Project Education of Roma | History Roma Children Council Conseil of Europe de l´Europe in Europe Third 7.0 Migration
Third Migration Mirjam Karoly
Migration in the Course of Recruiting “Foreign Workers” | Going West – The Fall of the Iron Curtain | Looking for Political Asylum – Migration since the Mid-90s | Fleeing War in Former Yugoslavia | Being a Migrant in a Foreign Country
After the first appearance of Roma in Europe and the wave of emigration after slavery was abolished in Romania (“Second Migration”, around 1850), the last migratory movement of Roma from Eastern to Western Europe took place in the second half of the 20th century. This “third migration” has to be considered in connection with external factors: war, political changes and the resulting economic crises made many people leave their country of origin; in the Roma’s case, massive racism and discrimination in all areas of everyday life have to be added.
the Netherlands 1 sweden Refugees from Hungary in 1956 Main routes of the During the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, 150.000 peo- GERMANY ple fled Hungary, among them many Roma, particularly grat britain rd 3 migration Lovara families, who were received mainly in Austria. Ill. 1 Foreign workers, 2 1960s and 1970s Yugoslavian Roma, mostly from the poorer regions of france Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina emigrated to Western Europe, the austria strongest migration taking place in Italy, Austria, Ger- switzerland many, France, and the Netherlands. USA 1 3 hungary romania Refugees from 3 Romania, 1990-1995 italy Asylum-seekers from 4 Bosnia-Hercegovina, 1991-1995 4,2 Ten thousand Roma fled the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina BosniA serbia from 1991 to 1995, and demanded political asylum in Aust- 2 ria, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany and Switzerland.
5 Refugees from Kosovo*, 5 kosovo 1998-1999 aLbania 2 * All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institu- Former Yugoslav Republic tions or population, in this text shall be understood in full of Macedonia compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo
Introduction are, like all other migrants (or refugees), count 200,000 to 280,000 Roma migra- people who left their home country in ting from East to West, settling primari- Up to this day, the picture of the “Gy- order to achieve a better standard of li- ly in the neighbouring countries of the psy” has been determined by the roman- ving in the medium or long term, or who former Eastern Block, such as Germany, tic transfigured idea of a “free”, “vaga- need immediate protection or asylum. Austria, and Italy. Compared to the ge- bond” way of life. The Roma are often [Ills. 2, 3] neral trend of the East-West migration, seen as a very “mobile”, “lightly migra- Statements about the Roma’s the Roma’s share is quite low. ting” population. But in fact, the over- numbers are based on estimations in In some Western European whelming majority of Roma today are the whole of Europe, because many do countries the Roma who immigrated sedentary. Thus, migratory movements not register themselves as Roma in the over the last decades make up a con- of Roma in the second half of the 20th censi. Moreover, it is nationality, and siderable part of the overall Roma po- century can mostly be put down to ex- not ethnic affiliation of migrants that pulation. For instance, estimations say ternal factors, such as war, political and is being registered in the target coun- that about 80% of the Swedish Roma economic instability, racism, discrimi- tries; hence the number of Roma mi- are Roma from former Yugoslavia, nation or systematic violation of human grants and refugees in Western Europe Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, rights. In this way, the migrating Roma can only be estimated. Some estimates Slovakia, and Hungary. Migration in the Course of Recruiting “Foreign Workers” Going West – The Fall of the Iron Curtain
Number of Roma, by country
Ill. 2 Number of Roma, by country. ment reports provided to the UN Comittee Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina- Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Sources: The national statistical bureaus of tion; government reports provided to the The source of the column “Estimate” are the countries included that were consulted Council of Europe’s Committee on the Fra- NGO estimates provided in Liègeois and are: CIA World Factbook (Washington, mework Convention; “N/A” indicate that Gheorghe (1995). D.C.); the European Union “Regular Re- official data is not available. Some coun- * Census 2001 ** Census 1991 ports of the Candidate Countries for Mem- tries have provided official estimates (see bership in the European Union”; govern- for example Finland, Germany, Greece, (from Roma Rights 1/2004, p. 9f)
