En text om kroppslig interaktion och didaktiska dilemman i ridskolemijlö.

Romer og romanifolk/tatere utsettes for omfattende rasisme både i Norge og Europa. På tross av dette blir fenomenet knapt omtalt i norsk offentlighet og relevante policydokumenter. Kan det skyldes at denne rasismen mangler et navn? I denne artikkelen diskuterer jeg to alternative betegnelser, «antisiganisme» og «anti-romsk rasisme» – hva de betegner, og hvilket begrep som best fungerer i en norsk kontekst.

To av de nasjonale minoritetene i Norge regnes inn under den internasjonale paraplybetegnelsen Roma: rom og romani1. De to minoritetene snakker beslektede språk og har en felles erfaring av forfølgelse. Utover dette er deres kultur og historie imidlertid så ulike at de formelt regnes som ulike minoriteter.

Siden det er ulovlig å registrere etnisk tilhørighet i Norge, er det ingen sikre tall på hvor mange som identifiserer seg som rom eller romani i Norge, men det antas at noen hundre personer identifiserer seg som norsk rom, mens noen tusen identifiserer seg som romani (Kommunal- og regionaldepartementet, 2000, s. 6).

Dette kapittelet omhandler rom og romanis skolesituasjon i Norge. Siden det er umulig å forstå dagens skolesituasjon uten å kjenne historien vil den første delen av kapitlet fokusere på rom og romanis historie. I del to behandles dagens skolesituasjon for romani og rom separat, samt en drøfting av de felles utfordringene for de to minoritetene knyttet til antisiganisme, manglende kunnskap hos majoritetsbefolkningen, manglende tilrettelegging for utvikling av morsmål, og det problematiske møtet med barnevernet.

Contemporary research and evaluations of existing policy initiatives in the field of Romani studies reveal that cultural racism against Roma remains widespread in the Nordics today. An emphasis on ‘cultural difference’ is so endemic that it can make officials and decision makers blind to alternative reasons for exclusion, such as class and structural antigypsyism. Despite some evidence to suggest modest success with the Swedish “bridge builder programme", research and evaluations are often highly critical, suggesting that it may in fact support exclusory practices. This echoes our research and hands-on experience with teaching Romani students and collaborating with Roman civil society in Sweden. Meanwhile, other crucial steps for building trust, such as a permanent Roma agency, go unrealised.

In 2021, the European Commission concluded that the old inclusion paradigm has failed and called on member states to adopt national strategies based on a new framework, which would ensure quality participation. As already mentioned, according to the Swedish government “No revision (…) is deemed necessary”. Considering evaluations, research outputs and critical Romani voices, we argue that there is a need to brush the dust off the report by the Delegation for Roma Issues 2006-2010, and reconsider the recommendations made there.

If Roma are to have real influence over decisions made about Roma, there is a need to move away from the present practice of reference groups. Therefore, we recommend:

Roma should be involved in all stages of decision-making processes, including the preparation phase, instead of only being informed when decisions are made. The Delegation for Roma Issues 2006-2010, the White Paper (2011-2014) as well as the Commission Against Antiziganism (2014-2016) employed a thorough dialectic working-group process involving Roma, which could be used for inspiration.

When reference persons are consulted, they should be selected on the basis of formal competence rather than based on a more-or-less permanent membership in reference-group, work or memberships in organisations. University-educated Roma must be heard and considered.

To consider establishing an Agency for Roma Issues following the model of the Finnish Roma Delegation

At the European level, the Swedish example has frequently been cited in discussions around truth and reconciliation processes (TRPs) concerning Roma and policies against antigypsyism. Based on desk research and interviews with key Romani and non-Romani actors, this report puts the Swedish Commission against Antiziganism (the Commission) into context and analyses its impacts and limitations. Its background was the major state inquiry, Roma Rights (SOU, 2010, No 55), which urged a combination of measures to achieve equality for the national minority of Roma:

• a truth commission on historical abuses against Roma in Sweden, aiming for proposals for historical justice such as collective material compensation, and immaterial redress such as the state declaring historical responsibility;
• comprehensive measures against all forms of antigypsyism;
• implementation of a 20-year strategy for Roma inclusion;
• establishment of a permanent secretariat for Roma issues, to give Roma actual monitoring power and influence over the inclusion policy.

Centered on the trajectory of the emancipation of Roma people in Scandinavia, Romani Liberation is a powerful challenge to the stereotype describing Romani as passive and incapable of responsibility and agency. The author also criticizes benevolent but paternalistic attitudes that center on Romani victimhood.

The first part of the book offers a comprehensive overview of the chronological phases of Romani emancipation in Sweden and other countries. Underscoring the significance of Roma activism in this process, Jan Selling profiles sixty Romani activists and protagonists, including numerous original photos. The narrative is followed by an analysis of the concepts of historical justice and of the process of decolonizing Romani Studies. Selling highlights the impact of the historical contexts that have enabled or impeded the success of the struggles against discrimination and for equal rights, emphasizing Romani activism as a precondition for liberation.

The particular Swedish framework is accentuated by a stimulating preface by the international activist Nicoleta Bitu, and afterwords by two prominent Romani advocates, the politician Soraya Post and the singer, author, and elder Hans Caldaras.

Selling argues that antigypsyism has not been understood as a real racism rooted in colonialism and has therefore been ignored by many anti-racists. Through retrospectives of racism against Roma in Swedish history, Selling shows that the struggle against antigypsyism has partly been characterized by the fact that Roma have rarely considered themselves a "revolutionary subject" and therefore had to seek alliances with power, which have proven to be unstable. Selling also shows how the state has secured itself with a system of reference groups, which rewards yes-persons, but excludes the growing number of young qualified Roma antigypsyism critics. At the same time, the struggle of Roma has won successes, and the author describes examples of important Roma representatives, from Rosa Taikon and Hans Caldaras to Soraya Post, and the various momentum that has come as a result of the fact that antigypsyism in Sweden has been increasingly exposed. The essay also analyzes how unpredictable mass media events can undermine or fuel latent and manifest antigypsyism. Today, the author argues, there are openings to rediscover the consequences of antigypsyism through new alliances.