Collection of articles on the situation of Roma
in Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries
This collection was submitted to the DG Enlargement of the European Commission for
the drafting of the Progress Reports
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Plan 2010-2011 (MAABA002)
03/11/2009 - Bosnia and Herzegovina is situated in south-eastern Europe, on the western Balkan
Peninsula, and has a population of approximately 4 million. The Balkan wars caused extensive
destruction and created sharp divisions between the country's populations. The real gross domestic
product plummeted by 80 per cent and more than two million people - nearly half the prewar
population - became refugees, either abroad or internally. Since the end of war in 1995 and the
Dayton Peace Agreement, the country has moved towards peace and reconciliation. Endeavours to
increase cohesiveness and countrywide cooperation are, however, progressing slowly as deep
divisions and mistrust still persist.
... Among the most vulnerable are poor families with children, pensioners and elderly people,
disabled people, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and minorities. A substantial number of IDPs
have returned, but face legal, social, economic or political obstacles to reintegration.
... The promotion of the fundamental principles and humanitarian values are integrated elements in
all programme activities as well as the profiling of the National Society. The component under the
programme forges information networks and vocational training for asylum seekers from Bosnia and
Herzegovina to increase their ability to become self-sustainable. The society is currently exploring
the need for targeting new vulnerable groups such as victims of human trafficking and intends to
continue its work with Roma people.
Read more on http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VVOS-7XFS7Z?OpenDocument
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Two million for housing for Roma
22/11/2009 - Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Safet Halilovic and Dr. Ambassador of
Sweden to BiH Bosse Hedberg will sign tomorrow an agreement in Sarajevo on the support of the
Swedish Development Agency (SIDA) project of housing for Roma in BiH.
The planned funding for the housing of Roma in BiH amounts to 2,175,800 KM. On the basis of
public calls for the collection of proposals for solving the problems of Roma in the field of housing
selected by the five municipalities in the Federation and three in the RS and Brcko District. Since a
lot of other projects that meet the prescribed criteria, and could not be funded due to lack of funds,
Sida decided to finance other projects that meet the criteria, the amount of SEK 10,500,000, or
2,015.000 KM.
In this way it will be possible to finance additional projects, CARITAS, a city of Banja Luka, the
remaining required amount of key municipalities, municipalities Kladanj, Vitez, Travnik and Bihac.
Final decisions on funding these projects will bring the Commission to select projects, the location of
the proposed visit of Roma in these projects. After the signing ceremony of the agreement will be
announced the beginning of the process of recording and establishing a database on Roma in BiH.
Source: Fena
Bosnia discriminates against Jews, Roma, says court
Strasbourg, 22/12/2009 - The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has condemned
Bosnia-Herzegovina over a controversial ban. This country is preventing members of its Roma and
Jewish communities from becoming members of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the
House of Peoples of the state parliament.
Roma Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina Coordinator Dervo Sejdić and President of the Jewish
Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina Jakup Finci filed a lawsuit against the state for discriminatory
provisions of its Constitution, and those found in the election legislation which do not allow Romas
or Jews to become members of the two institutions.
The court in Strasbourg decided that there was "no reasonable and objective excuse” for such a ban
to be in place, and that it was therefore contrary to the European Human Rights Convention which
forbids discrimination. The Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina mentions two categories of citizens
– members of the "constitutional peoples, i.e. Serbs, Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Croats, and
"others" – which includes Jews, Roma and members of other ethnic minorities. Only those with
ethnic background in the three "constitutional peoples" can become candidates for positions in the
Presidency and the House of Peoples. The Strasbourg court has also ordered Bosnia-Herzegovina to
pay Sejdić EUR 1,000, while Finci will receive EUR 20,000, to cover their expenses.
Source: Beta
EU envoy threatens Bosnia with sanctions over discriminatory constitution
Banja Luka, 22/01/2010 - The top European Union envoy in Bosnia on Friday said the country could
face sanctions if it fails to change its discriminatory constitution before the October general
elections. Last month the European Court of Human Rights slammed Bosnia for barring Jews and
Roma from running for high elected office and ordered that the constitution be changed.
"I cannot say what would be our reaction if the ruling is not executed but suspension is definitely one
of the options" provided for in the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, "but not the
only one", the chief of the European Commission delegation in Bosnia, Dimitris Kourkoulas, told the
Dnevni Avaz daily.
Read more on http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/bosnia-rights.2e5
Bosnia: Police Raid in Child Prostitution Probe
16/03/2010 - Bosnian police began raiding several locations in eastern Bosnia and questioning a
number of people, including the country's security minister, in a case involving incitement to
prostitution and sexual abuse of a minor, officials said.
The police are conducting searches in thirteen locations near the eastern towns of Serbenica and
Bratunac and interviewing several people, including a number of police officers and education
workers, police spokesman Dragomir Pajic told Balkan Insight.
Bosnia's Security Minister Sadik Ahmetovic told journalists that he had also been invited for
questioning about the case, which he said involved a minor Roma girl reportedly raped by 20
persons.
“It is about a girl to whom I have given a scholarship, as I have given scholarships to many other
children,” Ahmetovic said.
Read more on http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/26634/
Srebrenica apology clears Serbia’s EU path
Deputy Prime Minister says Serbia ready in 2011
31/03/2010 - In a historical turnaround Serbia’s parliament has passed a resolution on 30 March
apologizing for the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. A document which sparked much debate within the
house was passed by a slim majority and condemned the killing of approximately 8000 Muslims, but
did not refer to the act as genocide. This move is highly speculated along with results from The
Hague trials and a report from the War Crimes Tribunal to be released in June to bring about a
positive future for EU integration to the country, and the foundations are already laid.
