Tag Archives: Roma

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21.11.2014 Stereotype representation of Rroma in Hungary

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On the occasion of the asylum application of 60 Hungarian Rroma in Switzerland, SRF-editor Marc Lehmann reports on the conditions in Hungary and Miskolc (Voegeli 2014). In doing so, the former Eastern Europe correspondent reproduces numerous prejudices and misinformation about Rroma that are not based on critical facts, but rather stem from stereotypical views. Lehmann claims: “Most [Rroma] are poorly educated and no longer meet the demands of today’s working environment. That’s why the unemployment rate in the Roma community is about 70, 80, maybe even 90 percent. Most live on welfare, which is indeed minimal: maybe about 150 francs per head. For children there is extra money. Therefore, many Roma families have many children. […] They are indeed not treated well in the current political climate. But one has to say that there have been many attempts to integrate them. However, Rroma cannot be easily integrated. They are certainly not entirely innocent of their situation, what also has to be said. Some like the support of the social system. In addition, the Roma are simply not well organised. They are not easily accessible for those who would actually like to help them. They are divided into clans, each clan is just looking for itself. A solidarity among the Roma cannot be detected.” Lehmann’s assertions that the Rroma do not want to integrate, and have many children to receive child benefits, are absurd. Likewise, is the statement that each Rroma group just looks for itself. While it is true that integration and social advancement also depend on the initiative of the Rroma themselves, that does not mean that Rroma are not exposed to massive discrimination in Hungary. Lehmann does not say a word about the Rroma-hostile policy and propaganda of the right-wing extremist Jobbik, the second largest party in Hungary, which is tolerated by and sometimes even supported by the other parties. He also negates the important fact that the Rroma he describes only constitute the marginalised, visible part of the minority. Most seriously is probably the fact that Lehman simply ignores the entire Rroma history, and the massive discrimination they suffered. Many Rroma are well educated and belong to the middle class or even the upper class, but are not perceived as Rroma and therefore do not appear in the statistics cited by Lehmann. Almost all Rroma want to integrate and have a better life, those who deniy this, overstate the importance of self-initiative and underestimate the power of mechanisms of social exclusion. In addition, he denies the 80,000 to 100,000 Rroma living in Switzerland their existence from, and instead equates Rroma in Switzerland with harvest workers, construction workers, beggars and prostitutes from abroad, which de-facto only constitute a minority of the minority: “Also in Switzerland, the fact is that there are Roma who work here as harvest workers, or in construction; young women, who are involved in prostitution. There are certainly beggars. And where compatriots are, it feels attractive to others.” That Lehmann does not succeed in conveying a differentiated notion of the Rroma, one can read in the comments section of the article. There, one rightwing-nationalist slogan follows the next. Furthermore, most of the houses in the Rroma district of Miskolc, which are now being demolished, were in good condition, and anything but a ghetto, as Lehmann falsely claims (compare Odehnal 2014).

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 =Several western Swiss newspapers report on the trial against a Romanian Rroma couple. The two Geneva residents Rroma were indicted for having trafficked and financially exploited several Romanian countrymen for begging, stealing, and prostitution in Switzerland. The pair was acquitted of the main charges, because the evidence did not confirm the suspicion. However, they were sentenced for an offense against immigration law: “The Rroma that until yesterday were accused of trafficking, were acquitted of the main charges incriminating them. The defendants are not hideous slaveholders, who held dozens of begging Roma under their relentless thumb, the judges of the criminal court adjudicated analogously, but nonetheless sentenced them for the infringement of the federal law of foreigners (LEtr). According to the court, the persons transported to Geneva could even travel back to their country even if they had not paid back the price of their bus ticket within two weeks. […] Nevertheless, the defendants were found guilty of the violation of the foreigners’ act. They enriched themselves by helping people without work and residence permit to travel to Switzerland, which is prohibited. Moreover, the couple knew very well that these people were destitute and therefore would be forced to engage in illegal activities: begging, theft, or prostitution […]” (Foca 2014/I). As the judgment points out, equating migration support with forcing people to steal, beg, or to prostitute themselves is simply false. In many articles on human trafficking, it is incorrectly assumed that smugglers are automatically traffickers and their customers’ victims of trafficking, which is not confirmed by the research literature. That research shows migrating people have much more self determination, and questions the characteristics and omnipotence of transnationally operating gangs. In addition, the incomes from begging is very modest, which makes it unattractive for actual organised crime. Rroma are not more delinquent than other ethnic groups, which is distorted by the one-sided media focus on criminal or poor Rroma (compare Focas 2014/II, Guillain 2014, Lecomte 2014, Le Matin 2014 I/II, Oude Breuil et al 2011, Tabin et al 2012).

