The protest march sets off down Bywell Road.

MORE than 700 people took to the streets during a protest march against plans for a permanent travellers site near Dewsbury. Hundreds marched through Dewsbury on Saturday to meet a second group of protesters from Ossett before converging on the Dewsbury Rams Tetley’s Stadium in Shaw Cross where a rally was held.

The stadium in Owl Lane is just a short distance from the Ossett tip which Wakefield City Council is considering turning into a travellers site as part of its Local Development Framework (LDF).
The plans for the site have been met with widespread anger from people living on both sides of the Dewsbury-Ossett border.
Hundreds of letters and several petitions with thousands of signatures were sent to the council before a public consultation closed last week.
Dewsbury MP Simon Reevell, who spoke at the rally, said: “It’s something people just don’t want and shouldn’t have to have.

“We had the march to keep the pressure up and I would hope common sense will see they will come back fairly quickly and, whatever else they’re doing about LDF, they won’t have a travellers site.”

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Courtesy of Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello will be kicking off its national headlining tour next Monday at Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. The show, which was announced formally last week, will surely sell out because of the band’s rabid following and the venue’s intimate capacity.

To new listeners, vocalist Eugene Hütz’s thick Eastern European accent may invoke memories of villains from cherished Disney movies of childhood. This can be off-putting for some. The band’s current sound is a universal fusion of gypsy, punk energy and dub undertone. Just as the sound of the band isn’t limited to any continental borders, neither are the languages Hütz utilizes. Russian, Spanish and an obscure display of untranslatable Ukrainian gypsy-speak all appear, sometimes in the same song.

It may be strange to think every member of the band is from some disparate part of the world or was birthed from some ambitious mix of ethnicity.

Onstage however, the far-reaching influences of the band resound in fevered harmony as Hütz’s acoustic guitar in tow plays mischievous ringmaster to them all. Known for live shows that defy predictability, any Gogol Bordello performance is part circus-theater, part cabaret. If the audience is really lucky, Hütz may dazzle the crowd with improvised drumming on tin buckets dangling from a bandmate’s leg. Be at the show to find out.

For more information about the show, visit Belly Up Tavern’s website at bellyup.com.

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Source:IBTIMES Written By Palash R. Ghosh

Popularly known as ‘Gypsies’ in western societies, the Romani (or Roma) people form a significant portion of the population of contemporary Europe, particularly in the Eastern and Central parts of the continent.

(Photo: Reuters / Philippe Laurenson )

French police inspect an illegal Roma camp in Aix-en-Provence.

Popularly known as ‘Gypsies‘ in western societies, the Romani (or Roma) people form a significant portion of the population of contemporary Europe, particularly in the Eastern and Central parts of the continent.

The Roma are believed to have originated in north-western India and arrived in Europe sometime in the Middle Ages — or perhaps even as early as the tenth century.

Since that time, the Roma have suffered centuries of persecution, forced assimilation, abuse, even attempted extermination; and still remain a mystery to most of their fellow Europeans.

Indeed, in recent weeks, European media have reported on the expulsion of thousands of Roma from France after President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the destruction of Roma encampments and the deportation of men, women and children back to Romania and Bulgaria. In 2008, Italy enacted similar measures, displacing thousands of camp-dwelling Roma who could not prove they had regular employment.

A plethora of myths, stereotypes and outright lies about the Roma and their culture have been propagated throughout history.

Now, in the beginning of the 21st century, as Eastern Europe and the Balkan nations have thrown off the yoke of Communism and seek to join the more economically-advanced nations of Western Europe through the enlargement of the European Union (EU), the status and fate of the Roma – believed to be the EU’s largest ethnic minority – becomes an important issue.

IBTIMES spoke to two experts on the European Roma – Dr. Nando Sigona, senior researcher at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford, UK; and Dr. Nidhi Trehan, an independent scholar who recently completed her post-doctorate at the UCL School of Public Policy/Political Science, University of London — about the current legal, economic and political status of the Roma in an ever-changing Europe.

Click here for Part 1 of the interview

IBTIMES: In which European countries, if any, have Roma made any significant social advances (with respect to education, careers, etc.)?

TREHAN: In Western Europe, the post-Franco Spanish government has taken steps towards the socio-economic integration of Roma; in eastern Europe, it was the non-aligned Yugoslavia of Marshall Tito which offered the most to its Romani citizens by way of retention of Romani culture/language/practices and socio-economic integration.

It is no coincidence that Roma from former Yugoslavia today — many of whom now live in the diaspora in Western Europe — are active on behalf of their communities at the international level.

IBTIMES: Since the fall of Communism, have the Roma in Eastern Europe made any tangible advances?

SIGONA: No, in fact, quite the opposite. As Nidhi and I have discussed in our book on ”Romani Politics in Contemporary Europe: Poverty, Ethnic Mobilization and the Neo-Liberal Order”, the situation after the fall of Communism worsened. The situation changed radically during the 1990s and now the Roma are visibly excluded from the job market.

TREHAN: Roma as a political entity/identity has become heightened and more visible, but whether this is a straightforward ‘advance’ for Roma is questionable. Some scholars like Martin Kovats [Birkbeck College, University of London] have argued that this poses dangers — such as further divisive and social distance from the majority society.

