Tag Archives: Genocide

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07.03.2014 Desecration of Rroma Holocaust memorial in Merseburg

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Two unknown persons, who most likely belong to an extreme right-wing group, desecrated a memorial in Merseburg, which commemorates the Holocaust of the Rroma during the Second World War. The offense has been recorded by a video camera that was installed because of an earlier desecration: “In recent weeks, four foreigners were attacked in Merseburg. A suspect was taken into custody, several well-known right-wing extremists were investigated. On Saturday, about 600 people rallied on the streets against racism in Merseburg.” The Holocaust against the Rroma is insufficiently reappraised until now. Only in October 2012, a memorial remembering the murder of the Rroma by the Nazis was inaugurated in Berlin (Berliner Zeitung 2014, Focus online 2014).

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28.02.2014 Die Zeit criticizes the victim discourse about Rroma

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In her article in Die Zeit, Lau (2014) criticizes the victim role to which Rroma activists are said to refer to constantly in Germany. In the debate about poverty migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, one mainly talks about the immigrants, but not with them. This also has to do with the focus of the activism of Romani Roses, who has been working for the rights of the Rroma in Germany for several decades. Rose focuses his policy on the recognition that Rroma were victims of the Nazi genocide, whereby other topics are to receiving less than enough attention: “Ironically, the central council and Romani Rose prevent elsewhere that the understanding between newly arrived Roma and the majority society improves. Since he can remember, Romani Rose fought for the recognition as victims of genocide, a fact repeatedly disputed by historians. […] Since they share neither religion nor written culture, there is actually only one link between the Sinti and Roma: the experience of persecution. And that is the reason why discrimination is the central topic in the political statements of their community, rather than strategies of advancement.” Lau’s article tries to find out why there is a lack of solution strategies in the current debate about immigrants from Southeast Europe. However, she is wrong when she accuses Rroma to stick to a victim status. This criticism was already expressed in the beginning of 2013 by another author: In his book Zigeuner – Begegnungen mit einem ungeliebten Volk, Rolf Bauerdick criticised the lack of self-initiative in improving the social integration of the Rroma. This criticism is one-sided and hides the mechanisms of exclusion. Although it is right that a successful integration involves two sides, promotion and self-initiative, the latter one can only happen if the necessary conditions are given. Otherwise, suppression remains the dominant factor.

Just the opposite is argued by the TAZ in its interview with the historian Patricia Pientka. Pientka researched the story of a Rroma detention camp in Berlin-Marzahn. The historian is shattered about how bad the persecution of the Rroma in Germany was researched so far, also concerning the Berlin-Marzahn detention camp. In 1936, Rroma were selected via by sociographic criteria for the camp: caravans, many children and certain profession groups were decisive for the internment as well as the living on welfare. In 1938, the pseudo-scientific criteria of the racial hygiene research unit under Robert Ritter were implemented. The continuity between the war and the post-war period is particularly shocking. Perpetrators from the Nazi era were appointed as experts in courts, where they could play down or even qualify the war horrors with false statements: “In Berlin and elsewhere, the police departments for “Gypsy questions” established at end of 1938 are of central importance. In Berlin, the head of the department was Leo Karsten. After the war, he was superintendent of the police of Ludwigshafen and throughout Germany was the appointed expert on compensation issues for Sinti and Roma. His testimony led, among other things, to the verdict that the senate didn’t recognize the Marzahn detention camp as a labour camp […]. One can definitely say that the racist persecution of Sinti and Roma in Nazi Germany hasn’t been critically analysed until today. We have a huge deficit. This is also reflected in the case with Roma from South Eastern Europe, for instance Serbia, who are absolutely not perceived as descendants of Holocaust victims – what they definitely are” (Memarnia 2014).

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31.01.2014 Rroma Holocaust commemoration

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The 27th of January is the official day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism in Germany. On the 27th of January 1945, the Red Army liberated the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The state chairman of the Hessian Sinti and Roma, Adam Strauss, warned in his speech of the importance of civil courage and the danger of spreading false information about Rroma. He further noted a continuity of prejudice against this minority, which persists and is jointly responsible for the genocide. The Deputy Prime Minister of Hesse, Al-Wazir, pointed on the danger of intellectual arson and the way it is fuelled by ill-considered remarks: “He directly pointed to the current debate on poverty refugees from Romania and Bulgaria, who come to Germany. Al-Wazir called it “important that we do not build new walls due to reckless words.”  Prudence and respect are important “to us Germans in this debate.” On the same day Bouffier, in a newspaper interview, took a similar view of the debate on poverty migrants. It is important “to use appropriate words to designate the facts”, he stated” (von Bebenburg 2014).

In his text, Hagemann (2014), addresses the discrimination of Rroma by German teachers during and after the Second World War. NSDAP compliant teachers wrote students from ethnic minorities “characteristics of their race” into their testimonials and managed to obtain their deportation. During the memorial service in Menden, the secondary school students read frighteningly many names of young children. They were infants who were born after 1940 and were nonetheless deported in March 1943. It is particularly shocking that many of the teachers were allowed to teach after the war had ended and were supported by public institutions such as the Catholic Church: “The students called the names of the teachers who were allowed to educate the children of Menden in the post-war years. They criticized the Catholic Church, which did not protect these Catholics, the archbishops, who did not respond to petitions, although the brutal extermination of the Sinti and Roma was described in them in dramatic terms. […] One student described the terrible conditions that were faced by the Catholic Gypsies of Menden in Auschwitz, where they were branded as “asocial” with a black triangle on the clothing: they faced typhoid and diarrhoea, abuse and rape. Those who survived, were led into the gas chamber.”

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24.01.2014 Gilles Bourdouleix was condemned for his tasteless joke on Holocaust

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Gilles Bourdouleix, mayor of the French city of Cholet, was sentenced on January 23rd  to a suspended fine of 3000 Euro. The prosecutor had requested a sentence of 6 years of emprisonment and a fine of 500 euro. Last Fall, in the presence of a journalist, Bourdouleix said: „que Hitler n’en [les roms] avait peut-être pas tué assez.” [That Hitler did not kill enough of them].  That, while he was trying to resolve a conflict with local travellers who were illegally camping on a field. Bourdouleix had to resign from the Union des démocrates et indépendants due to his statements (Fait-religieux 2014, Le Figaro 2014).

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24.01.2014 Rroma holocaust museum to be opened at the end 2014 in Hungary

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Radisic (2014) informs about the impending opening of a Rroma holocaust museum in the Hungarian city of Pecs. The documentation centre is the result of shared aspirations of the local mayor’s office and resident Rroma. The aim of the institution is to remind students and the public about the much-neglected genocide of the Rroma during the Second World War. Due to the largely oral traditions among the Rroma, the genocide is far from well documented. The estimated death toll rage from 220,000 to one and a half million dead: „West Germany recognized the Roma Holocaust in 1982, but formal recognition and marking of this Holocaust have generally proven to be difficult due to lack of recorded collective memory and documentation of the Porajmos among the Roma, a consequence both of their oral traditions and illiteracy, heightened by widespread poverty and discrimination in this day and age […].“

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20.12.2013 Minute of Silence at the Rroma Murdered in Germany

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The Bundesrat of Germany commemorated this week with a minute of silence to the Rroma murdered under the Nazis. Around 500,000 Rroma, some estimates put the number significantly higher, fell victim of the genocide of the fascist regime. Germany discussed this year in details the possible consequences of the “Poverty immigration” from South Eastern Europe, and the Rroma were at the centre of the debate. A lot of non-objective and polemical statements were made about them but the historical guilt of Germany towards Rroma was rarely addressed: “”It is a humanitarian imperative that we never forget this genocide,” said the President of the Bundesrat, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), on Thursday in the Bundesrat in Berlin. It was the “collective failure of an entire generation.” The Bundesrat remebers every year the so-called Auschwitz Decree by the Reichsführer-SS, Heinrich Himmler. T On December 16th, 1942 he ordered the deportation of members of certain ethnic groups in the concentration camp of Auschwitz –Birkenau”  (Greenpeace Magazine, 2013).

