Tag Archives: Racism

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13.12.2013 Rroma Debate in Germany

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Kühn (2013) informs about the evacuation of several Rroma settlements in Duisburg. The houses, the majority of whom belong to a controversial real estate speculator who had already received a large coverage in the German media this year. One-sided reports of littering, noise, theft, prostitution, and begging evoked a distorted, almost absurd image of Rroma unwilling to integrate and adapt. Again and again, local residents were quoted as saying that their way of life was incompatible with the one of the new residents. The homeowner – Branko Barisic – now lets residents to be gradually evicted from his buildings and he will set up social flats or apartments for the elderly. He also speaks of Rroma as social parasites and discredits them unjustly as poverty migrants, with no valid reason for migration: “Most of them could not care less where they live. They want to enjoy the benefits of our welfare state. They need not live in Bergheim” (Kühn 2013/II). That many Rroma are well integrated and that many are also victims of massive discriminations in their countries of origin is once again not mentioned here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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13.12.2013 Racism Accusation for Luc Jousse

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The mayor of Rocquebrune-sur-Argens, Luc Jousse is suspended until further notice from his own UMP party. Jousse had made a racist remark towards Rroma during an interview. He had stated: “Je vous rappelle quand même que les gens du voyage, que dis-je, les Roms, m’ont mis neuf fois le feu. […] ils piquent des câbles électriques et après ils le brûlent pour récupérer le cuivre et ils se sont mis à eux-mêmes le feu dans leurs propres caravanes! Un gag! Ce qui est presque dommage, c’est qu’on ait appelé trop tôt les secours!” (L’Express, 2013). [I remind you nevertheless that these travellers, what do I say, these Rroma, laid nine times fires. […] they steel electrical cables, and after that, they burnt them to recover the copper, and they torched their own caravans! A joke! What is almost a pity, isthat one called the emergency services too early] With this tasteless remark Jousse makes himself clearly guilty of racism. As the Huffigton Post (2013) currently reports, Jousse was suspended from the UMP until further notice.

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13.12.2013 The Tale of the Thieving Rroma Clans

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20 Minuten (2013) reports about two young girls who were arrested by the policie in Lucerne while trying to break into a house. Apparently, the girls come from a Roma camp in France. This short news confirms and is in line with the suspicion expressed in the Weltwoche (Gut, Philipp / Scherrer, Lucien 2013). In its article from early November it again talked of a “culture of crime”, which is brought into Switzerland by the Rroma. Articles with ethnic attributions that are not contextualized do promote racism towards an already heavily marginalized minority. More sensitivity in handling ethnic attributions would be highly desirable.

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06.12.2013 The Media Coverage on Rroma in Switzerland is One-Sided and often Defamatory

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On behalf of the Federal Commission against Racism, the Research Institute for the Public and Society of the Zurich University made a study on the quality of the reporting in Swiss media about Rroma (Ettinger, 2013; compare NZZ, 2013; 20 Minuten, 2013; Südostschweiz, 2013). The study examined a representative sample of Swiss media of the period from 2005 to 2012. The study concludes that the contributions are highly selective and unbalanced: in the daily press on Switzerland,  Rroma are almost only referred to in relation to asylum abuse, begging, theft, or prostitution. They appear primarily as perpetrators or in the case of prostitution as the victims of clan-related forced prostitution. While some Rroma come to word in various newspapers, the tendency to let officials talk about them dominates “Because of the focus on crime and deviant behaviour, representatives of the executive branch (24%), respectively of the police (12%) and the judiciary (6%) are the ones who most frequently come to word” (Ettinger 2013). The coverage is dominated by an image of an enemy that hypes up individual cases as precedents and builds them to an attestation of the culturally determined Rroma delinquency, which needs not be further explained: “The explanation of the rationale behind their statements is waived in particular by spokesman for the police (60 %), who limits their statements to delinquent behaviour of Roma, and almost without exception the citizen who argument on the basis on the basis of their subjective concerns whose aversions and fears are expressive statements that do not require a justification.” The alleged facts are therefore based on suspicions and on the willingness to believe them as facts.

