'It's the best place for them': normalising Roma segregation in Madrid (original) (raw)
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First Flight.Student Experiences from Field Research in Barcelona, Spain, 2020
1 The results of the research are published in a volume: https://wlislocki.pte.hu/sites/wlislocki.pte.hu/files/oldal\_mo/00\_amrita\_beliv\_print.pdf 2 Members of the research team: involved researchers and PhD students: Abstract This study is an overview of the social realities of Roma people, especially in the context of Hungary and Spain. It aims to create a framework for the research studies that are addressed in the second chapter of this volume. First, the way these diverse minority groups identify themselves is examined, as well as how their surrounding communities label them in both countries with the international terms "Gypsy" and "Roma". This section is particularly important for clarifying proper terms referring to these minority groups, and providing a brief outline of the history of Roma people to understand subsequent research studies conducted in Spain and Hungary. This study primarily examines the changes that happened in the last 30-40 years in social policy approaches, focusing on educational policy interventions and model programs in both countries. The subsequent studies in this volume are based on micro-research projects conducted by our team, which elaborate on the topics outlined by this overview. So keres, 1 La Mina? -The History, Living Conditions and Challenges of The Roma/ Gitanos of Barcelona Abstract The European Roma minority's situation is a pivotal point that most leading politicians, civil society organizations, and humanitarian organizations of Europe somehow always seem to be glossing over. In addition, in the last 15 years or so, anti-Roma voices and actions resulted in a significant part of society openly starting to profess and pronounce their anti-Gypsyism (see Roma killings, deportations from France, Italy, and Romania, the case of Olaszlika, the intimidating marches of extremist paramilitary organizations). I am interested in how Roma people who live in Barcelona experience all life events that take place around them in relation to their peers. What kind of opportunities do they get from the public authorities of the Catalan capital to have representation and equal opportunity? How significant of a role do Roma civic organizations play and what action plan do they have for advocacy and legal protection? Does inclusion appear in the daily lives of Gitanos? How do they perceive it? KATICA HEINDL AND LILLA LABODA Abstract The focus of our research was to present and compare the operation of civil society organizations operating in the Roma/Gypsy community in Spain and civil society organization operating in the Roma/Gypsy community in Hungary. We relied on prior research examining community programmes, and programmes aimed at educational integration, as well as integration into the labour market (FÜZI, 2016, VARGA, 2015. Based on these research studies, we analysed the modus operandi and the best practices of the two organizations examined in our comparative study. Our qualitative study aims at examining civil society organizations whose work play a vital role in supporting marginalized groups. We wanted to find out what kind of activities well-functioning civil society organizations use to reduce disadvantages. Do they have "good practices", and how can they be adapted? Our hypothesis was that both Hungarian and Spanish organizations would respond to the specific challenges of their given area with complex programmes, and that the similarities that result in the effectiveness of these programmes can be grasped. In the process of our document analysis, we were also considering the environments in which these organizations were located. We also examined the geographical-historical context of a particular Catalan quarter of Barcelona as well as a settlement situated in southern Baranya county.
Strengths and challenges of the policies for Gitanos/Roma in Spain. A workshop for scholars, policy makers, and the third sector., 2014
Spain had become the model for the European Commission and other EU countries for integrating ‘Roma’. Different Autonomous Communities in Spain have been implementing comprehensive ‘Gitano plans’ for several years, assigning generous funds and opting for an interdepartmental approach to the planning and implementation of focused actions. In many aspects they anticipated the features of the recently approved European Strategy on Roma Inclusion – such as the support to targeted initiatives, the emphasis on participation, and the comprehensive approach. However, the real impact of these policies in the target population has remained very limited. The lack of result-based mechanisms of evaluation and monitoring, questions not only the efficiency of the invested funds but also the model itself. During the last decade, Spain progressively became the main country of destination for Romanian Roma migrations. Although in Spain the ‘Roma issue’ never reached the shape of a‘national problem’, local stakeholders and policy makers started to develop policy initiatives aimed to give a response to the freedom of movement of mostly socio-economically marginalized Roma immigrants. Based on the official recognition of the ‘Roma people’ as a pan-European quasi-national group, Roma from other EU Member States have been progressively included as a target group of the broader pre-existing Gitano policies. According to the motto “France deports Roma, Spain integrates them”, and disregarding for the difference of status characterizing ‘old’ and ‘new’ Roma, Spain has been praised for the outstanding and exemplary treatment of the ‘Roma population’. The incorporation of the Roma from other EU member states as a target group of the Gitano policies could either confirm a supposed talent of Spanish governments in the policy management of issues related to ‘ethnic stratification’, or reveal that the solution of social inequalities has to be assumed by broader redistributive policy measures. In the past two years several evaluation reports have been published by relevant civil society stakeholders together with social scientists from a critical point of view, that apparently could not find their way into the political decision making processes. Despite the production of empirical evidences, real discussion between research/evaluators and policy-maker – not to mention the main technical staff responsible for the execution of these policies – is still missing. In order to bridge this missing gap, we organize the workshop for scholars, policy makers and NGOs.