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18.10.2013 Rroma in Germany

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Radio Dreyeckland (2013) provides information on planned agreement between the state of Baden Württemberg and the National Association of German Sinti and Roma. The draft contract recapitulates the historically documented exclusion of the Rroma, the historical responsibility of Germany in dealing with minorities and the poor introspection about the German Rroma policies. The objective of the treaty is a targeted promotion of Rroma in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Access to education and thus also to the labour market should be strongly supported. The draft of the treaty states: “The exclusion and discrimination of Roma and Sinti dates back to the Middle Ages. The cruel persecution and genocide by the Nazi regime brought immense suffering to Sinti and Roma in our country and effects people to this day. This injustice has only been recognized politically embarrassing late, and has not yet worked out sufficiently. Even the antiziganism is still existent and not overcome. Being aware of this particular historic responsibility towards Sinti and Roma as citizens of our country and guided by the desire and motivation to promote the friendly coexistence.”

Pekdemir Hagen (2013) reports on Hasiba Dzemajlji who is engaged in Bielefeld for a better integration and recognition of the Rroma. Dzemajlji wants more Rroma in Germany, Rroma who have been living in the country for decades to publicly declare their identity. For fear of exclusion and discrimination many people of Rroma origins keep it secret. Together with the organization Migovita, Dzemajlji wants to strengthen the self-confidence, especially of young Rroma, and facilitate their access to education. She also wants to create a counter point to the still heavily rooted stereotypes, a new view that is characterized by heterogeneity and complexity.

Niewendick (2013) discusses the increasing radicalisation of local residents and politicians, who make propaganda against immigrated Rroma: During the last one and a half years, systematically, rumours of “thieving Kids”, littering and other prejudices about immigrants Rroma have been spread. The tensions achieved a peak in the fire of the “Rroma houses” on 9 October, a fire whose cause is still unclear. The heavily politicised situation manifests itself besides open demonstrations for and against Rroma with questionable expressions such as “problem house” and “flood of poverty refugees poverty”.

At the opening of a new interim dormitory for refugees in Duisburg, Kleinwächter (2013) discussed the situation of Rroma in Kosovo. Bernd Mesovic, Vice-President of Pro Asyl Frankfurt is cited with gloomy assessments on the integration of the Rroma in Kosovo: The situation of the Rroma in Kosovo is totally glossed over by the German authorities. In reality among them, very high unemployment prevails, and attacks are not tracked: “Officially, there are no attacks on them. Who issues a complaint, must fear reprisals. They can hardly expect any help from the Albanian police. Under the Constitution, all these rights are guaranteed, as is the internationally agreed reintegration of returnees. But the funds for that are lacking. The Rroma themselves have no confidence in the authorities dominated by Albanians, they are almost hermetically spatially sealed off from the Albanians and a kind of fair game for criminals.” Mesovic’s statements show once again the discrepancies between official country analyses and the real experiences of migrants. Official assessments of stability and legal security stand in contrast with personal experiences that are difficult to objectify. The official view remains the decisive criterion for the assessment of migrants’ fates.

Onay (2013), a green politician from Lower Saxony, reports on a field trip to Serbia. Purpose of the trip was a meeting between German and Serbian Rroma as well as non-Rroma, which was initiated by the organisations novels Aglonipe and the International Youth Meeting of Roma and non-Roma. At the meeting, issues such as the lack of access of Rroma to schools, to health care, and to the labour market were discussed. On the subsequent trip to Stara Karaburma, Onay paints a bleak picture of excluded Rroma living in ghetto-like conditions: Poor hygiene, glaring poverty, few or no prospects for the future. Onya’s portrayal stands in stark contrast to official country assessments that classify the situation of Rroma in Serbia as stable and safe. This contrasts with the fate of individuals surveyed Rroma, which report massive violence against them.

Bachmair (2013) reports on a meeting of the German association “Against Forgetting, for democracy”. At the meeting, eyewitnesses and relatives reported about the suffering experienced by Rroma and criticised the lack of coming to terms about the persecution and exclusion of Rroma in Germany. In his contribution, Romani Rose criticised the continued employment of Nazis by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, a fact that prevented the recognition of Rroma as victims for a long time: “In the offices, the survivors met the same officials who had sent them years before to the concentration camps, and who refused them compensation and recognition as victims of Nazi persecution. Even police officers who had perecuted Gypsies, made unhindered careers made in the Federal Republic. Only when Gypsies got organised and a 1980 hunger strike on the grounds of the former concentration camp at Dachau drew attention to their situation, was their suffering recognized.” The researcher Wolfgang Benz on racism expressed concern that the lessons of the world War II have never been applied or only very poorly on Rroma.

In his short, article, Schuhmann (2013) asks for less political correctness in the name of minorities who commit a crime. Naming the origin – in the case of this article “Gypsy” – helps to identify grievances among the stakeholders and to ask critical question: “If the reader completes the sentence “cheating gypsies on the road” with “of course – who else ?”,  a true nightmare for journalists has become a reality. The police does not want that. Neither does the majority of readers who are quite capable of differentiating between minorities and criminals among those. […] To name their origins could pave the way for many other questions. Namely who exploit these women and what a life they are forced to lead.” Through this statement, Schuhmann relativises her own reasoning. If the committed crimes, or respectively the exploitative relationships have nothing to do with cultural background, why then is naming the origin relevant? Schuhmann also assumes from fully mature, critical readers, who can recognise stereotypical reductions as such. This is to be doubted. Many readers will be confirmed in their prejudices by one-sided reporting.

Also, in an article about criminals young Gypsy women, Schuhmann (2013/II) uses the stereotypes of organised Rroma groups: The testimony of a police officer who speaks of burglars networks, is quoted without comment. Also without comment is the fact that one assigns physical characteristics to perpetrators: “The official explained what they should pay attention to. Women, beggars, rather dark in type “Gypsy one cannot say”, Fuchs says with a glance at the present journalist.” that there is no “culture of crime” ought to be clear to every man of common sense. Just as there are delinquent Rroma, there are delinquent ethnic German, Swiss, etc. No one would ever get the idea to talk about organised crime.

Unzensuriert.at (2013), in an absurdity not to be outdone, reports in an article about the Rroma the “problem house” in Duisburg. According to the article, these Rroma have collected the rat traps that were installed by the urban pest control and sold to scrap dealers. The Rroma, called “Gypsies” here, are brought in directly in conjunction with a rat infestation: “Rat plague: Gypsies stealing traps.” The article is a prime example of uncritical, unreflective, populist journalism.

