Gypsies and Travellers in England and Roma in Finland continue to face discrimination

Even assimilation into the majority lifestyle isn’t enough to protect against discrimination and racism, according to a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland. In England, Gypsies and Travellers are faced with state policies that are coercive and often institutionally racist. Roma in Finland, on the other hand, have been targeted with positive discrimination policies, but are nevertheless perceived as a deviant group.

Racism and discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers in England is highly visible and often serious. Politicians, the media and ordinary citizens can express racist views against these communities without serious consequences. This is thought to be justifiable because most Gypsies and Travellers do not wish to live like the majority population. Instead, they prefer to live with bigger family groups on caravan sites and work independently outside the ‘normal’ waged labour market.

Finnish Roma, on the other hand, live and wish to live the same way as most other Finns: in small nuclear families (parents and children), educating themselves, and working from “nine to five” in the majority labour market. In spite of this, they still face discrimination and are perceived as a deviant group in Finland.

Different state policies, different ideas about trust

Finnish Roma were targeted with positive discrimination policies in the 1970s as part of a project geared towards building a universal Nordic welfare state. These policies had a major role in integrating them into Finnish society and its majority’s lifestyle. These measures have increased Roma’s trust for the state, its institutions and the wider population. Their well-being is therefore not dependent on family and community.

In England, the situation is in many ways completely opposite. The state continues its coercive and often institutionally racist policies against Gypsies and Travellers, forcing them, often against their will, to move into bricks and mortar settled housing. This has led to a situation where Gypsies and Travellers wish to segregate from the rest of the society. They do not have any trust for the state, its institutions or the wider population. Therefore, English Gypsies’ and Irish Travellers’ well-being is still highly dependent on family, community and on the help of few charitable organisations specialising on helping these communities.

The doctoral dissertation, entitled Assimilated Individuals and Segregated Communities:
A Comparative Study of the Housing and Living Related Well-being of Finnish Roma and Housed Gypsies and Travellers in England, is available for download at http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978-952-61-1737-9/

For further information, please contact: Jenni Berlin

Mobile: +44 77 9484 6959, email: jberlin@uef.fi

Tags: