Holocaust Museum: “Removing Roma and Sinti from Holocaust history by creating a separate genocide and by denying their voice in the Holocaust ceremonies signal a disregard for the memory and the dignity of the Romani people. Yet, the United Nations continues to dither about whether Roma and Sinti should be included in their annual Holocaust Remembrance ceremony. Furthermore, being designated as a victim of a separate genocide and not a Holocaust victim is precedent setting. For example, many Romani Holocaust survivors were unable to qualify for any type of compensation for the losses they endured, specifically because the German government failed to recognize them as part of the Holocaust for several decades after the War, long after many survivors had died. This is not an example that current governments and institutions should emulate. Only 10 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars made available by the United Nations for the survivors, and which the U.S. Government was given the responsibility of disbursing, was set aside for non-Jews, and none of that found its way to the Romani survivors. When the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council was established in 1980, no Roma were invited to participate, and as mentioned above, it has no Romani member today. […] Objective and true information about Roma and Sinti can lead to overcoming stigma and embracing Romani people as equal members of society, deserving of dignity and respect” (Raeesi et al 2014). Especially with the last point, the authors of the letter address an important aspect of the historiography of the Rroma: the massive amount of false and inaccurate information that is spread about the ethnic group, which distorts their perception until today. For a long time, it was claimed that there had not been any systematic murder of the Rroma. The Rroma victims were said to be anti-social elements and criminals that were interned for regulatory reasons. Such an inhumane interpretation of history should in fact belong to the past.

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

17.09.2014 Halle: militia against immigrated Rroma

Published by:

The Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (MDR) (2014) reports on the planned establishment of a militia in the neighbourhood of Silberhöhe in Halle. The initiative for this self-organised monitoring in urban area is due to the influx of Rroma immigrants. However, the police did not detect any rise in criminal activities since the arrival of the Rroma. The concerns from alarmed residents are therefore primarily based on prejudices against the people unknown to them: “The language barrier is one of the basic problems. Not only that the Sinti and Roma bring another culture: communication, an approach to each other seems not possible. One local resident at least describes it like this. This lack of understanding often evolves into rejection and prejudice. Many local residents, young and old, feel threatened. Nevertheless, opinions are split among the local residents as whether a militia must really be started. While some advocate it outright, others demand that in case of offenses, the police should act. The police officers think poorly of a militia. This would not solve the problems in the district, but rather enhance them.” In this article, in spite of the will to be differentiated, a one-sided notion of the minority in Germany arises. Rroma in the country consist not only of recently immigrated people, but also from those who live in Germany since generations. An estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma live today in the German Federal Republic. Before the genocide through the Nazis, there were much more. Most of them speak perfectly German and have a job. These Rroma are totally ignored by the residents in their delusions, when they request a militia against the immigrants. Silberhöhe was also the place of an incident between a young Rromni with her baby and a group of children and adolescents who attacked and insulted the mother and the child. The police is investigating for assault and demagoguery. That the perpetrators were children and adolescents is particularly disconcerting (compare Mitteldeutsche Zeitung 2014 I/II).

Bosnien Bulgarien Tschechische Republik Frankreich Deutschland Ungarn News Osteuropa News Westeuropa North Macedonia Rumänien Serbien

17.09.2014 Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: safe countries of origin for Rroma?

Published by:

The daily news of the ARD (2014) reports on the ongoing discussions and protests because of the declaration of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being “safe countries of origin”. Accordingly, the federal government will soon enact a law that puts these three countries on the list of countries safe of persecution. Thereafter, minorities like the Rroma will have very poor chances of obtaining asylum in Germany. This is being criticised especially by social democratic politicians and non-governmental organisations. Recently, the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma has spoken out. Its chairman, Romani Rose, criticised in his statement that the three countries are anything but safe for Rroma: “In the three countries, the argument goes, there is no persecution, torture, violence or degrading treatment. […] Life for Rroma in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is anything but safe, Rose declared. “Large parts of the minority in these countries have no chance in the labour market, they are excluded from any participation in social life.” For Roma, which are merely tolerated in Germany, the implementation of the plans could mean deportation.” While it is true that the Rroma in the Balkans were exposed to little discrimination until 1989, and many of the common stereotypes about the minority originated in Western Europe, this does not mean that the exaggeration of ethnic differences and the marginalisation of the Rroma have not become a real issue since then that affect many members of the minority. The adoption of the new law is due to an increase of asylum applications from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are turned down in the majority of the cases as being unfounded. However, these decisions are also criticised, since individual fates of exclusion and persecution get too little attention and are not considered appropriately due to lack of evidence. The status of safe countries puts administrative estimates about the protection of the civilian population, especially minorities, over the individual experiences of those affected. Whether this is a smart procedure that meets the real-life experiences of victims of discrimination, should be critically assessed. What matters in the end is the individual fate and not the official status (compare Amtsberg 2014, Attenberger/Filon 2014, Die Welt 2014, Ulbig 2014).  

