In the 15th Century the first Roma migrants
began to leave Sanskrit in Northern India.
There are now approximately 12 million dispersed across the EU , and a
population of about 4,000 in Rotherham. In 1971 the Roma people adopted a flag – blue for the sky, green for the earth and
a wagon wheel to symbolize the travelling culture which was outlawed in Eastern
Europe in 1948. I learned these facts at
the Roma awareness session organized by Rotherfed . The session was delivered by Michal and Radek
from the Roma community, supported by Azizzum and Emma from the RotherhamEthnic Minority Alliance .
We watched a video that depicted the living conditions in
Lunik IX – a huge concrete settlement in the east of Slovakia – built by the
communists to house the Roma and other marginals.
No water, electricity, rubbish disposal. No services, doctors, dentists or
schools. Education provision for Roma is
through ‘special ‘schools where there are no professional teachers and the
expectations of the Roma students are low.
Compared to these conditions a rundown terraced house in Rotherham’s
Eastwood is “heaven”.
Not all Roma are the same. Those from east Slovakia have the experience
of living in the ghetto. The Czech
Republic had a policy of integration of Roma, assuming that this would bring
about a change of culture in that community. While communist regimes had
discriminated against the Roma in Czech and Slovakia, the arrival of democracy
brought a worsening of conditions. At
least with the communists there was a commitment to full employment; the
ascendancy of a market economy with private employers brought discrimination
and Roma were excluded due to their lack of education and skills. The Roma also suffered under the holocaust –
at the start of WW2 the Roma population in Czech was one million. By the end of the war there were 642 Roma
left in the Czech Republic.
Michal came to the UK as a refugee from the Czech
Republic thirteen years ago.. Migration has
since increased when the Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004 mostly motivated
by discrimination, lack of education and few prospects due to ethnicity. Michal came to make a better life – he and
his sister had attended college and were the only Roma students in a body of
900. He experienced both subtle and
blatant racism. We listened in shocked
silence as he told us how he was beaten up by 2 neo nazi skinheads when he was
15. Travelling across town to get to
college he took the risk of travelling on the subway. His journey ended with a 14 day stay in
hospital. When he went to the police
station to follow up on the attack he was asked to identify his assailants from
a book of mug shots that only depicted Roma.
The impact of these difficult circumstances has led Roma people
to build barriers around themselves and to draw together as a closed
community. It feels safer to stay below
the radar, avoid eye contact, speak Slovak, rather than Roma, in public. The Roma experience is based around always
trying to be accepted in another country as they have no country of their
own. They have learned that they have to
become someone else in order to be accepted in any country. Their ethnicity becomes a hiding game. “We want to stay beneath the radar – to be
ignored.” Involvement with officials and
others is associated with conflict and stress. This quest for invisibility is
played out around the spoken language – it is not safe to speak Roma on the
streets of Prague; when registering for
school most Roma families will self identify as Czech or Slovak; children will
be taught to speak Slovak as the first step to getting out of the ghetto.
Roma culture is renowned for dance and skillful
musicianship – “every other Roma is a musician”. The culture is also very family
oriented. Some of the headlines around
street gatherings, litter etc are a reflection of ghetto culture, not Roma
culture. Other issues such as
neighbours’ irritation with living next door to large families are not culture
clashes but different ways of life.
In spite of the difficulties encountered, coming to the
UK offers a sense of freedom and opportunity previously denied. We were shown harrowing footage of the
mobilisation of the ultra right wing against the Roma, to get them kicked out. “Send us back to….Where? Gypsistan?”
This has become more embedded and acceptable in society so now you can
never be sure where the kick will come from.
“We came to escape these issues – not to become
millionaires” The way forward is through
education. “We could be fine through our
kids – give us ten years”
The Roma “want to feel freedom – not rules”. It is crucial that services listen and
respond flexibly to the expressed needs.
It was pointed out that the skills required to work with the Roma are
those that are developed in working with any deprived community – listening,
flexibility ‘ persistence, taking small steps at a time. In Rotherham drop in advice sessions have
been organized. A Roma Forum has been established where services such as the
Police are invited to come and listen to members of the community and to learn
from them.
People made good use of the session to ask a range of
questions around housing, education, ways of life etc. As Steve Ruffle from Rotherfed pointed out –
talking to each other is the best way to get to know each other and get the
facts. The media is particularly
unhelpful in the current climate.
