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Discrimination and the Roma Community 2014
Cases of discrimination in access to goods and services
1.
Jaen.
Access to goods and services.
Direct discrimination.
Three Roma women called at the FSG office
in Jaen to tell us what happened when they went to exchange a shirt at a well-known clothing store. The
cashier at the shop said that the shirt could not be exchanged because the label did not match the garment
code.
After proving that the label actually did coincide with the code on the shirt, the manager said:
“I’m going to give
you a refund but I’m sick of making getting these returns with swapped tags ... in fact you know who these
people are who swap the tags; I can give you their names ...”
In light of these comments, one of the girls asked the manager for a complaint form and told her that she was
offended by her attitude and felt discriminated against by these comments which were made because she was
Roma.
In the end, the manager apologised.
2.
Jaen.
Access to goods and services.
Direct discrimination.
The FSG Coordinator in Linares was at a mobile
phone shop and witnessed a Roma woman who approached the counter to request information. After the wo-
man had left the establishment, an elderly man addressed the sales clerk saying “All Roma are alike. They always
want to be served first and jump the queue wherever they are, in the hospital, everywhere”. The clerk nodded.
The FSG coordinator spoke up explaining that she did not agree and explained that not all people are the same
nor do they behave in the same way in all situations. The man remained steadfast in his opinion and the clerk
claimed that the woman lived in a Roma neighbourhood and then commented that “a leopard cannot change its
spots”.
The shop manager then came out of her office and explained that being Roma does not mean being a delinquent
and offered examples of corrupt officials such as Bárcenas.
Again, prejudice and stereotypes with respect to the Roma community lie at the root of this discriminatory
attitude.
3.
Huesca.
Access to goods and services.
Direct discrimination.
A Roma woman participating in an FSG em-
ployment programme in Huesca reported suffering discrimination when she went to the local branch of her bank
to ask for an advance of 100 Euros on her pay check. The assistant director told her that she needed proof of
income which the woman provided. Since she received aid from INAEM (employment office) she had to request
an official certificate there and, to do that, she had to make an appointment.
She decided to go to another branch office of her bank and the assistant director there told her that if it were
up to him he would give here the advance but the transaction needed to be authorised by her home branch. He
then told her that he didn’t understand why they hadn’t given it to her already.
4.
Huesca.
Access to goods and services.
Direct discrimination.
An FSG social intervention worker accompa-
nied a Roma woman who was experiencing difficulties. During the course of this intervention, she witnessed poor
treatment and felt that the social worker at the public housing office was intentionally making it difficult for this
woman to access a basic service. i.e. a housing application.
The Roma woman explained that:
In order for a person in need to apply for housing, the first requirement is a report issued by the social wor-
ker from the local municipal office. When I requested this report from the social worker, she told me that she
couldn’t issue it because I had failed to do something at the office; that my dossier was incomplete. She then
sent me to a different social worker and gave me an appointment for one month later.