Eastern Europe correspondent Mappes-Niediek (2014) contradicts this opinion: He claims that the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are often affected by poverty, but are not persecuted. In Macedonia and Serbia, the Rroma rather build part of local communities and are found in all social classes and positions. Even the Rromanes is widely accepted in Macedonia: “Traditionally, in Macedonia and Serbia, it is far less disparagingly spoken about Roma than in the neighbouring countries of Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The major, wearing his chain of office and shaking hands, attend Roma celebrations. In the newspapers one respectfully speaks of “citizens of Roma nationality”, and ethnic Macedonians also attend Roma pilgrimages. The European cliché that Roma steal is unknown in both countries. […] If Roma are exposed to persecution somewhere in the region, then it is the EU-country Hungary, where right-wing extremist groups inflame the atmosphere, literally hunt for Roma and the police looks the other way. However, from EU-countries no asylum applications are accepted in principle. Even discrimination based on ethnicity is likely to be far less in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia than what Roma have to endure in Hungary, the Czech Republic or France.” Thereby Mappes-Niediek addresses an important point: the difficulty of assessing the discrimination or acceptance of a minority that is already perceived very one-sided in the public in its entirety and complexity. For Mappes-Niediek, the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are particularly affected by poverty. This is certainly true for a part of the minority. But he also hides a part of reality: in particular the integrated Rroma, which can be found in all the countries of Europe and are not perceived as Rroma by the public. Rroma should not be equated with an underclass. They build part of all strata of society. Regarding the aspect of discrimination, the individual fate should still favoured to a reductionist, generalising assessment: because mechanisms of exclusion in a society cannot be read on a measuring instrument. They are subtly distributed in all spheres of a nation and not necessarily occur in the open.    

News Schweiz News Westeuropa

Published by:

Dammann (2014/I) reports on a criminal “Rroman-gang” that is said to have defrauded trusting home sellers of large sums of money. The journalist goes in detail into the circumstances of the criminal fraud: the vendors were contacted and, after a valuation of the property, were invited to Rome to take a deposit for the house. There, they were tricked into accepting counterfeit money. The offence itself should not be trivialised. It is an illegal act that must be punished. However, what is surprising is how uncritically it is simply claimed that the perpetrators are Rroma. Where does this knowledge come from? By mentioning the ethnicity, Dammann suggests that crime and Rroma are directly related. This is not so. Rroma are not more criminal than any other ethnic groups. Rather, this impression arises through the continuous thematisation of the minority in connection with criminal offences as in this article: “Roma gangs rip off trusting home sellers with deceitful currency transactions. Alone in the canton of Zurich, victims lost over a million francs in so-called rip deals. Also Elisabeth Kummer* (72) and her partner Heinz (77) from the canton of Aargau can tell you a thing or two about the Roma crooks.” The stereotype of criminal, hierarchical Rroma gangs that commit crimes at the command of clan chief is widespread. This notion of ​​hierarchical families can be traced back to the projection of the medieval caste system onto Rroma and to the equation of Rroma families with criminal organisations. This is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important role among the Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian. By continuously addressing a criminal minority of the Rroma, one discredits the majority of Rroma who live an integrated life. In addition, the identification of ethnicity has to be critically looked at, as it is anything but simple to determine. Not rarely, one simply assumes that the persons in question are Rroma (compare Dammann 2014/II).

Bulgarien Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa North Macedonia Rumänien

17.09.2014 Survey of antiziganism: prejudices against Rroma in Germany remain

Published by:

Several German newspapers report on the latest study by the centre for anti-Semitism research in Berlin and the institute for prejudice and conflict research. For the study “Between apathy and rejection – Population attitudes towards Sinti and Roma” around 2,000 German citizens were interviewed. The study concludes that about a third of Germans feel Rroma as neighbours as being very or quite unpleasant. There is less sympathy towards Rroma than towards any other population group. Seventeen percent of the respondents consider them as very unappealing. This result is clearly linked to the opinion of the respondents that Rroma are responsible for the reservations towards their minority due to their own behaviour. This point is based on the false assumption that a visible minority of the minority can be equated with all Rroma. However, most Rroma are not delinquent and are integrated. This is ignored by the media and by the public. The following three results show how ingrained prejudices and resentments against the minority are: fifteen percent of the respondents consider Roma as criminals, fourteen percent as not assimilable, ten percent as lazy. Again, the prejudices are based on the public perception of a visible minority of the minority. The majority of the Rroma are integrated and are honest. The final result of the study is of particular concern: every second respondent thinks that a restriction of the entry requirements is an appropriate way to solve the problems with the minority. Again, there are misconceptions about a mass influx of poorly educated and delinquent Rroma. Rroma constitute only a part of all immigrants from South and Eastern Europe. Many of them are ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, etc. There are also many well-educated Rroma, who are also hidden in the media. Romani Rose, president of the central council of German Sinti and Roma, raised severe concerns about the results of the study: “anti-Semitism is outlawed in Germany, antiziganism enjoys largely a free rein”, criticised Romani Rose […]. He warned against connecting poverty with ethic origin. “The Jews were too rich, the Roma are too poor.” This is an unacceptable generalisation” (Peters 2014). After all, Rose sees it as positive that around 80% of the respondents knew about the persecution of the Rroma during National Socialism. Nevertheless, knowledge about the minority needs to be deepened more through history lessons. This contrasts with the opinion of almost a third of the respondents who feel no historical responsibility of Germany towards the minority. One in five is for the removal of the Rroma from Germany: a very thought-provoking insight. In response to the poor results, an expert commission shall be set up to report to the Bundestag regularly on discrimination against the minority in the fields of education, employment or housing. The anti-discrimination commissioner of the state, Christine Lüders, also sees a special need for action in the fight against prejudice among police forces. Rroma in Germany are still more frequently suspected of criminal activities as members of other ethnic groups. She argues that “indifference, ignorance and rejection together form a fatal mix that [enable and foster] discrimination against Sinti and Roma” (compare Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes 2014, Die Zeit 2014, Fürstenau 2014, Gajevic 2014, Gensing 2014, Lambeck 2014, MiGAZIN 2014, Süddeutsche Zeitung 2014).  

