“It’s a Better Life Here”: Romanian Roma Perceptions of Successful Integration

Abstract

This analysis is based on ten years worth of social work-related interviews with Romanian Roma families in the city of Vigo. Despite extremely low levels of employment and financial stability, interviewees’ strong perception of (relative) well-being and positive integration seem to be strongly conditioned by extreme poverty and social exclusion in their city of origin. In this context, charity is interpreted in purely positive terms, with no implications of paternalism or condescension. Furthermore, members of the community do not express concern over tendencies toward loss of linguistic and cultural traditions, as successful integration is defined in terms of social access and social assimilation (interpreted largely as positive, or at least unproblematic). Social institutions such as schools, charities, and NGOs must take such realities into consideration in developing effective support for collectives such as this one, who feel little connection with nations of origin where they feel strongly marginalized.