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21.11.2014 German Federal Supreme Court asked to take a stance on its hostile judgments on Rroma

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Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of German Sinti and Rroma, has demanded the German Federal Supreme Court in a statement on the 4th Roseburg-symposium to take a stance on its jurisdiction against Rroma under National Socialism and in the post-war period. In 1956, the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) had largely rejected the claims of Holocaust survivors for compensation, on the grounds that there had been earlier official measures against Rroma: “In January of 1956, the Federal Supreme Court had largely denied compensation to “gypsies” who were persecuted by the Nazis. The exclusion and resettlement policy of the Nazis until 1943 was denied to have been motivated by their racial fanaticism, but was said to be part of the “usual police preventive measures”. The judges of the Federal Supreme Court justified their verdict with the suggestion that due to the nature of the people, there had always been measures against the “Gypsy plague”. Without any relativization it says: “They tend, as experience shows, towards crime, particularly thefts and frauds, they often lack the moral drives to respect the property of others, because they appertain like primitive men an unrestrained occupation instinct.” It was not until 1963 that at the Federal Supreme Court recognised that Rroma were persecuted in Nazi Germany before 1943. However, the racist police considerations, which allege a collective predisposition to crime for Rroma, were still recognised. Rose therefore demanded an official dissociation of the Federal Supreme Court from its past verdicts, as he stated at the symposium: ““Then, the Supreme Court adopted the justification strategy of the Nazis and their demagogic agitation”, criticized Rose. Until today, there has been no dissociation on part of the Federal Supreme Court. “We would appreciate it very much if such a statement – in whatever form – would be possible today.”” – In Auschwitz-Birkenau alone, 30,000 Rroma were murdered. Researchers estimate at least half a million casualties among the Rroma (Rath 2014).

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21.11.2014 Jean-Marie Le Pen sentenced for racist remark against Rroma

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The Paris appeal’s court sentenced Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the right-wing nationalist Front National, to a fine of 5’000 Euros. The strident politician had claimed at the Summer University of the Front National that Rroma would steal as naturally as birds fly. In French, the word “voler” means to fly as well as to steal. In its judgment, the court of appeal upheld the first instance verdict of the criminal court in December 2013. Le Pen’s defence attorney – Mr. de Saint-Just – decidedly referred to the right to freedom of expression. This would clearly be violated by the judgment of the appeal’s court: ““This final verdict is a massive violation of freedom of expression”, judged Mr. de Saint-Just on Monday, assuring that his client “will go before the European Court of Human Rights that fights for the freedom of expression and that normally supercedes the appeal’s court, unless it is Jean-Marie Le Pen.” “It’s not about freedom of expression, it is about a racist expression, which is a crime”, Mr. Pierre Mairat, the lawyer for the movement against racism and for friendship between people (Mrap) stated. “This last, politically incorrect expression of Le Pen corresponds to his leaving: that of a man who has always associated his statements with hatred, responded Mr. Patrick Klugman, lawyer of SOS Racisme, saluting “a welcome verdict”” (Libération 2014). Jean-Marie Le Pen has been repeatedly noticed for his anti-Semitic remarks gainst foreigners, minorities and the trivialisation of the Holocaust (compare Le Huffington Post in 2014, Le Monde in 2014, Le Parisien 2014).

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21.11.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Italy

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As in the beginning of November, the Local (2014) reported about the discrimination against Rroma in Italy. Subject of contention are the numerous camps in which the Italian authorities deliberately hold the minority at the margins of society. The conditions in these state camps are heavily criticised: the air is insufficient to breath, an inmate says, as well as the hygiene: tuberculosis, scabies and lice are much more frequently than usual. The permanent monitoring in the camps, which is part of the facilities, leads particularly among children to anxiety and sleep disorders as well as phobias, the Rroma Rights Centre criticises in a report: “It [the Rroma Rights Centre] also warned of daily discrimination and violence against Roma in “an ever-growing climate of racism”, including repeated cases of local residents attacking camps with Molotov cocktails while police turn a blind eye. Although over half the 170,000 or so Roma and Sinti people in Italy are Italian citizens with regular jobs and houses, hate crimes against the poorest strata are rife, fuelled by inflammatory comments by politicians on both the left and right quick to paint Roma as crooks. […] Camp dwellers are prevented by council regulations from applying for public housing even if they were born in Italy, trapping them permanently in fenced-off centres far from schools, shops, health care centres or workplaces.” Because of this strong discrimination against Rroma, the European Commission has threatened legal actions against the Italian government for violation of the anti-discrimination legislation. Rroma belong to all social strata, but are indeed particularly affected by poverty and discrimination. Since the euro and economic crisis, various parties especially instrumentalise them as scapegoats for social ills. As in France, the public image of the minority is marked by extreme prejudice and misinformation: in the minds of many Italians, Rroma are synonymous with the residents of camps in the suburbs. The aspect of social exclusion is largely ignored.

