Category Archives: Hungary

France Allemagne Hongire Kosovo Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

12.04.2013 International Day of Rroma: Call to End Discrimination

Published by:

On the occasion of the International Day of the Rroma on April 8th, the Green Party decidedly demands an end to discrimination of Rroma in Europe. Too many Rroma are still excluded either by informal or explicit policies of social advancement and recognition. Since its inauguration in 1971 in London, the International Day of Rroma was celebrated 42 times, and the Green party criticized in particular the political exploitation of Rroma for purposes of election campaigns. This turns them into poverty refugees and makes them the targets of an emotionalised socio-political conflict. The Green Party calls for effective implementation of the EU initiated Rroma strategy, which up to now only had very modest successes.

The chairman of the Austrian Association of Rroma, Rudolf Sarközy stressed during the day, the constructive support of the Catholic Churchto bring the Rroma from the edge of society to get into its mainstream. Former Chancellor Franz Vranitzky openly criticized the anti-Roma policies in France, Hungary and other EU countries that are not really different from questionable practices usually found in emerging countries (Katholische Presseagentur Österreich 2013).

Stille (2013), on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the Rroma day, draws sober conclusions: Although with some 15 million members, Rroma are the largest minority in Europe, they are shockingly underrepresented in politics. Exclusion, discrimination and physical threats are still the norm. One builds walls, to isolate them from other settlements, extreme right-wing citizen militias patrol Rroma neighbourhoods and provoke and abuse Rroma and Rromnja. Nearly 60 years after the genocide of Rroma under the Nazis, this fact, in contrast to the Jewish Holocaust is barely recognised. The negative stereotypes that are attributed to Rroma continue unabated. War refugees from Kosovo are afraid of deportation to a country that they no longer know and where they are discriminated against. Romani Rose, of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma warns against blanket criminalization of people who are not looking to become delinquent, but are looking for a future. Finally, Stille states accurately:

Today, on World Roma Day, it is time for us to think about why German Roma for decades – many of them well-educated, well-integrated people – hide their belonging to this ethnic minority.

Sources:

  • Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (2013) Internationaler Roma-Tag: Diskriminierungen endlich beenden. In: Düsseldorfer Abendblatt vom 9.4.2013.
  • Katholische Presseagentur Österreich (2013) Roma-Tag: “Viele wissen nicht, wie gläubig wir sind”. In: Katholische Presseagentur Österreich vom 9.4.2013.
  • Stille, Klaus-Dieter (2013) „Roma“ heisst Mensch. In: Readers Edition vom 8.4.2013. 
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

05.04.2013 Rroma Requiem in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Published by:

Frankfurt Rroma Orchestra has been rehearsing a requiem by the Swiss composer Roger Moreno Rathgeb in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Rathgeb comes from a Swiss Sinti family. After a visit to Auschwitz, he was so moved that he had to take a long break from work on the Requiem. In addition to its function as remembrance and as a vehicle force thoughts, the Requiem is also a commentary on the classical views on gypsy music. The music of the Romany is simply not just a collection of quickly played notes on the violin with lots of singing but also, as Rathgeb composition shows, has influences ranging from classical, Arabic elements, and Central European folk music from the 19th Century. The Requiem is also contribution to the further thoughts within the public on the often negated genocide of the Rroma under the Nazis. At its premiere in Hungary was presented by the philanthropist George Soros. He challenged the often-heard opinion that Rroma primarily exclude themselves out of society, and stated it is a governmental and social exclusion that must be overcome.

Source:

  • Malachowski, Marcel (2013) Musik als Reflex der Vergangenheit. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung vom 5.4.2013.
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

05.04.2013 Rroma in Hungary

Published by:

The film “Csak a szél” (Just the Wind) by Bence Fliegauf thematises the increasing racism against Rroma in Hungary, why does not shy at physical violence. At the centre of the movie is a real series of attacks that occured between 2008 and 2009 and which killed 55 Rroma. Right-wing extremists set fire to Rroma houses at night and shot the Rroma fleeing from the fire. The protagonists in the film are the children of a Rroma family and each deals differently with the rampant hatred. While the sister tries to ignore the daily taunts and normally goes to school, the brother stays away from school and remains holed up in a hideout. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival 2012 and is running this week in the Salzburg cinemas.