On a recent visit to Brussels the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Bozidar Djelic took some time to
drop by the New Europe offices and talk to Alia Papageorgiou on Serbia’s equal participation with
EU Member States in the Danube Project, why Serbia will be ready for EU Entry in 2011, and just
what Serbia is doing to make sure the sciences maintain their high level of skill. The interview
follows below.
... Serbia will be heavily involved in the upcoming Roma Conference is that right? In April? - During
the Spanish presidency we have been advocating for and are happy it has eventuated, the first Roma
Conference to be held 8 April. Serbia has a significant rural minority and wants the future of the
minority to be assured. We created a national inclusion council and are using our resources for this
minority but the last years have demonstrated that the Roma issue is a pan European issue; we think
the summit will allow for Roma EU strategies to continue within the Spanish presidency. The Roma
are the only people that are a minority everywhere and we need a European response backed up by
national and European resources and we do hope that’s something can be done.
Read full interview on http://www.neurope.eu/articles/Srebrenica-apology-clears-Serbias-EUpath/100051.php
Roma Community Advocates in BiH
07/04/2010 - There are a number of Roma NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that currently
work on various problems and issues within the Roma community. Despite their engagement, many
of these NGOs do not have adequate skills and capacities and their resulting impact and influence are
not as strong as desired.
“We need well-educated Roma activists capable of becoming partners with state institutions and
agencies and the international community that can address the problems of the Roma community,”
stated Dervo Sejdić, the Roma Focal Point in the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. “When
the OSCE Mission to BiH and other international Missions conclude their work in BiH, Roma NGOs
need to be prepared to advocate for the human rights of their community.”
For that reason, the OSCE Mission to BiH decided to implement the project “Roma Community
Advocates in BiH”. Financed by the German Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the aim of the
project was to empower a team of young Roma activists to effectively advocate for equal access to
basic human rights.
Read more on http://www.oscebih.org/public/print_news.asp?id=2420
Violation of Roma Rights Must Stop - Ambassador Robbins said at Annual Roma Meeting
Sarajevo, 14/04/2010 - The OSCE Mission to BiH, in cooperation with the Office of Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) hosted in Sarajevo today the 4th Annual Regional Meeting
of Roma Focal Points, involving OSCE Presence in Albania, Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje,
Mission in Kosovo, Missions to Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The meeting gathered experts on Roma and Sinti Issues for a discussion of current trends and
challenges in the protection and promotion of Roma human rights, as well as OSCE field operation
activities that relate to the provision of support to governmental authorities and civil society in this
regard.
“We need to develop our common efforts to improve the living conditions of Roma and Sinti, and
ensure their full access to social, economic and political life in their countries”, said Ambassador
Gary D. Robbins in an address to the participants. Robbins also noted that Roma in BiH often suffer
discrimination in education, employment, access to social protection and health services. “Their
basic human rights are being violated. That must stop”, he said.
Read more on http://www.oscebih.org/public/default.asp?d=6&article=show&id=2423
A multi-cultural school in Bosnia and Herzegovina brings out the best in children
By Jay LaMonica
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 August 2010 – Eldina Ismailij, 11, loves to dance. The wild
rhythms of Roma dancing set her free. Last year, she won a dance competition and her picture was in
the newspaper. She blushes when asked about her accomplishment, and her mother, Dzemila
Bostandzija, beams with pride. The best thing about winning, said Eldina, was the prize cake.
VIDEO: Watch now
UNICEF reports on a multi-ethnic, child-friendly school in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Eldina and her family of nine live in the basement of a three-storey building on a hillside in Sarajevo,
the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Eldina attends Džemaludin Cauševic Primary School in the
Svarkino Selo area, a long tram ride from her home.
She says it can be scary sometimes in late winter afternoons, when she has to travel in the dark. On
those days, Eldina calls her father to meet her at the tram stop.
Inclusive schooling
While there are schools closer to Eldina’s home, she prefers this one. The school, which was rebuilt
with support from UNICEF and the Danish Government after the war in the region ended, has made
a special effort to reach out to Roma families such as Eldina’s.
The Roma are a minority group with their own language and customs living across Central and
Eastern Europe. Members of the Roma community frequently suffer from severe discrimination in
Bosnia and surrounding countries.
“It has been difficult exactly because many Roma do not go to school, they have no education or
skills, and then the only thing they can do is to go around and collect garbage,” said Eldina’s mother.
“Not many Roma children are going to school, and that is why they have fewer opportunities.”
Safe learning environment
Many schools in Bosnia still reflect the ethnic tensions that triggered the 43-month siege of Sarajevo
in the mid-1990s. During that time, schools were destroyed and classes were held in basements and
shelters. Today, some Bosnian schools house ‘two schools under one roof,’ with separate curricula
for different ethnic groups.
Džemaludin Cauševic Primary School is exceptional as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural institution open
to all students.
One of Eldina’s favorite classes is Bosnian language. But she is also fiercely proud of her own
heritage. Her school holds regular classes in Roma language and culture that students of many
different backgrounds can attend.
“I go to Roma language classes because I want to learn my language,” she said. “When I go
somewhere one day and meet Roma people who do not speak Bosnian, then I will be able to talk to
them.”