“Gastarbeiter” (immigrant workers, rated to Western Europe, the strongest Migration in the Course of literally “guest workers”) in German migration taking place in Italy, Aust- Recruiting usage since 1968, had been recruited ria, Germany, France, and the Nether- “Foreign Workers” mainly from Spain, Greece, Turkey lands. Many of them were employed and Yugoslavia. A considerable part in factories or in the building trade, At the beginning of the 1960s, some of them were Roma. Most of them others worked as seasonal workers. Western European countries star- came from former Yugoslavia, which, The vast majority already had a per- ted to cover their need for – mainly unlike the rest of the Communist manent employment on their arrival, manual – workers by recruiting fo- Block, offered a liberal travelling po- others tried their luck. Commuting to reign workers. For example, Austria licy. From 1965 onwards, the Yugos- the country of origin was common, opened an official recruitment of- lavian authorities officially permitted and many Roma used the money they fice in Istanbul in 1964. As a conse- and controlled work migration, a few had earned for houses in their home quence, about one hundred thousand years later it was already possible to country. Even though at first this mig- people willing to work, mainly as travel to Western Europe with a simple ration was intended for a limited time unskilled workers, were brought to tourist visa. Yugoslavian Roma, most- only, the link to the host country be- Western Europe. [Ill. 4] ly from the poorer regions of Serbia, came stronger over the years, and fi- These so-called “foreign wor- Former Yugoslav Republic of Mace- nally the centre of life was moved to kers”, who have generally been called donia and Bosnia-Herzegovina emig- the new home country. [Ill. 5]
Council of Europe Roma | History pROJECT Education of Roma Children in Europe
Third 7.0 Migration
The Abracadabra of Romani Statistics
It is widely accepted that reliable demographic and social statistics on the Roma are nonexistent. [...] The reason for this can be traced to the Roma and government authorities, both of whom have found it undesirable to collect Roma- related statistics. Roma have little reason to trust “Gadže” (non-Roma) with notebooks and questionnaires visiting their ghettos. Authorities and the media have been ambi- valent at best [...] At present, Roma-related statistics are trapped in a set of legal and policy problems, including data protection laws, constitutional rights to choose freely one’s ethnic identity, and the needs for ethnically coded dis- aggregated data for anti-discrimination agendas. It should be noted that Roma in some countries are reluctant to reveal their identity. Of the countries with large Romani populati- ons, Bulgaria is an example of a country in which the gap between census data and estimates is relatively small: esti- mates are only about double census data. [...] In contrast, the Czech Roma present a real statistical puzzle. While both government and independent sources estimate that approxi- mately a quarter of a million Roma live in the country, the most recent (2001) census gave the number as 11,716 [...]. Ill. 4 Ill. 3 (from Roma Rights 1/2004, p. 8ff.) Arrival of immigrant workers in Vienna, April 1964. (from Gürses et al. 2004, p. 92)
Dragan, who was taught the traditional kettle making by his time, but the opportunity for earning money was so tempting father, never thought of staying in Vienna: “In 1970 when that Dragan and Mirza are still (…) living in Austria (…). the first child was born, Dragan and Mirza went to Austria In the meantime, they had built a house in Serbia, which is to earn more money, their daughter stayed with her grand- not used anymore. Dragan’s father died, and his mother and parents in Serbia. The second child, born in 1971, did not children moved to Vienna. Both children are married and have enough space in the small worker home in Vienna, eit- have children of their own.” her. The couple wanted to stay in Austria only for a short Ill. 5 (translated from Heinschink / Hemetek 1994, p. 181f.)