"Living in the mud": the "invisibility" of Roma citizens and of their right to housing
4th Global Dwelling Conference, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece, 2018
Despite their centuries-long presence in Greece and their Greek citizenship, Roma communities continue to be “invisible” in public discussions regarding social inclusion as indeed homeless people. Few state policies recognize that the housing problem is the basic reason for their non-integration to local communities. In Greece, a large portion of the Roma population live in “illegal” dwelling sites, which are characterized by complete absence of basic infrastructure (water, sewage and electricity), bad-quality or completely precarious, self-made “houses” made of second-hand materials, exposed to heat, cold, wild animals and lacking any hygiene. They completely lack community spaces, and, as leftover sites, they are functionally and socially cut off from the urban tissue, usually entrenched by natural or constructed obstacles or borders (river streams, highways, railway tracks etc.). These dwelling conditions, deprived of any decency, are the main reason for the vicious cycle of illiteracy, school dropout, unemployment, criminality, high rates of infant mortality and social exclusion. What seems to go unnoticed is that living conditions in truth define the possibilities for entering and remaining in the school system, for finding a job, for social acceptance. As long as these conditions continue to be tragically Third World ones, the vicious cycle will continue uninterrupted. In the paper, the above presented problematic is discussed based on the case of Ergochori settlement in Veria, Greece, an occupied site where for over twenty years Roma families have been living. A recent study, conducted on behalf of the Municipality of Veria, showcased how lack of proper dwelling, how “living in the mud” (to use a settler’s expression) perpetuates misery and anti-social behavior, and proposed a new, sustainable housing settlement for the tenants. The annulment of the project due to non-Roma neighbors’ reactions is yet another case of racism and denial of Roma’s right to housing.
2014
Spain had become the model for the European Commission and other EU countries for integrating ‘Roma’. Different Autonomous Communities in Spain have been implementing comprehensive ‘Gitano plans’ for several years, assigning generous funds and opting for an interdepartmental approach to the planning and implementation of focused actions. In many aspects they anticipated the features of the recently approved European Strategy on Roma Inclusion – such as the support to targeted initiatives, the emphasis on participation, and the comprehensive approach. However, the real impact of these policies in the target population has remained very limited. The lack of result-based mechanisms of evaluation and monitoring, questions not only the efficiency of the invested funds but also the model itself. During the last decade, Spain progressively became the main country of destination for Romanian Roma migrations. Although in Spain the ‘Roma issue’ never reached the shape of a‘national problem’, local stakeholders and policy makers started to develop policy initiatives aimed to give a response to the freedom of movement of mostly socio-economically marginalized Roma immigrants. Based on the official recognition of the ‘Roma people’ as a pan-European quasi-national group, Roma from other EU Member States have been progressively included as a target group of the broader pre-existing Gitano policies. According to the motto “France deports Roma, Spain integrates them”, and disregarding for the difference of status characterizing ‘old’ and ‘new’ Roma, Spain has been praised for the outstanding and exemplary treatment of the ‘Roma population’. The incorporation of the Roma from other EU member states as a target group of the Gitano policies could either confirm a supposed talent of Spanish governments in the policy management of issues related to ‘ethnic stratification’, or reveal that the solution of social inequalities has to be assumed by broader redistributive policy measures. In the past two years several evaluation reports have been published by relevant civil society stakeholders together with social scientists from a critical point of view, that apparently could not find their way into the political decision making processes. Despite the production of empirical evidences, real discussion between research/evaluators and policy-maker – not to mention the main technical staff responsible for the execution of these policies – is still missing. In order to bridge this missing gap, we organize the workshop for scholars, policy makers and NGOs.
In this lecture, given in April 2015 at Duke University, I argue that, in order to adequately understand the contemporary situation of Roma in Europe, we need to move beyond the currently dominant methodological Eurocentrism. In the context of Roma-related scholarship, ‘methodological Eurocentrism’ refers to analyses of the Roma’s societal position that do not sufficiently take into account how representations of both Europe and the Roma have significantly and interdependently changed since the collapse of socialism. Since the fall of communism, we have been able to observe what I call the ‘Europeanization of the representation of the Roma’, that is, firstly, the post-1989 problematization of the Roma in terms of their Europeanness and European identity; secondly, the classification of heterogeneous groups scattered over Europe under the umbrella term Roma and, thirdly, the devising of Europe-wide developmental programs that are dedicated to their inclusion, integration, anti-discrimination, empowerment and participation. I will clarify how we can understand the Europeanization of Roma representation as the latest stage of the various ways in which those who are currently called, or call themselves, Roma have historically interacted with Europe. I argue that, since 1989, a shift has taken place from considering the Roma as the Orientalized and externalized outsiders against which Europe has defined itself to considering them as the internalized outsiders to be incorporated in Europe as productive, participating and ‘true Europeans’. This shift has enabled the Roma to become actively involved in the political and policy debates about their representation, in attempts at improving their situation, and in the deepening and widening of the heterogeneous Romani movement. Yet, I will explain why this shift is fundamentally ambiguous. It has contributed to problematizing the Roma in ambiguous ways at the present-day nexus of security, citizenship and development. I will show how a threefold redirecting of Roma-related scholarship will help to critically reflect upon these problematizations beyond currently dominant Eurocentric and Roma-centric parameters.
In this article, I engage with the current debate on Roma migrant children. Taking Catalonia as a case study, I tackle the separation of Romani children from their parents and the completion of pay-to-go schemes for marginalized Romanian Roma families. The focus lies within the allegedly humane logic of state institutions and civil-society organizations that reflect structural oppression and unveil everyday racism against Roma as a group. ...
Roma within Obstructing and Transformative Spaces
Intersections
The aim of our article is to inquire into the interconnectedness of local social context, mobility processes and social transformations. We argue that migratory patterns of the local Roma population in ethnically mixed communities are shaped by the degree and modes of maintenance of social distance between the Roma and local majority. While social distance can shape the ways migrant networks develop, it also influences the way remittances are invested at home. The analysis focuses on the comparison of two rural communities from Transylvania where we carried out community studies and a household survey which also included attitude questions related to ethnic groups. Our study revealed that the most visible aspect of the local separation is the housing segregation. While this is present in both cases, in one of the villages Roma use their upward mobility to challenge social segregation and to reduce physical distance (i.e. moving inside the village). Here in spite of physical closenes...