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02.05.2014 Germany wants to declare Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina safe countries of origin

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Several German newspapers reported on the pending draft bill of the federal government to declare Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina to be safe countries of origin. The new legislation would allow to process asylum applications from these Balkan states within a week, what according to critics would clearly happen at the expense of individual cases. Many journalists believe that the vast majority of the applicants coming from the Balkans – in 2013 there were more than 20,000 – are Rroma. How they obtained this information is not discussed any further. In its statistics, according to the law, Germany only records the national but not the ethnic affiliation. Since 2009, for citizens of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina there is no visa requirement: “The right to asylum in Germany is awarded only to few of them – last year there was a total of three. 120’070 immigrants from the Balkans have tried to sue for the right of asylum in court. 39 Serbs, 26 Macedonians, and 17 Bosnians were then allowed to stay. In nine cases out of ten, the asylum applications of this clientele are “obliviously unfounded”, the authorities argue. Therefore, the federal government wants to declare these three Balkan countries as “safe countries of origin”” (Käfer 2014). With the new legislation, the federal government would lo longer have to justify why it rejects an application for asylum from the three countries. It assumes no profound persecution and exclusion of Rroma in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A very different notion is communicated by human rights organizations and left-wing politicians: Rroma in the three countries are still heavily discriminated against, both by the authorities and regarding the access to the labour market, schools, and health care. This view is also supported by several reports, such as the last activity report of the European Commission about the national Rroma strategies (Europäische Kommission 2013). The UN refugee agency criticizes the German Federal Government for focusing too much on the topic of political persecution, and thus neglecting discrimination against minorities and human rights violations. Tom Koenigs, former UN special representative in Kosovo, also emphasizes that the classification of nations as safe countries of origin comes at the expense of individuals who are de facto victims of persecution (Armbrüster 2014). Refugee fates are fates of individuals and have to be treated as such, he states, thus securing the protection of those who are actually in need of help. The Rroma Contact Point shares this viewpoint (compare Gajevic 2014, Geuther 2014, Rüssmann 2014, Schuler 2014, Südwest Presse 2014, TAZ 2014).

Ehrich (2014) furthermore points out that the declaration of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia- Herzegovina to safe country of origin gives the states wrong signals regarding their minority policy, since they are also candidates for the membership in the European Union: “Apart from the consequences for individual Roma who actually need asylum, the declaration of the countries as “safe countries of origin” harbours a threat to Europe. Serbia and Macedonia are already official candidates for EU-membership. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a potential candidate. Declaring these states “safe countries of origin” could destroy incentives to improve the situation of Roma in these countries.”

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02.05.2014 Eviction policy continues in France

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Several French newspapers report about the ongoing evictions of illegal settlements. In Bègles, a suburb of Bordeaux, a community of about sixty Rroma were evicted from a former industrial area. The eviction was carried out at the request of the landowner, the real estate company Aquitanis, which will build houses on the abandoned land. The displaced Rroma were offered temporary accommodation, but most of them rejected it. The eviction endangers the school enrolment of about a dozen children, whose further school career is called into question. A representative of the organization ‘Right to Accommodation’ (Droit au Logement) justifiably criticized that the evictions will only solve local problems, but nothing would change for the concerned people in the long term. In Grasse, a house occupied by immigrant Rroma was cleared by the police, and several inhabitants had to be carried away by the police (France Bleu 2014/I, Lebaratoux 2014, Nice-Matin 2014, Sud Ouest 2014/I).  

De Francesco (2014) reports on the eviction of three Rroma-settlements in Cran-Gevrier and in Annecy, in the Rhône-Alpes region, close to the Swiss border. The authorities carried out the evacuation in response to a court order from March. About 150 people had to leave their homes. The action was once again criticized by the organization ‘Right to Accommodation’, because it subverts and complicates the integration efforts of the Rroma. The local politician Anne Coste de Champeron justified the eviction with the untenable conditions in the camps. Politicians repeatedly use this reasoning to justify the many evictions. The fact that it is not the welfare of those affected, but the maintenance of order policy  that has priority, is most often concealed. For a long-term, successful integration of Rroma, tolerance and support of illegal settlements is desirable (compare France Bleu 2014/II).