In the reporting on Rroma outside of Switzerland in turn dominated by the perspective of portraying Rroma as the victims of discrimination and exclusion. The usual defamation about Rroma in Switzerland are largely ignored.

However, the study does not sufficiently question to what extent journalists and concerned citizens just assume that the people one reports on are Rroma. The attribution of a Rroma identity to conspicuous people is not looked into and considered to be problematic, but simply taken as given. This became clear in particular in the study of the Zurich street prostitution that simply postulated that the women in question are Rroma. How these statistics came about, is not problematized: “The majority of sex workers surveyed include the groups of the two Roma groups Romunro or Olah on”  (Sex Educatio 2012: 43). A clear identification of ethnicity is anything but simple, as the case around the blonde Rroma girl has shown.

On the Rroma Contact Point side, we find it would be great to give unspectacular topics such as the lives of integrated Rroma a voice and speak of their everyday life in order to create a counterweight to the negative representations. Ettinger notes: Although “Roma themselves come to word in no small numbers in reporting, t in 13 percent of the contributions they present their reactions. But the opinions the Roma and respectively Jenische are usually only reactions to existing problems. Roma or Jenische therefore are not able to contribute their own issues and positions in the reporting.”

The aspect of the political instrumentalisation of the Rroma to political ends falls short in this study even though Ettinger notes that Rroma are exploited before votes for partisan political ends. But the continuous values projection on Rroma by politically varied oriented daily and weekly media are too little criticised. Yet it is precisely the Rroma who are continuously abused as a counter point to the construction of a civic identity. Ettinger’s study therefore lacks a historical perspective on the aspect of discrimination that could thematise the socio-political aspect of the exclusion. This view would show that there is a tradition of prejudice against Rroma that has been perpetuated for centuries. A good source in this respect is Klaus-Michael Bogdal (2011) study on the dissemination of false, distorting culturalisms. Another problem is that the misrepresentation of Rroma on poverty-related phenomena such as illiteracy, begging, prostitution, high childbirth rates, or low level of education is not discussed critically. It is not enough to expose these representations as racist. They must be identified as wrong and distorting representations. Otherwise, the impression may arise that while the coverage was indeed distorted, there nevertheless is a culture of delinquency and exploitation among Rroma, which, due to political correctness, one must not mention. In the context of the poverty immigration to Germany, numerous journalists are arguing this way. Rather, social problems such as poverty and exclusion must be considered as such. In addition, cultural explanations that are based on prejudice and not on effective knowledge must be recognised as such and deconstructed.

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06.12.2013 The Rroma and the European Free Movement of Persons

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

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

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

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06.12.2013 Discrimination against Rroma in Austria

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The association Romano Centro (2013) published a report on the exclusion of Rroma in Austria this week. The authors of the report saw discrimination in everyday life, in public facilities as well as in access to the labour market. Here, the effective observable racism is only a part of what actually takes place. Discrimination in the private sector will often not be reported and therefore remain undetected. The internet on the other hand, is so rich on information, that the effective dimensions of antiziganism cannot truly bee assessed. Regarding the media coverage, as in Ettinger (2013), they see a one-sided focus on delinquency and the ethnicisation of poverty different phenomena: “The reports are usually unilaterally focused on begging or on the topics of poverty induced migration, human trafficking and specific criminality. The social problems that are seen by many as “grievances”, are attributed to an ethnic group which fuels the growth of the rejection of this group.” A further concern is that the racist acts against Rroma are by far not only committer by members of right-wing groups. Antiziganism is socially acceptable in broad sections of the population and anchored on the transmission of false prejudices. The authors therefore deem it as a truly important and viable challenge to break this institutionalized racism.

