Category Archives: Slovakia

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11.04.2014 Robert Kushen: the integration of Rroma remains a challenge

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On the occasion of the international Rroma Day, the chairman of the European Rroma Rights Centre, Robert Kushen, reflects on the situation of the Rroma in Europe and the continuing challenges for this minority (Kushen 2014). He arrives at a sober view: the decade of Rroma inclusion, which was adopted in Sofia in 2005, and encompassed the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain, unfortunately cannot fulfil the expectations that it raised. Rroma are still affected by widespread poverty, discrimination, unemployment and insufficient access to public institutions such as schools and hospitals: “Despite this political recognition of an unconscionable social crisis, Roma remain among the poorest, unhealthiest, least educated and most marginalised European citizens. The data are devastating: Across Central and Southeast Europe, 90 percent of Roma live in poverty. Fewer than one third of adults have paid employment. Only 15 percent of young Roma have completed secondary or vocational school. Nearly 45 percent of Roma live in housing that lacks basic amenities. Life expectancy in Roma communities is 10-15 years less than in non-Roma communities, with many Roma lacking access to insurance and health care.” Kushen refers in his judgement to information from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 2013). Reasoning with such figures is not without dangers, since the representation of the Rroma as uneducated, poor, and unhealthy is often interpreted by the polemical, public discourse as a cultural peculiarity of the minority, although these characteristics are inevitably a poverty phenomenon. Although is not to deny that numerous Rroma are poor and uneducated, the relevant question is whether such an argument can contribute to the  integration of the Rroma. In addition, surveys often only take into account the visible Rroma, because the integrated ones are hard to identify as Roma and difficult to contact. Not only images of misery are needed, which generate compassion, but also images of success that allow a positive identification.

Kushen continues with information about the marginalization of the Rroma in Italy, France, Sweden and Hungary, and then gets on to the latest report from the European Union on the situation of the Rroma. The report published on April the second this year, can not present success stories either: “In early April, the European Commission convened a “Roma Summit” and issued a report assessing how member states are doing in addressing the interconnected problems of poverty and discrimination which the Roma are facing. The report noted “the persistence of segregation” in education, a large and in some cases widening employment gap between Roma and non-Roma, big differences between Roma and non-Roma in health insurance coverage, and an “absence of progress” in addressing the need for housing. Finally, the report noted that discrimination remains “widespread” (compare European Commission 2014).

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09.04.2014 Stigma and the international Rroma Day

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On the occasion of the international Rroma Day, Grunau (2014) spoke with the president of the central council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose. Rose’s assessment of the social integration of the Rroma is mediocre. While there has been progress in terms of political and historical recognition of the Rroma, there still are massive stigma and appalling living conditions in which Rroma have to exist: “In some areas some things have improved, but what we are not satisfied at all with is the situation of the Roma minority in Eastern Europe. There are situations that are catastrophic. […] These are particularly Bulgaria, Romania, but also the Czech Republic and Slovakia. There are informal ghettos that are without sewerage, without electricity, and water. There are villages, where over a thousand people live without any perspective. This situation has been known for many years. It is no longer acceptable. There is an infant mortality-rate that is four times higher and a life expectancy that is ten years lower compared to the majority population.” In this regard, Rose demands easier access to funding that doesn’t need not be refinanced by the states themselves. He proposes the creation of a special fund for the Rroma. Next, Rose criticizes the continuing discrediting and instrumentalization of the Rroma by right-wing nationalist parties and actors, but also by bourgeois politicians in the wake of the immigration debate in Western Europe. Thus, the openly racist Jobbik party made a share of 21% of the votes, in the elections in early April. At the end of the interview, Rose also points to the still highly distorted perception of the minority. 64% of the people of a survey said that they did not want Rroma as neighbours. However, many of them already have neighbours, friends or acquaintances that are Rroma are, but they do not know that they belong to the minority: “However, these 64 percent do not know that they already have work colleagues, neighbours and tenants, they do not know that they are shopping in stores with people who are members of the minority. Also in show business or in football, everywhere there are members of the minority.”

