Címlap English The situation of the Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europa

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The situation of the Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europa PDF Nyomtatás E-mail
Írta: Jakim Quorp Matthiesen   
2011. szeptember 24. szombat, 12:53

The situation of Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europe were highlighted in the summer of 2010, when France along with Italy and Denmark exercised expulsions of Roma people back to especially Romania and Bulgaria, two of the countries in Europe with large Roma minorities. The EU reacted by condemning these expulsions, pointing to the fact that it violates the rights of free movement of EU citizens. The discrimination against the biggest minority group inEuropein the summer of 2010 was neither new nor did it end there. To draw a more recent example, the EU media portal Euractiv ran a story about how Roma’s in Hungary according to critics are being targeted by a new law that requires everyone who receives social allowances, with but a few exceptions, to work below minimum wage with ‘community services’, and in case of refusal the allowances will stop.


This discrimination, of which there are countless more examples from across Europe, has been going on for years and to a certain extent can be seen as the result of historically grounded stereotypes, which spill into political and structural inequalities. Historians do not agree on where exactly the Roma migrated from originally, although the most common assumption seems to be that different groups migrated from Indiatowards Europeprimarily between the seventh and thirteenth centuries. So the history of Roma presence in Europestretches far back, and so does the misperceptions and along with that unfair treatment in numerous European countries. I do not intend to draw a continual straight line of Roma persecution up till today, as that would simplify the case, as things have changed to both the better and worse at different times since the migration to Europein the 7th to 13th centuries.

If we return to the historically grounded stereotypes, which are important to understand the status of the Roma in contemporary European societies, I believe we have a case for cultural diplomacy. The problem is deeply embedded in the consciousness of many people across Europe, and it is continually strengthened by extreme right wing parties inEuropethat takes the Roma hostage in a xenophobic rhetoric that talks to the lowest common denominator and thus furthers the stereotyping and social, structural and political marginalisation of this ethnic minority. The history of the Roma inEurope, both of the migrations, the misperceptions and the persecutions are of a highly complex nature and to do it justice here is not the intention.

To further the complex issue, another problem is how to identify and address this highly diverse and heterogeneous group. Even though the term Roma is most frequently used, not all the people that fall into this category, identify with it. The word and designation ‘Roma’ was to a certain extent successfully constituted by Roma interest groups in the 1990’s as the official designation of the group that formerly constituted ‘gypsies’, to escape the stigma and stereotyping associated with the term. Today international institutions work with the designations Roma, Sinti and Travellers (along with more subcategories) to designate this very diverse and complicated group of people. But it should of course be stressed, as mentioned earlier, that not all the people who fall into this broad category identify with it.

Some of the efforts that have been made to get rid of and help create a more dignified and action oriented debate on the Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europe, has been done through concrete EU measures, through the Council of Europe and especially through the European Roma Rights Centre. On the EU level, several programs have been launched to help create better structural and political conditions for the Roma through raising awareness of discrimination, creating national reports, rethinking tools of social inclusion, promoting equality and much more. The Council of Europe have established one interesting effort among many focusing on Roma, Sinti and Travellers culture, in an effort to trace Roma influence on European culture as a part of the European Cultural Routes programme. This program intends to raise awareness of Roma cultural contributions toEurope, and can hopefully be a stepping stone towards a more positive and embracing tone in the European public. Lastly, the international public interest law organisation the European Roma Rights Centre, works to combat Roma-racism and human rights offences, by means of education, research and policy development.

This is just some of the efforts out there to support the case of the Roma, Sinti and Travellers, but still a lot needs to be done. I believe that in order to combat Roma exclusion and discrimination in Europe, it is necessary to create a more positive debate built on raising awareness of Roma culture and its contributions to European societies, in order to deal with the structural and socioeconomic challenges effectively. Therefore there is a need for even more focus on this issue, to help challenge misperceptions and stereotypes, in order to create mutual understanding and promote cultural exchange as a bridge towards a more humane treatment of this ethnic minority. Therefore, I believe, there is a case for a cultural diplomacy focusing on Roma, Sinti and Travellers and their conditions in Europeas a whole.

Link: http://theicdinternsvoice.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/the-situation-of-the-roma-sinti-and-travellers-in-europe-a-case-for-cultural-diplomacy/

Módosítás dátuma: 2011. szeptember 24. szombat, 17:20
 
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