"Disease spreaders": anti-Roma racism in the time of COVID-19

Romani identities, cultures, and behaviours in Europe are often framed in terms of moral regulation, social control, and moral panics. The messaging from state and political actors, as well as media, tend to coalesce around the viewpoint that Roma are to be feared, subjugated, and othered. This is most evident when examining Roma migration and settlement, where moral panic discourses principally focus. This chapter discusses the socio-economic situation and political positioning of moral panics regarding the Roma, set within a contemporary context of austerity, neoliberalism, and COVID−19. The chapter traces and discusses the theoretical context of moral panics and how this lens is useful when examining the social control of Romani communities. We note that issues of hygiene, public health, and safety have been repositioned in the current period around populist discourses of ‘alt-right’ nationalism, biometric border controls, and increased policing. The chapter offers case studies from Scotland and Romania to show how Roma communities have been profiled and targeted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accusations of spreading the virus across state/national borders and non-observance of lockdown rules are unpacked. The chapter also evidences the disproportionate state and police harassment and verbal/physical violence Roma faced during the pandemic.