Tag Archives: Roma

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28.02.2014 Die Zeit criticizes the victim discourse about Rroma

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In her article in Die Zeit, Lau (2014) criticizes the victim role to which Rroma activists are said to refer to constantly in Germany. In the debate about poverty migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, one mainly talks about the immigrants, but not with them. This also has to do with the focus of the activism of Romani Roses, who has been working for the rights of the Rroma in Germany for several decades. Rose focuses his policy on the recognition that Rroma were victims of the Nazi genocide, whereby other topics are to receiving less than enough attention: “Ironically, the central council and Romani Rose prevent elsewhere that the understanding between newly arrived Roma and the majority society improves. Since he can remember, Romani Rose fought for the recognition as victims of genocide, a fact repeatedly disputed by historians. […] Since they share neither religion nor written culture, there is actually only one link between the Sinti and Roma: the experience of persecution. And that is the reason why discrimination is the central topic in the political statements of their community, rather than strategies of advancement.” Lau’s article tries to find out why there is a lack of solution strategies in the current debate about immigrants from Southeast Europe. However, she is wrong when she accuses Rroma to stick to a victim status. This criticism was already expressed in the beginning of 2013 by another author: In his book Zigeuner – Begegnungen mit einem ungeliebten Volk, Rolf Bauerdick criticised the lack of self-initiative in improving the social integration of the Rroma. This criticism is one-sided and hides the mechanisms of exclusion. Although it is right that a successful integration involves two sides, promotion and self-initiative, the latter one can only happen if the necessary conditions are given. Otherwise, suppression remains the dominant factor.

Just the opposite is argued by the TAZ in its interview with the historian Patricia Pientka. Pientka researched the story of a Rroma detention camp in Berlin-Marzahn. The historian is shattered about how bad the persecution of the Rroma in Germany was researched so far, also concerning the Berlin-Marzahn detention camp. In 1936, Rroma were selected via by sociographic criteria for the camp: caravans, many children and certain profession groups were decisive for the internment as well as the living on welfare. In 1938, the pseudo-scientific criteria of the racial hygiene research unit under Robert Ritter were implemented. The continuity between the war and the post-war period is particularly shocking. Perpetrators from the Nazi era were appointed as experts in courts, where they could play down or even qualify the war horrors with false statements: “In Berlin and elsewhere, the police departments for “Gypsy questions” established at end of 1938 are of central importance. In Berlin, the head of the department was Leo Karsten. After the war, he was superintendent of the police of Ludwigshafen and throughout Germany was the appointed expert on compensation issues for Sinti and Roma. His testimony led, among other things, to the verdict that the senate didn’t recognize the Marzahn detention camp as a labour camp […]. One can definitely say that the racist persecution of Sinti and Roma in Nazi Germany hasn’t been critically analysed until today. We have a huge deficit. This is also reflected in the case with Roma from South Eastern Europe, for instance Serbia, who are absolutely not perceived as descendants of Holocaust victims – what they definitely are” (Memarnia 2014).

Bosnie Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest North Macedonia Serbie

28.02.2014 Germany wants to declare Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina “safe countries of origin”

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Schäfer (2014) reports on the plans of the German federal government to declare the Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina “safe countries of origin”. As a result of this, asylum applications from these countries can be processed more quickly in the future. The letter of the German federal ministry of the interior states: “that in all these countries ( … ) neither political persecution nor torture or inhuman or degrading treatment takes place and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.” Left-wing politicians like Ulla Jelpke demanded the deputies of the federal states to withhold the authorization for this policy. The new policy is said to primarily affect Rroma: “As a matter of fact, “90 percent of these people are Rroma, who are fleeing systematic discrimination and hazardous exclusion and poverty.” In the countries concerned, Rroma are exposed to “multiple forms of discrimination, taken together they certainly justify refugee protection”. But this protection  “is sacrificed on the altar of a populist debate”, said Jelpke.” While proponents of deportation rely on country analyses that state none or only very minimal discrimination against minorities in countries like Serbia, Macedonia or Bosnia-Herzegovina, proponents of the asylum seekers state the exact opposite. Subjective experiences, which can rarely be proved with documents, usually are dismissed in comparison to the official analyses that assess the social situation in a country. Bernd Mesovic from Pro Asly criticises that restrictive asylum practices are already in place now and serious examinations of the reasons for flight are not applied (compare Tiroler Tageszeitung Online 2014, Die Welt 2014, Zeit 2014).

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28.02.2014 The integration of Rroma in Europe achieves only little progress

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Fontanella-Khan/Eddy (2014) take as a reference the fate of Rroma in Northeast-Hungary to question the effectiveness of European integration efforts towards Rroma. Analysts as well as people affected share the opinion that the situation of Rroma in Europe hasn’t changed. The controversial assessment that there is a European “Rroma problem” is also shared by the European justice commissioner Viviane Reding. However, it must be made clear that right-wing politicians connect the concept of a “Rroma problem” with an alleged lack of desire to integrate, while others use it to describe the striking marginalization of the minority. The latter view is shared by the authors of the article: “The biggest struggle for the Roma has been overcoming stereotypes that depict them as travelling petty criminals unwilling to integrate into mainstream society. [ … ] Images of Roma beggars across Europe have fortified past prejudices, even though a study by the UNDP of Roma migrants in Belgium showed that the overwhelming majority had emigrated to work rather than claim benefits or abuse the welfare system.” A brief recap of the history of suffering that Rroma endured since their arrival in Europe follows. The current situation of the Rroma in the European Union does not look rosy either. In most Western European countries, they are confronted with a rigorous policy of expulsion. Fontanella-Khan/Eddy criticise the EU and the national governments for having failed in effectively fighting racism and prejudice against the Rroma. An additional problem is declining public funds for the education of the younger generation. The Roma Education Fund regrets this in particular. Reasons for the lack of effectiveness of the integration programs are passed from various departments to others. Moreover, the EU shows little efforts in the implementation of minority rights through the governments of its member states. One of the problems lies in the lacking analysis of the effectiveness of the overall programs. Although the EU tracks where the money is spent, it doesn’t analyze the effectiveness of the programs it funds. Local politicians who are entrusted with the implementation of integration programs, often have a bad attitude towards the Rroma and intentionally corrupt the integration efforts.

France Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

28.02.2014 Social marginalization of the Rroma in France

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Brigaudeau (2014) addresses the relationship of French citizens towards the Rroma, referring to the new publication Roms & riverains: Une politique municipale de la race by Eric Fassin et al. She notes that in the French media the problems arising in connection with this minority receive massively more space than their discrimination and exclusion. The publication of Fassin et al. offer answers to this one-sidedness and thematises the political issues behind the unwillingness of the majority society to integrate the Rroma. First, there is the problem of local politics, which is entirely focused on the needs of local residents, because they re-elect the mayor. This leads consequently to shifting the Rroma from one place to another: “The state is content to answer the needs of the local voters. And when the mayoral elections approach, the mayors hand the responsibility for their decision down to the residents: the representatives are content to answer to the demands of their voters!” Because of this, Rroma are made the scapegoats of local politics, usually to their disadvantage. On the other hand, there are positive examples of towns and villages that have been actively trying to integrate the minority. When taking these actions, the politicians rely on the hope that voters will reflect on their intelligence and not on their emotions. Fassin also notes that the evacuation of a camp costs more than to equip one with water electricity etc. It is therefore also the French voters, and not only to the French politicians, who contribute to the marginalization of the Rroma: “The question that those responsible must ask themselves is: is it really in our interest to keep a population, who has settled down in Europe, in such a marginality?”

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28.02.2014 The invisible Kosovo-Rroma in France

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Bonnet (2014) reports on a documentary that Rroma refugees from the Kosovo film about their past. A group of Rroma from Beziers documents their escape, the horrors of war and reveals for the first time to a public their ethnic identity: “It is the first time that they speak. Because the memories still hurt and because, since their arrival in France, they have learned to behave discreetly. Fifteen years after the war in Kosovo and their flight, several Rroma families for the first time speak about the horrors they experienced. They also succeed in expressing what they have concealed out of fear of being rejected: to say that they are Rroma.” The reservations of the Rroma to hide their identity to the outside are very justified. As the media coverage about Rroma has shown, but also the statements of many French politicians, the reservations towards Rroma are still severe.

France Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

28.02.2014 Francetv Info confirms prejudices about criminal Rroma gangs

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Legrand (2014) confirms with her article prejudices about criminal Rroma gangs that operate from slums in the French suburbs. For her article, she refers to numerous accounts from police stations, expressing problems when dealing with underage beggars and thieves. Thereby common stereotypes of Rroma are perpetuated. Particularly problematic are the opinions from the office for prevention of crime by homeless people (office central de lutte contre la délinquance itinérante OCLDI): “Our investigation units determined that vans are driving away from the camps in the morning. The boys are dropped of on a street where they steal money and jewellery before they are taken elsewhere, confirms a police commander. But it is difficult to persecute the networks based on facts. You’d need to have a huge number of staff available to examine all the inputs and outputs of the camps, complains the police commander.” Legrand only uses one-sided sources to demonstrate her reasoning. Representatives from the Rroma or Rroma organizations are not allowed to speak. This leaves the false impression that the French penal code is too lax for the persecution of the delinquent Rroma. The Rroma are not more delinquent than members of other ethnic groups.  

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

21.02.2014 The movie “Lungone Dromença” gives Kosovo refugees in France and Germany a voice

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Delacou (2014) reports on the new documentary by the filmmakers Marie-Christine and Pierre Duchalet Gadrey. The two directors give five Rromni who fled from the war in Kosovo avoice. The filmmakers already knew a Rroma family from Kosovo, through their work for the organization Réseau éducation sans frontières (RESF). The film wants to establish a counter-image to the strongly negative loaded representation and perception of the minority by the media and the public: “By realizing our documentation, we wanted to show the true face of this community: people like everyone else with the same desires and objectives: live free, work, raise their children in peace, being accommodated decently.”  For the five eyewitnesses, the film is also a revelation of their own history and identity to the public: “They are now well integrated in France and Germany. No one knows that they are Rroma! Not even their colleagues, not even her friends. They kept their identity systematically secret, for fear of being rejected.” This film is also a call for more social tolerance and a more humane asylum policy. Although a return agreement between the countries involved exists, the effective situation of Rroma in the Kosovo is not really considered.

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

21.02.2014 Discrimination against Rroma in Hungary worryingly high

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Matache (2014) reports on the results of a study published by the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. The study criticises the increasing institutional racism against the Rroma in Hungary and the tolerance of extremist groups who rally against the minority. The discrimination against Rroma has strongly increased since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The Hungarian government did almost do nothing to respond to these recent development: “Though the rise of racially motivated crimes and violent attacks since 2008 should have given strong signals for intervention, the FXB report shows how weak Hungarian government’s response has been. Because of its failure to act definitively, perpetrators and their followers have been emboldened, unhindered by any public outrage or strong government sanction. Racist violence is increasingly accepted as a legitimate form of retribution, a model followed by citizens, organisations, and leaders alike.” The Hungarian minister of human resources, Zoltán Balog, meanwhile emphasises in his public statements the strong efforts of Hungary to successfully integrate the Rroma in the majority society. He particularly draws attention to the economic potential of the minority. In his opinion, great progress has been made. However, that his point of view is the one of a politician of the ruling party, should not be forgotten. Concern about the increasing racism is appropriate (compare FXB Center 2014).

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

21.02.2014 The victims of the Rroma murders in Hungary

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Verseck (2014) discusses the role of the bereaved families of the victims of the Rroma murders in Hungary. Éva Kóka is the widow of Jeno Kóka, a Rrom from Tiszalök, in North-Eastern Hungary. Kóka was brutally murdered in April 2009 by members of an extreme right-wing group, when he wanted to start his night shift at the local pharmacy factory. Immediately after the murder, the health of Kóka worsened significantly: “Éva Kóka broke together after the murder of her husband, her health deteriorated abruptly. She was unable to work, had to give up her position in a wood factory and moved in with her daughter.” The murders, Verseck states, are symptomatic of the institutionalised racism against Rroma in Hungary. A Hungarian minister is said to have known about substantial evidence that would have led to the arrest of the perpetrators, already back in 2009. But this evidence was purposively obliterated. In addition, the members the families of the six victims and the 55 people heavily injured people didn’t receive any redress or apology from the state until August 2013. On the 6th of August last year, four of the murderers involved were convicted, three of them to life imprisonments. Following the convictions, the Hungarian government promised the victims and survivors financial compensation. To date, they haven’t received anything. Many are seriously ill and are still living in severe poverty.