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19.11.2014 Rroma in Austria: Rudolf Sarközi and the Holocaust

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Rudolf Sarközi, Holocaust survivor and founder of the “Cultural Association of Austrian Roma” is celebrating his seventieth birthday. Sarközi has won several awards for his commitment to the Rroma: “Almost to the day 70 years ago, Rudolf Sarközi was born in the Nazi detention camp in Lackenbach (district Oberpullendorf). Of the approximately 4,000 imprisoned Roma and Sinti in Lackenbach, only a few hundred survived the Holocaust – one of them was Sarközi. On Saturday, at the memorial in Lackenbach, one was commemorating the people murdered by the Nazis. Gymnasium students of Oberpullendorf and young Roma and Sinti co-created the celebration with touching speeches. Sarközi, chairman of Austrian Roma, found clear words: “I hope that the young in the group can say one day that we are not disadvantaged.” At the memorial event, Governor Hans Niessl (SPÖ) and regional vice Franz Steindl (ÖVP) presented Professor Sarközi one of the highest awards in Burgenland: the Commander’s Cross. “The fact that Roma and Sinti today have equal rights as other ethnic groups would not have been possible without the commitment of Rudolf Sarközi”, said the governor” (Kurier 2014, compare Salzburg24 2014).

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19.11.2014 Rome e.V awarded with integration medal

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The Cologne “Rome e.V.” association, under the direction of Simone Treis, which is committed to the integration and acceptance of Rroma in Germany, was awarded the integration medal of the Bundestag. The school “Amaro Kher”, founded by the association, especially supervises Rroma children from refugee camps. Despite the very positive work of the association, stereotypes about Rroma are also reproduced here, when speaking about alphabetisation coursers and migrants. 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma have been living in Germany for generations, can read and write and are integrated. This integrated, invisible Rroma are not mentioned here: “Simone Treis is chairman of “Rome e.V.”, which since 1986 is committed to fight antiziganism and discrimination against Sinti and Roma. Her projects include literacy classes, social counselling and intercultural festivals. The goal is a lived practice of integration, which includes the Sinti and Roma into the society and at the same time indorses them in preserving their traditions. Because, according to Treis, many of them have the option of either hiding their culture or to face hostility. […] At the ceremony, Volker Beck pointed to the continuing problem of antiziganism in Germany. Education is the foundation for a free and independent life, this is particularly true for marginalized minorities such as Sinti and Roma, he stated” (Iding 2014).

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19.11.2014 Stereotypes: criminal Rroma clans

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Guggisberg (2014) reports on criminal Rroma clans that allegedly force children into crime. Parents surrender their children to an omnipotent clan chief – to whom they are indebted – for begging and theft and some even end up in prostitution. Guggisberg uncritically reproduces the perspective of the “Wiener Drehscheibe”, a social service for begging and stealing children who have been arrested by the police. Guggisberg does not question that the social educator Norbert Ceipek – the head of the institution – who identifies each begging or stealing child as a victim of human trafficking, could himself be subject to prejudices and be providing misinformation on Rroma: “Ceipek opens another photo file. It shows a Roma village in Romania, which he recently visited. He tells of houses, cobbled together from planks and plastic sheeting, and dirt roads full of garbage. In the middle is a magnificent villa. “It belongs to the clan chief. He rules the villages as a state within a state”, says Ceipek […]. Many of the children dealt with in Vienna belong to the Roma. […] “The phenomenon of Eastern European gangs of beggars is not new. But since a couple of months, it taken new proportions”, says Ceipek. Very active are the Bosnian gangs, he states. Every few weeks, they would bring the children to different European cities, according to a rotating system. The social worker explains that his aim was to provide a perspective to the children, a little education. They might get on better path.”” Alexander Ott, head of the Foreign Police Bern, who has already been quoted repeatedly in articles about criminal Rroma gangs and trafficking of children, has his say. He reproduces the usual prejudices about hierarchical Rroma clans with a clan chief who leads children into crime: “The network of child traffickers reaches from Eastern Europe to Switzerland. “The victims are recruited in Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Often they come from large Roma families, are purchased or borrowed”, says Ott. One sends the boys to steal, urges them into prostitution, or forces them to beg. The instigators know well that the Swiss justice system cannot prosecute the perpetrators because of their young age. Adolescent burglars are booming in the autumn and winter months. Ott emphasises that they have to deal with highly professional, specialised and hierarchically-run clans, who practice their craft since generations.” Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. They are not hierarchically organised, as is often claimed, but structured largely egalitarian. So-called “Rroma kings” are self-elected and have purely representative character. Guggisberg and experts’ claim that behind begging children there is inevitably trafficking and organized crime, is wrong.

