Daily Archives: mars 22, 2013

22.03.2013Human Trafficking, Prostitution, and Rroma in Switzerland

Published by:

Simon Hehli (2013) reports on the work of 20minutes of investigators in the Zurich milieu. They search local establishments and the street scene for victims of human trafficking. Who is the victim and who is not, is not easy to determine, since the women, for fear of reprisals, often avoid the subject. The boundaries between wilful prostitution and exploitation are often not clearly defined, which makes exploitation difficult to combat. The article does not deal primarily with Rroma, but rather with the problem of human trafficking in Switzerland and the associated exploitation. It is noted that most of the prostitutes on the open street scene in Zurich are Hungarian Rroma women. It should be emphasized that there is no connection between Rroma identity and prostitution per se, apart from the glaring poverty of Rroma in Hungary. Rroma prostitution is a result of exploitation and poverty and has nothing to do with Rroma origins.

Source:

  • Hehli, Simon (2013) Mit Stettler und Kälin auf dem Roma-Strich. In: 20minuten vom 15.3.2013.  

22.03.2013 The Invisible Rroma from Germany

Published by:

The ARD report “How Roma experience discrimination in Germany” (2013) shows how strong the prejudices of the majority against the Rroma truly are, and are increasing now due to the current debate. The media hype about Rroma as social help recipients and as the cause of rising crime and littering, is contrasted in this report against integrated Rroma from Germany. They – except the protagonist of the documentary – keep their identity secret. There were too many bad experiences with negative stereotypes. The young Rroma student depicted in the report is an exception. She wants to make a difference politically, right the highly distorted picture that society has on Rroma. The report shows clearly, how strong the power of media and prejudices are.

Even articles such as the one of the TAZ (2013) confirm the public perception that neglected Rroma living on the border of criminality. Although the article highlights the positive efforts of the Berlin Integration Supervisor Monika Lüke who wants to build a dormitory for homeless Rroma, it is such a one-sided reporting resulting in an nourishing the problem mentioned in the above report, namely that of a unilateral construction of identity of the Rroma based on negative sterotypes.

Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev, in an interview with the German magazine Focus, disputes the existence of a mass migration of Roma to Germany (Epoch Times Germany 2013). The statistics are doubtful. On often speaks of millions of Rroma in Bulgaria, even though according to government statistics, only 300,000 Rroma live in that country. Bulgaria also has undertaken massive efforts to secure its border. He criticized that Romania and Bulgaria unfortunately always serve as convenient explanation for problems of the partner countries of Europe (Europe Online Magazine 2013).

The German President Joachim Gauck criticized during his visit to Schleswig-Hohlstein the hysterical debate on Rroma immigration from Romania and Bulgaria and the ignoble tradition of discrimination and exclusion (Spiegel Online 2003). He stressed that the people left their homes because of poverty and discrimination and stated it is wrong to stigmatize an entire ethnic group. Such prejudices are a disrespect for the well integrated Rroma living in Germany since the 1960s. The statement quoted at the end of the article stating that “in the first six months of last year, about 500,000” emigrated from Romania and Bulgaria to Germany is to be really questioned. This would truly correspond to the predicted mass immigration.

Dagmar Rosenfeld and Özlem Topcu (2013) of the Zeit see the feared mass immigration in Duisburg already having become a reality. They visited a high-rise building in the district Rheinhausen Bergheim, where mainly Rroma are living. 6’176 people from Bulgaria and Romania, mainly Rroma have immigrated recently to Duisburg. The report cited report on immigration from South-eastern Europe (Duisburg 2013) notes that Duisburg, because of its numerous, empty houses in poor condition attracts poor immigrants. Not every immigrant child can be offered a pace in school because rooms and teachers are missing and many of the immigrant children and adults cannot read nor write. In addition, there is also probably forced and child prostitution. The article concludes with the sober observation that social peace in Duisburg is in jeopardy. Emotional and hatred have taken hold.