Link: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/stories/a-multi-cultural-school-in-bosnia-andherzegovina-brings-out-the-best-in-children/
Roma activist sues Bosnia again after country did not let him run for president
By Aida Cerkez (CP)
01/11/2010 - A Roma activist said Monday he has sued Bosnia at the European Court of Human
Rights because the country never implemented that court's previous ruling: to allow him to run for
president although he is of Roma ethnicity.
The court in Strasbourg, France, ruled in December that Bosnia's constitution must be changed
because it discriminates against minorities by not allowing them to run for parliament or president.
Dervo Sejdic, along with Bosnian Jew activist Jakob Finci, sued their country last year for human
rights violations and won the case.
Sejdic said Bosnian leaders never implemented the court's order and is suing again, demanding
compensation. The constitution says a president has to be a member of one of the three dominant
ethnic groups in the country: a Muslim Bosniak, a Croat or a Serb.
Internationally mediated talks to change the constitution and give the country a chance to join the
European Union were delayed for after the October elections when it became clear that Bosnia's
leaders were not able to agree on how to change it and how to implement the court's ruling.
According to the Peace Agreement and the Constitution from 1995, Bosnia is divided into two
ministates — the Bosnian Serb republic and a federation of Bosniaks and Croats. The two are linked
by weak central institutions whose authority sometimes overlaps with the influence of the
ministates.
The EU has demanded that the constitution be changed so it gives more power to the central
government.
It wasn't immediately clear when the new parliament will be inaugurated and when it would get
started on changing the constitution because of internal divisions between Bosnian Serbs, Croats and
Bosniaks that have engulfed the country for nearly two decades.
The Serbs vehemently oppose the plan to amend the constitution because they fear a change of the
current political setup would dilute the autonomy of their ministate.
Bosniaks, on the other hand, agree with the EU request. Croats also agree with the concept, but say if
the country remains divided, then they want their own ministate too, instead of sharing one with the
Bosniaks.
"Of course, the court won't discuss the discrimination issue again, so this time I'm requesting
compensation, implementation of the ruling and ... I want them to put pressure on the Bosnian
authorities to implement it," Sejdic told The Associated Press.
Finci and Sejdic filed a complaint in June 2009 and added to the lawsuit a letter Finci received from
the Bosnian election commission saying he is ineligible to run for the presidency or parliament
because he is Jewish.
Before this year's elections on Oct. 3, Sejdic wrote to Bosnia's election commission saying the
constitution had still not been changed despite the court's ruling and the discriminatory rule has not
been removed.
"I asked them if I as a Roma can run for the presidency ... and they replied to me that only" a Muslim
Bosniak, a Croat or a Serb "can run for that post," Sejdic said.
"I decided to turn to the European Court of Human Rights again after the elections," he said.
Link: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/roma-activist-sues-bosnia-again-aftercountry-did-not-let-him-run-for-president-106442168.html
Croatia
January – July 2010
Europe’s Highest Court Rules Roma School Segregation by Language Illegal
Budapest/New York/Strasbourg/Zagreb, 16/03/2010 - The Grand Chamber of the European Court of
Human Rights held today in the case Oršuš and Others v. Croatia that the segregation of Romani
children into separate classes based on language is unlawful discrimination, violating the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The Oršuš case involved 14 children attending mainstream primary schools in three different
Croatian villages who were placed in segregated Roma-only classes due to alleged language
difficulties. The applicants argued that actually, placement in these Roma-only classes stemmed from
blatant discrimination based on ethnicity. The schools’ policies were reinforced by the local majority
population’s anti-Romani sentiments.
Represented by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the Croatian Helsinki Committee and
local attorney Lovorka Kusan, the case went to the European Court in 2004. After a negative
judgement in 2008, it reached the Grand Chamber upon appeal.
“The Grand Chamber’s decision is of great importance to the applicants and other Romani children
in Croatia, as it acknowledges that they have suffered unlawful discrimination,” said Ms Kusan. “It is
now up to the government to ensure that these illegal practices stop and those remedies are offered to
affected Romani children.”
Read more on http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=3569
Croatia should apologize for World War II genocide before joining the EU
Ottawa, 02/04/2010 - Croatia is nearing the finish line of a multiyear race to join the European
Union. Its accession has been pushed along by traditional ally Germany, and by the United States,
which has encouraged the EU’s southwest expansion to include all of the Balkans and even Turkey.
Croatia has complied with most of the formal entry requirements and is expected to join in 2012.
However, there is another – moral – requirement Croatia should have to meet for its own sake before
being admitted.
It should fully and publicly acknowledge its role in World War II as a loyal ally of the Nazi cause,
and its ardent participation in genocide against its Serbian, Jewish, and Gypsy (Roma) populations.
The scattered, vague, and half-hearted denials masking as apologies that Croatia has used to improve
its image in recent years don’t count. The country should come to grips with its genocidal role in the
same way Germany has come to grips with its Nazi past.
Read more on http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0402/Croatia-shouldapologize-for-World-War-II-genocide-before-joining-the-EU
Commissioner Hammarberg encourages the adoption of further measures for post war justice
and the protection of displaced persons and Roma
Strasbourg 12.04.2010 - Croatia appears ready to do its part in resolving the human rights issues
which still remain after the war-related atrocities in the nineties, stated Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg when concluding a four-day visit to Croatia.
He held discussions with national and local authorities, including with President Ivo Josipović and
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. Meetings were also held with representatives of international and
non-governmental organisations involved in the process of post-war justice, the protection of the
human rights of displaced persons and of the Roma population.