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20.09.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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The conservative weekly newspaper Junge Freiheit (2013) reports on “Gypsies […] they want the full right of German social benefits if they declare Germany as their new centre of life.” The paper evaluates the decision of Essen’s Higher Social Court in a precedent that allows now all “Gypsies” from Southeast Europe to also be entitled to all social benefits in addition to the child benefit and emergency medical care. The conservative weekly newspaper takes a clear judgmental  and order oriented perspective on the immigration debate: desirable are, if at all, only professionals and only if they do not compete with German workers. It also makes the economic opportunities of immigrants a question of ethnicity: Rroma, in the paper’s eyes, are all potential welfare cheats. Mockingly they note that it is sufficient, according to the Social Court, to declare Germany as one’s new centre of life and for being awarded benefits.

The town of Nordhausen ordered the prohibition of NPD election posters of the NPD in the vicinity of the former concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora and prescribed the minimum distance. With the slogan “Money for grandma instead of Sinti and Roma” the NPD generated a lot of resentment.  Legal proceedings were initiated by several people against the NPD for anti-Gypsy propaganda (MDR 2013). The anti Rroma propaganda has also triggered legitimate fears among many Rroma in Germany, especially in families with children who have to see posters on their routes to school. Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma criticised that authorities had only acted in some cities, but not pronounced a national regulation to ban the posters (Evangelical Press, 2013). In the city of Giessen, the Administrative Court ruled in favour of the NPD’s posters: they must be hung back after the town had them removed. In a bipartisan action, critics of the NPD have now hung posters with the slogan “My grandma also like Sinti and Roma” (Hit Radio FFH 2013).

The TAZ (2013) reports the successful construction of a dormitory for Rroma in Neukölln that is funded by the Housing and Community Society of Aachen. Previously a house in the Harzerstrasse gained media attention mainly because of the waste and the noise. Through the intervention of Aachen Housing society, the house has been renovated and overcrowding has been reduced. The housing project has even won a social Architecture Prize. At the same time the displeasure of some of the neighbours has been awakened, who complained about the social advantage given to Rroma. However, Benjamin Marx, the project manager, sees the project as an important sign of social acceptance of Rroma.

The SPD excluded Martin Korol from the party because of his anti-Roma statements. Korol had made derogatory comments towards the Rroma immigrants from Southeast Europe Rroma on his website earlier this year, but then removed them due to considerable criticisms. Korol was elected in February 2013 into the Bremen state parliament, and his previously published statements had previously not raised any attention (Mirror 2013).

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30.08.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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The Central Council of German Sinti and Romany is seeking a ban on discriminatory political advertising. This is a consequence of election posters of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), which states “money for grandma instead for Sinti and Roma”. Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council, specifically requested the creation of a legal basis to prohibit racist political advertising and requires legal action by the federal government. In several states criminal proceedings against the NDP are also pending, but there are still no judgments as of now. The SWR has conclusively stated: “According to them, the Central Council has received hundreds of calls of concerned Sinti and Roma families from all over Germany in the last days. This because of the NPD’s posters which were very present, especially in smaller locations and on way to school or because they were “emotionally angry” and scared. The open NPD incitements gave rise to massive fears amongst the elderly who survived the Holocaust.” (SWR 2013)

Frigelj (2013) spoke to Duisburg’s mayor Reinhold Spaniel about the problem house “in den Peschen” that for months generated media attention and has become an instrument of political campaigns. Spaniel sees Duisburg as particularly affected by the migration from Bulgaria and Romania, because the city has a particularly large supply of cheap real estate and is therefore attractive for poverty immigrants from south eastern Europe. He also shows comprehension for the exasperated neighbours who are overwhelmed by noise, littering and disputes. In cooperation with the owner of the property “in the Peschen”, he said he wants to progressively empty the house and slowly seal the flats. He also differentiates in that there are families that are willing to pay rent and to integrate and must be supported in their efforts. With regards to massive intervention, his hands are tied because the Romanian and Bulgarian migrants are staying legally as EU citizens in Germany. He also advocates the somewhat controversial view that from January 2014 onwards, when the freedom of movement agreement with Romania and Bulgaria enters into force, will see large migration flows to Germany. With this representation, it becomes even more apparent that even liberal representatives distinguish between desirable and undesirable immigrants. A problem Max Frisch already pointed out. Spaniel takes a dichotomous view between skilled professionals and low-skilled poverty migrants, which create problems for the city of Duisburg: “Many well trained Bulgarian nurses and Romanian doctors come to Germany. That is beyond dispute, This is not the clientele that we’re talking about here, I’m talking about very poorly educated people, some illiterates who are in Duisburg and create problems for us.” The desire to want only well-trained professionals immigrants corresponds to the dubious distinction of economically useful and unhelpful people, and the consequent evaluation of the immigrants. The Polish-British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman pointed out several time the moral problems of such exclusionary social policies. However, Spaniel speaks not only of the necessary structures but also of the newcomers’ willingness at integration. To just simply distinguish between integration willing and unwilling immigrants when talking about integration, is to great a simplification. Integration is both a matter of personal commitment and also a result of the possibilities and structures of the host country. Depending on political orientation, the initiative of individuals is identified as the key critical or simply as one the factor among others. What is nice in this article is that he does not primarily speaks of a cultural problem, but also discusses possible solutions.

Wyputta also (2013) of the TAZ spoke with spaniel. In this interview, it is clear that newspapers like the TAZ left the city officials blame lack of action. This, however, legitimately defended by pointing out that his hands are tied by the applicable legislation. He could only negotiate with the homeowner and drive new legislations that define issues such as overcrowding, sanitation or electricity supply of housing law. Again, Spaniel emphasized once more that the city was overwhelmed massive.

The Romanian Rromni Flavia Constantin (2013), in the context of the ongoing debate about Rroma asks for a self-determined, more active presence of the Rroma and especially a change in the role of Rroma women. She speaks about the traditional gender roles of many Roma women, who, according to her is too little critical and self-determined is to her liking, “Rroma women have never learned to stand up for themselves. Their world revolves solely around the family, the house, and the community. This has to change. Because we have to start. With the women, not the men. Because women are the ones who plant ideas in the minds of their children. They are the backbone of the community.” Constantin also calls for the creation of a new visual culture, aiming at creating a counterweight to the stereotypical notions about Rroma. For a successful integration, efforts are needed on both sides: on the one hand, bureaucratic hurdles blocking access to the labour and housing market need to be lowered, and on the other hand, immigrant Rroma should strive towards better social integration. At the end of the article she gives a convincing explanation of why the predictions of the mass immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, in her opinion, are wrong. They would already numerous informal work in Germany: “I do not think that the opening of the German labour market in January 2014 means that masses of Romanians and Bulgarians will flock to Germany. They are here anyway. Why should these people wait for them to be able to work officially, if they already do it unofficially?”

Kemna (2013) focuses on the future closure of an informal Rroma settlement in a Berlin allotment, which will make way for a highway. One of the sitters, a young Romanian Rrom, complains about the difficulties of working as a newspaper vendor. He fled from a failed marriage to Germany. The institution Amaro Foro is contact point for Rroma and European migrant workers in general. Mariela Nikolova of Amaro Foro laments the indifference of the authorities towards the inhabitants of the colony, which will soon produce new homeless people. In addition, nearly all applications for Hartz IV social benefits are being rejected, which makes it difficult to integrate, creating almost a vicious circle.

