Environmental racism in Western Europe

The systematic targeting and genocide of Romani and Sinti communities in Germany during the Holocaust was not officially recognized until 1982. Despite having a recorded presence in German-speaking territories since 1419, many Romani and Sinti were denied or stripped of citizenship following the second world war. The relationship between postwar socio-economic exclusion of Romani and Sinti communities with environmental marginalization has been documented by scholars such as Alphia Abdikeeva as early as 2002. An environmental impact assessment for a planned neighbouring big-box store did not assess groundwater contamination in 2021. Berlin Land Dreilinden property (Sinti camp) Since 1995, authorities in Berlin have operated a user-fee camping facility for seasonal Sinti workers on the Dreilinden property. The facility houses up to 200 persons and is a source of concern due to its location on the outskirts of Berlin, on a part of former Checkpoint Bravo. Housing conditions are poor, while utilities and infrastructure is minimal. Hamburg: Georgswerder Ring Sinti settlement In the mid-1980s, authorities selected an area next to a former toxic waste dump as the location for a new Sinti settlement by the name of Georgswerder Ring on the outskirts of Hamburg, in spite of the site having been deemed unfit for human habitation during the mid-1970s. Home to at least 200 persons, residents were not informed of the site's history. As of 2004, there were concerns that rising groundwater may have forced toxins to the surface and contaminated the land and air, sparking fears among some medical experts that birth defects, stillborns, and certain illnesses could be dramatically on the rise. As of 2004, the settlement was isolated, poorly served by public transportation, and located in close proximity to the new Hamburg city dump posing further ongoing health concerns. Kistnersgrund Sinti settlement In the 1970s, the Kistnersgrund Sinti settlement was constructed in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse. Located on the outskirts of the city, it was situated on top of a garbage dump. Following a hepatitis outbreak in the early 1980s, authorities relocated the community to a new settlement called Haunewiese, where residents have experienced substandard housing conditions. == United Kingdom ==

Air pollution in the United Kingdom has been identified as an issue disproportionately affecting minority ethnic and racial groups, particularly those who identify as Black-British. According to a British government report, "Nationally, for those who live in areas overlapping the motorway and A road network in England, on average ethnic groups not classified as White–British are exposed to 17.5 per cent higher concentrations of PM10 ... Across the different areas individuals identified as Black or Black-British African are exposed to the highest levels of PM10 of up to almost 30 per cent higher than White British. Romani and Travellers frequently burn scrap as a way of cleaning metals for recycling As of 2004, seventy percent of local authority (LA) Irish Traveller sites in England were identified as having at least two or more environmental hazards, while twenty-three percent of such sites were identified as being subject to four or more environmental hazards. The United Kingdom Department of Health supported a 2004 study that identified Romani and Travellers as being subject to disproportionate health needs compared to other ethnic minority groups in the UK, yet receiving substantially less health services. According to Justice Gilbart, sitting in London, Pickles had "unlawfully discriminated" against Romani communities seeking to establish camping sites in Green Belt lands by systematically delaying and overturning their development proposals. During an interview on ITV, Pickles stated of the camps that "We inherited a situation where the number of illegal sites had gone up four-fold and what we expect them to do is obey the law like you and I do," he said, continuing "It does not give people the right to come on to a green belt...and to trash it." According to Jones, the UK government had been applying a discriminatory standard by denying Romani and Traveller development applications, while simultaneously having a history of approving construction of towns such as Milton Keynes, Basildon New Town, and New Ash Green, the latter two of which were, in the words of Jones, "built for the total strangers of the London overflow, on the open countryside or green belt". The evictions were completed in 2011 and involved violent clashes with police.Smith and Greenfields note the link between poverty, upper-class departure (for the United States context, see white flight) and the demographic presence of Romani and Traveller communities in Mitcham, as well as the economic prominence of environmentally polluting 'dirty industries' within the community. In the words of Smith and Greenfields, Mitcham had long been one of the poorest parishes in Surrey and records of Gypsies camping in the area date back to the 1700s. Between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries the area declined in respectability as several landowning families departed and its population grew significantly as outward migration from London increased the population of poor and displaced residents (Smith, 2005, p 67). Of these, Gypsies and itinerants formed a significant minority: the 1881 census records 230 Gypsies and vagrants camping on Mitcham Common ... [Mitcham] contained an abundance of market gardens which provided regular seasonal employment with the locality becoming an important site for industry in the early to mid-20th century, particularly the 'dirty industries' such as paint making, chemical works and bone boiling, which had been expelled from inner London by the 1845 Health Act. The importance of Gypsy labour to the area's industry in this period is revealed by Montague, who notes that ... when Purdom's [paint and varnish] factory was originally established production had been seasonal, taking place mainly in the winter months when Gypsy and other casual labour employed on the physic gardens during the rest of the year was available at very low rates. (Montague, 2006, p 79) an explosion took place at the W.J. Bush & Co essential oils distillery adjacent to 'Redskin Village', killing a twelve-year-old boy and seriously injuring twenty-three others. According to the Merton Memories Photographic Archive, "the explosion brought this community ['Redskin Village'] to an end", although the distillery re-opened and continued operations until 1968, closing after 200 years in the same location. Images taken of the explosion provide early photographic documentation of an event involving an ethnic minority community in the UK affected by an industrial disaster. == Ireland ==

