Open Panels

Hate speech, racism and xenophobia against Roma people

Olga Magano. olga.magano@uab.pt

Assistant Professor at Aberta University, Lisbon, Portugal

Researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology, Iscte, University Institute of Lisbon (CIES-Iscte); Institute of Sociology, University of Porto (IS-UP) and Centre for Global Studies, Aberta University (CEG-UAb).

Abstract: The presence of Roma people in different countries on different continents reveals the persistence of racist expressions and practices against Roma people (FRA, 2022). There have been many examples throughout history, mainly exacerbated by successive measures of repression, assimilation, expulsion from territories and attempts at extermination. This is the extreme case with the condemnation to banishment and galleys (Portugal and Spain) (Costa, 1995), social invisibility and non-effective citizenship during dictatorial states (Portugal, Spain and Italy, for example), but also in the case of Eastern European countries with submission to slavery, later to the proletariat (Romania) and the horror of medical experiments and the Nazi holocaust which victimised not only thousands of Jews, but also Roma people (Margalit, 2002).

As we go through the literature on the history of the Roma, even though most of it is written by non-Roma (Fraser, 1997), the panorama takes us back to the systematic confrontation of attempts at expulsion, elimination, discrimination, social and spatial segregation, racism and xenophobia. Hatred of Roma people continues to be a current problem that exists in every country where Roma live. In other words, even though we are in the 21st century and democratic states prohibit forms of racism, xenophobia and discrimination, in practical terms it still happens in everyday life. This phenomenon has been fuelled by the growth of racist movements and far-right parties in recent years.

Racist practices are ingrained in societies and it is difficult to deconstruct stereotypes and negative representations of Roma people, who are usually the victims of generalisations and essentialist perspectives (Stewart, 2012). In addition, more recently, hate speech in comments on news stories in the media and on social networks has become extremely serious, threatening the human and citizenship rights of Roma people (Tremlett et al. 2017; Magano & D’ Oliveira, 2023).

This panel hopes to bring together contributions from researchers from different countries and contexts on hate speech, racism and xenophobia, as well as exclusionary practices and the exclusion of Roma people from the spheres of citizenship, but also in terms of (non-)access to housing, access to employment and vocational training, education and health, and discuss perspectives for tackling this social and sociological problem.

References:

Costa, E. M. (1995). Os ciganos em Portugal: breve história de uma exclusão [Gypsies in Portugal: a brief history of exclusion]. In L. Cortesão, Pinto, F. (org.) (Ed.), O povo cigano: cidadãos na sombra - Processos explícitos e ocultos de exclusão [The Roma: citizens in the shadows - Explicit and hidden processes of exclusion]. (pp. 21-26). Porto: Ed. Afrontamento.

FRA (2022). Roma in 10 European countries. Viena: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2022-roma-survey-2021-main-results_en.pdf

Fraser, A. (1997). História do Povo Cigano [The Gypsies (The Peoples of Europe)]. Lisboa: Editorial Teorema. Magano, O., & D’Oliveira, T. (2023). "Antigypsyism in Portugal: Expressions of Hate and Racism in Social Networks" Social Sciences 12, no. 9: 511. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090511

Margalit, G. (2002). Gernany and Its Gypsies: A Post-Auschwitz Ordeal (Vol. XVIII). Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Stewart, M. (2012). (ed.) The Gypsy “menace”. Populism and the new anti-Gypsy politics. London: Hurst & Company.

Tremlett, A., Messing, V. & Kóczé, A. (2017). Romaphobia and the media: mechanisms of power and the politics of representations. In Identities, 24:6, 641-649

Pal o Roma romanes / Pa Rom romanes (panel in Romani)

Jan Červenka, jan.cervenka@ff.cuni.cz and Markéta Hajská, marketa.hajska@ff.cuni.cz

Romani Studies Seminar, Institute of Ethnology and Central European and Balkan Studies (IECEBS), Faculty of Arts, Charles University (Czech Republic)

Pal o Roma romanes

Pro konferencii GLS sas dži akana konferenčno čhib jekhbuter angliciko. Amen paťas, hoj the romaňi čhib šaj chasňaras andro diskusii pal o romisticka buťa the disciplini u hoj the e romaňi čhib šaj jekhetaňarel eksperten pal buter lumakere thema.

Vašoda o panelos nane definimen temaha, aľe čhibaha: the o referati the o diskusii musaj te jel andre romaňi čhib. Užaras referati butere subdisciplinendar romane študiendar (sar hin lingvistika, etnologia, historia, literarno vaj bašavibnaskero džaniben…) O vakeribena musaj te jen pre učo džanibnaskero levelos, no mangas tumen: musaj len te achaľon the o džene pal o aver džanibnaskre disciplini.

Ole paneloha kamas (pašavreste) te sikhavel, hoj pal e romaňi tematika šaj diskutinas pro džanibnaskero levelos andre romaňi čhib. Imar andro berša 2021 the 2022 kerďam ajse paneli pro konferencii GLS u has ašarde. Šaj dikhen pro streamos romaňa televiziatar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMqTHSSqo2o

O abstrakti bičhaven the andre romaňi romaňi čhib the angliciko (kampel soduj verzii). O kompletna referati pre konferencia ena ča romanes.

Pa Rom romanes

Pe GLS konferencii ži ákánik mindik vorbijas pe maj but englišicka šibasa. Ame paťas, hoď pa kadal phušimátura andaj intrégone akademickíva búťa šaj vorbinas vi romanes. Romana šibasa šaj vorbin khetánes le akademikura pi cára luma, taj šaj haťáren peske le ekspertura andaj sa intrégi thema.

Kado paneli naj anglal dino la témasa, de la šibasa: i vorba (vi prezentácia, vi diskuzia) si t´avel feri romanes. Azír lešinas le referátura andaj akharsoske disciplíni romane studijendar (sar si lingvistika, etnologia, historia, literatura vaj romano arto). Kadal referátura si t´avel iskirime maj zurálasa akademickíva vorbasa, de vi kadej, hoď šaj haťáren la vorbake vi le manuš andaj áver disciplíni.

Kadale panelosa kamas te sikhavas, hoď pa sogodi romani tématika del pe te vorbij romana šibasa. Aba abde berš 2021 taj 2022 kerdam kecave panelura pe konferencii GLS taj sas ašarde. Šaj dikhen po streamo andaj románi televizia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMqTHSSqo2o

Le abstraktura trobuj te bišavel sel duje šibenca: englišicka vi romanes. Pi konferencia vorbija pe fere (numa) romanes.

Panel in Romani

The common language of the Gypsy Lore Society conferences has been primarily English. We believe that Romani can also play the role of a language of common academic discussion about different issues and disciplines in Romani studies, which can connect the experts from different countries. The panel is thus not defined by its topic, but by the common language of their presentation: both the contributions and discussion must be in Romani language. This panel is thematically open, papers in any field of Romani Studies (e.g. linguistics, ethnology, history, theory of Romani literature or art) are accepted. That is why papers should be on high academic level but contributors are asked to make them comprehensible for researchers from different scientific disciplines.

One of the aims of this panel will be to show the possibility of Romani language use in speaking about any topics on scientific level. We organized such panels already within the GLS conferences in 2021 and 2022 and they was successful. See the Romani TV`s stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMqTHSSqo2o

Contributors are asked to send their abstract in two language versions, both English and Romani. The language of their papers will be only Romani.