Fokus ROMI.HR

Romi su često u fokusu negativnih medijskih narativa. Bez obzira da li vijesti imaju značaj za Rome, romska strana priče zapravo rijetko pronalazi mjesto u medijskim izvještajima. To su neka od zapažanja koje Kristina Hristova, suosnivačica Udruženja europskih novinara (Bugarska) i Marina Chichi iz Udruge Carta di Roma iznose u svom izvješću o istraživanju provedenom prije nekoliko godina. Nažalost, zaključci do kojih su one došle i danas su prisutni.

Nema sumnje kako je uloga medija u procesu uključivanja Roma veoma značajna. No, umjesto da detaljno izvještavaju o politikama i upravljanju, novinari često ponavljanju mitove i reproduciraju stereotipe o Romima. "Nećemo se pozivati na rasu, boju kože, vjeru, nacionalnu pripadnost, seksualnu orijentaciju, mentalno ili tjelesno stanje, osim ako to nije važno za razumijevanje priče", navodi se u bugarskom etičkom kodeksu medija. Ipak, vrlo malo medija se pridržava ovog standard. Štoviše, mediji često naglašavaju nacionalnu pripadnost Romi koji su dio negativnih priča.

Hristova i Chichi u svojoj studiji navode nekoliko mitova koji se ponavljaju i koji „kontaminiraju“ medijsku zastupljenost Roma te negativno doprinose raspravama o socijalnoj integraciji.

“Romi su kriminalci i njihovi zločini prolaze nekažnjeno”

U članku pod naslovom „Zločin Roma i rasistička demagogija“, poznati pravnik iz područja  ljudskih prava, Krasimir Kanev, piše:

“Kaznena represija [...] usredotočena je na zločine koje su počinili Romi. Razlozi su višestruki: takva kaznena djela se lakše otkrivaju, uz korištenje jeftinijih tehničkih sredstava; Romi su više uskraćeni za pravnu pomoć u svim fazama kaznenog postupka; nad njima se mogu primjenjivati ilegalna sredstva prisile […] tokom istrage; malo Roma ima odgovarajuće veze i novac kako bi osigurali raniji izlazak iz sustava. Općenito, razmislite zašto šefovi organiziranog kriminala u našoj zemlji, od kojih većina nije romske nacionalnosti, rijetko završavaju iza rešetaka i primijenite ovo razmišljanje s obrnutim predznakom na izvršitelje kaznenih djela romske nacionalne pripadnosti i razumijećete zašto je njihov put od pritvora do zatvora kraći. "

"Romi potkopavaju demokraciju prodajući svoje glasove na izborima"

U jednom intervjuu, Stojčo Stojčev, stručnjak za izborne prijevare, na pitanje da li su Romi jedini koji prodaju svoje glasove, odgovorio je direktno:

“Ne, i ne govori se baš o prodaji. […] Ponekad je [glasanje] prisilno, drugi put je dobrovoljno ili nešto drugo). U većini malih naselja, ne samo sela već i malih regionalnih centara s visokom stopom nezaposlenosti, ljudi imaju niska primanja i ovisni su o lokalnim poslodavcima. Odnos između radnika i poslodavca u privatnom sektoru i radnika i direktora u javnom sektoru ima podređenu prirodu i dovodi do sličnih ovisnosti kao u romskim getima. Gotovo svuda poslodavci prisiljavaju ili potiču svoje radnike da glasaju za određenu stranku."

"Etnički Bugari suočavaju se s asimilacijom od strane Roma zbog visoke stope nataliteta"

Ovaj je mit posebno uznemirujući, jer polazi od pretpostavke o određenoj prevlasti etničkih Bugara i hijerarhiji zasnovanoj na nacionalnoj pripadnosti u zemlji. Mogu se voditi beskrajno duge rasprave o statistikama, natalitetu, smrtnosti djece itd., a sve u cilju odbrane ove ili one teze u vezi s nacionalnim sastavom bugarskog društva. Ipak, članak 6. Ustava Republike Bugarske kaže:

 (1) Sve su osobe rođene slobodne i jednake u dostojanstvu i pravima.

(2) Svi građani su jednaki pred zakonom. Neće biti privilegija ili ograničenja prava po osnovu rase, nacionalnog ili socijalnog podrijetla, etničkog samoidentiteta, spola, vjere, obrazovanja, mišljenja, političke pripadnosti, osobnog ili socijalnog statusa ili imovinskog stanja.

Stoga bi se razgovor trebao voditi o životnom standardu, jednakim mogućnostima, obrazovanju, kulturi, zdravstvu i mnogim drugim važnim stvarima, ali ne o tome koje nacionalnosti imaju pravo napredovati, a koje ne.