Caspari (2014) emphasizes in her conversation with the antiziganism researcher Markus End that there are not only negative but also positive stereotypes that encourage the idea of a cultural alterity of the Rroma: “Those who say that all Sinti and Roma make such great music just positively present a stereotype. It implies that members of the ethnic group are different, that they only make music and do not like to work as “we” do.” The same is the case with emphatic articles about the Rroma that still reproduce stereotypes: “In many – also benevolent – reports clichés of supposedly typical characteristics of the Roma are used, even though the Rroma do not exist at this general level. [ … ] An online editor recently headlined concerning the debate over free migration: “not only Roma are coming, but also academics” – as if there were only uneducated members of the ethnic group. About the nurse, the doctor or the construction worker, who are well integrated in Germany, rarely if ever is reported. Images that are added to the articles on the situation of Roma, often show poor, barefoot children. Here again, a cliché is conveyed.”

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04.04.2014 Integration of the Rroma in the Czech Republic

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The Prague Daily Monitor (2014) reports on the candidacy of two Czech Rroma parties for the European Parliament. The Equal Opportunities Party (SRP) and the Romani Democratic Party (RDS) will advocate for the rights of the Rroma at the forthcoming European Parliament elections of 23th and 24th of May: “With the participation of two Romani parties in the EP elections, the Czech Republic is likely to set a record in the EU as no Romani party from Slovakia and Hungary or any other countries with a numerous Romani minority has done so. […] The manifestoes of the SRP and RDS are similar. The parties advocate the law on social housing, work for people from ghettoes, the limitation of seizures and they want Romani children to be sent to normal schools, not to the “special schools” for retarded children […].” Rroma activist Radek Horvath criticizes that the insistence on ethnically based parties as counterproductive. The Rroma should seek admission in the major parties.

Kachlíkova (2014) reports on the demand of the Rroma opposition party “Top 09” to introduce Rromanes in Czech schools as a teaching language. Anna Putnová, of the opposition party, sees the lack of Czech language skills among Rroma children as an important reason why the children do worse in the schools: “We send the children to school so that they develop. However, through the language we are creating a hurdle. I would therefore like to start a debate about whether to allow students to use Romani as an auxiliary language in the first, second, and third grade to develop a positive relationship to the school.” Some parts of the lessons should be held in Rromanes, the politician demands. Critics counter that the introduction of Romani in public schools would promote the segregation of the Rroma, because it would require ethnically divided classes. Rroma representatives as Stanislav Daniel rather want a better promotion of Czech language skills among Rroma children.

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02.04.2014 Elections in Hungary: Hungarian Rroma party (Magyarországi Cigány Part, MCP) aims to strengthen the rights of the Rroma

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Murphy (2014) reports about the Hungarian election campaign on the occasion of the forthcoming parliamentary elections of the 6th of April. On this occasion, the newly established Rroma party Magyarországi Cigány Part tries to give more emphasis to the concerns of the Rroma. The president of the party, Aladar Horvat, held a campaign speech before the residents of Ozd, a former industrial city, with a majority of Rroma: “If we stick together, we can fix our problems. No one else will”, the soft-spoken 49-year-old told Agence France-Presse in Ozd, a rusting former industrial town right on the Slovakian border. Vast steelworks once employed thousands of Roma in Ozd, a town of about 34,000 inhabitants, but today, they lie derelict. Widespread unemployment and poverty has fuelled mistrust against the Roma, and far-right party Jobbik – the country’s third biggest party – is building on that anger.” So far, there were only two Rroma politicians in the 386-member parliament of Hungary, two of them members of the ruling party Fidesz. Murphy describes the distrust of many Rroma against the Hungarian politicians as being massive. The consistent poverty and discrimination over the years made many lose their faith in politics. In addition, several Rroma criticized that a party focusing on ethnic membership was not working in the sense of a successful integration, but would rather make it more difficult.

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07.03.2014 Segregation of Rroma-children in Hungary and Slovakia

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Thorpe (2014) reports on a court ruling that concerns a segregated school in Nyiregyhaza, in north-eastern Hungary. Human rights activists filed suit against the school run by the Greek-Catholic church, as it taught almost exclusively Rroma children. The school was already closed in 2007, in the course of desegregation plans and then reopened in 2011: “The Chance for Children Foundation, a Hungarian organisation that campaigns for Roma education rights, then sued both the Church and the Hungarian state for introducing segregation. The judge ruled on Friday that the current functioning of the school violates both Hungarian laws on equal opportunity, and Council of Europe recommendations.” The judgment could affect many other schools in Hungary, which also have a high proportion of Rroma children. – Consciously segregated schools have to be firmly opposed, because they promote the exclusion of the Rroma and impede successful integration. However, schools that have a high proportion of Rroma children because of mere geographical reasons, should be assessed carefully when deciding over a closure.