EurActiv (2013) provides information about a controversy in the context of EU funds, which are paid for the integration of Rroma in Bulgaria and Romania. The EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, is being criticised for her plans to transfer part of the funding to Germany, which, in the context of the forthcoming freedom of movement with Romania and Bulgaria from the beginning of 2014, is faced with potential migration flows. The spokesman for the European Commission Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor, denies the allegations as being false. The funding is granted every seven years and cannot easily be used elsewhere.

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30.08.2013 Anti-Rroma pogroms in the Czech Republic

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Odehnal (2013) reports on the alarming increase of extreme right-wing movements against Rroma in the Czech Republic. On the occasion of the “National day of struggle” proclaimed by Czech neo-Nazis on August 24, followers of right-wing extremist groups gathered in several Czech cities. This included about 800 members of the newly formed society of the “Czech Lion” who tried to enter a Rroma quarter in Ostrava. Odehnal notes soberly that the extreme right, after a weakening in recent years due to the arrest of a few leaders seems no to have reorganized. But they continue to argue as before with old slogans: They regularly march up in cities with high unemployment rates and say they “want to protect ethnic Czechs against the crimes of the Rroma”. In addition, there is a latent racism against Rroma in broad sections of the population, of which the far-right scene is just a particularly prominent part. In recent times, there also have been several anti-racist demonstrations in which participants have been advocating a multi-ethnic, open society.

The sociologist Barbara Tiefenbach sees the economic crisis as an additional catalyst for the racism of the Czech majority society towards Rroma. Moreover, derogatory statements against Rroma have recently become increasingly socially acceptable and are therefore repeated uncritically. Politicians such as the President Milos Zeman or the Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, however, have tried to discredit the riots and call for the creation of more jobs, instead of organizing pogroms. Most bohemian Rroma, according to Tiefenbach are, were killer in the Holocaust under the Nazis. A fact that is often dirsregarded during the current events (Mappes – Niediek 2013).

Janzer (2013) provides detailed reports about what actually happenedg in Ostrava. The neo-Nazis would wanted to initiate a panic among people there and the police by throwing firecrackers. The Socialist Mayor of Ostrava, Petr Kajnar, denied in an interview that the right-wing radicals successfully recruited undecided or dissatisfied local citizens for their projects, which was their intended target. Also, the Social Affairs Minister Martin Šimáček sees no significant association between right-wing and socially disadvantaged citizens. Whether the latent racism of a broad part of the population could be channelled through radical action into an escalation of social tensions remains an open question and concern.

 

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02.08.2013 2nd August: Still unofficially the European Rroma Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Privot (2013) focuses on the European Romany Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 2nd August, which each year, remembers the genocide of the Rroma by the Nazis during the Second World War. The genocide is called by some activists “Pharrajimos” or “Porrajmos”, which is supposed to mean “devouring” a terminology that is not widely recognised among Rroma. Privot see the currently very poor recognition of genocide as an important reason for the lack of integration of Rroma in Europe. The idea to declare the second of August as a memorial for the genocide of Rroma goes back to the Hungarian European Parliament MEP Livia jarok. Her proposal has not yet been approved by the EU. The remembrance day is therefore still not an official one. Jarok hopes to give more public recognition with the establishment of a commemoration of the exclusion of Rroma. The Rroma history must be part of European history teaching. Only in this way can one reflect on the long-term integration of Rroma. The number of Rroma murdered by the Nazis is estimated at 250,000 to 500,000 people.

Quelle:

  • Privot, Michael (2013) Time to ‘end silence’ on history of Roma suffering. In: Public Service Europe online vom 31.7.2013. 
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26.07.2013 UN Criticizes Pig Farm on Concentration Camp Site

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During the Second World War, the concentration camp of Lety, where about 300 Rroma, mostly children, were killed was located in the Czech town of Pisek. Under communist rule, a pig farm was built on the site of the concentration camp in 1972 and still exists today. The concentration camp itself was demolished after the war. Since 1995, a memorial for the murdered Rroma exists on the site. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has now repeatedly called for the closure of the pig farm. The owners of the plant, however, do not want to close it. The farm was built on a field next to the former concentration camp (Neue Luzerner Zeitung 2013).

Source:

  • Neue Luzerner Zeitung (2013) UNO kritisiert Schweinezucht auf KZ-Gelände. In: Neue Luzerner Zeitung online vom 25.7.2013. 
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19.07.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Fassmann (2013) visited the by now infamous “Rroma House” in the Stuttgarter Strasse in Neukölln and spoke with some of the occupants and neighbours. While residents of the house almost unanimously complain about noise, trash, and other factors related to the overcrowded house, some residents of the house take another view. The former sailor Ingo Knorr is among those defending this other view. Knorr feels that most of the problems being publicly discussed are exaggerated. He bets on cooperation and sees himself confirmed in his tactics. The real problem lies in the high turnover of residents. So one constantly must search for contact: “I explain to people that they should not throw the garbage out the window, but bring it the container. They understand it then. The only problem is that new families constantly come where I have to explain it again.” In the house at the Stuttgarter Strasse, around 180 people, almost all of them were Rroma, live in 29 apartments. Reporting on the “Rroma house” is often used as evidence that all Rroma are poor, dirty and potentially criminal. That there is also a significant part of unobtrusive, well-educated Rrroma is often concealed.

The MDR (2013) reported on the establishment of Holocaust memorial stones in Buchenwald. Along the former railway line that led to the concentration camps, young people from different countries etched the names of young Rroma in river stones. On 25 September 1944 about 200 young Rroma, mostly children or adolescents, were deported and murdered in Buchenwald. During the course of the project, one also tried to reconstruct the biographies of the victims.

Sources:

  • Fassmann, Alix (2013) Ingo (52), der Friedensrichter aus dem Roma-Haus. In: Berliner Kurier online vom 17.7.2013.
  • MDR (2013) Jugendliche gestalten Gedenksteine für Sinti und Roma. In: MDR online vom 17.7.2013. 
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05.07.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Maibaum (2013) reports on the changing social policy in Essen. To reduce economic incentives, in the future, the city will help needy migrants only in kind and not with money. The influx of economic refugees is thus to be minimised. In his representation of the new model of social help, Maibaum reproduces very uncritically racist statements when he states: “It is a three-stage model that divides the people who come to Essen in two classes: those that will be obliged to leave, such as the Roma from Serbia and Macedonia, and those who have a chance of a future life in this city.” Why Rroma from Serbia and Macedonia should have no chance at a future in Essen, is not explained. That Rroma are not just economic refugees but also are political refugees especially from countries such as Serbia due to the aftermath of the war in Yugoslavia or due to the ongoing ethnic discrimination they are faced with, is not discussed in this article.

Langenkämpfer (2013) informs about an event of the Bündnisses 90 and the Green, under the theme “Equal opportunities! Sinti and Roma in education”. The meeting participants criticised in particular the constant discrimination of many Rroma in Europe. In addition to the social, political, and increasingly violent pressure brought to bear on the Rroma, one needs to consider a social anchoring of prejudices among broad sections of the population. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Education Sylvia Löhrmann asked in her speech for less thinking about “order” and for more heterogeneity.