"Romi su lijeni, ne žele raditi već žive od socijalne pomoći"

Prema više studija na ovu temu, zapošljavanje Roma usko je povezano s njihovim obrazovanjem. Prema podacima do 2012. godine, većina Roma koji imaju fakultetsku diploma ima posao. Suprotno tome, oko 50% Roma koji su završili srednju školu imaju posao, 35% Roma s osnovnim obrazovanjem radi, a samo 5% Roma koji uopće nisu obrazovani je zaposleno. Dokazano je kako je siromaštvo najveća prepreka obrazovanju, a u Bugarskoj oko polovice Roma živi u materijalnoj oskudici.

Međutim, nije samo obrazovanje ono što sputava Rome. Značajan udio Roma koji traže posao u Bugarskoj tvrdi kako ih poslodavci odbijaju zaposliti zbog njihove nacionalne pripadnosti.

Što se tiče mita da Romi imaju nesrazmjernu korist od socijalne skrbi, ekonom Daniela Penkova u jednoj od svojih studija tvrdi kako Romi doprinose državnim poreskim proračunima mnogo više od cjelokupnog iznosa troškova socijalne pomoći u Bugarskoj. Istodobno, zbog regresivnog poreznog sustava u zemlji, najbogatiji ljudi u Bugarskoj plaćaju proporcionalno mnogo manje od ostalih.

“Romi ne plaćaju režije”

Ovaj mit je među najviše reproduciranim ne samo u medijima već i od strane krajnje desno orijentiranih političara i društvenih komentatora. Budući kako je, prema Eurostatu, svakom trećem građaninu Bugarske teško platiti račune na vrijeme, lako je provoditi politiku poznatu pod parolom 'zavadi pa vladaj' govoreći nacionalnoj većini kako "Romi besplatno dobivaju režije dok se vi, normalni ljudi, mučite svakog mjeseca" .

Prema podacima dobavljača električne energije EVN koji su predstavili na konferenciji Činjenice protiv mitova - socijalne udaljenosti u bugarskom društvu, gotovo 95% računa za struju u Stolipinovu, možda najvećem romskom naselju u Europi, uredno se plaća.

"Problemi su svojstveni identitetu Rome i zato je njihova integracija nemoguća"

Ovdje leži osnov svih ovih mitova. Suština je kako Rome odlikuju posebne karakteristike zbog kojih su neosjetljivi na „civilizirani život“. Nepotrebno je reći kako to nije ništa manje no rasističko, ksenofobno i fašističko razumijevanja nacionalne pripadnosti i politike. Ipak, ovakvo shvatanje, na ovaj ili onaj način, dominira medijskim i političkim diskursom u Bugarskoj.

U svojoj knjizi o takozvanim "politikama integracije Roma", sociolog Maja Grekova tvrdi kako u Bugarskoj ne postoji politička volja za istinskim uključivanjem Roma. To je vidljivo iz jezika vladinih programa i dokumenata koji se objavljuju isključivo na bugarskom jeziku. „Integracija Roma u Bugarskoj“ podrazumijeva postojanje jedne dobro funkcionirajuće i integrirane „Bugarske“, dok „neintegrirani Romi“ ostaju po strani. Grekova tvrdi kako se bugarsko društvo u cjelini raspalo. A jedini način da se to promijeni je provođenje sveobuhvatne politike koja probleme u Bugarskoj doista rješava kao zajedničke izazove.

“Four Roma detained for beating spouses holding babies in their arms”, “Roma stole products for socially disadvantaged people in a village near Vratsa”, “Drunk Roma attacked police officers with stones and sticks in Plovdiv” – these are among the first titles one reads when searching for news related to Roma in Bulgarian media. The perception of Roma in society, as well as the latter’s access to educational and economic opportunities, are to a great extent influenced by the images media create.

Roma are often the focus of negative media narratives. Regardless of the significant interest news outlets have in Roma as a group, the Romani perspective actually rarely finds a place in media reporting. These are among the observations Kristina Hristova - a co-founder of the Association of European Journalists (Bulgaria) - and Marina Chichi from the Association Carta di Roma make in their research conducted several years ago. Their conclusions remain painfully valid even today. 

The role of media in the process of Roma inclusion is doubtlessly significant. However, instead of in-depth reporting on policies and governance, journalists often engage in perpetuating myths and reproducing stereotypes. “We shall not refer to a person’s race, color, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, mental or physical condition unless it is of importance to the meaning of the story”, the Bulgarian Media Code of Ethics states. Yet, very few outlets adhere to this standard and what is more – they often emphasize on ethnic belonging when it comes to Roma involved in negative stories.

