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21.06.2013 The French Rroma Policies

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Alain (2013) presents the French policy towards Rroma. EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, in an interview with the International Herald Tribune, called the French policy towards cultural minorities “very reactionary”, even among left-wing parties. This statement, not surprisingly, generated strong reactions from the French politics. François Hollande denounced Baroso’s criticism as being generalizing. Marie Le Pen regards the criticism as an expression of the European system’s bias against France. In the first third of 2013, the number of Rroma evicted from their displaced from their camps grew to more than 30% of the entire French Rroma population. The socialist Interior Minister Manuel Valls is particularly criticised especially for his statements on the cultural incompatibility of Rroma with France: “les occupants de campements ne souhaitent pas s’intégrer dans notre pays pour des raisons culturelles ou parce qu’ils sont entre les mains de réseaux versés dans la mendicité ou la prostitution.” [The inhabitants of camps do not wish to integrate in our country for cultural reasons or because they are in the hands of begging or prostitution networks]. In this context, the French policies on Rroma are described by many critics as being decidedly segregationist. The French police did not succeed to adopt neutral attitudes towards members of this minority, and is regularly involved in racist acts.

Duret (2013) tries to address the question of why so many Rroma leave Romania and go to Western Europe in search of a better life. She begins her article with the question of why many of these Rroma would not go to Germany but rather to France. This had to do with France’s social legislation and because many learned some French in school, according to the answers of anonymous respondents. Prospects for the future in Romania are usually very poor, both with regards to the training opportunities and to the economy. One hopes that children in France will have a better life. In Romania, the enrolment of children in schools is often difficult and unsatisfactory. Many jobs are poorly paid and do not allow one to have a decent life. Duret, like many other authors before her, presents a picture of Rroma as the losers of the capitalist transition. Under Ceausescu, despite his totalitarian policies, Rroma were better integrated and respected as after the changes. This statement is somewhat softened further in the article when she cites a Gypsy woman, who describes the discrimination during and after socialism as being equally strong. The violence against Rroma was simply not quite as noticeable due to closed borders and not smaller. She concludes the article with the intelligent remark that the nomadism attributed to Rroma is not a way of life but a social necessity which is the result of exclusion and persecution: “De nombreux Roms de l’est de l’Europe ont repris la route. Mais leurs migrations ne doivent rien au nomadisme que beaucoup leur attribuent à tort. Contrairement aux Tziganes de France qualifiés de «gens du voyage» depuis le XIXe siècle, les Roms venus de l’Est sont pour la plupart sédentarisés depuis des siècles. Ce n’est pas un mode de vie, plutôt la fuite d’un passé effrayant, d’un futur sans avenir.” [Many Rroma from Eastern Europe are back on the road. But their migrations have nothing to do with nomadism that many wrongly attribute to them. Contrary to the Gypsies of France which are qualified as “travellers” since the 14th century, Rroma from Esatern Europe are sedentary since centuries. This is not a way of life, but rather the flight from a scary past, from a future without future.]

Renoul (2013) reports on a fence being built around a Rroma settlement in Galon d’Eau. The initiators of this action are hoping for a significant improvement of the situation in terms of the noise and tensions with the settlement’s residents. Critics see the fencing and expulsion of residents of the camp only as displacing but not solving social problems. Nevertheless, the mayor of Galon d’Eau plans, who wants to accommodate on a legal wasteland fifty Rroma families, is already meeting resistance.

Hamme (2013) gives information on the initiative of 60 Rroma families in Ivry, who, with their EU citizenship, want to obtain the right to vote in their district. The families. mostly of Romanian origins, have been living for around one and a half years in a site in Ivry. By getting the right to vote where they live, they hope to get better accommodation options according to Hamme.

