Roma Identity and Ethnic Mobilisation in Central European Politics

https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/bc37f19f-a31e-4c91-b155-d382d1bd2043.pdf

Roma Identity and Ethnic Mobilisation in Central European Politics 

Paper prepared for the workshop on identity politics ECPR joint sessions Grenoble, 6-11 April 2001

Introduction

To what extent does the process of political mobilisation have an impact upon a minority’s conceptions of ethnic identity? In many descriptions of ethnic politics and ethnic conflict authors tend to apply the term ‘ethnic identity’ as a stable and ‘natural’ source of political identification. They tend to treat the ethnic group as an unchanging entity and perceive ethnic identity as a group characteristic that pre-exists political action. In particular with regard to the developments in central and eastern Europe since the end of the 1980s ‘ethnicity’ has increasingly come to serve as a way of explaining political conflict (Taylor 1996 : 889). But the question of how conceptions of ethnic identity are actually produced and contested within an ethnic movement and to what extent they are subject to constraint and facilitation rarely reaches the research agenda. 

This seems somewhat at odds with social constructivist approaches to identity in contemporary social movement research (e.g. Calhoun 1991). There it has been emphasised that identity should be regarded as the changing product of a social process through which membership criteria are constantly re-elaborated. Group identity, it is argued there, is produced and continuously re-defined by the process of collective action itself (della Porta and Diani 1999 : 87). Likewise, in social anthropology the notion of ethnic identity has been problematised. A widely discussed text by Barth (1969), for example, defined ethnic identity in terms of social boundary: the ethnic group is produced through social interaction by a practice of self and hetero-ascription and is not an entity with permanent cultural characteristics (see also Roosens 1998; Jenkins 1997). Moreover, in a more recent article Barth (1994) has suggested that the creation of ethnicity not only takes place on the interpersonal level, but is also deeply influenced by collective action (median level) and state policies (macro level). 

In this paper I intend to examine the construction of a specific ethnic identity (‘Roma’ identity) within the context of political mobilisation in central Europe (CE). In order to do this I will focus on discourses of Roma identity, i.e. on the way in which various political actors have attributed meaning to the idea of Roma identity. By centring on the formulations of ethnic identity, this research avoids the question ‘what is ethnic (Roma) identity’ but rather focuses on the process of how this ethnic identity functions as a cognitive frame for political mobilisation in a given political context. 

For a number of reasons the Roma minority in CE provides an interesting case. First of all, through the activities of ethnically-based interest organisations the Roma have since 1989 engaged in a process of political mobilisation against oppression and marginalisation. This has been a remarkable development, because it is now for the first time that on such a wide geographical scale a variety of stigmatised communities apply the concept of ‘Roma identity’, seeking to capture the attention of both domestic and international politicians and media. Their case offers thus the opportunity to look at a recently emerged ethnic movement in a specific political situation (post-communism). Furthermore, among Roma activists and in scholarly literature about Roma and comparable groups, the definition or even the idea of Roma identity is intensely debated (e.g. Fraser 2000; Gheorghe 1997; Lucassen et al 1998). These discussions may theoretically offer movement actors various possibilities to perceive or shape their ‘project identities’. Moreover, the Roma offer an interesting perspective into the way in which international context has affected domestic identity formation in CE. Specifically in the framework of the EU enlargement process, this case provides us with the opportunity to compare the impact of international attention across different countries.

This paper consists of three parts. The first part describes the historical background of the emergence of Roma political activism in the 1990s in post-communist CE, concretely in the Czech and Slovak Republics. The overview also includes a brief explanation of why exactly these two countries were selected for my field research. In the second part of the paper the concept of ‘framing processes’ (e.g. Benford and Snow 2000) is introduced as an analytical tool to interpret the various descriptions of Roma identity in the sources. The data which form the basis of the research consist mainly of summaries and transcripts of interviews with representatives of the Czech and Slovak ‘Roma elite’ (31) conducted during three months of field research in 2000. The data also include policy documents about the Roma produced by governmental bodies and a collection of statements and speeches by politicians in power. Third, the paper explores similarities and differences in the various actors’ descriptions of Roma identity as a mobilising or countermobilising frame. It will specifically focus on whether competing formulations of Roma identity by Roma actors can be linked to the political opportunities that are presented by the political environment. To conclude, the paper shortly dwells on the question of which consequences crucial framing disputes within the movement and counterframings by agencies in power may have for the resonance of Roma identity as a successful basis for collective action.

The Roma Movement in the Czech and Slovak republics

Although far from being exclusively a post-1989 phenomenon, the Roma movement has known a rapid and spectacular development after the fall of communism in CE. Since the beginning of the 1990s the number of Roma associations and Roma political parties continuously increased.1 But not only the impressive organisational growth is indicative. During the last decade Roma activists and emerging Roma political elites across several European countries more clearly than ever before attempted to promote new ideas about Roma ethnicity. They also tried to enhance the political participation of their constituencies and aspired to influence national policy making on minorities. Gheorghe and Mirga (1998) call it an ‘ethnic awakening’ and a rise of ‘Roma ethnonationalism’, which they describe as a ‘transition [of a social group] toward an ethnically mobilised group, having a common stance and interest’. 

Puxon (2000: 94) argues that with the end of communism ‘[the] shocking increase in anti-Gypsy violence and racial intolerance, evident throughout Europe, has begun to politicise and unite a new generation to a degree not seen before.’ It is no doubt true that deteriorating social conditions and the increase of anti-Roma behaviour in post-communist societies have coincided with the increase of Roma movement activities. But reality is perhaps too much reduced when anti-Roma violence is perceived as the only factor leading to the emergence of the Roma movement. 

Another part of the explanation presumably lies in the circumstances of the post-1989 period which offered Roma individuals unprecedented opportunities to establish interest organisations. First of all, being able to build alliances with dissident organisations they gained support from the new elite. In Czechoslovakia, for example, Roma played an active part in the anticommunist movement and joined the coalition parties that overwhelmingly won the first democratic elections2 . Later, their ethnic claims received symbolic support from international and domestic human rights organisations.3 Central European states were particularly sensitive to the discourse of human rights norms because they realised this was becoming a key issue pertaining to their standing in the international community (especially vis-à-vis the EU). Furthermore, the new political environment of post-communism, which saw the emergence of ethnically more homogeneous states, apparently functioned as a breeding ground for ethnopolitical mobilisation in general. Ethnic cleavages gave rise to political party formation and mainstream political parties started in some cases to voice certain claims in ethnic-particularistic terms to buttress a general process of nation-building. Consequently, it is not surprising that ethnic minorities such as the Roma, many of them being losers of the political and economic transition, began to emphasise a sense of collective political identity. They started to lodge complaints explicitly in the name of the ethnic group and urged upon their governments the need for new policy initiatives to tackle the socio-economic marginalisation of their communities and to eradicate anti-Roma racism. 

One of the striking aspects, however, is that the term ‘Roma’ has been constructed and promoted to encompass a variety of communal based identities across different countries. In the Czech and Slovak Republics, for example, descriptions suggest that there are various self-designations in use (e.g. Servika, Romungro, Vlach, Sinti) on the basis of markers like language or traditions. The semantic relationship between such labels is complex (Hübschmannová 1999). In sum, the word ‘Roma’ (meaning ‘human being’ in Romanes) is certainly not a generalising self-appellation (as the word ‘gypsy’ is a generalising external appellation – a so-called exonym). 