Travellers in Ireland have a documented history of experiencing racism within an environmental context, particularly with regards to hazardous working conditions in the metal recycling sector. According to research conducted in 2010 by the All Ireland Traveller Health Study, approximately 2,700 Irish Travellers lacked access to running water, out of a total Traveller population of 36,224 in the Republic of Ireland and 3,905 in Northern Ireland. In the same survey, nearly a quarter of Traveller respondents stated that they felt either "unhealthy or very unhealthy" in their places of residence. Out of 40 halting sites and group housing facilities evaluated, 33 were found to be near such hazards, which were listed as electricity pylons, telephone masts, dumps, major roads, and industrial pollution. During the 1980s Travellers increasingly gravitated toward casual labour that allowed for greater autonomy than formal labour, motivated in part by the racist conditions of formal labour markets in Ireland. Ten Travellers, five children and five adults, perished in the blaze. Following the tragedy, plans were made to rehouse the survivors at a site adjacent to Rockville Drive. At first, survivors of the fire received public shows of respect. However, claiming not to have been consulted by their local council, residents of the neighbourhood opposed the resettlement, and protested by blockading excavation machinery from the site. As of August 2017, inquests into the fire deaths are currently underway, and survivors have called for a full inquiry into the tragedy. == France ==

Immigrant populations and proximity to hazardous waste facilities In France, categories of minority and race are not officially recognized, nor are they recorded in census or socio-demographic data, which can make instances of environmental racism difficult to identify. Only nationality and country of birth are recorded, and only for first-generation migrants; persons born abroad in France are mostly from North and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a smaller presence from Eastern Europe. In a RAXEN interview with the National Association of Catholic Travellers, environmental issues were cited as a factor in the segregated conditions found at most Traveller halting sites, which one resident likened to "Indian Reservations". Due to allegedly discriminatory employment regulations in France, many Romani find it impossible to gain formal employment. Eastern European harvesters, a large number of whom are believed to be ethnic Romani, have removed significant quantities of porcini and milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus) mushrooms for export to Spain, allegedly emptying forests of mushroom supplies. Large numbers of predominantly Romani workers have been reportedly harvesting without proper licenses (although no documentation exists as to the exact number of whom are ethnic Romani). As of 2016, in Paris there were 21 Romani encampments with a documented lack or absence of water and sanitation services. This instance is part of a larger issue with equality in water access at Traveller halting sites, where there have been reports of water access being cut off for persons who miss a payment, a practice which has been illegal under French law since 2015. == Portugal ==

At least 6400 Romani persons in Portugal are estimated to not have access to reliable, formal access to clean drinking water. Due to the non-participation of some municipalities in the UNECE survey that calculated this statistic, the actual number is unknown and believed to be higher. In many cases, Romani communities are located in geographically segregated locations, such as behind hills and on the outskirts of cities without access to transportation; in some cases, segregation has been further entrenched by the construction of walls to separate Romani settlements from surrounding neighbourhoods. In 2008, the slum residents had been scheduled for relocation to new homes with better living conditions, however plans were put on hold as a result of the Portuguese financial crisis. In the words of Miguel Bemba da Silva, a resident of Zaïrean origin who worked informally hauling jerrycans of water throughout the community, "Water is what we miss ... It's better to do this than going around thieving." In 2013, with funding from the Portuguese NGO the Gulbenkian Foundation, local architects Tiago Saraiva and Ricardo Morais designed a community kitchen with water access that was completed in 2014. As of 2015, the shantytown continued to exist, and also began to receive increasingly formal government recognition with proposals to implement a playground and a library. Water access via the communal kitchen is now funded by the Portuguese government. == Spain ==