nomic changes which had left, particu- the “Gypsies” were easy targets. For in- Going West – The Fall of larly, the workers in the unprofitable stance, the Czech newspaper “Express” the Iron Curtain large state combines unemployed. The warned in an article that appeared on Roma were among the biggest losers July 2, 1990, that the “Gypsy” ’s fertili- The initial euphoria at the fall of the Iron in this transition phase. They had often ty could cause a “catastrophe”, leading Curtain in 1989 was soon gone. Contra- been employed as unskilled workers, to the result “that within a century the ry to the desired approach of East and hence with their dismissal they had also country may well have to be renamed West, disapproval grew, on the part of lost all hopes for future work. Up to this the ‘Romská republika’”. [Ill. 8] the West, of the influx of the commonly day, they are affected by an extremely While in former Czechoslova- so-called “economic refugees”. Politi- high, up to 80-90% rate of unemploy- kia acts of violence against the Roma cally, this attitude found expression in ment in some regions of Central and were committed mainly by skinheads, many Western European countries in a Eastern Europe. in Romania, Roma were targets of pog- step-by-step intensification of immigra- The political change in the former rom-like acts of violence. On June 12, tion and asylum laws. Communist Block also led to an increa- 1990, Roma were the victims of rampa- Many people from the former sed resentment and to racially motivated ging mine workers that had been called Communist Block put great hopes on a attacks against Roma. The anger at the into the capital by President Iliescu in stable and safe future in the West. The economic difficulties was exploited by order to end the protest against the old political turning point had caused eco- some media and politicians for whom political guard. A part of the mob went
Going West – The Fall of the Iron Curtain
“Socially inadequate population”
The Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar’s speech on September 4, 1993 in Spiš, lead to an uproar in the international media when he said it “was necessary to curtail the ‘extended reproduction of the socially unadaptable and mental- ly backward population’ by decrea- sing family allowances”. According to the later released official trans- lation Meciar’s speech read: “They [the “Gypsies”] should be percei-
Ill. 6 ved as a problem group that is gro- A Romani house in Plăieşii de Sus shortly after the outbreak of violence of June 1991. wing in size … this means that if (from Haller 1998, p. 38) we do not deal with them now, they will deal with us later … another thing we have to consider is exten- “In Plăieşii de Sus, Harghita County, a town lage municipality, but in vain. Nobody inter- ded reproduction of socially inade- with 3,200 inhabitants, 200 of whom are vened. On Sunday in the afternoon they fled quate population.” Roma, villagers burned 28 houses and killed to the stable of the local co-operative farm. Ill. 8 a Romani man on June 9, 1991. The sequence An organised group of villagers then cut the (abbreviated from Crowe 1995, p. 66) of events began on June 6, 1991, when four electrical wires leading to the Romani sett- Romani men beat Ignác Daró, a night guard, lement (to avoid a short circuit that would because he interfered as they beat their horse. leave the whole village without electricity), Shortly after the incident, the crowd beat knocked down the telephone pole connecting two innocent old Romani men out of reven- the village with the neighbouring village of As one Roma intellectual expressed ge. One of them, Mr Ádám Kalányos, later Miercurea Ciuc and then set all of the 28 Ro- the trigger for migration: “The risks died of the injuries he had sustained. In the mani houses on fire. Other pogroms followed involved in being a Gypsy in Romania meantime the police arrested the four Romani in Vălenii Lăpuşului, Maramureş County, on in 1990 persuaded all those offered men. Two days later a warning sign appeared August 13, 1991, where villagers burned eigh- the opportunity to take refuge abroad; on the outskirts of the settlement where the teen houses, and in Cărpiniş, Timiş County, perhaps it is no better there, but at houses of the Roma families stood, informing on March 17, 1993, where five houses were least you can nourish the hope that it the inhabitants that on June 9, Sunday eve- destroyed. By this time, however, the mass- is up to you alone that you maintain ning, their houses would be set on fire. The media had already lost interest in the theme.” your dignity.” Roma informed both the police and the vil- Ill. 7 (from Haller 1998, p. 37) Ill. 9 (from Crowe 1995, p. 147)
into the quarters inhabited by Roma, made many Eastern European Roma ny had started in the course of speci- beat up the inhabitants and destroyed fear for their existence, thus causing fic return policies for German settlers their property. Similar things happened them to emigrate. [Ill. 9] in Transylvania and the Banat (in 1990 from then on in several towns all over Fleeing Romanian Roma made alone, about 80,000 Saxons and Swabi- Romania, where ethnic Hungarians and up a considerable part of the East- ans left Romania). Another popular tar- Romanians attacked their Roma neigh- West migration in the recent past (sin- get country was France. Both countries bours with open violence. In the period ce 1990). Some estimates count up to had a small number of Romanian Roma between 1990 and 1995 alone, 30 such 70,000 Roma refugees up to the year immigrants already in the 1980s, who acts of violence were registered, which 1992 in Germany alone. Germany – like had applied for asylum but whose status in some cases even caused deaths. [Ills. other target countries – was, among continued to be unclear. At the begin- 6, 7] other reasons, attractive for those wil- ning of the 1990s, the arrival of several The combination of violence, ling to emigrate because they already hundred Roma in French cities like Ru- discrimination and racism, the bad eco- had existing connections – family or baix, Toulouse or Nanterre is documen- nomic and social situation, sheer po- friends – there. In addition, a general ted, but in many cases they have been verty and mistrust of public institutions emigration from Romania to Germa- expelled again.