Springer (2014) reports on the segregation of Rroma children in Slovakia. In the northwest of the country, in the village Šarišské Michaľany, a new headmaster Jaroslav Valastiak took office one year ago. Valastiak was hired in response to a court decision that is hopefully a  precedent, which called for the abolition of segregation at the local school. It is astonishing that segregation hasn’t decreased but actually increased significantly since the early 1990s, to today’s estimated 40% of the Rroma-children: “Before Valastiak started, Roma students weren’t allowed in the school’s cafeteria. They received a cold, dry ‘lunch’ of cereal and juice before school each morning, while non-Roma students ate freshly served hot meals in the lunchroom at noon. Before the court ruling Roma and non-Roma students spent recess in segregated yards and were taught in separate classes, on different floors of the school. Valastiak says non-Roma students received more thorough lessons, while Roma classes were rudimentary.” In response to the court ruling, sixteen of the best Rroma students were integrated into the non-Rroma classes. Reasons for the gradual mixing and not the complete abolition of the segregation are the sometimes inadequate Slovakian language skills of Rroma children, the headmaster states. He wants the desegregation to be successful, therefore it has to take place gradually, he states. Another problem for the desegregation lies in the regulation allowing parents to choose the school regardless of where they live. This leads to an additional separation of ethnic Slovaks and Rroma.

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14.02.2014 An unemotional perspective on immigrants from Southeast Europe

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Mappes-Niediek (2014) takes a dispassionate look at immigrants from South East Europe who are settling down in Germany. He tries to draw a differentiated picture of the reasons for their migration, which lies beyond simple generalizations. Poor Rroma from Southeast Europe don’t migrate to Western Europe or Germany with the aim to abuse the local social welfare system. They come with the aim to lead a life in dignity. Their own family and close friends provide a social safety network, on which one can rely on during hard times: “The poverty immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria don’t come here because of the social benefits in Germany, but because you can live a better life here. They come with their families and with close friends. [ … ] The poorest of the poor who live in Romania, mainly in rural areas, mostly don’t migrate at all.” Mappes-Niediek then turns against the widely held view that education is the key to solving most problems. Education only brings something, the author states, if Rroma are allowed to integrate into the economy and the economy offers enough available jobs. Otherwise, a university degree doesn’t helps to improve one’s situation: “Education is not the key, or at least not there where the poverty immigrants come from. Everywhere in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe the relationship between education and a good life is broken, and indeed for everyone, not only for the Roma. An entire generation has made the experience that education doesn’t help in anything. They have seen it with their parents. The father was an engineer, his mother a Russian teacher. Today, the mother goes to clean and the father is drinking […].” With these statements, Mappes-Niediek takes a pessimistic view at the stagnant economies of many countries of the former Eastern bloc. The denial of benefits and possibilities to integrate is said to create what many want to prevent: slums, problems, crime. Mappes-Niediek takes a dispassionate look at the debate about poverty immigrants from Eastern Europe. However, he also perpetuates ideas of mainly impoverished, marginalized Rroma, as they are spread by the mass media and therefore established and culturalised.

This view contrasts with the short article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which focuses on the work of the social worker Lucia Bleibel with immigrant Rroma. Bleibel grew up in Slovakia and speaks Rromanes and Romanian. On behalf of the Internationale Bund and the city of Hanau she takes care of the integration of marginalized Rroma in the Hessen town. Bleibel’s task is to remind the immigrants of the compulsory schooling, the German health care system and the compliance with general rules. The short text focuses entirely on the visible, impoverished Rroma and thereby keeps politicized notions of cultural alterity upright, despite or perhaps because of its emphatic perspective on the topic (Glaser-Lotz 2014).

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14.02.2014 Right-wing nationalist mayor spreads fear among Slovak Rroma

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Jancarikova (2014) reports on Rroma in Banska Bystrica, in Central Slovakia. A new mayor in this city was elected two months ago: Marian Kotleba. Kotleba belongs to a right-wing nationalist party and is known for his racist remarks against Rroma. He repeatedly called Rroma parasites and benefiters of social welfare. Kotleba makes use of the tough economic times and portrays the Rroma as scapegoats for the economic ills: „Kotleba, who has neo-Nazi roots, is gaining political traction by casting Slovakia’s large and impoverished Roma minority as a scapegoat for, rather than victim of, a sluggish economy. […]”Kotleba sells himself as the protector of ‘decent’ people against ‘Roma parasites’ and corrupt politicians,” Alena Kluknavska, an expert on extremism from the Bratislava-based Commenius university, told AFP.“ According to the Slovakian minister of labour, 60% of the 400,000 Slovak Rroma are integrated.

