Tag Archives: Education

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15.10.2014 Racist hatred after “Rroma attacks” in a school of Sheffield

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Several British newspapers report on violence at the Hinde House School in Sheffield. Various students were victims of severe physical attacks in the last few weeks and months, for which Rroma youth from Slovakia are made responsible. While the school management states to get the situation under control, a group of parents calls for harder sanctions against the school violence. The school administration is deemed to show too much tolerance towards the “gang-like culture” of the Rroma community. In the case described here, problems that also exist at other schools are made in​​to ethnic issues. There is no “gang-like culture” of violence among Rroma. What the newspapers report are the actions of individuals, who could also belong to any other ethnic group. The cited parents, who accuse the school principal of Hinde House to do nothing against the Rroma adolescents for fear of racism accusations, see this differently: “Parents have accused an inner-city head teacher of turning a blind eye towards violent gangs of Roma pupils for fear of being labelled a racist. More than 1,600 people have signed an online petition claiming ‘children have been stabbed, mugged and nearly kicked to death’ at the school. It urges the head not to ‘be afraid’ to tackle the issue – and suggests he is failing to do so for fear of appearing racist because the majority of the perpetrators are of Slovakian Roma origin. […] The petition was launched after an attack last Thursday that left pupil Rhys Larkings, 14, battered and bruised with a broken nose after being allegedly punched to the ground by three Roma Slovak teenagers.” The adolescents responsible for the violence were excluded of the school as a consequence, and the police have launched an investigation against them. The complaint of the parents saying that the school administration does nothing for fear of racism accusations is therefore unfounded. Rather, the outrage of the parents cited seem to be influenced by the nationalism fuelled by UKIP, as one can read in the article’s comments section. Excessive ethnic divisions only occur when people are willing to be manipulated by nationalist rhetoric. Rroma are not more violent than other ethnic groups (compare BBC News 2014, Daily Express 2014, Lawton 2014, The Star 2014).

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10.10.2014 Rroma, role models and education in Greece

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Sutton (2014) reports on the Rroma community of a suburb of Thessaloniki. According to the author’s opinion, the access to education for the local Rroma is still very limited. Women and girls are particularly affected as they often get married early due to traditional role models, she states. Sutton tries to show the discrimination against Rroma, but also reproduces one-sided stereotypes about the minority, especially by focusing on marginalised Rroma that are, contrary to her assertion, not representative of all Rroma, but rather a visible minority of the minority: “Statistics on Roma women make for depressing reading. They have on average 10 years lower life expectancy than the rest of the EU’s populations, higher infant mortality, less access to healthcare, limited access to information, extremely high levels of illiteracy, far higher rates of addiction, far, far lower rates of employment, voting and education, poorer housing and sanitation. In addition, girls are married off at 13 and generally start having children immediately, most without any knowledge of material health, infant nutrition or how to read. Despite giving birth in hospitals, the medical system doesn’t work on their behalf. Greek doctors don’t inform social services for a 13-year-old Roma girl in labour, even though this is one place where the vicious cycles of bad health, poverty and disempowerment could be broken.”

The continuing discrimination against Rroma as well as role models and traditions that impede or prevent an individual conduct of life are massive problems, which must be decidedly fought. However, the image of Rroma that is conveyed here which portrays them as a mass of uneducated and illiterate persons, who bear children while themselves in childhood, represents only a part of reality. They are visible Rroma, who live mostly in segregated settlements and are therefore easy to reach for statistical surveys or aid organisations. The integrated Rroma, who have good education, belong to all strata of society and also form part of the minority, are hidden by this account. This is problematic, especially when starting from the liberal premise that the life situation of poor people results from a lack of individual initiative, or even connects the characteristics described here in a fallacy with the culture of the Rroma. Poverty and exclusion have nothing to do with the Rroma culture. The general assertion that Rroma girls are married of at the age of 13, applies only to traditional families and certain groups. Many Rroma want a good education for their children and question traditional role models and early marriages. Sutton also implies this, when she asks the portrayed girls about their own wishes for the future. Nevertheless, a more critical and differentiated presentation of the background and the heterogeneity of the minority would have been very appropriate.