Council of Europe Roma | History pROJECT Education of Roma Children in Europe
Third 7.0 Migration
HungarIAN Uprising and Prague SPRING
During the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, 150,000 people fled Hungary. Among them, many Roma, particularly Lova- ra families, who were received mainly in Austria. Also, the arrival of Russian tanks in former Czechoslovakia in 1968 (Prague Spring) caused a wave of emigration in the course of which several hundred Roma emigrated, partly through Austria, to Sweden. Ill. 12
Suddenly Foreigners or Stateless Persons
After the splitting of Czechoslovakia in 1992, the Czech Re- public enacted a new citizenship law, which turned the vast majority of the Roma population living in Czechia into fo- reigners or stateless persons over night. According to the new law, everybody who had not had the Czech citizenship before 1945 had to apply for it. In Slovakia, in contrast, all citizens with Czechoslovakian citizenship could opt for Slo- vakia. Almost 95 % of the Czech Roma population came from Slovakia, and many of them, just like their children born in Ill. 10 Czechia, could not fulfill the criteria for Czech citizenship Frontpage of the German news magazine “Der Spiegel” on Sep- and were turned into foreigners or stateless persons in their tember 3, 1990. It reads: “Asyl in Deutschland? Die Zigeuner” own country. (“Asylum in Germany? The Gypsies”). Ill. 13 (from Der Spiegel 36/1990)
The journal “Der Spiegel” reports the German population’s aggres- tious citizens announced that they would build a “militia” against the sions in the face of the “wave of Gypsy immigration”: “… already Gypsies. And in Essen, for the time being the culminating point of de- panic rises in some cities like the Saarland Lebach. In order to protect generated citizen anger, the neighbours of a home for people seeking the population against 1,400 Gypsies who live in this asylum-seeker asylum even signed on gangs of thugs according to the police. Allege- town with a population of only 22,000, the mayor had the town house dly, they wanted to pay 5,000 German Marks to the radical right-wing and public pool barricaded. In Bottrop, the local population tried to skinheads for attacks against the unwanted neighbours …” prevent a Gypsy tent settlement through a sit-in. In Herford, the cau- Ill. 11 (translated from Der Spiegel 36/1990, p. 35)
The rising number of Romani- and Romania came into force, and pro- In Western Europe, the immi- an Roma in Western Europe as well as vided for the expulsion of Roma after gration of Eastern European Roma at- the general East-West migration had a a negative asylum decision. This exa- tracted great attention on the part of strong impact on the increasing wal- mple was followed by France in 1994. the media and politics. The myth of ling off of borders. The latter process In Austria, visas for Romanian the itinerant, vagabonding “Gypsy” showed itself mainly in the introduc- tourists had already been introduced without state was deemed well-suited tion of visa regimes and of more and in 1990. Also transit countries like for the “intensification of the debate more rigorous immigration and asyl- Poland, former Czechoslovakia, and on migration”. Some German media um regulations. Some countries signed Hungary made entry more difficult. talked about the country being “floo- bilateral treaties for taking back emi- In addition, they signed referral trea- ded” by Eastern European “Gypsies”, grants, which were more or less open- ties with target countries, for instance, who were generally cast off as “eco- ly directed against “poverty refugees” the Czech Republic with Germany, in nomic refugees” and “poverty asylum and resulted in the expulsion of many 1994. Many immigrants were expel- seekers”. [Ills. 10, 11] Roma. In November 1992, the bilate- led “back” to their country of origin or At the beginning of the 1990s, ral expulsion treaty between Germany over the borders of the transit country. radical right-wing youths committed