The usage of the word ‘Roma’ as a political overarching name was first advocated by interest organisations in Western Europe at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. Activists from different countries started to adjust their claims to each other and agreed in 1971 on a common platform called the World Roma Congress (WRC) that was aimed inter alia at changing dominant thinking about the people these activists wanted to represent. The first WRC later served as a direct inspiration for the goal orientation of international mobilising structures like the International Roma Union (IRU) and the Roma National Congress (RNC). One of the ideas which was kept from the 1970s was the replacement of negative sounding terms like ‘gypsies’ or ‘tsiganes’ with ‘Roma’. The dissemination of the ‘new’ ethnic label (and the eradication of ‘old’ social designations) was considered especially necessary with regard to the pragmatics of the words for ‘gypsy’ in the central European languages (e.g. ‘cikán’ in Czech, ‘cygan’ in Slovak and ‘cigány’ in Hungarian): unlike the English word ‘gypsy’ or the Dutch word ‘zigeuner’ these names were invariably used in a derogatory way (Leudar and Nekvapil 2000: 489; Stewart 1997: 113)4 . Focusing on this aspect, one could say that as of the 1970s Roma movement organisations have been actively engaged in triggering a process of ‘ethnogenesis’ – a process which has gained momentum after the fall of communism.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia serve as two very instructive cases. Both countries witnessed the rapid emergence of a Roma movement within a post-communist setting. The movement consisted of informal elements, like communal-based protests or personal networks among activists. But from the early 1990s onwards there was also an upsurge of various sorts of formal movement elements. These included not only organisations that directly mobilised their constituency for collective action, but also a broad assortment of supportive organisations (like human rights organisations), ‘self-help’ organisations that addressed certain direct needs of the constituency, and even Roma political parties. A number of Roma politicians also tried to achieve political representation through their involvement in mainstream political parties.

However, throughout the 1990s the Roma movement has continuously struggled with obstacles hindering mass mobilisation. Especially in the isolated settlements in Eastern Slovakia, but also in other areas it proved difficult to find movement supporters and ethnic voters. After the elections of 1992, when the anticommunist alliance had splintered, Roma political representation on national level disappeared almost completely5 . Roma elites became increasingly articulate, but the gap between them and their constituencies in many cases proved to be unbridgeable. The elites were simply not known among local communities or their legitimacy as representatives was severely contested.  

The Czech and Slovak Roma elites have also grappled with the reluctance of many Roma to identify themselves as Roma in the public sphere. This is well illustrated by the discussion surrounding the 1991 census. The official 1991 census figure for the Roma population was 80,627 (1.5 per cent) in the Slovak and 32,903 (0.3 per cent) in the Czech part – this being the result of the first census in which the Roma of the Czechoslovak Federal Republic (ČSFR) obtained the right to proclaim themselves as a distinct national minority. However, both the Czech and Slovak government have admitted that the actual rate of people who identify themselves as Roma in daily life must be substantially higher (Vláda ČR 1999a; Slovak Government 1999). Independent researchers and Roma organisations claim that the Roma in fact account for around 7 to 8 per cent (up to 500,000) of the Slovak citizens and around 3 per cent (up to 250,000) of the Czech citizens (Liégeois 1994: 34; Druker 1997: 22-23; Kenrick 1998: 187). 

Low official rates of Roma identification do not necessarily indicate, as some authors have suggested, a ‘low level of ethnic awareness’ among Roma (Plichtová 1993:17). Other authors for example, have explained this by referring to bureaucratic irregularities during the official registration (Druker 1998) or the lack of will on the part of the Roma to register as ‘Roma’ in fear of some kind of reprisal (Clarck 1998). Guy (1998: 35) has also pointed out the possible impact of historical experience. Administrators in communist times were prone to describe the Roma as a social rather than an ethnic group as this gave them a freer hand with implementing policies of assimilation. As a consequence of the historical tendency of the authorities to avoid the word ‘gypsy’ and to deny Roma nationality, it is plausible that administrators during the first census implicitly discouraged people to identify themselves officially as Roma. Although it is difficult to establish the definitive influence of all these factors, the discussion at least points to a potential problem surrounding the public ‘image’ of Roma identity. 

In the context of these phenomena, both countries provide interesting cases for studying the formation of Roma identity in relation to the political environment. One wonders, for instance, how the Roma elite has reacted to the problem of public identification and what effects their reaction has had for the formation of Roma identity. Furthermore, a comparison of the two countries will allow to explore differences of political context that could account for identity differentiation within the group.

Ethnic identity and collective mobilisation: a conceptual bridge

Before embarking on a more detailed exploration of Roma identity politics in the Czech and Slovak Republics, it is no doubt necessary to consider some conceptual underpinnings of this study. When examining Roma identity formation from a constructivist angle, one may assume a correspondence between the production of Roma ethnic identity and the current political mobilisation of the Roma. How can this correspondence be described? 

In general, the close relationship between identity and collective mobilisation has been discussed by many scholars engaged in social movement research. Della Porta and Diani, for example, state that ‘[c]ollective action cannot occur in the absence of a ‘we’ characterized by common traits and a specific solidarity’ (della Porta and Diani 1999: 87). Many scholars agree that there is a two-way relationship between social identification and collective action. Identity construction not simply precedes collective action. The formation of identity is a process that is shaped through collective action. Della Porta and Diani (1999: 87-91) describe three important mechanisms through which this happens: collective action defines and redefines the boundaries between actors in a conflict, it engenders networks of relationships of trust, and it offers a continuing sense of belonging. Similar considerations can easily apply to the production ethnic identity. Even in the case where there are seemingly ‘objective’ historical and cultural foundations of identity, as is the case with ethnic identity, the boundaries of this identity are continuously reconstituted in the light of the present circumstances. An ethnic minority is thus not simply a group of people differing from the rest of society in terms of language and tradition, but rather the result of a process in which such differences are perceived as socially and politically meaningful. 

When studying the mutual relationship between ethnic identity formation and collective mobilisation, it will be useful to concentrate on the following three aspects of this relationship. First, it is useful to see ethnic mobilisation as a form of cognitive praxis. The latter term has been used by Eyerman and Jamison (1991) to describe the creative process of knowledge production in which any social movement is engaged. The authors contend that precisely the cognitive aspect of collective action defines the identity of a social movement. This also applies to ethnic movements: they produce and promote new understandings and interpretations of perceived reality (in casu markers of ethnic difference). In other words: ethnic movement actors are ‘signifying agents’ (Benford and Snow 2000: 613) who attempt to promote new understandings and interpretations of their ethnic identity. Precisely these understandings and interpretations are crucial to the study of ethnic identity formation.

Second, ethnic identity can be seen as a semantic category that is realised through articulation. Thus, not the ethnic group as an entity is central to my understanding of the phenomenon of ethnic politics, but the way ethnic identity is constructed in language. This discourse approach is based on the view that ‘language events’ are in fact the symbolic constructs that we use to understand and actualise reality (Donati 1992 : 138). This means that in this research I will concentrate on the discursive aspect of ethnic mobilisation: the way movement actors describe Roma identity in their public discourse. Ethnic identity, in this sense, serves as a semantic category that is constantly subjected to the manoeuvres of actors who are trying to persuade others to see their identity as they understand it is.

Third, the construction of identity is not merely the result of a ‘rhetoric’ promulgated by ethnic movement actors. It is also a process that is conditioned by factors belonging to the historical and political environment. In other words, one can assume that the presence, salience and meaning of ethnic identity is affected by a number of factors that are not deliberately crafted by movement actors in their strategic action. These are less controllable factors resulting from the context, such as the way ‘common knowledge’ or ‘traditional knowledge’ about ethnic identity is treated and reproduced in media and politics. In the this paper the area of political discourse is considered of great interest. This can be seen as an expression of the structure of power relations surrounding the movement. 

