Serious allegations in Hanover
Roma are deliberately housed in a manner that is inhumane
October 4, 2023, 8:02 a.m
A study makes serious allegations against the administration of the city of Hanover. Employees are said to have systematically tried to push Roma out of the city. There is institutional antigypsyism and racism. The state capital of Lower Saxony partially admits the allegations.
According to a study, administrative staff in the city of Hanover have systematically tried for years to pressure Roma to leave the Lower Saxony state capital as quickly as possible. Roma are said to have been deliberately housed in sometimes inhumane accommodations or repeatedly arbitrarily relocated, reports the “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung”, citing a study by the Leibniz University of Hannover. In addition, according to the study, applications from Roma were lost at the job center and interpreters were denied.
It is said that all of this was done with the aim of making life in Hanover as uncomfortable as possible for the Roma so as not to create an incentive for further immigration. The study authors therefore speak of a “culture of discomfort” in the city and see this as evidence of institutional antigypsyism and racism.
The name of the city examined was anonymized in the study. However, based on the cases described and press reports, it can be proven that this is Hanover, writes the “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung”.
When asked by the newspaper, the city of Hanover rejected some specific allegations, such as the distribution of accommodation according to origin or ethnicity. However, she admitted the accusation that “there are anti-Gypsy behavior patterns within the administration” and that a “culture of discomfort” has been established there. That is unacceptable.
The study is based on a total of 71 interviews with some high-ranking employees, for example from administration and the job center, and was published in 2021. However, it has so far remained largely unnoticed.