Looking for Political Asylum – Migration since the Mid-90s Fleeing War in Former Yugoslavia Being a Migrant in a Foreign Country
Infant and child mortality rates in Romania (infant and child mortality rates death by 1000 live births)
Ethnic Infant Child Total Infant and group mortality mortality child mortality (0 to 1 year) (1 to 4 year) (0 to 4 year) Romanian 27.1 1.1 28.2 Hungarian 19.8 0 19.8 Roma 72.8 7.2 80.0 Ill. 15 Poverty and ethnicity (the case of Bulgaria and Romania, 1997)
Ethnic Share of the Poverty rate Poverty depth group respective ethnic (percent of the re- (average sortfall group in total popula- spective ethnic group below poverty line) tion (percent) belwo poverty line) Bulgarians 83.6 31.7 8.5 Bulgarian Turks 8.5 40 12.8 Roma 6.5 84.3 46.6 Other 1.4 46.9 15 Bulgarian total 100 36 11.4 Romanians 89.8 29.7 7.3 Ill. 14 Hungarians 6.8 28.4 6.7 In Czech Usti Nad Labem the major had a 65 m long and 1.8 m high Roma 2.3 78.8 33.2 wall erected between the houses of Roma and non-Roma in October, Other 1.1 32.6 8.0 1999; the picture shows the dismantling of the wall in the same month, Romania total 100 30.8 7.9 because of international protest. Ill. 16 (Romano Centro 27/1999)
attacks against the asylum seekers in Not only Romanian Roma fled hopes on a new beginning in the West. many German cities. In Rostock, Ha- to Western Europe. In the whole Cen- For many, however, the journey ended gen, Lebach, Bottrop, Herford, Es- tral and Eastern European area a mi- in a reception camp, sometimes not sen, Leipzig and other places acts of gratory movement of Roma started even in the target country but in tran- violence were committed, sometimes after the opening of the East. Roma sit countries like Poland, Hungary or even pillage. The Roma were among from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, former Czechoslovakia. [Ill. 13] those concerned, too. Slovakia, Hungary or Poland put their
In fact this attention was caused rights, discrimination and racism were Looking for Political by relatively small groups, not more than not considered as open political perse- Asylum – Migration since several hundred people a year. The agita- cution. Quite the reverse: the countries the mid-90s tion about these immigrants can be traced of origin were considered as “safe third to the deeply-rooted prejudices against countries”. Additionally, it was claimed In the wake of intensified border control, “Gypsies”, and to the obvious presence that even in the case of massive discrimi- increasingly rigorous immigration regu- of these refugees who did not – contrary nation there were no cases of persecution lations and a tightening net of expulsion to other Roma – travel alone, but at least by the state. [Ill. 19] treaties between target countries and the in smaller family groups. Most target countries reacted to countries of origin, the first strong wave The reasons for this flight were, in this immigration by introducing visa of immigration from Eastern Europe died many cases, acts of violence by skinheads, obligations. In 2001, Great Britain stati- away. Still in the mid-1990s, the appea- lacking security in the face of right-wing oned some border guards at the Prague rance of smaller groups of Roma from attacks, discrimination, harassment by airport, in order to prevent refugees-to- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, local authorities and the police, poverty, be from emigrating. On the other hand, Romania, or Slovakia attracted great at- unemployment and lacking adequate pos- the fact that France granted political asy- tention from the media and politics in sibilities for education. [Ills. 14-16] lum to Hungarian Roma refugees in 2001 countries like Belgium, Finland, France, Only rarely was asylum granted caused ill-feeling among the Hungarians, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, and Great according to the Geneva Convention, as it cast a bad light on Hungarian mino- Britain. because the severe violation of human rity policies.