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29.11.2013 Baden- Württemberg: New State Treaty strengthens rights of the Sinti and Romany

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Grunau (2013) reports on the newly signed treaty between the German state of Baden- Württemberg and the local Land Association of German Sinti and Roma. The agreement recognizes that the Rroma have been a part of German society for the last 600 years and as an ethnic minority have the right to protect and promote their interests. With the signing of the Treaty, the State of Baden-Württemberg also acknowledges its historic responsibility in the genocide of the Rroma and must attempt to fight against antiziganism: “The State Treaty in Baden-Württemberg is intended to inform. The State agrees to enshrine the past and present of the Sinti and Roma in the curricula for schools and teaching so as, “to counter possible prejudices.” A research centre for the history and culture of the minority as well as of antiziganism will be created.” The chairman of the National Association of German Sinti and Roma, Daniel Strauss, is hoping for a pioneering role of the State of Baden-Württemberg in the fight against racism and social exclusion. It is greatly hoped that the concessions made in this contract do not only remain statements of intent.

The Stuttgarter Zeitung (2013) adds that around 12,000 Sinti and Roma live in Baden- Württemberg. They form one of the four recognized minorities besides the Frisians, Sorbs and the Danes. That Jews are not mentioned is somewhat astonishing. The representatives of the Rroma also complained that, contrary to Schleswig-Holstein, it did not come to a change in the state constitution, in which the protection of the Rroma is enshrined. The Schwabian newspaper (2013) adds that the Baden-Württemberg State Association will receive 500,000 euro from 2014 and that a Council for the affairs of the German Sinti and Roma has been created.

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29.11.2013 Support versus recognition of the Rroma

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Mappes-Niediek (2013) provides information about a restaurant project in the Slovenian town of Maribor. The restaurant will be operated by Rroma and to a certain extent reduce the high unemployment locally. Against this project co-initiated by the mayor, local resistance has been organised: the critics, among them local representatives, fear that the restaurant will become a Rroma meeting place where there will be only Rroma. The cook Ajša Mehmeti decidedly stated that she wants it to be a restaurant for all. For Slovenes, Serbs, Bosnians and Rroma. But for the project to work, it needs not only the support of the mayor, but also the support of the local population. So far, this is missing: “Meanwhile, the Roma have the key for the local. The contract is signed, an architect has looked at the rooms. But the Maribor Rroma do not look like winners. Friendliness or integration you can not just win by fighting.”

On the basis of the fate of the young Rrom Orhan Jasarovski, Gojdka (2013) discusses the injustices of the social structures and asylum procedures. Orhan has epilepsy and a lame leg. He came with his family as a youngster from Macedonia to Germany. Here he hopes for a better life outside of poverty and exclusion. He works hard and wants to study. But the German migration authority has other plans. Orhan and his family have to return to Macedonia. After numerous legal hurdles and thanks to the support of German helpers, he manages to make it back to Germany. But the recognition as Rrom remains difficult. As before, there is a clear discrepancy between verbally expressed sympathy and real recognition: “In a literature seminar at the university a lecturer speaks finally about Sinti and Roma: “An anti-social people on the margins of society”. Jasarovski boils. His pulse skyrockets. Every word is like a knife in his heart. Anger about the lecturer. Rage over his own cowardice not to have outed oneself. Then Jasarovski stands up. “I know best what Roma are,” he says, “I ‘m Gypsy.” Many friends renounce their friendship. Too deep are the literary and non-literary stereotypes of the thieving Gypsies, the travellers and the child abductors. In the literature, one must analyse these pictures scientifically, says Jasarovski. But he also knows that he can not meet the bitter reality scientifically.”

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29.11.2013 Rolf Bauerdick written defence of his book