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

21.02.2014 Photo exhibitions document the suffering in French Rroma camps but confirm prejudices

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During 2012, the photographer Hervé Lequeux spent four months in three French Rroma camps in the Paris region. His work shows the everyday life of immigrant Rroma, their misery, the life with modest means, the sale of second hand items in flea markets and some begging. He encountered only very few representatives of aid agencies or the government during his four-month study. He states that the Rroma are mainly left to themselves. One of the camps visited by Lequeux has already been evicted. The other two still exist, for the time being. With his photographs, Lequeux gives an emphatic look at the simple life in the slums, but at the same time reproduces stereotypes of impoverished, poorly educated, begging Rroma, who burden the French social system. He would have helped Rroma to successfully integrateif he had made a reportage about the integrated, invisible Rroma of France, a fact that doesn’t come to his mind. However, is clear to him that the immigrant Rroma do not voluntarily live in miserable conditions, as is assumed by some conservative politicians, but would like to integrate if they could so: “They want to live as the French do. They want a house, a car, that’s all” (Lindell 2014).  

Mathieu Pernot – in his exhibition – also focuses on the visible Rroma of France. With his camera, he accompanied Rroma living in a settlement near Arles. The photos are of an aesthetic brilliance, but it wouldn’t hurt if the photographer ad a bit more political awareness. The demonstration of misery alone, even when borne with dignity, does not help to change the socio-political discourse (Paris Match 2014).

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21.02.2014 The misconceptions of organized begging networks

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Ulmi (2014) qualifies stereotypes of organized begging networks among Rroma, as they are disseminated by numerous newspapers, in particular the Weltwoche in Switzerland. In his text, Ulmi refers to the study of the Lausanne sociology professor Jean-Pierre Tabin, who discussed the mechanisms of begging for the canton of Lausanne. Tabin qualifies nearly all conventional notions about organized begging: the income from begging is very modest and only secures the beggars most basic needs. High profits are a media illusion. Most beggars do not operate for organized, criminal networks, but for themselves. With his study, Tabin argues for begging to be considered as poverty mendicancy and not as an enrichment strategy. Tabin explains that the idea of organized begging is a misunderstanding of mendicancy. This incomprehension is then replaced by the apparently obvious answer of criminal networks: “Everything we think we know about begging, in our cities in general and about the begging Rroma in particular, is wrong. False is the idea of the organized networks that take advantage of the beggars. False are our ideas about the gains coming out of begging. Completely wrong is our idea of the identity of the Rroma…“

Albanie Allemagne Kosovo Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest North Macedonia Serbie

14.02.2014 Debate about social conditions in the countries of origin of people threatened with deportation

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With the debate over the right to stay of a Rroma family from Macedonia in Germany, the massive disagreements over the conditions in the countries of origin of people threatened with deportation became apparent. While proponents of deportation rely on country analyses, which state that no or very minimal discrimination against minorities in countries like Macedonia exists, supporters of the asylum seekers claim the exact opposite: “With a deportation to Macedonia the Roma family faces a hopeless fate”, writes member of parliament Kühn-Mengel to Rosenke. If the family will be deported, the Rustems will be exposed to “institutional discrimination”, warns the politician.” The father of the Rustem family had been beaten so heavily in his home country that he lay in comma for several days, according to his own statement. Subjective expertise, which can rarely be proved with documents, usually face hard resistance against official analyses that assess the social situation in a country (Kölnische Rundschau 2014, Wochenspiegel 2014).

Gajevic (2014) reports on the deportation of Rroma from Germany to Kosovo. She points out that in the opinion of social scientists and left-wing politicians, the situation for many Rroma in the Kosovo is precarious. Because they often do not speak Albanian, an enrolment into school is usually not possible. The supply of water, electricity, food and sanitation is often poor and discrimination as a minority is anything but irrelevant:  „Largely unnoticed by the public, Rroma living here in Germany are increasingly forced to move back to Kosovo. According to the left party viewpoint, this is often a return into misery. The response to a request by the left party to the federal government shows that in the past two years, nearly 850 people were reported into the Balkan country, nearly half of whom were Roma. [ … ] The federal government signed in 2010 a readmission agreement – against fierce criticism – with the republic that split from Serbia, which allows to send back 2500 refugees every year.”

