Fokus ROMI.HR

Počeci migracija Roma na područje Argentine vežu se s španjolskom kolonizacijom, a migracije u većim skupinama počinju oko 1880. godine. Većina Roma je u ovom drugom migracijskom valu došla iz Srbije, Rusije i Grčke. S manjim skupinama koje su dolazile iz Španjolske, uglavnom iz Andaluzije, te iz Rumunjske, ovaj proces migracije je trajao do 1920-ih godina. Procjenjuje se da danas u Argentini živi oko 300 000 Roma, što tu zajednicu čini drugom najvećom romskom zajednicom u Latinskoj Americi, nakon one u Brazilu.

Zbog svoje specifične kulture, različitog načina odijevanja i nomadskog načina života, kroz povijest Romi su sustavno diskriminirani te marginalizirani diljem svijeta, a Argentina u tome nije bila iznimka. Ljudi često imaju predrasude prema onome što ne poznaju, a Romi i njihova kultura ostali su u Argentini prilično nepoznati. Te su predrasude najčešće bile dodatno poticane od strane političara i medija. Širenje tih predrasuda te njihovo nasilno provođenje vidimo u djelovanju Juana Dominga Peróna, koji bi se mogao smatrati najpopularnijim predsjednikom Argentine i utemeljiteljem 'peronizma' kao političke ideologije, tijekom svog prvog predsjedničkog mandata od 1946. do 1951. godine.

Kako je bio nacionalistički vođa, te su se nomadski način života i kulturne razlike Roma sukobili s njegovim viđenjem reprezentativnog argentinskog društva, odlučio je Rome na silu integrirati u dominantnu kulturu. Naredio je Romima da se usele u kuće i napuste svoje kampove. Također je zabranio Romima nošenje tradicionalne odjeće i prisilio ih da govore samo španjolski.

Prijelaz na drugačije stambene uvjete bilo je vrlo izazovan; mnogi Romi nisu imali dovoljno novca za kupnju kuće, a nisu mogli dokazati formalne i redovite prihode da bi kuću mogli unajmiti. Također, neki jednostavno nisu htjeli napustiti svoj nomadski način života. Spaljivanje kampova u Buenos Airesu, gdje su Romi živjeli u velikim broju, bio je vrlo kontroverzan događaj. To je dovelo do toga da su neki Romi odbili otići i kao rezultat toga stradaju. Ostali povijesni primjeri diskriminacije uključuju protjerivanje Roma iz bogatih četvrti grada Buenos Aires, kao na primjer iz četvrti Recoleta 1970-ih godina, s uz komentar da „grad izgleda bolje“.

Ovakva vrsta diskriminacije i marginalizacije Roma prisutna je i danas, a biva predvođena argentinskom političkom klasom. Nakon pucnjave na dvojicu političara u svibnju 2019. godine, ministrica sigurnosti Patricia Bullrich 'tweetala' je da je „Romski mafijaški klan povezan sa zločinom sada je u pritvoru“. Naime, ova pogrdna izjava bila je i potpuno neutemeljena. Ispostavilo se da niti jedan Rom protiv kojeg se vodila istraga u spomenutom slučaju nije bio prethodno optužen niti osuđen za kriminalno udruživanje. Osim što se čini krajnje neodgovornim da netko s takvim autoritetom i političkim utjecajem iznosi ovakve pretpostavke bez ikakvih dokaza, takvi postupci samo pomažu u stvaranju klime straha i manjka povjerenja prema već marginaliziranoj romskoj zajednici u Argentini.

Većina Argentinaca teško pronalazi osjećaj empatije za Rome zbog nedostatka znanja o njihovoj situaciji. Oko 95% argentinskih Roma nikada nije završilo osnovnu školu, stopa nepismenosti je vrlo visoka, a nekima nedostaju službeni dokumenti o statusu te nemaju ni osnovna znanje o svojim pravima. Nedostatak formalnog obrazovanja drži ih podalje od formalnog sustava rada, prisiljavajući ih da žive od vlastitih prihoda ostvarenih u neformalnoj ekonomiji. To često znači da ne mogu dobiti zajmove ili čak unajmiti stan, budući da nemaju načina da dokažu odakle im novac. Stvar se pogoršava nepostojanjem posebnog zakonodavstva za nacionalne manjine, pa ne postoje niti socijalni planovi niti sustavi naknadâ posebno za Rome.