Harraudeau (2013) gives an overview of the relocations of Rroma in France since January 2013. Of the approximately 20,000 Rroma in the country about one-fifth had been relocated. The interventionist policies of the French government appear therefore as being intense and unconditional with respect to illegal settlements. The timely information of the people and the organization of alternative accommodation required by a circular of the ministries are not really  efficient in practice. According to Harraudeau, a survey by the Conseil Supérieur de l’audiovisual of 2012 showed that around 70% of respondents show massive prejudice against Rroma. The widespread views were that the Rroma are taking undue advantage of their children and lived on theft. The practice of state intervention also exists in other countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia on the agenda. Spain, on the other hand, could be used as a counterexample. Spain specifically promotes the integration with free language courses and quickly accessible temporary housing.

Frouin (2013) also notes a lack of effectiveness in the implementation of the August 2012 ministerial circular. This agreement should have meant that those affected by the evictions should be informed early in order to have enough time to search for an alternative accommodation. Frouin says there is a lack of political will to implement the thing in reality. This is partly attributable to the upcoming municipal elections, in which the politicians do not stand out with philanthropic Rroma policies.

Arte Journal (2013) sees a trend that more and more Rroma, especially big cities like Paris, live in the streets. This is a result of rigorous eviction policies of the French state, with which a considerable part of the illegal settlements were closed in recent months and on the other hand, is compounded by the continued influx of immigrants from Romania and other countries. The sobering conclusion is that life in the streets of France is still better than the lack of perspective and hunger in their homeland.

Eric Pliez of the organization “Aurore” criticises the rigorous eviction policies of the French government as being counterproductive. A consequence of the intervention policies is that relations that are built up with the inhabitants of these camps are destroyed almost immediately. As a long-term, sustained policy of integration is being prevented. A further effect is that more and more Rroma are living as homeless people in the streets. One should much more encourage medium or long-term solutions for the integration of the Rroma. Otherwise, one simply moves the problem from one place to the next (Arte Journal 2013/II).

Metro News (2013) identified a link between the evictions of camps and the weather: During the winter months authorities have been more accommodating and offered an accommodation to many Rroma or officially accepted their unapproved dwellings. By summer, however, the official tolerance towards illegal settlements decreased. Representative of the organization “Rencontres Tisganes” wish humane solutions that rely more on cooperation and integration than on intervention and expulsion. For the authorities the plight of those affected is often not understood or considered.

Laudinas (2013) informs about the eviction of a Rroma camp in Caissargues. The intervention was again legitimised by pointing at the precarious hygienic and sanitary conditions in the camp. Whether these grievances are really the main reason for the intervention is doubtful. But the Caissargues’s mayor want to run on sustainable Rroma politics. The resettlement of those affected is planned on an unused military area. One also wants to promote the successful integration, in particular of young Rroma, in schools and in the workplace. Such a long-term, inclusive policy is the only intelligent way forward with regard to the free movement of persons starting in 2014.

Maliet (2013) reports on the removal of a Rroma camp in Saint-Antoine. The evacuation happened in a highly politicised context, dominated by hatred: The Mayor Guy Teissier (UMP) had recently announced that even ten Rroma were still too much in his arrondissement. Didier Réault, councillor of Marseille, called for Molotov cocktails to be thrown at Rroma camps. These are just a few examples of the current anti-humanist policies towards Rroma. A planned emergency shelter for the displaced from the camp in Saint-Antoine was rejected by the authorities.

RTL France (2013) reported on the arrest of four Rroma pimps in Versailles. The four men were part of a larger network that was operating in Europe and the United States. They were in France, looking for new places for prostitution and had about twenty Romanian women with them. Almost no money was found: Almost everything had already been sent back to Romania. The article males almost no difference between the term of Rroma and that of Romanian. It also states that Rroma operate in networks of pimps, something that needs to be treated with caution. That such existing cases represent “normal activities” is to be critically challenged, and one needs to stress that this is in no way to be understood as an ethnic phenomenon.

