{"id":1427,"date":"2013-06-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/07-06-2013-zoltan-balog-and-the-hungarian-rroma-strategy\/"},"modified":"2022-08-05T09:26:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T08:26:32","slug":"07-06-2013-zoltan-balog-and-the-hungarian-rroma-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/07-06-2013-zoltan-balog-and-the-hungarian-rroma-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"07.06.2013 Zoltan Balog and the Hungarian Rroma strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the article in the NZZ (2013), Zoltan \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBalog, the Hungarian Minister of Education, Health and Social Affairs wants \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthat Rroma feel themselves as Hungarian citizens. This also means that they should \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpay taxes, health insurance and pension contributions. Enrolment in employment \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprograms and scholarships should further the integration of the Rroma in the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlabour market. Critics see the Hungarian employment programs as humiliating \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tforced labour, which offers no real future.<\/p>\n

Friday the 7th of June, Balog will lecture \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ton \u201cHungary’s Roma – Problem or chance\u201d at the University of Zurich (Zemp \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2013). The lecture is organised by the alumni of the Faculty of Law, the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEuropean Institute of the University of Zurich and the Hungarian Embassy. The \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlawyer Philip Stolkin criticised that one thus continues a tradition of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlectures set to talk about<\/em> members of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tethnic groups without<\/em> their \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tparticipation, i.e. without them. The organisers referred to Balog\u2019s good \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treputation and to the freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

Balog\u2019s lecture proved to be the quintessence of a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsmart politician: he gave an eloquent, almost blooming speech on Hungary’s \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegration strategy for the Rroma. He began with discussion of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trequirements of life in an industrial society, which he – and this at least can \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbe criticised \u2013 he contrasted to the Rroma as a \u201cnatural society\u201d, something which \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdoes not reflect reality. He then spoke of the forced integration during the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsocialist times and the portrayal of Rroma as a turning as being losers of the change \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof system. Concerning the present situation, there is an increasing poverty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdriven between Rroma and impoverished Magyars underclass, and thus an increased \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tracism. The actual plans of the Hungarian government for Rroma were presented \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tas a costing comparison between integration and segregation. If segregation is maintained \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tit will cost significantly to the state than more than if Rroma were \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsuccessfully integrated. Hungary European Rroma strategy is based on the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpromotion of education, support for the integration into the labour market and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe fight against social segregation. This includes the establishment of courses \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ton the culture, language and history of the Rroma in public schools. On this \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpoint, Balog proved that he isinfluenced by clich\u00e9s when he began to speak of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe role models of successful Rroma musicians: Successful Rroma are far from \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlimited to the field of music, but are also found in many non-traditional \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprofessional groups.<\/p>\n

All the eloquence and persuasiveness of Balog to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdemonstrate the enormous efforts undertaken by the Hungarian government to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegrate the Rroma, the burning question of the social reality and social \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpractice in the effective use of the Rroma needs to be asked. Balog\u2019s lecture gave \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe impression it is a part of the Hungarian foreign policy aimed at leaving a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpositive image of Hungary with its trading partners. Reports in newspapers such \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tas the Pester Lloyd paint a less rosy picture of the situation of Rroma in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHungary. Whether Balog\u2019s ambitious plans are actually translated into reality \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tis to be hoped but is also doubtful.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n