Council of Europe Roma | History pROJECT Education of Roma Children in Europe
Third 7.0 Migration
Filed as “Others” “The worst is being scattered“
In the 1991 census in Bosnia-Herzegovina, only the “In a basket, I sometimes took the children with me to the fields, where four big national groups – Bosnians, Serbs, Croati- I dug and worked. And now we have lost everything. We have to ask ans and Yugoslavs – were registered in detail. The and plea for it. And now we even have to go to a third country, to save Roma were subsumed under “Ostali” (others) and our lives and our children. Did it have to come to that? It is so hard numbered 8,900. It is estimated, however, that there for me that my children went to America. The worst is not being able were about 40,000 to 60,000 Roma in Bosnia-Her- to be together. My children, my daughters-in-law, my grandchildren are zegovina before the war. Incidentally, the figure of gone. Wherever I go, I cry and cry. When will they return, perhaps never, the census was also taken over by international orga- perhaps I will never see my children again. When I have to apply for nisations, which led to the fact that there was almost emigration, and they tell me that I cannot go, I will tell them: Rather kill no attention paid to the Roma’s fate or their possibi- me than tell me I cannot go …” lities of return. Mrs. Mehic, 55, from Bjeljina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, refugee in Berlin.
Ill. 17 (see European Commission against Racism and Intolerance Ill. 18 (translated from Mihok 2001, p. 133) 2004, Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina, p. 26f.)
Ill. 15 Children born in Romania between July 1994 and June In 1997, a TV program about the successful emigration of a Roma fa- 1999. (from United Nations Development Program (1999) Reproduc- mily to Canada caused the emigration of Czech Roma who wanted to tive Health Survey: Romania, draft) follow this example. Some Czech mayors saw this as an opportunity to Ill. 16 get rid of their Roma population, and gave free one-way tickets to the Poverty and ethnicity, the case of Bulgaria and Roma- Roma willing to emigrate. nia, 1997. (based on the same source as Ill. 15 above) Ill. 19
fled together. Single families went to a Ashkalije, even if they had fled together Fleeing war in former country where they already had family or with the Albanians. This “ethnic clean- Yugoslavia friends. In Germany, they were “tolera- sing” happened before the international ted”, and their judicial status limited to community’s very eyes. Up to 14,000 of Estimations say that up to the mid- an uncertain period of time. 19,000 Roma homes and 75 settlements 1990s, up to half a million people fled Up to now, the return of minori- in Kosovo were completely destroyed. the chaos of war in former Yugosla- ties to Bosnia-Herzegovina is difficult Up to 80% of the estimated 150,000 via. Even though the number of Roma if not impossible because of unsolved Roma, “Egyptians” and “Ashkalije” among the refugees is not known, it is distribution of property and law guaran- from Kosovo had to flee. The majority highly probable that there were many tees. Still, in Germany measures were fled to neighbouring countries and re- Roma among them. Ten thousand Roma taken at the end of the 90s to make the gions of former Yugoslavia, mainly to fled the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina people return of their own free will. Serbia and Montenegro, and Former Yu- from 1991 to 1995, and demanded po- Refugees were expelled to Bosnia also goslav Republic of Macedonia, others litical asylum in Austria, Italy, Sweden, without their consent, to a country to Western Europe or the USA. While Great Britain, Germany and Switzer- which was organised according to eth- they were usually placed in reception land. [Ill. 17] nics after the war and where the Roma camps in the third countries, they were Many fled because they were did not have a place. [Ill. 18] but “internal displaced persons” in Ser- afraid to get between the two war-wa- The Kosovo-conflict triggered bia and Kosovo. ging ethnic groups, or because they lived another wave of emigration. After the Up to this day, for many refu- in the areas that were fought over. The conflict intensified in the summer of gees, returning is impossible due to the Roma were rejected by both sides. Addi- 1998, hundreds of thousands of Ko- still life-threatening situation. A symbol tionally, some of the Bosnian Roma were sovo-Albanians and Roma were ex- of the devastating effect the conflict had Muslims, and thus threatened once more. pelled. The return of the Albanians in on the formerly existing Roma commu- For example, the relatively big Roma June 1999 caused another flight on the nity in Kosovo is the Roma-“Mahalla” settlement in Bijeljina (Bosnia-Herzego- part of the Roma. After the invasion of (district mainly inhabited by Roma) in vina) – counting almost 8,000 inhabi- NATO troops, big parts of the Albani- Mitrovica (with a pre-war population tants – was expelled almost completely. an population and Albanian extremists of about 8,000), of which not a single In many cases, the whole community turned against the Roma, Egyptians and house has been reconstructed.
