Open Letter to the BBC Editorial Board

Below is a copy of an open letter submitted to BBC on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, in response to an editorial oversight published in an article on their website on June 2, 2019.

The old adage holds true: Words matter.

On June 2, 2019, BBC published an article on the symbolic (and important) apology issued by Pope Francis to the Roma on his recent visit to Romania.

We appreciate the article’s attempt to provide more information about the Roma people, even if briefly and rather superficially presented. However the last bullet point presented: “Roma complain of housing and employment discrimination throughout Europe” used an extremely poor choice of words.

You could have written “Roma face housing and employment discrimination,” or “Roma experience discrimination…” Or even “human rights organizations report widespread housing and employment discrimination.”

Instead the word choice was: “Roma complain.”

This may seem as innocuous phrasing since, indeed, some Roma, as well as non-Roma, complain about their housing and employment opportunities. However, the connotations serve to trivialize the harsh realities that Roma are facing and fails to establish that this discrimination is an objective fact.

One could infer from the word “complain” that these are mere rumors, unsubstantiated reports, or sporadic incidents. Alternatively, the word “complain” can come across as dismissive, trivializing and implying a passive approach to one’s circumstances. The reality is the Roma face well-documented systemic barriers in areas such as housing and employment, and their day-to-day struggles to overcome these obstacles go far beyond merely “complaining.”

The Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey found widespread evidence of substandard housing for Roma across nine European countries. This is to say nothing of discrimination in employment, education, at the hands of law enforcement, or frequent incidents of racially motivated violence against Roma.

While it is important that the topic of Roma is covered by major media channels like BBC, it is equally or even more important that the reporting is done correctly, conveying accurate information through precise language; otherwise such news can reinforce and perpetuate biased and even harmful images about the Roma.

We trust that the BBC will take this feedback seriously and exercise greater editorial diligence when writing about Roma and other stigmatized groups.

Best regards,

Cristiana Grigore, The Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University & our collaborators, Camille Hesterberg, Patrick Wiley and Cosmina Nistor