Published: 22 June 2012
Region: Hungary & Worldwide
After the state funded chanell in Hungary broadcasted the documentary on Roma, several organisations in Hungary protested, as it appears that the film is presenting the Roma population in a negative way and with racisist undertones.
As extremism in ethnic issues becomes increasingly widespread in public discourse and supported by political figures, we appreciate your assistance in disseminating the attached press release.
According to Hungarian non-governmental organisation CivilMedia: “The Hungarian Roma community should be publicly apologetic for its behaviour” is the main message of a Hungarian documentary produced and broadcast by the Hungarian state-funded broadcaster. The film, entitled “Gypsy/Hungarian Co-existence”, has raised controversy for its racist undertones. The negative portrayal of the Roma community and the recent refusal by the country’s regulatory authority to ban the further showing of the documentary or to fine the station for airing it, is troubling.
CivilMedia has found that the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (hereinafter: the Authority) has failed to take action to stop the spread of racist speech. It did not regulate the release of “Gypsy/Hungarian Co-existence” in March this year on the Hungarian state-owned television channel, causing major controversy because of the documentary’s racist tone.
The documentary
The views of István Forgács, a man of Roma background and a self-proclaimed expert on Roma issues, forms the backbone of the film. He believes that we should drop all attempts at understanding the relations of cause and effect, that we should instead deal with the here-and-now, and make individuals take responsibility for their actions.
The documentary promises to show the co-existence of Hungarians and Gypsies, but depicts an oversimplified view of the issue. Roma people are depicted in one of two ways: either as courageous, outspoken ‘good guys’, or the ‘bad guys’, the silent majority who engage in criminal activities, who drink, are violent and unemployed. The documentary demonstrates a simple, ‘black-and-white’ reality that supports its overall message.
It suggests that the tensions arising from the co-existence between Hungarians and Roma are exclusively the fault of Roma, and that only the Roma community have the ability to relieve these tensions by integrating themselves within Hungarian society.
The context
Hungary’s new media law has been heavily criticised for the broad supervisory powers it grants the media authority and its potential to limit press freedom. CIVILMEDIA wishes to point out that the authority is not performing its duties adequately as it should take action here.
The political climate in Hungary is changing. The exclusion of disadvantaged groups is the result of increasingly prejudicial attitudes.
The extreme-right party, “Movement for a Better Hungary” (Jobbik) now holds several seats in Parliament, further adding to social tension. “Gypsy crime” has returned as an accepted expression in public discourse. It has become widely accepted that certain disadvantaged groups, such as the homeless, the poor, or Roma are themselves solely responsible for ending up in their vulnerable situations.
The continuing economic crisis and massive poverty have helped reinforce these prejudices.
Media coverage of the Roma community in Hungary is one-sided and stereotyped. Coverage of this nature can cause incalculable damage to the perception of these groups across society.
Despite its broad powers of supervision and review, the Authority has failed to take action in a case where action is justified. Section 14 of the Media Constitution (Act CIV of 2010) states that media content providers must respect human dignity and refrain from representing anyone in humiliating or vulnerable situations. The Authority can fine the media content provider for violating this rule.
Motion submitted by CIVILMEDIA to the Media Authority
The debate surrounding the peaceful co-existence of Hungarians and Gypsies has been going on for years both at the academic level and in public discourse. Openness is needed, including the freedom to express extreme or potentially provocative views. It is important that the media reflect the debate comprehensively, not just one part of it. This documentary makes major generalizations about Roma.
The tone of the documentary encourages an audience to view Hungarian Roma as an homogeneous singularity, and the negative stereotyping of the community is a detriment to the ongoing debate over the issues involved with integration.
The documentary has provoked outrage, demonstrated by a protest letter which gathered 1,500 signatories, leading to the state-funded television channel pulling it from the air.
The Media Authority’s decision
The Authority decided not to initiate proceedings in the matter. It found that the documentary does not violate human dignity, nor does it promote marginalization or hatred.
Although the Authority stated that “the [film’s] paradigm shift and debunking of taboos, though motivated by good intentions, can also give rise to another reading, whereby the message of the documentary could be perceived by the Roma community as offensive and marginalizing, given that this media content shows several forms of deviant conduct which the majority population associates with Roma”, it did not find it necessary to initiate proceedings.
The Authority also concedes that “the issue of crimes committed by Roma and other reprehensible conduct is raised, but this was done in a manner that would have a negative impact on the opinion of viewers with regards to – at most – only a part of the Roma community, or to certain individual members of the latter.”
Under Hungarian law, no legal recourse against the Authority’s decision is available. CIVILMEDIA has requested information from the publicly-funded television channel outlining the total costs of the documentary.
Courtesy of CivilMedia