Jancarikova, Tatiana (2014) Rise of far-right sparks fear amid Slovak Roma. In: Digital Journal online vom 11.2.2014. http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/rise-of-far-right-sparks-fear-amid-slovak-roma/article/370076

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24.01.2014 Rroma in Great Britain and the Schengen policies

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Clark (2013) criticises the Romanian government for its Rroma policies. From his standpoint, it is not appropriate that Romania criticizes the UK for its restrictive migration policy. Romania itself, he emphasizes, has large shortcomings in its policies concerning Rroma. The remark of the Romanian Rroma commissioner Damian Draghici that one should not be angry with Rroma beggars but rather be angry at bankers, Clark considers to be arrogant and as distracting from the abuses in Romania and Bulgaria itself: „Over the past decade municipal [Romanian] authorities have ethnically cleansed their city centres of Roma and relocated them to shanty towns on the fringes. In Cluj-Napoca, in a case which has aroused the interest of Amnesty International, 300 Roma people were moved to a site next to a landfill and chemical dump, where families have been made to share one room. […] The inevitable result is a westwards flow of Roma fleeing from discrimination and poverty. The EU’s open borders policy should be suspended until Romania and Bulgaria have improved living conditions for all their citizens.“ Clark fails to recognize in his analysis that there are no overnight solutions for the social ills in Eastern Europe. In addition, the integration of the Rroma is a pan-European task requiring a pan-state solution. Isolation is therefore clearly the wrong answer to social and political shortcomings.

The forced relocation of several Rroma families in Cluj-Napoca onto the site of a former chemical factory was judged illegal by the local court. The incumbent mayor was convicted  for having exceeded his authority in authorizing the relocation. The decision was welcomed by many organisations, such as the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) that had supported the action against the forced relocation (Ekklesia 2014).

An antithesis to Clark’s presentation is Kelley’s (2014) article in The Journal. It reminds about the prejudices, the Rroma genocide, the fear fostered by politicians and journalists: A flood of immigrants hasn’t come to Great Britain so far and the British voters have proven to be less anxious than some politicians and journalists prophesied: „A survey revealed 68% of Britons welcomed Eastern Europeans who work hard, pay taxes and speak English. And, according to Martin Keles, a spokesman for the Roma community in Newcastle, that is exactly what they intend to do. “We just want the opportunity to provide for our families,” he said.“ Kelley further emphasizes the strong institutionalized racism against Rroma in countries like the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. But not only in Eastern Europe, but in Europe as a whole, the Rroma have experienced a history of exclusion since their arrival in Western Europe in the 14th century. The human rights organization “A Living Tradition” conducted a survey among Rroma migrants on behalf of the council of Newcastle. It revealed that the Eastern European migrants are fleeing rampant racism in their home countries and appreciate the English educational institutions and the open society. Kelley’s article is a welcoming change to the many negative articles about Rroma and the European migration. His positive journalism helps to reduce prejudice and promotes the integration of the Rroma.

