Daily Archives: juin 28, 2013

28.06.2013 Rroma Debate in France

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Bran (2013) reports on the tense relationship between Romania and France, a relationship that deteriorated due to the Rroma two countries’ Rroma policies. French politicians such as Pierre Lellouche claims that Romania intentionally does nothing against the migration of Rroma to France, greets the funds they receive from French social services and that the country does not take integration policies seriously enough. Thus, Romania is an unworthy member country of the European Union and is a “rogue state”: “Vous ne pouvez pas ignorer les conditions parfaitement indignes que les Roms subissent dans votre pays, malgré les milliards d’euros déversés par l’Europe pour aider la Roumanie à intégrer cette minorité. Ce comportement n’est pas digne d’un Etat de l’Union et, je le répète, c’est le comportement d’un Etat voyou. J’ai le regret de vous dire qu’aucune formule de politesse ne me vient à l’esprit.[You cannot ignore the perfectly horrid conditions that Rroma are subjected to in your country, in spite of the billions of Euro poured by Europe to help Romania to integrate this minority. This behaviours is not worthy of a Member State of the Union, and, I repeat it, is the behaviour of a hooligan state. I regret to say that no politeness forms comes to my mind.]

Bran then continues to show the evolution of French Rroma policies: Initially, one tried, with the gift of sheep to Rroma to bind them to Romania. When this turned out to fail, one granted 300 euro to voluntary returnees to Romania. This policy was not really successful either, and many came to France for the return money. Since the accession of Romania to the European Union, France deports annually approximately 10,000 Rroma to Romania. The two countries policies towards Rroma are not furthering the situation, something that would require the long term integration of Rroma, and currently are simply a mutual back and fro deportation of an unwanted minority.

Piquemal (2013) emphasizes in her article that the circular from the 28.08.2012, calling for an orderly implementation of the evictions is only very occasionally applied. The still regular evictions lead to the failure of integration efforts and the aggravate the traceability of medical assistance programs. In addition, the fear of identity checks keeps  Rroma away from health institutions. Thus, for example, vaccination programs that require repeated treatment are difficult or impossible due to the evictions. Therefore, people such as Pascale Quivy of Romeurope engage themselves for the maintenance of these settlements. Fixing the population facilitates the medium-to long-term integration. To promote this, Rroma immigrants should also get working papers in a easier way, something that until now is difficult. As of January 2014, obtaining work permits in France should be facilitated by the bilateral agreements between the EU member states. However, this does not delight everyone. Rightist politicians are engaged against the integration of the Rroma and they want to make them go back to Romania and other countries of origin.

Vallet (2013) emphasises in her article the greatly inadequate health care for many Rroma. The non-governmental organization Médecins du Monde pointed out in a report on the medical the blatant abuses of this minority. Thus, the infant mortality rate of Rroma in Romania is twice as high as in the rest of the population, the same is true of malnutrition. Regarding health care, the report back to the same conclusions as the ones from Piquemal (2013). The evictions lead to additional deterioration of health: “En France, le suivi médical des Roms, vivant en grande majorité dans de vastes bidonvilles, est rendu complexe par la politique d’expulsions systématiques conduite par les gouvernements, de droite comme de gauche, depuis plusieurs années.[In France the medical follow-up of Rroma, living in a large majority in large slums is becoming exceedingly complex due to the systematic evictions conducted by the governments – left or right – since years.] An additional barrier is the lack of language skills and inadequate funding for treatments that need to be paid. Representatives of Médecins du Monde require easier access to health care institutions and a more mobile structures.

Depecker (2013) reports on a citizens meeting in Roubaix, which will have legal consequences. On the evening of 21 May 2013, the mayor of Roubaix summoned the residents of the street d’Avelghem to inform them about the establishment of a Rroma housing project in their neighbourhood. The project includes the construction of 52 residential units. The majority reactions were negative and led to racist abuse such as statements that one should send Rroma to Auschwitz or to otherwise destroy them. Ten days after the event, the mayor of Roubaix, Pierre Dubois, filed a complaint against for incitation to racial hatred. The police will now ask the participants of the event about the identity of the persons concerned.

Sources:

  • Bran, Mirel (2013) Mots doux autour des Roms. In: Le Monde online vom 28.6.2013.
  • Depecker, Vincent (2013) «Envoyer les Roms à Auschwitz»: une enquête ouverte après la plainte du maire de Roubaix. In: Nord Eclair online vom 26.6.2013.
  • Piquemal, Marie (2013) Roms: Les associations dénoncent «une politique absurde» In: Libération online vom 27.6.2013.
  • Vallet, Cédric (2013) Europe : Des Roms en mauvaise santé. In: Alter Echos online vom 28.6.2013. 

