Antiziganism as a Barrier for the Roma to Access Policies: The Case of Romani Access to Education in Turkey
Canan UĞUR RIZZI
Abstract
The inclusion of the Roma has been on the political agenda of the European Union (EU) and its candidates for more than a decade. There is an ongoing argument whether policies are designed well enough to respond to the needs of the Roma. This article discusses the discrepancy between what the education policies set out to achieve and the reality of what they did actually achieve for the Roma in Turkey. Through documentary analysis, interviews with Romani NGOs and teachers/principals, the analysis indicates the reasons why education policies in Turkey have failed to include the Roma. This work argues that one of the main reasons that creates a cleavage between the general policies and the Romani access to these policies lays in the antiziganism that exists in wider society. Establishing a relationship between antiziganism and the design of education policies provides insights for the inclusion of the Roma not only in Turkey but also across Europe.