Anti-Roma Racism in the British Press

The British newspaper the 'Daily Express' published an awful piece of 'journalism' on Tuesday 5 February which feeds off - and promotes - the age old racist stereotypes about Roma people. As part of their anti-immigration campaign it appears the Express will stoop as low as possible to misrepresent the facts. I guess inciting racial hatred was just an added bonus for them. You can read the article here: [url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/33884/Roma-gypsies-head-for-good-life-in-Britain-after-they-are-told-Get-a-job]Daily Express: The World's Greatest Newspaper :: News / Showbiz :: Roma gypsies head for good life in Britain after they are told: Get a job[/url] Please - if you find the article as offensive as I did - email a complaint to the Online Editor - Geoff Marsh geoff.marsh@express.co.uk You can also complain to the British Press Complaints Commission [url=http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/form.html]Press Complaints Commission >> Making a Complaint >> Complaints form[/url] under Article One of the Code which states 'the Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information' (see their site for the full text of the code). This is the complaint I have emailed to the Express: Dear Mr Marsh

I am writing to you regarding the article 'Roma gypsies head for good life in Britain after they are told: get a job' published on February 5th.

I am disgusted that your newspaper could stoop to such inaccurate, racist and deliberately misleading writing as part of your anti-immigration campaign. One only needs to look at some of the comments left after the article to see that you succeeded in inciting racial hatred against Roma people.

The biased and fear mongering language you use ('influx', 'plunder' etc) fosters racial hatred, and perpetuates false stereotypes about Roma people being 'workshy'. Indeed this seemed to be the purpose of the article right from the headline.

The actual situation in Bulgaria is that benefit payments will be stopped if the recipient fails to find work after 18 months. Racial discrimination against Roma people in Bulgaria makes it very, very difficult for them to find reliable employment. You write that Roma spokesperson Tsvetelin Kanchev stated that Britain was widely regarded as a 'soft touch' - but your quote says nothing of the sort ('everyone has heard how the UK is the best country in Europe for work and opportunity') and in fact implies people are looking to come here for work - not to 'plunder the generous welfare system' as you write! You misrepresent what was said to meet your own racist agenda.

Your headline screams that 'Roma gypsies head for good life in Britain after they are told: get a job.' No subtle implication there - a clear statement that Roma people do not wish to work, and to avoid doing so will come to Britain and live off welfare. Again - biased, inaccurate and racist reporting.

I live and work in eastern Europe and have seen first hand how steeped in hatred many are towards Roma people. As the adoptive parent of a Roma child I find it very, very difficult to hear some of the attitudes and distorted ideas that exist in this part of the world. It disturbs me greatly that your national newspaper sees fit to promote the same ideas in the UK.

The truth is that racist discrimination against Roma fequently makes it impossible for them to find any kind of job in Bulgaria (and most other central/eastern european countries) so withdrawal of benefit means they will - literally - starve. They will lose their homes, their children - everything. Roma are widely discriminated against across eastern and central Europe. They are despised by many 'whites' and there is a genuine and deep seated belief that all Roma are genetically predestined to become prostitutes, drug addicts and criminals. The fact that their position in society often makes this a self-fulfilling prophecy simply feeds the stereotype, as does the media in this part of the world which cannot let a day pass without finding some anti-Roma story to spread. Many Roma live in houses which are - quite literally - mud and wood panel shacks with no heating, running water or electricity. They are the last hired and first fired. Their unemployment rate is sky high - which feeds the stereotype of Roma being workshy - and life for many is beyond anything you would imagine existed in modern Europe today. In many places Roma children are automatically placed in 'special schools', classified as 'retarded' and denied proper education. Small wonder then that many leave school illiterate, under educated and unemployable. Discrimination reaches into all areas of society: for examople crime against Roma - such as murder, assault and rape - is generally ignored by the authorities especially if the suspect is white. They are a totally marginalised society across the whole region.

What a shame you didn't see fit to do an article on some of these facts instead! Instead you chose to promote the old, racist stereotypes: the same ones which the Nazis were able to use to justify the genocide of Roma people in this region in the Holocaust.

I would sincerly hope that in the future your newspaper finds that there is more mileage in reporting accurately and truthfully, rather than making scapegoats of an oppressed and discriminated against race of people. I have also raised this matter with the Press Complaints Commission under Article 1 of the Code 'The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information.' Yours -----