Sutton, Ruth (2014) The young Roma women who are changing their communities. In: Open Democracy online vom 8.10.2014. https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/ruth-sutton/young-roma-women-who-are-changing-their-communities

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10.10.2014 Swedish Member of European Parliament wants special taskforce for Rroma issues

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EurActiv (2014) spoke with Soraya Post, Swedish Member of European Parliament for the social democrats and a Rromni. Post wants to establish a special taskforce for Rroma issues, in order to put emphasis on these topics and to be able to better sanction nations which don’t adhere to antidiscrimination laws. In EurActiv, she presents her objectives in more detail: “Needless to say that as a Roma MEP, I will work on having strong language on Roma issues in every piece of legislation the Parliament will be adopting. Secondly, I will make a suggestion to include Roma history and culture in the EU countries’ national curriculum. Apart from that, it is important to ensure that every event about Roma in Europe should offer translation into Romani. At conferences and meetings, it is often the case that Roma cannot contribute to discussions because of a lack of translation services. Lastly, my two main goals during this parliamentary term are to work towards appointing a EU Special Representative for Roma, and creating a Roma Platform. The EU Special Representative for Roma should coordinate the work that is done in the EU institutions on this issue. The person in charge should serve as a bridge between the Romani, civil society and politicians.” Using the example of Sweden, Post explained further who important a close collaboration between Rroma-representatives and government authorities is: for the White Paper that documents the history of the minority in Sweden for the period of 1900 till 2000, they hold intense talks for several months. The White Paper is now builds the basis for school materials and for the deconstruction of stereotypes.

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10.10.2014 Centuries-old prejudices exacerbate integration

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Petersen (2014) reports on the integration of recently immigrated Rroma families in Berlin. According to the journalist and the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), the findings are sobering. As reasons for the supposedly difficult integration, the journalist refers to common prejudices about Rroma, which are thoughtlessly reproduced: „According to the CDU, the integration of Roma in Berlin is threatened to fail! Meanwhile, approximately 10,000 Roma live in the capital, tendency increasing. However, often they cannot be integrated: centuries-old traditions and clan structures can rarely be influenced by western strategies of integration.“ Petersen conveys the notion of a culture as corset, to which all Rroma subject to. Tellingly he doesn’t mention the prejudices, which exist since centuries and essentially contribute to their marginalisation. A worldview that builds on prototypical conceptions of men, and reduces the possibilities of a person to his or her will to act, is very reductionist. Apart from the prejudices and discriminations that impede an integration, the following measures are supposed to be applied to better include the immigrant Rroma: „Representatives from the youth welfare and the public health office, the school board and the police from Berlin and Rumania shall together visit the Roma-families. In the process, proposals shall be made to the families and on the other hand, there shall be sanctions, if for instance the children don’t go to school. Only with decisive actions can the integration succeed, the youth and health town councillor of Neukölln, Falko Liecke (41), stated. “So far, the plan of action of the senate is a paper tiger.” Liecke developed the seven-point plan together with Christina Schwarzer (38, CDU), MP of Neukölln, after a trip to Rumania.“ The plan of action also includes registering the Rroma, not an unproblematic plan, as this would be an ethnic register, and the creation of more day schools and support in health insurance. According to the Rroma Foundation, an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma live in Germany. The majority of them are well integrated, work, send their children to school, and have their own apartments.

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08.10.2014 Visible Rroma in Serbia