A concept suited to examine the production of ethnic identity which pays attention to cognitive, strategic and contextual aspects, is offered in contemporary social movement research in the notion of ‘framing’. Framing has been described by Benford and Snow (2000: 626) as the generation and diffusion by movement actors of mobilising and countermobilising ideas and meanings. The concept of framing, however, also recognises that this process is not taking place in a vacuum. It is sensitive to the fact that it is to a certain degree shaped by the complex, multi-organisational, multi-institutional arenas in which it takes place. It is acknowledged that the resonance of framing is affected by the cultural and political environment, ‘including the framing/counterframings of the institutional elites’.

One way of researching the signifying struggle in which Roma actors are involved would be to look at the media (as a mirror of public opinion). Media has no doubt a profound influence on the resonance of the collective action frames of the Roma movement. But the study of media framing does not offer us a view on how Roma activists themselves attempt to conceptualise their movement identity. For this reason, this research will concentrate on framing processes triggered by the elite. I will prefer to concentrate on formulations of Roma ethnic identity by the actors themselves and how they are developing in relation to conceptions of Roma identity constructed by agencies in power. These aspects are interesting because they have not been frequently studied. Such an approach may also offer us a better understanding of how factors of power and domination have influenced this process.

I concentrate on the political elite because I assume that it has an important role to play in shaping the categorisation of ethnic groups. Conover and Hicks (1998: 25) have argued that political elites can produce either a more destructive and a more constructive social and political environment by ‘substantially altering the understanding and saliency of these groups’. The process of social construction of ethnicity takes place in various informal and formal contexts of which that of politics is no doubt a very important one. Politics provides a platform for the mass mobilisation of ethnicity and can directly influence public rhetoric, legislative and administrative acts or the distribution of resources. For this reason, this research focuses on the framing of Roma identity by the Roma elite and on the framing of Roma identity by the policy makers. 

Roma identity and frame alignment in Roma activist discourse

Scholarship about itinerant populations, gypsies, Roma and other comparable groups has produced a dubious legacy. In many cases both academic and non-academic attempts to define these groups have produced and stimulated popular stereotypical thinking about them as deviants, outcasts or romantic outsiders. These studies more than once contributed to the categorisation and subsequently the stigmatisation of ‘gypsies’ as a stable and inherently inferior group. Lucassen, Willems and Cottaar (1998) recognise two dominant paradigms in the literature – one which defines these groups in terms of social status (criminality, marginality and poverty), and one which views them as a group with a common exotic, non-European origin. The latter categorisation seems to be in many ways the result of an ethnographic tradition of examining ‘gypsies’ (while at the same time defining and constructing the very category of ‘gypsies’). Willems (1995; 1998) argues that authoritative popular scientific texts in various time periods have created the dominant essentialist understanding of the ‘gypsies’ as a stable entity that is foreign to European culture and societies.

Since 1989 a growing body of descriptions of the way Roma were treated in the new democracies of CE became available to the regional specialist. The question of the production of Roma identity itself was rarely addressed. However, these descriptions contained different assumptions about what constitutes Roma identity. Often the Roma in CE were conceptualised as somewhere between an ‘immigrant minority’ and a ‘national minority’, but neither of the two types exactly, because it was observed that only a limited number of them had migrated in recent times and that they did not have a connection to an external homeland. In the large majority of the descriptions the alleged Indian origin served as a main source for identifying them.

Given the wide range of conceptualisations of the ‘Roma’ that scholars have come up with, it is perhaps not at all surprising that activists too have different ways in which they think about the group they aspire to represent. Exploration of the interviews with Roma activists in the Czech and Slovak republics and texts produced by Roma interest organisations led to the observation that in both countries mainly three types of Roma identity frames are used to describe and warrant Roma collective action and Roma-based claims-making. These frames can be regarded as the conscious efforts of people who regard themselves as ‘leaders’ or ‘representatives’ to enhance a certain view on Roma identity in order to mobilise protest against unequal treatment or to buttress their demands on the government for protection of their own culture. They can be described as more or less bounded sets of arguments that represent a certain perspective on the position of the Roma and the meaning of Roma-based political action.

A non-territorial European nation

A first frame which was encountered in activists’ accounts describes the Roma as a non-territorial European nation. The Roma activists who applied this perspective to talk about their collective identity emphasised that the Roma all over Europe posses a common history and, especially, a common origin. They argued that all Roma communities are somehow connected, not through territory but through blood ties. The apparent fragmentation in terms of language or culture is in their view related to time periods of aggressive assimilation and repressive policies implemented by non-Roma authorities. The argument is very much in keeping with the ideas formulated by Roma linguist and representative of the International Roma Union (IRU) Ian Hancock:

I have been among the most vocal in insisting that Roma are a people who originated in Asia. I take the position of the sociolinguist, who sees language as the vehicle of culture. And we indeed speak a language and maintain a culture whose core of direct retention is directly traceable to India. The acknowledgement of that position is essential, because the alternative is to create a fictitious history and to have, again, our identity in the hands of non-Romani policy-makers and scholars. (Hancock 1997)

Roma activists in the Czech and Slovak Republic who advocated this view also firmly contended that the position of the Roma should be perceived not simply as that of an Indian diaspora, but as that of a nation that is deeply rooted in Europe. The problems facing the Roma were in this perspective attributed mainly to a lack of serious Roma representation in public bodies on domestic and international levels. In other words, they lobby for special forms of Roma representation. This frame is dissimilar from many other national liberation movements because it explicitly excludes territorial ‘liberation’ as a goal. In a radical version of this argument, Hancock explains that support for their claims can be found in the existence of a symbolic external homeland:

The arguments for stressing the “Indian connection” seem clear. In these times, when Europe is divided into nation-states, being identified with an actual homeland brings legitimacy and a measure of security. Furthermore, it is the Indian factors-linguistic, genetic, and cultural-that different Romani populations share; it is the more recently acquired non-Indian factors that divide us. If I want to speak in Romani to a speaker of a dialect different from my own, it is the European words we must each avoid, not the Indian ones. (Hancock 1997)

The Roma activists who relied on argumentation within this frame emphasised the importance of transnational networks as mobilising structures. Not unsurprisingly, the Roma activists who use this frame usually maintained connections to the International Roma Union (IRU) or the Roma National Congress (RNC).7 It is also comes as no surprise that this frame represents a useful bridge between activists in the domestic arena and the international political environment. Direct lobbying toward international organisations like the Council of Europe and the OSCE has proven its worth: both organisations have established special institutions to raise the level of awareness concerning the problems facing the Roma within the respective member states. Indirectly this strategy has contributed to higher levels of external pressure and scrutiny on both the Czech and Slovak Republic. For this reason Roma activists have formulated their criticism often in a language referring to international moral standards like human rights. One could perhaps argue that this strategy to some extent reflects the experience of what Soysal (1996) has called ‘postnational citizenship’, a practice of citizenship that is increasingly defined according to entitlements emerging from the transnational discourse and the practice of international human rights protection. Arguably, the growing attention during the last decade of human rights organisations for the position of the Roma in both countries has stimulated the development of this strategy. Dimitrina Petrova, director of one of the most articulate human rights organisations focusing on Roma, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), wrote recently in one of the organisations newsletters:

