La Strada Documentation Center

The Situation of the Roma in South East Europe Today

Document number
1349
Date
2007
Title
The Situation of the Roma in South East Europe Today
Author/publisher
Stéphane Laederich
Availability
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Document type(s)
Research/Study/Analysis,
Summary
Out of misconception or out of outright clichés, the general public view about Gypsies, or Rroma, is usually prejudiced from the onset: Travellers, beggars, thieves, dirty, living in squalor with numerous children, but often also beautiful, free, with high spirits and a wonderful music. To say the least, if the eight to twelve million Rroma living in Europe all conformed to these stereotypes, Rroma would fill newspaper headlines, roads, and cities all over Europe… As this is obviously not the case, even in countries such as Bulgaria or Romania with a substantial Rroma minority, something about this standard view must be wrong. In fact, the standard view, especially in the Balkans, bears very little resemblance to the facts: Who thinks of a Rrom prosecutor, doctor, farmer, or professor? These and many other jobs are seldom associated with Rroma, although they do exist in numbers that are larger than one may think. So, whenever writing about Rroma, one first has to go back to the basics. This is especially true of the Balkans, where none of the standard Western clichés actually applies.Prospects: The overall situation of Rroma in the Balkans is still very much preoccupying. Ethnic cleansingis still ongoing in some regions, as for example in Kosovo, and could very well occur in other places such as Macedonia should the situation deteriorate further. The only positive movements actually were the result of the EU integration of both Romania and Bulgaria, resulting in nearly four million new Rroma EU citizens. In Former Yugoslavia, the prognostic is much bleaker. Kosovo, one of the really oldest Rroma settlements in Europe is now nearly “Zigeunerfrei” and its denizen have fled to various other countries, mostly to Western Europe. How the situation evolves is difficult to predict in other places, and will to a large extent depend on the policies of the EU towards that region. Should the economic prospects continue to deteriorate, the situation of the remaining Rroma might become intolerable and will result in refugees seeking a better life further west.
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