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In an article in die Welt, Bauerdick (2013) responds to the many sometimes violent criticisms of his book, “Gypsies: Encounters with unloved people.” He still seems not to realise that his supposed revelations on culturally related grievances is after all racist. He notes: “If the police, as currently in Westphalia, warns against bands of con artists, then this is no need for the Central Countil [of Sinti and Roma to read the Levites to their own clientele. If Roma pimps send thousands of young women to bars and to brothels, not a single official stands up to protect the victims. And when in Paris, the Louvre closes because droves of abused children steal from the visitors, then that has nothing to do at all with that ethnic group for which Heuss speaks as non-Gypsy. For the Central Council, Roma crime is solely responsibility of individuals. Only the racism of the dominant society is collective.” With his statements Bauerdick follows the same line as the Weltwoche. His criticism is one that builds on a very one-sided picture of the Rroma, pervaded by prejudice. Bauerdick wants to have encountered all the things that he wrote and criticised about in his book. But how does he knows with certainty that the begging children are Rroma and the prostitutes are Rromnja? How does he know that the children are not begging for themselves or their parents, and the women prostitute themselves out of poverty? Where does he take the authority as Gadjo to gauge Rroma? The problems he sees among the Rroma are exactly those that outsiders over and over again simplistically use to explain the observed events: Begging children are part of hierarchically organized clan networks, the same applies to prostitutes or theiving Rroma. Behind them stands a mighty Rroma king who skims all of them. That despite numerous refutations of his vision, Bauerdick still decidedly insists on his position is incomprehensible. It hurts Rroma more than it helps them, although the latter is his officially his goal. The fact that he thereby interprets the freedom of expression in an ethically very questionable manner, does not seem to be clear to him (compare with the right-wing populist platform Unzensuriert.at 2013).

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29.11.2013 Rroma Debate in the UK

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

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15.11.2013 Cementing of Prejudices with the Case of Maria

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In the case of the blond bulgarian Rroma girl Maria, Scholz (2013) sees a renewed strengthening of racist prejudices against Rroma. Both the researcher on racism Wolfgang Benz, as well as the Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, criticized the reporting of numerous media as well as the actions of the involved police agencies as being based on “racist patterns”. The un-reflected articles promoted the exclusion and general prejudice against Rroma living in Europe. Rose, according to  Scholz, loudly criticised the one-sidedness of the reporting that always relies only on problem cases and completely neglects the “invisible” integrated Rroma: “A few days ago in an interview with the “Südeutsche Zeitung” Rose had already warned  against “always focusing on only one part of the Roma.” One must distinguish between the ones “who live in anonymity and those who lead a perfectly normal life in Germany”.” Rose further calls for the establishment of a committee of experts to examine antiziganism in Germany and who would make public (also compare German Wave 2013).

Peters (2013) precises that according to a recent survey, 64 % of Germans would reject Rroma as neighbours. And this even though many already have Rroma as neighbours, but do not know it because they keep their identity secret. Peters also draws clear parallels to the discrimination against the Jews with reference to Wolfgang Benz. Such journalism would not be allowed in Germany about the Jewish minority due to the historical events. But for Rroma surprisingly, this is acceptable. Rose criticizes: “Worldwide, missing children are now suspected to be among Roma. Hundreds of parents now hope that their missing children are alive and were abducted by Roma. This makes all Sinti and Roma to potential child thieves.”

Gezer (2013) comes to a dismal conclusion about the current acceptance of Rroma in Europe. The public image is dominated by negative stereotypes, Rroma are used as scapegoats and as a projection for a wide range of social fears and debates that are taking place on their back: fears of immigration, of change, economic impoverishment, “Yes, Europe has a new villain, he is called Roma and is everywhere. The new villain has dark skin, sings and steals, gives his children no shoes on because it is their tradition to do so. In Europe it is acceptable again to stigmatize a group because of their ethnicity.” She especially criticizes the silence of many politicians and public figures who hush up the blazing racism against Rroma. It is the same type of behaviour that was observed when the migrants were the Turks.

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15.11.2013 European Rroma Policies from an American Perspective

