Imaginierte "Bettlerflut". Temporäre Migrationen von Roma/Romnija - Konstrukte und Positionen. (original) (raw)

2013, The book includes an intensive summary in English. Tartalmaz egy terjedelmes magyar nyelvű összefoglaló fejezetet.

The perception of Romani people in “western” European states has been predominantly linked with forms of migration that emerged from post-communist countries, especially since the two latest EU enlargements. Still, these migrations are not unidirectional and homogeneous at all, but contain multi-layered and diverse forms of movement. In this book we present some outcomes of a recent research project which we carried out in analysing movements from members of Romani communities in southern Slovakia to the Austrian province of Styria. These discussed communities are neither linguistically separated nor in terms of housing strictly segregated from their mostly Hungarian surrounding. Nevertheless, the migrations – initially for the purpose of begging – and especially their effects foster differentiation and even an increase of segregation tendencies. In particular, the projects of NGOs in the region and the depiction of Romani people in Austrian media has shaped the othering of these Hungarian Slovakian citizens of Romani belonging. In an introductive overview on the character of these migrations, we argue that these movements are transnational, not only because they are circular (instead of once-and-forever), but also because they question the notion of seemingly traditional migratory patterns. One of the effects of the migrations has been the emergence of a relatively strong connection between the regions involved, highly visible in the symbolical relationship between the village of Medovce-Metete and Graz. Not only have development projects by Austrian NGOs and official support from local governments in Austria changed the situation in this village, but the presence of begging Romani people has shaped political debates and self-perceptions in Graz. These effects and relationships can most adequately be described as a transnational network that allows the movement of people, goods, money, knowledge etc. This book is based on material from our field researches in South-central Slovakia (called the Gemer/Gömör region), and Graz, deriving first and foremost from interviews with migrants, NGO-activists, officials and non-migrating people, which we carried out from September 2010 until February 2011. The second basis for this book are images and texts from coverage in different forms of media, such as newspapers and magazines, but also graffiti in public space, bulk mail, etc., from 1989 to 2011. We set these sources in dialogue with one other and thus map a space across the borders between language and action as well as the borders of nations/regions. In doing so, it becomes visible that there are huge intersections and interdependences between perceptions of these migrations, the circumstances in which they happen and the consequences they have (like development aid).