O’Neill (2013) manages the feat to use all the stereotypes about Rroma in his article. He speaks of travelling merchants who came to riches and have traded their car for villas. He likes to reproduce the image of the happy so-called Rroma kings who, in Buzescu (Romania), build side by side hundreds of villas. The wealth of these “Kalderash the kings of Buzesc” was made, according to O’Neill, with metal trading. After the collapse of the socialist system, many factories were shut down. Some Rroma put this fact to good use and sold the all the remaning metal inventories of these industrial ruins on the market. The houses were built primarily for a purpose: to impress the neighbourhood and to clarify their own social status. Finally, O’Neill confirms the stereotypes of child marriages and nomadism. He notes: “Les mariages arrangés entre des enfants n’ayant pas plus de 13 ans demeurent courants dans les familles fortunées de Buzescu. Le passé nomade de la communauté reste aussi très présent. C’est une ville en mouvement. Des familles sont toujours en partance vers la France, l’Espagne ou Bucarest. Au coin des rues, des vieillards évoquent leur jeunesse voyageuse; ils ont la nostalgie de la variété et de l’aventure.” [Arranged marriages of children of at most 13 are still common in the rich families of Buzescu. The nomad past of the community is still very present. This is a city in movement. Families are always leaving from France, Spain, or Bucarest. At street corners, elder people speak about their travelling youth, they are nostalgic of adventure and change.]

 

Sources:

  • Alain, Philippe (2013) Barroso préfère les CD aux Roms. In: Agora Vox online vom 19.6.2013.
  • Arte Journal (2013) Roma: Besser obdachlos in Frankreich… In: Arte online vom 17.6.2013.
  • Arte Journal (2013/II) „Die Probleme werden nur verschoben“ In: Arte online vom 16.6.2013.
  • Duret, Manon (2013) Pourquoi les Roms quittent-ils la Roumaine? In: Le Journal International vom 19.6.2013.
  • Frouin, Guillaume (2013) La galère des Roms se poursuit. In: 20 minutes France vom 20.6.2013.
  • Hammé, Pauline (2013) A Ivry, des Roms s’inscrivent sur les listes électorales. In: La Vie online vom 14.6.2013.
  • Harraudeau, Stéphane (2013) Roms : la situation alarmante de l’Hexagone. In: Arte online vom 17.6.2013.
  • Laudinas, Gérard (2013) Des solutions transitoires pour fermer le sinistre campement de Roms de Caissargues. In: Objectif Gard online vom 17.6.2013.
  • – Maliet, François (2013) Destruction de caravanes dans un climat anti-Roms. In: 20 minutes France online vom 18.6.2013.
  • Metro News (2013) Roms de Marseille : “on en fait des boucs émissaires”. In: Metro News vom 18.6.2013.
  • O’Neill, Tom (2013) Le luxe et l’extravagance de Buzescu, la ville des rois roms. In: National Geographic France online vom 29.5.2013.
  • Renoul, Bruno (2013) Le camp de Roms du Galon d’Eau à Roubaix amputé pour éviter de nouveaux débordements. In: La Voix du Nord vom 19.6.2013.
  • RTL France (2013) Quatre proxénètes roms écroués. In: RTL France online vom 20.6.2013. 
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10.05.2013 Rroma in the UK

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Kann (2013) deconstructs the widespread myths about the Rroma commonly found in the British media. He ironically notes at the beginning that they, the Rroma, all have huge weddings, live in caravans and are constantly thinking of a migration to England to live at the expense of social welfare, and defines these views as being a media myth. Most of the 300,000 British Rroma are sedentary. The nomadism normally ascribed to them may partly be a cultural trait, but, but is mainly the consequence of seasonal work and of political persecution. There is also a rampant myth that they are intentionally unemployed based on the fact that they do not like to work and that they are not willing to learn. Kann contrasts these stereotypes with Rroma success stories of artists and academics. Rroma are even statistically under-represented in British prisons. British media is also confusing Irish Travellers with Kale Rroma. While the Irish Travellers came in 19th Century to England as well as after the Second World War due to the thriving construction industry, the Kale-Rroma are in UK since the 16th Century. A second and third wave of immigrants arrived after the end of the Soviet bloc and later with the establishment of the European Community. It was never a mass migration, as claimed by polemical media. Rroma are not a burden on the British welfare but an asset for the British society.

During May and June, the English “Community Channel” will report on the life of Rroma and Travellers in the UK. The reports will document and portray both ordinary people as well as celebrities from literature, art and science (Community Channel, 2013).