The characteristics of transnational operating trafficker networks, as presented here, are questioned by social science research. Their existence itself is not denied, something that cannot be in the interest of combating injustice. But their manifestation, their number, their omnipotence and the motivations attributed to them have to be questioned. These are often tainted by ideological fallacies, brought into connection or even equated with ethnic groups such as Rroma. Furthermore, the equation of child migration and trafficking has to be set into context. The stereotype of Rroma as child traffickers dates back to their arrival in Western Europe, and is in part based on the racist notion that Rroma did actively recruit children for criminal gangs. Regarding the topic of child migration, social science studies convey a more complex notion on the subject and point out that crimes such as incitement to beg and steal or alleged child trafficking are often permeated by various morals in the analysis and assessment by authorities, who don’t appropriately consider the perspective and motivations of migrating children and their relatives, and instead force on them their own ideas and definitions on organised begging, criminal networks or child trafficking. Structural differences of the societies involved and resulting reasons for a migration are given too little consideration. In reality, behind begging children there are often simply impoverished families, in which the children contribute to the family income and who therefore do not correspond to bourgeois notions of a normal family and childhood. De facto child trafficking is rare according to the sociological studies. Furthermore, the incomes from begging are very modest, which makes them unattractive for organised crime.  Guggisberg, who states that 200’000 children are recruited annually by the trafficking mafia, contradicts this. 

At the end of the article, Guggisberg quotes another expert opinion by Norbert Ceipek, the director of the “Wiener Drehschreibe”: At 15, many of them would get married and have children themselves, so that the cycle of crime continues. Likewise, Guggisberg reproduces this racist prejudice uncritically. The majority of Rroma, who live integrated, go to work and send their children to school, remain unmentioned (compare Cree/Clapton/Smith 2012, O’Connell Davidson 2011, Oude Breuil 2008, Tabin et al 2012).

  • Cree, Viviene E./Clapton, Gary/Smith, Mark (2012) The Presentation of Child Trafficking in the UK: An Old and New Moral Panic? In: Br J Soc Work 44(2): 418-433.
  • Guggisberg, Rahel (2014) Das Schicksal der Roma-Kinder von Wien. In: Tages-Anzeiger online vom 14.11.2014. http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/leben/gesellschaft/Das-Schicksal-der-RomaKinder-von-Wien/story/14626308
  • O’Connell Davidson, Julia (2011) Moving children? Child trafficking, child migration, and child rights. In: Critical Social Policy 31(3):454-477.
  • Oude Breuil, Brenda Carina (2008) Precious children in a heartless world? The complexities of child trafficking in Marseille. In: Child Soc 22(3):223-234.
  • Tabin, Jean Pierre et al. (2012) Rapport sur la mendicité « rrom » avec ou sans enfant(s). Université de Lausanne.
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19.11.2014 “Till the end of the world”: differentiated and prejudiced views about Rroma in Germany

