Category Archives: Romania

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24.01.2014 The French Rroma policy and the mayoral elections 2014

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Le Nouvel Obervateur (2014) reports on the increasingly restrictive Rroma policy in connection with the upcoming mayoral elections. The French mayors, the article states, see themselves in a clinch between a vastly Rroma-hostile electorate and the need for a just social policy. Mayors who work for the integration of the Rroma are putting their re-election at stake: „Mais à quelques mois des élections, les mairies refusent pour la plupart d’ouvrir de nouveaux villages d’insertion ou terrains aménagés. “Ce n’est plus jouable maintenant: un maire qui veut se faire réélire, s’il dit “je vais accueillir trois familles roms”, il perd déjà pas mal de voix”, note Bruno Mattéi, de l’association ATD Quart Monde en métropole lilloise.” [But a few months away from the elections, the mayors’ offices refuse to open new insertion villages or to open newly laid plots of land. “this is no longer possible now: a mayor who wants to be re-elected, if he says “I want to settle three Rroma families”, he looses quite a few votes”, notes Bruno Mattei, of the ADT Quart Monde association in the Lille agglomeration.” The socialist mayor Frédéric Marchand has for example received massive threats after he let several Rroma families stay on some unuse space. If a majority of French politicians agree to an opportunistic policy of the majority opinion, the long-term integration of the Rroma will be significantly delayed and aggravated (compare to La Voix du Nord 2014).

François Hollande meanwhile defends the French policies towards Rroma. It is essential – he argued – to enforce the laws and to clear illegal camps. The French government, Hollande emphasized, is well aware of the plight of many Rroma immigrants (Romandie 2014).

Le Monde (Vincent 2014) adds that the restrictive Rroma policies of the French government have not changed the number of Rroma residents in France. Moreover, the living conditions of the Rroma have deteriorated significantly: „Toutes les enquêtes ont démontré que les expulsions n’avaient pas fait baisser le nombre de Roms en France – de l’ordre de 15 000 en France, un chiffre stable – et qu’elles avaient surtout participé à dégrader leurs conditions de vie sanitaires et sociales.“ [All surveys have demonstrated that expulsions haven’t reduced the number of Rroma in France – a number of the order of 15,000 in France and stable – but that the expulsions have contributed to degrade their sanitary and social conditions.] The report of the League of Human Rights and the European Roma Rights Center criticized in particular the deportation policy of the French authorities. The real aim of the French Rroma policies was to send as many Bulgarian and Romanian Rroma as possible back to their homelands. The fact that there are also many integrated Rroma living in France, who are never heard of in the media, is once again ignored. The circular of Jean-Marc Ayrault from the summer of 2012, which demanded a more humane approach to evictions, has been predominantly neglected till today: There is a lack of political will among prefectures, mayors and other institutional actors to apply the more human eviction methods (compare MYTF1 News 2014, Lombart 2014, Piquemal 2014, Vincent 2014/II). 

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17.01.2014 Poverty-migration and the Rroma

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Nuspliger (2014) gives a cursory overview of the debate on poverty-migration and on the feared predictions of mass migrations to Western Europe. He qualifies the images of right-wing conservatives who predict a strong west migration from Romania and Bulgaria in 2014. Many residents of these countries migrated abroad in 2007 after the EU accession and did not wait for the unrestricted movement of persons. The statistics about the poverty-migration regularly treat seasonal workers and students as equivalent to real labour migrants and therefore create a distorted picture of migration movements. In addition it is observed that many would-be migrants go into countries with diaspora groups or related languages: “Against the backdrop of the northern European fears of a Romanian mass immigration it is remarkable that, according to Eurostat figures of 2012, over three quarters of exile Romanians have moved to Spain and Italy – for which there are also linguistic reasons. Half of relocated European Portuguese are living in France and three-quarters of the emigrants of Poland live in the UK and Germany, which attracted many immigrants from Eastern Europe before the end of the licensing restrictions in 2011.” Rroma are being disadvantaged as before. The funding provided by the EU is only insufficiently used. Additionally, Rroma slums in Western Europe are the evidence of the lack of integration of this ethnic group. In the debates on immigration, meanwhile, images of social abuse dominate the discourse, which is taken up readily by polemicists.

Lübberding (2014) discusses the TV program “Maybrit Illner” on the topic “poverty on the move: how much freedom of movement can we afford?” The participants of the discussion were the Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann, the Green politician Cem Özdemir, the Councillor of Berlin-Neuköln Franziska Giffey, the head of the German police union  Rainer Wendt, the Duisburger citizen Sabine Kessler and the Rrom Dzoni Sichelschmidt. They discussed the pro and cons of unrestricted migration in the European Union. Lübbering shares the opinion that most of the immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria are Rroma, although the ethnicity is not recorded in the statistics. He states that in the city of Duisburg, with around 500,000 inhabitants, the 10,000 new immigrants are of Rroma origin. Lübberding takes side with the critics of unrestricted migration in the European Union when making fun of the integration targets of the European Union. He claims that the Union lacks sense of practice: “The error of the Brussels bureaucracy is not in their ambitious plans, but in the ignorance of their ambitiousness. On power-point slides just everything looks better than in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Kessler.” On the other hand it is a positive aspect of European networking that the problem of Rroma integration has now become a pan-European issue and no longer just concerns the countries with significant Rroma populations. Additionally, Lübberding qualifies the dimensions of immigration, which are anything but dramatic. Compared with the 1.2 million refugees who have fled from the civil war in Syria to Lebanon, the immigration to Germany is very modest. Dzoni Sichelschmidt emphasised the important fact that the Rroma have emerged in large part as losers from the events of 1989: the hostility towards them has risen. This circumstance is often neglected in Western Europe (compare ZDF 2014).

