Contents
1 Introduction 5
2 Definitions and methodology 8
3 Migration 11
3.1 Origins and persecution 11
3.2 Roma and Sinti in the Netherlands 12
3.3 Post-war migration 14
3.4 Migration and integration 16
4 Social position 20
4.1 Numbers and geographic distribution 20
4.2 Culture 22
4.3 Roma and Sinti: one group? 24
4.4 Housing 26
4.5 Education 27
4.6 Work and income 29
4.7 Organising 31
5 Social disadvantage and exclusion 33
5.1 Introduction 33
5.2 Complaint behaviour 34
5.3 Complaint reporting stations 37
5.4 Public image 39
5.5 Housing 40
5.6 Education 42
5.7 Work 45
5.8 Goods and services 46
5.9 Public policymaking 48
5.10 Police and judiciary 49
6 Conclusions and recommendations 52
6.1 Conclusions 52
6.2 Recommendations 55
Notes 57
Appendix I Key informants 65
Appendix II Interview questions 67
Introduction
Many people would call this a report about ‘Gypsies’. However, it is generally
not acceptable amongst the Roma and Sinti in the Netherlands to use the word
‘Gypsy’. Nonetheless, this is the term used in colloquial speech to refer to these
groups. In addition, not everybody is aware of the difference between ‘Gypsies’
and Travellers. The term Travellers (or caravan dwellers) refers to a lifestyle (or
a type of housing) while the Roma and Sinti are considered an ethnic group.
In the Roma and Sinti community the expression ‘Gypsies’ has a very negative
connotation. The word probably originated from the German phrase ziehender
Gauner, which can be translated as travelling rogue. More than enough reason
for us to refer to them as Roma and Sinti in this study.
On 1 May 2004, the European Union expanded with member states from Middle and Eastern Europe. This raised the question of whether these countries
provide enough opportunity and protection to Roma and Sinti residing within
their borders. It is common knowledge that the Roma and Sinti in these countries occupy a less than enviable position. Consequently, an array of European
institutions — such as the Council of Europe — have repeatedly insisted that this
population group should receive extra assistance and protection against discrimination. However, the question of whether the position of Roma and Sinti
in Western Europe is actually any better also presents itself, or do they simply
attract less attention because the population group is so much smaller. And fi-
nally, to what extent are Roma and Sinti in the Netherlands confronted with
discrimination and unequal treatment? It is this last question that we want to
answer with this study.
Reports are periodically prepared within the framework of the project ‘Monitor
Racism and the Extreme Right’ about the state-of-affairs regarding racial discrimination, racially motivated violence, and the extreme right in the Netherlands. The Monitor Project is conducted in joint cooperation by the Anne Frank
[ 5 ] M O N I T O R R A C I S M & T H E E X T R E M E R I G H T
House and Leiden University. The reporting about the discrimination of Roma
and Sinti in the Netherlands has only been incidental during the course of this
project. For instance: the fourth Monitor Report included an account of the ‘buyout’ in the year 2000 of a group of Roma by the municipality of Driebergen
1
.
The (amount of the) compensation as well as the treatment of these Roma after
their departure from the town attracted the attention of the nationwide media
in the country for months. In addition, the Roma and Sinti scarcely appear in the
figures gathered for the purposes of the Monitor Project. A possible explanation
is that that this relatively small population group experiences no significant
forms of discrimination. The Roma and Sinti do not appear in overviews
such as those compiled in the Netherlands in the past years by the Landelijke
Vereniging van Anti-Discriminatie Bureaus en Meldpunten (National Federation
of Anti-Discrimination Agencies and Hotlines). The Roma and Sinti hardly ever
file complaints with the Dutch Commissie Gelijke Behandeling (cgb or Equal
Treatment Commission) or the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Another plausible
explanation is that the Roma and Sinti in this country experience discrimination,
but they do not report these incidents to established institutions such as the
police, Anti-Discriminatie Bureaus or the Commissie Gelijke Behandeling.
Therefore, how extensive is the discrimination that the Roma and Sinti experience in the Netherlands? Because exact figures in this area are lacking, we
sought the advice of ‘key informants’ to answer this question. These are people
who have specific expertise in the subject area Roma and Sinti. Our goal was to
make an inventory — from the perspective of the Roma and Sinti — of whether
incidental or structural instances of discrimination occurred in the period 2002-
2003. This particular time frame was chosen because it corresponds with the
most recent (fifth) Monitor Report and also prevents our analysis from being
based on material that is (more or less) outdated. Information provided by the
key informants was supplemented by available statistics in this area, which
were collected in the same period by the Documentation Centre of the Anne
Frank House.
It is almost impossible to answer the questions posed in this investigation, or
to make recommendations, without considering the background and social
position of those who live in the different Roma and Sinti communities in the
Netherlands. Therefore, such an account is included in this report. The selection of the key informants and the chosen methodology are explained later in
these pages.