Jay (2013) of the Daily Mail reports on the plans of the European MEPs Jean Lambert to better link immigrants to social and health care. This is in contrast to the plans of Prime Minister David Cameron, who wants to cut social assistance for immigrants. The somewhat racist article by Martin Jay begins with the generalizing statement: “A Green Party MEP is demanding that immigrants who come to Britain to beg and commit crimes should be guaranteed the right to full state benefits and even be provided with police protection.” The author this unjustly assumes that all immigrants only come to the UK to beg and steal. Somewhat later, his statement on hordes of Rroma, particularly women who harass people on the street, can only be described as sheer racism. Jay says: “In particular, she [Jean Lampert] wants the hoards [sic; hordes] of Roma Gypsies – in particular the women – who illegally harass people on the streets of central London to ‘not be excluded’ from social security benefits as ‘undocumented migrants.” That such defamatory statements can be made under the label of freedom of expression is a scandal and shows a total lacks of respect for people. Later, Jay mixes, the terms “illegal immigrant” and “migrant” and finally equates them. He conjures the picture of a mass immigration of 50,000 Romanians and Bulgarians per year up as soon as the freedom of movement comes into force, referring to forecasts from Migration Watch. These migrants, it is suggested, would draw social benefits. This article has nothing to do with objective journalism. It is an affront to all members of minorities and supporters of humanism.

Source:

  • Community Channel (2013) Gypsy Roma Traveller Season: Highlights. In: Community Channel (UK) vom 10.5.2013.
  • Jay, Martin (2013) Roma gypsies should be guaranteed cash hand-outs and police protection, claims London MEP. In: Mail One vom 7.5.2013.
  • Kann, Alex (2013) 5 Big Fat Myths about Gypsies, Travellers and Roma. In: The Independent vom 9.5.2013. 

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19.04.2013 The History of Sufferings of Sinti and Roma

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Stankiewitz (2013) reports on the still poorly acknowledged destruction of Rroma under National Socialism. In the centre he presents the now eighty years old Hugo Höllenreiner, who is one of the few survivors of this crime of the State. Speaking at a memorial in the Munich town hall, Höllenreiner calls the horrors of the past back to life. About half a million Rroma were victims of systematic extermination policies of the National Socialists. Food for thoughts is the fact that theses crimes were only very insufficiently investigated. Stankiewitz emphasizes the often misinterpreted fact that the apparent wandering of the Rroma is not a willed way of life, but rather is the result from the fact that they were not allowed to settle anywhere. Forced to constantly wander, the stereotype of the vagabond Rroma was created. He notes:

It is certain in any case that the immigrant groups and extended families – like the Jews – were not allowed to settle, and he could only exercise certain professions. Thus, the stereotypes of the eternally wandering, nomadic, asocial, or the “free, funny gypsy life” were created. A kitschy representation in art, literature, film and operetta (“The Gypsy Baron”) which is maintained to this day.

At the end of the 19th Century, a systematic monitoring service on Rroma was established. The former police director Alfred Dillmann even set up a “Gypsy Police”, which was to be dedicated on the “containment of dangerous vagrancy”. In inflammatory articles published in the March 1912, “The Gypsy plague”, Rroma were accused of introducing epidemics and of terrorist activities. In Bavaria, in 1926, the “Gypsy and work-avoiders” laws, which among other things criminalised the “travel in hordes” were introduced. Besides this, however, there were always well integrated Rroma who were valued and respected in their professions,   mostly artisanal ones.

With the rise of the Nazis, the systematic criminalization of the Rroma in Germany began. Eugenicists such as Josef Mengele measured the physiognomy of members of the Rroma and presented abstruse theories of racial inferiority and relationships between physique and behaviour. Rroma were identified black triangles, the Rroma equivalent of the Jewish star,  and branded as anti-social and deported to concentration camps. After the war reparation were not paid, as it was claimed that no racial persecution had existed. Databases on travellers were continued well after the War and only disbanded in the 1970s. Stankiewitz concludes:

After the war, the persecuted Sinti and Roma had no political advocates in contrast to other groups of victims. The Höllreiner family, those who survived, were never compensated for their stolen property and for the time in camps. A reparation was out of the question after the Federal Court in 1956 decided that deportations of Rroma were not a racial persecution, but a “crime-preventive measure”.

