France is most notably acknowledged all around the world for being “the country of human rights” as the creator of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France has always been deliberated as a model and often has something to say when a country violates someone else’s fundamental rights.
However, the French government’s sense of equality and human rights has drastically changed under the rule of Nicolas Sarkozy. In early August of this year, 51 camps set up by Roma of eastern European origin (Bulgaria and Romania) were dismantled and the French government has further proclaimed the deportation of over 700 Roma people from the country.
The UN Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recently pointed out France’s lack of political willingness to face up to a fresh upsurge of racist behaviour. The government’s reaction has been to state that “it is easy to teach a lesson but France does not have to receive any advice from other countries”…. Is this in bad faith?
These deportations have created a maelstrom of debate in France, and have now exploded into an issue of European concern. Last week Justice Commissioner Viviane Redding declared that the European Commission will now have ‘no choice’ but to bring about infringement proceedings against France for discrimination against Roma on the basis of their ethnic origin.
One of the arguments being used by the French government as a means of justifying the recent deportations of Romanies from France is the sanitary conditions in which the Roma community lives. The French government pointed out that it was inhuman not to act when these people were living in squatter communities, young women were being reportedly pushed into prostitution, children were forced to steal and babies were trained for begging.
But there is no reason to believe that any of these problems would be improved in their countries of origin. It is necessary to remind the French government of the situation faced by the Roma people in Eastern Europe where they have historically been victims of discrimination, subject to poor living conditions and prone to racist attacks from governmental forces.
Deportation is not the solution.
As European citizens, Roma people from Bulgaria and Romania who are removed are entitled to re-enter French territory, and they will probably try to do so immediately after their deportation from the country. In consequence, they will now have no other choice than to re-enter the country illegally—further exacerbating the ‘Roma problem’, and leaving the country with more than just a few squatters but with an overwhelming number of Roma people illegally settling in French communities.
Another way in which France could solve this problem is by helping the Roma people who are being deported out of the country to integrate into Romanian society. Though doing so will take time, it’s the best option they have. According to the Epoch Times, France has already begun acting on this plan. French officials urged Romania to design an emergency plan to integrate the Roma people being expelled from France. “France will call for commitments on police and judiciary cooperation, the fight against human trafficking, and the integration of Roma in Romania, as part of a national emergency plan spanning 2010-2013,” Lellouche told the media.
According to Lellouche, Roma are not integrated in Romania. But he promised that France would assist Romania to implement the emergency plan, including helping mobilize funds for social inclusion programs.
Immigration Minister Besson expressed France’s openness to help solve the Roma issue through joint efforts at the European level.
References:
http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/migration-pulse/2010/deportation-roma-people-france-or-how-displace-problem-instead-solving-it
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