Roma in Northern England: Creating Interventions towards a Better Quality of Life

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The fellowship will be used to consolidate my PhD research and to disseminate the findings of this researchto academics, policy-makers, practitioners working with Roma and those who oversee service provision,with the intention of improving engagement and create better outcomes for Roma.This fellowship builds on previous ethnographic research among Czech and Slovak Roma who came toLeeds after the expansion of the European Union in 2004. Roma came to Leeds to try to attain 'a betterlife', both in material terms and in the sense of having respect and recognition from others. My doctoralthesis is the most in-depth ethnographic study of Roma migrants in the UK to date and provides novelinsights into the strategies Roma use to navigate their lives in the UK. It describes the everyday lives ofRoma and traces their interactions with others, particularly with state and state-like actors, who came torepresent 'the UK' in these interactions. My research focuses on well-being and how understandings ofwhat it means to be well and to have a good life, and a person's ability to achieve it, are produced throughinteractions between policy, practice and discourse. My research found that even though my researchparticipants felt 'invisible' as Roma in many of their mundane daily interactions with others, they still feltnegatively stereotyped as Roma in their interactions with public services and in some public spaces.Additionally, due to they often precarious work conditions, low levels of English, and unfamiliarity of theBritish welfare system, they often found accessing welfare and healthcare services difficult. My researchfound that in the absence of state provided support, many Roma turned to the Life and Light Church, aRoma Pentecostal church. My research argues that conversions to the Life and Light Church addressenable Roma to present their identity in a positive way, they create a sense of belonging to a moral Romacommunity, and they provide converts with a support network which they can draw on in times of hardship.Roma have historically been over-researched but despite this, there has been little improvement in thequality of life of Roma communities across Europe. Moreover, Roma voices have largely been absent fromscholarship on Roma communities. My research has the potential to increase understanding of the wayRoma experience and perceive their position in society and of the diversity within Roma communities.During the Fellowship I will work on a monograph based on my thesis and I will submit two articles tointernational peer reviews high-impact journals in my field. The article will argue that those Roma, whosefirst language is Romani and not Czech or Slovak, experience a form of linguistic marginalisation ininteractions with public sector services because they have to rely on Czech or Slovak speaking interpreters,due to a lack of Romani speaking interpreters. The second article will be written jointly with Dr RoxanaBarbulescu and will consider the impacts of gaining a settled status for Roma in post-Brexit UK.The fellowship will strongly focus on working closely with non-academic stakeholders, with whom Iestablished links before and during my PhD. To increase engagement and impact, I will organise astakeholder workshop and work with key stakeholders to co-produce a short policy briefing (4 pages) whichwill summarise my PhD findings and provide recommendations for policy makers and those who overseeservice provision.I will use the Fellowship to develop a new research project which will focus on the vulnerability andresilience among Roma communities in times of crises, like the current Covid-19 pandemic, during whichRoma are particularly vulnerable due to overcrowded housing, with a number of generation often livingtogether, poverty, and high prevalence of long-term medical conditions.