EXCLUSIVE: “There Is A ‘Rroma Problem’” – Italian Ambassador

Mancini admitted that it is possible that the violent behavior of certain Romanian immigrants in Italy has to do with their inability to integrate.

“However, before the event two days ago, there was general consensus in my country that Rroma are not known for sexual assault. They focused mainly on small crime, such as stealing wallets. They were also known to break entries and steal from people’s homes. It is a fact in Italy that when a group of Rroma sets camp, there is theft in the neighboring areas immediately,” Mancini said.

The ambassador said he himself was the victim of such a petty theft in May or June this year.

"I was in front of Cismigiu park (center Bucharest – e.n). I had met with mayor Videanu and was on my way to parliament together with two colleagues. Five young men approached us and started begging and one of them snatched my mobile phone. Another attacked one of my colleagues with a small pocket knife, cutting his jacket to get to the wallet. When they realized my phone was obsolete, we negotiated. I am a diplomat after all, so we negotiated and I got my phone back for 5 lei. Not 5 euros, but 5 lei," Mancini said, adding this was somewhat a funny experience.

This is the type of crime Romanians are known for, he said.

Asked how he thinks this problem can be solved, Mancini said that first of all, it takes time.

"Things work out eventually. We simply cannot afford a Plan B," he said, emphasizing the strong diplomatic relations between Romania and Italia. He said a positive result needs immediate crisis management, a clear vision from both countries and media coverage of positive aspects.

Mancini also said the term “problem” must be understood in a neutral sense, and not negatively. "Rromas are not just from Romania. There are at least three waves of Rroma people in Italy. We have Italian Rromas, who have Italian passports they are proud of and they are quite well integrated, in their own way (…). The second wave came with the fall of the former Yugoslavia in the mid-90s and they are starting to fit in. (…) It’s a relatively small community: just a few thousand people, who are now quite well integrated. But look how long that took. Six, ten years. That is a long time. Now we have a third wave of immigrants," Mancini said, adding a solution must be found for their future.

The ambassador added this third wave came not just from Romania, but also Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia. Mancini said the current tense situation created by the crime of a Romanian Rroma made headlines because it is a recent event and has a deep social impact. However, with time, there has to be a solution for the whole of this community.

"Romanians have been living in Italy for years. They are not just a well rooted community, but also a successful one as Romania’s embassy in Rome registers some 17,000 Romanian entrepreneurs in Italy. However, any community must abide by the laws of the country it lives in," Mancini said.

He reminded that according to Romania’s interior minister Cristian David, the number of Romanians in Italy tripled in the interval 2004-2007, and this also lead to a growth in criminality. He said Italians fear that Romanians commit the most crimes, by far. "This can be explained by the size of the Romanian community in Italy,” he said.

"This decree will not become a tool for discrimination against Romanians. It will be a tool against all those committing serious offences," Mancini said, adding he supports this measure, which also protects members of the Romanian community.

"The last thing we need is to assume things that aren’t true. What is happening in Italy now is in fact a wave of emotion stirred by a singled-out crime. (…) Italy has no xenophobe sentiments, but merely negative sentiment for those breaking the law," Mancini said when asked whether the crime in Rome could generate anti-Romanian feelings on the part of the whole Italian society.

"It is useless to repeat that there are hundreds of thousands of Romanians working in Italy. Most of our nurses are Romanian, most of those caring for senior citizens or people with disabilities, are Romanian," the ambassador said, reminding that during a visit to Bucharest, the mayor of Turin had said that if Romanians were to leave, a third of the city would close.

Mancini said he attended the meeting between Rome mayor Walter Veltroni and Romanian interior minister David last week. "He (Veltroni – e.n.) told him (David – e.n.) That Rome can integrate hundreds of newcomers every month, but not thousands. This is a problem. Thousands of people living on the edge of society are coming to Rome. How can we carry on like this? The EU should get involved in this matter. In this matter, both minister Cioroianu (Romania’s foreign affairs minister – e.n) and minister David agreed," Mancini said.

Mancini said EU structural funds could be used to have Romania keep on its territory people repatriated from Italy and people accepting to leave Italy. They could be encouraged with employment opportunities, Mancini said, adding Italian companies would be willing to cooperate in such a program.