Racism within an environmental context has been documented in Spain, with North African and Romani ethnic communities being particularly affected, as well as migrant agricultural workers from throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Europe. As of 2007, there were an estimated 750,000 Romani (primarily Gitano Romani) living in Spain. According to the "Housing Map of the Roma Community in Spain, 2007", 12% of Romani live in substandard housing, while 4%, or 30,000 people, live in slums or shantytowns; furthermore, 12% resided in segregated settlements. gained momentum in the late 1980s and 1990s. These initiatives were ostensibly designed to improve Romani living conditions, yet also had the purpose of being employed to vacate plots of real estate for development. Migrant agricultural workers in southern Spain Throughout southern Spain, migrant workers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and South East Europe employed in the agricultural sector have experienced housing and labour conditions that involve racism within an environmental context, producing food for the larger European society while facing extreme deprivations. In Murcia, lettuce pickers have complained of having to work illegally for salary by volume for employment agencies, instead of by the hour, meaning they are required to work more hours for less pay, while also experiencing unsafe exposure to pesticides. According to Angel LluchFor three days on end, from 5 to 7 February, racist violence swept the town with immigrants as its target. For 72 hours hordes of farmers wielding iron bars, joined by youths from the high schools, beat up their victims, chased them through the streets and pursued them out among the greenhouses. Roads were blocked, barricaded and set aflame. In the words of the report,In 1998, the town council erected a wall in a neighbourhood where many Roma families were living. This wall almost completely isolated the Roma as they were deprived of easy access to public transport and other services. Seven years later, this wall, which was to be provisional, still existed. El Cascayu transitional Romani settlement In 2002, 16 Romani families in El Cascayu were relocated under a transitional housing scheme to what has been described by the organization SOS Racismo as a discriminatory, isolated, and environmentally marginalized housing location. Valdemingómez is named after the waste processing, incineration, and dumping facilities which it is adjacent to, and is a site of extreme social marginalization. An estimated 4,500 trucks a day pass through the main road of the settlement daily en route to the dump and recycling facilities, raising concerns over safety, particularly for children. There are no sidewalks, traffic lights, or pedestrian crossings along the road, and several children have been killed by trucks. In 2003, a significant number of Spanish Romani were displaced by the demolition of the Las Barranquilas and El Salobral shantytowns, and subsequently relocated to Valdemingómez. According to Rubio, the primary economy of Las Barranquilas and El Salobral was the illegal drug trade; the relocation of Romani residents has resulted in an influx of drug traffic to Valdemingómez. Nearby is the separate settlement of El Gallinero (which is not part of Cañada Real Galiana, despite its proximity) which is composed of migrant Romani from Romania; El Gallinero was settled following a fire which destroyed their previous homes in a distinct district of Valdemingómez. El Gallinero, which has a population of 400 residents (half of whom are children, many of whom do not attend school) lacks adequate street lighting and access to clean water, and significant numbers of its inhabitants are faced with addictions issues. During a 2007 effort by the Madrid government to demolish Cañada Real Galiana, violent clashes between police and residents took place. Mainstream news publications such as ABC, the official Spanish state media company RTVE, and El Mundo published stories which sensationalized the conditions of the settlement, arguably exaggerating the scale of the drug trade and other criminal activities there, while also making unfounded claims implying potential terrorist activity among residents, allegedly portraying the settlement as a site of "racial difference with dangerous others". In the context of the 15 M movement and an increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible housing market, many people in Spain identified with the struggles of Cañada Real Galiana residents, and activism surrounding the community received significant support from individuals and groups of diverse backgrounds from within Spanish society. Following a series of protests and social activism, a process of court battles took place over the continuing demolitions, centered on Article 47 of the Spanish Constitution which guarantees the right to housing. In 2013, a landmark decision at the European High Court of Human Rights was delivered in favour of Cañada Real Galiana residents, effectively ending the demolitions and protecting the existence of the settlement under Spanish constitutional law. Following the decision, as part of an effort to improve the situation in the settlement, the regional government of Madrid negotiated with municipalities neighbouring Cañada Real Galiana to conduct a formal census of the settlement. Contrary to earlier mainstream media reports that the settlement was overwhelmingly Moroccan, sixty percent of residents were found to be non-Romani Spaniards, with the remainder being a diverse group consisting of other ethnicities; also, the population of the settlement was determined to be 8,600 residents instead of 40,000 as some sources had earlier claimed. While environmental racism and environmental inequality continue to be major issues in the settlement for many residents in certain neighborhoods, the census revealed an arguably complex picture of the social situation in Cañada Real Galiana. == Italy ==