Le Creurer (2014) reports on displaced Rroma after an eviction in Nice. The affected Rroma have no intentions to return to Romania, as is the wish of the French authorities. Rather, they want a future in France. Without integration in the labour market and appropriate training, this will be only difficult to achieve. The efficiency of the mentioned integration programs has been hitherto fairly little critically discussed in the media. The approach seems to be more promising than to simply evict the Rroma from one place to the next. Noël Mamère , the mayor of Begles, also wishes a long-term and collective solution for the integration of Rroma. However, for this purpose a collective policy of all the suburbs of Bordeaux is required (compare Sud Ouest 2014/II).

Several French newspapers moreover report on the eviction of two Rroma settlements in Saint-Denis. The European Rroma Rights Centre had filed complaint against the eviction at the European Court of Human Rights: “The ERRC referred to two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (3 and 8), to appraise that the present eviction is a “degrading and inhuman treatment” and that it “undermines the right to a private and family life”” (Sterlé 2014). The court called the French authorities for information about the conditions of the evacuation, the future accommodation of the displaced persons and the dimensions of the expulsions. The prefecture of Saint-Denis replied that they applied the usual social diagnoses and offered the affected alternative housing. For Manon Filloneau, from the European Rroma Rights Centre, the intervention of the court is a success, despite the lack of consequences. It shows the interest of the court for the situation of the Rroma in France (see Breson 2014, Le Point, 2014, Sterlé 2014).

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30.04.2014 “Merkel: Fair chances for Sinti and Roma”

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The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, argues in her latest podcast for a better integration of Rroma in Germany. This better integration is planned to take place through education, public relations work and increased contacts between ethnic Germans and Rroma. Moreover, one should decidedly take action against right-wing extremism in Germany. The chancellor stated: “The fight against right-wing extremism, racism, is part of our daily work. And there are also the necessary legal paragraphs, but they are, I think, not sufficient by themselves. We need a social climate in which everyone knows that racism and nationalism and other extreme movements, right-wing extremism, are prohibited and that civil courage must be shown when we face something like that in everyday life” (Video-Podcast der Bundeskanzlerin #11/2014). The interviewer, Marian Luca, counters that the latest study by Amnesty International shows that in many European countries the majority population accepts discrimination against the minority tacitly. The chancellor replied: “These hints by Amnesty International need not only be taken seriously, but also be pursued them. There are disadvantages and prejudices against Roma and Sinti; to deny this would mean that we do not face reality. This also exists in Germany. Therefore, the task for me is also to get to know each other better, so that one can do away with these prejudices, that one gets to know the biographies of many Sinti and Roma and sees how successfully they get involved in our society.” Another point of criticism is the lack of usage of available funding for integration by European member states. Merkel wants to improve this through specific discussions with government representatives. For this purpose, she will meet with representatives of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma next Monday. It is to be hoped that this will not just remain a lip service, but that concrete measures to improve the integration of the Rroma will be taken (compare Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2014).

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30.04.2014 Discriminatory views about Rroma in Romanian politics

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Bird/Candea (2014) inform about institutionalized racism in Romanian politics. Discriminatory attitudes towards members of the Rroma minority are common in all political parties of the country, they state. As a starting point they take a racist joke of the social democrat Dan Tudorache, who is said to have written during a winter storm earlier this year, that it was so cold that he had seen a “gypsy” with his hands in his own pockets. Rroma activist Ciprian Necula condemned Tudorache’s statement in the media, but was in turn confronted with a lot of negative comments. Rroma politician Damian Draghici announced on the occasion of the incident that Romanian politicians showed no skills or awareness about discriminatory statements: “When you are five years old and you put your hand on the oven, you know it burns,” he says, making a comparison, “but if you have never put your hand on the oven until you’re 30 years old – you will get burned at 30. […] What is necessary, he argues, is to educate such people about what discrimination means.” Bird/Candea see the situation more realistically than Draghici. They state that it is immaterial whether behind discriminatory remarks one finds naivety or bad intentions. What is crucial is the marginalization and degradation of the minority in the political and social everyday life, as the National Council Against Racism confirms. The pejorative attitudes towards Rroma are taught to the ethnic Romanians from an early childhood and repeated regularly, the authors state: “Prejudice is recycled from generation to generation and ingrained in Romanian children at an early age. In Romanian playgrounds it is common to hear elders tell their children they should behave or “the gypsies will come and kidnap you” and, if they have paint or mud on their face or hands, that the infant is “dirty like a gypsy.”” The segregation of the Rroma in the schools, in the labour market and in the residential districts of Romania continues to be present, Bird/Candea confirm. It is time to finally end this. This includes the better education of the general population, which allows to reduce prejudices which are based on ignorance.

