Abstract

This research focuses on society’s role in the integration process of Roma by looking at civil society organisations’ perceptions about Roma. We argue that it is important to incorporate a focus on power relations and representations of migrants in integration research because most research concentrates on the characteristics of migrants. We studied interviews of the actors in the civil society organisations and their mission statements with a category and framing analysis. While research mostly focuses on explicit exclusion, the results show that there are excluding mechanisms within seemingly inclusive initiatives. On the one hand, the respondents emphasise the responsibilities of society in the integration process and de-essentialise Roma. The volunteers do this more explicitly than the professional actors. On the other hand, the respondents express an excluding discourse where Roma are represented as “the other”, opposed to society as a whole and migrants who have been in Belgium longer. Romanian Roma are represented as the ultimate other. Furthermore the integration of Roma is framed in different ways: the cultural frame and the poverty frame. However, both frames essentialise Roma by associating them with fxed characteristics, namely their unchangeable culture and a long-lasting poverty condition. Both volunteers and professionals exclude Roma, which prevents them from being viewed as valuable members of society. A clear vision concerning inclusion and awareness about subtle exclusion is needed. The organisations should strive towards equality of Roma based on their differences. Interpreting Roma in a more hybrid way makes it possible to de-essentialise them, yet facilitating political mobilisation.

How to Cite:

Amitai, A. & Delcour, C., (2017) “De percepties van Gentse middenveldactoren over Roma en hun integratie: ambigue processen van othering binnen een inclusief kader”, Sociologos 38(1-2), 120–141. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86939