Giuseppe Beluschi-Fabeni

Parallel to the interest in Roma at the social and political level, Antizigan-ism has rapidly gained the interest of social sciences since 2000.A copious literature has contributed to decisive breakthroughs in defining the concept and identify-ing its roots in the history of Europe. However, the debate has mostly developed with “Antiziganism” in singular declension, with the frequent merging together ofcases originating in different contexts. After a speedy evolution, theorization shows signs of entering conceptualization redundancy. This thematic section wishes to move beyond the currently prevailing top-down reflection on Antiziganism. It offers the results of public anthropology and interdisciplinary research-actions, carried on in local contexts, in spaces of interaction between the Roma and the non-Roma, and by ethnographers intervening to promote a change. Ethnography of  “Antiziganisms”and of the practices which counteract them offer opportunities for revealingthe link between antiziganism and other forms of racism, the cognitive and emo-tional experience of the subjects at play in the specific field and the fuzziness of thedividing lines between their agency. It is finally a chance to experiment with the ap-plicability, adaptability and transferability of disciplinary knowledge.

Parallel to the interest in Roma at the social and political level, Antizigan-ism has rapidly gained the interest of social sciences since 2000. A copious literature has contributed to decisive breakthroughs in defining the concept and identifying its roots in the history of Europe. However, the debate has mostly developed with " Antiziganism " in singular declension, with the frequent merging together of cases originating in different contexts. After a speedy evolution, theorization shows signs of entering conceptualization redundancy. This thematic section wishes to move beyond the currently prevailing top-down reflection on Antiziganism. It offers the results of public anthropology and interdisciplinary research-actions, carried on in local contexts, in spaces of interaction between the Roma and the non-Roma, and by ethnographers intervening to promote a change. Ethnography of " Antiziga-nisms " and of the practices which counteract them offer opportunities for revealing the link between antiziganism and other forms of racism, the cognitive and emotional experience of the subjects at play in the specific field and the fuzziness of the dividing lines between their agency. It is finally a chance to experiment with the applicability , adaptability and transferability of disciplinary knowledge.

The paper applies the notion of segmented assimilation to an inter-generational divide within a community of Roma migrants from Romania who settled in Manchester, UK. Drawing on long-term observations, we show how a successful trajectory of upward social mobility comes to a stall as the interplay between Roma-specific demographics (large families and traditional kin networks) and racialized policies sets a 'mobility trap', creating a 'lost generation' of young people who are unable to progress beyond the status of low-wage, vulnerable employee.

Este artículo se centra en las pautas de acceso a la vivienda de familias rumanas romaníes en la ciudad de Granada entre 2001 y 2011, analizando la interacción entre estrategias y necesidades propias de las mismas y las modalidades de gestión de los recursos por parte de las autoridades públicas que, al menos idealmente, quieren garantizar el derecho a la vivienda. La conclusión principal es que los dispositivos de intervención adquieren mayor efectividad cuando actúan a partir de un conocimiento real de las características socioculturales de las personas atendidas y también cuando consideran sus pautas residenciales como expresiones de necesidades sociales.

This article focuses on the patterns of access to housing among Romanian Roma in the city of Granada between 2001 and 2011. It analyses how these patterns result from the interaction between the strategies and the needs of each family network, and the ways in which public authorities manage those benefits that, at least ideally, aim to ensure the right to housing. The main conclusion is that welfare and housing- related projects are more effective when they move from a deep knowledge of the socio-cultural characteristics of their beneficiaries, as well as when they consider their housing patterns as expressions of social needs.

Project JUST/2011/FRAC/AG/2716 - "WE: WOR(L)DS WHICH EXCLUDE.

The focus of the report is on the institutions and the main action is to analyse the documents produced by national and local public institutions (laws, regulations, plans, acts, resolutions) concerning Gitanos, both as regards the language used and the measures proposed, housing policies in particular. On the issue of housing the policies of social inclusion play a certain role. Stereotypes can be used for trade or in situations of conflict in which questions of identity are played out. The analysis of language and institutional measures include the study of the reasons and sources of the language utilized, of the measures proposed and of the actions and it could clearly show what the stereotypes in action are, and how they produce effects on reality and on the everyday life of Gitano people.

