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

该奖学金将用于巩固我的博士研究，并将研究成果传播给学者、政策制定者、与罗姆人一起工作的从业者和监督服务提供的人，目的是提高参与度，为罗姆人创造更好的结果。这项研究建立在先前对捷克和斯洛伐克罗姆人的人种学研究的基础上，这些罗姆人是在2004年欧盟扩张后来到利兹的。罗马来到利兹是为了获得“更好的生活”，无论是在物质方面，还是在得到他人的尊重和认可的意义上。我的博士论文是迄今为止对英国罗姆移民进行的最深入的民族志研究，并为罗姆人在英国生活的策略提供了新颖的见解。它描述了froma的日常生活，并追溯了他们与他人的互动，特别是与在这些互动中代表“英国”的国家和类似国家的行动者的互动。我的研究重点是福祉，以及如何通过政策、实践和话语之间的相互作用产生对健康和美好生活的理解，以及一个人实现这一目标的能力。我的研究发现，尽管我的研究参与者在与他人的日常交往中感到罗姆人是“隐形的”，但在与公共服务机构和一些公共场所的交往中，他们仍然感到罗姆人的负面刻板印象。此外，由于他们的工作条件不稳定，英语水平低，不熟悉英国的福利制度，他们经常发现很难获得福利和医疗服务。我的研究发现，在没有国家提供支持的情况下，许多罗姆人转向了生命与光明教会，即五旬节派教会。我的研究认为，皈依生命与光明教会可以让罗姆人以一种积极的方式展示他们的身份，他们创造了一种对道德罗马社区的归属感，他们为皈依者提供了一个支持网络，他们可以在困难时期利用这个网络。罗姆人历来被过度研究，但尽管如此，整个欧洲罗姆人社区的生活质量几乎没有改善。此外，罗姆人的声音基本上没有出现在关于罗姆社区的学术研究中。我的研究有可能增加对罗姆人经历方式的理解，并感知他们在社会中的地位以及罗姆社区内的多样性。在奖学金期间，我将根据我的论文撰写一本专著，并将向我所在领域的国际同行评审高影响力期刊提交两篇文章。这篇文章认为，罗姆人的第一语言是罗姆语，而不是捷克语或斯洛伐克语，在与公共部门服务的互动中，他们经历了一种语言边缘化的形式，因为他们不得不依靠说捷克语或斯洛伐克语的口译员，因为缺乏说罗姆语的口译员。第二篇文章将与RoxanaBarbulescu博士共同撰写，并将考虑在脱欧后的英国获得罗姆人定居地位的影响。该奖学金将重点关注与非学术利益相关者的密切合作，我在攻读博士学位之前和期间与他们建立了联系。为了增加参与和影响，我将组织利益相关者研讨会，并与主要利益相关者合作，共同制作一份简短的政策简报（4页），总结我的博士研究结果，并为政策制定者和监督服务提供的人提供建议。我将利用该奖学金制定一个新的研究项目，重点关注罗姆人社区在危机时期的脆弱性和复原力，如当前的Covid-19大流行，在此期间，由于住房过度拥挤，几代人经常住在一起，贫困和长期疾病的高患病率，罗姆人特别脆弱。

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.