Source:

  • Stankiewitz, Karl (2013) Es begann in Bayern. Vom Leidensweg der Sinti und Roma. In: Kulturvollzug vom 15.4.2013. 
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15.03.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Reinger Burger (2013) of the FAZ concerns himself rather one-sidedly with the topic of poverty migration to Germany. He focuses on the media hype surrounding an apartment tower in Duisburg, which is regularly visited by politicians and journalists. There is nothing really new that he can tell, but he lets the residents speak out in an emotionally loaded way without any context with residents complaining about littering and rising crime. The gloomy forecast from people responsible for integration in Duisburg, which says that because of the freedom of movement within Europe that will start at the beginning of 2014, they will need to spend an additional 15 millions, cannot be missing. Men mostly do undeclared work while many young women prostitute themselves. He brings a few new points to the debate namely that many in Germany believed that Rroma, as they are travellers, would only temporarily stay in Germany. The opposite is the case: Many want to stay and build a future for their children, because in Romania and Bulgaria they see no future for themselves. Hannes Swoboda, chairman of the SPD in the European Parliament demands a dedicated Commissioner for Rroma issues. To ignore the situation is not an adequate response to the prevailing events.

The Welt (2013) reports on the action of Saxony’s interior minister Markus Ulbig. He will travel from March 17th to 20th to Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo and talk to state, charities and Rroma representatives. His aim is to rationalise the debate about poverty immigration. Migrants from Southeast Europe are almost to 100% not political refugees but are fleeing poverty. This leads to the abuse of political asylum.

The Bremen SPD politician Martin Korol is being excluded from the local SPD fraction (Möller 2013, Hudemann 2013, Stengel 2013). After anti-Rroma statements were made public on Korol’s website, a public debate started centred on the content and intentions of this blog. Korol tried to appease it, which did not succeed with his party colleagues. From his point of view he wanted to start a constructive debate on the situation of Rroma in Germany. Since his statements go against social democratic principles, an exclusion proceeding has been instituted against him. Korol only just became a citizen of Bremen.

Arndt (2013) is writing a report for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation on the situation of Rroma in Bulgaria. The article consists of a series of statistics which does not describe how they were collected and does not discloses their sources disclosed nor discusses them. Arndt distinguishes initially three dominant minorities in Bulgaria: Bulgarians of Turkish origin, Pomaks and Rroma. About the Rroma living conditions, he reports is fully in line with the standard misery views: the majority of Bulgarian Rroma live in closed communities, 55% in urban areas and 45% in rural areas. The number Rroma completing school is blatantly lower than among ethnic Bulgarians. Illiteracy, particularly among women, is also much higher. Many Rroma children speak little or no Bulgarian, when they arrive at school. This data may be correct, even though in the absence of any sources, criticism is almost impossible. The report becomes problematic when it starts to operate on the level of values. Arndt notes for example that: “Due to the shortcomings of their socialization they often lack the necessary social behavioural patterns required to be successful in school. […] The biggest obstacle to a successful integration is likely to prove to be the ghettos with their patriarchal and feudal, often criminal structures, less so the Roma culture.” What shortcomings in the socialization does Arndt mean? How is this justified? His article postulates facts without context and these are not explained. This approach is seriously to be questioned. 

Sources:

  • Arndt, Marco (2013) Geschlossene Gesellschaft. Zur Lage der Roma in Bulgarien. In: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung – Auslandsbüro Bulgarien vom 8.3.2013.
  • Burger, Reiner (2013) Das bessere Leben im Problem-Hochhaus. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung vom 11.3.2013.
  • Delius, Mara (2013) „Die Zigeuner“, ein imaginäres Kollektiv Europas? In: Die Welt vom 14.3.2013.
  • Die Welt (2013) Ulbig will Situation der Roma auf dem Balkan erkunden. In: Die Welt vom 14.3.2013.
  • Ebbinghaus, Uwe (2013) Europa erfindet die Zigeuner, um sie zu verachten. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung vom 13.3.2013.
  • Hudemann, Steffen (2013) Rassismus oder Denkanstoss? In.: Radio Bremen vom 22.2.2013.
  • Möller, René (2013) SPD meidet Martin Korol. In: Radio Bremen vom 8.3.2013.
  • Staats, Christian (2013) Kitsch und Hass. In: Die Zeit vom 28.2.2013.
  • Stengel, Eckhart (2013) Auch SPD-Fraktion will Rechtsabweichler loswerden. In: Frankfurter Rundschau vom 1.3.2013. 