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The feature film “Till the End of the World” tells about the relationship between a German pensioner and a young Rrom who recently immigrated to Germany. In the beginning, the woman has major reservations about the Rroma who moved into her house. However, her prejudices are increasing changed after she meets a young, extremely musically talented Rrom. Despite the desire to portray the Rroma as differentiated and unbiased as possible, the film is not without clichés: “The widow Maria Nikolai (Horbiger) dares barely to go out the door, since more and more foreigners live in her neighbourhood, especially Roma refugees in her house which she regards as riffraff. But as it is: When shopping, her wallet falls out of her pocket – and it is the Roma boy Bero (Samy Abdel Fattah), which brings it back to her. When he later finds shelter in her apartment from extreme right-wing thugs, the pensioner recognises his musical talent. The music-loving woman encourages the boy, meets his family and can overcome some of her prejudices. […] Of course, the film does not address the problems and biographies of all Roma in Germany. At the heart is the situation of a refugee family that suffers from poverty, their cramped living situation and back-breaking jobs. […] And that the boy can play the accordion so beautifuly, is ultimately a decision for a cliché” (Sakowitz 2014). In Germany, according to assessments of the Foundation Rroma, there are an estimated 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma. Before the Nazi genocide, there were much more. Many have lived in Germany for generations, speak fluently German, have a job and send their children to school. They are the proof that the prejudices about the minority do not correspond to reality (compare Gangloff 2014, Hupertz 2014, Schilling-Strack 2014).

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14.11.2014 Institute Economic and Social Studies (INESS): Rroma in Slovakia are not financially advantaged

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The Slovak Spectator (2014) reports on the publication of a new study by the Slovak Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS). The study comes to the conclusion that Rroma, contrary to widespread stereotypes and myths arguing that the minority receives excessive social funds, are not treated differently by the state. The study also refutes established ideas about the high number of children among Rroma. The analysis came to the conclusion that 90% of the families who receive child benefits, have one or two children: “NOT even 2.2 percent of total public spending goes to Roma citizens even though they are often depicted as those who abuse the social welfare system in Slovakia. This is the finding from an analysis conducted by the Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS) released on October 22. The think-tank looked into numbers provided by the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVaR), social insurer Sociálna Poisťovňa and the Atlas of Roma Communities and concluded that the costs of welfare paid in districts with a two-thirds Roma population makes up 2.2 percent of public spending, which is €578 million. “Even though Roma are proportionally higher recipients of public transfers these don’t amount to such a proportion of public finances as is discussed in inns or at the family table,” INESS analyst Ján Dinga, one of the study’s authors, told The Slovak Spectator.” Jarmila Lajčáková from the Research Centre for Ethnicity and Culture also pointed out that the misinformation and prejudice about the alleged preferential treatment of the Rroma in the social system complicates the integration of the minority, because they are confronted with these prejudices when trying to access the education system and the labour market. In Slovakia, according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 450,000 to 550,000 Rroma. Many of them belong to the middle class, have educations and their own apartments. They are almost constantly hidden in the public debate over the minority.

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14.11.2014 Rroma against racism: conference on anti-Rroma racism in Vienna

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APA-OTS (2014) reports on a current Rroma conference in Vienna. From November the 10th to the 16th, under the slogan “Putren le jakha! – Open your eyes”, around 70 young Rroma activists from eleven countries came together to discuss the topic of “antiziganism”. The event was hosted by the Austrian Rroma association Rromano Centro: “Antiziganism is a form of racism that is directed against people that are stigmatised as gypsies.” The manifestations range from daily discrimination and structural racism to violent assault and murder. Under National Socialism, half a million people defined as “Gypsies” were murdered. This genocide is still little recognised. […] Mustafa Jakupov from Macedonia reports that Roma are being prevented from leaving their country: “At the insistence of Western European countries, strict border controls are carried out. Racial profiling means that many Roma are no longer allowed to leave their country. 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there is again a country in Europe that does not allowed its citizens to leave.” […] ““Beggars” dominate the representation of Roma in the Austrian media and many journalists spread stereotypes that they do not question. These images lead to an increasing rejection,” Samuel Mago from Vienna stresses the responsibility of the media.” The term “antiziganism” has become an established concept, but is actually an unfortunate term, because by using the word “gypsy” it reproduces the derogatory term for a variety of groups as the Rroma, the Yeniche, the Irish Travellers, which have different historical backgrounds and characteristics (compare Die Presse 2014, Kurier 2014).