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25.04.2014 The European Rroma-policy

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Bendavid (2014) reports a forced eviction of informal Rroma houses in Eforie, in south-eastern Romania. The residents are still deeply angered by the destruction of their homes by the local government in September 2013. As a substitute, they were offered container flats that most refused, because of the remote location and the tight space. The European Rroma Rights Centre filed a complaint against the eviction. The expulsion is taken by Bendavid as a starting point to reflect on the European policy towards Rroma. With the accession of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia to the European community, the will as well as the political pressure for the integration of this minority has increased. Western European countries fear an influx of impoverished Rroma from Eastern Europe, a fear that has proved unfounded until now. Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, sees an important reason for the lack of effectiveness of the aid programs, in the widespread prejudice against the minority, which prevent politicians to take actions out of fear that they will not be elected again: “Ms. Reding, of the European Commission, said the problem may not be solved as long as local officials are terrified of a public backlash upon helping Roma. That means the EU ultimately may have to issue its own Europe-wide rules, she said. “I’ve been told directly by several mayors, ‘I am not a racist, but if I call a program ‘Housing for Roma’ or ‘Education for Roma,’ I will no longer be mayor,’” said Ivan Ivanov, director of the European Roma Information Office, a clearinghouse and advocacy group.” This insight is particularly relevant when one considers that the Rroma are repeatedly accused of being responsible for their own fate. The fact that poverty and lack of education are not a self-chosen way of life, but rather the result of exclusion, should be obvious to anyone. While some government officials strive for a better integration of the Rroma, others want to segregate them consistently and build walls around Rroma settlements. Thus, in Slovakia 400 mayors joined the movement Zobudme Sa! that wants to remove all Rroma settlements by the uncompromising application of health and safety regulations (compare Wall Street Journal 2014, Nair 2014).

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25.04.2014 “Jobbik Takes Aim at Roma”

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Bendavid (2014) reports on the new electoral success of the right-wing nationalist and anti-Rroma Jobbik party, in Hungary. The right faction received 21% of the expressed votes in the elections earlier this month. The party accuses Rroma of culturally related antisocial behaviour and crime, even if it recognizes that not all Rroma stand out negatively: “Few parties have attracted as much attention as Jobbik, due to its sophistication and its influence within Hungary. “Jobbik has a pretty decent structure; they’re not just a bunch of thugs,” said Cas Mudde, a University of Georgia professor who studies far-right parties. “They have highly qualified people with university degrees.” Jobbik’s appeal, its supporters say, rests on a range of promises, from cleaning up corruption to reforming the education system. Its leaders vigorously reject accusations of racism. But human-rights activists say Jobbik’s candidates regularly exploit anti-Roma prejudice. Jobbik “has made anti-Roma statements a pillar of its political strategy,” the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency said in a recent report. The Jobbik platform, for example, criticizes Roma who “wish only that society maintain them through the unconditional provision of state benefits.” Not all Roma are criminals, another Jobbik statement concedes, but it adds, “’Gypsy crime’ is real. It is a unique form of delinquency, different from the crimes of the majority in nature and force.” It is dangerous to relativise a doubtlessly racist dominated party programme because it admits that not all Rroma are criminals. Their demagoguery is no less serious nor less problematic because of that. A fraction, which bases its policy on the exclusion and defamation of an ethnic group, and comes to a full 21% percentage of voters, must give pause to even die-hard optimists. Unfortunately, history has shown all too clearly that between political defamation and physical destruction there is only a narrow line. Only a year ago, the Hungarian publicist Zsolt Bayer asked publicly for an extermination of the Rroma, without being sentenced to any penalty.

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23.04.2014 Rudolf Sarközi urges European commissioner for the Rroma