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Bilefsky (2013) of the New York Times comments on the events surrounding the European integration, respectively, non-integration initiatives on Rroma. On the background of the trial against 27 Croatian Rroma who are accused of child trafficking and education towards delinquency, he raises the question of the role of the Rroma in European society. However, his questions are clumsy: he sees the Rroma as being inevitably forced to delinquency by widespread poverty and discrimination. But poverty does not automatically mean a drift into illegality. Such a concept corresponds to conservative views, seeing all poor Rroma as embedded in hierarchical, exploitative structures. The defence of the 27 accused Rroma have put forward a questionable traditions of otherness in their arguments. Therefore Bilefskys provocative question in the title of the article: „[the] members of the defense team offered an unusual legal defense: rather than focusing on the argument that the Roma are forced to resort to crime because of poverty and discrimination, it claimed that in some cases they were simply following age-old Roma traditions and generally operate outside the norms of society in «the style of the Middle Ages. »“  This view of a cultural otherness is precisely the one favoured by Manuel Valls and conservatives. The fact that the defence used this to rehabilitate the defendant Rroma is particularly questionable and raises the question of their integrity. The prosecution, however, favoured a perspective of organized crime: the Rroma children were deliberately educated to become thieves because of the widespread impunity they have as children and they are part of clan-like structures. This, however, according to Bilefsky confusing analysis, is not a cultural explanation. Then what? He takes a liberal attitude towards the cited opinion: The Rroma, as he suggests in a concluding quote have to try to emancipate themselves through their own efforts. That this also requires the readiness of the public should not be forgotten.

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15.11.2013 Rroma in Northern Bohemia

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Schultheis (2013) reported on the successful efforts of Drahomíra Miklošová, the Mayor of Obrnice, to integrate the Rroma in the community. The approach is centred on a structural support which is not specifically tailored to Rroma, but to the needy in general. Miklošová strove for a political post and then fought decidedly against exorbitant rents and crime. For the Rroma, she sought to integrate rather than to drive them out, as is still common. The head of the Centre for Social Services considers the cause for the success of the local projects as being a focus on the needy in general and the strengthening of social cohesion: “The issue today is no longer about Roma or non-Roma. [… ] Some people here think: You are doing everything just for the Gypsies. But this is relevant to all socially disadvantaged. They all have the same problems: unemployment, usury, debt. A vicious cycle. Approximately one-third of the families who come to us in the consultation are not Roma.” This very positive article should not obscure the fact that discrimination against Rroma in the Czech Republic is still a huge problem.

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01.11.2013 Rroma in Germany

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In her article, Levy (2013) tries to present some individual stories that can create an antithesis to the widespread stereotypes about Rroma. For example, based on the Sinti family Braun: The family take an important role. This includes regular visits to the grandparents, often twice a week because respect for elders is very important. The 21-years old Daniel keeps his identity secret from his classmates. Too great is the fear of misunderstanding and rejection: ““In school, I have not outed myself as Sinto. Because I’m afraid that it brings disadvantages, that one talks bad about me“ Gypsy, that curse word,  he has heard that too many times. “One forgot to gas you”, his grandparents had to hear from their neighbours. “Then you dare no more,” says Daniel, and says nothing”” The integrated Sinti see themselves again confronted with prejudice following the immigration of Rroma from Southeast Europe. They have many children, are poor, begg, steal, and are a burden to the German social welfare system as is often read in the media. Nevertheless they solidarise with the immigrants.

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01.11.2013 Rroma In Slovakia

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

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01.11.2013 Rroma and Poverty

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

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25.10.2013 Rroma Between France and Romania

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

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

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

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25.10.2013 The case of Maria strengthens stereotypes on Rroma

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The exaggerated reporting bordering hysteria by the media on the case of the Rroma blonde girl Maria reinforces stereotypes about Rroma families with numerous children and irresponsible parents. Michele Widmer (2013) from the Tagesanzeiger writes that Maria is  with great probability from a Bulgarian family with eight or ten children. The mother had to leave the child during a stay in Greece due to missing papers and sold her to another Rroma family. While the prosecution speaks of child trafficking, the defence claims the innocence of the Greek Rroma family: they cared care for the girl and only unlawfully adopted her (Blick 2013 I / II).