In debate about immigration, Kelec (2014) takes a right-wing conservative position. Additionally, with respect to Rroma, she present cultural arguments. She sees an unrestricted immigration as a failed policy of ignorance. Kelec accuses the left parties of downplaying the problems of reality and accusing right-wing populism of being responsible for everything. The Christian Democrats are supposed to insist stubbornly on their values. On Rroma she pretentiously claims: “The children of Sinti and Roma are left alone, in the Clans, medieval conditions often prevail [ … ]. Roma children are sent by their parents and clan chiefs to beg or work on the street – they are supposed to be in school. They also have an EU-wide right to childhood and education. In Roma families child-marriages and forced marriage is common – the right to independence and integrity must also apply for young girls and women. There can be no tradition of being above the constitution, even if some believe that medieval manners as “culture” are worthy of protection.” With these unwise generalizations Kelec discredits herself. She represents traditions and media cases as if they were deadlocked and universal. Her remarks are racist and offensive to a majority of the Rroma who do not follow these practices. Kelec reproduces uncritically polemical ideas about backwardness and exploitation that have nothing to do with the identity of the Rroma. Accusing Rroma living in poverty of their poverty as a crime is arrogant and stupid. Criticism of the traditions, which are no traditions, is no intelligent criticism.

Teigeler (2013) points out the important fact that the debate about unrestricted migration in the European Union is dominated by fears and irrational predictions. Before Poland’s accession to the Schengen area there were similar fears of a mass migration, which turned out to be unfounded. The discussion also often tends to forget the fact that with the immigrants also important needed professionals are recruited. Labelling immigrants sweepingly as poverty immigrants and benefit-freeloaders simplifies the complexity of reality too much: “With the multiple accusations that immigrants and in particular Roma from South Eastern Europe “will subvert the social system, old racist stereotypes are stoked”, criticized the speaker of the Green Party parliamentary group, Jutta Velte, on Tuesday (31/12/2013). “We need a more objective debate”, the representative urged.” 

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17.01.2014 Roma in Levenshulme, Great Britain

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Thomas (2014) discusses in the context of the new migration policies with Romania and Bulgaria the situation in the small town of Levenshulme, a suburb of Manchester. Contrary to the dire predictions Thomas draws a positive picture: the local authorities have adjusted to the immigration and support migrants in their integration efforts. Public schools have increased courses for English as a foreign language and the social institutions work closely with the local authorities. Nevertheless there are tensions because not all residents react to the rapid social change of the last years in the same way. Thomas summarizes: „Now there are around 2,000 Romanians in Greater Manchester. A lot has changed, but the change has been managed and unlike in Sheffield where senior politicians warned of serious unrest, there has been no similar talk here. Professor Yaron Matras, who leads the Romani project at the University of Manchester, worked alongside the city council, Greater Manchester Police, social business the Big Life Company and education officials to put a Roma Strategy in place.“ Through this project the integration of the immigrants into the educational institutions and the labour market has significantly improved (compare Manchester City Council 2014) .

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21.12.2013 The Invisible Rroma

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Gabriela Mirescu (2012) – a Romanian political scientist – wrote a short article for the publication TANGRAM30 by the national commission against racism. In it, she approaches the question of why a majority of Rroma living in Europe – which are well adjusted to the mainstream society, keep their identity a secret, form the “invisible Rroma”. The reasons are quite apparent but not the less forth of detailed covering. The negative stereotypes about Rroma, which have settled in the course of history, make it a social disadvantage to out oneself as Rroma in the public. Discrimination in the working environment but also the personal life can be the consequences. Mirescu sees the behavior of this invisible majority as an indicator for social expectance. If the integrated Rroma still keep their identity a secret, it shows the ongoing stigmatization of Rroma in most European societies and the social transformation and increase of education and enlightment which is still necessary to decrease negative, pejorative stereotypes. A high level of education for a majority of society has therefore to be a temporary and long-term objective.

Source:

  • Mirescu, Gabriela (2012) The other Roma journey: from visible to invisible. In: Tangram 30: Jenische, Sinti/Manouches und Roma in der Schweiz. Bern: Eidgenössische Kommission gegen Rassismus.
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20.12.2013 Manuel Valls Acquitted in Racism Indictment

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Manuel Valls was acquitted by a French Court of the charge of racism (Le Monde 2013). The movement against racism had filed a lawsuit against Valls after he had publicly stated that Rroma have an extremely different lifestyle to the French, and had the habit of returning to Romania and Bulgaria. The court justified its decision with the reasoning that Valls’ statements were made in connection with a debate over the public interest and were not racist in the choice of words. The Court thereby ignores the role of intellectual arson and the power of derogatory cultural attribution to the public. A conviction would have been a sign of a more tolerant society, where defamatory statements do not fall under the category of freedom of expression. The court stated: “il n’apparaît pas [que ces propos] excèdent les limites admissibles de la liberté d’expression”  [It does not seem that these statements exceed the admissible limits of the freedom of expression] (Libération 2013).

 

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13.12.2013 Rroma in Romania

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France Inter (2013) in its coverage, points out at the often precarious situation of Rroma in Romania. The image of the impoverished, often unemployed Rroma corresponds to the idea of a broad French public that Rroma are a burden to the French social security system. The official figures counts about 600,000 Rroma in Romania. It is likely, however, that there are rather about 2 million members of that minority. The problem in this report lies in a mix of poverty issues with an alleged culture of delinquency and mutual exploitation. That these ideas are wrong will sometime soon hopefully be clear to a wider public.