It can also be argued that the development of pro-Roma institutions such as the European Roma Information Office in Brussels has resulted in more prominence given to Romani issues at the European level.

However, the actual socio-economic situation on the ground remains highly problematic, with spatial segregation increasing as a result of privatization of housing and education in Europe.

IBTIMES: What types of work do the Roma engage in? Any skilled trades?

TREHAN: Small trading, clothes import/export, construction work, plumbing, carpentry, used car sales, paving work, that is, skilled/semi-skilled labor. However, there is also a professional class and Roma who have a vocational level qualification — midwifery for example. During the Socialist period in Eastern Europe, many Roma had factory jobs, but many of these factories are now closed and re-training for these semi-skilled workers has been slow .

IBTIMES: As members of EU countries, are Roma free to travel to other EU countries to seek work?

SIGONA: Formally they are entitled to travel freely in the EU, and especially in the Schengen area, since there are no border controls, there is no way to limit movements.

However, according to EU law, after three months abroad migrants should demonstrate that they have adequate means of subsistence and accommodation. This is what France is currently using to justify expulsion. Up until now, the three-month rule was never applied in this way — discriminating against one specific ethnic group.

TREHAN: Yes, they are free to travel, but there are some labor market restrictions/welfare access problems. One practical issue is that as many Roma who work as laborers/construction are not literate, they have a hard time in dealing with the bureaucratic steps needed to register in Western Europe. Skilled/professional Roma have a much easier time in accessing the Western European labor markets.

IBTIMES: Are the governments in Eastern Europe making any real attempts to improve the lot of the Roma? Are they demanding that Roma be educated?

SIGONA: I don’t see a significant difference between the policies put forward in Western and Eastern EU member states.

TREHAN: Yes, they are improving educational access for Romani children over the last decade or so (much of the pressure stemming from human rights groups who’ve also posed legal challenges similar to Brown v. Board of education in US). But spatial segregation mitigates against ‘equal’ access as such.

Moreover, a Romani child whose parents are unemployed/underemployed and who are living on the poverty line (possibly on welfare) will not have an equal shake at becoming a ‘professional’ as such.

IBTIMES: Are there any Roma in the “professional classes” in Eastern Europe (i.e., doctors, lawyers teachers, bankers, etc.)?

TREHAN: Yes, absolutely, but a very tiny number. But even the professionally qualified Romani individual finds it difficult to land a decent job. Many Roma end up working in jobs for which they are overqualified, or choosing to work in professions outside their qualifications, basically anything to survive. This results from continuing hostility on the part of employers to hire a ‘Gypsy’ .

SIGONA: In Romania and Hungary, in particular, there are Romani professionals, intellectuals and artists.

IBTIMES: Do any Eastern European governments take measures to preserve the Roma culture and their Romani language?

TREHAN: Yes, but the Romani language is still not recognized as an official European language by the EU, although there is an emerging movement for this to be achieved. Europe still doesn’t appear to understand the symbolic importance of such an act.

At the EU-Brussels first ‘Roma Summit’ in 2008, Romani translators were added ad hoc at the last minute for Romani-speaking delegates. At least 5-6 million people in Europe today speak some variant or dialect of Romani, so it’s a language/culture that deserves its place on the European linguistic map.

Also, I believe the Republic of Macedonia is alone in Europe to declare in its constitution that Roma are a constituent people. Radio stations, newspapers, TV programs are in Romani in Macedonia. There was even a ‘Sesame Street’-like children’s program for a while with a Romani presence.

IBTIMES: I believe there is at least one (perhaps more) Roma member in the European Parliament. Is this a significant development?

TREHAN: Yes, symbolically quite important. Victoria Mohacsi and Livia Jaroka, both of Hungary, were in the previous European Parliament.

After elections earlier this year, only Jaroka remains as the sole Romani member of European Parliament. Both have faced racism and sexism at the hands of right-wing, nationalists in Parliament. Nonetheless, in terms of the power they wield in European political circles, it’s not clear.

IBTIMES: Are you hopeful that the Roma’s situation in Eastern Europe will improve? Or is there too much prejudice against them?

SIGONA: The situation can be improved in Eastern Europe, but more efforts should be put also in the West, where the Roma are often in dire conditions — see the cases of Italy and Greece for example.

TREHAN: The question is not just about Eastern Europe, but also about Western Europe, where right-wing nationalists such as Berlusconi of Italy and Sarkozy of France have whipped up anti-Gypsy sentiments in recent years.

Roma have left Eastern Europe in the thousands to search for work and better educational opportunities for their children in relatively more stable Western Europe.

Sadly, prejudice has continued and even deepened in some contexts as Romani impoverishment has resulted in the (re)emergence of stereotypes of ‘Romani criminality’ and ‘welfare dependence’. This means that Europe as a whole has an even tougher job ahead of it in understanding and accepting Romani communities into its fold.

IBTIMES: If the Eastern European countries want to become fully ‘Westernized’ and become part of modern Europe, will they have to uplift their Roma populations?

TREHAN: I think this whole notion of ‘modern Europe’ is itself a cleverly constructed myth. But yes, absolutely, both Eastern and Western European halves must uplift and accept their Romani communities and recognize Romani contributions to their social fabric historically and in the present day. This is a true test of their democracies, and to their human rights norms which they very avidly proselytize throughout the globe.

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