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14.11.2014 ORF: “The struggle of the Rroma”

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Rudich (2014) tries to convey a differentiated picture of Rroma in Europe. On the occasion of the resurgence of right-wing nationalist parties, the journalist visited Rroma representatives in European politics, young Rroma students, but also marginalised Rroma in Hungary and Spain. By selecting a variety of Rroma from all strata of society, she succeeds in portraying the minority beyond highly popular stereotypes: “In Hungary, Roma are dispossessed and displaced and forced to hear that Hitler should have killed them all”, warns the Roma activist Agnes Daroczi, “it is hardly surprising that more and more are considering to emigrate to Western Europe.” But also in the countries of Western Europe, affected by the economic crisis, the poorest minority in Europe are made to scapegoats. “The ultra-right parties stir up similar prejudices against Roma as in the 1930s against the Jews”, says the Swedish Romni Soraya Post, who fights as MEP against discrimination, exclusion and persecution. […] Julieta Rudich also shows in her reportage the new, self-confident generation of Roma, who no longer wants to hide their origin though assimilation. She speaks with, among others, with Juan de Dios Ramirez, the first Gitano in the European Parliament, about how is it that the coexistence with the majority population in Spain works reasonably frictionless […]” (APA-OTS 2014). Julieta shows how the enrolment of Rroma children is actively encouraged in Spain, and how a Rroma mayor in Hungary boosts the work moral of his community. Nevertheless, the focus of the documentation remains on the marginalized part of the minority.

Rudich, Julieta (2014) WELTjournal: Europa – Der Kampf der Roma. In: ORF online vom 12.11.2014. http://tvthek.orf.at/program/Weltjournal/1328/WELTjournal-Europa-Der-Kampf-der-Roma/8772882

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14.11.2014 Stereotypes: marginalised Rroma in Albania

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Glass (2014) reports on Rroma living at a large garbage dump on the outskirts of Tirana. Both the children and parents, who live in extremely modest circumstances, participate in the search for re-sellable materials that ends up on the garbage dump. The children go to school and hope for a better future. A woman speaks of discrimination by a local hospital that did not want to treat her because she is Rroma. The short documentary gives an insight into a life of extreme poverty. In his statement, the mayor denies that people are living at the garbage dump. He claims that there was a wall built around it. Despite its emphatic perspective, the report reproduces one-sided stereotypes about Rroma: that they are poor, uneducated, have many children and live in slums. Economic misery is the fate of many people of former Soviet states, and is not restricted to Rroma. In Albania, according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 Rroma. Many of them are well integrated and have their own homes, but are not perceived as Rroma by the public, because they do not conform to stereotypes about the minority. Especially in the Balkans, the integration of Rroma into the majority society is historically documented: there are Rroma teachers, doctors, lawyers, police officers and much more. Unfortunately, all too often, the media neglects this aspect.

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12.11.2014 Goberling: memorial for the victims of the Rroma Holocaust

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ORF (2014) reports on the inauguration of a memorial for the victims of the genocide committed by the National Socialists. In Goberling, in the southeast of Austria, there were around 120 Rroma in the beginnings of the 1940s. Many of them were employed in the mining industry, as the historian Gerhard Baumgartner states. Then, in 1943, almost all of them were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau: “In the era of National Socialism, thousands of Roma have been murdered. Entire neighbourhoods were obliterated, including those in Goberling (District Oberwart). Now, a memorial for the victims of National Socialism was built there. […] Until their deportation, the Roma were virtually the only Catholics in Goberling. After the war, their church remained empty. About 60 years ago, the Catholic parish of Stadtschlaining sold the church, the evangelical pastor of Stadtschlaining, Gerhard Harkam, said. The municipality had initially taken over the church and later sold it to the Lutheran church of Goberling. Next to the Goberlinger Church, which is one of the oldest in Burgenland, a memorial stone has been built now on the initiative of mayor of Goberling, Hans Bieler.” In Auschwitz-Birkenau alone, 30,000 Rroma registered were murdered. Researchers estimate at least half a million casualties among the Rroma. The genocide of the Rroma is much less known in comparison to the mass murder of the Jews.

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12.11.2014 Rroma attend anti-racism rally in Waterford

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McCormack (2014) reports on an anti-racism rally in Waterford, Ireland. A racist pogrom against Rroma took place at the end of October, culminating in the attack of a house inhabited by Rroma. The protesters accused the Rroma of burglaries and thefts. The residents could be brought to safety thanks to the police’s intervention. In response to the pogrom, a rally against xenophobia took place in early November. A Rroma family from Dublin, who had kept their identity a secret until now also took part: „Roma woman Jennifer Ciuciu (20) concealed her true identity for three years for fear of persecution when she moved from Romania to Ireland with her family. […] So Jennifer and her four siblings said they were “Romanian instead of Roma gypsies.” And in the aftermath of the recent “anti-Roma protests” in Waterford, they have no regrets about denying their roots. “Some people are so racist. If had to go back I would hide it again because I wouldn’t like what happened here to happen to me”, she said standing in the middle of John Robert’s Square at last week’s Waterford Against Racism protest.” Chief superintendent Pat Murphy condemned the anti-Rroma pogrom as racist scapegoat politics by people who are not interested in public safety. In the UK, there are an estimated 90,000 to 120,000 Rroma according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation. The majority of them are integrated and have a job. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups, but are particularly affected by discrimination and exclusion. In recent months and years, right-wing populist parties and the media have fuelled fears of a mass immigration of Eastern European Rroma, which allegedly would abuse the British welfare system and do not want to integrate. Such prejudices and misinformation also spread because of uncritical media coverage.

