Between diplomatic spin and anti-Gypsyism

The Romanian Ambasador in Ireland , Ms Silvia Davidoiu under pressure from the Irish NGOs and mass media in Ireland had issued on 23^rd of July a press release about the situation of a group of Romanian Roma.

This press release comes after an almost incredible display of anti-Gypsyism at the highest political level in Romania ( see http://www.ergonetwork.org/eu.htm ) and proves once again that the Romanian elites make a clear distinction among Romanian citizens based on ethnicity whenever there is something negative. This promotion of anti-Gypsyism from the highest level continues to be a common practice in Romania and it is much helped by the complete silence of the European Commission and European Union member states.

The Ambassador writes in the beginning:” The alleged impossibility to work in Romania as Romas is another false assertion repeated by those in the Ballymun roundabout. Members of the Roma community in the area were offered jobs, back home, by an Italian shoe making factory. The job offer was taken by some and refused by others, yet one of their mantras is that they are not allowed to work in Romania .”

The most senior Romanian diplomat in Ireland dares and uses a clearly aggressive language against Romanian citizens. The fact that those Roma are Romanian citizens is in fact nowhere mentioned in the press release. The Ambassador forgets to say that the salaries offered are not enough even for covering the cost of commodities (electricity, water, heating) for a two bedroom flat in Romania during winter and most of the jobs in the shoe industry in Romania have a high health risk and no long term perspectives.

She writes further: “Moreover, in the region where the Rostas family comes from, the local authorities are implementing a PHARE project aiming at putting land at the disposal of poor families, in order to support them making a decent living. Besides, the welfare grants they were benefiting from in Romania are considered for being cut off because they left the country.”

The welfare grants in Romania are of around 20 Euros per month and the PHARE record when it comes to changing the situation of Roma peasants is simply abysmal.

The worst part of the press release is the following:”It is regrettable that some Irish NGOs and even part of the mass media are ready to embrace stereotypes about the supposed discrimination the Roma minority is suffering in Romania . These NGOs are obviously not familiar with the considerable progress Romania has made over the last years in addressing the minority issues. We remind all those prone to believe that Romania discriminates against its ethnic minorities, particularly against the Romas, that the observance of the minority rights was a prerequisite in fulfilling the European Union's political criteria. Had the political criteria not been fulfilled, accession to the EU would have been impossible. “

Not only that the Ambassador tries to discredit the Irish NGOs but she decided by herself that there is no discrimination in Romania against Roma. This is ineptly justified by the accession of Romania in the EU.

In its country Report on Romania from October 2006, the European Commission mentions “institutional racism against Roma in Romania .” The Commission asks in the same report that Romanian authorities need to “demonstrate, at all levels, that the country applies a zero-tolerance policy on racism against Roma or against any other minority or group and that this policy is effectively implemented.” The last country report on Romania mentioned the same concerns.

She ends the press release writing: “We regret that the persons in the makeshift camp are using this difficult situation, which they got into by ignoring the Irish legislation regarding the access on the Irish labour market, in order to accuse the Romanian government of discrimination. We also express our readiness to facilitate to any journalist or group of journalists a trip to Romania, in case they want to research for themselves which are the real policies pursued by the Government regarding this particular minority and the real living conditions, back home, of the Roma community.”

The press release is an official position of the Romanian Government which says that there are some “real policies” and “real living conditions” and that the criminal Roma liars (those who ignored the Irish legislation and talk about fake policies and living conditions) went to Ireland to accuse the Romanian Government of discrimination. In this way the Ambassador implies that Roma are the criminal enemies of Romania thing which does nothing but increases and legitimises the rampant anti-Gypsyism in Romania .

The fact is that the Ambassador as well as none of the ex or actual prime ministers or presidents of Romania never visited a Romani ghetto.

In any normal democracy and in the European Union such a press release if it would be about any other ethnic group (for instance Afro-Americans or Jews) would have lead to the dismissal of the Ambassador and some serious positions of the major politicians and the European Diplomacies. As before this will most probably be again completely ignored and prove once again that Europe is more united in its anti-Gypsyism than any diversity and pro-tolerance empty slogans.