The Commissioner welcomed the pledges by the Croatian authorities to resolve rapidly the
remaining issues related to the return home of refugees and internally displaced persons. Recalling
the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights he highlighted the need for both
national and local authorities to do their utmost to ensure the prompt and sustainable return of all
those displaced.
Read more on
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1609771&Site=DC&BackColorInternet=F5CA75&BackColorI
ntranet=F5CA75&BackColorLogged=A9BACE
Kosovo
January – July 2010
Mitrovica's toxic camps are home to a demonised people
As Kosovo`s Albanians and Serbs move from violent conflict into a poisonous and paralysing standoff, a third community in this fledgling state is suffering most of all.
Mitrovica, 03/11/2009 - The Roma of Kosovo are demonised by its 90 per cent Albanian majority
and at best tolerated, often resented, by the Serbs who stayed here after a 1998-1999 war broke
Belgrade’s hold on the region and ultimately led to the independence that they vow never to accept.
All but about 20,000 of the 200,000 Roma who lived in pre-war Kosovo have left, driven out by
Albanian gangs who accused them of collaboration with the Serbs. Most that remain live in the Serb
stronghold of northern Kosovo but, wherever they reside, the Roma are at the back of the queue for
funds and services provided by the cash-strapped Kosovo and Serb governments.
Read more on http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1103/1224257963551.html
European Parliament rejects motion against forced returns of Roma to Kosovo
27/11/2009 – The European Parliament rejected yesterday a motion submitted by the
Greens/European Free Alliance calling on the EU member’s states to refrain from forcibly
repatriating Roma to Kosovo as long as the security situation in Kosovo has not improved.
In a media statement, the spokes women for foreign policy issues, Ulrika Lunacek and Franciska
Brantner said: “Given the deplorable situation of over 12,000 Roma people, who are currently being
deported from EU member states to Kosovo, it is irresponsible that Parliament rejected our
amendment on this issue.” The two Green MEPs called on the EU member states to refrain from
deporting refugees to Kosovo until the conditions for safe returns have been created.
Several EU member states including Austria and Hungary are currently negotiating bilateral
readmission agreements with the Kosovo authorities. Germany has already deported several dozens
of Roma to Kosovo on the basis of an agreement in principle which was concluded earlier this year.
Following the signature, in October, of a bilateral readmission agreement with Kosovo, in October,
the Belgian Secretary of State, Melchior Wathelet, announced the launch of a public information
campaign aimed “to encourage” Kosovo Roma refugees in Belgium “to invest themselves in the
local policy of their country.”
Source: Chachipe a.s.b.l.
RAD Center report: Helplesness - Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Forced Returnees in Kosovo
03/12/2009 - Facing the current developments in the field of returning RAE community members
from western countries to Kosovo, the RAD Center publishes this report in order to analyze the
precarious circumstances and living conditions of RAE returnees and to emphasize the need for
change in the readmission policies of Germany and other European countries.
You may find the RAD Center report on Roma, Ashkalia, and Egyptian Forced Returnees in Kosovo
on http://tinyurl.com/yjdqo69.
Source: Roma and Ashkali Documentation Center (RAD)
OSCE facilitates primary education for girls from vulnerable communities
09/12/2009 - Sejdi Berisha, 43 years old, father of six, signs a piece of paper and piles a stack of
schoolbooks onto his arms. With four kids attending primary school and no job, Berisha has a hard
time securing the books and other school supplies his children need.
Now, however, as a beneficiary of an OSCE library fund project, he has received a complete set of
books for his two daughters attending the fourth and fifth grades at Sveti Sava-Aca Marovic primary
school in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje.
"One set of books costs up to 80 Euros, which is more than the 75 Euros monthly social aid I get,"
says Berisha. "So, even if I spent a month's aid on books, I couldn't even buy them one set," he adds.
For reasons that include poverty, parental choices favoring boys, child labor, early marriage and girls
being expected to perform housework and take care of younger siblings, a large number of Roma,
Ashkali and Egyptian girls drop out of primary school after completing fourth grade. To help these
young girls to continue attending classes and complete the nine years of education that are
compulsory in Kosovo, the OSCE Mission has developed a project to provide them with books and
other necessary school supplies, such as schoolbags and notebooks.
Read more on http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/HHVU-7YLEPH?OpenDocument
Collective Action: No to the readmission agreement between France and Kosovo
11/12/2009 - On 2 December, the French Minister of Immigration, Eric Besson, and the Interior
Minister of Kosovo, Zenun Pajaziti, announced the signature of a bilateral readmission agreement
between the two countries. By signing this agreement, France expands the list of countries which
make use of the Kosovo authorities’ need for support in deterring persons from Kosovo from seeking
asylum.
This perspective is particularly worrisome. According to many observers, Kosovo has indeed yet to
prove its ability to respect democratic principles and human rights. In its last country report, the
European Commission, for instance, states that the living conditions of most vulnerable communities
in Kosovo have not improved, and that the Roma and related groups continue to be highly
marginalized.
The US State Department has pointed out the persistence of ethnic tensions, as well as of official and
societal discrimination which affects in particular Kosovo Serbs, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from
Kosovo.
