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22.02.15 A documentary on Rroma in Toulouse

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22.02.15 A documentary on Rroma in Toulouse

A young filmmaker Sahra Denard is currently making a documentary on Rroma migrants in the city of Toulouse. She is working with three Romanian sisters who live in an camp and will go with them in Romania, in their village of origin.

While the filmmaker wants to reduce stereotypes, the choice of subject contributes to re-enforce the general views on Rroma; Migrants from Romania or Bulgaria, poor, uneducated etc. On such a topic, the line between helping and damaging Rroma is a thin one to walk.

– Sarah Denard, un documentaire sur les Roms. In: La Dépèche. 19.02.2015. http://www.ladepeche.fr/…/2052220-sarah-denard-un-documenta…

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12.02.2015 When slavery was common in Europe

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Another article from the Welt on the Romanian Movie we already reported on “Aferim” reminding people of the slavery that prevailed in Romania until the 1860’s. A state that explains a lot about the situation of Rroma in that country. One only need to think of the United States and realise that one is not far from what was comon until Martin Luther King.

– Als in Europa Sklaverei noch ganz normal war. In: Die Welt. 12.02.2015

Als in Europa Sklaverei noch ganz normal war‘}”>Als in Europa Sklaverei noch ganz normal war

Kosovo News Osteuropa

25.01.2015 Visionary leads a Rroma philharmonic Orchestra

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Ricardo Sahiti, born in 1961 in Kosovo dreamt of founding and directing a Rroma philharmonic orchestra. Arte just showed a movie about him and about the orchestra he managed to create and direct.

Visionär macht seinen Traum wahr. In Op.Online.de, 24.01.2015. http://www.op-online.de/lokales/nachrichten/rodgau/riccardo-sahiti-leitet-weltweit-einzige-roma-sinti-philharmonie-4667487.html

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25.01.2015 Visionary leads a Rroma philharmonic Orchestra

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Ricardo Sahiti, born in 1961 in Kosovo dreamt of founding and directing a Rroma philharmonic orchestra. Arte just showed a movie about him and about the orchestra he managed to create and direct.

Visionär macht seinen Traum wahr. In Op.Online.de, 24.01.2015. http://www.op-online.de/lokales/nachrichten/rodgau/riccardo-sahiti-leitet-weltweit-einzige-roma-sinti-philharmonie-4667487.html

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19.11.2014 “Till the end of the world”: differentiated and prejudiced views about Rroma in Germany

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The feature film “Till the End of the World” tells about the relationship between a German pensioner and a young Rrom who recently immigrated to Germany. In the beginning, the woman has major reservations about the Rroma who moved into her house. However, her prejudices are increasing changed after she meets a young, extremely musically talented Rrom. Despite the desire to portray the Rroma as differentiated and unbiased as possible, the film is not without clichés: “The widow Maria Nikolai (Horbiger) dares barely to go out the door, since more and more foreigners live in her neighbourhood, especially Roma refugees in her house which she regards as riffraff. But as it is: When shopping, her wallet falls out of her pocket – and it is the Roma boy Bero (Samy Abdel Fattah), which brings it back to her. When he later finds shelter in her apartment from extreme right-wing thugs, the pensioner recognises his musical talent. The music-loving woman encourages the boy, meets his family and can overcome some of her prejudices. […] Of course, the film does not address the problems and biographies of all Roma in Germany. At the heart is the situation of a refugee family that suffers from poverty, their cramped living situation and back-breaking jobs. […] And that the boy can play the accordion so beautifuly, is ultimately a decision for a cliché” (Sakowitz 2014). In Germany, according to assessments of the Foundation Rroma, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. Before the Nazi genocide, there were much more. Many have lived in Germany for generations, speak fluently German, have a job and send their children to school. They are the proof that the prejudices about the minority do not correspond to reality (compare Gangloff 2014, Hupertz 2014, Schilling-Strack 2014).

