{"id":1206,"date":"2014-11-21T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/21-11-2014-discrimination-against-rroma-in-italy\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T11:47:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:47:19","slug":"21-11-2014-discrimination-against-rroma-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/21-11-2014-discrimination-against-rroma-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"21.11.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As in the beginning of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNovember, the Local (2014) reported about the discrimination against Rroma in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tItaly. Subject of contention are the numerous camps in which the Italian \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tauthorities deliberately hold the minority at the margins of society. The \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconditions in these state camps are heavily criticised: the air is insufficient \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto breath, an inmate says, as well as the hygiene: tuberculosis, scabies and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlice are much more frequently than usual. The permanent monitoring in the camps, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twhich is part of the facilities, leads particularly among children to anxiety \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand sleep disorders as well as phobias, the Rroma Rights Centre criticises in a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treport: \u201cIt [the Rroma Rights Centre] also \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twarned of daily discrimination and violence against Roma in “an \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tever-growing climate of racism”, including repeated cases of local \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tresidents attacking camps with Molotov cocktails while police turn a blind eye. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlthough over half the 170,000 or so Roma and Sinti people in Italy are Italian \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcitizens with regular jobs and houses, hate crimes against the poorest strata \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tare rife, fuelled by inflammatory comments by politicians on both the left and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tright quick to paint Roma as crooks. [\u2026] Camp dwellers are prevented by council \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tregulations from applying for public housing even if they were born in Italy, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttrapping them permanently in fenced-off centres far from schools, shops, health \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcare centres or workplaces.\u201d <\/em>Because of this strong discrimination against \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma, the European Commission has threatened legal actions against the Italian \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgovernment for violation of the anti-discrimination legislation. Rroma belong \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto all social strata, but are indeed particularly affected by poverty and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscrimination. Since the euro and economic crisis, various parties especially instrumentalise \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthem as scapegoats for social ills. As in France, the public image of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tminority is marked by extreme prejudice and misinformation: in the minds of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmany Italians, Rroma are synonymous with the residents of camps in the suburbs. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe aspect of social exclusion is largely ignored.<\/p>\n