Skip to footer

Roma 101: Five questions answered about Europe's vilified minority

Recent cases of alleged child abduction in Greece and Ireland have brought new attention to stereotypes about the Roma, as well as their ability to integrate into society.

What is their legal status in Europe?

It varies across the Continent and depends on their country of origin. In general, as European citizens, the Roma have the right to enter any country in Europe with a passport or valid identity card, but in some countries they must obtain work or study visas or else leave after 90 days. In practice, they often do not, putting them at the center of political controversy.

France's government has been under fire from human rights groups for clearing Roma camps. France's Interior minister said most Roma are incapable of integrating into society. His controversial words are supported by public opinion, especially as Romania and Bulgaria are set to become members of the passport-free Schengen group next year (work-visa requirements for these two countries are also to be lifted under EU membership rules in January in France). On the other hand, in October, protests by youths erupted throughout France after a Roma high-schooler was detained while on a class trip and deported with her family to Kosovo.

3 of 5
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.