Read more on http://romarights.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/collective-action-no-to-the-readmissionagreement-between-france-and-kosovo-pr/
Commissioner Hammarberg stresses need to halt returns to Kosovo
Strasbourg, 15/12/2009 – “The forced return to Kosovo of people who have found shelter in
European states should be halted", said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
publishing today a letter to the Chancellor of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel. He notes that Kosovo
lacks infrastructures allowing refugees’ sustainable reintegration.
The Commissioner is particularly worried by the fact that Roma expelled from European states had
to return to the lead-contaminated camps of Česmin Lug and Osterode in northern Mitrovica, where
the exposure to lead has already caused serious illnesses to members of Roma families living there,
including children. “These camps must be urgently closed, adequate housing provided to the families
and complete lead-decontamination treatments ensured to all those affected.”
The Commissioner further stresses that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
confirmed in November that those who fled Kosovo and are still at particular risk of persecution
include Serbs and Albanians in minority situations as well as Roma, persons in ethnically mixedmarriages or of mixed ethnicity, persons perceived to have been associated with the Serbian
authorities after 1990, victims of trafficking or of domestic violence and persons whose asylum
claims were based on sexual orientation.
Read more on http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/News/2009/091215PRGermany_en.asp
Governmental approval of the Action Plan for implementation of Strategy for Integration of
Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians Communities
29/12/2009 - Prime Minister’s Office on Good Governance, Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and
Gender has the pleasure to inform you that Government of Republic of Kosovo, on 23 December
2009, approved the Action Plan for implementation of Strategy for Integration of Roma, Ashkali and
Egyptians Communities.
Government of Republic of Kosovo considers that situation of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians
Communities in Kosova society, requires policies, and quick, concrete and effective actions in order
to enable successful integration of the three communities in Kosovo society.
This Action Plan is approved in continuation of the Kosovo Government’s efforts in improving the
lives of members of three communities and to enable creation of conditions in political, social,
economic, educational and cultural aspects, which helps the members of communities to strengthen
the identity and respect and protection of individual and community values. The Plan was a result of
a hard work of many actors involved. And in this occasion we thank all contributors for their inputs
and support provided during the development process. Special thank to representatives of civil
society coming from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians Communities, representatives from Republic of
Kosovo’s government institutions, and local and international organizations, for all the support.
At this point we make a call for all to stay together in the coming years, institutions and Roma,
Ashkali and Egyptians Communities, and to overcome the challenges in the implementation of the
strategic document.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, www.humanrights-ks.org
IDPs still seeking housing solutions and documentation to access their rights
29/12/2009 - In 1999, over 245,000 members of local minorities fled from or within Kosovo in fear
of reprisals from the majority Albanian population after NATO air strikes forced the withdrawal of
Yugoslav troops and ended years of oppression of ethnic Albanians. Kosovo's declaration of
independence in February 2008 created new uncertainty for those still displaced, but there have been
no major incidents targeting minority communities and no further displacement. Serbia has not
recognised the independence of Kosovo, continuing to regard it as a United Nations governed entity
within its sovereign territory.
As of August 2009, there were an estimated 230,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Kosovo
within Serbia, including an estimated 20,000 displaced Roma people who were never registered as
displaced. In addition, 19,000 people are displaced within Kosovo. Few of the people displaced in
1999 have found durable solutions. The rate of return decreased significantly in 2008 from an
already low level, as most IDPs waited to evaluate the approach of the Kosovo authorities towards
Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian communities.
Read more on http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7Z7J47?OpenDocument
Need to support minority communities to prevent further displacement and allow durable
solutions
22/01/2010 - Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 created new uncertainty for 230,000
IDPs from Kosovo residing in Serbia and the 19,700 displaced within Kosovo; this overview focuses
on the latter group. Despite initial fears of the contrary, there have been no major incidents targeting
minority communities and no further displacement since 2008. Serbia has not recognised the
independence of Kosovo, continuing to regard it as a UN-governed entity within its sovereign
territory.
Few of those displaced in 1999 have found durable solutions, and prospects are limited: the political,
security and economic situation is not conducive to return, and many IDPs face difficulties in
repossessing property and obtaining legal documentation. Widespread discrimination against Serbs
and Roma people has made it difficult for them to return to areas in which they were in a minority.
The rate of return decreased further in 2008 from an already low level, as IDPs waited to evaluate the
approach of the Kosovo authorities towards Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian communities, and
increased only slightly in 2009. Many reconstructed houses remain empty or are being sold as people
do not dare to return.
Read more on http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VVOS-7ZXMLC?OpenDocument
Deportation of Roma to Kosovo betrays Germany’s historic responsibility, former minister
says
23/01/2010 - On the occasion of a New Year reception of the German conservative party, CDU,
Christian Schwarz-Schilling, who was minister for postal services and telecommunications under the
liberal-conservative coalition of chancellor Helmut Kohl, strongly criticised the forced repatriation of
Roma to Kosovo.
According to media reports, Schwarz-Schilling, whose speech covered the topic of post-war history,
called on the responsibility of the international community to intervene in man-made catastrophes. In
this context, he justified the intervention in the former Yugoslavia and said that its successor states
were need of further post-war assistance.
Against the background of Germany’s historic past, Schwarz-Schilling said that the forced
repatriation of Roma to Kosovo was a big mistake. He recalled that the Roma as much as the Jews
had been persecuted under National-Socialism and said that it was inappropriate to treat them this
way. He also reminded that many emigrants from Germany had found a new home abroad.
