{"id":1553,"date":"2013-06-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/14-06-2013-rroma-debate-in-germany\/"},"modified":"2022-08-21T07:33:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-21T06:33:41","slug":"14-06-2013-rroma-debate-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/14-06-2013-rroma-debate-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"14.06.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Schelp (2013) provides information on the work of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tso-called Rroma mediators, who in Germany mediate between teachers and newly \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tenrolled Rroma children. One of them is Valentina Asimovic. She helps a teacher \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin Berlin-Kreuzberg in her work with a class without any knowledge of German. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe quoted sociologist Christoph Leucht sees a lack of education amongst many \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\timmigrant families. A majority of families rate the importance of education as low, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbecause they themselves only enjoyed minimal training. To counterbalance this view \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinto is important in order to offer the largest possible selection of options \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfor the future of the children. In this perspective, one needs to add, that by \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tno means all immigrants are from educationally disadvantaged social strata. There \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tare also very educated immigrants, but not in the spotlight of media attention. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThat all parents want to marry off their daughters early and send their sons as \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tearly as possible to work also needs to be relativised. The work of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmediators has proved to be very helpful. They are far more than mere translators. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThey help in conflicts between teachers, students and their families and enable \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbetter integration of all involved. In spite of the positive perspective, the article \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdoes not succeed to alleviate many stereotypes about the supposed backwardness \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof Rroma. The impression remains that the great part of them consists of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tilliterates and women willing to bear child. The article ends with the not \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treally positive statement: \u201cA letter \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twould make no sense: the Roma parents often cannot read it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

K\u00f6hler (2013) covers the same subject with a focus on \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe \u201cWelcome Class\u201d for Rroma children in Neuk\u00f6lln. Already 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\tthe article, she falls article in ethnic faux pas. She attests taht the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchildren do not know what social rules are and how to behave in a group. The \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfocus, however, is the visit of the Romanian Rroma responsible Damian Draghici, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twho was invited by the local education Councillor Franziska Giffey. Around 800 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchildren from Romania currently go to school in Neuk\u00f6lln. The integration of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchildren was very successful in terms of learning the language and structures. However, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthere were more problems among the children themselves. Many Rroma children \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twere marginalised by children of Turkish and Arab descent. The centre topic of Damian \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDraghici\u2019s book is, among others, the question of the inefficient integration \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicy in Romania: Why do so many subsidies are go unused, and how the bilateral \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicies on the integration of Rroma can be improved.<\/p>\n

Kimmel Fichtner (2010) reported in 2010 about the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmaro Kher school in Cologne. There, Rroma children are prepared for the public \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tschools. The goal is \u201cto break vicious circle of misery, exclusion, lack of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teducation and crime.\u201d A media campaign representing Rroma children as thieves \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tis the cause of the school creation. The city of Cologne then decided together \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twith the association Rom e.V. to support the Amaro Kher school. During a year \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchildren are prepared for the have public schools and receive intensive \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpreparatory German courses, learn the basics of reading, writing and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tarithmetic. In addition, they should develop a resilience to difficult \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsituations. According to the insiders, the project has been successful and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tallows many of the children a better future.<\/p>\n

Borchard (2013) covers the situation of Rroma in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRomania. He focuses on the fate of Neli Moc, who goes regularly for two months to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdo harvest work on a farm in Germany. With the money earned there – about 2,000 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teuro – she can live relatively well for the rest of the year: \u201cNeli Moc is an example that most Romanians, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\talso those from the poorest backgrounds, come to work in Germany quite legally.\u201d<\/em> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs contrast, Borchard tells the story of the Grozav family. According to the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmother, they went to France because of paid return assistance of 300 euro per \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tperson and stayed there several weeks. The short article concludes with the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstatement: \u201cOne thing is clear among Roma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfamilies in Apoldu de Sus [Romania]. As long as the conditions do not improve \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin Romania, they will keep trying to come to Germany or France either as \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tharvesters, or in the hope of doctors visits or return premiums.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Bogdal (2013) begins his article on the Rromadebatte \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twith a quote from Thomas Mann. He set firmly in 1945: \u201cA nation, with whom no one can live, how can it live itself” <\/em>Thomas \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMann did not mean anything about Rroma, but was speaking about Germans. After \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe end of the Nazi regime, many ethnic Germans in in Poland, Czechoslovakia \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand Romania, had a real image problem for the residents of their host \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcountries. They were marginalized, displaced and forced to do the simplest \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twork: \u201cExiled, despised because of their \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tethnicity, having become homeless, without possessions and shelter. millions \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[German] moved westward from region to region, suspiciously regarded, often \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\texploited, often forced to beg and to do menial work until they could gain a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfoothold anywhere. The same could be said of Roma today.\u201d<\/em> Bogdal sees the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfate of Rroma after the collapse of the socialist system as very similar. Many \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma are attracted away to Western Europe where better economic conditions and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tless discrimination awaits them, a move encouraged by the removal of borders in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe wake of the consolidation of the European Union. Bogdal criticizes that the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tissue is being hyped as security policy issue, rather than to be accepted as a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsocio-political challenge to master and to solve bilaterally with the countries \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof origin.<\/p>\n