Knight (2014) from Gentlemen’s Quarterly takes an ambivalent position concerning the debate about immigration in Europe. On one hand, he propagates the idea of an impeding exodus of impoverished Rroma to Great Britain, on the other, he acknowledges their discrimination. He describes Rroma living in the streets of London, having to cope with very modest incomes. Again and again they are asked by the authorities not to beg and to no longer sleep on the streets. Knight sums up: „Courtesy of the ever-expanding European Union, the UK, and London, are finally waking up to one of Europe’s biggest embarrassments: that after the better part of a thousand years, our continent still does not know how to live at peace with its largest ethnic minority.“ Contrary to the generalising statements in the title, Knight recognizes that British society knows next to nothing about Rroma and that one cannot predict how many Rroma will come to the UK. The statistics on immigrants do not capture ethnicity. Knowledge about the Rroma remains dominated by many unknowns and wrong stereotypes. When Knight quotes a local resident of Bryanston Square, the landlady reproduces racist stereotypes and generalizations, even though her parents are said to be immigrants. She expresses the absurd image of culturally related crimes and otherness of the Rroma that they don’t want to integrate and deliberately choose a life in illegality. In the following paragraph Knight acknowledges that his presentation at the beginning of the article cannot hide is his derogatory attitude towards Rroma. He uncritically restates notions about organised begging, child prostitution, human trafficking and begging networks and qualifies the Rroma as having criminal habits: „Ever since, officers have wondered about the level of organisation within the group, and whether it is connected with more serious crimes, such as human trafficking or child prostitution. Hierarchical networks of beggars and street thieves – run by Gypsies, for Gypsies – have been on the rise in big European cities for the last decade: in Rome, in Milan, in Paris, in Madrid. London is a logical next target. Having spent day after day with the Gypsies this summer, I find they are never more than a few hours from their next visit from the police or their next arrest for begging.” His investigative journalism is biased and unreflective. He limits himself to what he could personally observe on the street and mixes it with crude culturalisations. The short trip to Romania is characterized by the common misery images that are often repeated in the coverage on Rroma: Large families crammed together in one two rooms and minor teenagers already being married and having kids. Knight quotes a Romanian historian, Viorel Achim, who no longer sees the future of the Romanian Rroma in training and the building of an educated, integrated middle class, but in emigration to Northern Europe. The therefore agrees with the predictions of conservative apologists, who warn of a mass migration to Western Europe. Knight cites a Rroma from Botosani: „You are going to be seeing a lot more of us in the future,“ says Manix. „We’re going to beg, do whatever we can. Anything to escape.“ Romanian Rroma commissioner Damian Draghici is particularly critical of NGOs who haven’t used the money entrusted to them. The next few paragraphs revolve around the prosperity gap between Eastern and Western Europe and whether this will result in strong migration movements. The fact that the opening of the border to other Schengen countries such as Poland and Hungary didn’t result in any mass migration is not assessed in any way. Knight communicates stereotypical notions of smuggler gangs and clan chiefs who tie off money for the adaptation to the new place and exploit poorer Rroma systematically: „You have to pay. You know from the outset. […] Everyone is controlled.“ At the end of the very long article, one impression dominates: A feeling of distrust from the journalist towards his informants, the Rroma.

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29.11.2013 Slovakia: Extreme rightist is Regional President

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Die Welt (2013) informs about disturbing developments in Slovakia. In the town of Banská Bystrica, the right-wing extremist Marian Kotleba has been elected as Regional President. Kotleba won the election against the incumbent Social Democratic candidate. Kotleba is known because of his numerous racist actions and statements against Rroma. He is Chairman of the extreme rightist “People’s Party – Our Slovakia”: “Kotleba has been known for years for his campaign against the Roma minority – and for appearances in uniforms that are modelled on fascist originals. He has been repeatedly arrested by the police and charged with racial incitement and threat to democracy. Convicted he never was.” That a confessed right-wing extremists and Rroma hater is now influencing the policy of Banská Bystrica should give all supporters of democratic values something to think about. Apparently many people seem to have learnt nothing from history.

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29.11.2013 Rroma Debate in the UK

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Pany (2013) reports on polemical statements against Rroma in the UK. Politicians and residents of Sheffield spoke of potential social unrest, should the Rroma not culturally assimilate. David Blunkett (BBC 2013) states that the majority of the Slovak Romany would thus have to adjust their social behaviour in order to prevent social tensions. The fact that large families, low education or littering have nothing to do with culture but rather with poverty, does not seem to be clear to Blunkett. In addition, one again needs to note the tendency to automatically assimilate all immigrants from Eastern Europe to Rroma, even though their ethnicity is everything but easy to determine. Conspicuous individuals and groups are simply flatly decreed to be Rroma: “The complaints reported by residents as in the Guardian [Pidd 2013], in the Telegraph [Shute 2013] or shriller even in the Boulevard [Reid 2013], range from night time disturbance because of loud gatherings of Roma on the streets, garbage in front of houses and extend to allegations of theft of metals, drug trafficking and prostitution.” This contrasts with reports such as in the Guardian (Townsend 2013), who expose the propaganda as part of the campaign against the free movement of people in Europe and who address issues such as exclusion and discrimination. The Austrian, right-wing populist online newspaper Unzensuriert.at (2013/II) meanwhile speaks uncritically of the Slovak Rroma clans that are swamping the UK and who disturb the social peace with their anti-social behaviour: “In British media in connection with Roma, there have been reports of vandalism, garbage dumps, theft, drug trafficking and prostitution.”