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On the occasion of the forthcoming European elections, Rudolf Sarközi, chairman of the Austrian National Minority Advisory Council of the Roma, calls for a separate ethnic groups commissioner for Rroma and other minorities in the European Union. This commissioner should urge the EU member states to respect the rights of minorities and prescribe sanctions if needed: “For Sarközi it is “high time” that a male or female commissioner for minorities with a focus on ethnic groups, Roma and Sinti, as well as refugees that escape from worldwide crisis areas to Europe, is put in place. […] Thereby, a “permanent, political and societal solution for Roma and Sinti in Europe” could be found, he said in a statement” (Vienna online 2014). In an extensive interview with mokant.at, Sarközi explains his views on the current situation of the Rroma in Austria. He states a clear decline in discrimination since the official recognition of the Rroma minority and the attack of Oberwart in 1995. The tragedy caused a caesura in the Austrian society and created an awareness of the discrimination against the minority. As far as the culture of the Rroma concerns, Sarközi denies uniform characteristics that all Rroma share: “Is there a separate, unified culture of the Roma? This does not exist. Not even among the Austrian Roma people. Why? We live in different nation-states. Most Sinti belong to Germany and were influenced by this culture. We have adopted the culture, which is predominantly present in the country or the region. To select the German example: In Berlin, the Sinti or Rrom will be as Prussian as the Prussian, and in Bavaria as Bavarian as the Bavarians!” (Winterfeld 2014). One has to contradict him in one point, however. He denies that there are overarching traditions. These exist, even if the various groups practice them differently. The most Rroma speak Rromanes, going back to Sanskrit, they share many traditions. The statement that the Rroma belong to different religions, Sarközi is absolutely right. He moreover stresses how important it is that the majority population makes offers of integration, to the Rroma as well as other minorities. For without such a willingness to accept other people in a society, a positive integration – and not an assimilation – is very difficult to achieve. Sarközi also emphasizes the importance of education for a successful integration of the Rroma. After all, education increases self-confidence and social recognition.

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18.04.2014 Pully – Canton Vaud: racist police control of Rroma

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Favre (2014) reports an unauthorized police control of four Rroma families on a private estate in Pully, in the canton of Vaud. The owner of an apartment building had provided parts of his house to four immigrant Rroma families, upon a request of the organization Opre Rrom. Because neighbours complained about begging, the police conducted identity checks with the families. But since they conducted the control on the private property of Mr. Norbert Guillod, the owner of the house without having a permit for the action, the police made themselves liable to prosecution: “Norbert Guillod had responded to a request of the organization Opre Rrom. “Otherwise, these people would be on the street. That would have been a real shame: the children are enrolled in school and work well”, explains Norbert Guillod, who will host them until the end of the school year. […] “They have intervened because of several complaints of the neighbourhood, who were disturbed by the fact that these Roma were begging. At least it is forbidden to this extent”, replies Dan-Henri Weber, their commander. He also presents a different version of the facts, claiming that the people were controlled on the street, because they corresponded to the descriptions by the angered neighbours. They are said to have subsequently prompted the police themselves to follow them to their apartment, to look for their identity cards. This report is disputed by the parties concerned, which state that the police had knocked on their door.” The Lausanne lawyer, Jean-Michel Dolivo, points out that the police could list any offense following their control. The action was thus clearly discriminatory.

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16.04.2014 Wrong experts and the European integration of the Rroma

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On the occasion of the international Rroma Day of April the 8th, Dus (2014) discusses the efforts of the European Union to integrate Rroma. The conclusion in the latest report from Amnesty International is bleak in this regard: the rights of the minority are under- respected, and their advancement is deliberately sabotaged. Romania is said to have applied only a fraction of the total funding to support Rroma. Policy makers accuse the Rroma of deliberately not wanting to integrate. Dus further speaks on the dispute between Eastern and Western European politicians: Western European politicians accuse their colleagues of shifting repeatedly the integration of this minority to Western Europe, although a pan-European commitment is inevitably necessary. In addition, there is a increasing popularity of right-wing nationalist slogans and worldviews, which are particularly hurtful to minorities such as Rroma.