Newsat (2013) reported on the plans of Hungarian nightclubs to introduce a 10% quota for minorities such as the Rroma. The Office for National and Ethnic Minorities is undertaking a referendum against this racist law project.

Source:

  • Newsat (2013) Roma-Quoten in Lokalen? In: Newsat vom 31.3.2013.
  • Miedl, Magdalena (2013) „Just the Wind“: Ungarns Roma in Angst vor Rassisten. In: Salzburger Nachrichten vom 3.4.2013.
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

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. 
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles suisses Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

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.  
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

15.02.2013 Worsening Poverty in Hungary

Published by:

SRF online reports on the rampant poverty in Hungary and the impoverishment of the middle class. In the meantime, a third of Hungarians is now living below the poverty line. Due to high public debt, the Hungarian government benefits will be massively scaled back. Rroma, with a high unemployment rate, will be the victims of these cuts. The participants of the hunger marches in Hungary say Orban is indifferent and full of scorn, according to Eastern Europe correspondent Marc Lehmann. The correspondent further criticized the failed social and economic policies of the Hungarian government, which have exacerbated an already bad situation.

Source:

  • SRF online (2013) Ungarn wehren sich gegen die Verarmung. In: SRF online vom 11.2.2013. 
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Published by:

 

Jan Jirat from the WOZ rites about nationalist ideologies among right-wing Hungarians and there impacts on minorities like the Rroma. According to his interview partner Magdalena Marsovszky, a local social scientist, one has to grasp the right wing ideologies as a result of a historical trauma: the separation of Hungary after the end of the First World War and the downfall of Austria-Hungary. Subsequently, a nationalist identity of the Magyars, going back to the origins of Austria-Hungary, was constructed, apparently consisting of shared cultural values and blood ties. Political scientist E. J. Hobsbawm called this the “Invention of Tradition”, the structuring of history in favor of an nationalist identity. – Marsovszky is described to perceive the ideology among nationalists as one of ethnic closing and separation, rather than an opening towards a more diverse, tolerant society.

The ascription of criminality as a part of Rroma identity has to be understood in this context of thinking in ethnic-nationalist categories, which his highly racist and problematic. A further aspect is the construction of Magyar identity in relation to the Rroma. The Rroma are misused to structure the ethnic self-perception in relation and against them. The spread of the so called “Antiziganism” combined with the election of Fidesz representatives has lead to an increase in discrimination and violence against Rroma. The civil defense militia of the Jobbik party – the Hungarian guard – has regularly attacked Rroma during the last years, threatening and even killing Rroma in areas designated as Gypsy habitats.

According to the documentary filmmaker Adam Cisllag, Hungary is in a state of social disrupt, a state of decline of social solidarity, and open racism against Rroma that can be witnessed through all realms of society. As reason for this increased racisms he names the growing poverty amongst the Hungarian Middle class.

Jirat article is well researched and eloquently written. But one has to criticize his unbalanced portrayal of the topic. When reading the article, one gets the impression that a vital part of Hungarians are racists and most Rroma live a life hopelessness and despair and are part of pointless employment programs.

Source:

  • Jirat, Jan (2013) Faschismus mit adretter Frisur. In: WOZ vom 7.2.2013.
Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

01.02.2013 Verdict Acknowledges Segregation of Rroma Children in Hungary

Published by:

According to the Hungarian minister responsible for the situation of the Rroma, there is no discrimination of Rroma in Hungary, neither is there a segregation of Rroma children in Hungarian schools. A verdict by a north-Hungarian court acknowledges now officially that the segregation of Rroma children is illegal. The verdict recognised that Rroma children are regularly positioned in lower classes than other children, discriminated during lunch hours, swimming lessons and public school events.

According to the Pester Lloyd, the discrimination of Rroma children is an established practice in Hungary, with a tradition of several decades. It often gets initiated by parents who don’t want their children to mix with Rroma children. This denial of good education keeps the unsatisfying situation of many Rroma in Hungary a status quo.

Source:

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

01.02.2013 The Expelled

Published by:

Journalist Bernhard Odehnal writes about a Rroma family in a village outside Budapest and the situation of Rroma in Hungary in general. After the call for the extinction of Rroma by the extremist publicist Zsolt Bayer, the topic of Rroma has gained increased attention by the media. However, according to Odehnal, poor Rroma families often don’t consume any official media and are not ware of the Bayer debate going on. Odehnal goes on to describe the hardships and discrimination most Rroma face in Hungary, with long time unemployment leading to apathy and resignation rather than revolution and upheaval.