Romani and migrant populations in Italy experience documented practices of racism and segregation within a context of environmental concerns and environmental inequality. Among migrant populations in Italy, environmental inequality has been documented in relation to agricultural labor through exposure to pesticides, low wages, and poor working conditions. and have been housed in extreme proximity to a hazardous waste site that has been likened by one government official to Chernobyl in terms of cleanup requirements and risk to human health. Nomad Camps and related sites In Rome, over 4,000 Romani persons (not to be confused with Romans) live in encampments authorized by the Italian national and Roman municipal governments. Prior to its closure in 2016, Hazardous waste in Campania and exposure to Romani settlements In Italy, an estimated 11.6 million tons of waste are illegally disposed of each year. As of 2014, 5,281 contaminated sites and suspected waste dumps have been located by American military investigators. Italy, large numbers of migrant workers from Africa and Asia produce agricultural goods within a context of severe social and environmental marginalization, lacking access to clean water, utilities, housing, and welcomed as economic contributors for helping fill jobs that established Italians are often reluctant to perform, Most are small independent operators who are often unable to recover costs due to the current price of oranges, which has been affected by international competition and a price crash, thereby compelling them to seek the cheapest labor possible. Contributing to this pressure, market monopolization has been identified by local agriculture advocates as an aggravating factor. According to Pietro Molinaro of the Calabrian Organisation of Producers, "The problem this area has faced for some years is that the big multinational drinks companies underpay for the juice. They put pressure on the small local processing plants that press the juice." == Greece ==

Romani communities in Greece face severe, widespread issues of social and geographic segregation, including denial of access to environmental means of sustenance such as land, electricity, and clean water, as well as exposure to pollution and other ecological issues. Similar issues exist for predominantly Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants, especially those working in the agricultural sector. In some cases, Romani communities have been identified for actions resulting in environmental damage, such as unauthorized waste incineration and negligently starting forest fires. Informal recycling industries engaged in by Romani have been identified as a health concern. In May 2013, following a previous action by police to guard the landfill from trespassers, an influx of unspecified numbers of Romani and immigrants led to the site being temporarily closed by regional governor Yiannis Sgouros. Sgouros stated that the closure, reportedly largely symbolic in nature, was in response to what had been described by news publication Ekathimerini as a "dangerous situation" at the landfill, requesting the government to halt "an unchecked influx of people". In the words of Sgouros, "The situation at the landfill is out of control. People, garbage trucks, bulldozers and trash are all in the same space with the constant risk of an accident." Three Pakistani individuals were also injured, and Romani dwellings were set on fire in retaliation for the killings. In an interview at the landfill site, Rigas acknowledged the issue, statingLook, we have a problem more generally with Roma individuals who come and gather materials from here and set fires, of course in the summer with the heat, fires start by themselves with the amount of material and plastic that there is. I don't want to say it is only them causing the problem, but they are part of it. One environmentally problematic site was the Aspropyrgos Romani settlement, which was located on a garbage dump in an industrial sector of the community. Shortly after the blaze came under control by firefighters, groups of Romani persons entered the still-burning structure to scavenge for scrap metal. Approximately 200 workers were owed nearly 150,000 Euros, according to seasonal worker Liton Khan. The two convicted were initially sentenced to fourteen years seven months, and eight years seven months, respectively, however they were later released on appeal. According to journalist Kostantinos Menzel, Morad's election was politically significant because the municipality of Andravida-Kallyni encompasses Nea Manolada, where the 2013 shooting of migrant workers took place. Migrant agricultural workers of predominantly Pakistani origin held a nearly week-long strike beginning July 3, 2014, in Skala, Peloponnese. The 800 workers participating in the strike were protesting "many delays in payment, inhumane living conditions and racist treatment by the Greek Police" according to Kalmouki. Local media reported that the immigrants marched from Skala's city hall to the police station, where they met with police officials and indicated an intention to press charges in relation to allegations of police abuses. This was the second protest by Pakistani agricultural workers in the area, who also held a strike in September 2010. In spite of local efforts to improve conditions for agricultural migrant workers and refugees, issues persist due to their undocumented status and lack of formal immigration paperwork, which can only be assigned by the Greek government. According to Doulak, migrants are subjected to regular police harassment due to a lack of documents granting legal status in Greece. According to Doulak, "The main problem is that we have no papers. We get picked up by the police all the time. And the farmers think that they don't have to pay us, because we're here illegally, we have to live with no electricity or running water." == Sweden ==

According to the report "Inconvenient Human Rights: Access to Water and Sanitation in Sweden's Informal Settlements", the Swedish state has, through international law, arguably aligned itself toward a legal responsibility of ensuring clean water access for all persons on Swedish territory. In the words of the report, "European and international human rights norms have legal significance in Swedish domestic law. Sweden has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which articulates the rights to life and human dignity." exclusion encompassed "invasive and degrading registration processes, forced sterilization, separation of families, limited and difficult access to housing, education and work, and bans on entering the country". == See also ==