Ossified discrimination: Demystifying policy and conventional frames to the Hungarian Romani by ‘myth’ deconstruction

This study is about three common myths that prevent an accurate depiction of the present situation of the Romani populations of Hungary. The aim of the study is to seek to identify three central myths that have served to reproduce an incorrect image of how the Hungarian government ‘manages’ its Romani populations, and how Romani live within Hungary. The research was conducted through a mix of fieldwork and secondary sources, including a review of official and NGO reports and data in Hungarian and English. A key finding of the study was that data was not available on many of the questions originally posed by the researcher. Lack of disaggregated data was found to be a major impediment to building up a reliable picture of the status and position of Romani in the country. Another key finding was that the official stance was highly contradictory, and counterproductive to improvement of the conditions of Romani in the country. Within the context of the Decade for Roma Integration, the diversity of the Romani people of Hungary will continue to pose a challenge.