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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 In Slovakia

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Like many before him, Neshitov (2013) reports on the Rroma ghetto Lunik 9 in Kosice. The Rroma who live there correspond to the classical stereotypes about them: they have many children, are mostly illiterate and unemployed. Neshitov states: “Except for 19 people,  nobody actually works in Lunik. The 19 work in the steel mill. Father Peter says that in spite of their work, they have the highest debt because they do not know how to deal with money.” The quoted priest,  who takes cares of Rroma in Lunik 9, is reproducing in the article medieval views, views that Neshitov contextualises, but does not really question in his article. Rather, he sees the Rroma in Lunik 9 lapse into apathy, for which they are themselves responsible. He quotes from an interview: “ What keeps this family in Lunik 9? Father Dušan says: “The Roma there can do nothing for their life, they have no work, they are ostracised.” His daughter Tatyana interrupts him: “Come on Dad, honestly: These people do not want to live better. It’s their mentality.”” Neshitov’s article cannot be questioned in terms of the presentation of the facts, but the chosen  coverage and selection of informants and of the location, precisely aligns to the stereotypical image of the Rroma, which is very one-sided.

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01.11.2013 Rroma in Hungary

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Gorondi (2013) reports on a project in north-eastern Hungary, where many Rroma live. In the village of Bodvalenke, Rroma artists from all over Europe have contributed to the production of 33 murals on the outer walls of village houses.  The subjects of the paintings cover both Rroma folklore and religious representations. The aim of the campaign is to strengthen both the self-confidence Rroma  as well as to attract tourists to the small village characterised by high unemployment. The Rroma, according to Gorondi, were particularly affected by the economic crisis: “The Roma have been hit particularly hard by the economic and financial crisis starting in 2008 in Hungary. During the communist era, which ended in 1990, they had mostly guaranteed low-skilled jobs. But since then, many Roma, including those in a village close to the Slovakian border, have had a hard time finding their place in a more competitive society. Half of the residents in Bodvalenke are younger than 18 years, and most of the adults are unemployed and live more badly than well on government support.” The idea of the murals comes from the activist Eszter Pásztor. However, the project is not without controversy. The mayor of the village would much prefer proper jobs. That the murals really will attract tourists is to be hoped, but probably doubtful in view of the widespread prejudice against Rroma.

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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 Ukraine

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Tschabanowa (2013) reports on Rroma in Ukraine. Like many before her, she limits herself to reporting on visible Rroma, which can be relatively easily found in ghettos. That she from the outset sets Rroma as lepers and victims, does not seem to bother her. She begins the article by stating: “To learn how Roma live and what they do for a living in Kiev, we went to their camp.” Many of the Rroma that Tschabanowa meets in Ukraine come from the district of Transcarpathia (former Hungarian/Slovakian region). Looking for work, many of them come to the capital during the summer. The image that Tschabanowa paints of them is one of large families, widespread illiteracy and exclusion. That she reinforces prejudices about Rroma in spite of the emphatic perspective about them, she does not seem to be aware of.

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27.09.2013 Anti-Rroma Pogroms in Poland

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A seemingly harmless incident between a 16-year-old Rroma and a 13-year-old ethnic Poles in the city Andrychow led to massive tensions. A petition and a now-banned Facebook group called for the expulsion of around 140 Rroma from this city of 20,000 inhabitants. The case is symptomatic of the continued segregation of Rroma in Poland according to Focus (2013), as well as in the neighbouring Slovakia. Low education rates and poor integration led to a persistence of poverty and exclusion: “Many Slovak and Polish Roma are illiterate, unemployed and on welfare. Because despite compulsory education, not all children go to school – partly out of fear of discrimination, partly out of fear of assimilation – the way the next generation is poised to misery.”

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02.08.2013 Rroma in Slovakia

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Heinlein (2013) reports on a newly drafted legislation of the Slovak Legislative, which would force all illegally built dwellings in Slovakia to be demolished. According to Heinlein about 250,000 Rroma live in Slovakia in semi-legal settlements. If the new law is adopted by the Parliament after the summer break, all illegally built houses would be demolished. This would mean that thousands of Rroma become homeless in an instant, which would generate a humanitarian disaster. Peter Pollak, the Rroma responsible, requests a gradual legalization of informal dwellings to prevent a radical solution.