Read more on http://romarights.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/deportation-of-roma-to-kosovo-betraysgermany%E2%80%99s-historic-responsibility-former-minister-says/
Call of UKAGW for immediate evacuation and re-settlement of the Roma community residing
on lead contaminated camps in Kosovo
02/02/2010 - The UK Association of Gypsy Women (UKAGW) has embarked on a campaign that
will call on the UN for immediate evacuation and re-settlement of the Roma community residing on
lead contaminated camps in Kosovo. We are appealing for the support of Romany/Roma/Traveller
NGO’s, individuals and all human rights organisations that will use their influence to lobby
European and US Governments, not least Antonio Guterres UN High Commission for Refugees and
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon regarding the plight of the Roma community residing on the
Osterode and Cesmin-Lug refugee camps in Northern Kosovo.
The families’ original homes were at the “Roma Mahalla”, on the southern shore of the Ibar River,
part of the oldest Mahalla in the Balkans, having thrived for almost 150 years. The homes here were
burned by Kosovan Albanians in an attempt of ethnic cleansing as the conflict for Kosovo was
ending: The families were packed into the contaminated camps by the UNHCR with an assurance
their stay would be for just 45 days until a safer place could be found, however that was more than a
decade ago.
Read more on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=12664
Meeting of the Deputy Minister Ismet Hashani with representatives of the Office of Democratic
Institute and Human Rights
11/02/2010 - Deputy Minister of Ministry of Communities and Returns, Ismet Hashani, received the
representatives of the Office of Democratic Institute and Human Rights, Andrzej Mirga and Mirjam
Angela Karoly, in which case briefed them about the work and activities of the Working Group for
Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community which works within the MCR, which is led by him.
Ministry for Communities and Return has put particular importance to protecting the rights of RAE
communities and their integration into Kosovo society. The Ministry has invested in various projects
in order to allow better conditions for life, sustainable return and full integration into Kosovo society
said Deputy Minister Hashani. Commitments of this group are harmonized in accordance with RAE
Community Strategy, which was drafted by the Office of the Prime Minister for Good Governance.
Read more on http://www.mkk-ks.org/?page=2,12,247
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner: "Scandalous treatment of Roma in Kosovo"
16/02/2010 - Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg called for an
end to forcible return of Roma to Kosovo. After his second visit in ten months to the contaminated
Roma camps in Česmin Lug and Osterode, Hammarberg said that the situation had not changed, and
called for an urgent evacuation of the settlements.
“The fact is that these camps have been inhabited for an entire decade is scandalous. The
international community is partly to blame for this situation,” Hammarberg said. He said that the
lead contamination posed a very serious danger for the people and children of the community.
“New, safe housing is needed for about 600 people, in order to close the camps. They all need
immediate medical care as well,” he said. Hammarberg said that he is concerned about the fact that
Europe is implementing a forcible return of Roma to Kosovo.
Read more on http://www.b92.net/eng/news/societyarticle.php?yyyy=2010&mm=02&dd=16&nav_id=65233
Swedish Government Rejects Criticism of Kosovo Deportations
18/02/2010 - Sweden's migration minister Tobias Billström has rejected international criticism of the
country's decision to repatriate Roma refugees to Kosovo. Following a visit to northern Kosovo last
week the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg, called for a
total halt to the deportations due to inhumane conditions in refugee camps.
However Billström told Swedish Radio news on Thursday that despite the difficult conditions faced
by Roma refugees in Eastern Europe, Swedish law did not allow him to interfere with decisions
made by the migration ministry, which rule on deportations on a case by case basis. According to the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sweden repatriates the largest number
of refugees to Kosovo, including children from the Roma minority, despite longstanding concerns
over human rights violations in the country.
Source: http://www.sr.se
Kosovo’s Lead Camps to be Closed
Pristina, 24/02/2010 - The European Commission and Kosovo’s government have launched a €5
million project to close the lead-contaminated Cesmin Lug and Osterode refugee camps for Roma ‘as
soon as possible’.
The camps were set up by UNHCR in 1999 as a temporary measure when the Roma Mahalla, on the
southern shore of the Ibar River, was burnt down by ethnic
Albanians at the end of the conflict in Kosovo. Despite repeated calls to close the camps and
numerous investigations into the toxic, lead-contaminated environment, around 600 Roma still live
there.
At the launch of the project on Tuesday, Kjartan Björnsson, Chargé d'Affaires at the European
Commission Liaison Office in Kosovo, said: “This project was designed to address the alarming and
somewhat appalling conditions under which you have lived for the past decade.
Read more on http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/26106/
Slow progress on rights in Kosovo
24/02/2010 - A lack of consensus among the EU's member states about Kosovo's status is hindering
progress in the justice system. When Kosovo declared independence in February 2008, there was
optimism that after almost a decade of drift, greater self-government and a newly energised
international presence led by the EU might finally move it in the right direction.
Two years on, there is not much to celebrate. Despite its new authority, the government in Pristina
tends either to gloss over Kosovo's human-rights failings or to blame international agencies for the
problems. The rule of law remains weak, despite some efforts by the EU police and justice mission.
And the overall picture for Kosovo's already vulnerable Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian minorities
seems to be getting worse, not better.
After a slow start, complicated by wrangling with member states, Serbia and the UN alike, the EU
police and justice mission (EULEX) has made some positive steps, including setting up a mechanism
to review any allegations of human-rights abuse against it. EULEX has also sent some encouraging
signals on accountability for war crimes, an issue on which Kosovo lags years behind other parts of
the Balkans. It opened an investigation, for example, into the fate of 400 missing people, mostly
Serbs, who were allegedly transferred in 1999 to detention facilities in Albania by the rebel Kosovo
Liberation Army.