Mappes-Niediek (2013) explains in his contribution that blonde, blue-eyed Rroma are not unusual in Bulgaria. With the case of Maria, more prejudices about Rroma stealing children are once again stoked, prejudiceswhich are even reflected in European fairy tales. Skinheads in Serbia have tried to take away a blond son from his dark-haired Rroma father. Mappes-Niediek states: “Although the Roma in the Balkans are often designated as “black” and also sometimes even called that, blond hair and blue eyes in the minority are not uncommon. A population genetic analysis of the researcher Kalydijewa Luba at a Roma population in Bulgaria has shown that around half of their ancestors have a genetic no different from the rest of the genome of the Bulgarian population.” Mappes-Niediek (2013/II) expands his coverage of the topic in a detailed article in the TAZ. In it, he calls the actions of the authorities as “King Kong schema”: In a view loaded with prejudices, a blond, blue-eyed child cannot possibly belong to a dark-skinned black-haired Rroma family: “A pattern of actual theft of children by Rroma does not exist. Such a scheme is not documented, not historical. What there is, is a pattern of stories. That soon the “black man” comes and takes you away with him, is an integral part of the education meant to scare children and not only in the Balkans.”

In Ireland, as a reaction to Maria’s story, a seven years old blond girl was taken from her parents. It required a positive DNA test to disprove the official suspicion of child abduction. The procedure ran into massive criticism on the Irish authorities action and response (Basler Zeitung 2013).

Leuthold (2013) of 20 minutes gives a surprisingly sophisticated contextual report on the social exclusion of Rroma in the wake of the media attention to the case of Maria. It emphasizes the prevalence of prejudice and the massively larger impediments of integration by the majority of the European societies. As can be read in the comments section, this emphasis on the systematic exclusion raises once more the question of the relationship between social structures and the personal power of action of individuals and groups. It is wrong, in fact, to attribute to Rroma a pure victim role, but it is also questionable if their fate alone ascribes her own actions. It is the combination of socio-political structures and the reaction to it, which lead to the real behaviour patterns of individuals.

 

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18.10.2013 Rroma in Germany

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Radio Dreyeckland (2013) provides information on planned agreement between the state of Baden Württemberg and the National Association of German Sinti and Roma. The draft contract recapitulates the historically documented exclusion of the Rroma, the historical responsibility of Germany in dealing with minorities and the poor introspection about the German Rroma policies. The objective of the treaty is a targeted promotion of Rroma in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Access to education and thus also to the labour market should be strongly supported. The draft of the treaty states: “The exclusion and discrimination of Roma and Sinti dates back to the Middle Ages. The cruel persecution and genocide by the Nazi regime brought immense suffering to Sinti and Roma in our country and effects people to this day. This injustice has only been recognized politically embarrassing late, and has not yet worked out sufficiently. Even the antiziganism is still existent and not overcome. Being aware of this particular historic responsibility towards Sinti and Roma as citizens of our country and guided by the desire and motivation to promote the friendly coexistence.”

Pekdemir Hagen (2013) reports on Hasiba Dzemajlji who is engaged in Bielefeld for a better integration and recognition of the Rroma. Dzemajlji wants more Rroma in Germany, Rroma who have been living in the country for decades to publicly declare their identity. For fear of exclusion and discrimination many people of Rroma origins keep it secret. Together with the organization Migovita, Dzemajlji wants to strengthen the self-confidence, especially of young Rroma, and facilitate their access to education. She also wants to create a counter point to the still heavily rooted stereotypes, a new view that is characterized by heterogeneity and complexity.

Niewendick (2013) discusses the increasing radicalisation of local residents and politicians, who make propaganda against immigrated Rroma: During the last one and a half years, systematically, rumours of “thieving Kids”, littering and other prejudices about immigrants Rroma have been spread. The tensions achieved a peak in the fire of the “Rroma houses” on 9 October, a fire whose cause is still unclear. The heavily politicised situation manifests itself besides open demonstrations for and against Rroma with questionable expressions such as “problem house” and “flood of poverty refugees poverty”.

At the opening of a new interim dormitory for refugees in Duisburg, Kleinwächter (2013) discussed the situation of Rroma in Kosovo. Bernd Mesovic, Vice-President of Pro Asyl Frankfurt is cited with gloomy assessments on the integration of the Rroma in Kosovo: The situation of the Rroma in Kosovo is totally glossed over by the German authorities. In reality among them, very high unemployment prevails, and attacks are not tracked: “Officially, there are no attacks on them. Who issues a complaint, must fear reprisals. They can hardly expect any help from the Albanian police. Under the Constitution, all these rights are guaranteed, as is the internationally agreed reintegration of returnees. But the funds for that are lacking. The Rroma themselves have no confidence in the authorities dominated by Albanians, they are almost hermetically spatially sealed off from the Albanians and a kind of fair game for criminals.” Mesovic’s statements show once again the discrepancies between official country analyses and the real experiences of migrants. Official assessments of stability and legal security stand in contrast with personal experiences that are difficult to objectify. The official view remains the decisive criterion for the assessment of migrants’ fates.