Source:

  • Heinlein, Stefan (2013) „Wo sollen wir den sonst leben?“ In: Tageschau online vom 2.8.2013. 
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26.07.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Putzier (2013) presents a one-sided view of the debate on poverty immigration to Germany. He describes the migration from Southeast Europe exclusvely as a mass exodus of poorly educated Bulgarians and Romanians. That a significant proportion of immigrants he cites, 27,242 Bulgarians and Romanians during the months of January and February, could include seasonal workers and professionals, it is not discussed. Also the warning about the “rising costs of poverty immigration” is not new, as it is fiercely debated since the beginning of this year.

Adeoso (2013) spoke with Adam Strauss, a German Sinto and a founding member of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma. Strauss has won several awards for his work against racism and for the integration of Rroma. However, against these official honours, the social reality weights in, a reality which is still pervaded by a great many negative experiences: “It has been 70 years since the Nazi era is over and 68 percent of the people, according to a Emnid survey, want no contact with us. If someone says, “You are ALSO people”, it is already clear on what kind of place we stand. […] We have stood alone in the yard at school during recess, nobody has played with us, and I experienced the same situation today with my granddaughter. She also stands alone in the playground, no one plays with her, she eats her bread during the break alone, sitting in the corner, just like us – with us no one had contact either. This is the worst […] ».

Beer (2013) spoke with Roman Franz, chairman of the Association of Roma and Sinti in North Rhine-Westphalia. Franz tries to spread a counter perspective to the usual arguments about poverty immigration from Eastern Europe. One cannot always poke about the integration willingness of immigrants; one also needs to create the necessary structures so that they can integrate. One should also attempt to present a more differentiated view on the reasons behind migration. Portraying migration solely as an economic one, simplifies the situation too much: “Nobody likes to leave his home. Many Rroma in Eastern Europe live in incredibly difficult conditions. If they are allowed to send their children to school at all, then they are pelted with stones. They are there fair game. It is imperative that our head of state engages himself in countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic or Slovakia, that Rroma are not forced out in this way”. With this he comes to a much too little discussed topic: What do political analyses say about the socio-political situation of a country and what are the actual experiences of local people? According to most countries official analyses, there is no discrimination against Rroma in South-eastern Europe.

Sources:

  • Adeoso, Marie-Sophie (2013) „Es ist mir sehr wichtig, dass ich ein Sinto bin“ In: Frankurter Rundschau online vom 22.7.2013.
  • Beer, Achim (2013) Roma-Verbandschef fordert Quartiere und Sprachkurse. In: Der Westen online vom 21.7.2013.

 

– Putzier, Konrad (2013) Europas Arme kommen nach Deutschland. In: Die Welt online vom 24.7.20

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05.07.2013 Police Operation against Rroma in Moldava nad Bodvou

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Vilikovská (2013) provides information about a police operation against Rroma in Moldava nad Bodvou, in eastern Slovakia. Critics accused the police to have acted out based on racist motives. The local police chief relativised this accusation and stated that this was an action targeting the arrest of specific individuals and looking for sought objects. He described the reports of the brutality of the police as false, half-wrong or misleading. The civil organization Project Slovensko replies that about thirty people, including children and newborns, were injured during the operation.

Source:

  • Vilikovská, Zuzana (2013) Gašpar: Police raid on Moldava nad Bodvou was not revenge against Roma. In: The Slovak Spectator online vom 4.7.2013. 
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14.06.2013 Rroma and the Slovak School System

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Schultheis (2013) reports on a privately funded secondary school in Kremnica in Slovakia, where Rroma children are supposed to gain better access to higher education. The educational institution is financed by private funds, which the school principal has to search for continuously. The students, who usually come from very modest backgrounds, have nothing to pay. The project creates a counterpoint to the often criticized segregation of Rroma children in Slovak public schools, where, up till now and in spite of massive international criticism, little has changed. The school supports motivated Rroma children from the poorest slums in the east of the country. There, most settlements have unemployment rates that tend toward 100%. Schultheis finally states: “According to a new UN study, one in five Roma children in Slovakia is enrolled in a special school for the mentally disabled. The Slovak government repeatedly rejected claims of alleged systematic discrimination. Nevertheless, a debate has now broken out on how the education crisis can be stopped. Kremnica could lead the way.”

Source:

  • Schultheis, Silja (2013) Slowakisches Vorbild für Integration. In: Deutschlandfunk vom 11.6.2013. 
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