Potrebne su značajne promjene kako bi se potaknulo socijalno uključivanje Roma. Romski književnik iz Argentine Jorge Emilio Nedich nam je u intervjuu, kojega u cijelosti možete pročitati ovdje govorio o važnosti poučavanja povijesti Roma u argentinskim školama. To bi mogao biti prvi važni korak kako bi neromski Argentinci postali svjesniji povijesti Roma i njihove trenutne situacije. Bez razvoja stvarnog osjećaja empatije i solidarnost stvarna provedba socijalne uključenosti će biti teško provediva.

There are roughly 300,000 Roma living in Argentina. Despite this considerably large community, they have always had difficulties to adapt, often because of negative media presence and lack of political will to integrate them. Although most people do not know much about Roma people, the stereotypes created about their identity is full with prejudices.

Roma People started to migrate to Argentina for the first time in small numbers with Spanish colonization, and in bigger groups around the year 1880. Most of them in this second migratory wave came from Serbia, Russia and Greece. This migration process lasted until the 1920’s with smaller groups coming from Spain (mostly from Andalucía region) and Romania. Currently it is estimated that around 300,000 Roma live in Argentina today, being the second biggest Roma community in Latin America (after Brazil).

Because of their particular culture, different way to dress and nomadic lifestyle, they have been historically discriminated and marginalized all around the world, and Argentina is not the exception to this. People tend to have prejudices towards the unknown, and Roma people and their culture have remained quite unknown in Argentina. These prejudices have always been encouraged by politicians and the media. These prejudices and their violent implementation was exemplified through the actions of Juan Domingo Peron, who could be considered Argentina’s most popular president and founder of “Peronism” as a political ideology, during his first presidency from 1946 to 1951.

He was a nationalistic leader and the Roma’s nomadic lifestyle and cultural differences clashed with his view of an archetypical Argentinian society, so he decided to force their integration to the dominant culture. He ordered the Roma people to move into houses and abandon their camping settlements. He also forbid them from wearing their traditional clothes and forced them to only speak Spanish.

Regulating housing conditions was very challenging. Many of them did not have enough money to buy a house, could not prove a formal and stable income to be able to rent. Some simply did not want to abandon their nomadic lifestyle.  The burning of campsites in Buenos Aires, with a high concentration of Roma people, was a controversial event. It led to some Roma people refusing to leave and dying as a result. Other historically examples of discrimination include the expulsion of Roma from rich neighbourhoods in the City of Buenos Aires such as Recoleta in the 1970s, with the excuse of “making the city look better”.

This kind of discrimination and marginalization towards Roma people still takes place nowadays, led by the Argentinian political class. Following the shooting of two politicians in May 2019, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich tweeted that “The Gypsy Mafia Clan linked to the crime is now detained.” This pejorative reference was completely unfounded. As it turned out, none of the Roma investigated in the case had previously been accused or sentenced for illicit association. It seems highly irresponsible for someone with such authority and political influence to make these kind of assumptions without any evidence. It helps to create a climate of fear and lack of trust towards an already marginalized society.

Most Argentinians struggle to feel empathy towards Roma people due to lack of knowledge of their situation. Around 95% of Argentinian Roma never finished primary school, illiteracy rates are high, some lack official citizen documents and basic knowledge about their rights. Lack of formal education keeps them out of the formal work system, forcing them to live by their own means in the informal economy. This often means not being able to access loans or even rent an apartment, as they have no way to prove where they get their money from. This is worsened by the inexistence of specific legislation regarding ethnical minorities, so there are no specific social plans or benefit schemes for Roma people.

Consdirable changes are needed in order to promote their social inclusion. In an interview with the Argentinian Roma writer, Jorge Emilio Nedich, spoke to us about the importance of teaching the history of Roma people in Argentinian schools. This could be an important first step to make non-Roma Argentinians more aware about Roma history and their current context. Without the development of a real sense of empathy, solidarity and real implementation of inclusion are likely to remain difficult.

Full interview with Nedich