In the northern Finnish town of Kajaani there are around 100 members of the Finnish Roma community who say they would like to live alongside the mainstream population, free from the burden of old prejudices. A working group was set up four years ago, but progress is slow. Even just setting up the task force took many years of effort. Now the task is to break down the prejudices of the majority population, says Roma cultural director Ramona Grönstrand.
“Although things have gone ahead a lot in the last 20 years, there’s still strong prejudice in the mainstream population,” says Grönstrand. “My job is to break this down as much as possible by turning back the bias in educational institutions and work organisations by talking about and sharing knowledge of our culture.”
Young Roma seek work and social inclusion
According to Grönstrand, young Roma people want to study, get work experience placements and jobs, and be a part of society.
A sense of mutual mistrust is often a barrier to employment. The Roma working group has its own important role to play in building confidence. To share their concerns and aspirations with the working group the Roma population first had to learn to trust. The cultural task force has, in turn, built a bridge towards the majority population.
The younger generation of Roma speak openly of easing the road to coexistence with the majority population, but they also want the mainstream to respond in kind. However, Grönstrand emphasises that becoming more part of the mainstream doesn’t mean giving up one's own culture. The words of older generations still need to be respected. The legacy of the traditional Roma mode of dress comes into play here, as an influence on whether or not a certain job is tenable.
“You can't appear in front of older generations of Roma in anything other than traditional clothing, so if you’re not allowed to wear that at work, then you can't do the job,” says Grönstrand. “Young people, especially those who are already considering a choice of profession, are pondering how they must dress in that job.”
