PhD Camilla Ida Ravnbøl from University of Copenhagen recently presented her main findings from her PhD thesis “Bottle Hunters: An Ethnography of Law and Life among Homeless Roma in Copenhagen.”
The Roma are part of the Copenhagen cityscape, yet barely noticed by the other residents. Nevertheless, they are at the heart of political debates about destitute EU citizens’ right to reside in Denmark, she argues.
This paradoxical visibility and invisibility of the Roma in her own backyard inspired Ravnbøl to do her research. So for over a year, she followed Roma women and men, who left home to provide for their families by collecting refundable bottles. Her thesis mainly investigates the Roma’s relation to the law and police and their lives on the streets in Copenhagen.
After the lecture, Ravnbøl discussed her research with Alejandro Fuentes, Senior Researcher at RWI and, Morten Kjaerum, RWI’s director.