A total arrogance is the subsequent testimony of the political scientist and historian Pavel Kandel, head of the centre for ethno-political and inter-state conflicts at the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “The reason for the hostile attitude consists mainly in the fact that they do not work and for the most part do not want to work. This is  immanent to the Rroma generally. There are of course examples that testify to the contrary, but they primarily refer to the sedentary Roma. These are by and large not numerous.” Kandel loses all credibility as a scientist with this highly polemical statement. To allege the Rroma of a general unwillingness to work is highly racist. He therefore totally dismisses the actual reasons for the lacking integration of the Rroma: exclusion, defamation and persecution of the minority, who have a history of hundreds of years. However, Kandel’s racism doesn’t end here. He claims that the Rroma intentionally burden the Western European welfare system, use illegal methods to enrich themselves, migrate in mass movements to the West, and are culturally incompatible with the Western European societies: “With the accession of the countries of Eastern Europe [ … ] to the European Union, they [the Rroma ] were offered the opportunity for unimpeded movement to where the standard of living is higher and where a complex system of social aid exists. And even if they do not take advantage of these opportunities, there are many more possibilities for increasing their standard of living by using their standard methods in the rich European countries. From this follows their mass migration into the West. In addition, it results in the harsh reactions of the population and the authorities in the West. It is a collision of two ways of life that have very little in common. First, the Roma themselves create problems. Secondly, unauthorized pogroms in relation to the Roma have to be ascribed to themselves. The alternatives are to take them in either protection or to chase them out. To chase them out is easier.” With these supposedly scientific, but in truth completely absurd generalizations and accusations, Kandel makes himself guilty of demagogy against the Rroma. He reproduces almost all the negative stereotypes that exist about the minority. Hundred thousands of Rroma live in Western Europe and are fully integrated, work and coexist with the majority population without problems. The statement that the “chasing out” of the Rroma is easier than to take them into protection is a request for exclusion, pogroms and violence against the minority, which is clearly a fascist statement that is punishable. The statements of the cited historian Nadezhda Demetr are also undifferentiated, although she indicates the necessity of education for the integration of Rroma. Demetr states: “But the situation turned against them. Because the Roma are illiterate in their mass. 80 percent cannot read or write at all. And they cannot find their way in a new world. [ … ] Special programs for the adaptation of the Roma to normal life are required, of which in Europe exist enough by the way. Why these programs do not work, is a special issue.” This article is a prime example of experts who misuse their authority shamelessly, to speak truth about a phenomenon. Instead of intelligent, sophisticated analyses, they provide polemic, biased knowledge that openly discredits and insults the Rroma. They also do damage to the credibility of the social and historical sciences, by discrediting any scientific standards of objectivity and critical analysis.

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16.04.2014 Rroma: “Education as the key to success”

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Müller (2014) takes a critical look at the relevance of education in Romanian Rroma families. The importance of education is give to little attention in many Rroma families, the young Rromni Andreea from Buzau, in South-eastern Romania states. Poverty obliges Rroma children to help their families from a young age within the household and at work: “My community thinks that you cannot take up any prestige profession such as teacher or doctor as Roma anyway. They cannot imagine that you can reach a good position with education. They have come to terms with being the outsiders in society. – Only one third of Roma children in Romania graduate, according to estimates by NGOs. The vast majority remains without a chance, because the children are living in poor neighbourhoods, where they have to help at home, instead of going to school.” The problem lies not only in the lack of awareness about the importance of education, but also in the strong discrimination against Rroma in the labour market as wells as in the education system. Thus, many Rroma get assigned to unskilled labour despite having graduated, because they are marked as “unreliable and slow” due to racial prejudice. Therefore, education alone cannot stop the exclusion of and discrimination against the Rroma, but it is an important first step towards greater self-determination and recognition.

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12.03.2014 Roma and the European migration policies

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Döhner (2014) reports on the European migration regulations, on the basis of a tragic individual case. Irijana Rustemi is born in the Kosovo in 1978. At the age of three the Rromni immigrates with her parents to Croatia. In 1993, they come to Germany. Because of massive family conflicts with the family of her ex-husband, who feels provoked by the new partner of Rustemi, she and her family flee to Denmark for 22 months. This exit becomes a calamity for the family: “If refugees enter Germany over a “safe third country”, they can not apply for asylum here, but only in the country over which they have entered.” Now the large family is facing deportation into the Kosovo, although all children of Rustemi are born in Germany and go to school there. Rustemi had previously received a residency permit on humanitarian grounds, but it was cancelled due to the departure to Denmark. In Denmark their asylum application was rejected.

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12.03.2014 Segregation of Rroma in European schools

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Fontanella-Khan (2014) reports on the continued segregation of Romany children at European schools. She starts with a cursory overview of the almost exclusively repressive policies of European governments towards Rroma. She is decidedly against the often used argument that Rroma don’t show any will to integrate on their side: “Often, segregation is blamed on the Roma themselves, whom many accuse of not wanting to integrate due to a “nomadic culture.” However, an insidious form of segregation, happening within the educational system, belies this simplistic view.” As reported last week by CBC News, segregation of Rroma children is particularly strong in Slovakia: 65-80 % of children enrolled in special schools for slow learners are Rroma. The methods of analysis as well as the selection for such tests are extremely controversial. If the children are allocated to a special school, they will never have the opportunity to attend a University. Another problem, according to Fontanella-Khan, is the deficient implementation of court decisions against segregation. A verdict that was asserted by the European Court of Human Rights in 1999, changed little about the segregation of Rroma children in the Czech Republic. To end the exclusion of the Rroma from the educational institutions requires more than court decisions: “This raises the point that deep, structural changes to society cannot happen through the judiciary alone. What is required is the involvement of Roma civil society. The problem is, it barely exists.” Fontanella-Khan sees the reasons for the weak formation of the Rroma civil society in the changes that happened in reaction to the EU-accession of Eastern European countries. Many international donors and activist groups withdrew their funds after EU accession and discontinued their activities, since it was assumed that the EU would support the emerging Rroma NGOs. However, this said to have never happened. As long as the Rroma don’t start to form their own civil rights movement, law professor Jack Greenberg states, there will be no significant change.