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Ivanji (2014) reports on visible Rroma in Serbia. In a Belgrade suburb, next to a refugee centre, where even two decades after the war, refugees from Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo are living together with other asylum seekers, there is a Rroma camp. Kameraj Sajin lives there with his family. He is one of those who is directly affected by the new status of Serbia of “safe country of origin”. Although the Sajins are not persecuted, they are affected by severe poverty and exclusion: “Eight months the family spent in Steinfurt, this year “three months and eleven days.” A few weeks ago, they were deported to Serbia. The stay was “really nice” tells Sajin. After the family had moved between several asylum homes, they received an apartment and around 1,200 Euros a month. At Caritas they could buy clothing and food for two Euros. The daughter went to school, the two sons to the playschool. “Not like here”, says Sajin […]. Here, in Krnjaca, his daughter has to go to evening school because, she lost her place in the regular primary school and he has no confirmation that she attended a German school. For the boys, there is no kindergarten, and from the state he gets only 10,000 dinars (around 85 Euros) of child benefit.” This article addresses the important question of whether one should not recognise poverty and exclusion as legitimate reasons for asylum, and not only political persecution. It must also be added that Rroma in South Eastern Europe, even though many are affected by severe poverty, are not living exclusively in slums. Rroma, especially in the former states of Yugoslavia, belong to all social classes, but are usually only perceived as Rroma if they conform to the stereotypes of the minority. But there are also Rroma doctors, policemen, teachers, etc., which are fully integrated, and have been so for generations.

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08.10.2014 “The Roma have to stay”

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A primary school teacher from Ennepetal calls for the integration of immigrated Rroma families. He demands that the immigrant families be accepted and supported in their integration efforts, with special regard to the future of their children. The primary school teacher Folkert Köppe therefore decidedly speaks against a policy of expulsion, as the owner of the houses in which the families are currently located, intends to do. He announced a few weeks ago to terminate the lease of all families, although temporary leases have no legal basis in Germany. Folkert Köppe states: “Given the dubious behaviour of the owner of those dilapidated houses in the Hagenerstrasse, where the Roma currently live, it is time to address the children’s situation. They are the real victims of the current conflict, because a shift from here to another city would mean a new change of school for them. Here in Ennepetal, special collection classes have been established for these children, within which I am working as a teacher. And as such, I say in all determination: the Roma must stay! Because already now, some of them show significant academic deficits, caused by frequent changes of residency and thus of schooling. The exhaustive lessons show signs of success; the children are happy in school and we educators are gradually finding “the right turn”, to equip them with the basic knowledge important for their future. All this would be abruptly terminated by a departure, and the children would have to start all over again elsewhere” (Köppe 2014). According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation In Germany, an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. Before the genocide by the Nazis, there were many more. Many have been living for generations in Germany, speak fluently German, go to work, and send their children to school. They are the living proof that integration is possible.

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03.10.2014 Rroma in Champs-sur-Marne: different notions of equality

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Kaps (2014/I) reports on immigrated Rroma in Champs-sur-Marne and Noisy-le-Grand, two suburbs, 20 kilometres north of Paris. In the cities, many informal settlements were created, which are not tolerated by Maud Tallet, the communist mayor of Champs-sur-Marne. Astonishingly, as a communist she has extreme views on equality, which categorically exclude any special treatment of immigrant Rroma. Since they have settled on private and on public land, she sees no reason why she should help them with services such as water or sanitary facilities. Rather, she demands their eviction. She also doesn’t foster the enrolment of the children, but hinders it: children of Rroma immigrants, such as those of Christian Bumbai, a Rrom from Romania, are usually only enrolled in school after the assistance by locals. Otherwise, it is difficult for them to attend school, because the Rroma families do not meet the minimum regulatory requirements, such as a permanent residency. Maud Tallet conveys very one-sided, stereotypical ideas about the Rroma minority: she calls them “travelling people”, who require empty space and enough trash containers, where bulky waste and household items can be found. She does not seem to understand that poverty and exclusion have nothing to do with the Rroma culture. Nor that Rroma are not travellers. Therefore, the mayor demands for equal treatment cannot be met by the immigrant Rroma and thereby, as a communist mayor, she creates inequality. Despite these obstacles, the portrayed Rroma families Bumbai and Lucan try to successfully integrate, to find work, to send their children to school, and to find an own apartment. In France, according to the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma. The majority of them is integrated, goes to work, speaks French and has its own accommodations. Many of them have lived in France for several generations. These invisible Rroma are not perceived by the media, the politicians, and the public, they are even denied existence. On the opposite side, there is a minority of the minority, approximately 17,000 recently immigrated Rroma, who get all the media attention, as in the report by Kaps. They live in informal settlements and are affected by extreme poverty, but also they only want to integrate, “to get out of the slum” (compare Kaps 2014/II).