Sources:           

  • Epoch Times Deutschland (2013) Bulgariens Präsident bestreitet massenhafte Zuwanderung von Roma in andere EU-Staaten. In: Epoch Times Deutschland vom 22.3.2013.
  • Europe Online Magazine (2013) Plewneliew: Keine massenhafte Zuwanderung bulgarischer Roma. In: Europe Online Magazine vom 22.3.2013.
  • Memarina, Susanne (2013) Wohnen ist das Problem. In: TAZ vom 21.3.2013.
  • Rosenfeld, Dagmar / Topcu, Özlem (2013) Das umkämpfte Haus. In: Die Zeit vom 14.3.2013.
  • Schayani, Isabel / Onneken, Peter (2013) Ausgerenzt: Wie Roma in Deutschland Diskriminierung erleben. In: Monitor (WDR) vom 14.3.2013.
  • Stadt Duisburg (2013) Zuwanderung von Menschen aus Südost-Europa. In: http://www.wir-sind-du.de/?p=5227 (22.3.2013).
  • Spiegel online (2013) Gauck macht sich für Sinti und Roma stark. In: Spiegel online vom 22.3.2013. 

22.03.2013 Rroma and Lunik IX in Slowakia

Published by:

When, during the 1980s, it was decided to renovate the old city of Kosice, a large part of the local Rroma population which used to live in the historical centre was moved out to the newly build Prefab Housing estate Lunik IX. Contact with the rest of the population was not established, so Rroma were soon isolated and Lunik IX became what can be qualified as a ghetto. Alena Wagnerova (2013) questions precisely this state of ghettoization. What the numerous journalists who travelled missed in their standard reports is to take a look at the inside of apartments, an inside that contrary to the staircases and courtyards is clean, well maintained and generally very much “petit bourgeois”. She notes:

The Roma distinguish between indoors and outdoors: indoors is maintained a, outside is simply considered as a storage space associated which does not matter is not even perceived. […] The “White” are interested in the outdoor, which one sees, but the inside, where you could get closer look at the life of the Roma, no one sees.

Wagnerkova then draws a picture of the Rroma as the losers of the transformation from socialism to post-socialist system. While full employment prevailed in the East Bloc before 1989, after the fall of socialism, the number of jobs diminished drastically. Especially affected were often poorly trained Rroma. During this transition period, she identifies a constant, namely the tutelage and external attribution of stereotypes on Rroma. This vicious circle leads to this negative external view of Rroma to be internalised among them. The ascription of collective guilt for negative actions of single individuals is a large concern, but this attitude is prevalent amongst the majority:

“And the culprit was not a Jew?” Franz Kafka’s mother used ask, with worry in her voice, whenever they heard or read about a crime. […] With Jews this would no longer be allowed today, but with Roma the act of a single one them is sufficient for all to be blamed. […] The most important thing to understand is that the Roma issue is a problem of poverty and not a problem of an “inferior ethnic group,” “which now falls on us.” This can certainly not be solved with an increase in social assistance, which leaves people in a state of passivity and dependence, but only through employment and skills improvements.

Wagnerova’s article manages to present a differentiated picture of the situation of Rroma in Slovakia. They are not made pretty and not romanticized. Her article should be taken as an example for other journalists who report on Rroma.

Source:

  • Wagnerova, Alena (2013) Die Lehre von Lunik IX. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung vom 22.3.2013. 

22.03.2013 Negative Perception of Rroma in the Czech Republic

Published by:

Radio Praha (2013) reports on the persistent problem of discrimination against Rroma in the Czech Republic. Prejudice and racism against Rroma are still widespread in the Czech Republic, and are traditionally anchored. There are also structural disadvantages such as their exclusion in the education and in the labour market, which prevents a long-term change in their situation. The findings are the result of the shadow report of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR).

Source:

  • Kachlíková, Markéta (2013) Rassismus-Jahresbericht: Negative Wahrnehmung von Roma in Tschechien. In: Radio Praha vom 21.3.2013. 

22.03.2013 Cynical Optimism about Hungarian Rroma

Published by:

Pester Lloyd (2013) reports on the ambivalent statement of the chairman of the national self-government of the Rroma in Hungary. Florian Farkas postulates that since Fidesz’s arrival to power in 2010, around 36,000 Rroma were reintegrated into the labour market. Pester Lloyd denies this optimismic view with the statement that the majority of these new positions are actually subsidized jobs or local employment programs, and therefore no real progress has been achieved. In these local programs they were also “partly at the mercy of racist supervisory methods”. The optimism about increasing graduation rates is also ambivalent, since ethnicity is not noted on statistics.

 Source:

  • Pester Lloyd (2013) “Erfolgsmeldungen” vom Chef der Roma in Ungarn. In: Pester Lloyd vom 22.3.2013. 
rroma.org
fr_FRFrançais