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13.12.2013 Rroma Debate in France

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France Info (2013), on the occasion of the statements made by Florian Philippot, vice-president of the right-wing National Front, focuses on whether after the free movement of people agreement with Romania and Bulgaria, there will be in fact large numbers of Rroma who will come to France. The author denies that there will be a noticeable change. Already, members of Romania and Bulgaria can freely migrate to France. They are only limited in their choice of fields of work. This barrier will be abolished in January 2014. However, there are still border and identity checks, as Romania and Bulgaria are still not part of the Schengen Agreement. In addition, the numbers that Florian Philippot states, he speaks of 10 to 12 million Rroma in Romania and Bulgaria, are completely over the top. In Romania according to realistic estimates there are about 2 million Rroma while  in Bulgaria around 800,000.

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13.12.2013 Rroma from South Eastern Europe: Economic Migrants or Refugees?

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The Welt (2013) reports currently on practices against migrant Rroma in Hamburg. The responsible Minister of the Interior Michael Neumann wants to continue the deportations of asylum seekers from South Eastern Europe, despite the massive criticism from Greens, the Left and the FDP. This does not mean, according to the Interior Minister that the deportations were not individually critically examined. Again, one must be amazed that migrants from Southeast Europe are held from the outset for Rroma, although this fact is not recorded in the statistics. Many immigrants from the Balkans are members of other ethnic groups. However, it is true that Rroma are particularly affected by exclusion. Radio Dreyeckland (2013) rightly criticised that the protection rate of asylum applications from Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia-Hercegovina fixed at 5% is too low. Many Rroma in these countries are discriminated against and should not therefore be treated as pure poverty refugees. This is also criticized by Jelpke (2013): The asylum applications of immigrants from the Western Balkans are being processed in shorter and shorter periods. This is due to the coalition agreement between the CDU and the SPD. This document plans to declare the western countries of South Eastern Europe to be “safe countries”. This makes it increasingly difficult for migrants from these countries to get a successful asylum application. A protective claim is still just awarded 0.1 to 0.6 percent of applicants from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, meanwhile decided a deportation moratorium for the winter months (Carini 2013).

Haug (2013), in his article, points to the discrepancy between integration efforts communicated by the State and the real experienced exclusion. Rroma deported to Serbia mostly find there an income on the edge of society or live on welfare. Against the official statement of Serbia, that Rroma are not persecuted in the country stand in contrast to the misery and hopelessness: “Where it can be, they are marginalized, the victims reported. You get no jobs and are not informed of your rights. Even for food the meagre money barely suffice. […] “On paper, there are now many measures to end discrimination against these people,” says the lawyer. The trip did however convinced him that: “In daily life the affected ones feel little of it””

The President of the German Association of Cities Ulrich Maly goes against simple explanations in connection with immigrants from Southeast Europe. The migrants are often discriminated against and are hoping for a better life in Germany. He appealed to the historical responsibility of Germany in dealing with minorities and argued against a policy of isolation, as demanded by several parties. Rather, one must promote the integration in Germany and in the countries of origin: “These are not people who come and go with open hands to the administration. They come for other reasons. Because they are oppressed at home, perhaps even feel persecuted. They come because they believe that they will find a better life with us. These are reasons that one initially must respect.” Maly therefore goes against an alliance of politicians and citizens fearing a “social tourism” on the German social welfare system from the beginning of 2014. Bulgarians and Romanians will then be able to search unrestricted fro work in the European Union, thanks to the European free Movement Agreement (Kusicke 2013).

Leber (2013) sees the debate about immigration marked by varying degrees of coverage in social systems. The “general principle of European free movement” meets various forms of social welfare. That, however, this is not necessarily a contradiction in a polemical debate, however, it is often forgotten. Instead, it is dominated by a politics of fear, which flattens the heterogeneity of migration phenomena and propagandises the immigration of unskilled problem cases. It is this utilitarian thinking is criticized by Koch (2013) in his account of the problem. It means a ranking of people on questionable, inhuman principles.

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06.12.2013 The Rroma and the European Free Movement of Persons

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The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma criticized the agreement of EU interior ministers to curb the free movement of persons in the EU. The European Interior Ministers have agreed this week to reduce the allowances for needy immigrants and, where appropriate, again can introduce a visa duty to restrict larger migration flows from South East Europe (Handelsblatt, 2013). The curb on migration within the EU will not solve any problems, but freeze and uphold the dependency structures and injustice among the States. There is also no denying that the exclusion of Rroma is practiced more in some countries than in others.

The German towns President Ulrich Maly asked meanwhile for more tolerance towards immigrants and appealed to the historical responsibility of Germany towards the minority of the Rroma (Unternehmen-Heute 2013).

Böhm (2013) meanwhile suggests that a veritable “competitive repression”  against Rroma is taking place. Western European countries such as France, Germany, or the UK up each others on measures aimed at wanting to limit immigration from Romania and Bulgaria. The widespread exclusion of Rroma, which only make the migration necessary and the real problem is usually ignored. Instead, virtually all immigrants from Southeast Europe are collectively identified as poverty immigrants and thus as migrants, who apart from their poverty have no real reason for asylum (20 Minuten, 2013). Furthermore one often forgets that the assessments of the security of countries done by the states to assess the discrimination of minorities such as the Rroma are often inadequate or euphemistic, especially if the analysis comes from the countries themselves. To declare the immigrants from South East Europe broadly as poverty immigrants ignores real practices of exclusion that are not looked at by these country assessments.    