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03.10.2014 Martigues: threatened eviction of a house occupied by Rroma

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Info Maritima (2014) reports on the threatened eviction of an empty house occupied by Rroma in Martigues. Martigues is a port town, 30 kilometres west of Marseille. The building is owned by the agency for environment, facilities and accommodation (DEAL), which has requested the eviction. The judiciary has approved the request, and ordered the eviction of the around 40 people within a month. It also points out that in the near future, a bypass is planned at the site of the building, and that the security of the place is not guaranteed. On the opposite side, the affected Rroma and their supporters point out that all children of the families are enrolled in local schools. The adults continue to educate themselves, have employment contracts, or are enrolled at the employment agency. An eviction would hinder these integration efforts with new obstacles that don’t foster an inclusion of the immigrant Rroma and significantly complicate their chances to a better future: “The young Simonia, 14 years old, did not speak French five years ago. Today, she speaks the language and leads the normal life of a grammarschool. “Everything is going well at school. I have friends. For me it is important to study, because I do not want to have the same life as my parents do. I want to have a job and my own house.” Because they support and guide a community that wants to integrate, the collective of supporters demands a longer time frame [for evacuation] at the meeting with the provincial office next Monday.” Once more, one needs to emphasise that the forced evacuations of informal settlements or empty houses complicate the long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. The evictions reverse the integration efforts of those affected or exacerbate them. The rigorous expulsion of the minority reflects the unwillingness of the French government to engage in an active integration policy. In addition, through the one-sided media focus on the informal settlements it is suggested that there are only Rroma who belong to the underclass and are poorly educated. However, the Rroma from the slums – an estimated 17,000 persons – constitute only a small part of all Rroma in France. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma live in France. These invisible Rroma are integrated, work, and have their own flats. They belong to the middle or even upper-class and are ignored by the French media, the public and politicians. For fear of discrimination, many of the integrated Rroma keep their identity a secret.

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03.10.2014 RACE in Europe Project: report on organised crime reproduces misinformation

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The research group “RACE in Europe Project”, a collaboration of several organisations which are involved in the fight against organised crime and trafficking, has presented a report on human trafficking in Europe for the purpose of criminal activities. The authors come to the conclusion that there is a serious lack of reliable information on the phenomenon. In spite of this acknowledged lack of reliable data, they arrive at very clear results: in many of the examined cases, the victims of trafficking for the purpose of criminal activities were identified by authorities as being perpetrators rather than as victims. Roma children are particularly often cited in this context. It is claimed that in the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, but also in other European countries, Roma children are particularly affected by criminal networks: “The majority of persons trafficked to the UK for petty crimes, such as pick-pocketing and the sale of counterfeit goods, as well as for forced begging are from Central and Eastern Europe. Most are of Roma origin, and a high proportion are children. A host of socio-economic factors, such as high levels of poverty and discrimination in their countries of origin make Roma groups particularly vulnerable to trafficking. […] The RACE Project research identified that those who are most commonly trafficked for forced criminality and begging come from South-East Europe (many of them of Roma origin) and from South-East Asia (Vietnam and China)” (RACE in Europe Project 2014: 5, 11). As a reason for the high rate of Rroma among victims of human trafficking, the authors of the study name the increased vulnerability of the minority, which results from their discrimination and the consequential poor access to education, the labour market and public institutions. In addition, it is stated that extortionate loan sharks particularly affect members of the minority: “Debt bondage is cited as a major driver of trafficking. While some Roma communities will rely on neighbours (both Roma and non-Roma) for support, ‘their survival strategies are often for them to resort to informal money lenders (known as ‘kamatari’, essentially loan sharks), who charge exorbitant interest rates and use repressive measures to ensure payment’. These measures can include forcing them to undertake criminal acts such as begging or pick-pocketing, or to traffic their own children for the same purpose, in order to clear debts they may have accumulated” (RACE in Europe Project 2014: 13).

