ROMAPHOBIA AND CORONAVIRUS IN BRAZIL

ROMAPHOBIA AND CORONAVIRUS IN BRAZIL

By Igor Shimura
Translated by Mariana Sabino

I have heard about some cases of discrimination that associate Romani people with the transmission of coronavirus in Europe. Racists and prejudiced people do not always find an alibi to justify themselves (sometimes they take their crime shamelessly and get away under the protection of some institutions, equally racist and prejudiced), but sometimes they distort a fact, quote, myth or stereotype to distill their hate.

To kill five hundred thousand Roma, Adolph Hitler used the "higher versus lower races" argument. In the European academy, Heinrich Grellmann’s sensationalist journal articles accused "gypsies" of cannibalism, to promote the idea that Roma were "practically incarnated demons."

For those who hate Romani people, there is nothing better than a pandemic! It is quite convenient to camouflage Romaphobia by accusing Roma of being potential vectors of the coronavirus, and therefore, forcing them to “stay away.”

Romani families, together with children and elderly people, have been displaced in some Brazilian municipalities. On 01/04 a small community installed in Dois Vizinhos City was simply expelled. This took place when a group of families were traveling and settled in the usual land. Following the guidelines of the Federal Government that mandate to remain in cities in the countryside, far from large centers.

Soon they heard residents complaining, asking them to leave (is this not RomaPHOBIA?). One resident said, "Let these demons go!" A little after, the city inspectors accompanied by the police force sent them away "because they could be infected with coronavirus and wipe out the townspeople".

Now, no one asked how the children, the elderly, the women, the men were doing ... they did not ask if they were hungry, thirsty or in need of medicine. Nor was any health worker there to check on the health of the elderly. No! "Get out of here now" was the order of hateful people hidden under the excuse that the "damned gypsies" could destroy the "aquarium city".

I called the City Hall and was told that no traveler can stop in the city. What I immediately asked my interlocutor was: "And does traveling diminishes their humanity, or is that Romani people are not humans?"

On April 2, in Guarapuava City, something similar happened. The police approach was shocking: they suddenly went to a community of about 100 people - children, the elderly, men, and women - and said, "you should be out in 30 minutes!" Without any intention to have a conversation! Sad. Inhuman. Uneven. How to get 100 people out of their cultural place in 30 minutes? The place where they have been allowed to stay with their traveling households so many times before. Go where??? We called the MPF, the state government, the police command, the federal government and that is how we managed to negotiate... but we fear for tomorrow.

Yes ... the coronavirus is the mask of the moment ... the mask that hides the Romaphobia with all its hate structure. I ask God not to allow any of our people to be murdered under the lame excuse that they had the coronavirus, despite knowing that these people would really like to just do that.

I want to leave two links to articles that demonstrate that the sad phenomenon of Romaphobia is happening in other parts of the world, especially in Europe, during this pandemic period:

The xenophobic bulls infect the lucha de Santoña against the coronavirus - https://elpais.com/espana/2020-03-31/los-bulos-xenofobos-infectan-la-lucha-de-santona-contr-el-coronavirus. html

Coronavirus: Europe's forgotten Roma at risk - https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-europes-forgotten-roma-at-risk/a-53019522?maca=en-Facebook-sharing