28.06.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany and Austria

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In a long article, Carstens (2013) reports on the Romania trip of the Berlin district councillor Franziska Giffey. He tries to present a detailed picture of the situation on the ground, but he fails due to his preconceived belief that all Rroma want to move to Germany. He describes the representatives of the Romanian village Cojasca as caricatures but who are ultimately only interested in profit through economic relations with Germany. The mayor of Cojasca, according to Carsten, tries first to get Giffeys to agree to finance a factory with German money, then switches to asking for funds for the local school canteen and ends with offering his services in Germany as a translator. Carsten’s bottom line reasoning is simple: children’s allowances and benefits in Neukölln and in general in Germany are so high when compared with the low income in Romania, so that it provides essential stimulus for migration wherever poverty exists. He may not be wrong, but he oversimplifies the complexity of transnational migrations. He neglects questions about social cohesion of groups and communities, does not ask anything about the history of the Rroma in Romania, does not question the Romanian and German migration policies. If migration is considered only from an economical perspective as this often happens and is also Carsten’s view, questions about social integration, historicity, the role of individuals and the power of political discourse are simply neglected. Poverty migration exists, but it is not nearly as one-dimensional as Carsten’s represent it: It also takes courage to leave one’s own home behind and to travel to another country whose language you do not speak properly. Transnational relations are formed more or less depending on the structures of the participating countries and the possibilities of the involved persons. He who upholds the rules of the free market and therefore the freedom of workers should be self-critical, if he / she sees the new residents of a given country as poverty migrants from other countries who actually come as bearers of wealth and expertise. The reality is more than the just visible on the surface and certainly not just an intellectual construct.

Dernbach (2013) points out in her article the widespread pejorative views about Rroma. On the occasion of the presentation of Markus End’s findings “antiziganism – the state of research and the counter-strategies” she discusses the situation of Rroma in Germany. End points out that the stereotypes are still strong in the minds of the masses and that the thematising violence and discrimination against Rroma usually only is put in relation to events in Eastern Europe and not in their own country.

End (2013) points out in his publication about strong grievances regarding media coverage and the public abuse of Rroma. There is almost no research which focuses on antiziganism, the regulation of the press provides insufficient protection against discrimination, politicians can even make derogatory or racist remarks against Rroma without any consequences. Broad sections of the population continue to exhibit strong prejudices against Rroma, such as the belief that Rroma tend to criminality. Based on those views, discriminatory acts against Rroma occur regularly and these are seldom followed upon.

Hämerle (2013) spoke with the Romanian President Basescu on the relationship between Romania and the European Union. The conversation also covered the role of Rroma. Basescu stated: “There are virtually no problems with Romanians who emigrated, the whole debate revolves around the economic migration of the Rroma. But the Western states dare not to say this, which is why they prefer to talk about problems with Romanian immigrants. We will then make progress when they openly admit: Yes, the Rroma minority is causing problems, and we need to resolve this.” Regarding this point, Basescu seems to be poorly informed about the German, French and English media. There, this is in fact treated exactly as a Rroma  problem or question. Basescu sees a reluctance of Romanian Rroma to use existing educational opportunities. Combined with the significant differences in wealth between Germany and Romania, the raises the economic migration question. To solve this migration and to better integrate the Rroma needs a pan-European solution.

Gottschlich (2013) reports on the efforts of the North Rhine Westphalia Interior Minister Ralf Jäger to better integrate the Rroma in the cities of the province. The federal government is also required to get involved, as signing of the Schengen Agreement on the free movement of persons resulted in increased migration and in the concentration of migrants in individual cities. Specifically, he called for the safeguarding of health care and the promotion of school enrolment. But efforts in the countries of origin such as Romania and Bulgaria are required.

Sources:

  • Carstens, Peter (2013) Willkommen im Roma-Dorf. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung vom 26.6.2013. 
  • Dernbach, Andrea (2013) Sinti und Roma beklagen Vorurteile. In: Der Tagesspiegel online vom 27.6.2013.
  • End, Markus (2013) Antiziganismus. Zum Stand der Forschung und der Gegenstrategien. In: Mediendienst Integration online vom 28.6.2013.
  • Gottschlich, Peter (2013) Roma-Zuwanderung: Innenminister Ralf Jäger will Städten helfen. In: RP online vom 24.6.2013.
  • Hämmerle, Walter (2013) «Ja, Roma werden diskriminiert» In: Wiener Zeitung online vom 27.6.2013. 

