Reflections on Roma fleeing War-torn Ukraine

The article draws on and reflects on an interview with five police officers at a work-shop on criminal justice held at Scotland Yard in 2014 (Greenfields, 2014)[1] all of whom claimed Roma heritage (and incorporates unpublished interview extracts where appropriate from my PhD on Irish Travellers and criminal justice across the island of Ireland 2007)[2].  In order to theorise the treatment of Roma from the 15^th Century to the present day, the concept of anti-gypsyism is addressed and applied. 

Four main themes emerged from the 2014 workshop and given that having fled Ukraine, some Roma will no doubt find themselves attempting to avail of assistance in various states, these findings appear to remain apposite and may yet inform and create awareness of the situation of many Roma amongst those responsible for the health and safety of these refugees, including police.  The issues of trust between Roma and police; Roma police as role models; the impact of living in so called marginalised settlements in Slovakia on Roma, and, the topic of domestic violence are the four main themes that were discussed at the work-shop.  In addition, evidence for discriminatory treatment against Roma by some police in various European states is also presented within the article as are the actions of some police in allegations of manslaughter if not murder of Roma in some European countries.  In order to demonstrate the apparent ongoing discrimination experienced by many Roma and Irish Travellers (and of course other members of the Traveller communities in the UK and Ireland) the discussion is juxtaposed alongside some of the findings within my forthcoming article[3] on the GRTPA: Peripheral Inclusion? Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association Officers Speak Out.  Overall, recommendations are made that those responsible for the welfare of this marginalised group pay special attention to their needs.  This is especially so for those that arrive here and in other European states as a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine.  The objective of this article then is to ensure that those responsible for the care of Roma refugees will be conscious of the treatment of the Roma across various European states both historically and more recently prior to fleeing the war in Ukraine.  Moreover, this is especially in the hope that the issues raised by Rosenhaft (2021) on the appalling treatment of Roma during and following the end of WW2 are not repeated.