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29.11.2013 Manuel Valls and French Rroma Policies

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L’ express (2013) reports on the statements of the French Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls on the television station France Inter: Valls tried to downplay his polemical statements from mid-September, “Manuel Valls a affirmé qu’il n’avait “jamais dit” que les roms n’avaient pas vocation à s’intégrer. “Je pense que les Français ont parfaitement compris ce que je disais”, a-t-il ajouté. Le ministre de l’Intérieur a ensuite nuancé ses précédentes déclarations. “Dans ces campements, il y a bien sûr des familles roumaines ou bulgares qui ont de vrais projets d’intégration en France. Bien sûr”, a-t-il rectifié.” [Manuel Valls affirmed that he “never said” that Roma did not want to integrate. “I think that the French perfectly understood what I said:, he added. The Interior Minister then nuanced his preceding declarations. “in these settlements, there are of course families from Romania or Bulgaria who have real integration projects in France. Of course”, he did add.] These reassuring statements, however, should not obscure the fact that Valls in fact Rroma flatly stated that they lack integration will and have a “tendency to want return to Romania” something that brought him an accusation of defamation.

Meanwhile, the New York Times (Rubin 2013) reports in a almost absurd article about French mushroom dealers who accuse Eastern European Rroma of mushroom theft. The Rroma learnt about the locations of wild mushrooms by working for French mushroom dealers and are now harvesting the mushrooms in “illegal” Night and Fog actions. There are no laws that prohibit collecting mushrooms in state land. The absurd accusation of mushroom theft are reminiscent of earlier accusations such as the ones levelled against Jews whereby they would poison the wells or enriched themselves illegally on the back of the prosperity of others. The alleged mushroom theft shows that Rroma are generally accused of all ills without any real proof.  “Jean Louis Traversier of the French forest service estimates that more than 80 percent of this year’s harvest of 50 tons of mushrooms in just the southeastern Drôme and Ardèche regions were taken by Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to Spain. Locals tend to describe them all as Roma, but officials, including Mr. Traversier, say it is not possible to conclude that from their passports. […] They are wrongfully accusing the Roma community,» said Francine Jacob, vice president of the French Union of Gypsy Associations. «Delinquency exists — that we cannot deny — but it’s not systematic.» 

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15.11.2013 Incitement against Rroma in the “Daily Express”

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Jeeves (2013) defames Rroma in an article full of prejudice and generalizations up to the limit of open hatred: “Earlier this week, former Home Secretary and Sheffield MP David Blunkett highlighted the “serious problems” after the arrival of Romas from Slovakia. […] Teenage girls are said to offer sex for less than the price of a pint of beer. Others believe drug deals are taking place, with cars pulling up and packages being exchanged. Concerns that Roma gangs already in Britain are engaged in such appalling criminal acts will add weight to the Daily Express crusade to force the Government to keep controls in place on Romanians and Bulgarians, rather than opening the doors to both countries on January 1.” Jeeves’ article presents a highly one-sided, racist image of Rroma: they are portrayed as a criminal gang incompatible with English society. The Rroma are misused as a vessel for the vote on the free travel and establishment of persons from Romania and Bulgaria. The clearly conservative minded author projects his racist and distorted ideas about migrants unwilling to adapt who will be a cost on the British welfare system, and thus defames Rroma. A proper reporting is different.

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01.11.2013 Rroma and Poverty

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Mappes-Niediek (2013) takes a look at the overall European situation of Rroma. According to a study by the Soros Foundation Discrimination of Rroma is not the main problem but their blatant poverty is: “Poverty is the main problem, not the discrimination, the researchers found: Of more than a thousand Roma respondents in the four countries, 76 percent in Italy and 66 percent in Spain  felt discriminated against. In Romania, however, there were 40 percent and 34 percent in Bulgaria. In Hungary, where right-wing gangs terrorise and hunt Roma, Roma hardly migrate to western EU countries.” So poverty is an equally important factor in the preventing attending school or to a doctor visit. That discrimination and poverty are not in fact directly related is doubtful. Mappes-Niediek counters the German hysteria about a mass immigration of Rroma from Romania and Bulgaria: Most Rroma remain in their country in spite of poverty.

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25.10.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Memarina (2013) spoke with Marius Krauss from the youth club “Foro Amaro” who works on the participation of Rroma and Gadje in the society. Krauss sees the statements of Interior Minister Friedrich, who for months warned of a mass immigration of Rroma from Romania and Bulgaria, as being dominated by fear and prejudice. Among Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants there is just approximately 10 percent of Rroma. Many present this migration as being solely Rroma. The same holds true with the beggars in Berlin: “Among beggars, there are many who have no Roma background. They are made only to: Begging is being made as a Roma characteristic, poverty and theft also.”  Krauss thus points to the important fact that many people with non-standard behaviour are attributed a Rroma identity and vice versa, Rroma who actually do not meet these requirements are stigmatised. This includes the image of the many children in Rroma families. In the case of the immigrant Rroma from the village of Fontanelle, the fact that the community in question were evangelical Pentecostals was ignored. Because of their faith they cannot use cotraceptives. That this is not true for all Rroma who belong to different faiths, it is all to often forgotten.

Lechler (2013) reports on the clearance of an informal Rroma neighbourhood in Eforie in Romania. By focusing on the destruction of Rroma settlements in Romania, Lechler wants to identify possible reasons for the migration to Western Europe that go beyond a simple economic migration. The observance of minority rights in Romania is very poor when compared with Germany.

Bade (2013) takes a critical look at the current immigration debate in Germany and puts the predicted mass immigration through historical facts: After the accession to the EU of countries such as Poland, a mass exodus was not observed, and the published statistics on 147,000 Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants in 2011 are not reliable sources, “then one should have considered the strong annual return migration, for example of seasonal workers. In this sense, for example for 2011, there was a net balance approximately 64,000 immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania not mentioned in the noise raised by the cities about the 147,000 migrants. This led to an equally sensational correction by a critical group of scientists who quoted the statistic of the cities is their ‘non-statistic of the month’.” Bade sees the polemical remarks about the so-called poverty immigration greatly influenced by the debate on the book by Tilo Sarrazin influenced and with its associated polemics around of integration and alterity.

 

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25.10.2013 Rroma Between France and Romania

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Delage / Tepeneag (2013) report on a residential project in the Romanian Tinca, a project supported by the municipality of Lyon with 300,000 euro. The aim of subsidised housing for local Rroma is to help them integrate into the labour market. Lyon follows the whishes of the French government to prevent the Rroma migration to France. However, accommodation does not solve the problem of high unemployment among Romanian Rroma, hence their lack of social integration which can only be successful be bridged with a commitment from both sides. Delage / Tepeneag summarize: “Ainsi, pour ce centre imaginé par des ONG françaises et roumaines, et qui accueillera bientôt les Roms les plus démunis de Tinca, Lyon a investi près de 300.000 euros. “Cela va permettre de leur assurer l’accès à des douches, à des lave-linges, pour qu’ils puissent se présenter décemment à d’éventuels entretiens d’embauche, ou à l’école pour les enfants”, explique à BFMTV Monica Suciu, de la Ruhuma Foundation” [Thus, for this centre imagined by French and Romanian NGOs, and which will soon welcome the poorest Rroma in Tinca, Lyon has invested about 300,000 euro. “This will allow them to access to showers to washing machines, so they can look decent for possible job interviews or at school for children”, Monica Suciu, of the Foundation Ruhuma told BFM TV.] France Info (2013) adds that there is a will to build a dignified existence on site among the Romanian Rroma. Often this is very difficult because of the access to the labour market is very restricted. The Romanian Rroma policies, according to the statements of Rroma in Tinca, are ineffective.

Delpla (2013) takes a critical look at the French Rroma policies. He criticises the dominant practice to return Rroma to their reported country of origin. On the one hand one ignores the massive discrimination in countries like Hungary or Romania – now also France – and on the other hand, the fact that they are a European transnational minority and therefore, have no particular homeland. What must be sought is a pan-European integration of Rroma and no back and forth between different  a minority status in nation-states: “La solution du gouvernement français est de renvoyer les Roms non nationaux dans leur pays d’origine, en expliquant que c’est à ces pays d’origine de s’en occuper – avec des fonds européens. C’est une mauvaise idée, car, dans ces pays d’origine, les Roms sont victimes de racisme manifeste […] Il faut traiter ce problème au niveau européen, à la fois parce que les Roms sont le peuple le plus transeuropéen et parce que les solutions nationales ne marchent pas.”[The solution of the French government to send non-French Rroma in their countries of origin, explaining that this is for their country to deal with – with European funds. This is a bad idea, because in the country, Rroma are victims of overt racism […] We must deal with this problem at European level, both because the Rroma are the most transnational people and because national solutions do not work.]  Delpla also argues for making the Rroma citizen of Europe only and not members of a specific state. This would strengthen the EU’s role in the enforcement of their rights massively according to Delpla.

Bouclay (2013) in his article for Valeurs Actuelles pokes fun at the efforts of the community Romeurope. The collective in his brochure simply blends out the prejudice against the Rroma on issues such as begging, theft and prostitution. According to Bouclay, the Rroma are receiving proportionally too much support: “En réalité, loin d’être une communauté soumise à la vindicte de Français xénophobes, les Roms sont soutenus par de puissants lobbys. Le collectif Romeurope compte une quarantaine d’associations financées par l’argent public. Sans viser à l’exhaustivité, un rapide florilège de leurs subventions suffit à donner le vertige.” [In fact, far from being a community subject to the condemnation of French xenophobia, Roma are backed by powerful lobbies. The Romeurope account forty associations funded by public money. Without aiming to be exhaustive, quick flurry through their subsidies is enough to make you dizzy.] He paints a very one-sided picture of support funds distributed to present the French Rroma policies in a good light. The actual points of discussion of the current debate remain virtually untouched.

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11.10.2013 European Integration of the Rroma

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The Voice of Russia (2013) reports on the EU program ROMACT, in which Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Slovakia participate, a program that is mainly intended to promote social and economic integration of the Rroma. Upon these EU plans, Russia’s Minister of Nationalities Vladimir Sorin announced that the Rroma’s lack of economic integration is mainly due to their travelling lifestyle. He reproduces misconceptions – most Rroma being sedentary – but above all, he trivializes the fact that the travelling way of life was the result of social exclusion. From an economic perspective, the 12 million European Rroma represent a largely untapped “worker reserve” that need be tapped. That the will of the European population is also necessary in addition to a better integration into the education system and the labour market, is easy to forget (Iskenderow 2013).