(...) for the Roma of Europe, Human Rights seems to be a uniting principle, a universally acknowledged tool for positive change. Contrary to this, in our day-to-day work, we are often confronted by Roma who are not happy about ERRC having chosen to work with certain other Roma, on the vague but bitter grounds that they are not legitimate as Roma. I personally believe that the Roma struggle is often weakened by the abysmal question, ‘Who is real Rom?’ The struggle over identity at this stage does not unite the Roma in Europe. (Petrova 1999) 

This immediately demonstrates that the frame ‘Roma as a non-territorial European nation’ brings a number of problems with it and was consequently criticised by many of the interviewed activists. The essence of their criticism was that Indian origin and transborder co-operation are very academic notions and thus poor tools for effective mobilisation in both the Czech and Slovak context. The frame was in many cases seen as purely symbolic. As one Czech Roma activist stated: 

We are a national minority. If you want to call it a nation… okay… but that doesn’t change much. The fact that the Roma are a world-wide and a European nation is only important to stress towards other countries where the Roma are not yet acknowledged as a national minority

Furthermore, the idea of being a ‘transborder nation’ only seems to become concrete when activists have the opportunity to take part in international Roma conferences. International organisations, however, have become increasingly interested in these meetings. Thus they appear regularly, attract more participants and have opened up new opportunities for finding financial support. 

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https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/bc37f19f-a31e-4c91-b155-d382d1bd2043.pdf

The decline of infant and child mortality among Spanish Gitanos or Calé (1871−2005): A microdemographic study in Andalusia

https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol36/33/36-33.pdf

The decline of infant and child mortality among Spanish Gitanos or Calé (1871−2005): A microdemographic study in Andalusia

Juan F. Gamella1 

Elisa Martín Carrasco-Muñoz2 

Abstract

 BACKGROUND 

Most Romani groups in Europe have experienced a decline in childhood mortality during recent decades. These crucial transformations are rarely addressed in research or public policy.

OBJECTIVE This paper analyzes the timing and structure of the decline of childhood mortality among the Gitano people of Spain.

METHODS The paper is based on the family and genealogy reconstitution of the Gitano population of 22 contiguous localities in Southern Spain. Registry data from over 19,100 people and 3,501 reconstituted families was included in a dense genealogical grid ranging over 150 years. From this database we produced annual time series of infant and child mortality and of the registered causes of death from 1871 to 2005.

RESULTS The analyzed data shows a rapid decline in infant and child mortality from about 1949 to 1970. The onset of the definitive decline occurred in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Child mortality was higher in the pre-transitional period and started to decline earlier, although it took longer to converge with majority rates. The mortality transition in the Gitano minority paralleled that of the dominant majority, but with important delays and higher mortality rates. The causes of death show the deprivation suffered by Gitano people.

CONCLUSIONS The childhood mortality decline facilitated the most important changes experienced recently by the Gitano minority, including its fertility transition and the transformation of Gitanos’ gender and family systems.

CONTRIBUTION This is one of the first historical reconstructions of the mortality transition of a Romani population.

1. Introduction 

The Gitanos or Calé of Spain are an ethnic minority related to the other Romani groups in Europe and America. Notwithstanding their common remote origin, Romani groups have adapted to the surrounding societies in all the regions where they have lived and present considerable sociocultural heterogeneity (Matras 2015; Piasere 2004; Fraser 1992). The Gitanos seem to descend from the first migratory waves of Romani groups into Western Europe, which were documented in the 15th century (Pym 2007; Leblon 1985). Their customs and life patterns are the product of a long coexistence with local Spanish populations, often marked by persecution, forced assimilation, and discrimination, but also by cooperation, hybridization, and by their creative appropriation of majority customs (Gómez Alfaro 1993, 1999; Leblon 2003; Gamella, Gómez Alfaro, and Pérez 2014).

 In the democratic and decentralized regime developed after the end of Franco’s dictatorship, Gitanos have gained access to free and universal health care, public education, pensions, and housing benefits. This has induced a remarkable process of social integration and cultural convergence with their Payo (non-Gitano) neighbors. Nevertheless, most Gitano groups have preserved a vibrant sense of themselves as a distinct cultural group, and have developed new forms of reaffirmation, resistance, and mobilization in cultural, religious, and political realms (San Román 1997; Gay Blasco 1999; Cantón et al. 2004; Mirga 2014; Gamella, Fernández, and Adiego 2015). 

Arguably, the most far-reaching transformation experienced by the Gitano people of Spain in the 20th century was the dramatic fall in their infant and child mortality patterns. Almost all newborn Gitano children survive today, whereas in 1950 about 200 per 1,000 died before their fifth birthday.3 The change is even more pronounced compared to previous decades: in the mid-1920s the risk of a Gitano child dying in childhood was about sixty times greater than in the early years of the 21st century (see Tables 1 and 2 below, and Gamella, Martín, and Quesada 20144 ). The improvements in child survival induced an unprecedented population growth that multiplied the size of the Calé population. In turn, this demographic expansion led to an intense Gitano migration from Andalusia and Extremadura to other more prosperous and industrialized regions of Spain and, later, to other European countries. These movements and resettlements altered the geographic distribution of Gitanos and therefore affected the identity of the new generations of Calé. Moreover, the drop in childhood mortality facilitated a decline in fertility that became generalized from the late 1980s. The intentional control and reduction of fertility is completing the distinct demographic transition of this minority. This process has enormous consequences for the entire Gitano community, including consequences that are rarely considered in reviews of the demographic transition (Lee and Reher 2011): convergence with the majority population and an increase in intermarriage.

Ultimately, as the burden of reproduction falls disproportionately on women, widespread child survival has had crucial long-term effects on the lives of Gitano women and on the gender arrangements within the group.

1.1 The death of Gitano children

For centuries the recurrent death of children was a common experience in the homes of Gitano people. This tragic reality often emerges both in the discourse of Calé women themselves (Gamella 2000, 2011) and in any cursory view of the corresponding civil and parish records. Infant and child mortality was also common among the majority population in Spain, but the higher fertility rates of Gitano women resulted in more early deaths per mother. In our records there are many instances of Gitano women that suffered the loss of a very high number of children. 

For instance, Salvadora B. was a Gitano woman born in the city of Guadix in 1852. In our review of the civil registries of Guadix and neighboring towns we found records of 11 children born to Salvadora in the 21-year period between 1871 and 1892. Eight of these children died before their third birthday. Surprisingly, when Salvadora’s husband, Juan, died at 48, his death certificate stated that he “was single, although for many years had lived as a married couple with Salvadora B. … [the] union of which resulted in three surviving children”.5 In the winter of 1924 Salvadora died from exposure. She was 72 and lived in a cave in miserable conditions. The civil and parish records contain traces of the dramatic life of this woman, whose common law marriage was not officially recognized and who was listed as castellana nueva (the official euphemism for Gitanos) in several entries. Therefore, the registered side of Salvadora’s biography reflects the bureaucratic ideology that stressed the separate ethnic identity of Gitanos while at the same time ignoring their own cultural definitions of marriage and relatedness. In the following decades Salvadora’s three surviving children registered 28 children themselves, of whom 15 died in childhood or adolescence. Hence, of Salvadora’s 39 children and grandchildren, only 41% lived long enough to marry and reproduce. Nevertheless, in our genealogical reconstitution we found 576 direct descendants of Salvadora, most of them alive today. Hence, the lives of Salvadora and her descendants show how the loss of many children was a common experience for Gitano women until fairly recently, but also how successful their reproductive strategies have been despite this loss. 

