Romanians criticise police begging claims (From The Oxford Times)
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Romanians criticise police begging claims
7:00am Tuesday 10th August 2010 in
ROMANIANS living in Oxford have reacted angrily following comments by police about gangs of muggers in the city centre.
In an article in the Oxford Mail on Friday, Thames Valley Police said teams of “Romanian women” were coming to Oxford to beg for money.
They described them as being “dressed in fairly typical Romanian clothing, long flowing skirts, long hair and most of them tend to be quite chunky”.
But George Gazdeanu, 33, who has lived in Oxford for three-and-half years, said the comments were unfair.
He said: “These are not Romanian people the police are talking about, these are Roma gipsies.
“And they are a completely different people.”
Mr Gazdeanu, of Holt Weer Close, Cutteslowe, who works for Oxford construction company BHL Builders, said the description made the distinction obvious. He said: “Nobody in Romania wears this kind of old clothing. They are gipsy clothes, not Romanian.
“It’s completely wrong. The gipsies may be Romanian citizens, but they’re an ethnic minority and we have trouble with them in Romania, just like here.”
Mr Gazdeanu lives with a number of other Romanians, all of whom work in Oxfordshire.
Emilian Iconaru, 25, who works at the Lambert Arms hotel in Watlington with his girlfriend, said the police’s mistake was common.
Giorgian Iordache, 20, an international politics and history student at Aberystwyth University, added: “I think it is misplaced anger.
“It is not just here, it is everywhere we go. We try to be nice but people think because we are from Romania, we are gipsies. The problem is that Romanian gipsies do not integrate themselves into society.”
Mr Gazdeanu added: “I know about 50 or 60 Romanian people in Oxford and every single one of them is working.
“You will not find a Romanian on the streets begging. We’re nothing to do with these people and the police should specify who they are talking about.”
On Friday the police said organised begging gangs were preying on tourists and shoppers. They give people a sob story in broken English, claiming they need money for food and milk for their babies.
No-one from Thames Valley Police was available to comment.
Comments(19)
EBTWO
says...
10:02am Tue 10 Aug 10
christeenyweeny
says...
10:51am Tue 10 Aug 10
GaryOxford
says...
10:57am Tue 10 Aug 10
EBTWO wrote:If they hold romanian passports then they are here legally. They should be deported though because they meet the following criteria.
I see the odd eastern european beggar in Oxford, they are from Romania even though they may be Roma gypsies. I know from Hungarian friends that the Roma people are despised across eastern europe. They have no right to be here, are almost certainly illegal and should be arrested and deported swiftly.
"Firstly, the host country can deport them to their country of origin after 90 days if they do not have a job, sickness insurance or the means to support themselves (and if they have no family member in the host country capable of supporting them). This is to prevent people becoming a burden on the host country's social safety net.
Secondly, they can be deported if they present a threat to public order, public security or public health.
They must, however, have an opportunity to appeal, and must be given a month to leave, except in emergencies. "
From the descriptions given these people do not seem to have a means of support (aside from robbery) and they are a threat to public order.
I would imagine the police in Oxford and Slough know exactly who these people are and if they wanted to could get them deported.
british an proud
says...
12:34pm Tue 10 Aug 10
Same old Tories, same old politics
says...
2:22pm Tue 10 Aug 10
It sounds more like society, of which we all belong, isn't interested in allowing people who are different to integrate. Chicken and egg scenario.
razvan
says...
3:53pm Tue 10 Aug 10
riman09
says...
5:12pm Tue 10 Aug 10
One can only assume these allegations reflect the minds of the accusers, which are bent on being negative where that is not relevant. Please analyse matters, before writing. Or, as they say, 'engage brain before mouth', please.
Cobb
says...
7:29pm Tue 10 Aug 10
Indians speak english and some have english passports but they are not "english".
Romaninians are like english people (face and skin wise)
PS I cant remember last time i was reading something good about Romania in a UK newspaper, but maybe this is a UK politics!
I can even show pictures for those who dont get it! :-)
Why do they beg? Well thats the question we ask ourselves in romania for more than 500 years, they were always like that !
Cameron has gone to India and USA with happy messages but maybe one of these days he will turn to European countries also !
Same old Tories, same old politics
says...
3:04pm Wed 11 Aug 10
You only have to read the general comments from the public to see that society does not allow integration on the one hand but demands it on the other at the same time as demonising different lifestyles.
Travelling people have been a part of British culture for over 600 years and for that they and us should be proud.
fly
says...
9:40pm Wed 11 Aug 10
ar fi COOL!!!!
fly
says...
9:44pm Wed 11 Aug 10
ti cativa in Anglia..!!!!ar vorbi o Europa intreaga!!!!ah!de-as fi acolo,la Oxford!!!prin intermediul internetului e simplu sa te organizezi..cine crede ca si mine sa-mi raspunda!!cine vrea sa participe?daca autoritatile noastre nu fac nimic pt imaginea noastra ,macar noi sa ne interesam!!!jos cu tiganii!!!traiasca Romania noastra,traiasca Dacia!!
J B Blackett
says...
5:53pm Thu 12 Aug 10
fly wrote:I agree
Organiza-ti-va!sunte
ti cativa in Anglia..!!!!ar vorbi o Europa intreaga!!!!ah!de-as fi acolo,la Oxford!!!prin intermediul internetului e simplu sa te organizezi..cine crede ca si mine sa-mi raspunda!!cine vrea sa participe?daca autoritatile noastre nu fac nimic pt imaginea noastra ,macar noi sa ne interesam!!!jos cu tiganii!!!traiasca Romania noastra,traiasca Dacia!!
J B Blackett
says...
5:58pm Thu 12 Aug 10
.
There's nothing new under the sun - you see - now I'm begging the question.
J B Blackett
says...
5:58pm Thu 12 Aug 10
.
There's nothing new under the sun - you see - now I'm begging the question.
simplicissimus
says...
11:48pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Same old Tories, same old politics wrote:Only another wilfully obtuse Lefty misses the fact that the issue is about anti-social parasitism.
"“It is not just here, it is everywhere we go. We try to be nice but people think because we are from Romania, we are gipsies. The problem is that Romanian gipsies do not integrate themselves into society.”
It sounds more like society, of which we all belong, isn't interested in allowing people who are different to integrate. Chicken and egg scenario.
But I guess you might say that for 13 disastrous years, the Left tried very hard to integrate just that. Thank God they're toast!
Sarkozy sets the example we in the UK should follow, on this.
isthisusernamefree
says...
9:44pm Fri 13 Aug 10
Alex11111
says...
4:43pm Sat 14 Aug 10
Lord Palmerstone
says...
11:18am Sun 15 Aug 10
"Travelling people have been a part of British culture for over 600 years and for that they and us should be proud"
So have lice , stinky drains and BO. 600 years guarantees you nothing, or will you next be telling us about the 30 gallant squadrons of gypsies who flew Spitfires during the Battler of Britain?
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Jimbo34 says...
8:52am Tue 10 Aug 10
However, there is no mention of this in the article...curious!