Onay (2013), a green politician from Lower Saxony, reports on a field trip to Serbia. Purpose of the trip was a meeting between German and Serbian Rroma as well as non-Rroma, which was initiated by the organisations novels Aglonipe and the International Youth Meeting of Roma and non-Roma. At the meeting, issues such as the lack of access of Rroma to schools, to health care, and to the labour market were discussed. On the subsequent trip to Stara Karaburma, Onay paints a bleak picture of excluded Rroma living in ghetto-like conditions: Poor hygiene, glaring poverty, few or no prospects for the future. Onya’s portrayal stands in stark contrast to official country assessments that classify the situation of Rroma in Serbia as stable and safe. This contrasts with the fate of individuals surveyed Rroma, which report massive violence against them.

Bachmair (2013) reports on a meeting of the German association “Against Forgetting, for democracy”. At the meeting, eyewitnesses and relatives reported about the suffering experienced by Rroma and criticised the lack of coming to terms about the persecution and exclusion of Rroma in Germany. In his contribution, Romani Rose criticised the continued employment of Nazis by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, a fact that prevented the recognition of Rroma as victims for a long time: “In the offices, the survivors met the same officials who had sent them years before to the concentration camps, and who refused them compensation and recognition as victims of Nazi persecution. Even police officers who had perecuted Gypsies, made unhindered careers made in the Federal Republic. Only when Gypsies got organised and a 1980 hunger strike on the grounds of the former concentration camp at Dachau drew attention to their situation, was their suffering recognized.” The researcher Wolfgang Benz on racism expressed concern that the lessons of the world War II have never been applied or only very poorly on Rroma.

In his short, article, Schuhmann (2013) asks for less political correctness in the name of minorities who commit a crime. Naming the origin – in the case of this article “Gypsy” – helps to identify grievances among the stakeholders and to ask critical question: “If the reader completes the sentence “cheating gypsies on the road” with “of course – who else ?”,  a true nightmare for journalists has become a reality. The police does not want that. Neither does the majority of readers who are quite capable of differentiating between minorities and criminals among those. […] To name their origins could pave the way for many other questions. Namely who exploit these women and what a life they are forced to lead.” Through this statement, Schuhmann relativises her own reasoning. If the committed crimes, or respectively the exploitative relationships have nothing to do with cultural background, why then is naming the origin relevant? Schuhmann also assumes from fully mature, critical readers, who can recognise stereotypical reductions as such. This is to be doubted. Many readers will be confirmed in their prejudices by one-sided reporting.

Also, in an article about criminals young Gypsy women, Schuhmann (2013/II) uses the stereotypes of organised Rroma groups: The testimony of a police officer who speaks of burglars networks, is quoted without comment. Also without comment is the fact that one assigns physical characteristics to perpetrators: “The official explained what they should pay attention to. Women, beggars, rather dark in type “Gypsy one cannot say”, Fuchs says with a glance at the present journalist.” that there is no “culture of crime” ought to be clear to every man of common sense. Just as there are delinquent Rroma, there are delinquent ethnic German, Swiss, etc. No one would ever get the idea to talk about organised crime.

Unzensuriert.at (2013), in an absurdity not to be outdone, reports in an article about the Rroma the “problem house” in Duisburg. According to the article, these Rroma have collected the rat traps that were installed by the urban pest control and sold to scrap dealers. The Rroma, called “Gypsies” here, are brought in directly in conjunction with a rat infestation: “Rat plague: Gypsies stealing traps.” The article is a prime example of uncritical, unreflective, populist journalism.

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