Rom or Romanian?

November 10, 2007 · Filed Under Italian news · 6 Comments 

As I wrote a few days back, Italy has taken measures to extradite European Union citizens who have been involved in criminal activities here. The Italian law enforcement spotlight has been shining heavily on those from Romania, and the police have been rounding up Romanians by the dozen in preparation for having them sent back to Romania.

I’ve noticed that the press here has been becoming a little confused, and it is evident that they are not really sure of the difference between Romanians and the ‘Rom’. Just to make matters more confusing, which indeed they are it has to be said, both Rom and Romanians come from Romania! Indeed, one may think that ‘Rom’ is a diminutive form of ‘Romanian’, but this is not the case.

Just in case someone was wondering, the ‘Rom’, who hail from Romania, are really a nomadic gypsy type population, whereas ‘Romanians’ are those from Romania, who, in the main, are not nomadic gypsies. In fact, the ‘real’ Romanians regard their ‘Rom’ counterparts as being something of an unwanted underclass, and Romanians do not really like to be associated with the ‘Rom’. I told you it was confusing.

It becomes worse. Both true, shall we say, Romanian illegal immigrants, and the Rom live in favella type encampments, found, as far as I believe, throughout Italy, but I’m not sure that both Rom and Romanians can be found living side by side in the same shanty towns. Whilst the Romanians are quite recent immigrants, many of the Rom have been in Italy for a long time.

Around Milan, the Rom, not the Romanians, are well organised and raise funds through busking, cleaning car windows, and begging. They, the Rom, are not averse to a little fund raising petty crime either, as anyone who has seen the groups of unkempt kids carrying newspapers and surrounding tourists in an attempt to remove wallets, cash and cameras, will know. I have seen these people in action, and while she was with our son, even my other half was approached, (nothing happened, Cristina is very streetwise) - but this incident illustrates that these little gangs don’t solely prey on tourists. Most travel guides contain warnings about these nasty little gangs. Well, these gangs are part of the Rom network.

‘True’, Romanians have become involved in petty, and more serious crime, but not as a result of falling in with the Rom, at least I do not believe so. In general Romanians come to Italy in search of a better life, whereas the Rom just come here to live and operate as they always have done, in other words, as gypsies. As you may appreciate, distinguishing between these two groups that have the same places of origin can be a little mind boggling at times. Hence the confusion in the some of the Italian press.

The enforcers of law and order on the other hand, are not attempting to differentiate between Rom and Romanians, and are doing their level best to use the recent government initiative to round up and send home both Rom and Romanians. Both are now personae non gratae as far as the Italian authorities are concerned.

With regard to Italians in general, I think it would be true to say that both Rom and Romanians will not be missed particularly. Although this whole thing must be making the lives of the honest established Romanians quite difficult.

We shall see how long this extradition initiative endures, but, as is often the case here, the enthusiasm, if you can call it that, of the authorities will probably wane in a few months time, and it is probable that both Rom and Romanians will creep back into Italy. Back to square one.

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Not a good time to be a Romanian in Italy

November 5, 2007 · Filed Under Italian news · Comment 

A few years back, those from Albania were regarded as undisirables by Italy. Now, and perhaps a little ironically, people from Romania have become targeted as being unwanted immigrants into Italy.

Recently, a Romanian man was charged with the brutal rape and robbery of an Italian woman down in Rome, sadly the woman concerned has now died, and so the alleged perpetrator has now found himself with an additional charge, that of murder. Whilst the young man involved appears to have admitted to the robbery, he has being denying that he actually raped the lady in question.

This incident has stirred up a hornets nest in Italy, with the government having passed emergency powers which include the deportation of Romanians and just about any other European who is considered to be dangerous. The fact that the poor lady in question was married to an officer in the Italian navy seems to have spurred the Italian politicos into surprisingly rapid action, rightly or wrongly.

I’m not too sure just how exactly the term ‘dangerous’ has been defined, but the police have been very swift to act and have been dismantling and rounding up the inhabitants of the odd shanty towns which can be found throughout Italy right left and centre. These shanty towns are often located on pieces of wasteland and the ‘houses’ are constructed from just about whatever debris can be found.

The inhabitants of these places, often young, often without papers, manage to find work on building sites and as causal labourers. However, life in these places must be quite dire, and extracurricular activities often include petty and not so petty crime, which are seen as easy ways to make some money and escape from a form of hell on earth, I imagine. Italian crime figures appear to indicate that Romanians are behind many offences in Italy, and this information seems to have fuelled the current fire.

One could, of course, ask just how the woman who recently lost her life managed to find herself in an unlit area close to one of these ‘favelas’. Until quite recently, Italy had been quite a safe place for women to be alone, but this tragic event, if nothing else, should convince Italian women to not go out unaccompanied a night, especially not near a shanty town occupied by potentially unsavoury inhabitants.

One can feel a little sorry for the inhabitants of such places and especially for those from Romania. Looking back at the history of the place, it was perhaps Ceauşescu’s murderous regime that could be blamed for having brutalised a proportion of the population of his country. His legacy continues and Romania is still a country with a strong underworld influence; at least that is what I have understood from one Romanian guy I know - who would not return to his country because he literally feared for his life.

Prior to the country’s joining the European Union, the best way to escape from the harshness and poverty of society there was to escape to another country. Before Romania became part of the EU, the only way to do this was to immigrate illegally, which is what many people did, especially, it seems, young men. Some of these Romanians looking for a better life ended up in Italy.

Many did not have any official documents, and some were on the run from the Romanian police. This left these people with little option but to enter the Italian shanty town micro-communities, and, often, one suspects, fall in with bad company. A few managed to find work, but not many have managed to legitimize their status in Italy, and having a criminal record back in their own country has not made matters much easier for a number of these people, who know that having a criminal background will not do give them much hope of becoming legitimate members of Italian society.

While there are organisations in Italy that can and do help illegal immigrants, they are not well known and not well funded, and even so, those with criminal records or accusations against them, are reluctant to become involved with any body that they perceive to represent authority. And so the downward spiral continues.

Now, as a result of Romania’s entry into the EU, it is possible to obtain documents and to immigrate legally, but the changes in Romanian law have come too late for many of the shanty town occupants. And to make matters worse, as a result of very recent events effectively all Romanians have now become labelled as criminals, which has led to attacks motivated by racism against them in Italy. It is not a good situation.

Kicking the unwanted out of Italy is one option, not a very imaginative one, and one that was bound to stir up a backlash against all Romanians here. The only trouble is that these people have to go somewhere, so moving them out of Italy is really only brushing the problem under the carpet, not really solving it.

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