The characteristics of trans-nationally operating trafficker networks, as presented here, are questioned by research in social sciences. While their existence is not denied, their manifestation, number, omnipotence, and the motivations attributed to them have to be questioned. Ideological fallacies connected or even equated with ethnic groups such as the Rroma are often the source of those myths. Furthermore, connecting child trafficking to Rroma has to be critically examined. The stereotype of Rroma as child traffickers dates back to their arrival in Western Europe, and is in part based on the racist notion that Rroma actively recruit young people for their criminal gangs. Regarding the de facto trafficking of children, social science studies convey a more complex notion of this subject and point out that crimes such as incitement to beg and steal or alleged child trafficking are often permeated by various morals in the analysis and assessment by authorities, who don’t appropriately consider the perspectives and motivations of those affected, and instead force on them their own ideas of organised begging, criminal networks, or of child trafficking. Structural differences of the involved societies and the resulting reasons for a migration are given too little consideration. In reality, behind begging children there are simply often only impoverished families, in which the children contribute to the family income and who therefore do not correspond to bourgeois notions of a normal family and childhood. Furthermore, the incomes from begging are very modest, which makes it unattractive for actual organised crime (see Cree/Clapton/Smith 2012, O’Connell Davidson 2011, Oude Breuil 2008, Tabin et al 2012).

  • RACE in Europe Project (2014) Trafficking for Forced Criminal Activities and Begging in Europe. Exploratory Study and Good Practice Examples. Anti-Slavery online vom 30.9.2014. http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2014/r/race_europe_report.pdf
  • Cree, Viviene E./Clapton, Gary/Smith, Mark (2012) The Presentation of Child Trafficking in the UK: An Old and New Moral Panic? In: Br J Soc Work 44(2): 418-433.
  • O’Connell Davidson, Julia (2011) Moving children? Child trafficking, child migration, and child rights. In: Critical Social Policy 31(3):454-477.
  • Oude Breuil, Brenda Carina (2008) Precious children in a heartless world? The complexities of child trafficking in Marseille. In: Child Soc 22(3):223-234.
  • Tabin, Jean Pierre et al. (2012) Rapport sur la mendicité « rrom » avec ou sans enfant(s). Université de Lausanne.
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03.10.2014 Integration award for Rroma organizations in the Western Balkans and Turkey

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The European Commission has announced in a recent press release that it awards seven distinguished organisations that are particularly involved in the integration of the Rroma in their countries. The winning organizations include: Roma Active Albania (RAA), which advocates the Rroma civil rights and draws attention to current topics of Romnja; the organization Citizens Association for the Promotion of Education of Roma Otaharin that is committed in Bosnia-Herzegonvina to better educational opportunities of the minority; in Kosovo The Ideas Partnership, which advocates for the integration of former beggars and promotes the enrolment of children; in Macedonia the organization Centre for Integration Ambrela that is committed to the promotion of Rroma in early childhood; in Serbia Hands of Friendship, which operates a parent-child education project; in Turkey the children’s art project Sulukule Roma Culture Development and Solidarity Association; and finally in Montenegro a project against child and forced marriages in Rroma communities, through the Centre for Roma Initiatives. The European Commission justifies its decision as follows: “We all – the European Commission, the governments, civil society organisations – need to send out the same message: Roma integration is an important policy. And it is not only investment for the benefit of this minority but it is also an investment to the benefit of society. Living in an environment in which each member of society contributes with their spirit and work force, will allow countries to grow strong and prosperous, from an economic, social and cultural perspective”, said Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, at the award ceremony.” Concerning the integration programmes of the warded organizations it must be remarked that begging Rroma or child marriages in no represent the norm among the minority.

 

– European Union (2014) Award for Roma Integration in the Western Balkans and Turkey. In: European Union online vom 1.10.2014. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1064_en.htm

 

Keywords: Rroma, Europe, European Union, integration projects, organization, awards, stereotypes  

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01.10.2014 Swiss funding, Northeast Hungary, and the discrimination against Rroma