Kotte (2013) focuses on the efforts of Romeo Franz who wants to be elected as the first Sinto in the German Bundestag. Franz is known amongst others for training for argument against rightist slogans and ideas. His candidacy is viewed as a transformation of German society, with regard to recognition of its minorities. He also wants to acts against election statements such as the idea that all immigrants from Southeast Europe are economic refugees who only want to take advantage of the German social welfare system. In these simplistic representations, the fact that there also are educated immigrants, as well as a migration due to social deprivation or brutal discrimination remains unspoken. Particular concerns for Frank are the promotion of education, social inclusion and the political participation of Rroma in Germany. Another problem he sees is that one often talks about the Rroma, but seldom talks with them. He states: “We want equality of opportunity in employment, housing and health care. In Germany, there are huge deficits in the perception of the problems, as well in the programs supporting Roma. The European Commission last report has shown it again, and that was a red card for Germany. For the Foundation named after the Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Hildegard Lagrenne, where around 30 organisations of Roma and Sinti have teamed up, this is also a consequence that one often talks about us, but not with us.”

Poley (2013) reports on a meeting of the Rroma organisations “Rroma Drom” and “Terno Drom” in Duisburg. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the role of young Rroma in Germany. Representatives of the organisation are committed to an improved perception of Rroma and, based on a more self-determined presentation of Rroma in German society.

Goebels (2013) reports on the plans of schools in North Rhine-Westphalia to support regular teachers with teachers with knowledge of Rromanes or Bulgarian. Through the establishment of special remedial classes, the language skills and the integration of newcomers should be encouraged. In particular, the cities of Duisburg, Cologne and Dortmund, according to German statistics, record a high influx of Romanians and Bulgarians, who are often identified collectively as Rroma in public discourse.

Sources:

  • Goebels, Wilfried (2013) NRW-Ministerium sucht Roma-Lehrer für Zuwandererkinder. In: Der Westen online vom 2.7.2013.
  • Kotte, Hans-Hermann (2013) Der Sinit-Kandidat. In: Migazin online vom 3.7.2013.
  • Langenkämpfer, Jürgen (2013) “Gleiche Chancen! Sinti und Roma in der Bildung”. In: Mindener Tageblatt vom 3.7.2013.
  • Maibaum, Jörg (2013) Stadt Essen will Roma-Zuzug aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen bremsen. In: Der Westen online vom 5.7.2013.
  • Poley, Volker (2013) Roma als Teil unserer Gesellschaft sehen. In: RP online vom 1.7.2013. 
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28.06.2013 Rroma Debate in France

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Bran (2013) reports on the tense relationship between Romania and France, a relationship that deteriorated due to the Rroma two countries’ Rroma policies. French politicians such as Pierre Lellouche claims that Romania intentionally does nothing against the migration of Rroma to France, greets the funds they receive from French social services and that the country does not take integration policies seriously enough. Thus, Romania is an unworthy member country of the European Union and is a “rogue state”: “Vous ne pouvez pas ignorer les conditions parfaitement indignes que les Roms subissent dans votre pays, malgré les milliards d’euros déversés par l’Europe pour aider la Roumanie à intégrer cette minorité. Ce comportement n’est pas digne d’un Etat de l’Union et, je le répète, c’est le comportement d’un Etat voyou. J’ai le regret de vous dire qu’aucune formule de politesse ne me vient à l’esprit.” [You cannot ignore the perfectly horrid conditions that Rroma are subjected to in your country, in spite of the billions of Euro poured by Europe to help Romania to integrate this minority. This behaviours is not worthy of a Member State of the Union, and, I repeat it, is the behaviour of a hooligan state. I regret to say that no politeness forms comes to my mind.]

Bran then continues to show the evolution of French Rroma policies: Initially, one tried, with the gift of sheep to Rroma to bind them to Romania. When this turned out to fail, one granted 300 euro to voluntary returnees to Romania. This policy was not really successful either, and many came to France for the return money. Since the accession of Romania to the European Union, France deports annually approximately 10,000 Rroma to Romania. The two countries policies towards Rroma are not furthering the situation, something that would require the long term integration of Rroma, and currently are simply a mutual back and fro deportation of an unwanted minority.

Piquemal (2013) emphasizes in her article that the circular from the 28.08.2012, calling for an orderly implementation of the evictions is only very occasionally applied. The still regular evictions lead to the failure of integration efforts and the aggravate the traceability of medical assistance programs. In addition, the fear of identity checks keeps  Rroma away from health institutions. Thus, for example, vaccination programs that require repeated treatment are difficult or impossible due to the evictions. Therefore, people such as Pascale Quivy of Romeurope engage themselves for the maintenance of these settlements. Fixing the population facilitates the medium-to long-term integration. To promote this, Rroma immigrants should also get working papers in a easier way, something that until now is difficult. As of January 2014, obtaining work permits in France should be facilitated by the bilateral agreements between the EU member states. However, this does not delight everyone. Rightist politicians are engaged against the integration of the Rroma and they want to make them go back to Romania and other countries of origin.

Vallet (2013) emphasises in her article the greatly inadequate health care for many Rroma. The non-governmental organization Médecins du Monde pointed out in a report on the medical the blatant abuses of this minority. Thus, the infant mortality rate of Rroma in Romania is twice as high as in the rest of the population, the same is true of malnutrition. Regarding health care, the report back to the same conclusions as the ones from Piquemal (2013). The evictions lead to additional deterioration of health: “En France, le suivi médical des Roms, vivant en grande majorité dans de vastes bidonvilles, est rendu complexe par la politique d’expulsions systématiques conduite par les gouvernements, de droite comme de gauche, depuis plusieurs années.” [In France the medical follow-up of Rroma, living in a large majority in large slums is becoming exceedingly complex due to the systematic evictions conducted by the governments – left or right – since years.] An additional barrier is the lack of language skills and inadequate funding for treatments that need to be paid. Representatives of Médecins du Monde require easier access to health care institutions and a more mobile structures.

Depecker (2013) reports on a citizens meeting in Roubaix, which will have legal consequences. On the evening of 21 May 2013, the mayor of Roubaix summoned the residents of the street d’Avelghem to inform them about the establishment of a Rroma housing project in their neighbourhood. The project includes the construction of 52 residential units. The majority reactions were negative and led to racist abuse such as statements that one should send Rroma to Auschwitz or to otherwise destroy them. Ten days after the event, the mayor of Roubaix, Pierre Dubois, filed a complaint against for incitation to racial hatred. The police will now ask the participants of the event about the identity of the persons concerned.