Even if it goes unnoticed by the world at large, the death of a child usually deals a terrible emotional and physical blow to the mourning parents. Today many Gitano women still cry when they remember the death of a child that occurred decades ago, and they still clearly remember the circumstances, symptoms, and events as they unfolded to their tragic end. Many women can also tell the stories of the deaths of their infant siblings based on their own or their relatives’ recollections. These narratives offer important sources of either confirmation or rebuttal of the archival data we gathered. Given the omnipresence of this crucial issue in the consciousness of Gitano women, it is surprising it has not received more scholarly attention and scrutiny.

1.2 Objectives

In this paper we will assess the structural dynamics of the decline in infant (under 1 year of age) and child (under 5 years of age) mortality of the Gitano people of 22 contiguous communities in the province of Granada in Southern Spain. We will use mostly records kept by the Civil Registry since its inception in 1871, but our analysis will concentrate on the period beginning in 1920 when the available data becomes more reliable.

This paper will provide a model of the infant and early childhood mortality transition in the Gitano community, including the timing of the onset of definitive decline, the intensity of change, the main phases of the process, and the relative growth in neonatal deaths. We will also compare our results to data reflecting both the entire province and the Spanish population at large.

Our model also includes data on the causes of child deaths as they were recorded in the researched archives, and tracks the changes in these diagnoses over time. The causes of death offer key insights into the underlying social determinants that affected the survival of children from the most underprivileged families. 

This study aims to situate the mortality transition of Spanish Gitanos in its social, political, and epidemiological context, and hence facilitate the analysis of the main “factors responsible for this ‘secular’ and seemingly irreversible decline” (Corsini and Viazzo 1997: xiii).

1.3 A gap in Romani studies

This study contributes to filling a gap in Romani Studies. The dominant representations of Romani groups have ignored the evolution of childhood mortality, as well as other key demographic transformations. This is especially remarkable considering that demographic differences are among the most salient aspects of the ethno-cultural contrast between Romani populations and mainstream majorities everywhere.

Particularly, in the best ethnographic monographs available, little or no attention is paid to the issue of the death of children, even when the experience, celebration, and commemoration of death is a crucial topic in these works (Sutherland 1975; Okely 1983; Williams 1993; Stewart 1997; Engebrigtsen 2007).

Nevertheless, the decline in infant and child mortality also seems to have occurred in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, which have large and varied Romani populations (see Ladányi and Szlényi 2006; Scheffel 2005; Kohler and Preston 2011; Burlea 2012). However, we do not know much about it, or how these processes have diverged from those occurring among neighboring majority populations.

References to infant and child mortality are scattered throughout publications concerning health status and access to health care, or surveys on living conditions and official demographic data (Cook et al. 2013; Ringold, Orentstein, and Wilkens 2005; Kalibová 1993, 2000; Costarelli 1993). Most of the studies are cross-sectional. For instance, some studies compare mortality rates across a particular country and recurrently find much higher rates of infant mortality in the regions where Roma populations are concentrated (Rychtaříková and Dzúrová 1992: 630) and in urban neighborhoods with a high proportion of Roma residents (Rosicova et al. 2011: 526−528). Recently, Kohler and Preston (2011) made an important analysis of differential mortality patterns among religious and ethnic groups in Bulgaria, using nominal data in 1990s’ censuses. However, their analyses “were restricted to the noninstitutionalized adult population aged 20 and over” and thus they “avoided potential problems in measuring mortality of children in the census-based data set” (Kohler and Preston 2011: 93).

In the rapidly increasing literature on Romani groups, very few publications are devoted to childhood mortality, much less from a historical perspective. Childhood mortality is rarely treated as a key variable in other epidemiological, social, and economic transformations. Even in important papers on the anthropological demography of Romani groups there are no references to infant mortality (Durst 2010, 2002). One important exception can be found in the work of Ladányi and Szlényi, who studied the transformation of a village in northeastern Hungary from a multiethnic peasant village into a segregated Roma ghetto, and were able to collect demographic data of considerable quality and detail for 1857 to 2000. They also were able to follow the long-term evolution of infant mortality and its major shifts, concluding “the dramatic decline in infant mortality between 1951−1988 was one of the most spectacular achievements of socialist policy. The success of these policies places the blame for high rates of Gypsy infant mortality squarely on the shoulders of pre-war public health authorities” (Ladányi and Szlényi 2006: 67). This study proves that local registry data often includes Romani people and can provide extraordinary results if studied patiently and in an integrated form. However, historical studies such as this are rare.

In sum, the literature on the demographic history of Romani peoples is very limited in scale and content and demographic concepts and models have been ignored by most historical or cultural studies of these groups. Their potential, however, is obvious, both in terms of theory construction and in the analysis and design of public policy. 

2. Methods and data sources

The study of the history of infant and child mortality presents severe technical difficulties and data problems even for larger and better-known populations (Corsini and Viazzo 1997; Schofield, Reher, and Bideau 1991). Regarding Spanish Gitanos, some historical developments compound the task. First, a Royal Order in 1783 prohibited references to the ethnic identity of Gitano people in Spanish public records.

This interdiction was followed, albeit irregularly,6 and for the last two centuries there is no aggregated official data that can be used for the demographic study of this minority.

ggregated official data that can be used for the demographic study of this minority. Secondly, the relatively small Gitano population has been dispersed in numerous localities in all regions where they have lived. For instance, in 1785 the last available census of the whole Gitano population gathered data on about 12,500 persons living in over 650 localities in almost all Spanish regions (Gamella, Gómez Alfaro, and Pérez 2014). Today the roughly half a million Gitanos live in more than 1,000 villages, towns, and cities all over Spain (Fundación Secretariado Gitano 2008).

Thirdly, most experts have assumed that Gitano families did not register the births or deaths of their dear ones until very recently (see, for instance, San Román 1997; Ramírez Heredia 2005). This assumption was in line with the popular misrepresentation of Romani groups as essential nomads; that is, people who maintained weak and uncertain links with their places of birth and residence. Contrary to this assumption, we have found that Gitano families have been registering their births, deaths, and official marriages in the parish registers of Andalusia since the beginning of the 18th century, and often before.7 This practice was reinforced by the establishment of the Civil Registry in 1871, and became commonplace in the 20th century. Some underregistration, however, was common in the first decades of the functioning of the Civil Registry. Under-registration of infant deaths among the Gitano people may have been important at least until the second decade of the 20th century. On the other hand, common law marriages by ‘Gitano law’ were obviously not registered until they were sanctioned by Catholic and civil authorities, a process that increased during the 20th Century (Martín and Gamella 2005).

In a previous paper we have described the methodological and technical strategies followed in our genealogical and familial reconstruction. Readers are referred to that paper (Gamella, Martín, and Quesada 2014). Below we summarize its main points.