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Odehnal (2014/I) reports on the current status of Swiss development projects in Northeast Hungary, in the city of Kazincbarcika. The region was awarded about 5 million francs for infrastructure projects and economic development: “The money from Switzerland was supposed to help in creating jobs: by creating corporations and by fostering tourism. In a business and incubator park in the centre, available jobs should be announced and young entrepreneurs should receive advice and assistance, for example in the form of cheaper offices. In the neighbouring village Sajókaza, the baroque castle ought to be renovated and expanded to a “meeting and talent centre”. In the former mining colony Rudabanya, the occurrence of bones of a 10 million old ancestor of man is planned to be expanded to an archaeological centre.” When Odehnal visited the region in 2012, all projects were initiated, and they had obtained tenders. When he now visited the city in September 2014, he found that not one of the planned projects had been realised. Some of those responsible refer to expensive tenders others refuse to provide information. Where infrastructure projects were actually implemented, as a water supply system in the city of Ozd, the pipes end in front of the Rroma quarter. The same thing in Sajókaza, where the European Union funded a sewerage system: “The lines stop where the Roma quarter begins. The local government does not want to improve the quality of living of Roma, says Tibor Derdek, head of the Buddhist Dr.-Ambekar-Gymnasium in Sajókaza, that wants to give Roma the possibility to go to highschool: “This is a corrupt, racist system in our community. And it works only with the support of the EU.”” Odehnal (2014/II) sees the reason for the lacking implementation of the Swiss projects in the selection of unsuitable partners, who prioritised the wrong things, as well as in the lack of on site control. The review takes only place on paper, he states. Odehnal’s articles are a direct repudiation of Hungarian bureaucracy, who is pursuing its own goals. As regards to the Rroma, it must be noted that although Rroma in Hungary are indeed affected by severe poverty, which has expanded massively since the end of the Soviet bloc and the state jobs, this is not representative of all members of the minority. Quite a few Rroma were able to successfully integrate into the new system, have jobs and belong to the middle class and some even to the upper class. They are not perceived as Rroma (compare Schindler 2014).

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01.10.2014 Demagoguery against Rroma in the Internet

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Meier (2014) reports on open agitation against Rroma in a Facebook group from Duisburg. A user posted a wanted poster with a blurred photo, in which he claimed that two dark-haired, veiled women had tried to abduct a child. The offenders are Rroma, the initiator suggested. However, according to the police, theses accusations are unfounded: “The police sees the story, which reproduces the century-old stereotype of child-abducting “gypsies”, as invented. Nevertheless, the Facebook does not fail its purpose: “to Auschwitz”, “rape them”, “to the gas chamber”, these are comments under the “wanted poster”. It was shared about 6,000 within a few days, spread by other users. A stupid conflagration of hatred, having no consideration for the law, logic or spelling.” Meier sees the many affirmative responses to the inflammatory posting as a symptom of general, increasing xenophobia in Duisburg, that is not directly only towards, but in particular against Rroma. The inflammatory facebook group was in the meantime taken offline and an investigation for demagoguery was started. The accusations were not without impact, as the many supportive comments on the social network show, as well as similar expressions at town hall meetings. They stand in a tradition of negative stereotypes, which have been spread about the Rroma for centuries: already in the Middle-Ages, the minority was accused of abducting and trafficking children. It is thought provoking that these allegations still find so much response. In Germany, according to the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. The majority are well integrated, work, send their children to school and live in apartments.

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01.10.2014 Remembering instead of suppressing: addressing the Rroma Holocaust at German schools

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Mirwald (2014) reports on the work of Petra Rosenberg, chairman of the national association of German Sinti and Roma in Berlin-Brandenburg, as an expert on thematic days in German schools. Rosenberg continues the work of her father, Otto Rosenberg, which campaigned until his death for the equality of the Rroma and informed about the history of the minority: “the 62-year-old graduate teacher described the terrible experiences that her father documented in the book “The burning glass”. The young audience, who in the classroom is currently learning about the Third Reich, learned that Otto Rosenberg, who was one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement of the Sinti and Roma in Germany, was able to write down his memories only in old age. Her father was a broken man, who was never able to work again. He woke up at night, cried and asked why he had survived as the only one of eleven siblings. “As a child I didn’t know anything. I only felt the grief, took his hand and cried with him”, Petra Rosenberg described scenes from her childhood. […] It was shocking to hear that doctors and scientists that had questioned and examined Otto Rosenberg in 1936 as race researchers in the camp Berlin-Malzahn, were able to practice after the war in Frankfurt am Main, and that the policeman who sent Otto Rosenberg to Auschwitz, later worked in Ludwigsburg as a detective in a high position.” Even after the war ended, discrimination against Rroma therefore continued, and it took the collective protest of many Holocaust survivors and their descendants, so that the injustices were finally officially recognized. Unfortunately, the prejudices about the minority continue until today, as the debate on the so-called “poverty immigrants” reveals.

