Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves: The Portrayal of Romani People in ...

Difference pays
Media reporting on Romani people seems to follow a rule which is sometimes given to students of journalism:
A train which arrives on time is no news, but a train which derails is. If transposed on Romani people this
means that honest, law-abiding Roma is not a subject of reporting, whereas, a cheating law-breaking Roma is,
even if this actually corresponds to the general idea of Roma.
On 21 July 2005, KPC News, a newspaper from Northeast Indiana published an article called: “Gypsies
roaming area drew attention”. 9 The article opened with a short reference to the Indian origin of Romani people
and noticed: “[T]hey remain one of the most mysterious and little-known of peoples.” 10 As a case in point for
the “ignorance of these peoples and their history” the author displayed a collection of newspaper quotes of
several decades.
Many of these articles actually dealt with theft with the Roma appearing as the culprits. The journalist did not
make any comment on this, but concluded: “Although statistical evidence is scant, the number of sedentary
(settled) Gypsies seems to be growing. But the nomads among them continue to wander in their own unique
fashion.” 11
On 31 June 2005, the Berliner Morgenpost, a German regional paper, produced an article on a visit of two
journalists to a Romani campsite. 12 The article appeared under the “People” section and claimed to describe
the life of a Sinti family. The family was presented as both typically German and exotic. This impression was
conveyed by mentioning at the same time elements, which are considered as typical for a German pettybourgeois
life-style and hints at an alien culture:
The head of the family, a man of an unnamed age who chooses for himself the pseudonym Meyer in order to
avoid being recognised and, eventually, to experience discrimination, is a craftsman; the family travels only for
holidays as opposed to the French Roma who stay at the same campsite. These are presented as the
counterpart, traditional nomads. Geranium flowers decorate the front of the tent ahead of the caravan; the
caravan is equipped with an “opulent, cream-coloured three-piece suite”. 13
The journalists point out that the scene could be a normal part of German life if prejudices did not exist. They
even referred to the persecution of the Sinti and Roma under National-Socialism, but the genocide itself is
reduced to an euphemism: the journalists introduce Meyer’s mother, a Holocaust survivor, who was deported
to a concentration camp at the age of nine. They explain that “she had to leave” her parents at the camp. 14
Some of these prejudices are reproduced or served in the article itself: Despite the insistence on the neatness
at the spot, the Meyers’s stay, is referred to as “hausen”, a derogatory term which is frequently combined with
“as the Gypsies do”. The article also highlights the fact that the family encompasses several generations and
many children and that it is dominated by a man. One of the Sintessas is described as follows: “She has two
small sons, thick black curls and a mouth like Sophia Loren.” 15 On two occasions feelings of aggression are
mentioned. The authors also mention the presence of a German, non-Romani social worker who is
maintaining “the balance between here and the outside” and the environment under control. 16
The same stereotypical portrayal and romanticised description were also found in an otherwise quite good
Politik, November 2002
9 “Gypsies roaming area drew attention”, KPC news, 21 July 2005
10 ibid.
11 ibid.
12 “Ferien in Dreilinden”, in: Berliner Morgenpost, 31 June 2005
13 ibid.
14 ibid.
15 ibid.
16 ibid.