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11.04.2014 “Who are the Rroma living in Switzerland?”

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Boullé (2014) spoke to the Lausanne photographer Yves Leresche, who has dealt with Rroma living in Switzerland for several years. Leresche deconstructs four common stereotypes about the minority. (1) The Rroma are all the same: false. Rroma belong to diverse groups such as the Sinti, the Gurbeti, the Arlii, the Lingurari, the Ursari, the Kalderasha etc., who pursued traditional occupations in earlier times, to which their group name often refers. Leresche terms the Jeniche wrongly as Rroma. From a political point of view – concerning the prejudices against the minorities – this may be useful, because  they share a history of exclusion and persecution. In terms of migration history, language and traditions however, there are striking differences between the two ethnic groups. The Rroma are from India and the talk Rromanes, originating from Sanskrit. The Jeniche however derive from European folk groups that were starting to travel in the wake of social upheavals and speak the language Jeniche, influenced by Yiddish and other old European languages.

(2) Rroma are all beggars: also wrong. Leresche distinguishes four different groups of Swiss Rroma: The invisible, who have been living in Switzerland integrated and unobtrusive for decades, sometimes generations. Very few know that they are Rroma, because they keep their identity a secret. The travellers; the stereotypical notion that all Rroma are travellers refers to them. However, they represent only a small percentage of the Rroma. In Switzerland primarily the Jeniche are travellers, and also of them only a small percentage. Rroma are often equated with asylum seekers. While this is true sometimes, many have been living in Switzerland for a long time and have a definite residency status. Leresche also points to refugees from the Kosovo, which present the most recent migration movement of Rroma to Western Europe. Finally, with European Rroma, Leresche refers to migrants from the EU-countries. He makes aware of the economic immigrants among them, but far too little stresses that the predicted mass migration from Southern and Eastern Europe is a political issue.

(3) The Rroma come to us, to enrich themselves: also wrong. The Rroma seek an alternative to their often precarious living conditions in Southern and Eastern Europe. They want a normal life, a job, a good education for their children. Unfortunately, some of them lack good qualifications, what makes the integration into the labour market more difficult. Leresche doesn’t stress enough that the begging Rroma usually have nothing to  with criminal begging networks, as it is often claimed by the police, but beg because of lacking alternatives.

(4) The Rroma do not stay for a short time, but forever. In this stereotype, Leresche differentiates far too little between invisible and visible Rroma. He merely indicates that Rroma who migrate seasonally only come for a few months to beg. Because after some time, political and police resistance starts to form, begging becomes unprofitable after one to two years. Here it must be added, that only a small part of the Rroma are begging. The majority of the Swiss Rroma is integrated and pursues a normal work. In addition, the idea of the lucrative nature of begging is false, as recently Jean-Pierre Tabin has shown in his study.

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11.04.2014 Rroma as an enemy stereotype

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=On the occasion of the international Rroma day, numerous international newspapers report about the continuing marginalization of the Rroma minority in their countries. For Germany, Jakob (2014) notes that according to the latest research of historian Wolfgang Benz, the Rroma are ranked behind social groups such as the Jews or asylum seekers, concerning popularity. The purpose of such a popularity-scale can and should be questioned. Apart from the mirroring existing prejudices towards certain social or ethnic groups, no real benefit for combating prejudices can be drawn from this. However, this viewpoint is contradicted by Jacob, who states in reference to the study by Wolfgang Benz: “The study by Benz created on behalf of the anti-discrimination agency shows how deep prejudices about Roma and Sinti are rooted in Germany. Benz said it reassures him that the vast majority of the respondents (91 percent) consider integration services a good suggestion for a better coexistence with Sinti and Roma. 63 percent called for stronger minority rights, the study states”. That these sociological statistics will be followed by true actions, is much to be hoped. The aid programs are not devoid of  prejudices, as another part of Benz study shows: 80% of respondents are in favour of a fight against welfare abuse, 78 % speak out to take against crime among the Rroma (Protestant Press 2014). The enemy image of the Rroma is therefore anything but irrelevant, and is still deeply rooted in many peoples’ minds. As a result, many Rroma keep their identity secret. Wolfgang Benz confirms this in a radio interview, in which he addresses the invisible Rroma of Germany: “In fact, Sinti and Roma are living in Germany since a long time, completely integrated. No one recognizes them. Some of them are part of the boardrooms of large industrial companies. They pursue ordinary bourgeois professions and they do not make themselves visible. They fear discrimination. One doesn’t allow them to integrate and then one is claiming that they do not want to integrate” (Polland 2014).

