Insecurity and the closed circle of poverty in a poor Roma minority community Cover Image

Pasiguria/të dhe qerthulli i mbyllur i varfërisë në një komunitet të varfër të pakicës rome
Insecurity and the closed circle of poverty in a poor Roma minority community

Author(s): Ervin Kaçiu
Subject(s): Anthropology, Culture and social structure , Ethnic Minorities Studies, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Akademia e Studimeve Albanologjike – Instituti i Antropologjisë Kulturore dhe Studimit të Artit
Keywords: Roma minority; poverty cycle; reproduction of self and structure; social networks; capital; habitus;

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses about a crucial issue for many Roma minority individuals and families in Albania such as the cycle of poverty. The article focuses on one of the poorest groups from this minority: those that live in conditions of extreme poverty, locating it as a phenomenon and considering at the same time the heterogeneity of the Roma minority. Given the gravity of the problem in the present, which simultaneously exposes the past and helps to explore future trends, an attempt is made to understand why this community is in the conditions of a survival economy. Unable to address all the complexity of this phenomenon, this article focuses only on a few of the intrinsic factors that influence the continued reproduction of social status and which hamper the social mobility of this community, especially as a result of the insecurities that it faces. This is mostly reflected in the relation to work and housing. Based on empirical data, efforts are made to name and categorize the causes and effects of the problem through the individual. Theoretically the phenomenon is read through the concept of capital, social space, social networks, minority-majority relations and habitus.

  • Issue Year: 2/2019
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 148-177
  • Page Count: 30
  • Language: Albanian