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27
Cases of discrimination in the media
21.
National.
Internet.
Direct discrimination.
The following Twitter comment was discovered by the Communi-
cation Department:
“I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Paco de Lucia has died. The good
news is that he was a Gypsy.”
The fact that Paco de Lucia was not actually Roma is beside the point; once again we are faced with racist and
discriminatory comments that incite rejection of the Roma community in general.
The Communication Department reported these comments to Twitter.
22.
National.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
An interview with Diego El Cigala was published in the newspaper El
Mundo on the occasion of his world Flamenco tour and also his change of nationality; this Flamenco singer is
now a citizen of the Dominican Republic.
The article is very biased. Diego de Cigala is Roma. Without using explicit terms, the article indirectly stereo-
types many of this singer’s actions such as, for example, the fact that he changed his nationality to avoid paying
taxes. In fact, one of the web page forum comments related to the article refers to this: “Not paying taxes is
typical of Gypsies.”
23.
National.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
The Diario de Burgos newspaper ran a story under the following head-
line: “Three young people arrested for a fight in which one was stabbed.”
The article explicitly refers to the Roma ethnicity of the alleged aggressor. Terms like reyerta (brawl) which add
nothing to the story are also found throughout the article.
24.
National.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
La Región, a newspaper from Ourense, ran a story under the following
headline: “The prosecutor drops a case involving stolen copper.”
The article explains that two Roma men were accused of forced entry burglary but in the end were not identified
as the perpetrators of the crime.
Even though the case was dropped, the fact that Roma persons were initially identified in the robbery creates
prejudice against the Roma community in general.
25.
National.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
The newspaper Castellon al día published the following story: “Arrested
for robbing victims while giving them a hug.”
The story mentions that the detainees were two Romanian women who “looked like Gypsies”.
We don’t know what “looked like Gypsies” is supposed to mean. Another example of disseminated stereotypes,
this time about Roma women.
26.
National.
Press.
Direct discrimination.
The newspaper El Mundo del S. XXI published an article called “The
Gypsy Guernica”.
“In this Guernica instead of bombs there were a pile of knives.” The article describes the 2004 murder of three
Roma in a fight with other Roma and the hearing in 2007.
Throughout the article the journalist repeatedly mentions the ethnic origin of those involved but never explains
why he is writing about a case that was closed seven years ago.