In Dobl-Zwaring (Styria), representatives of the wandering Roma and Sinti are causing a stir. They have settled on the grounds of a model aircraft club. There has been talk of damage and threats. Lieboch has also been hit several times this year. But the communities have no control.
Suddenly they were there – without notice and, according to the owner, without permission – a group of Roma and Sinti settled on Monday on a site in Dobl-Zwaring that has been used for years by a model airplane club: “We made it fun for ourselves: “The young people here are also enthusiastic about technology and craftsmanship,” says a spokesman for the club. But that is over for now. “There is chaos, there is damage and there are threats,” he reports. The latter was also experienced by representatives of the media and politicians who got an idea on site on Tuesday.
The community has “no control”
“We as a municipality have no control over it,” laments mayor Waltraud Walch. The police can only intervene if there are criminal offences. However, the mere presence of Roma and Sinti on private property is “only” relevant under civil law. As a property owner, you can file a lawsuit for violation, but by the time this becomes reality, the wandering people have usually disappeared again.
Stefan Helmreich, mayor of Lieboch, can also sing a song about the problem: “We have often had groups of Roma and Sinti here this year – usually around the Diesel cinema, but once also on the community sports field. They simply get water from the fire hydrant and electricity from every socket,” he reports. Three truckloads of waste were left behind: “We had to take them away at the expense of the general public,” he says, speaking of a great injustice. “The rules that apply to every Austrian should also apply to this ethnic group.”
In Dobl-Zwaring, the model aircraft club managed to reach an agreement with the Roma and Sinti: “They want to continue on Friday and have promised that they will repair the damage.”
But since ‘visits’ are also expected in the future, the mayors would like more support from the federal and state governments: ‘Either we need to provide them with their own transit points on their routes, or we need more action to take action against the disregard for our rule of law. Can we do that?’
Source: Krone
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