Bulgarien News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

17.09.2014 The visible Rroma of Sweden

Published by:

Gyldén (2014) reports about begging Rroma in Sweden. The very detailed article reports explicitly about the life circumstances of immigrant Rroma in Sweden, who earn their revenue with begging, playing music or with collecting scrap. On the other hand, the journalist presents the Swedish political system and the local economic mode that, according to the journalist, is not designed and adapted to begging with its “protestant work ethic”. Glydén article attempts, as many before him, to portray the life of the Rroma, but he ends up addressing only the living conditions of a minority of the minority: “They live there, at the edge of a clearing under birch trees, fir trees and squirrels. One moment, they are reminiscent of trolls from myths. But the lives of Corneliu, Aurelian, Florina and others – forty people in total – have nothing of a children’s story. These Roma, who originally come from Bacau (250 km north of Bucharest), leave their camp near a terminus of the metro, in the suburbs, every morning to pursue their “jobs”: the sidewalks of Stockholm, its parks, its metros. Some play the accordion; others collect returnable bottles from the trashcans. Most of them beg.” In his argument, Gyldén depicts the scenario of Rroma as poverty migrants, who, since the advent of free movement of workers with Romania and Bulgaria now try their luck in Sweden. But he ignores an important part of reality: First of all, critical studies show that there is no mass immigration of Rroma to the north. In addition, there are also ethnic Romanians, Bulgarians and other ethnic groups from South Eastern Europe, which migrate to Western Europe. Furthermore, Gyldén negates the well and very well educated Rroma, which also form part of the migrants or have lived in Sweden for a longer period of time. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, they constitute between 15,000 and 20,000 people. After all, Gyldén relativizes, with reference to a Swedish journalist, the stereotype of organized begging networks: those emerged, after detailed investigations, as a construct.

Albanien News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

17.09.2014 “This Is Life Among the Roma”: stereotypical documentary about the Rroma

Published by:

The 10-minute documentary “Roma” by British filmmaker Sam Davis (2014) attempts to show the life of Rroma in Albania. Unfortunately, the movie does not create a differentiated picture of the minority, but reproduces numerous stereotypes: the Rroma marry at the age of thirteen or fifteen, claims an American missionary, and live in unbearable hygienic conditions, almost like animals. A local politician makes the statement that one can only integrate Rroma successfully if one takes into account their travelling lifestyle and gives them space to act out their traditions. This is complemented with recordings from a Rroma ghetto in Tirana. All this leads to a highly one-sided, distorted notion of the Rroma lifestyle. In reality, many members of the minority are integrated and not in slums. Many marry only as adults, not earlier than members of other ethnic groups. In addition, most Rroma are precisely not travellers, as the Albanian politician falsely claims. Poverty is not a cultural characteristic of the Rroma. Unfortunately, the highly aesthetic images cannot make up for these massive shortcomings in content. The Rroma are still heavily discriminated against, this fact is emphatically shown by the documentation. However, the portrayed life circumstances match by no means those of all Rroma in Europe or even in Albania, as Jake Flanagin (2014) of the New York Times incorrectly interprets: “Despite a millennium of shared history with Europeans, Roma remain one of the Continent’s most marginalised and underserved groups. A 2012 report jointly compiled by the United Nations Development Program and the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency found that only 15 percent of Roma adults surveyed “have completed upper-secondary general education, versus more than 70 percent of the majority population living nearby.” Similarly, less than 30 percent of Roma surveyed were employed in an official capacity at the time of questioning, and roughly 45 percent “live in households lacking at least one of the following: an indoor kitchen, toilet, shower or bath, or electricity.” What Flanagin does not mention is that the cited study only surveyed Rroma who live in neighbourhoods with a over proportioned amount of Rroma, which were usually already marginalised. Rroma living really integrated were almost not considered for the study (compare European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2013). However, in reality, Rroma belong to all strata of society and not just the lower class.

rroma.org
de_DEDE
en_GBEN fr_FRFR de_DEDE