Sources:

  • Bran, Mirel (2013) Mots doux autour des Roms. In: Le Monde online vom 28.6.2013.
  • Depecker, Vincent (2013) «Envoyer les Roms à Auschwitz»: une enquête ouverte après la plainte du maire de Roubaix. In: Nord Eclair online vom 26.6.2013.
  • Piquemal, Marie (2013) Roms: Les associations dénoncent «une politique absurde» In: Libération online vom 27.6.2013.
  • Vallet, Cédric (2013) Europe : Des Roms en mauvaise santé. In: Alter Echos online vom 28.6.2013. 
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14.06.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Schelp (2013) provides information on the work of so-called Rroma mediators, who in Germany mediate between teachers and newly enrolled Rroma children. One of them is Valentina Asimovic. She helps a teacher in Berlin-Kreuzberg in her work with a class without any knowledge of German. The quoted sociologist Christoph Leucht sees a lack of education amongst many immigrant families. A majority of families rate the importance of education as low, because they themselves only enjoyed minimal training. To counterbalance this view into is important in order to offer the largest possible selection of options for the future of the children. In this perspective, one needs to add, that by no means all immigrants are from educationally disadvantaged social strata. There are also very educated immigrants, but not in the spotlight of media attention. That all parents want to marry off their daughters early and send their sons as early as possible to work also needs to be relativised. The work of the mediators has proved to be very helpful. They are far more than mere translators. They help in conflicts between teachers, students and their families and enable better integration of all involved. In spite of the positive perspective, the article does not succeed to alleviate many stereotypes about the supposed backwardness of Rroma. The impression remains that the great part of them consists of illiterates and women willing to bear child. The article ends with the not really positive statement: “A letter would make no sense: the Roma parents often cannot read it.”

Köhler (2013) covers the same subject with a focus on the “Welcome Class” for Rroma children in Neukölln. Already in the beginning of the article, she falls article in ethnic faux pas. She attests taht the children do not know what social rules are and how to behave in a group. The focus, however, is the visit of the Romanian Rroma responsible Damian Draghici, who was invited by the local education Councillor Franziska Giffey. Around 800 children from Romania currently go to school in Neukölln. The integration of children was very successful in terms of learning the language and structures. However, there were more problems among the children themselves. Many Rroma children were marginalised by children of Turkish and Arab descent. The centre topic of Damian Draghici’s book is, among others, the question of the inefficient integration policy in Romania: Why do so many subsidies are go unused, and how the bilateral policies on the integration of Rroma can be improved.

Kimmel Fichtner (2010) reported in 2010 about the Amaro Kher school in Cologne. There, Rroma children are prepared for the public schools. The goal is “to break vicious circle of misery, exclusion, lack of education and crime.” A media campaign representing Rroma children as thieves is the cause of the school creation. The city of Cologne then decided together with the association Rom e.V. to support the Amaro Kher school. During a year children are prepared for the have public schools and receive intensive preparatory German courses, learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. In addition, they should develop a resilience to difficult situations. According to the insiders, the project has been successful and allows many of the children a better future.

Borchard (2013) covers the situation of Rroma in Romania. He focuses on the fate of Neli Moc, who goes regularly for two months to do harvest work on a farm in Germany. With the money earned there – about 2,000 euro – she can live relatively well for the rest of the year: “Neli Moc is an example that most Romanians, also those from the poorest backgrounds, come to work in Germany quite legally.” As contrast, Borchard tells the story of the Grozav family. According to the mother, they went to France because of paid return assistance of 300 euro per person and stayed there several weeks. The short article concludes with the statement: “One thing is clear among Roma families in Apoldu de Sus [Romania]. As long as the conditions do not improve in Romania, they will keep trying to come to Germany or France either as harvesters, or in the hope of doctors visits or return premiums.”

Bogdal (2013) begins his article on the Rromadebatte with a quote from Thomas Mann. He set firmly in 1945: “A nation, with whom no one can live, how can it live itself” Thomas Mann did not mean anything about Rroma, but was speaking about Germans. After the end of the Nazi regime, many ethnic Germans in in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania, had a real image problem for the residents of their host countries. They were marginalized, displaced and forced to do the simplest work: “Exiled, despised because of their ethnicity, having become homeless, without possessions and shelter. millions [German] moved westward from region to region, suspiciously regarded, often exploited, often forced to beg and to do menial work until they could gain a foothold anywhere. The same could be said of Roma today.” Bogdal sees the fate of Rroma after the collapse of the socialist system as very similar. Many Rroma are attracted away to Western Europe where better economic conditions and less discrimination awaits them, a move encouraged by the removal of borders in the wake of the consolidation of the European Union. Bogdal criticizes that the issue is being hyped as security policy issue, rather than to be accepted as a socio-political challenge to master and to solve bilaterally with the countries of origin.

There follows a paragraph about their migration from India and arrival in Europe. After a short period of acquiescence follows a tradition of exclusion, contempt and negative identity attribution, leading, according to Bogdal to criminalization and ethnicisation of poverty. Since the Enlightenment, they are often described as illiterate with no history, science, and without their own state. Thus, the idea that living together with the Rroma is not possible was consolidated in the minds of many. Even their mere presence is a threat. In this context, phenomena such as mountains of waste, child labour, prostitution or bands of tugs can be described as cultural ones, even though they have nothing to do with culture. Bogdal sees it as a pan-European task to further integration and acceptance of Rroma. This has to happen in Germany but especially in countries with a large Rroma population such as in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Bogdal’s article provides knowledgeable and eloquent to information about the situation of Rroma in Europe. He doesn’t present a simplified picture but attempts to address the complexity of the issue itself. We wish for more such articles.

Schmidt (2013) discusses the processing of the Holocaust by the German Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ). The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma has asked the ministry to investigate the discrimination of Rroma by the German post-war justice. Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council clearly states that “The continuing exclusion and discrimination of our minority at the hand of former perpetrators in their new positions after 1945 continued almost unbroken and shaped the resentment against Sinti and Roma.” He refers to the continuity of the commissions and expert from before and after the war, which were maintained by embedding them within the Justice Department and allowing to continue their anti-minority policies. It was thus possible for the lawyer Franz Maßfeller, despite his support and participation in Nazi racial policies, to continue to work until 1964 after the war in a high position within the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Bauerdick’s (2013) book, “Gypsy: Encounters with unloved people” tries to find a direct path to the world of the Rroma. Bauerdick thinks little of intellectual discourses, deconstructions of external attributions and anti-Gypsy research. He shows to an almost radical pragmatism and, through his many years of research trips, promises to provide a realistic picture of the life of the Roma in Europe. He embarks on this tricky terrain and decidedly does not want to be politically correct. He reproaches the Rroma to lack responsibility. Many have made it so comfortable for themselves to be perceived as victims and have now taken this view as their own. In his very emphatic descriptions of life in the slums, which present Rroma as cheerful as well as apathetic and inactive about their own situation, Bauerdick commits the mistake of excessively culturalising his own experiences and of generalizing. He is generalizing in the preface when he states: “For there is also another truth. After countless meetings in more than twenty years, I remember nary a Rrom who wanted a piece of responsibility for themselves as the root of his misery, never mind who acknowledged it.” Compared to the complexity of the reality of Rroma, he falls short. This reality is not just consisting of Rroma in the slums of Europe, but also includes invisible Rroma in Western European countries, Rroma to which one can not just quickly go with the car and camera due to their integration and blandness. But they form part of the Rroma reality exactly as much as the visible Rroma Rroma, that Bauerdick describes in his book. If you read only Bauerdick’s book and not others such as like Bogdals’s book “Europe invented the Gypsies”, one can believe that all Rroma have many children, live in slums and wait for a better life that never happens.