Hristova and Chichi summarize in their study several recurring myths which “contaminate” the media representation of Roma and bring a negative contribution to the discussions on social integration.

“The Romani are criminals and their crimes go unpunished”

In an article entitled “Roma crime” and the racist demagoguery, Krassimir Kanev, а renowned human rights lawyer, writes:

“Penal repression […] focuses on crimes committed by Roma. For a number of reasons: these crimes are easier to detect and with less use of expensive technical means; Roma are more deprived of legal aid at all stages of the criminal process; illegal means of coercion may be exercised over them […] during an investigation; few of them have adequate connections and money to secure an early exit from the system. In general – think why the bosses of organized crime in our country (the vast majority of whom are not Roma) rarely fall behind bars and apply this thinking with a reverse sign to Roma criminals [and you will] find out why their path from detention to prison is shorter.”

“Roma undermine democracy by selling their votes in elections”

When asked in an interview if Roma are “the only ones who sell their votes”, Stoycho Stoychev, an electoral fraud expert, answers straightforwardly:

“No, and it's not exactly selling we are talking about. […] Sometimes [the voting] it is forced, at other times it is voluntary, or it is mixed. In most of the small settlements - not only villages but also small regional centers with a high unemployment rate - people have low income and are dependent on local employers. The relationship between the worker and the employer in the private sector and the worker and the director in the public sector has subordinate nature and gives rise to similar dependencies as we have in the Roma ghettos. Almost everywhere, employers force or encourage their workers to vote for a particular party.”

“Ethnic Bulgarians face assimilation by Roma due to the latter’s high birth rate”

This myth is particularly disturbing. It presupposes a certain type of ethnic Bulgarian supremacy and an ethnicity-based hierarchy in the country. One can endlessly debate about statistics, birth rates, child mortality, etc. in order to defend this or that thesis regarding the ethnic composition of Bulgaria’s society. Yet, article 6 of the Bulgarian constitution states:

 (1) All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

(2) All citizens shall be equal before the law. There shall be no privileges or restriction of rights on the grounds of race, national or social origin, ethnic self-identity, sex, religion, education, opinion, political affiliation, personal or social status or property status.

Therefore, the conversation should be about life standard, equal opportunities, education, culture, healthcare among many other important things, but not about which ethnicities have the right to grow and which not.

“Roma are lazy, they do not want to work and instead live off welfare”

According to multiple studies on this topic, the employment of Roma is tightly linked with their education. Data suggests that by 2012 most of Roma who have a university degree are employed. By contrast, about 50% of the ones who graduated from high school have jobs, 35% of the Roma with primary education are engaged in labor activities, and only 5% of the ones with no education are employed. Poverty is proven to be the biggest obstacle for education and in Bulgaria about half of Roma live in severe material deprivation.

However, it is not only education that hinders employment for Roma. A significant share of the Roma job-seekers in Bulgaria maintains that they’ve been refused work because of their ethnic background.            

As for the myth that Roma benefit disproportionally from welfare, the economist Daniela Penkova demonstrates in one of her studies that Roma contribute to the state budget in taxes much more than the whole amount of welfare spending in Bulgaria. At the same time, due to the regressive tax system in the country, the richest people in Bulgaria pay proportionately much less than the rest.

“Roma do not pay their utilities”

This myth is among the most reproduced not only by media but also by far-right politicians and social commentators. Since, according to Eurostat, every third Bulgarian citizen finds it difficult to pay their bills in time, it is easy to divide and rule by telling the ethnic majority that basically “Roma get their utilities for free while you, normal people, struggle every month”.

According to data presented at the conference Facts vs. myths – the social distances in Bulgarian society by the electricity provider EVN, almost 95% of the electricity bill in Stolipinovo – perhaps the biggest Roma settlement in Europe – are paid duly.  

“The problems are inherent to Roma’s identity and that is why their integration is impossible”

Here lies the basis for all these myths. The point is, essentially, that Roma - as a group - have particular characteristics which make them insusceptible to “civilized life”. Needless to say, that is nothing less than a racist, xenophobic and fascist understanding of ethnicity and politics. Yet, this understanding, in one way or another, dominates the media and political discourse in Bulgaria.

In her book on the so-called “Roma integration policies”, the sociologist Maya Grekova argues that there is no political will in Bulgaria for genuine Roma inclusion. This is visible also from the very language of the governmental programs and documents use. The common “Integration of Roma in Bulgaria” trope implies that there is one well-functioning and integrated “Bulgaria” and aside there are the “unintegrated Roma”. Grekova asserts that it is the Bulgarian society as a whole that is disintegrated. And the only way to overcome this is through comprehensive policies which indeed address the problems in Bulgaria as common challenges.