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Discrimination and the Roma community, 2015
The article told the story about a wedding between two Roma held in O Carballino. Details of the wedding
included that it was held in a Roma village, the number of guests and the
“prueba del pañuelo”
(virginity test) (fo-
cus on ghoulish details). The journalist interviewed the bride’s grandfather who he referred to as the “patriarch”.
He used inverted commas throughout the article leading readers to believe that man did not know how many
children or grandchildren he had and that his granddaughter’s performance at school was of no concern to him.
The full names of the young spouses wed that day also appeared in the article. The report mentioned the recent
murder of a Roma woman in Lugo concerning which the alleged “patriarch” offered his opinion about “Gypsy law”
making a number of generalisations.
The overall tone of the article was discriminatory inasmuch as it focused on stereotypes and offered a cynical
description of the event. Moreover, the story itself was totally irrelevant.
5.
Galicia.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
Article published in La Voz de Galicia “Sea urchins replace barnacles as
the target for illegal shellfish harvesters”.
This article recounts the confiscation in the town of Mera (A Coruña), of several hundred kilos of sea urchins
collected by people without the requisite fishing license. The police managed to identify six people involved in
the incident. The article referred to “sources close to the operation” (in inverted commas) to indicate that the
people caught illegally harvesting shellfish were Roma.
We consider this a discriminatory article because it identifies an ethnic group when such identification fails to
add any information to the story. The author also inappropriately used the term “race”. The article referred to
these illegal fishermen as “dangerous elements” thus linking Roma with crime.
The FSG sent a letter of complaint to the newspaper editor expressing concern with the language and terms
used. We also pointed out that indicating the ethnicity of those involved in these events adds nothing to the
comprehension of the story but does reinforce stereotypes and prejudices towards the Roma community.
6.
Lugo.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
The local Lugo newspaper El Progreso published a story under the fol-
lowing headline:
“A house occupied for six months recovered by its owners in dire condition.”
The story goes
on to describe the squatters as Roma and also mentions the FSG as a collaborating organisation intervening in
situations in which Roma are involved.
The FSG wrote to the newspaper denying claims that it had been involved in this situation.
We have not yet received an answer from the paper.
7.
A Coruña.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
An article was published in the newspaper La Voz de Galicia under the
following headline: “A family occupies a flat in A Coruña in the presence of the owner.”
The article is about an event in which took place in A Coruña at the beginning of May. According to the journalist,
the situation had been reported to the National Police and Civil Guard but the reporter’s information did not come
from them. The journalist describes how a family entered a flat that was not theirs according to the testimony
of the owner of the house and neighbours.
In his description, the reporter clearly identified the ethnic group of those involved:
“members of a Gypsy
family with two young children... Jaime saw the truck and nearly all the residents of the shantytown piling
out... I was trembling with fear...”
He also stressed the alleged danger that this family posed by quoting a
statement made by a neighbour:
“My father lives here, in the flat next door. They know that I was the one
who called the owner. I’m afraid of what they might do to us.”
The article concluded with an observation
that again fails to provide any useful information but implied that a house occupied by a Roma family re-
flects negatively on the children attending a neighbouring school:
“The man also recalled that the school,
Santa Maria del Mar, is right next door.”