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Roumanie Slovénie

14.02.2014 Romanian President convicted for racist abuse against Rroma

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Various newspapers report the conviction of Romania’s President Traian Basescu. Basescu who has been repeatedly noticed for his dismissive remarks against Rroma. In 2011, he commented publicly that Rroma steal in buses. During an official visit to Slovenia in 2010, he stated that travelling Rroma would traditionally live from what they steal. In 2007, he insulted a journalist as a “dirty gypsy”. In response to Basescu’s statements, the Rroma organization Romani Criss fielded a complaint at the Romanian Council against discrimination. The council has convicted Basescu for a symbolic fine of 600 lei (160 Swiss francs). Whether this conviction will change Basescu’s behaviour, is doubtful. The newpaper Zeit (2014) complements that Basescu has not yet responded to the conviction. However, for the Romanian Council against discrimination the message tthat even a president can be convicted for racist abuse is important (compare Aarauer Zeitung 2014, Basellandschaftliche Zeitung 2014, Le Figaro 2014, Neue Luzerner Zeitung 2014, Stimme Russlands 2014, TAZ 2014, 20 minutes).

Grèce Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Roumanie

14.02.2014 Social perception of the Rroma in Great Britain

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Yaron Matras, the author of the recently published book “I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies”, talks in his latest article in the Guardian about the social perception and role of the Rroma in Great Britain. Simple employees, such as the hairdresser of a friend of the author, are said to be complaining about the greater economic competition from immigrants such as the Rroma. In this economically motivated racism, Rroma are wrongly equated with Romanians and commonly used stereotypes about Rroma are strengthened: “Romanians are equated with Roma – hence the association with caravans and the shyness to appear politically incorrect. […] It is the image of Roma on our streets that triggers an emotional reaction, more so than the thought of just any citizen from new EU member states arriving at a job centre in Basingstoke or Leeds. It was the Roma who were singled out last November by the deputy prime minister as “intimidating” and “offensive” in their behaviour. Unfounded allegations that Roma were kidnapping children in Greece and Ireland didn’t help either.“ The really important question – and here Matras is absolutely right – is not how to bring the Rroma to integrate themselves, but how to manage to change the incorrect notions of the majority society about the Rroma. Because if the Rroma are given the opportunity to integrate – what in most countries is only possible very limited so far – they will doubtlessly do it.

Bulgarie Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Roumanie

14.02.2014 The Rroma policy of the European Union and the free movement of persons

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Gutschker (2014) spoke with justice commissioner and vice-president of the European Commission, Viviane Reding, on the Rroma policy of the European Union. In the first part of the interview, the conversation focused around the question as to whether social benefits for non-working immigrants from EU-member states are legal or not. Right-wing politicians regularly accuse immigrant Rroma to unfairly burden the German social welfare system. Reding takes the position that the social benefits come to the good of immigrants with very low wages who are dependent on assistance. Nobody will receive social assistance just for the good of it, she states. For the interviewer, the debate on social benefits is in truth an argument about pan-European solidarity. For Viviane Reding however, the debate circles around questions of a liberal economic market, which allows the needed workforce to freely circulate. It is astonishing that even Reding holds the idea most of the so-called poverty immigrants are Rroma, although the ethnicity is not recorded in statistics. She sees the need to support these disadvantaged Rroma, so that the spiral of poverty can be broken. Concerning the social benefits received by EU-immigrants, Reding sees the numbers as strongly exaggerated. Only a very small part of the support payments go to immigrants from other EU countries. An amount three times as high is said to go to immigrants from third countries. Reding also wants that the EU countries better use their allocated social funds from the European Union and defuse municipal focal points. The restriction of the free movement of persons – as the Swiss electorate decided on the 9th of February – is said to be incompatible with the principle of a shared internal market: “You can not take advantage of the internal market with all the advantages for export and at the same time restrict the free movement of persons. In December, we had a meeting of EU interior ministers, and all agreed to the above – with the exception of the British. There was also agreement that the right to move freely does not establish a right to access the social systems. Rights are always associated with duties” (compare Epoch Times 2014, Spiegel 2014).  

