MIGROM · The immigration of Romanian Roma to Western Europe: Causes, effects, and future engagement strategies.

The presence of Roma migrants from Romania on the streets of major western European cities has been the centre of public debates, and regarded by many as a challenge to social integration, law and order, human rights and EU mobility principles. The project will investigate the experiences, motivations, and ambitions of Roma migrants and popular, media and official reactions to Roma immigration. We intend to carry out interviews in a selection of Romanian towns that are key centres of Roma emigration, and among immigrant Rom originating from these communities in France, Italy, Spain and the UK. We will observe local reactions to the Roma immigrants and processes of friction as well as integration, and assess the factors involved, such images, clashes in customs and expectations, competition over resources and attention of the authorities, and more. Throughout the process, we will involve young members of the immigrant Roma community in documenting their situation and in articulating their needs. The project will produce a comparative ethnography of Romanian Roma migrants in a selection of larger western European cities, as well as a policy paper outlining good practice and positive engagement strategies.