Roma in Hungary

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roma ( Hungarian : magyarországi romák or magyarországi cigányok ) form the largest ethnic minority in Hungary . According to the 2001 census, 205,720 Roma live in Hungary; that is around two percent of the total population.

population

Proportion of Roma in the municipalities of Hungary (according to 2001 census)
Proportion of Roma in the counties of Hungary (according to 2001 census)

The percentage of Roma in the Hungarian population is controversial. While in the 2001 census around 2% described themselves as Roma or “ Gypsies ”, in a 2006 report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , the Hungarian government assumed there were 450,000 to 600,000 people. Other estimates even assume up to a million Roma. The European Roma Rights Center justifies the different numbers with the fact that many Roma do not want to officially identify themselves as such because of stigmatization and shame.

In contrast to the declining total population of Hungary, the number of Roma is increasing. According to demographic estimates by the government, the proportion of Roma is expected to have doubled by 2050.

Most Roma live in the north-eastern counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (45,525 according to the 2001 census) and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (25,612). There are historical and cultural connections between Roma groups across borders, especially in southern Slovakia and Burgenland (cf. Burgenlandroma ) in eastern Austria.

language

Most of the Roma in Hungary are linguistically assimilated and speak Hungarian as their mother tongue. In the 2001 census, only around 26% (52,075) of the 205,720 people who identified themselves as Roma gave Romani as a colloquial language.

Around 70% of the Romani speakers in Hungary are long -established Romungrók , who have lived in today's Hungary since the 15th century, and speak one of the two traditional dialects with many Hungarian elements, Romungro-Romani or Vend-Romani . The close historical and cultural connections to Roma groups, especially in southern Slovakia and Burgenland in eastern Austria (cf. Burgenlandroma ) are also reflected in the linguistic proximity of the respective Romani dialects.

The Oláh Roma , who came to Hungary in the 19th and 20th centuries from areas on the Moldau in today's Czech Republic , make up around 20 to 22% of the Roma in Hungary and speak the Lovari dialect. Roma migrated as miners ( Beás ) towards the end of the 19th century from Romania , who today speak an archaic Romanian . They make up 8 to 10% of the Hungarian Roma.

history

The first Roma immigrated from Transylvania to what is now Hungary in the 15th century during the rule of Sigismund of Luxembourg from 1387 to 1437 . In addition to craftsmanship in metal and wood production and in the repair of weapons during the Turkish wars , the Roma were valued primarily for their music: At his wedding with Beatrix of Aragón , King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) employed "gypsy musicians". Especially in comparison to other regions of Europe, the Roma in Hungary were considered socially well-regarded for centuries.

By the 19th century at the latest, the Roma were discriminated against, persecuted and forcibly resettled. During the German occupation of Hungary in World War II , up to 30,000 Roma were deported to National Socialist concentration camps between July 1944 and March 1945 , of which only 4,000 returned.

In socialist post-war Hungary, the vast majority of the Roma were integrated into the labor market as part of economic development. In the early 1980s, 85% of Roma men and around 45% of women worked. The decline of the socialist economy in the 1980s until democratization from 1989 onwards affected the Roma more than the general population due to their lower level of education and qualifications. While only 29% of men and 15% of women were employed at the lowest point of the economic crisis in the 1990s, the figure was 64% of men and 66% of women in the general population.

In 1993 the Roma were recognized as an ethnic minority.

Current situation

Unemployment among the Roma is far higher than the Hungarian average. The lower standard of education, residences in often economically weaker areas and discrimination on the labor market are seen as reasons for this.

education

The educational standard among Roma is still much lower than that of the rest of the population. The children from 25% of Hungary's Roma families fail to complete compulsory education. The schools attended are often socially segregated. Due to poor performance, many children are enrolled in special schools, and many are mistakenly classified as mentally disabled.

In 1992, the Gandhi-Gymnasium was founded in Pécs , the only gymnasium in Europe specifically for Roma.

