EUROPEAN
ROMA INFORMATION OFFICE
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Roma
migrants in Europe - Transcript of the debate in the
Parliamentary Assembly of CoE |
The
report was directed against prejudice against migrant groups,
an unacceptable phenomenon which had to be combated, as it lay
at the heat of discrimination against the Roma. Such
discrimination was unfair and often resulted in persecution
and in violence. One such prejudice was the idea that Roma
were nomadic and always looked elsewhere for work and a new
life. This had been perpetuated for many decades but was
false: only between 5% and 20 % of Roma were nomadic and
classed as Travellers.
Another
prejudice was the idea of Roma as foreigners. Again, this was
false: Roma had been an integral part of Europe’s diverse
society and culture for more than 700 years. The third, and
worst of the prejudices perpetuated, was the idea that
migration by Roma was illegal. The reality was that many were
EU citizens of countries such as Greece and Bulgaria, and as a
result had a right to travel, but this was being reduced at
present. This led to an association with criminality, but this
was false and had to be tackled. There was work to be done to
combat the idea, spread by the media, that Roma begged and
lived at the expense of others.
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A
Critique of Coalition Government Policy on Gypsies, Roma and
Travellers |
The
Coalition Government statement of agreement pledged to promote
improved community relations and opportunities for ethnic
minority communities (Cabinet Office, 2010). Gypsies, Roma and
Travellers (GRT) are one of the most marginalised minorities
in society (Cemlyn et al, 2009), therefore actions by the
Coalition Government that impact on this group are a good
indicator of the strength of its commitment to improved
community relations and social
justice.
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more |
Balkans:
Roma pay the price of visa liberalisation, NGO survey
says |
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The
visa liberalization with the EU has resulted in arbitrary
border controls and travel bans in the countries of the
so-called Western Balkans. This is the result of a comparative
survey on the measures which have been taken by countries
of the region in reaction to EU pressures over an increase in
the number of asylum seekers from these countries. Roma, who
have been brandmarked as the archetype of bogus asylum
seekers, have been the main victims of these
measures.
The
author of this survey, Chachipe,
a Roma rights NGO based in Luxembourg, has analysed the
measures which have been put in place by Serbia, Macedonia and
other countries of the region, which have been granted a
liberalisation of their visa regime with the EU, in order to
evade pressures over an eventual reintroduction of visa
requirements. They consist in a strengthening of border
controls, the revocation or annihilation of travel documents
and other forms of punishment.
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more
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Ukraine:
Roma flee to the “reservation” |
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In the
Trans-Carpathian village of Berehovo, right on the border with
the European Union [Hungary], hundreds of people are living
behind a concrete wall. In shacks made of earth and wood, in
incredible poverty.
Smelly
rooms with cracked and mouldy walls sealed with cardboard and
rags, with leaky ceilings, clay floors and plastic sheets for
windows serve as homes for local Roma families with their many
children. It’s a nationality that – as confirmed by human
rights organisations from Ukraine – just gets in everyone’s
way. Just before the European Football Championship began, the
gypsy camp in the Kiev suburb of Berezniaky was burned down.
Probably because the Roma had built their shanties near the
railway tracks, which would be bringing thousands of fans to
the football championships.
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German
investment to provide Roma with jobs and
housing |
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The
Roma National Minority Council and a consortium of
German companies represented by Jugoagent KTS and Roma
Investment Group signed an MoU on Thursday. The
memorandum of understanding should provide employment
opportunities and solve the housing problems of part of
the Roma population in the country.
Under
the document, the German group, a successful union of
Roma businessmen, should invest in Serbia in cooperation
with local businessmen and employ Roma people, and if
possible, provide those who get jobs with
accommodations.
The first project to be
implemented, said President of the Roma National
Minority Council Vitomir Mihajlović, is the construction
of a recycling center covering about 15 hectares of land
in the municipality of Ruma, northern
Serbia.
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more
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Housing:
"Locked on in Bedfordshire" |
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As
the British Romani Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities
continue to try to meet their accommodation needs, the
reluctance of the local authorities to grant planning
permission or deal with applications in line with policy
makes life difficult, and leads to further problems.
Jimmy Golby locked onto the concrete blocks placed at
the entrance to his land by a neighbour.
The
eight months Jimmy has had to wait to get a
decision on his planning application from Central
Bedfordshire Council has not helped the situation.
The shortage of sites, is just one of the problems
facing Romani Gypsies and Travellers in the
Central Bedfordshire
district.
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more |
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Ghetto
or helping? Roma segregation spurs
debate |
Building
a wall that closes in a Roma neighbourhood and rehousing
families in a dilapidated Communist-era office block
have earned Catalin Chereches accusations of racism. But
the actions have also helped the mayor of the northern
Romanian town of Baia Mare to become the country’s most
popular local politician and shown how central Europe’s
lacklustre economies and widespread poverty can trigger
radical solutions. Chereches, 33, an urbane
Vienna-educated economist, says he is trying to improve
the lot of Baia Mare’s impoverished Roma. Rights groups
counter that he is enclosing the population in ghettos
and making the situation worse.
He
says living conditions have improved by moving families
away from a slum where naked children play in the dust
with stray dogs and cats. But it still keeps Roma
separate from other people and lacks space and
bathrooms.
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2nd edition of the Open-Air plenary Romani
Art - International Dialogue "Jaw Dikh" project in
Czarna Góra village in South of
Poland |
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Harangos Roma Educational Association invites
you to the 2nd edition of the Open-Air plenary Romani
Art - International Dialogue "Jaw Dikh" project in
Czarna Góra village in South of
Poland. This project aims at establishing a dialogue
between the Roma artists from Europe. The first edition
took place in August 2011 and it's success convinced us
about the need of continuity of this initiative. This
year the event will take place from 1st of September
till 10th of September 2012.
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more |
"EU Roma strategy: from policy to regional
and local practice” - Brussels, Belgium - 26 September
2012 |
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Following the Council conclusions of May and June
2011 on Roma integration and the proposal
from the European Commission on an EU Framework for
national Roma integration
strategies , all EU Member States were expected to lay
down a strategy for Roma inclusion or sets of policy
measures. The European Commission committed itself to
report annually to the European Parliament and the
Council on the progress in the integration of the Roma
population in the member states. A first
report has been published in May,
assessed the national Roma integration strategies and
provided feedback to Member States.
Even though the member states are the first
collocutors of the European Commission, the
implementation of the strategies happens on local and
regional grounds. The Liaison agency Flanders-Europe
(vleva) is therefore preparing a one-day
conference which will focus on the impact of the EU
strategy on the regional and local policy
level.
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more |
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