Read more on http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2010/02/slow-progress-on-rights-inkosovo/67230.aspx
Incident in Roma Mahalla on 5th of February 2010
25/02/2010 - On sixth of February Roma President was informed about the incident in Roma
Mahalla. He set up a meeting for seventh February Sunday, with OSCE and UNHCR in order to find
out what happened during the incident from the Roma point of view. Roma people who came to the
meeting (20 Roma) all of them complained from consequences of getting beaten up by the Police and
they considered DRC responsible for this incident.
Roma president has created a team to talk to Roma who were beaten up from by the Police in order
to find out what actually happened. In the research Roma Mahala representative stated that he
attended the board meeting of the MRM and in the meeting he said that the security officers in the
Mahalla have reported of a stealing of the donated clothes in the Mahala and this was reported to the
police. Because of this rubbery DRC decided to temporarily move the donated clothes to another
place, Roma Mahala representative proposed to not move the clothes but to distribute it to people as
soon as possible, in any case, DRC still did not change the decision to move the clothes.
Read more on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=12866
'People need the rule of law, regardless of the community they belong to,' says PACE
rapporteur
Strasbourg, 25/02/2010 - "In Kosovo, there are more than 2 million Europeans who need the rule of
law, good governance and respect for human rights, regardless of the community they belong to,"
said Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), speaking today at the end of a five- day
visit to Kosovo.
"During my visit, I travelled extensively in Kosovo, meeting ordinary people from all communities.
All of them highlighted widespread corruption, lack of a trustworthy judiciary and poor
implementation of the law. This state of affairs undermines governance, affects the trust of people in
the authorities, and jeopardises the prospect of Kosovo's economic development, as international
investors are reluctant to commit resources here," he pointed out.
Read more on
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/NewsManager/EMB_NewsManagerView.asp?ID=5311&L=2
UK Association of Gypsy Women concerns with the European Union Rule of Law Mission
(EULEX) in Kosovo
28/02/2010 - The UK Association of Gypsy Women have registered grave concerns with the
European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo, on the disgraceful and degrading
treatment metered out by the Kosovo Police in an incident on the 5th February where reportedly,
batons were used in a brutal and cowardly attack on a small group of Roma people, beating elderly
and young men, women and children with batons also calling for reinforcements, simply because the
people voiced their protest against officials moving desperately needed aid.
According to our information EULEX, is the largest civilian mission ever launched under the
common security and defense policy, with approx 3,000 personnel. Its central aim is supposed to be,
to assist and support the Kosovo authorities in the rule of law, specifically in areas of police and
judiciary etc.
UKAGW have appealed to EULEX to advise Kosovo Police of the procedures that should be
followed in such cases of serious complaint as the one reported on the 5th February which, in our
humble opinion is a clear case of Police Brutality, we are also of the opinion that the police in this
instance are in dire need of EULEX assistance and advice. Moreover, we sincerely hope EULEX
will advise that a full investigation be launched with the immediate suspension of the officer’s
concerned until the investigation is concluded and action to be taken thereof decided.
Source: UK Association of Gypsy Women
Some returnees still struggling in Kosovo
17/03/2010 - The muddy road in this suburb of Peja leads toward a community that some say has
been forgotten. They fled Kosovo during the 1999 war and returned a year-and-a-half ago. They are
450 Roma, Askali and Egyptians (RAEs) who live in a neighborhood called Seven Shtatori. They say
they have been ignored by local authorities.
“I returned back to Kosovo almost two years ago," said Arben Polocaj, a resident of the Seven
Shtatori neighborhood. ''We feel like we have been forgotten by society." Polocaj and 38 family
members live here. None have jobs. "The only thing we do is when someone throws away iron
wreckage, we collect it and sell it,” Polocaj said.
The residents of this neighborhood complain that the poor condition of their homes, a lack of water
and electricity, have made their lives more difficult. They say the only thing they are satisfied with is
that they are home again in their homeland.
Read more on http://www.kijacnews.net/vnews/display.v/ART/2010/03/17/4b99242f41ff7
Roma people live for 10 years in contaminated refugee camp in Kosovo
01/04/2010 - Roma people living in a temporary camp in Kosovo for 10 years now are suffering
from the severe effects of lead poisoning, after being moved to live near a toxic slagheap. The camp
was set up a decade ago for them to escape violent Albanian persecution, but now they're refusing to
leave, saying it's still too dangerous for them to return home. A muddy slope as a playground,
household rubbish as toys. A familiar sight in many Roma camps, but in a settlement in northern
Kosovo, the danger is not what you see, but what you can't.
Now the blood of children here is so poisoned by lead it has impaired their development. And that's
been the case for more than a decade. When a few years ago the World Health Organization tested
the camp residents’ blood for lead, the readings for 90% of the children were off the scale – higher
than medical equipment was capable of measuring. Aggressive behavior, high temperatures and
stunted growth – all these symptoms of lead poisoning are evident in camp resident Seidi Fetije’s
children. A mother of 10, she lost one of her sons to fever.
Read more on http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-04-01/roma-refugee-camp-kosovo.html
UK Charity brings help to suffering Roma in Kosovo
04/04/2010 - UK charity "Hope and Aid Direct" brought a little Easter sunshine to Kosovo today
when they visited the homes of 30 families, displaced by the war in 1999.