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11.10.2013 Rroma in France

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The anti-racism association Mrap has announced it will file a lawsuit against Manuel Valls for incitation to racial hatred. Valls had stated that, in his opinion, most Rroma do not want to integrate, and should return to Romania and Bulgaria. Particularly problematic about Valls’ utterances is that he enjoys broad support among the French population and thereby racist views about Rroma are being represented as indisputable facts. Valls face a fine of up to € 45,000 (2013 Süddeutsche Zeitung, Le Monde, 2013).

Strassenburg (2013) takes a critical look at the trial of 27 Croatian Rroma in France. The defendants are accused of organized theft and trafficking: They are reported to have exploited children to earn money for themselves. They “trained them only to steal from the youngest age.” This contrasts with views of critics who hold that the imputed organised structures are a projection of the prosecution: “Mali, [a journalist] could never observe in three years the organized criminal structures, which are reproached to the 27 defendants in Nancy.” This process it is not just about the crimes of the accused, but also about socio-political conceptions of organised crime among the Rroma. “Gypsy Kings” and organised, structured delinquency is primarily a police view of the Rroma, and has been discussed several times. This does not mean that no crimes were committed by Rroma, but that it is very questionable to ascribe Rroma a culturally determined predisposition to organised crime (see L’Express 2013).

Zarachowicz (2013) speaks to the sociologist Jean-Pierre Liégeois about how are being exploited for French politics. Liégeois sees the knowledge about the Rroma as being dominated by large gaps. This ignorance is instrumentalised by politicians to project their own views on it. He deconstructs the travelling lifestyle, which again and again is attributed to them, as being the result of social exclusion, rather than a self-chosen way of life, and therefore as false: “Les familles sont souvent mobiles par obligation, pour s’adapter à des conditions d’existence changeantes, parfois menaçantes. Au cours de l’histoire, on assiste à des déportations, par exemple du Portugal vers l’Afrique et le Brésil, de l’Angleterre vers les colonies d’Amérique et vers l’Australie. Ou, quand des conflits se produisent, les Roms, souvent pris comme boucs émissaires ou bloqués entre les belligérants, doivent partir. […] Les Roms ont ainsi dû intégrer la mobilité dans leur existence, pour s’adapter à un rejet qui reste dominant.” [Families are often mobile due to the obligation to adapt to sometimes threatening changing conditions of life. In history, one sees deportations, for example from Portugal to Africa and Brazil, from England to the American colonies and to Australia. Or, when conflicts occur, Roma, often used as scapegoats or stuck between belligerents, have to  leave. […] The Roma have had to integrate mobility into their lives, to adapt to a rejection that remains dominant.]  He also identifies a historical, European government policy, that either wants to deport or to forcefully assimilate Rroma. In the case of France, the policy of repatriation is currently the dominant paradigm. From a financial point of view, this policy actually costs more than a successful integration.

In his article, Potet (2013) points to an alternative to Valls repressive policy. In Indre, the socialist mayor has built an accommodation, which aims to help immigrant Rroma to integration. The Rroma children can go to the local school. The immigrants had previously been living in a derelict factory. This support is linked to reciprocity: the children must attend school regularly, adults need to search for work, caravans are regularly maintained. With these Rroma-friendly policies, Jean-Luc Le Drenn puts re-election on the line.

The Huffington Post (2013) takes a look across the border from France: There one has problems other than the Rroma. High unemployment rates are at the centre of public attention. Before the economic crisis, the Spanish state set money aside for the integration of resident and migrant Rroma, money meant to facilitate access to education, the labour market, and to health care. This state integration program is still regarded as a European model of a social Rroma policy. This does not mean that exclusion and racism against the Rroma no longer exist in Spain, but this was an important first step towards a successful integration of Rroma.

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11.10.2013 Rroma in Germany

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Schmalzl (2013) reports on the deportation of a Rroma family back to Kosovo. Friends of the family were taken aback and expressed solidarity by lighting candles in the Youth Art School Mühlhausen, where the family had attended a painting course. The family was arrested in their house in the middle of the night by the authorities and brought to the airport. Once again, this case raises the question of the discrepancy between the real experiences of migrants in their home countries and the state views on minority protection and living possibilities. Schmalzl cites a young Rromni, who speaks of “violence, discrimination, and poverty” in Kosovo.

Bernhardt (2013) reports on a fire in an apartment building in Duisburg. Located on the Kirschstrasse in the Hochheide area of the city, this house is inhabited largely by immigrant Rroma. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire and evacuate 42 people who had fled to the roof of the house. According to the police, it is highly probable that this was arson. This raises legitimate concerns among residents and supporters of the victims. A few weeks ago, a parade of right-wing groups who protest against immigrant Rroma in Duisburg caused quite a stir. Connections between the arson and the far-right scene are therefore currently suspected. Various anti-fascist groups are calling for a better protection of the Rroma by the police.

Der Westen (2013) reports on a ruling of the Essen Higher Social Court. The court has ruled in a dispute between a Rroma family and the Jobcentre of Gelsenkirchen in favour of Rroma family. Between October 2010 and November 2011, the Jobcentre had not granted the father of the family any benefits since he could only stay in Germany in search for a job. This view is now contradicted the Essen Social Court: EU citizens without job who have stayed for a longer period in Germany are entitled to Hartz IV benefits. The Jobcentre will appeal the decision in front of the Federal Social Court. The decision is grist to the mill of those who warn of a mass immigration of poor migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, and who thus see the German welfare state as endangered. A journalist from der Westen thus stated in another article: “130,000 Romanians and Bulgarians are now entitled to Hartz IV: The decision of the highest North Rhine-Westphalia Social Court is significant because it now affects a significant group of people of about 130,000 claimants, said a spokesman of the court. Especially Romanians and Bulgarians living here and  desperately seeking work now have rights to claim Hartz IV benefits. The municipalities could see now numerous new applications and thus new increased costs” ( 2013/II der Westen).

