Germany's leading Roma and Sinti group recorded hundreds of cases of discrimination and racism against the minority community in the past year, a report said, warning that rising nationalism and right-wing extremism are contributing to violence against minorities in Germany.
The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma said that of the 621 incidents recorded, the majority were cases of discrimination and "verbal stereotyping". 11 cases of threats, 17 attacks and one case of "extreme violence" were also recorded, the group stated, adding that racism against Roma and Sinti is probably much higher because many cases are not reported.
Roma and Sinti are recognized minorities in Germany. About 60,000 Sinti and 10,000 Roma live in Germany, according to data from the German Federal Agency for Civic Education.
The report "clearly shows the dangers of growing nationalism and right-wing extremism, which in turn leads to aggression and violence against Sinti and Roma and other minorities," Romani Rose, head of the group, told reporters in Berlin.
The report also stated that around half of the recorded cases of discrimination occurred "at the institutional level", meaning that Roma and Sinti were discriminated against by employees of state institutions such as the police, social welfare offices, employment centers or municipal administrations responsible for taking care of refugees.
"The state must finally take responsibility and guarantee the protection of Sinti and Roma from violence, exclusion and discrimination," said Mehmet Daimagueler, the German government's commissioner for combating anti-Gypsyism.
During Nazi Germany between 220,000 and 500,000 European Sinti and Roma were deported and killed
Link: https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/njemacka-diskriminacija-romi-sinti-/32598075.html