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17.10.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and the prostitutes’ patch in Zurich – “Victoria – A Tale of Grace and Greed“

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Holtz (2014) discusses the feature film “Victoria – A Tale of Greed and Grace” by Swiss director Men Lareida. It discusses the fate of a Hungarian Rromni prostitute on the former prostitutes’ patch on the Sihlquai in Zurich. Lareida and his wife, who regularly commute between Switzerland and Hungary, became aware of the topic during their train trips between Zurich and Budapest, when they started conversations with the prostitutes. The film is not a moral discussion of prostitution, but tries to show the fate and the motives of the protagonist: “Emphatically and subjective but nonetheless soberly and realistically, „Viktoriá – A Tale of Grace and Greed“ tells the story of the young Hungarian Roma girl Viktoria, who leaves her hometown of Budapest in the hope of earning a lot of money as soon as possible, to work in Zurich as a prostitute. Here, night after night, she stands at the side of the road, under pale lamplight, waiting for the next punter, whom she satisfies in his car on some dark parking lot. What keeps Viktoria alive, are the thoughts of home and the opportunities that the money will bring to her. Thus, among the world of the fast sex, characterized by violence, disgust and humiliation, she also finds love and friendship – and herself. […] Actually, Lareida does not want to accuse. “Viktoria – A tale of Grace and Greed” does not want to caution the viewers or be an instructive parable about the dangers of the sex trade, but shows the things as they are. The director is not in favour of criminalising the sex industry, because: “You have at least to consider that prostitution is a possibility for these women.” However, he asks to increase the security for the sex workers and to offer alternatives to prostitution to the women, also in the countries of origin.”  

It seems that the film is not critically addressing the Rroma origin of the protagonist. Is the protagonist just Rroma by change, or is this discussed as a specific feature? Are the stereotypes associated with Rroma, as notions of strong-hierarchical clans, patriarchal family structures etc., discussed? Are they critically commented on? This does not become evident in Holtz’s article. Therefore, it is important to point out that not only Hungarian Rromnja are affected by poverty, and thus find their way into prostitution, but that this also affects ethnic Hungarians. Furthermore, Rroma should not be equated to an underclass, as they belong to all social strata. Moreover, only a few Rromnja are effectively working as prostitutes, a fact distorted by the strong media attention. Therefore, the film indirectly reproduces stereotypes about Rroma, even if it wants to give a voice to those affected and address social misery.

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

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

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08.08.2014 Hungarian film festival: movies about Rroma being censored

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In September, the Film Festival CineFest will take place in the north-Hungarian city of Miskolc. Two films about the situation of the Rroma were disinvited by the program director, because they have too much political brisance for the local elections that will be held shortly after the festival. The documentary group DunaDock, who submitted the two films, states: “probably they fear losing government funding if they show our films”, said Diana Gróo from DunaDock to the news agency dpa. The festival director told the Hungarian media that there would be very well a “Roma program” at CineFest, which would show film portraits of “successful Roma”. The festival management did not comment on the rejected films on Roma. CineFest is among others under the auspices of the media agency NMHH, which is often accused of political censorship on behalf of the right-wing nationalist government” (TAZ 2014). Miskolc is a focal point of social conflicts about Roma. The municipal elections will take place on October the 12th. The film festival takes place from the 12th to 21st of September. DunaDock should have expanded the festival with a program series “DunaDock Master Class” as a permanent section. The documentary group announced to totally cancel their contribution to the festival, given the current circumstances: “The explanation of the CineFest leadership is incomprehensible to us; according to them the film festival takes place at the time of local elections, thus to avoid political conflicts and for security reasons they cannot undertake the presentation of any film dealing with the topic of Roma in Hungary; even their usual Roma workshop is cancelled. We believe that the documentary film is a medium that helps the empathy towards our fellow humans and we find it unacceptable that an independent filmmaker professional program’s freedom can be restricted by current politics. Under these circumstances DunaDOCK will not be present at the CineFest and we have notified already the organisers about our decision” (DunaDock 2014). Critical commentators see the disinvitation of the films as symptomatic of the ongoing dismantling of democracy in Hungary, at the expense of media freedom, the protection of minorities, pluralism and the rule of law (compare Kleine Zeitung 2014, Pusztaranger 2014, Spiegel 2014).