Frigelj (2014) reports on the visit of EU-commissioner László Andor in Duisburg. Duisburg was almost constantly in the headlines during 2013. Again and again, newspapers reported – in a more or less populist fashion – on impoverished, criminal Rroma clans from Romania and Bulgaria, which are supposedly flooding into the city. László Andor tried to get an idea of the situation on the spot. He attended employment-assistance institutions, talked with immigrants, residents, social workers, and police officers. Andor acknowledged, the article states, that the city is dealing with a problem of poverty and Germany and its municipalities were entitled to money from the new “relief fund for the poorest” of the European Union. The article seems factual and objective, but indirectly spreads the idea that Rroma are almost exclusively poorly educated, marginalized people who escape poverty and discrimination in their home countries: “The highly qualified doctors and nurses are attracted mainly to southern Germany. To Duisburg and Dortmund, which have a high proportion of vacant dwellings and lower end real estate, where up to 90% unqualified immigrants with large families are drawn. From around 600 monthly newcomers, almost half are children.” That there are also many well-integrated Rroma in Germany is not mentioned.

 

France Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles suisses Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Roumanie

14.02.2014 Booklet on the rights of marginalized Rroma angries SVP

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Francey (2014) reports on the publication of a brochure by the legal faculty of Geneva that informs marginalized Rroma in the city about their fundamental rights. The brochure explains people in precarious financial situations their rights: if they are entitled to benefits from the state, if they can be fined by the police for begging or if they a license as a street musician. The booklet is written in both French and Romanian as well as in pictograms, to reach people who struggle reading. The brochure has now been attacked by the SVP-Geneva. The right-wing conservative party sees the publication as an invitation for socially vulnerable people to come to Switzerland. It has fielded a complaint against the brochure to the government of Geneva.

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

07.02.2014 Increasing discrimination of Rroma in Greece

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Roumpis (2014) paints a bleak picture of the social situation of Rroma in Greece: Segregated schools, growth of extreme right-wing groups, maintenance of pejorative stereotypes and harsh economic conditions make life for many Rroma in Greece an unhappy thing. The prejudice against the minority wad additionally fuelled by the media hype around the blonde Rroma girl Maria. Also, a conservative public accuses the Rroma to burden social welfare: “In Sofades, a town of 6,000 that’s evenly divided between Roma and “balamos” — what Roma call white Greeks — many Roma live in unheated, barely fitting houses made of asbestos, stone and zinc. Although they patronize local Greek-owned shops, they aren’t welcome in cafes and bars. […] Greece’s financial crisis has made matters worse. Many Roma families receive financial assistance for low-income households and having more than three children, an issue that has bred resentment.”

France Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Roumanie

07.02.2014 France: the one-sided focus on slums and evictions continues

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Vermorel (2014) of the Midi Libre spoke to the prefect of Nîmes, Didier Martin. Martin called for the residents of an illegal settlement next to the Saint-Gilles highway to leave the place immediately. The argument was enforced with police presence. Only recently before this, the collective Solidarité Roms, was assured by Julie Bouaziz, the head of the cabinet of Nîmes, that there was no set date for the eviction. Martin indicates in the interview that the eviction is not only done for regulatory reasons, but primarily because of the railway project “Oc’via”, which is disturbed by the settlement. In March, a judgment by the district court of Nîmes was issued calling for the families to immediately leave the area in question. The construction company Oc’via agreed in their own negotiations with the families that they could stay on the area until December 2013. Now the company has suggested a replacement area to the families, not far from the current location, in order that the children can continue to go to school. – A major part of the French press focuses exclusively on problem cases that arise in connection with Rroma. That there integrated Rroma living in France, ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 people, depending on the estimates, is almost never mentioned. Also, there are Gens du Voyage in France that form their own ethnic group and are not related to the Rroma. They took up a travelling lifestyle in response to the political upheavals in Europe in the 15th century. Most Rroma are permanently sedentary (see Duret 2014 Midi Libre 2014).

In Villeurbanne, the police evicted an occupied house with around 100 Romanian Rroma, the newspaper Libération (2014) reports. Half of the residents are children. The prefecture asked for the re-housing of families with children under the age of three: “The organisation in charge did not know if all families would be relocated, saying that a census by the department direction of social cohesion had previously been made to find solutions. “The prefect of Rhone requested the relocation of families with children under three years,” the prefecture indicated.”  

