One got distinct impression from the letter that the only people in France indulging in criminal activities are Roma.
KARACHI: This is in reference to the letter written by the French ambassador to Islamabad, Daniel Jouanneau, published on June 17, in this newspaper written in response to my article entitled “The rose is wilting under Sarkozy” (June 7).
The ambassador maintains that my article was biased and inaccurate and that I was being hypocritical. Biased? Perhaps! But then this writer was brought up on British values which teach fair play, fighting for the underdog, tolerance for eccentricity, and never hitting a man when he is down. Inaccurate? Hardly! Either Mr Sarkozy did expel 30,000 Roma people in two years, or he didn’t. The world press, including the British press, said he did, and we will have to take their word for it.
One got the distinct impression from the letter that the only people in France who were indulging in human trafficking, prostitution and criminal activities are the Roma. Is the ambassador therefore implying that there are no white French, East European or north African criminals in France? Does Mr Sarkozy also have plans to expel these anti-social groups?
The Roma people have a distinct culture, not a genetic disorder. If they are despised in parts of Europe it is because they have been kept as outcasts on the fringe of society, desperately eking out a living and treated like pariah. It is not the Roma who are not integrating. It is the right wing French who just won’t accept them.
Anwer Mooraj
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.