2.1 Gitano identity and identification processes 

.... 

https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol36/33/36-33.pdf

 

MULTIPLE INDICATOR CLUSTER SURVEY BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ROMA SURVEY 2011-2012

https://mics.unicef.org/files?job=W1siZiIsIjIwMTUvMDEvMjcvMDgvNTIvNTgvNDUxL01JQ1M0X0JpSF9Sb21hUG9wX0luZm9ncmFwaGljcy5wZGYiXV0&sha=b0bf1d7cc6a13a2f

MULTIPLE INDICATOR CLUSTER SURVEY BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ROMA SURVEY 2011-2012

https://mics.unicef.org/files?job=W1siZiIsIjIwMTUvMDEvMjcvMDgvNTIvNTgvNDUxL01JQ1M0X0JpSF9Sb21hUG9wX0luZm9ncmFwaGljcy5wZGYiXV0&sha=b0bf1d7cc6a13a2f

Roma Health Report Health status of the Roma population Data collection in the Member States of the European Union

https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/social_determinants/docs/2014_roma_health_report_es_en.pdf

Roma Health Report Health status of the Roma population Data collection in the Member States of the European Union

Executive Summary

 Introduction 

This study was carried out by Matrix Knowledge in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the European Public Health Alliance and individual national researchers on behalf of the Consumers, Health and Food Executive Agency and DG SANCO. The purpose of this report is to provide an evidence-based review of literature on Roma health, covering 2008-2013 and the following indicators: 

1. Mortality and life expectancy 

2. Prevalence of major infectious diseases 

3. Healthy life styles and related behaviours 

4. Access and use of health services and prevention programmes 

5. Prevalence of major chronic diseases 

6. Health factors related to the role of women in the Roma community 

7. Environmental and other socio-economic factors

The methodology used was based on two steps: (i) Desk Research based on the review of secondary data (a literature review); and (ii) Fieldwork collecting primary data through semi-structured interviews.

Background and context

 There has long been a consensus that compared with the non-Roma population in Europe Roma have poorer health. The poor health of Roma is closely linked to social determinants of health. The social inclusion and integration of Roma communities is a joint responsibility of Member States and the European Union. The Commission monitors progress made by Member States through the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies1 . The EU has been also supporting international network initiatives e.g. Roma Summits and the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015). The Enlargement Countries have been encouraged to shape their strategies to support the integration of Roma (including health) based on Commission Communication of 2011. Results for better inclusion of the Roma population have been limited2 . In particular, issues related to health have been only partly addressed.  

The first Commission assessment of the NRIS reported some limitations regarding the possibility of measuring the potential impacts of the stated objectives3 . There is a need to establish specific targets, attainable goals within the timeframe set and measureable deliverables through an effective system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the national policies4 . The second assessment of the Commission in June 2013 reiterated Member States need to make stronger efforts to set up sound monitoring and evaluation methods to assess the results and impacts of Roma inclusion measures, including health, in order to enable policy adjustments when necessary. 

.... 

https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/social_determinants/docs/2014_roma_health_report_es_en.pdf

The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is currently undertaking an evidence-based literature review on the Roma life expectancy gap, based on the following indicators:

https://epha.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/closing-the-life-expectancy-gap-of-roma-in-europe.pdf

The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is currently undertaking an evidence-based literature review on the Roma life expectancy gap, based on the following indicators:

 1. Life expectancy gap between Roma and non-Roma 2. Roma children and infant mortality 3. Determinants of life expectancy

The poor state of health in Roma communities is prevalent—and largely ignored—across Europe. Some Roma are completely excluded from health care, while most face hostility and discrimination within healthcare settings. Available literature on Roma and health agrees that:

Roma people suffer from poorer health and unhealthier living conditions compared to majority populations;
• better data is needed to explain the Roma health gap and design better interventions to reduce this gap;
• the poor health of Roma is closely linked to the social determinants of health¹.

Studies have consistently found that Roma health is worse than the health of the majority populations or other ethnic minority groups. Estimated life expectancy for Roma is consistently lower than corresponding national averages. Infant mortality among Roma is estimated to exceed national averages by several percentage points. Roma are less likely to be covered by health insurance. Roma do not appear to enjoy preventive health care on equal footing with non-Roma and instead are more likely to rely on emergency services. Academics and advocates identify inadequate living conditions, poverty, limited education, and pervasive discrimination against Roma by health care professionals and the public as the key reasons for the poor health of Roma².

Like all Europeans, Roma represent patients, caregivers, and families. Yet on average, Roma will die ten - fifteen years earlier than most Europeans. Roma are less likely to be vaccinated, have fewer opportunities for good nutrition, and experience higher rates of illness. In some countries, six times as many of Roma infants do not make it to childhood. If they do, they will have experienced more infections and diseases than other groups living in similar economic conditions³.

In order to identify the Roma life expectancy gap in the literature, a search was carried out using terms such as life expectancy, mortality, early childhood development, infant mortality and determinants. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were included. English and national language published articles were selected. Reports, surveys, statistics, strategy and discussion papers sources were also consulted. Different databases using a combination of specific terms were also searched.

....
https://epha.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/closing-the-life-expectancy-gap-of-roma-in-europe.pdf

Roma children

https://www.unicef.org/bih/en/roma-children

Challenge

According to official estimates, in Bosnia and Herzegovina live between 25,000 and 50,000 Roma people. They are recognized as the largest, most neglected and most vulnerable minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are recognized as the largest, most neglected and most vulnerable minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the conditions in which the majority of the Roma families in Bosnia and Herzegovina live can be characterized as a state of chronic, multidimensional poverty.

The gap between the Roma and the majority of the population, in terms of housing, employment, education, and healthcare, is very noticeable, and Roma women are in a particularly difficult situation.

Key indicators for Roma children show that these children are three times more likely to live in poverty than their non-Roma peers, five times more likely to be malnourished and twice as likely to be lagging behind in growth. The enrollment rate in primary school is lower by one third than among the non-Roma population, and the rate of immunization is only four percent compared to 68 percent among the majority of the population.

A Multiple Indicator Survey (MICS) of the Roma population for 2011 and 2012 in Bosnia and Herzegovina has shown that:

• The infant mortality rate among Roma is 24 per 1,000 live-born children, while the likelihood of dying before the age of five 27 per 1,000 live-born children.
• 21 percent of Roma children are of short stature, while eight percent of children are seriously lagging behind in growth.
• Only two percent of Roma children aged between 36 and 59 months are enrolled in organized early childhood education programs, while only four percent Roma children that are enrolled in the first grade of primary school attended pre-school institutions in the previous year.
• Only one-half of Roma children (47 percent) that are old enough to be enrolled in the primary school attend the first grade of primary school.
• Over one-half of Roma children aged between two and 14 years were exposed to some form of psychological or physical punishment by their parents or other adult members of their households.

• Solution

  UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with its partners, provides support to the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina in implementing the Multiple Indicator Survey (MICS) about Roma in cooperation with the Agency for Statistics in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  The fourth cycle of the global MICS research in 2011 and 2012 included for the first time a special research on health, nutrition, education, child protection and other indicators related to the lives of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• As a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed itself to respecting and guaranteeing the rights of children listed in the Convention without any discrimination in respect of child’s race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other affiliation, national, ethnic or social origin, property status, disability or other status.
• .... 
• https://www.unicef.org/bih/en/roma-children

European Parlament Traineeship

Dreams comes true at the exatct time when you are ready to accept as menthaly and phisicly. Some years ago, my biggest dream was to work at the European parlament. I wanted to work on political level in fild of edication, culture and minority issues. Now Is here! I am here in the same topic :) I true, I did not applyed, I am invited of this opportunity, and I accepted immediatelly without thinking. 

Do you know why? 

When I sad to my roul model who were that time early in my 20th years (Livia Jaroka), what I wanted to be "when I gow up" :) , in the future and I am interest to policics, and I explained to her, wich kind of topic is close to me, she told me that time: my beautiful, do not do this! You need to be mor stronger and powerful in soul. Go to Universit, learn lot, and lot, go to get practical experiences and be the best professional in your field. After when you are ready we will going to talk about it, again. At that moment, I stoped and I did what she sad me. And after almost 10 years, she asked my cv beside she knows exatly what I did until now. I did not know why she ask my cv, she knows almost everything, but i sent her. The next calling from her was, ok my  beautiful, be my trainee and deside what you want. It was surprise, how did its happend. 