The creation of an EU-fund dedicated to the Rroma, that would not have to be refinanced by the member states, as with the existing funding, is not only met with approval. Rudko Kawczynski, of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), speaks out against the creation of such separate fund. This would only foster the resentments against the minority that already are considerable. Rather, an awareness of injustice among the governments in question has to be created, he states, so that they finally take decisive actions against the discrimination of the Rroma (Jacob 2014).

On the occasion of the Rroma Day, a cultural week in Berlin is held under the slogan “May we, that we are!” The program includes concerts, theatre, films and panel discussions. The culture week is organized by the Hildegard-Lagrenne-Foundation, which aims to promote education, integration and social participation of the Rroma in Germany (Dernbach 2014, rbb 2014).

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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 Hungary, Rroma and prostitution in Switzerland

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In her article, Kiss (2014) discusses the Hungarian prostitutes in Switzerland, the social background of sex work, the constitution of moral values, the role of the media and the current debate on a Europe-wide ban on prostitution. The effort to prohibit prostitution derives from the notion of a substantial or at least significant congruence of prostitution and human trafficking. Kiss qualifies this idea in relation to Zurich and replaces it with the notion of a grey area said to be organised by the family or the clan. This statement is dangerous, because it alludes to stereotypes of criminal Rroma clans, explained as being hierarchically organized and culturally determined: “In Zurich, however, the smallest part of prostitutes are victims of human trafficking and extreme exploitation, the women of the office for women migration [FIZ] say – and vice versa, there are also self-employed sex workers. The Hungarian women often work in the area in between, in a frame, which is organised by the family or the clan.” Kiss deals further with the prostitutes’ origin. She cites the Bernese sociologists Sachsa Finger, who assumes that most Hungarian sex workers in Switzerland are from Roma settlements in Nyíregyháza, Ózd and pecs. That there are also Magyar prostitutes is not stressed enough. It is mainly poverty, no or lacking educational qualifications, unemployment and suppressing role models, that lead women into prostitution. That this social ills cannot be easily eliminated with a prohibition of prostitution, Kiss is aware, even if she can not stress often enough the dishonouring of women through sex work: “Alice Schwarzer, you’re right. Let’s prohibit prostitution. These women don’t lead a life, in a few months they age by years. […] But her protest pales in comparison to the Eastern European reality. […] Should one make it impossible for the mothers to gain a livelihood for her hungry family? On the other hand, why does no one talk about the social policy in these countries? Why does no go into the villages and settlements in the tent cities, where women’s rights are worth nothing ? […] Who will feed my children?, asks the prostitute who arrives in Zurich by train. Where will I work when prostitution is banned? But to these questions, the latest turn in the discourse about free sexuality has no answer.”

  • Kiss, Noëmi (2014) Bereit zur Verrichtung. In: Das Magazin Nr. 14/2014, S. 12-19.
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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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04.04.2014 Correct, half-right and wrong information about the history and culture of the Rroma

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On the occasion of the 8th of April, the international Rroma day, Zimmermann (2014) discusses the history and culture of the Rroma. She spreads truths, but also some half- truths and misinformation about Rroma. She begins with the migration history from India, which she unfortunately only sees authenticated by the DNA-analysis. The linguistic analysis of the Rromanes, which gives an undeniable proof of the Indian roots of the Rroma, as Rromanes is related to Sanskrit, remains unmentioned. However, she rightly acknowledges that the repeatedly falsely attributed travelling lifestyle is related to the expulsion of the Rroma: “The Romani people were discriminated against for their dark skin and once enslaved by Europeans. They have been portrayed as cunning, mysterious outsiders who tell fortunes and steal before moving on to the next town. […] Also, as a matter of survival, the Romani were continuously on the move. They developed a reputation for a nomadic lifestyle and a highly insular culture. Because of their outsider status and migratory nature, few attended school and literacy was not widespread. Much of what is known about the culture comes through stories told by singers and oral histories.” Unfortunately, Zimmermann emphasizes far too little the big quantity of misinformation and pejorative stereotypes that were maintained through these oral histories. Particularly problematic is her reference to the spiritual energy “dji”, which she cites as a reason for the alleged lack of willingness to integrate: “Romani also believe that spiritual energy, also known as dji, can be depleted by spending too much time with those outside of their community, which is another explanation for why they are reluctant to assimilate.” To allege the Rroma a deliberately chosen anti-social behaviour is very dangerous. It trivializes a centuries-old history of exclusion and persecution that is the actual reason for the continued segregation of the Rroma. At the end of the article, Zimmermann rightly acknowledges that the Rroma are almost exclusively sedentary today, but often keep their identity a secret, due to continuing discrimination.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