Discrimination and violence

Discrimination against Roma ( antigypsyism ) is widespread. Melani Barlai writes: "The prejudices of the majority society result from the low level of education, from high crime and birth rates, from alcohol problems, from often catastrophic health and hygienic conditions, from partial unwillingness to work and from a life on the fringes of society as a result of social exclusion."

“Gypsy crime ” ( cigánybűnözés ) increasingly became an important catchphrase in political discourse during the 2000s. Roma represent an enemy of the right-wing populist party Jobbik , which was founded in 2003. The paramilitary movement Magyar Gárda (Hungarian Guard), which emerged from the party, organized marches against the minority in communities with a high proportion of Roma from its establishment in summer 2007.

In a series of acts of violence against Roma in 2008 and 2009, right-wing extremists murdered six people and put a total of 55 people at risk. The perpetrators were only caught after numerous investigations by the authorities. Three main perpetrators were sentenced to life imprisonment in Budapest in August 2013 after a trial lasting more than two and a half years. Critics complained that the political motivation of the defendants and the shared responsibility of the authorities had been excluded by the mishaps. The feature film Csak a szél by the Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf , which received an award at the Berlinale 2012 , deals with these acts of violence. It shows the last day of a Roma family before they were murdered by right-wing extremists.

The situation in Hungary was the subject of a statement by European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding in 2011 after anti-Roma actions by right-wing extremist groups .

politics

The integration and improvement of the living conditions of the Roma is often named as an important goal by Hungarian politics. For the Hungarian EU presidency in 2011 was Roma policy of the European Union a major theme. They work with the Roma self-government organization that has existed for around 20 years; Starting with the 2013/2014 school year, the schools should introduce all children to Roma culture.

Two of the 22 Hungarian MEPs in the 7th European Parliament are Roma.

Well-known Hungarian Roma

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Population by languages ​​spoken with family members or friends, affinity with nationalities' cultural values ​​and sex . Hungarian Central Statistical Office website. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ a b c d Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: 3rd periodic reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant: addendum: Hungary , Paragraph 78, p. 16. UNHCR website (English ). Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Claude Cahn: The Unseen Powers: Perception, Stigma and Roma Rights , November 20, 2007. Website of the European Roma Rights Center. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ Nemzetiség . Hungarian Central Statistical Office website (Hungarian). Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ Population by language spoken with family members or friends by main demographic, occupational characteristics and sex . Hungarian Central Statistical Office website. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Melani Barlai: The Roma in Hungary . In: From Politics and Contemporary History , No. 29, July 13, 2009. Ed. By the Federal Agency for Civic Education .
  7. ↑ a b c d e Euromosaic study. Romani in Hungary . European Commission website . Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ Wolf in der Maur: The Gypsies. Wanderer between the worlds . Molden 1969, p. 225.
  9. ↑ Zoltán Tábori: The seeds of wrath ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eurozine.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Eurozine, December 15, 2009.
  10. ^ Paul Hockenos: Special schools for Roma children , taz , January 12, 2011.
  11. ^ Segregated Schooling Updates in Hungary , June 19, 2007. Website of the European Roma Rights Center. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  12. ^ Arno Niederle: The situation of the Roma in Hungary - with special consideration of the education policy . Diploma thesis at the University of Vienna . Vienna 2009, p. 86.
  13. ↑ Murder according to plan ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pesterlloyd.net archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Pester Lloyd , August 10, 2010.
  14. ↑ Keno Verseck : Judgment after Roma murders in Hungary: “They destroyed our lives” at Spiegel Online , August 6, 2013 (accessed on August 6, 2013).
  15. ↑ EU Commission condemns treatment of Roma in Hungary  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Agence France-Presse , April 12, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.123recht.net  
  16. ↑ Can an EU Roma strategy even be successful? Pester Lloyd , April 1, 2011
  17. ↑ "It's about Hungary's future." Interview with the minister responsible, Zoltag Balog, nzz.ch, June 6, 2013, accessed on June 6, 2013