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01.08.2014 Montpellier: integration village will not be realised

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Dubault (2014) reports on the status of the planned Rroma integration village in Montpellier. Hélène Mandroux,  the reigning socialist mayor of the city until the spring 2014, had initiated the project together with her assistant. The integration village would have cost around 2 million Euros: 20 motivated families, especially willing to integrate themselves would have been selected and been actively supported in their search for work, in improving their language skills, in their children’s education, and in the integration into the community. The newly elected mayor Philippe Saurel and the local council of Montpellier who were voted in the spring of 2014 have shut the project down. The costs are too high, the hoped-for success of the project too uncertain, they stated. Dubault states that stopping the project didn’t cause too much consternation among the collective in support of the Rroma. Most of the other integration projects in the Paris region were also characterised by failure, she concludes. These pessimistic estimates are contradicted by success stories like those of Indre (Loire-Atlantique), which was able to announce almost exclusively positive assessments of its integration project (compare Barbier 2014 Mouillard 2014 I/II). Aid agencies have accused the authorities and politics of deliberately not wanting to promote the integration of the immigrant Rroma, but rather wanting to deport them. In the French media and the French public, one never hears of the estimated 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma living in an integrated fashion, who form part of French society since generations and contribute to it. They are present examples that integration is possible.

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25.06.2014 Lawsuit concerning the Rroma camp of Bobigny

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Jabkhiro (2014) reports on a lawsuit concerning the Rroma camp of Bobigny. The settlement had gained nationwide attention after a young Rroma girl had fallen victim to a fire in February. The residents are trying to fight against the planned eviction of the camp with the help of organizations and a lawyer. The newly elected major of Bobigny, Stéphane De Paoli, requested an accelerated procedure for the implementation of the eviction from the prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis. The city administration’s lawyer emphasised in his plea the illegal nature of the camp, as well as the lack of security provisions in the settlement, which required a closure. The lawyer of the residents referred to the good social integration of the Rroma: 90% of the children are enrolled in school and the sanitary facilities have improved. There is no sensible reason why families in which the parents work, the children go to school and who show a clear desire for integration, should be evicted, the lawyer stated. Why the eviction is discussed in court, since all previous evictions usually took place without the consultation of the settlement’s inhabitants, Jabkhiro does not explain. The elementary school Marie Curie of Bobigny had previously been selected by the government to be portrayed in a short film, to show the successful enrolment and integration of Rroma children (compare Territoiresgouv 2013). The residents’ lawyer complains that those responsible for social assessments, that are required following the inter-ministerial circular from August 26th, 2012, did not exchange any information with the persons in charge on site. In the case of Bobigny, the application of the social assesment did not take place. So far, analyses by officials have been carried out only on a single day and cannot be classified as professional. The verdict of the lawsuit will be announced on July 2.

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30.05.2014 “Central Council of Sinti and Roma sues Pro NRW”

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Publikative.org (2014) reports on a lawsuit filed by the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma against the right-wing nationalist party Pro Nordrhein-Westfalen (Pro NRW). On the occasion of the European Council elections, the party produced a commercial that openly and with one-sided, emotional means, presents propaganda against the Rroma. The complaint reads, among others: “In the movie, pictures of streets and residential areas that are littered, of aggressive people and of a man in the street with a large knife, this with superimposed slogans like “quickly identify asylum fraudsters” and “seethe with anger, let it out”, are complemented with a rap song, in which the repeated refrain “like a gypsy” (as a gipsy ) is highlighted” (Pulikative.org 2014). The Central Council decidedly denies that the campaign video can be classified under the category of freedom of the press or freedom of expression. Rather, the video explicitly agitates against the Rroma, by portraying the minority sweepingly as benefit scroungers and criminals. This is contrary to the principles of German law and therefore must be decidedly condemned. This assessment is fully to be agreed with. To campaign at the expense of a minority that has been marginalized for centuries, can only be described as a shameless and foolish (compare PRO NRW SPOT Europawahl 2014, Ruhrbarone 2014).