Bertrand (2014) reports from a slum on the outskirts of Marseille, where around 20 Rroma families try to integrate and are at risk of forced evictions. Cendrine Labaume from Médecins du monde reports that Rroma are increasingly victims of acts of violence committed by uninhibited residents: “the Roma are by far the most affected by the violence. National and local political discourses have uninhibited speech, and sometimes acts.” The statement is followed by spiteful and openly racist comments from residents of the settlement, who complain about dirt, noise and lack of adaptation of the Rroma and openly display their disrespect. The resident Rroma try to live in an as dignified way as possible. The order inside the huts is not seen from the outside, only the disorder. The increasing neglect of the settlements is partly due to the high frequency of evictions that hinder the establishment of an appropriate infrastructure, which leads to illegal tapping of electricity and water. The evictions are said to have somewhat improved since the interministerial circular from the 26th of August 2012. The government and aid organizations are now supposed to keep a minimal standard of hygiene, health care and safety in the settlements. However, according to Bertrand, this support meets the opposition of many local residents, who want to get rid of the Rroma.

Courtel (2014) of Nordéclair reports on a newly created Rroma settlement in Roncq, in northern France. Her article highlights the usual picture: Enraged residents, led by the mayor Vincent Ledoux, impoverished Rroma and the will to get rid of them as soon as possible. Courtel does not even tries to contextualize, but limits herself entirely to the reporting of “facts” about the occupation of the location, which was tolerated by the supra-regional and national authorities. She perpetuates the notion of asocial, non-integrable Rroma: “Meanwhile, the camp becomes a sewer. This land has turned into open battle space, a dirty slum” [Vincent Ledoux]. Unrest has taken hold of the residents living closest and the employees of the commercial area. […] A complaint was filed to establish a “clearly defined timeframe” [for the eviction]. The court authorizes the use of public force. But the prefecture did not respond. The timeframe passes, it is impossible to implement an evacuation. During the municipal council of the 17th of December, the represent ask for the help of the Government… the request remains unanswered.”

Ouest-France (2014) reports in a short article on three Rroma settlements in Saint-Herblain that were searched by the police. The occasion for the comprehensive police control was the theft of metal and metal cables that is attributed to Rroma from the settlements. As a result of the raid a Rrom was temporarily arrested. By not reflecting about discrimination against the Rroma, this article perpetuates ethnic stereotypes about criminal Rroma. Ethnic stereotypes build a great obstacle to the successful integration of this minority.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

07.02.2014 Segregation of Rroma in Northern Bohemia

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Ebert (2014) reports on the children centre “Ambrela” in Schluckenau, an institution for assisting disadvantaged children, primarily Rroma. The children are – amongst others – helped with homework, whereby the still widespread segregation of Rroma children in the Czech Republic should be challenged. Many Rroma children are enrolled into so-called “practical classes”, which do not foster their skills and greatly reduce their chances on the labour market: “educational discrimination” is the keyword. This phenomenon ensures anywhere in Central and Eastern Europe that ethnic or social minorities remain where they are: on the edge of society. The Czech Republic is no exception. Especially members of the Roma minority are likely to be sent into the so-called “practical schools”[ … ].” Pastor Pavel Prochazka complains that the support of the Rroma is boycotted or disapproved by numerous representatives of the majority society and thereby maintains segregation. The emphatic article disapproves the educational discrimination against Rroma in public schools in the Czech Republic. However, it also indirectly confirms notions of impoverished, poorly educated Rroma, as they regularly circulate in the media.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles suisses

07.02.2014 “Victoria” by Men Lareida

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The Swiss movie “Victoria – A Tale of Grace and Greed” by Men Lareida addresses the fate of a Hungarian prostitutes on street-walkers’ patch of the Zurich Sihlquai. The protagonist, as well as the actress that embodies her, are Roma. The director wants to give a voice to those affected, people who are normally never talked with but only about. He was made aware of the subject during train rides between Zurich and Budapest, during which he and his wife got into conversation with the prostitutes: “Therefore, during their next train ride they started to talk with the women. From now on, Anna Maros [the director’s wife] listened to them for hours and nights. Went they were driving westward, the young women were still full of energy. In the reverse direction, the atmosphere was completely different: “the women were at first surprised and then infinitely glad that someone was listening to them. They told me endlessly sad stories of violence and disrespectful treatment by the pimps, but also by clients.” The will to give a voice to marginalized people through the film is very commendable. However, it should not be forgotten that the one-sided focus on Rroma in connection with prostitution can confirm and reinforce prejudices. Those who are really neglected are the integrated, unobtrusive and therefore invisible Rroma. One should also make a movie about them once (Banz 2014).

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