engleski

Survival strategies among the Roma

This paper explores the coping strategies different Roma households employ to meet their everyday needs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia (Life-Strategies and Survival Strategies of Households and Individuals in South-East European Societies in the Times of Crisis SCOPES). It refers to four different forms of interconnected, interdependent and context-specific capital (cultural, economic, social, and symbolic) that together constitute advantage and disadvantage in society (Bourdieu 1986). It also uses the concept of structural/symbolic violence (Bourgois 2001 ; Farmer 1996) to explain inequalities and social suffering. Findings show that some income is generated from different social benefits depending on circumstances (unemployment, child allowance, pensions, etc.) but there are differences between countries (eligibility, amounts). Additional strategies that were noted in most households included in this study are discussed: work in the shadow economy ; saving ; relying on donations ; and borrowing. Overall, findings show that low levels of capital disproportionately place Roma families living in poverty in a disadvantaged position. Limited access to different types of capital largely determines what types of work they can do and their abilities to sustain their families’ livelihoods. The households included in this study are practically unemployable: without formal qualifications, computer literacy and work experience. Their poverty and poor living conditions unquestionably have an adverse impact on their health and contribute to a lower life expectancy among Roma. Main concerns revolve around day-to-day survival reflecting that these households are not passive in the way they face financial hardship i.e., juggling daily expenses and total mobilization of household resources. They have no savings and any income depends on their health, physical strength and favourable non-discriminatory conditions. Typically, this is anxiety about the ‘here and now’ in which the work-purchase- consume cycle usually occurs within a single day. Finally, policy recommendations for socially marginalised Roma families living in poverty with poor access to different forms of capital are suggested.

coping strategies; Roma; capital; poverty; social exclusion

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