Refugee crisis hurts Europe’s Romani

THE REFUGEE crisis in Europe brings with it collateral damage. The flight of people from Syria and other conflict zones has been well documented, and the policy challenges for governments have generated blanket coverage.

But there have also been spillover effects on other marginalised groups, particularly the Romani.

Romani minorities like the Manouche, Kale and Sinti have lived in Europe since the 14th century when they arrived from India, and have been in Europe often for as long as majority populations.

You will find Romani (gypsies) in every European country.

There are about 10-12 million Romani people on the continent, and they often suffer from socio-economic marginalisation.

They are singled out as unwanted foreigners and deemed perpetual outsiders.

This group has consistently struggled to gain acceptance, and now they face the headwinds created by a new influx of people.

In October last year, the Council of Europe published a document that examined how Romani minorities in Europe had been affected by the 2015-16 refugee crisis.

One of the main effects cited in this document was the rise of right-wing populism and attitudes, which has resulted in an increased incidence of “Romaphobia” in politics and the media.

The link between the two groups is inescapable.

Time and time again, Romani communities have been drawn into national asylum policy debates raising issues of inclusion, integration and belonging. Romaphobic ideas can be found in mainstream politics and media.

Such antipathy is not the sole preserve of the far right. In fact, the failure of different states to adequately integrate Romani has been used as a justification to exclude other asylum seekers.

The social-democratic Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, justified his opposition to refugee quotas on the grounds that “we aren’t even capable of integrating our own Romani fellow citizens”.