02.04.2014 The Rroma and the French mayoral elections

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Rigaux (2014) discusses the relationship between French mayoral elections and the Rroma. The latter played a prominent role in the campaign, often in the figure of a scapegoat for social ills or in the form of slums. The frightening thing about the terminologies “Rroma question” and “Rroma problem” is their inevitable reference to the “Jewish question” under National Socialism. However, in the case of France, the important question is how to integrate immigrant Rroma as successfully as possible. To accuse them of a cultural unwillingness to integrate is counterproductive. But precisely this happened again and again in the course of the election campaign. Another point of contention are the so called “integration villages”, which are meant to facilitate the integration of the Rroma immigrants into French society. The proponents see the integration villages as a positive method to prevent the emergence of slums, to promote the enrolment of children in schools, to prevent begging and other unwanted activities and to foster the willingness to integrate among the immigrants. Critics fault the high cost of the institutions and see it as unfair advantage for one ethnic group at the expense of other taxpayers. In this discussion about the integration measures for immigrant Rroma, once more only the visible Rroma are in the focus. The ones who are living an integrated life in France, making up between 100,000 and 500,000 persons, are never addressed or considered in these discussions.

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02.04.2014 Insidious racism in France

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Several French newspapers report on the latest publication of the National Commission for Human Rights (CNCDH). The commission concludes that racism in France is in overall decline, but that it has become more insidious, subtle and sneaky as a result. Christine Lazerges, the president of the commission, concludes: “In the long view, racism in France decreases, the time of the riots is long gone, but the racism that is propagated today is much more insidious and no longer limited to the extremist edges. It pervades all strata of society.  […] The scapegoats today are particularly Rroma, who are stigmatized, including from the government, and then the Arab Muslims.” Whether the time of racially motivated riots actually belongs to the past may be doubted. Marches of right-wing groups against ethnic minorities such as the Rroma regularly take place in several Eastern European countries. The results of a recent survey, mandated by the commission, makes clear that negative stereotypes towards the Rroma are persisting in the minds of many people. 85% of the thousand respondents said that they believed that Rroma often exploit children and 78 % that they live of theft and the black market. In addition, the suspicion towards anti-racism actors is said to be significant. The commission recommends to continuously foster the education of the population, because it has been shown that there is a clear link between educational alienation and racism. The commission’s authors acknowledge that the Rroma are a heterogeneous group and are not belonging to a homogeneous culture or a single religion. However, they mistakenly assume that the Rroma live in France only since the early 20th century (CNCDH 2014: 201). However, they appear in France in early chronicles since the beginning of the 15th century. Tassel (2014) emphasizes the particular context in which the book is published. On the weekend of March 30th, the right-wing nationalist National Front, which bases significant parts of its policies on xenophobia, achieved a new high in the electorate. In addition, a new Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, has been inaugurated. He is notorious for his repressive policies towards the Rroma. The commission also emphasises the distinction between visible and invisible Rroma, a differentiation that has been fostered by the Rroma Foundation for quite some time: “Only a small minority of the Rroma define themselves in this way – between 15,000 and 20,000, who generally originate of a recent immigration from Bulgaria and Romania – live in a very large uncertainty, that means in the slums. The others are not “visible” and do not live in a state of extreme poverty. The vast majority consists of Gens du voyage, an estimated 350,000 people” (CNCDH 2014: 201-202). This view is contradicted by Tcherenkov/Laederich (2004: 4, 513), who make a clear distinction between travellers of European origin and Rroma. The latter are almost invariably not travelling and belong to the groups of the Manouche, Sinti, Gitans, Kaldersha, Lovara and Yugoslav Rroma (20 minutes 2014, La Croix 2014, CNCDH 2014, Tassel 2014, Vincent 2014).

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