He continues to explain how the Jobbik party systematically ethnicizes every criminal act done by a Rroma as inherent part of Rroma identity, declaring it as “gypsy criminality”. This mixing of ethnic identity and criminal activities is highly racist, as are attributions of journalists, who describe Rroma as of an aggressive, hostile nature.

Despite the empathetic focus of Odehnal article, the author reproduces stereotypes about the Rroma by stating that most Rroma live in Ghettos outside the villages and have excessive amounts of children. Additionally, he citties a Spanish infant educator, who sees Rroma women as “submissive and only wanting many children and Rroma men being openly sexist”. Also, when reading the article, when gets the impression, that according to Odehnal all of the 750’000 Hungarian Rroma live in the conditions he portrays in his article. He doesn’t talk about the invisible Rroma, which don’t live in Ghettos, the ones who live a life in the middle class and are not seen on the streets.

Aladár Horváth and Anikó Kiss (Pester Lloyd 2013) from the citizen’s movement of Hungary posted an official manifesto to the Orban government, asking to finally acknowledge that a humanitarian crisis is on the march, with one million people in Hungary, among them around a quarter of Rroma, living under precarious conditions, being close to starving and freezing to death. They criticize, that there is no public moral support for the situation of the Rroma, that the government doesn’t distance itself from extremist statements made against Rroma and that there are no social-critical articles in the official media.

Source:

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

11.01.2013 Agitation against Rroma in Hungary

Published by:

Ritterband (2013) accounts a racist agitation of the publicist Zsolt Bayer against Rroma in Hungary. The publicist Zsolt Bayer defamed Rroma as «murdering animals» using his newspaper «Magyar Hirlap» as a circulation organ. Bayer is known to be a political companion and personal friend of prime minister Orban. The reigning Fidesz party distanced itself from the statements made by Bayer, but didn’t condemn them. Judiciary minister Tibor Navracsics criticized Bayers comments in a public television program, denouncing the statements as incompatible with the Hungary’s democratic principles. Orban himself didn’t take any public position. Zsolt Bayer is known to have made racist agitation before, also using the «Magyar Hirlap» to make anti-Semitic comments against Jews.

Odehnal (2013) complements the topic with a shocking detail: Not only did Bayer compare Rroma with animals and said that they had no place amongst other humans, but propagandized for their immediate extinction. Taking side with the Hungarian left-wing opposition parties, who filed criminal complaint against Bayer because of demagoguery against Rroma, the RCP condemns Bayer’s agitation deeply. Such a public call for the extinction of the Rroma should not be let unpunished. It deeply scares and astonishes, that such a misanthropic statement is aloud to be made public by the Hungarian media and laws. That the proponents of the article appeal to freemdom of the press can only be called absurd. It abandons any sense of ethics and respect towards people in general.

Pester Lloyd (2013/I) states that un-firm distancing of Fidesz from the racist statements shows that the party is trying to bind voters from the ultra right-wing Jobbik party. The article concludes resigned that a silent toleration of racism and open hatred has become a normality in Hungary.

In the most recent article Pester Lylod (2013/II) confirms that the Hungarian chief prosecutor has droped charges against Bayer, stating that there is no visible danger of people persecuting Rroma. Pester Llyod raises the legitimate question what reasons laws have, if they are not applied or only in a very restricted way.

Source:

  • Odehnal, Bernhard (2013) Aufruf zum Massenmord. In: Tagesanzeiger vom 9.1.2013.
  • Pester Lloyd (2013/I) Der Freund schweigt. Halbherzige Distanzierungen: das offizielle Ungarn und der Fall Bayer. In: Pester Llyod vom 9.1.2013.  http://www.pesterlloyd.net/html/1301orbanschweigt.html
  • Pester Llyod (2013/II) Fall Bayer: Roma vertretter sagt Treffen ab, Staatsanwalt sieht keine Hetze. In: Pester Llyod vom 11.1.2013. http://www.pesterlloyd.net/html/1301bayerupdate.html
  • Ritterband, Charles E. (2013) Hetze gegen Roma in Ungarn. In: Neue Zuercher Zeitung vom 10.01.2013. 
rroma.org
fr_FRFR
en_GBEN de_DEDE fr_FRFR