On the other hand, one must agree with him when he denounces the fact that the reasons for many Rroma’s misery is only being looked at in the structures of society and xenophobia, but not among Rroma themselves. He is certainly right, but he does them wrong when he reduces it only to their own power of action, which is very limited in for many. To say that intellectuals and anti-Gyspsyism researcher do not trust Rroma to do something for themselves, simplifies reality too much. When Günter Grass says that Rroma have no voice, he means their weakness in relation to national policies, but not the ability of individuals to change something about their situation. Also, the statements that intellectuals would only ever see Rroma as victims and deny their own responsibility falls short. These statements do not take into account the evident imbalance of power in society, power consisting of structures, policies and spread of knowledge as well as from individual action. Bauerdick does not do justice to the complexity of these circumstances in his polemical descriptions. When he uncritically cites passages from Karl Gauss’ bok “The dog eaters Svinia”, where Rromakönige, begging gangs and mafia-like structures are described as part of the Rromakultur, he commits the very same mistake against which he actually writes: He ethnicises the poverty phenomena and describes the mutual exploitation of Rroma as a cultural problem.

Sources:

  • Bauerdick, Rolf (2013) Zigeuner: Begegnungen mit einem ungeliebten Volk. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
  • Bogdal, Klaus-Michael (2013) Leben mit Hass und Verachtung. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 10.6.2013.
  • Borchard, Ralf (2013) Warum Roma nach Deutschland kommen. In: Bayrischer Rundfunk vom 11.6.2013.
  • Kimmel-Fichtner, Tatjana (2010) Eine Schule für Romakinder. In: Zeit online vom 15.11.2010.
  • Köhler, Regina (2013) Neukölln ist in Berlin das Zuhause der Roma-Kinder. In: Berliner Morgenpost vom 14.6.2013.
  • Schelp, David (2013) „Er wird es schon lernen“. In: Die Zeit vom 9.6.2013.
  • Schmidt, Wolf (2013) Roma wollen Geschichte klären. In: Die TAZ vom 10.6.2013. 
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31.05.2013 Anti-Semitism in Hungary

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Odehnal (2013) conducted an interview with the publicist Paul Lendvai about the conflicting anti-racism policies of the Orban government. Lendvai, in his opinion, sees Orban as a Janus on racism: Towards the foreign press he represents a liberal, anti-racist view while towards the Hungarian press he presents a nationalist position. Lendvai sees the missing historical work on the Holocaust as a reason for the large upswing of right-wing nationalist parties like Jobbik. He also notes a “brain drain” of many young, well-educated Hungarians, who because of the political situation in their homeland see no future there. You hardly notice “the creeping erosion of democratic structures […] It’s all in the hands of the government. The National Bank was the last bastion. Which is now also fallen.”

Pester Lloyd (2013) reported on the continued segregation of Rroma children in Hungarian schools. A demonstration of the civil rights movement “The Constitution is not a toy” is opposed to the establishment of private school foundations within state schools, to the creation of pure Rroma classes and is against the segregation of children at events and in school buildings. Pester Lloyd criticises also the support programmes initiated by minister Balog as part of national Roma strategy as these are indeed and in truth promoting school segregation nor rather than to fighting it. The programme is reducing all Rroma to a concept and is not taking them seriously in their individuality. The focus agenda has not “educational, but rather racial standards.” As other media, the Pester Lloyd addresses the question as to whether the separation of powers in Hungary is still present or has now united under one roof a corrupt judicial, executive and legislative branches.

Sources:

  • Odehnal, Bernhard (2013) «Viktor Orbán ist ein grosser Zyniker». In: Tages-Anzeiger vom 26.5.2013.
  • Pester Llyod (2013) Demo gegen gesetzlich geförderte Segregation von Roma-Kindern in Ungarn. In: Pester Llyod vom 28.5.2013. 
Tschechische Republik Frankreich Deutschland Ungarn Italien Kosovo News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Rumänien

24.05.2013 Rroma in the European Union

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Publicly, the German Euro MEP Cornelia Ernst criticized what she deems in her eyes to be poor policies of the EU members towards Rroma. Since the ratification of a Rroma strategy, the EU Commission has undertaken little to effectively achieve the set targets. Currently about 4% of EU Eastern European help is devoted to Rroma. Ernst calls for an active prevention against racism and discrimination towards Rroma, which have increased spectacularly in recent years (Finanzen.net 2013).

Ernst (2013) describes the Rroma in the Czech Republic as the losers of the changes and who lived in modest prosperity prior to 1989. Today, in the Czech Republic, there are about 300 Rroma ghettos while before the changes there were only twelve. Many live in homes for asylum seekers, the unemployment rate exceedingly high at around 90%. She also criticizes the European Rroma strategy as it is not binding and does not foresee any sanctions for non-compliance.

The University of Hildesheim held a seminar on the topic of the participation of Rroma of in public education. The seminar is led by the educationalist Viola B. Georgi and examines the mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion of Rroma, which lead to a weak representation of members of this minority in educational institutions. In addition, there is an exhibition on the Rroma persecution under Nazism (Long 2013).

In a recent publication, Amnesty International (2013) criticizes the non-application of basic human rights for Rroma especially in Hungary and in Kosovo. But countries like Germany are also involved, as they deport members of this minority back to their home countries without actually considering the discriminatory practices. These examples indicate a discrepancy between official country analyses, used to determine the local situation, and the real situation of minorities. The report also criticises illegal evictions in 36 states. It emphasizes the issues of Rromas settlements in France and Italy, which in recent months repeatedly were mentioned in the press and generated attention in politics. Politics are exploiting Rroma camps, especially in nationalist parties (n-tv, 2013).

Romani Rose, chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma criticised the removal of a Holocaust memorial at a school in Wiesbaden. The exhibition presented the deportation of a resident Rroma family and was dismantled a first time in 2006 before being re-instated in 2008. This was brought to attention only through the actions of the school who requested the Documentation Centre of the Sinti and Rroma to remove this exhibition from the list of memorials. Rose criticized the closure of the memorial with the comment that this was an expression of irresponsible handling of history (Mueck-Raab 2013).

Bermeitinger (2013) reports on the construction of a Holocaust memorial in Mainz, which goes back to a commitment of Hildegard Coester. On 6 May 1940,107 Rroma from Mainz were deported according to records and sent to a concentration camp.

Pamperrien (2013) discusses the new non-fiction book by journalist and photographer Rolf Bauerdick. Bauerdick’s book “Gypsies: Encounters with an unpopular minority” is deliberately not politically correct. He distances himself from Klaus-Michael Bogdals thesis of a tradition of exclusion and of being considered alien and instead calls attention to the status of victim that Rroma themselves maintain. They are caught in their own apathy. He is belligerently states: “There is also another truth. I hardly remember a Rom who looked for a piece of responsibility among themselves about the roots of their misery, even less so one who found one.” With his political incorrectness, Bauerdick wants to highlight the need and to encourage Rroma to take their own responsibilities. But he forgets that unilateral action significantly depends on the one the available and structures and that there are very repressive for many Rroma. His simple distinction between real problems and intellectually produced pseudo-problems created by scientists falls short. It discredits the de facto interweaving of real events and social images and thoughts that fuel and spurns each other. Bauerdick is quite right in denouncing abuses among the Rroma themselves, when he speaks of exploitation by usurers who force their own people into prostitution, begging and theft. To use this as the determining discourse and to denotes it to be the dominant form of relationships among Rroma can heavily be doubted. A single journalist simply lacks the capacity for such a study among all Rroma. It perpetuates the picture of misery that he discredits the image of economically successful and inconspicuous, well integrated invisible Rroma. Bauerdick notes:

“All who intensively worked with Roma, have, as soon as this decade was announced[European Decade of Roma Inclusion], said that this would go down the drain. And so it did. It did so because the Roma are not taken seriously. One wants to help them without demanding something of them. This is how you behave towards people from whom you don’t expect anything. For me, this is the most insidious form of discrimination and exclusion at all” (Pamperrien 2013).