Blazejewski (2013) points to the fact that there are large discrepancies among politicians in terms of ideas about immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. While many German local politicians, such as Reinhold Spaniel, assume an influx of low-skilled migrants, EU Social Affairs Commissioner László Andor sees in the immigrants young labour force for the growing German economy who pose no problem for the German social welfare system. 

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11.10.2013 Too much political correctness or a trivialisation of poverty and exclusion?

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Woker (2013) criticises the excessive political correctness in the use of terminology for example when referring to the Rroma minority, a terminology which complicates a transparent view of the current debate. With the name “Roma and Sinti” in Germany, the Sinti are presented as a separate group from the Rroma, although they are part of the Rroma as a whole. By this institutionalised political correctness – according to Woker – one makes it more difficult to detect and respond to problems with the minority: “There is a tendency , somewhat premature to suspect a deep-rooted antiziganism. Instead to recognise the real existing problems as such and to recognize and respond to these with social policy measures, authorities and the media often escape into a politically correct vocabulary to prove at least their good will.”

Woker fails to recognise that this recognition is precisely the very real problem. Are the so-called poverty migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, which are negatively represented in the German media and are usually identified as Rroma, poor and uneducated because they are Rroma? Woker comes close to this conclusion. At the end of his article, Woker cites Mappes-Niedieks’ book “Poor Roma , bad Gypsies”, a book which makes a clear separation between cultural characteristics of Rroma, who are anyhow very heterogeneous,  and their ascribed identity from intentional non-integration, nomadism, illiteracy, or culturally related delinquency. Therefore, the crucial question is not really the one of political correctness, but the one on how the conditions that lead to poverty, lack of education, and exclusion are brought into relationship with an ethnic origin. In Germany there are many well-integrated Rroma who do not want to recognise themselves as Rroma just because of the one-sided focus on problem cases. In this case, to trivialise political correctness just means to play down stigma. One thus must ask the question whether it is not highly problematic to ascribe a cultural identity to people, an identity which is the result of the exclusion of the majority society. Political views on culture need to be recognised as being politicised and need to be critically questioned.

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04.10.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Reich (2013) discusses the problems and hardships of migrants in their new home using the fate of a Rroma family from Romania who emigrated to Berlin Rroma. The author estimates the number of Romanian and Bulgarian Rroma in Berlin, although she de facto talks only about Romanians and Bulgarians, to around 22,000, and not a few are living in their cars. Many families are also suspected to live in basements and attics, a larger part camps in parks. The action plan adopted by the Berlin administration to integrate foreign Rroma, is meant to improve their access to the labour market, education, health care and housing options. However, discrimination by teachers, passers-by, and the society as a whole in everyday life remains normality. Statistics paint the bleak picture of 40 % of the population who would have a problem with Rroma as neighbours.

Yordanova (2013) looks for reasons for the lagging results in terms of the integration of Rroma in the European education system. Joachim Brenner of the association the Förderverein Roma in Frankfurt am Main, that poverty among a large part of European Rroma reduces education to an afterthought, something that comes after accommodation, food, and health. At a two-day conference on the educational situation of European Rroma in Bonn, experts discussed the problems in the implementation of a better integration of this ethnic group. The Bulgarian Ilona Tomova sees a reason to the serious reservations of broad sections of the population against the Rroma. The EU funding is perceived as an unfair advantage for the Rroma: “The integration programs are very difficult to accept in Bulgarian society, because many other people – not just Roma – have no access to the labour market. Especially young and older people find difficult to get a job.” A representative of the Roma Education Fund criticized the focus of many NGOs, and schools to only solve short-term problems.

Ulrich (2013) discussed the ongoing tensions between the German Federal States and the Federal Government with regards to the integration of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. The federal States of Berlin demand massively more support, which is not granted by the Federal Government. The problem lies in a market-based screening of immigrants: “Since the EU accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, the influx of job seekers from both countries has greatly increased. Whereas well skilled have access to the labour market, unskilled immigrants in this country fall through the grid of the welfare state. As EU citizens, they will not get assistance, such as the one granted to asylum seekers, they can work, except as a self-employed. The only benefit that they can get are child benefits.” Try to remedy this, individual Federal States such as Berlin started they own development programs. In Berlin, welcoming classes for children without knowledge of German were established. The costs for the children care, for example also in catching up on vaccinations, exceed the budget of the state by far. In addition, the concentration of many immigrants create social tensions in a place that one simply can not ignore.

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04.10.2013 Rroma Polemic in France

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Francois Hollande, in a public statement, asked his ministers decidedly to end the controversy on Rroma. According to the government spokesman Najat Vallaud Belkacem,  Hollande pointed out that “solidarity, unity and responsibility” was expected from the ministers. Hollande also considered it unworthy that he had to point out the problematic of this issue to the deputies. The home minister Duflot had asked Hollande for a statement after Valls racist abuse (TAZ 2013).