Spain had become the model for the European Commission and other EU countries for integrating ‘Roma’. Different Autonomous Communities in Spain have been implementing comprehensive ‘Gitano plans’ for several years, assigning generous funds and opting for an interdepartmental approach to the planning and implementation of focused actions. In many aspects they anticipated the features of the recently approved European Strategy on Roma Inclusion – such as the support to targeted initiatives, the emphasis on participation, and the comprehensive approach. However, the real impact of these policies in the target population has remained very limited. The lack of result-based mechanisms of evaluation and monitoring, questions not only the efficiency of the invested funds but also the model itself.

During the last decade, Spain progressively became the main country of destination for
Romanian Roma migrations. Although in Spain the ‘Roma issue’ never reached the shape of a‘national problem’, local stakeholders and policy makers started to develop policy initiatives aimed to give a response to the freedom of movement of mostly socio-economically marginalized Roma immigrants. Based on the official recognition of the ‘Roma people’ as a pan-European quasi-national group, Roma from other EU Member States have been progressively included as a target group of the broader pre-existing Gitano policies. According to the motto “France deports Roma, Spain integrates them”, and disregarding for the difference of status characterizing ‘old’ and ‘new’ Roma, Spain has been praised for the outstanding and exemplary treatment of the ‘Roma population’. The incorporation of the Roma from other EU member states as a target group of the Gitano policies could either confirm a supposed talent of Spanish governments in the policy management of issues related to ‘ethnic stratification’, or reveal that the solution of social inequalities has to be assumed by broader redistributive policy measures.

In the past two years several evaluation reports have been published by relevant civil society stakeholders together with social scientists from a critical point of view, that apparently could not find their way into the political decision making processes. Despite the production of empirical evidences, real discussion between research/evaluators and policy-maker – not to mention the main technical staff responsible for the execution of these policies – is still missing. In order to bridge this missing gap, we organize the workshop for scholars, policy makers and NGOs.

The symposium will be divided into two interrelated panels: 

(1) The rule of law and the role of law. The practical and conceptual challenges of the policies for Roma raised by the phenomenon of Roma westward migration: between political local context and legal European dimension.

(2) Roma westward migration 'from the inside'. Addressing the ethno-anthropological research gap through the theories of migration. 

The first one aims at promoting a critical reflection and debate around the political and legal context of Romani migration within the EU, both in terms of inclusive and restrictive policies. The second panel aims at bringing together papers stemming from anthropological studies centered in the internal dynamics of Roma migrant communities, also in comparison with non-Roma groups.

This report represents the first product of the REdHNET project // Romani People, Educational and Housing Policies: Key Links to Share.

It provides a bibliographic review (to be gradually improved through the duration of the project) of the theoretical and policy framework surrounding the issues tackled by the REdHNET project. The report approaches in a very schematic and simplified way, discourses, findings, and policies, which are relevant for the design of housing and educational interventions aimed to Roma migrants. For this reason, it may represent an useful reference tool for policy makers and for people working in the field of education and housing.  The report is also an essential toolkit for the design of the next REdHNET research tools, as well for the joint reflection and debates to be held during the next transnational meetings.

A first section is introductory to the topics tackled by the REdHNET project. The description of Roma migration in Europe (chapter 1) is followed by a review of the educational and housing situations of Roma migrants from Romania and Bulgaria in both countries of origin and destination (chapter 2). Then, the backbone of the project is approached trough a bibliographic review of the existent literature focusing on the link between education, housing conditions and mobility (chapter 3). Finally, the report offers some insights into the researches approaching the mutual relations between school systems and Roma or immigrant students (chapter 4).

The second part of this report is rooted on the objective of the REdHNET project to define the criteria or elements characterizing the most successful policies and practices of coordination in the field of housing and education. In the first place, the concept of  ‘good practice’ – with which we will deal during the whole duration of the project – will be critically presented (chapter 5). Then, the ‘should-be’ best policies and best practices criteria in the three domains addressed by the project (romani policies, education, and housing) will be presented according to the definition given by international and European policy-makers, and human rights monitoring mechanisms (chapters 6 to 8).