Now I understund why she sad me, :) She were the only one pe

Everything what I wanted until this time in my life is happend. Everything. I am so lucky and successful and I am so greatful! I wish everyone the same experience what I have. I wish everyone to be brave! 

Strategic Litigation Impacts - ROMA SCHOOL DESEGREGATION

link: https://www.justiceinitiative.org/uploads/5731f49e-92ba-4adf-976f-156dcaaffe7c/strategic-litigation-impacts-roma-school-desegration-20160407.pdf

Strategic Litigation Impacts - ROMA SCHOOL DESEGREGATION

Open Society Justice Initiative

Methodology 

This study seeks to contribute to the burgeoning field of strategic litigation, which is also referred to as public-interest or impact litigation. Using a hybrid of legal analysis, academic research, and quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this report aims to assess the varied impacts of strategic litigation and related advocacy efforts on one issue (Roma school desegregation) in the comparative framework of three Euro-pean countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, and Greece), all of which fall under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. In doing so, the study seeks to catalyze mutual learning among activists, legal practitioners, and affected individuals, communi-ties, and affinity groups. The study is intended primarily as an analytical resource for litigation practitioners and advocates who may consider strategic litigation—among other tools—as a means to advance human rights protections. The research seeks to contribute to emerging thinking about strategic litigation in several ways. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the first multi-country study of the impact of strategic litigation designed to curb educational discrimination and segrega-tion on grounds of race. While appreciating the rich and helpful literature on quantita-tive justice measurements, this largely empirical study does not rely significantly on quantitative data or attempt to survey the field as such. Nor does it pretend to apply rigorous scientific techniques, or claim a fully objective perspective. Rather, this study seeks to explore the complexity of strategic litigation. In doing so, it acknowledges that strategic litigation may not be the most appropriate tool to secure change—and that in certain contexts it may even be counter-productive. It is hoped that this study will prove its value through its sensitivity to nuance and detail, and the judiciousness of the research approach. 

With that aim in mind, this report hopes to add value to the ongoing discourse by offering an unprecedented 360-degree assessment of the impact of each case described herein. Over the course of about six months (May–November 2014), a research team of lawyers, sociologists, and Roma rights advocates sought out the views of a wide range of interlocutors, asking them to respond to normative questions. (Please see Appendix A for a list of those questions.) The research team conducted over 100 interviews with litigants, members of affected communities, government officials, litigators, judges, rights advocates, teachers, donors, academics and others. The primary research was conducted principally in July and August 2014 in the Czech Republic by Lucie Fremlová; in Greece by attorney Dani Maniou; and in Hungary by Roland Ferkovics, a graduate student and Roma rights advocate. Lead researcher and author-attorney Adriána Zimová participated in most of the interviews. In most cases, interviews were conducted in real time, in situ, without outside observers present, and in the language of the respondent, although sometimes simultaneously interpreted into English. Some additional interviews were conducted by telephone, Skype, and email. The manuscript was completed in November 2014 and the information is current as of that date. 

Below are some essential questions—and brief answers—relevant to this study:

 What is strategic litigation? Strategic litigation, often also referred to as public interest litigation, impact litigation, or cause lawyering, can be many things. But for the purposes of this study it may be used to refer to bringing a case before a court with the explicit aim of positively impacting persons other than the individual complainants before the court.

What indicators measure impact? Knowledge of the impacts of strategic litigation—both real and perceived—is evolving rapidly, thanks to growing interest in strategic litigation’s role in advancing human rights. Benefitting from this discourse, this study is framed around three principal impact indicators: changes in policy, practice, and mobilization. Quantitative indicators include the number of Roma students who are attending special (i.e. segregated) schools before and after relevant judgments, and the number of segregated schools closed. But much of the relevant data are either flawed or absent, so qualitative indicators have been used to help shed light on real and perceived impacts.

Who is considered Roma in government data? Efforts to collect reliable data about the authentic experience of Roma are profoundly complicated by the pervasiveness and severity of anti-Roma discrimination in Europe—and sometimes by explicit government policy. Fearing discrimination, ethnic Roma commonly identify themselves as “Hungarian” or “Czech” in public censuses, leading to substantial under-counting. This poses a fundamental challenge to attempts to quantify the impacts of court-centered action. For example, since the Greek government does not officially recognize the existence of ethnic minorities (apart from migrants, such as those fleeing the war in Syria), it is nearly impossible to measure the number of Roma children attending mainstream Greek schools before and after judgments.

To the greatest extent possible, this study seeks to adhere to principles of impartiality, even-handedness, intellectual integrity, and rigor. To be sure, the study’s co-sponsor, the Open Society Foundations (OSF), are avowed advocates of the use of strategic litigation as a vehicle for social change. Moreover, both OSF and the Roma Education Fund financially support grassroots efforts to assist Roma communities in exercising their rights. Some might reason that this study is therefore inherently biased toward conclusions favorable to the sponsors’ missions.

The study was structured to mitigate any such misperceptions. It was researched and written by independent experts, rather than staff, and overseen by an advisory group whose members are unaffiliated with the co-sponsors. In addition, the research process was designed to garner input from the widest possible spectrum of stakeholders and observers, including those who have been publicly critical of using strategic litigation to desegregate Roma schools. This study is born of an authentic desire to understand the complexities and risks of—rather than platitudes about—the use of strategic litigation to advance social justice. A lack of impartiality would only thwart that goal.

....

https://www.justiceinitiative.org/uploads/5731f49e-92ba-4adf-976f-156dcaaffe7c/strategic-litigation-impacts-roma-school-desegration-20160407.pdf

Strategies and Tactics to Combat Segregation of Roma Children in Schools

link: https://cdn2.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/114/2017/12/Roma-Segregation-full-final.pdf

Strategies and Tactics to Combat Segregation of Roma Children in Schools

Case studies from Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Greece 

FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Harvard University 2015 

Roma children enter the world with the heavy baggage of intergenerational inequality, born into societies where discrimination and social-economic struggles are part of daily life. Researchers and policymakers agree that, across Europe, Roma children experience widespread, systematic exclusion from education, leading to significant gaps in participation and achievement. School segregation appears to be a major contributing factor to these gaping discrepancies in education.

This report aims to review and synthetize the desegregation strategies and tactics of six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Central, Eastern, and Southern European countries. The report captures evidence-based data on the negative outcomes of segregation of Roma children in schools and highlights effective initiatives employed by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in Croatia and Hungary, Romani CRISS in Romania, Life Together in Czech Republic, Integro in Bulgaria, and Antigone in Greece. These organizations comprise DARE-Net, a 2012 initiative led by Romani CRISS. During the project’s implementation, the Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF) joined the network and focused primarily on activities implemented in Hungary.

The initiatives described in this report are presented as six case studies. Each case study summarizes findings based on an in-depth literature review and semi-structured interviews with communities, experts, and stakeholders. The case studies describe the work that has been done to advocate for changes in policy, legislation, curricula, and/or practice in political and societal environments that have been resistant to change. The Report Digest is available at http://fxb.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/ sites/5/2015/02/Romani-Segregation-2015-brief-version-final.pdf

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Roma children enroll in school, only half complete primary education. Moreover, most do not even reach the level of secondary education,3 and less than one percent participate in tertiary education in some Central, Eastern, and Southern European countries.4 A broad range of factors determines these gaps, and in this report, we focus primarily on school segregation. Roma children continue to be placed in separate classes based solely on their skin color, ethnicity, and socio- economic situation; often they are placed into separate buildings, separate schools and classes, including special schools. As a result, Roma receive inferior education and endure discriminatory treatment from teachers and school administrators. 