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12.11.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and prostitution

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Szenogrady (2014) reports on the verdict against a Hungarian pimp who was sentenced for forcing a debtor and a long-time girlfriend into prostitution at the Zurich Sihlquai. The pimp is referred to as being Rrom. The victim’s ethnicity is not explicitly stated, but it is suggested that there are also Rroma. The pimp was sentenced to prison for four years: “With a now 34-year-old labourer from Hungary, a brutal Roma pimp had to stand trial for human trafficking, promotion of prostitution, extortion and other crimes at the Zurich high court. […] The pimp had threatened an indebted compatriot with death by shackling him in Hungary and menacing him to push him into a water channel. […] In Zurich, the offender forced his trafficked victim into prostitution on the Sihlquai. Although the victim is heterosexual, he had to disguise himself as a woman and to sexually satisfy diverse punters as a transvestite over several weeks. […] The brutal perpetrator also brought a long time girlfriend in his power. […] In Zurich, the young woman had to prostitute herself for several months and pass her winnings to her patron. If she protested, he hit her or threatened to throw her out the window.” Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. However, by the one-sided media focus on delinquent Rroma, this impression is wrongly suggested and maintained. Few Rromni and Rrom are effectively involved in prostitution.

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12.11.2014 Rroma and asylum in Canada

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Cain (2014) reports on a new and controversial practice in the Canadian immigration policy. Financial subsidies are paid to immigrants when they voluntarily agree to renounce an asylum procedure and return to their homeland. From the perspective of immigration lawyers, this practice is not without problems, as asylum applicants are  encouraged to give up their rights in return for financial incentives: “Under the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Program, unsuccessful refugee claimants who agree to abandon the appeal process are given airfare home, which on average costs $1,500, and “in-kind reintegration assistance” to a maximum of $2,000. […] Immigration lawyers question how voluntary the program – targeted at people who are often extremely poor, worried about incarceration or deportation and may be unfamiliar with Canada’s refugee appeal system – really is. “The more appeal rights you give up, the more money you get,” says immigration lawyer Max Berger. […] “Essentially, it’s a bribe. The Government of Canada is offering refugee claimants money, which is tied to them forgoing their appeal rights.” In addition, Cain’s article discusses the fate of a Rroma family from Slovakia. The father portrayed points out on his ill-treatment and discrimination in his home country. He wanted to spare his two young sons such experiences through emigration to Canada. For five years, the young family man has been living there with his children and his wife. However, the personal experiences of discrimination have little impact compared to the official estimates of the authorities. Rroma are not politically persecuted in Europe. However, that does not mean that they do not experience discrimination in everyday life, in the education system and the labour market.

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07.11.2014 Marseille: Didier Réault sentenced for demagogic statement

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Didier Réault, assistant to the mayor of Marseille, was sentenced to a fine of 1000 Euros on probation. The local politician had called on Twitter to throw Molotov cocktails at a local Rroma settlement. The offender was also sentenced to pay an indemnity of 600 Euros to the organisation Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (Mrap), which had charged Réault as a private plaintiff: “The sentence has been pronounced. More than a year after he had published a tweet in which referred to the Roma camp in the north, Didier Réault was sentenced on Thursday. The judiciary has found him guilty of “having inciting hatred, discrimination and violence.” It also sentenced the UMP assistant of the mayor to a fine of 1000 Euros on probation, and prompted him to pay 600 Euros in damages to the organisation “Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié of peuples (Mrap)”. The latter represents the private plaintiff. On June the 8th, 2013, Didier Réault republished a first call of throwing Molotov cocktails in the context of a Roma camp in the north of Hellemmes. The deputy wrote: “See you soon in Marseille for the same action”, making an allusion to a Roma camp in the 10th arrondissement of Marseille” (Planet 2014). Didier Réault is not an isolated case. Repeatedly, various politicians in France have been sentenced for racist remarks on Rroma. Their unreflective statements reverberate the one-sided image of the minority in the French public, dominated by prejudices (compare 20 Minutes France 2014 Rasteau 2014).

