In a 2021 report, Germany’s Independent Commission on Antigypsyism (UKA) found that Sinti and Roma continue to face widespread discrimination in Germany, from school to work to politics, ranging from racist comments to structural disadvantages to physical violence.
Through her NewsSpectrum Fellowship, journalist Nadine Mena Michollek worked with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle to produce a series of profiles on Sinti and Roma who continue to experience discrimination and racism.
“Ich schäme mich nicht, Sinto zu sein, aber ich habe Angst ums Geschäft.” DW-Redakteurin Nadine Michollek traf den 27-jährigen Unternehmensberater Vito. Er erzählt von Diskriminierungserfahrungen, aber auch beruflichen Zielen.https://t.co/fGc5pxCwJM
— DW Deutsche Welle (@DeutscheWelle) January 21, 2022
Through the human stories and portraits produced by Nadine in cooperation with Deutsche Welle, we learn, among other things:
- What it’s like to live in fear of deportation back to the Balkans, where discrimination is even more severe;
- Why many Sinti and Roma, afraid of exclusion and discrimination, hide their identity and origins;
- How Roma and Sinti survivors of the Nazi genocide still suffer from lifelong trauma; and
- How discrimination in the educational system affects Sinti and Roma children.
Unfassbar: Mirsa J. und ihrer Familie droht die #Abschiebung aus #Niedersachsen. Die Romni wurde in #Nordmazedonien misshandelt, Nachbarn versuchten sie zu vergewaltigen. Die Familie floh. Und hier ignorieren Behörden die strukturelle Verfolgung der Roma.https://t.co/BJHfdv3X13
— Flüchtlingsrat Niedersachsen (@FlueRat_Nds) March 30, 2022
Nadine’s articles were published in nine languages by Deutsche Welle, which hosted several Roma media professionals as part of its partnership with NewsSpectrum.