Brill (2013) sees the media discourse about Rroma as dominated by commentators who hide their ignorance of Rroma behind negative or positive biases. He refers in his remarks to the book “Poor Rroma, bad Gypsies” written by the Eastern Europe correspondent Mappes-Niediek. In spite their intention to defuse stereotypes,  Brill’s remarks lead to the production of new ones. It states in a generalising fashion “Community and a sense of the State you will be looking in vain. The differences with the majority population are enormous, from the limitations of the Roma language to the divergent conceptions of time and money, past and future, property and business, cleanliness and what is good and important in life.” So Brill constructs a picture of Rroma, which wrongly assumes their incompatibility with European values ​​and habits. He creates an “othering” in the meaning of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Whether these views stem from Brill or are versions of Mappes-Niediek views is not clearly apparent. The observations that Rroma look at journalists with suspicion and do not provide reliable information, is critically challenged.

Roucaute (2013) informs about the often contradictory policies of the French authorities towards Rroma. They base their rigorous policy of clearing camps on unacceptable conditions of hygiene and danger of fires that prevails in these settlements. One executed the plans of the minister Manuel Valls, said an official. You have to comply with existing laws. A circular of six ministers of the new government states that “„les opérations de démantèlement des campements illicites (…) sont pleinement légitimes, dès lors qu’elles interviennent en application d’une décision de justice ou pour mettre fin à une situation de danger ou de risque sanitaire immédiat.“ [the operations of removal of illegal camps are fully legitimate as soon as they are the result of the application of a legal decision or in a situation of immediate danger or sanitary risk.] De facto, this is a firmly established policy of the French government since a few months, as it considers the highly visible Rroma camps as negative to the French state and wants to be rid of them. The government invests in the development of infrastructure in Romania, where a portion of the migrated Rroma is originating. Many Rroma in turn see their future in France, however, because they see no future there for them due to the structural conditions in Romania. There are thus conflicting priorities between the bio-political objectives of the French state and the expectations of the Rroma for the future, and these seem unlikely to converge in the near future.

Sources:

  • Bermeitinger, Michael (2013) Stele erinnert an verschleppte Sinti und Roma. In: Allgemeine Zeitung vom 17.5.2013.
  • Brill, Klaus (2013) Von Roma-Slums und “Gipsy Industry”. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 21.5.2013.
  • Ernst, Cornelia (2013) Weil wir Nachbarn sind. In: Neues Deutschland. Sozialistische Tageszeitung vom 24.5.2013.
  • Finanzen.net (2013) Neues Deutschland: Europaabgeordnete Cornelia Ernst kritisiert anhaltende Diskriminierung von Roma in der EU. In: Finanzen.net vom 23.5.2013.
  • Lange, Isa (2013) Seminar untersucht Bildungsteilhabe von Sinti und Roma in Europa / Ausstellung in Hildesheim. In: idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft vom 23.5.2013.
  • N-tv (2013) Roma in Ungarn und im Kosovo sind angeblich nicht sicher Amnesty prangert Flüchtlingspolitik an. In: N-tv Deutschland vom 23.5.2013.
  • Pamperrien, Sabine (2013) Gefangen in der eigenen Apathie. In: Deutschlandradio vom 23.5.2013.
  • Roucaute, Delphine (2013) Roms : à Lyon, l’attitude “schizophrène” des autorités. In: Le Monde vom 23.5.2013.
  • Mück-Raab, Marion (2013) Die Vitrinen-Affäre. In: TAZ vom 22.5.2013.
Frankreich Deutschland Ungarn Kosovo News Osteuropa News Westeuropa

12.04.2013 International Day of Rroma: Call to End Discrimination

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On the occasion of the International Day of the Rroma on April 8th, the Green Party decidedly demands an end to discrimination of Rroma in Europe. Too many Rroma are still excluded either by informal or explicit policies of social advancement and recognition. Since its inauguration in 1971 in London, the International Day of Rroma was celebrated 42 times, and the Green party criticized in particular the political exploitation of Rroma for purposes of election campaigns. This turns them into poverty refugees and makes them the targets of an emotionalised socio-political conflict. The Green Party calls for effective implementation of the EU initiated Rroma strategy, which up to now only had very modest successes.

The chairman of the Austrian Association of Rroma, Rudolf Sarközy stressed during the day, the constructive support of the Catholic Churchto bring the Rroma from the edge of society to get into its mainstream. Former Chancellor Franz Vranitzky openly criticized the anti-Roma policies in France, Hungary and other EU countries that are not really different from questionable practices usually found in emerging countries (Katholische Presseagentur Österreich 2013).

Stille (2013), on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the Rroma day, draws sober conclusions: Although with some 15 million members, Rroma are the largest minority in Europe, they are shockingly underrepresented in politics. Exclusion, discrimination and physical threats are still the norm. One builds walls, to isolate them from other settlements, extreme right-wing citizen militias patrol Rroma neighbourhoods and provoke and abuse Rroma and Rromnja. Nearly 60 years after the genocide of Rroma under the Nazis, this fact, in contrast to the Jewish Holocaust is barely recognised. The negative stereotypes that are attributed to Rroma continue unabated. War refugees from Kosovo are afraid of deportation to a country that they no longer know and where they are discriminated against. Romani Rose, of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma warns against blanket criminalization of people who are not looking to become delinquent, but are looking for a future. Finally, Stille states accurately:

Today, on World Roma Day, it is time for us to think about why German Roma for decades – many of them well-educated, well-integrated people – hide their belonging to this ethnic minority.

Sources:

  • Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (2013) Internationaler Roma-Tag: Diskriminierungen endlich beenden. In: Düsseldorfer Abendblatt vom 9.4.2013.
  • Katholische Presseagentur Österreich (2013) Roma-Tag: “Viele wissen nicht, wie gläubig wir sind”. In: Katholische Presseagentur Österreich vom 9.4.2013.
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05.04.2013 Rroma Requiem in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

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Frankfurt Rroma Orchestra has been rehearsing a requiem by the Swiss composer Roger Moreno Rathgeb in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Rathgeb comes from a Swiss Sinti family. After a visit to Auschwitz, he was so moved that he had to take a long break from work on the Requiem. In addition to its function as remembrance and as a vehicle force thoughts, the Requiem is also a commentary on the classical views on gypsy music. The music of the Romany is simply not just a collection of quickly played notes on the violin with lots of singing but also, as Rathgeb composition shows, has influences ranging from classical, Arabic elements, and Central European folk music from the 19th Century. The Requiem is also contribution to the further thoughts within the public on the often negated genocide of the Rroma under the Nazis. At its premiere in Hungary was presented by the philanthropist George Soros. He challenged the often-heard opinion that Rroma primarily exclude themselves out of society, and stated it is a governmental and social exclusion that must be overcome.

Source:

  • Malachowski, Marcel (2013) Musik als Reflex der Vergangenheit. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung vom 5.4.2013.
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