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07.11.2014 Rroma as losers of the 1989 turnaround

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Mappes-Niediek (2014) reports on marginalised Rroma in Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia. He emphasises that it is not primarily the repeatedly criticised discrimination, but primarily the economic exclusion, the sometimes poor qualifications or the lack of relationships in the world of employment that keep Rroma marginalised. However, he disregards that there are Rroma who are well educated, but are not perceived as members of the minority. Also, not all Rroma have many children, as the Rromni he portrays: “As the world suddenly began to spin faster, Elena Costache was 34 years old. She lived with her husband and nine children in a house with four rooms in the Bucharest district Ferentari. She had a steady job in a bindery, where she packed the shipping goods. Then everything went quickly. The bindery was forced to close. Her husband also lost his job […]. That they are Roma or, as they say here, Țigani – Gypsies – for Elena, Cristina and Gheorghe is not worth a thought, besides their many problems. Nevertheless, their fate has to do with their ethnicity – though not as the simplifiers try to make believe. […] After the turnaround, the number of jobs fell to less than a half. Million industrial workers were attracted from the cities to the countryside, where the state refunded them the house with a hectare of arable land, which had once belonged to their grandparents. Many remained there and still live almost without money, only living from their plots. About ten percent of the population got nothing from the land distribution. Not because they wanted to discriminate against them, but because even their grandparents didn’t have any. The Roma were slaves in Romania since the Middle Ages, and were not allowed to own land.” Mappes-Niediek show that it is no general racism, which keeps the excluded Rroma at the margins of society, but that it is a combination of sometimes historically low professional qualifications with an economic marginalisation, which makes it difficult to break out of the spiral of poverty. However, it must be emphasized that Mappes-Niediek only portrays the marginalised Rroma, and therefore mistakenly equates the minority with an underclass. However, Rroma in South-eastern Europe – with the exception of Romania –have been integrated for centuries and are found in all professions.

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07.11.2014 Stereotypes about Rroma in Ireland

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On the occasion of a racist mob in Waterford that agitated against Rroma at the end of October, McCarthy (2014) conducted a social experiment: She disguised herself as a Romni beggar in order to understand the experiences of marginalised people. The social experiment that was designed with good intentions, unfortunately prompts McCarthy to spread numerous stereotypes and misinformation about Rroma: she considers that all, or many Rroma, are poor and are beggars. In addition, she uncritically makes allusions to organised begging gangs, human trafficking and arranged child marriages. That a considerable proportion of the Rroma are not poor and criminal, but lead normal existences, remains unmentioned: “As a Romani in Dublin, you are either completely ignored or asked to move along. It’s no news to them to be treated poorly. It has defined their existence throughout history. They were expelled or enslaved, sentenced to torture and death, segregated and discriminated against pretty much ever since they were brought to Europe from northwestern India and Pakistan. They never identified themselves with a territory. They don’t have a distant homeland or any rights to national sovereignty anywhere. The world’s true travellers, on the fringes of society, they are a cultural enigma to the rest of the conforming, technologically-savvy world. In many cases they don’t own anything like social security numbers or credit cards.” In the UK, according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation, there are an estimated 90,000 to 120,000 Rroma. The majority of them is integrated, goes to work, and is sedentary. However, in the in recent months and years, right-wing populist parties and the media have spread fears of a mass immigration of Eastern European Rroma, which would allegedly abuse the British social welfare system and do not want to integrate.

Thompson (2014) conveys a more nuanced notion of the Rroma in Ireland. But also her portrait of a Rromni who has been living in the country for fourteen years, is permeated by stereotypes: Gaby Muntean works as a social worker in her community and speaks of the economic hardships that she and her husband faced at the beginning of their immigration. For a long time, they could not find any work and had to rely on the solidarity of their acquaintances. Aside from this stereotype, who mistakenly equates Rroma with educational alienation and poverty, Muntean also points to the Rroma living integrated, of whom many have the Irish nationality.

  1. McCarthy, Barbara (2014) My day on the streets as a Roma. In: Irish Independent online vom 2.11.2014. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/my-day-on-the-streets-as-a-roma-30710575.html
  2. Thompson, Sylvia (2014) Behind The News: Anti-Roma protests in Waterford. In: The Irish Times online vom 1.11.2014. http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/behind-the-news-anti-roma-protests-in-waterford-1.1983698
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