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25.05.2014 “A People Uncounted” gives Rroma and Holocaust survivors a voice

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Various American newspapers report about the new movie by Aaron Yeger, which focuses on the marginalization of the Rroma in Europe. In an interview with NPR (2014), Yeger explores the question of why no exact figures on murdered Rroma exist as well what the marginalization and destruction of the minority meant for the former communities. As for the number of victims, the lack of written documentation by Rroma themselves as well as the absence of official documents is probably the main reason. The film focuses on the aspects of exclusion and persecution that are recapitulated by eyewitnesses. Language and traditions are only briefly touched upon. The New York Times comments: “While travelling to Budapest, Vienna, Montreal, Ukraine, Romania and Germany, the film, the first feature by Aaron Yeger, presents a range of lucid commentators, some of whom touch upon distant Roma history. But the primary focus here is on the disenfranchisement and ruthless persecution the Roma have long suffered in Europe: in Romania in the mid-1400s, by the Habsburgs in 1500, by Henry VIII and again by the Habsburgs in 1721. […] The darkest hour was the Holocaust, in which hundreds of thousands of Roma perished in concentration camps. Much of this movie is composed of survivors who give harrowing accounts of their experiences, and their warnings about rising ethnic hatred in Europe should not be ignored” (Webster 2014). Miller (2014) also points out that the image of the Rroma in the United States is shaped by stupendous reality TV shows such as Gypsy Sisters und My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. These convey a stereotypical, one-sided picture of the Rroma. “A People Uncounted” tries to live up to the complexity of the fate of the Rroma (compare Broadway World 2014, Documentary Trailers 2011, Scheck 2014).   

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07.05.2014 The reportage Roma – Europe’s poor children conveys one-sided notion of the Rroma

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The reportage, awarded with the citizens media award of Saxony-Anhalt, reports about Rroma in Transylvania. It paints a sympathetic, but unfortunately also very normative view of the Rroma in Romania. The commentator states at the beginning of the reportage that the helpers of the association “Children’s Aid for Transylvania” would come to know the life and culture of the Rroma in a Rroma settlement. The fact that they confuse culture and a lifestyle resulting out of exclusion, is not discussed critically. Like many other reports in Germany, the coverage reproduces the idea of Rroma as victims in their countries of origin, but remains silent about well-integrated, invisible Rroma, who do not conform to the stereotypes. In addition, the discrimination against the minority in Germany is left out, where they are often portrayed as perpetrators. Instead, it is repeatedly referred to the fertility of the aid project, without giving the Rroma themselves a real voice. Therewith the aid project is staged as a success, but the person concerned appear as uncivilized that were in need of civilizing through the project: “When I think of the starting time, with the turbulence and unrest, and no values and norms within this group of the children of the centre, and now this development […] earlier communication was brute force, there were beatings”, the project manager Sebastian Leiter states biased. In contrast, the film also provides intelligent viewpoints as the views of the social workers Thomas Richardt, which emphasizes the importance of contact between the Rroma and Gadje and stresses that a society is only as good as it treats its weakest members. – The report shows once again that good intentions alone are not sufficient to convey a differentiated picture of the Rroma (compare Kinderhilfe für Siebenbürgen e.V 2014, Berliner Zeitung 2014, Focus 2014).

