Roma migrant children in Catalonia: between the politics of benevolence and the normalization of violence

Abstract

In this article, I engage with the current debate on Roma migrant children. Taking Catalonia as a case study, I tackle the separation of Romani children from their parents and the completion of pay-to-go schemes for marginalized Romanian Roma families. The focus lies within the allegedly humane logic of state institutions and civil-society organizations that reflect structural oppression and unveil everyday racism against Roma as a group. Specifically, I seek to explain the relation between the “voluntary return” practices and programs for child protection. The benevolent practices towards the migrant Roma families are considered to be grounded on child well-being. At the same time, the common and widespread practice of pay-to-go for poor Romani migrants push the families into a vicious circle of forced mobility. Therefore, I employ the theories of humanitarianism, and the critiques on the politics of benevolence, to reveal the institutional racism against the Romani migrants.