There follows a paragraph about their migration from \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIndia and arrival in Europe. After a short period of acquiescence follows a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttradition of exclusion, contempt and negative identity attribution, leading, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taccording to Bogdal to criminalization and ethnicisation of poverty. Since the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnlightenment, they are often described as illiterate with no history, science, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand without their own state. Thus, the idea that living together with the Rroma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tis not possible was consolidated in the minds of many. Even their mere presence \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tis a threat. In this context, phenomena such as mountains of waste, child labour, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprostitution or bands of tugs can be described as cultural ones, even though \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthey have nothing to do with culture. Bogdal sees it as a pan-European task to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfurther integration and acceptance of Rroma. This has to happen in Germany but \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tespecially in countries with a large Rroma population such as in Romania, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBulgaria, and Hungary. Bogdal\u2019s article provides knowledgeable and eloquent to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinformation about the situation of Rroma in Europe. He doesn\u2019t present a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsimplified picture but attempts to address the complexity of the issue itself. We \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twish for more such articles.<\/p>\n

Schmidt (2013) discusses the processing of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHolocaust by the German Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ). The Central Council \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof German Sinti and Roma has asked the ministry to investigate the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscrimination of Rroma by the German post-war justice. Romani Rose, chairman \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof the Central Council clearly states that \u201cThe \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcontinuing exclusion and discrimination of our minority at the hand of former \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tperpetrators in their new positions after 1945 continued almost unbroken and shaped \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe resentment against Sinti and Roma.\u201d<\/em> He refers to the continuity of the commissions \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand expert from before and after the war, which were maintained by embedding them \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twithin the Justice Department and allowing to continue their anti-minority \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicies. It was thus possible for the lawyer Franz Ma\u00dffeller, despite his \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsupport and participation in Nazi racial policies, to continue to work until \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1964 after the war in a high position within the Federal Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n

Bauerdick\u2019s (2013) book, \u201cGypsy: Encounters with unloved \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpeople\u201d tries to find a direct path to the world of the Rroma. Bauerdick thinks \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlittle of intellectual discourses, deconstructions of external attributions and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tanti-Gypsy research. He shows to an almost radical pragmatism and, through his \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmany years of research trips, promises to provide a realistic picture of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlife of the Roma in Europe. He embarks on this tricky terrain and decidedly does \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnot want to be politically correct. He reproaches the Rroma to lack \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tresponsibility. Many have made it so comfortable for themselves to be perceived \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tas victims and have now taken this view as their own. In his very emphatic \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdescriptions of life in the slums, which present Rroma as cheerful as well as \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tapathetic and inactive about their own situation, Bauerdick commits the mistake \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof excessively culturalising his own experiences and of generalizing. He is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgeneralizing in the preface when he states: \u201cFor \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthere is also another truth. After countless meetings in more than twenty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tyears, I remember nary a Rrom who wanted a piece of responsibility for \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthemselves as the root of his misery, never mind who acknowledged it.\u201d<\/em> Compared \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto the complexity of the reality of Rroma, he falls short. This reality is not \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tjust consisting of Rroma in the slums of Europe, but also includes invisible \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma in Western European countries, Rroma to which one can not just quickly go \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twith the car and camera due to their integration and blandness. But they form \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpart of the Rroma reality exactly as much as the visible Rroma Rroma, that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBauerdick describes in his book. If you read only Bauerdick\u2019s book and not others \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsuch as like Bogdals\u2019s book \u201cEurope invented the Gypsies\u201d, one can believe that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tall Rroma have many children, live in slums and wait for a better life that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnever happens.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, one must agree with him when he \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdenounces the fact that the reasons for many Rroma\u2019s misery is only being looked \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tat in the structures of society and xenophobia, but not among Rroma themselves. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHe is certainly right, but he does them wrong when he reduces it only to their \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\town power of action, which is very limited in for many. To say that intellectuals \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand anti-Gyspsyism researcher do not trust Rroma to do something for themselves, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsimplifies reality too much. When G\u00fcnter Grass says that Rroma have no voice, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\the means their weakness in relation to national policies, but not the ability \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof individuals to change something about their situation. Also, the statements \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthat intellectuals would only ever see Rroma as victims and deny their own \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tresponsibility falls short. These statements do not take into account the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tevident imbalance of power in society, power consisting of structures, policies \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand spread of knowledge as well as from individual action. Bauerdick does not \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdo justice to the complexity of these circumstances in his polemical \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdescriptions. When he uncritically cites passages from Karl Gauss\u2019 bok \u201cThe dog \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teaters Svinia\u201d, where Rromak\u00f6nige, begging gangs and mafia-like structures are \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdescribed as part of the Rromakultur, he commits the very same mistake against \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twhich he actually writes: He ethnicises the poverty phenomena and describes the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmutual exploitation of Rroma as a cultural problem.<\/p>\n

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