ORF (2013) points out that the criticism of the EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding on the French Rroma policies led to strong expressions of antipathy towards the European Union. The President of the French National Assembly, Claude Bartolone, called, Viviane Reding the “Mother with the whip.” Even before Reding’s criticism, a spokesman for the EU Commissions had pointed out that violations by France of EU law, in this case of the non-compliance to the freedom of movement, would not be tolerated. The behaviour of some EU countries towards Rroma is not worthy of the 21st Century. Manuel Valls, who is clearly belonging to the right wing of the socialist party, had to endure heavy criticism from his own party. Valls meanwhile insists on a rigorous order policy. He stated: “It is our responsibility to ensure that the centre of our cities, in the middle of residential areas and in the middle of the capital no such camps and misery housing does not occur.”

Radio Dreyeckland (2013) spoke with Marion Cadier who wrote a report for Amnesty International on the forced evictions of Rroma camps in France. The report concludes that since the last review in 2012, the situation of Rroma has not improved. The number of evictions of informal camps has even increased. This practice is also contrary to human rights conventions, since they violate the right to housing, as people living there are made homeless. Although the circular of August 2012 is a progress, it had only been applied very poorly. The evictions render the Rroma integration more difficult and has produced many more homeless people. Temporary lodging in hotel rooms is also a poor alternative because they usually lie in the periphery of the cities and make schooling and social networking difficult. Among more positive points, one notes the abolition of a hiring fee for Romanians and Bulgarians and the provision of funds for integration projects. She also emphasizes that expulsion are falsely referring to the nomadic lifestyle of the Rroma.

Hopquin (2013) reports on a trial of seven Croatian Rroma indicted in France for child trafficking and incitement to crimes. The case reinforces widespread stereotypes about organised delinquency among the Rroma. The defendants had acted under the leadership of a 66 year old woman and dealt in groups of children were to commit thefts for the buyer in France. Hopquin makes no effort to relate the events real events, but uses the presumptuous “cultural reproduction”, in which organized crime which the defendant had assimilated is presented as part of the Rroma culture.

Manuel Valls statements about, in his opinion, non-integration capabilities of Rroma led to different statements by government officials. While the rightist deputies showed great sympathy for Valls and his Rroma policies, in his own party, the socialist party his statements are controversial. But not to all. Significant parts of the left is in favour of a repressive policy towards the Rroma. Valls himself, meanwhile, has never apologised for his remarks, but merely regretted how they had been interpreted (Le Parisien).

In a linguistically brilliant letter, Lefort (2013) appeals to Manuel Valls. Lefort descends from Spanish Kale. He asks Valls to remind himself that he immigrated with his family to France and became a French citizen in 1982, and that many French have an immigrant background. That migration usually occurs for a valid reason and is not a lifestyle. He pleads that Valls should not abandon the historical responsibility that one has towards the Rroma as victims of National Socialism. In addition, many French Rroma fought in the resistance against the Nazis and the Franco regime. This also should not be forgotten. To assign them a “tendency” towards return to Romania and Bulgaria, negates the reason for their arrival: The lack of recognition as a minority of Statea and populationa. Lefort observes: “La guerre mondiale est venue. Et les camps nazis se sont aussi ouverts aux Tziganes. Tu le sais. Mais un nombre énorme de Manouches, de Gitans et d’Espagnols se sont engagés dans la Résistance sur le sol français. Ton père aurait pu en être […] je te demande le respect absolu pour celles et ceux qui se sont engagés dans la Résistance contre le franquisme, puis ensuite contre le nazisme et le fascisme. Contre ceux qui avaient fait Guernica. Et pourtant, à te suivre, ils avaient «vocation» à retourner ou à rester dans leur pays d’origine, ces «étrangers, et nos frères pourtant…»” [World War came. And Nazi camps were also opened for Gypsies. You know it. But a huge number of Manouche, Gypsies and Spaniards enrolled in the Resistance on the French soil. Your father could have been among them […] I ask you for absolute respect for those who were engaged in the resistance against Franco, then against Nazism and fascism. Against those who did Guernica. Yet, to listen to you, they have a  “vocation” to return to or remain in their country of origin, these “strangers, and yet our brothers…”]

Conan (2013) points out that Valls statements are almost exactly the same as the ones made last August by Louis Souchal, the confidant of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Louis Souchal is also convinced that many of the Romanian and Bulgarian Rroma do not want to integrate in France, but only came here to improve their financial situation as stated in an interview: “Les migrants roumains sont en effet sur des migrations pendulaires organisées. Leur but est de venir en France pour gagner de l’argent puis de rentrer en Roumanie construire une maison (…) D’ailleurs, il faut éviter de penser qu’il s’agit “d’intégrer les Roms”, on intègre seulement “des familles”. On s’en aperçoit lors des diagnostics sur les campements avant les expulsions. Récemment, sur un terrain où il y avait 22 familles, seules deux présentaient vraiment des signes de projets en France.” [Romanian migrants are indeed engaged in pendular migration. Their goal is to come to France to earn money and then return to Romania to build a house (…) Indeed, we must avoid thinking that it is about “to integrate Roma”, one only integrates “families”. This can be seen in the diagnostics in the camps before the evictions. Recently, in an place where there were 22 families, only two really showed signs of having projects in France.]  It is still unclear on which sources Souchal bases his statements. They stand in contrast to statements made by engaged people such as Lefort, who observe a migration due to lack of integration and lack of future prospects. At the same time it is also known that transnational relations with the home country can lead to a better integration in the host country and is not simply, as is now represented,  an evidence of a lack of willingness to integrate.

The Mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, meanwhile, calls for a consistent way of applying the circular of August 2012, requesting a timely information of the stakeholders, the organisation of alternative accommodation options and a better distribution of Rroma across the country. To put the people on the street, Aubry criticises, bring nothing and complicates the integration (Pagura 2013).

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