Romaphobia by Aidan McGarry

Author:Aidan McGarry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 2017-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

IN THE GHETTOS

In order to better understand the interplay between territoriality, belonging, identity and Romaphobia, I conducted field research in two large Roma settlements, or ghettos: Šuto Orizari (Macedonia) and Lunik IX (Slovakia). ‘Ghetto’ is a term loaded with negative associations; it typically is understood as an area of ethnic homogeneity, spatial confinement and shared cultural identity, with residents of ghettos often retreating into the private sphere as opposed to investing in the community (Wacquant 2008; Powell 2013). The term ‘settlement’ is also problematic as it implies choice on the part of those doing the settling when the reality is that those residing in Roma ghettos or settlements lack the capacity to determine where they live. The purpose of the research was to explore the function of territory in the process of exclusion and the role that Romaphobia plays in the creation of socio-spatial arrangements for Roma. It was motivated by the conviction that where things happen is important in understanding how and why things happen (Warf and Arias 2009). This is not an ethnographic study comparing two Roma settlements and the lives of Roma who inhabit such spaces. I am more interested in how Romaphobia is manifest in state and societal practices, including segregation, and what the persistence of spatial exclusion of Roma reveals about understandings of belonging and identity. The state, acting through local authorities and agencies, elevates some spaces as it marginalizes others: Roma are removed from spaces where they do not belong, which is then populated by exalted subjects, and placed on the margins of society in out-of-sight, hard-to-reach spaces where they are considered to belong.

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