Even when not physically separated, Roma children are routinely placed in the back of the class, receive less attention from their teachers, and endure bullying and stigma. Discriminatory treatment is often compounded by national education systems that lack the capacity to address the needs of socially and ethnically disadvantaged students and provide intercultural and inclusive environments. School segregation is now prohibited by European Union’s Race Equality Directive (RED), and domestic laws of each country for which we developed a case study; however, the practice persists and has been widely documented by civil society organizations and scholars. 

Segregation keeps Roma children away from quality education, social networks, job, and better salaries opportunities. On the other hand, well designed desegregation efforts and positive interethnic interactions can stymie prejudice from non-Roma peers and contribute to the self-esteem and pride of Roma children.

For the last quarter of a century, improving access to education for Roma children has been a central feature in national and international commitments related to Roma inclusion in Europe. Yet addressing the policy or practice of streamlining Roma children into separate schools and classes based on their ethnicity—segregation—has been a challenging task, both politically and structurally, for those governments and institutions involved. Civil society representatives have therefore played a lead role in raising awareness of the phenomenon, convincing central and local authorities to take action, pushing for accountability, and providing technical guidance as needed.

Various organizations across Europe have worked to address the problem. Strategies have included everything from supporting the participation of Roma children in education to dismantling the legal and policy frameworks of segregation to piloting programs and initiatives to promote the integration of Roma children into mainstream schools and classes. It is, therefore, critical to identify and share such efforts with civil society representatives and policymakers from other regions and countries, so that they can learn from these initiatives and implement them accordingly to the needs of the communities they are working with. 

In each country we discuss in this report, we analyze the political context’s role and power in making change possible. The EU pre-accession requirements for non-discriminatory policies and actions as well as the ECtHR judgments made possible relevant gains in policy and legislative changes. Yet much is to be done in translating those documents into desegregation practices in all the countries studied in this report.

The report also addresses the challenges and obstacles encountered by civil society representatives throughout their journey towards school desegregation, but its main focus is on the strategies and tactics employed by NGOs to achieve desegregation. For example, judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on segregation (commencing with 2007’s landmark D.H. and Others vs. Czech Republic), research, pilot projects, along with community work were explicitly and associatively used by the organizations involved to advocate for policy and legislative changes. Some of the organizations, such as the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), were leading forces in bringing segregation cases before the ECtHR. 

We analyze the tactics and the actions of NGOs in their social and political environments and highlight their successes, as well as their lessons learned, for other organizations, institutions, scholars, and advocates. We aim to show models of advocacy and interventions that can potentially lead to change in law, policy, and practice in other regions and contexts. 

...

II. Methodology 

For the Strategies and Tactics to Combat Segregation of Roma Children in Schools report, we used a case study methodology to develop a practice-based inventory of desegregation. We documented and analyzed interventions that promote desegregation and help ensure equal opportunities for quality education. The interventions we analysed have been implemented or recommended by the project partner organizations working in six countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Romania.6 The interventions include community projects, advocacy campaigns for changes in legislation and policy, curriculum revision for minority inclusion, and strategic litigation. Therefore, Harvard FXB only looked at the projects and initiatives undertaken by the DARE-Net members, and not at all effective desegregation practices existing in the region.

In each case study, we single out the history, challenges, and breakdowns encountered by an organization in implementing a desegregation intervention, placing particular emphasis on the effective desegregation interventions and tactics that NGOs used. We also analyze NGO actions by taking into consideration the political context in which they have been developed.

The findings in this report are based on desk research (online desk research, government and NGO published data), individual semi-structured interviews and group interviews conducted in all project countries. Respondents included Roma adolescents and parents, Roma community leaders, Roma and non-Roma civil society organizations, school teachers, principals, and administrators, local, regional, and national policymakers responsible for education and social inclusion matters, and various experts, including lawyers, economists, and university professors. The analysis included in one of the case studies was also based on direct field experience from one of the authors.

The desk research information derives from documents made available by the partner organizations (annual reports, articles, publications, research, videos, audio materials, project reports, external or internal evaluations of the desegregation project, etc.) as well as documentation and publications by local and international organizations, reports and materials published by intergovernmental and national institutions, ECtHR jurisprudence, and academic papers. 

Initial country selection for membership in the DARE-Net, and consequently in the case study report, was based on demographic and NGO strategic relevance. The majority of the countries have national and/or European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence on segregation of Roma children. The partner organizations in this transnational project have initiated desegregation projects using different approaches, usually in accordance with their mandate and previous experience. The projects used different strategies and methods, each project tackling segregation from a specific angle, including building policy and legislation, imposing sanctions, and creating an intercultural school and community empowerment. The desegregation projects they implemented have showed effectiveness in addressing desegregation at local or national level. Put together, the tactics do not conflict but rather show the complexity of desegregation processes and issues that need to be addressed to achieve desegregation and good quality education.

To more accurately present the complexity of this issue, the obstacles, and available strategies to achieve desegregation, the report includes a range of expert opinions. We conducted the a number of 92 semi-structured individual or group interviews as follows: 12 interviews with 15 stakeholders in Bulgaria, 13 interviews with 15 stakeholders in the Czech Republic, 13 interviews with 30 stakeholders in Croatia, 9 interviews with 12 or more stakeholders in Hungary, 5 interviews with 10 stakeholders in Greece, and 9 interviews with nine stakeholders in Romania. 

The Roma community members we had interviews with included parents and plaintiffs involved in two legal cases: Oršuš and Others vs. Croatia and D.H. and Others vs. Czech Republic. Additional information on Horvath and Kiss vs. Hungary was gathered from one of the plaintiffs by project partners, CFCF and Romani CRISS. We visited and interviewed representatives of schools and kindergartens in Kutina, Croatia, Mursko Sredisce, Croatia, Thessaloniki, Greece, Zavet, Bulgaria, and Horni Suca, Czech Republic. We interviewed 26 representatives of civil society, 4 scholars, 1 attorney, and 15 representatives of regional and central institutions.

Each interview was conducted by a team of two researchers, while each case study was drafted by one lead researcher in partnership with the other staff. This team included Arlan Fuller, Harvard FXB’s Executive Director, Margareta Matache, Roma rights advocate and Harvard Chan School Instructor, and Sarah Dougherty, former Harvard Chan School Research Associate. The opinions included in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the stakeholders the authors met and consulted with, but do sum up the conclusions reached by the research team analyzing the data. 

A limitation of this report was the small scope of our study. We of course could not cover all desegregation initiatives existing in the region. Moreover, Harvard FXB did not develop a methodology to select the initiatives included in this report. It focused primarily on the project partners’ work. 

The peer review process was ensured internally by prof. Jacqueline Bhabha (professor of law, Harvard University) and externally by Dr. Marius Taba (sociologist). We also asked the DARE-Net organizations to provide feedback for each country-based study. In addition, Biserka Tomljenović (independent expert) provided us feedback on the Croatia case study.

The report will be disseminated to various governmental, academic, and civil society stakeholders in the partner countries as well as in other countries in Europe. The report will also serve students and the community at large interested in learning advocacy strategies aimed at policy and legislative changes.

III. Case Study Advocacy for Desegregation Policies and Measures 

.... 

link: https://cdn2.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/114/2017/12/Roma-Segregation-full-final.pdf