28.06.2013 Human Trafficking, Rroma, and Switzerland

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The Swiss TV (2013) interviewed Jean-Luc Vez, Director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol). According to Fedpol’s Annual Report 2012, during the year, 5’055 reports of human trafficking were logged. According Vez, the clear increase in reports is due to the introduction of the witness protection program for victims of human trafficking. According to the report, 69% of those affected are from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and are members of the Rroma minority.

Source:

  • Schweizer Fernsehen (2013) Menschenhandel – es kommt Licht ins Dunkel. In: Schweizer Fernsehen online vom 25.6.2013. 

28.06.2013 European Rroma Policies

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The Swiss TV (2013), the Blick (2013) and the Neue Luzerner Zeitung (2013) all report on the plans of the European Commission, to push its Member States to better integrate  Rroma. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to bring the EU states to not only tap EU money but also use federal funds to promote integration. Access to the labour market, education, and housing should be improved. The result of previous integration efforts was quite sobering. The Swiss television contributes with its short article to the dissemination of false stereotypes. The use of the word “traveller” in the title, a word used afterwards synonymously with Rroma, simply does not represent the  reality. Most Rroma are not travellers but are sedentary: The so-called travelling lifestyle is the result of persecution and exclusion. The Rroma are not only the people who live in slums and cannot not read or write, as written by Ms. Katarina Linke from Dusseldorf in her comments, but are also the well-trained, integrated and therefore invisible Rroma. To accuse them of arrogance and lack of will to integrate ignores the fact that integration is a two way process that depends on structures and personal powers to act. What is described in the comments as the identity of the Rroma is an ethnicisation of poverty and has nothing to do with the origin of Rroma. Statements like “I’ve seen it myself in the hospital, with what arrogance Rroma made outrageous support, although they can not read and write, and the men want to have any regular job” ou “What is the EU doing when the Roma give a damn about integration, education, labour market, etc.? Is far as I know, they just want to travel and do no want to settle anywhere,” are uncouth generalizations that are intellectually belong to the last century. That ordinary people’s knowledge is so easily manipulated by politics and that they see the Rroma culture as an explanation for all possible problems are deeply upsetting.

In the article of the Kurier (2013) also mentioned that EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding is incensed about the blatant discrepancy between the spoken about integration measures and their effective implementation. This reluctance towards the implementation of integration policies has to do with the widespread views that Rroma will be a burden to the Western European welfare systems and that they are not willing to integrate. That these statements reduce the complexity of reality and are part of massive voting-campaign policies is often ignored (see Standke 2013). The statistics which assumes that four-fifths of Roma living in the European Union live in poverty, that only every third of them works and that half of Roma children are not attending kindergarten (Die Welt, 2013) may be true, but it is highly disturbing to reduce this problems of poverty to Rroma culture and to blame them for a lack of willingness to integrate. This notion of deliberate disintegration is deliberately encouraged by populist politicians and finds shockingly enough echo into the minds of many people.

The 02elf Abendbaltt (2013) adds important information in reporting on the comments of EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor, who says that the networking of the parties involved in the implementation of integration policies need to be strengthened. A policy from above, which negates the needs at the local level or pays to too little attention to it is prone to practical ineffectiveness. Andor aptly stated: “The civil society and representatives of the Roma communities themselves must be fully involved in the implementation and monitoring of policies for Roma inclusion. They to be involved exactly as the national Roma contact points in the ongoing planning of the use of EU funds for the 2014-2020 period.” Specifically, there seems to be a big difference between the awarded integrations wishes and their effective implementation, as the EU Member States have not committed to real action.

Sources:

  • 02elf Abendblatt (2013) Roma: Kommission ruft Mitgliedstaaten zu stärkeren Bemühungen um Integration auf. In: 02elf Abendblatt vom 26.6.2013.
  • Blick (2013) EU-Kommission: EU-Staaten müssen Roma besser integrieren. In: Blick online vom 26.6.2013.
  • Die Welt (2013) EU: Länder in Mitteleuropa müssen Ausgrenzung von Roma beenden. In: Die Welt online vom 26.6.2013.
  • Kurier (2013) Roma in der EU: 80 Prozent leben in Armut. In: Kurier online (Österreich) vom 26.6.2013.
  • Neue Luzerner Zeitung (2013) Bessere Integration für Roma gefordert. In: Neue Luzerner Zeitung online vom 26.6.2013.
  • Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (2013) EU will Roma besser integrieren. In: Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen vom 26.6.2013.
  • Standke, Olaf (2013) Brüssel unzufrieden mit Roma-Integration. In: Neues Deutschland online vom 27.6.2013. 
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