Council of Europe Project Education of Roma Children in Europe Roma | History
Third 7.0 Migration
“TE PUČLAN MAN, SO SIUM ME ...” – meetings they say: You are a German. That is true. I do not “IF YOU ASK ME, WHAT I AM ...” know what to do with tradition. I am a modern man. But in my veins is Roma blood. I am proud to be a Rom.” “Te pučlan man, so sium me vi sar dikav man, ka vakerav sar Rom”: “If you ask me, what I am and what I feel, then I am Demir R., born 1981, was 13 months old, when his family a Rom. Sometimes I would like to have a native country, be- left Kosovo and came to Freiburg, Germany. cause I do not belong anywhere. When we have the big Roma Ill. 20 (translated from Birgin / Wieczorek 2005, p. 36)
socialised in the language and culture of other temporary accommodations, they Being a migrant in a for- their new home in school. The clash of only have limited – if at all – possibili- eign country different cultural values, the looser con- ties to work and start a new life. tacts with the family caused by migrati- The Eastern European Roma who In the host countries, most of the mig- on and crumbling family structures lead demanded asylum since the mid-90s in rants have to face a whole new begin- to a disintegration of old traditions. The the course of smaller migratory move- ning. They have to adjust to completely same applies for the Romani language, ments were rarely granted asylum or any new surroundings, language and culture. which – spoken only within the family other legal status. Most often, they had The residence permits of Roma immig- circle and not supported by external edu- to leave the country again. rants in Western Europe vary. Many cational measures – is subject to extreme The increasing international awa- Roma who had arrived in the 1960s as pressure of assimilation. [Ill. 20] reness of the “Roma question” put pres- “foreign workers” already have a perma- The situation is even worse for sure on many Eastern, but also Western, nent residence permit or nationality, their those who do not have a permanent re- European countries to question their mi- children have already been born in the sidence permit, as for those who deman- nority policies. Among others, this led new home country. Others opt for work ded political asylum at the beginning of to increasing recognition of Roma as permits and permanent stay, keeping the 1990s. Increasingly rigorous asylum an ethnic minority, providing minority their original nationality and a strong regulations and temporary or limited re- rights including promotional measures relationship with their country of ori- sidence permits cause insecurity and the mainly in the area of education, langua- gin. Their children grow up within two fear of being expelled into the country of ge, and culture. Minority support and the cultures. While the cultural traditions origin. This mainly concerns Roma re- resulting rights are, however, granted are upheld in the family circle, where fugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina, For- mainly to old-established Roma groups, Romani and the language of the coun- mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia even if newly-immigrated groups were try of origin is spoken, they are being or Kosovo. Put into refugee camps and already granted citizenship.
Bibliography
Birgin, Ursula / Wieczorek, Monika (2005) Vakeres Romanes? E Romane therne chave vakeren taro plo jivdipa. Sprichst Du Romanes? Roma-Jugendliche erzählen ihr Leben. Freiburg: IbiS | Crowe, David M. (1995) A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia. London / New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers | Gürses, H. / Kokoj, C. / Mattl, S. (eds.) (2004) Gastarbajteri. 40 Jahre Arbeitsmigration. Wien: Mandelbaum Verlag | Haller, István (1998) Lynching is not a crime: mob violence against Roma in post-Ceausescu Romania, In: Roma Rights, Quarterly Journal of the European Roma Rights Centre. Spring 1998, pp. 35-42 | Heinschink, Mozes F. / Hemetek Ursula (eds.) (1994) Roma: das unbekannte Volk. Schicksal und Kultur. Wien: Böhlau Verlag | Mihok, Brigitte (2001) Zurück nach Nirgendwo. Bosnische Roma-Flüchtlinge in Berlin. Berlin: Metropol-Verlag | Ringold D. / Orentstein M. / Wilkens E. (2005) Roma in an Expanding Europe. Breaking the Poverty Cycle (A World Bank Study). Washington D.C.: The World Bank | Roma Rights, Quarterly Journal of the European Roma Rights Center, 1/2004. Budapest (see http://www.errc.org) | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2000) Roma Asylum-Seekers, Refugees and Internally Displaced. Geneva: UNHCR
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