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25.04.2014 Daily Mail confirms stereotypes about Rroma

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In its latest post, the British tabloid Daily Mail supported racist stereotypes about criminal Rroma gangs who attack tourists in Paris. Allen (2014) provides information on a group of young Rroma – how he knows about the ethnicity of the perpetrators, is completely unknown – who wanted to raid a middle-aged man at a cash machine in the centre of Paris, and were filmed by a surveillance camera. Allen further reports on the internal police writing that last week triggered a flood of press articles. The letter called for the systematic eviction of all Rroma in the sixth arrondissement, which is illegal under French law. Allen comments about this: “Charity and human rights groups were furious last week when a leaked police memo called for the ‘systematic eviction’ of Roma from the centre of the city. […] A spokesman for Charity group Catholic Help described the note as a ‘scandal’, saying that it ‘stigmatised a poor community’ and amounted to ‘racial profiling’- something which is illegal in secular France. But other Paris officials argued that Roma are behind most of the crime in the city, involving themselves in everything from aggressive begging to muggings and burglaries. Gangs of young Roma, including women and children, can regularly be seen harassing tourists. Many of the Roma beggars who congregate around cash points and banks have very young children with them, including babies. Most of them live in large shanty towns on the outskirts of Paris, but more and more are setting up new camps in central parks and squares.” Journalists such as Peter Allen still share the opinion that they spread the truth about Rroma, because they assume that reality consists only of the visible facts. The fact that a large part of the Rroma is not criminal is completely ignored in this logic. The focus is solely on the deviant behavior that is associated with ethnicity. The fact that the ethnicity of the perpetrators is anything but clear becomes obvious in Allen’s own article. He proceeds on the assumption that all perpetrators are Rroma and naturalizes this suspicion to a journalistic fact. Thus ethnic prejudices are maintained based on suppositions that are anything but hard facts.

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11.04.2014 Rroma as an enemy stereotype

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=On the occasion of the international Rroma day, numerous international newspapers report about the continuing marginalization of the Rroma minority in their countries. For Germany, Jakob (2014) notes that according to the latest research of historian Wolfgang Benz, the Rroma are ranked behind social groups such as the Jews or asylum seekers, concerning popularity. The purpose of such a popularity-scale can and should be questioned. Apart from the mirroring existing prejudices towards certain social or ethnic groups, no real benefit for combating prejudices can be drawn from this. However, this viewpoint is contradicted by Jacob, who states in reference to the study by Wolfgang Benz: “The study by Benz created on behalf of the anti-discrimination agency shows how deep prejudices about Roma and Sinti are rooted in Germany. Benz said it reassures him that the vast majority of the respondents (91 percent) consider integration services a good suggestion for a better coexistence with Sinti and Roma. 63 percent called for stronger minority rights, the study states”. That these sociological statistics will be followed by true actions, is much to be hoped. The aid programs are not devoid of  prejudices, as another part of Benz study shows: 80% of respondents are in favour of a fight against welfare abuse, 78 % speak out to take against crime among the Rroma (Protestant Press 2014). The enemy image of the Rroma is therefore anything but irrelevant, and is still deeply rooted in many peoples’ minds. As a result, many Rroma keep their identity secret. Wolfgang Benz confirms this in a radio interview, in which he addresses the invisible Rroma of Germany: “In fact, Sinti and Roma are living in Germany since a long time, completely integrated. No one recognizes them. Some of them are part of the boardrooms of large industrial companies. They pursue ordinary bourgeois professions and they do not make themselves visible. They fear discrimination. One doesn’t allow them to integrate and then one is claiming that they do not want to integrate” (Polland 2014).

The creation of an EU-fund dedicated to the Rroma, that would not have to be refinanced by the member states, as with the existing funding, is not only met with approval. Rudko Kawczynski, of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), speaks out against the creation of such separate fund. This would only foster the resentments against the minority that already are considerable. Rather, an awareness of injustice among the governments in question has to be created, he states, so that they finally take decisive actions against the discrimination of the Rroma (Jacob 2014).

On the occasion of the Rroma Day, a cultural week in Berlin is held under the slogan “May we, that we are!” The program includes concerts, theatre, films and panel discussions. The culture week is organized by the Hildegard-Lagrenne-Foundation, which aims to promote education, integration and social participation of the Rroma in Germany (Dernbach 2014, rbb 2014).

