The Plight Of Europe\’s Roma Population
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Transcript of The Plight Of Europe\’s Roma Population
The Plight of Roma in Europe
Examining European governments and their contribution to the difficulties
faced by Roma
Agenda
• Hypothesis: Governments contributing to Roma persecution
• Methodology• Overview/Background• Prejudice and Discrimination• Czech Republic & Roma Education• Italy’s Treatment of Roma• OSCE Action Plan• Soros’ Decade of Roma Inclusion• Conclusion
Methodology• European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
Q&A• Open Society Institute Q&A
– Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015
• Secondary Research Sources:– ERRC– OSCE– Amnesty International– Romove.cz (Czech)– Migrationinformation.org– YouTube
Overview and Background
• Origins: Northern India• Settled in Europe by 15th century• “Gypsies”, considered discriminatory• Victims of the Holocaust
– Est. 200,000-800,000 murdered– Porajmos (The Devouring)
• Est. Total European Population: 8-12 million– Romania: >2 million
• Communist-era social safety nets = greater protection
• August, Madonna concert in Romania
Sources: migrationinformation.org, romove.cz
Roma Populations
Source: migrationinformation.org
Prejudice and Discrimination• Violence against Roma
– Police abuse– Non-prosecution of perpetrators
• Housing segregation & discrimination– Lack of electricity, water, sanitation, transportation networks; forced evictions
• Lack of access to health care– Lack of telephone, transportation and isolated living arrangements compound the
discrimination component• Employment discrimination
– Discrimination creates barrier to ‘formal labor market’ – 64% report discrimination, 49% said they were told explicitly by employer (402 working age adults, ’05 and ’06)
– High illiteracy among adult Roma damages ability to gain employment– Communist-era employment was unskilled, failed to translate to capitalist economy– “Glass box”
• Education discrimination– Segregated schools, state-sponsored– Placed in schools appropriate for mentally disabled children– Education levels achieved: 9% - no education, 52% - basic, 12% - secondary, 3% -
university level, (vocational – 19%, other – 5%)• Denied political rights and access to citizenship
– Lack of identification papers – can’t prove citizenship– Avoid self-identifying to avoid discrimination
Source: European Roma Rights Centre
Czech Republic and Roma Education
Czech Republic Deputy Minister of Education: “The will is limited” (2:19)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lzZ7In8KEE
• Ruling in 2005 by European Court of Human Rights outlawed segregation targeted at Romani children
• Czech Republic non-compliance• Romani children continue to be sent to ‘special’ schools, suitable for
‘mentally disadvantaged’ children– ERRC finds a drop in enrollment to ‘standard primary schools’, static
enrollment trends at ‘special’ schools• 2008 evidence shows Romani children over-represented ‘special’ schools
student populations:– Romani children made up 80% of 42.1% of ‘special’ schools– Romani children made up 50-79% of 31.6% of another ‘special’ schools– Romani children made up less than 50% of the student population in
only 26.3% of ‘special’ schools surveyed
Source: European Roma Rights Centre
Italy’s Treatment of Roma• Influx of Roma to Italy from Romania and Bulgaria resulting from EU
membership• Berlusconi government includes anti-immigrant political party Northern League
– Minister of Interior, May 11, 2008: “All Romani camps will have to be dismantled right away…inhabitants…expelled or incarcerated” (Italian newspaper La Repubblica)
• May 13, 2008: Arson attack on Romani camp in Naples• May 21, 2008: Council of Ministers Emergency Decree:
– “Declaration of the state of emergency with regard to nomad community settlements…”
• June 6, 2008: “Gypsies will be monitored and a census would be carried out…Gypsies would also be fingerprinted and photographed…to allow authorities to identify to them…” (Rome’s Commissioner for Roma, Carlo Mosca)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmKrhmUPO98
Source: European Roma Rights Centre
Italy’s Treatment of Roma
• July 1, 2008: Italy’s highest appeal court: “it is acceptable to discriminate against Roma on the grounds that they are thieves”
• Court reversed the conviction of six Northern League defendants who had demanded expulsion of Roma
• Forced Evictions, November 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPj5uWU5PI8– Amnesty Int’l: Illegal under international law
Sources: European Roma Rights Centre, Amnesty International
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
• Implementation of the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area
• Issued in 2003, 2008 Status Report: “Substantive shortcomings with regard to implementation”
• “Insufficient funding, lack of political will at national level, apathy or neglect to implement policies”
Source: OSCE
• Some positive change reported, but with caveat:– Education: Efforts to dismantle segregated
schools– Health care: Socio-medical centers
established– Public/Political life: administrative structures
set up to represent Roma in local and national govt
“Many strategies in place…have little hope of long-term sustainability”
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Source: OSCE
Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015• Political commitment by European Governments to
improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of Roma
• 12 Countries participating: – Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Rep,
Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain
– Not Italy• Each country has crafted a Decade Action Plan
– Cover four main areas: employment, housing, education, health care
• Decade includes REF – Roma Education Fund– Administers university scholarship program for Roma
• First Decade Watch Report, 2007, focused on inputs: what steps have governments taken?
Conclusions
• Concrete examples from Czech Republic and Italy indicate governments are contributing to the plight of the Roma
• OSCE’s Action Plan also indicates government inaction among its 56 member states
• Political will among elected officials is a formidable obstacle
• Roma representation locally/nationally is limited • Decade of Inclusion: positive outcomes?
What’s Next?
• Decade of Inclusion: – Outreach to Roma to generate participation,
how is it handled?– Outreach to majority populations, how are
differences explained?– Stereotypes/myths, what’s true, what’s not?– Four years in, positive outcomes?