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15.02.2013 Debate on Transit Sites for Travellers in Paris

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Caroline Sallé of “Le Figaro” reported the efforts of the Mayor of Paris, to organise sites where Travellers can stay. The facilities are to be located in the woods of Boulogne and Vincennes, and are politically controversial. These places, to be voted on Paris’ Council next week, are projected to costs 10 million euro. The idea to have sites for travellers on the outskirts of Paris goes back many years. In 2000 plans were drafted but sites were never built. In 2004 there was a plan to create to 200 smaller sites, a number that was reduced in 2009 to 90 sites. Another project was not implemented due to lack of flood protection and inadequate conservation measures. Even the current two projects are under an unlucky star: The Polo facility near one of the two sites is opposed to the project. Furthermore, the sites must be approved and committed to by many ministries, which can take a long time.

That all Rroma are travellers is a Cliché. There are Rroma travellers, but the majority of the Rroma is and has always been sedentary.

Source:

  • Sallé, Carloline (2013) Des aires des gens du voyage dans les bois de Boulogne et Vincennes. In: Le Figaro vom 7.2.2013. 
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04.01.2013 Rroma in Switzerland

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The radio program «Treffpunk» from DRS1 from the 11. October 2012 elaborated on the situation of Rroma in Switzerland. Swiss-Macedonian Rroma Mustafa Asan, who also participated in the television program «The Club», speaks shortly about the majority of “invisible Rroma” in Switzerland – about 50’000 people, who keep their identity a secret and gives some examples of the language Rromanes. As already explained in former articles, many Rroma people keep their ethnic identity a secret because of the intensity of negative stereotypes attributed to them, which have embedded themselves in the minds of many people and have been 

Stefan Heinichen explains the realities behind the stereotypes: Most Rroma are not travellers but sedentary and live integrated in the different nation states. Interesting for the situation of Switzerland is the differentiation of Rroma and Yeniche: Rroma have their origins in India, whereas the origins of the Yeniche are traced back to central Europe itself. Heinichen explains that the goals of the Rroma Contact Point are to work against misinformation in the media, to sensitize the public about the topic of Rroma, to create a more realistic notion of Rroma amongst the public, the strengthening of Rroma identity, especially amongst young Swiss Rroma, to connect Rroma groups under each other, the fostering of the integration of Rroma into Swiss society and the collaboration with the authorities.

Heinichen emphasizes that Rroma identity is primarily constructed through the language Rromanes, with its Indian origins and its four main dialects: The Nordic, the Balkan, the Carpathian and the Wallachian dialect. Rromanes is mainly a spoken language, with a small amount of textualisation. Not all Rroma speak Rromanes though. The exclusion of Rroma from societies has the paradox side effect to strengthen group cohesion and identity. Heinichen also stresses the importance of the Rroma family for Rroma identity and the reverence to elderly people, especially elderly women. Another tradition, which is talked about in the program, is the notion of honor and shame, which Heinichen explains as a pillar of Rroma traditions.

One issue elaborated by Swiss folklorist Martin Heule is the view of Switzerland as a successful «integration machine», which builds upon economic inclusion. In his perspective, the 50’000 Rroma living in Switzerland were successfully integrated through the well functioning local economy, which incorporated them successfully. Excessive economic competition, as it can be found in more poor countries in Eastern Europe, fosters racial hatred and mutual discrimination.

Source:

  • SRF (2012) Roma in der Schweiz. «Treffpunkt» vom 11.11.2012.
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