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02.04.2014 “Cause commune” shows the possibility of successful integration

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The documentary “Cause commune” by Sophie Averty shows the positive example of successful integration by five immigrant Rroma families. In the municipality of Indre, in the Loire-Atlantique, citizens, politicians, and immigrants together committed for a successful integration of immigrant families. The downside of this policy was the selection of the immigrant Rroma families, with five chosen. The rest were referred to other communities. Averty sums up: “The necessary condition is a commitment on the part of citizens and politics as well as the desire of families to integrate. The first approach of the mayor was to refuse the eviction in order to avoid the application of a pass the buck policy. And that changed everything for the families. […] The mayor, who based his views on the knowledge of the community police and the citizens collective, selected five families. Today, all the men work, the women do housework and the children are enrolled in school. But there are no supports payments! Each family pays a rent, water, electricity, the canteen of the children and there are no delays” (Barbier 2014).

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28.02.2014 The invisible Kosovo-Rroma in France

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Bonnet (2014) reports on a documentary that Rroma refugees from the Kosovo film about their past. A group of Rroma from Beziers documents their escape, the horrors of war and reveals for the first time to a public their ethnic identity: “It is the first time that they speak. Because the memories still hurt and because, since their arrival in France, they have learned to behave discreetly. Fifteen years after the war in Kosovo and their flight, several Rroma families for the first time speak about the horrors they experienced. They also succeed in expressing what they have concealed out of fear of being rejected: to say that they are Rroma.” The reservations of the Rroma to hide their identity to the outside are very justified. As the media coverage about Rroma has shown, but also the statements of many French politicians, the reservations towards Rroma are still severe.

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21.02.2014 The movie “Lungone Dromença” gives Kosovo refugees in France and Germany a voice

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Delacou (2014) reports on the new documentary by the filmmakers Marie-Christine and Pierre Duchalet Gadrey. The two directors give five Rromni who fled from the war in Kosovo avoice. The filmmakers already knew a Rroma family from Kosovo, through their work for the organization Réseau éducation sans frontières (RESF). The film wants to establish a counter-image to the strongly negative loaded representation and perception of the minority by the media and the public: “By realizing our documentation, we wanted to show the true face of this community: people like everyone else with the same desires and objectives: live free, work, raise their children in peace, being accommodated decently.”  For the five eyewitnesses, the film is also a revelation of their own history and identity to the public: “They are now well integrated in France and Germany. No one knows that they are Rroma! Not even their colleagues, not even her friends. They kept their identity systematically secret, for fear of being rejected.” This film is also a call for more social tolerance and a more humane asylum policy. Although a return agreement between the countries involved exists, the effective situation of Rroma in the Kosovo is not really considered.

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07.02.2014 “Victoria” by Men Lareida

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The Swiss movie “Victoria – A Tale of Grace and Greed” by Men Lareida addresses the fate of a Hungarian prostitutes on street-walkers’ patch of the Zurich Sihlquai. The protagonist, as well as the actress that embodies her, are Roma. The director wants to give a voice to those affected, people who are normally never talked with but only about. He was made aware of the subject during train rides between Zurich and Budapest, during which he and his wife got into conversation with the prostitutes: “Therefore, during their next train ride they started to talk with the women. From now on, Anna Maros [the director’s wife] listened to them for hours and nights. Went they were driving westward, the young women were still full of energy. In the reverse direction, the atmosphere was completely different: “the women were at first surprised and then infinitely glad that someone was listening to them. They told me endlessly sad stories of violence and disrespectful treatment by the pimps, but also by clients.” The will to give a voice to marginalized people through the film is very commendable. However, it should not be forgotten that the one-sided focus on Rroma in connection with prostitution can confirm and reinforce prejudices. Those who are really neglected are the integrated, unobtrusive and therefore invisible Rroma. One should also make a movie about them once (Banz 2014).

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