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24.09.2014 Roubaix: Rroma demand integration assistance

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A group of about fifteen Rroma demonstrated in mid-September in front of the Roubaix mayor’s office. They called for more support from the government in their efforts to integrate and the maintenance of their current accommodation: the former doctor’s office of the philanthropic physician Christophe Lamarre. Previously, they had been driven from their settlement in Galon d’Eau. Dr. Lamarre was so generous to accommodate them in the former treatment facility. Two weeks ago, the electricity was cut. The doctor is overwhelmed with the costs that exceed 15,000 Euros and requests help from the community. However, this failed to materialise. They had repeatedly assured him help that did not come, the physician complains. The children of the families are enrolled in local schools. The adults are looking for work, but face great difficulties: “We want no more mice, no cockroaches, no moisture”, they demand with signs that attract the reluctance of local residents. “We have been here now for five years. We are looking for work, but can find nothing.” […] That’s why the Roma have come to ask for the support from the mayor. And they do not want to content themselves with a meeting in the mayor’s cabinet: “We have only 150 Euros per month for our family of six children. We cannot live with that. One has to do something”, they demand and promise, despite a missing reaction,  “to come in front of the mayor’s office every day.” Dr. Lamarre on his part complained that he did not receive any help and was overwhelmed by the situation. He had merely acted in accordance with the professional ethics as a doctor, he stated. On part of the major’s office, one had promised him help that never came. At the major’s office, in turn, one disclaims to have done everything one deemed necessary. It was private matter for which one didn’t have any responsibility. However, an assistant to the mayor, Sylvane Verdonck, still hopes to find a suitable accommodation for families, by cooperating with the organization PACT. The city government in turn has engaged the commission for hygiene and safety. This could close down the accommodation of families in case of severe deficiencies within a month. It should be noted that the evictions of families considerably complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. The forced evictions simply push the ongoing problems and the integration question from one location to the next, but do not solve them. Usually, the displaced people simply resettle in a new place after a short time. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They are continuously hidden by the media, the public and by politics (compare Grosclaude 2014).

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

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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).

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

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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).

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

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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).

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26.09.2014 European Commission investigates segregation of Rroma in the Czech Republic

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Robinson (2014) reports on an announced infringement procedure of the European Commission against the Czech Republic, due to the violation of the legislation on discrimination. The Commission has stated it will investigate the discrimination against Rroma in the Czech Republic, in particular the segregation of Rroma children in public schools: “The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into the Czech Republic’s treatment of its Roma minority, in the latest attempt to improve the circumstances of the often persecuted group in Europe. […] A disproportionate number of Roma pupils are educated in schools for students with “mild mental disabilities”, which campaign groups say amounts to segregation. Roma pupils account for more than a quarter of students in these schools, despite being just three per cent of the Czech population […].” The high proportion of Rroma children at schools for the disabled, which is documented by various studies, is actually in itself proof that the minority is in fact discriminated against at public schools. The Czech government for its part has announced that one has made progress in the fight against segregation, but that one could not abolish it from one day to the other, but only undo it step by step. Amnesty International in turn emphasizes in a public statement that one has suggested to the Czech government for years that the segregation of Rroma  children constitutes an intolerable situation. But nearly nothing was done: “For years, Amnesty International has documented systemic discrimination against Roma children in Czech schools,” said Nicolas J. Beger, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office. “Yet the Czech government has so far failed to take effective measures to prevent, address and remedy this. In agreeing to launch infringement proceedings, the commission has sent a clear message to the Czech Republic and other member states – systemic discrimination towards Roma cannot and will not be tolerated”,  he added.”

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

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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.

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24.09.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and arranged marriages

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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).

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