At the village of Magura, they discovered a Roma lady who had one lost leg and one foot, sitting on
the floor by the door of her small apartment, provided for her community after they had been
struggling to survive for many years in shacks in Plementina. Her husband collects and sells
aluminium cans to support his family. Their only other income - just over 1 euro per day is provided
by the government.
Never slow to accept a challenge, the volunteers soon returned and provided her with a wheel chair.
"The excitement on her face was incredible" said one of the volunteers.
Hope and Aid Direct takes aid regularly to people of all ethnicities in Kosovo, and is always seeking
help from generous individual and corporate supporters.
If you can help, please, visit www.hopeandaiddirect.org.uk
Germany, Kosovo agree to return 14,000 refugees
14/04/2010 - Nearly 11 years after the end of the war in Kosovo, Germany and the former Serbian
province agreed Wednesday on the return of some 14,000 former refugees. German Interior Minister
Thomas de Maiziere said after the signing with his Kosovo counterpart Bajram Rexhepi that no
"mass deportations" were planned. But he said Berlin would "pursue its policy of progressive return"
of people who fled the fighting in Kosovo. He also pledged to ensure an "appropriate balance of
various ethnicities" so that not only Roma are returned to Kosovo. A maximum of 2,500 people will
be repatriated per year.
According to official German figures, about 10,000 of the 14,000 refugees to be returned are Roma
versus about 2,400 ethnic Albanians. The move was sharply criticised by the far-left opposition
Linke party, which said many of those who sought safety in Germany would be forced to flee again
or "land in miserable circumstances" if returned to Kosovo. Deputy Ulla Jelpke, who was visiting
Kosovo with a German parliamentary delegation, warned of the danger of racist attacks against
Roma in Kosovo.
Of the 55,000 Kosovars living in Germany, more than half arrived around 1998 and 1999 during the
late strongman Slobodan Milosevic's brutal crackdown on the pro-independence ethnic Albanian
majority, according to official figures. For several years, the German government has pressed the
refugees to return. Since the end of the war in 1999, more than 92,000 Kosovars returned home
"voluntarily", while another 22,000 were expelled, according to the interior ministry. Kosovo's ethnic
Albanian majority proclaimed independence in February 2008 and has been recognised as an
independent state by 65 countries, including the United States and most European Union members.
Link: http://www.expatica.com/de/news/german-rss-news/germany,-kosovo-agree-to-return-14,000refugees_37038.html
Council of Europe calls deporting refugees back to Kosovo irresponsible
15/04/2010 - Germany and Kosovo have agreed on the deportation of thousands of refugees. But the
Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights says Kosovo is not able to receive refugees "in a
way that protects their rights."
Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, is urging European
states to stop forced returns until Kosovo can provide adequate living conditions, health care, social
services and employment. The largest Kosovar communities are in Sweden, Germany, Austria and
Switzerland.
"A quick deportation from European countries now to Kosovo is irresponsible," Hammarberg told
Deutsche Welle.
Almost 11 years after the end of the war in Kosovo, Germany and the former Serbian province on
Wednesday agreed on a step-by-step return of 14,900 former refugees.
"No mass deportations are planned," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said after the
signing of the repatriation agreement with Kosovo counterpart Bajram Rexhepi on Wednesday. He
added that Germany was offering returnee programs and start-up aid in order to motivate the people
to voluntarily leave Germany.
Read more on http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5469539,00.html
Fifty houses to be constructed for Roma camp residents
22/04/2010 - High local and international representatives laid the fundaments of the houses that will
shelter 50 Roma families from Osterode and Cesmin Lug camps. On this occasion, country leaders
said that Kosovo is a home for everyone and that this is the beginning of the end for camps era. In
the meantime, the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell promised full support of similar
projects in Kosovo.
"Today is not a day for words. Today is a day for actions, because over the last ten years we spoke
about difficult conditions that these communities lived in. The United States always keeps promises
and I believe that the Kosovo government and Mitrovica municipality will keep their promise as
well," stated Ambassador Dell.
Meanwhile, Roma, Egyptian and Ashkali communities' representative Habib Hajdini thanked all
donors of this project for which the USAID has allocated 2.4 million USD.
Source: OSCE Broadcast Report.
Baroness Kinnock Response on Toxic Waste Camps in Kosovo
24/04/2010 - The UK Association of Gypsy would very much like to share the views on the plight of
the Roma people on the Toxic Waste Camps and the new Roma Mahalla
In response to Baroness Kinnock’s letter (attached) to the UK Association of Gypsy Women, the
Kosovo Emergency Medical Group told UKAGW that they are pleased that the UK Embassy in
Pristina has been working hard to try and get matters moving, and the recent Fluvio lead testing
programme at the camps and Roma Mahalla is a testament both to their efforts, and that of the
scientists involved.
Two days ago, KMEG had a long conversation with the political attaché at the British Embassy in
Pristina. During the conversation, it was confirmed that the construction of the first 50 dwellings
would start next week and that hopefully, further constructions would begin in May. Although,
Skender Syla, of the Head of World Health Authority (WHO) in Pristina, had said in front of several
witnesses that facilities existed for the treatment of lead poisoning in Kosovo and that staff were
trained.
Read more on http://tinyurl.com/343gm2e
Kosovo - No Return?
24/04/2010 - Protests by ethnic Albanians over the Easter period against the return of twenty-six
Serb families to the village of Zac, near Istok in the Pec district of north-western Kosovo, have once
again shed light on the problems affecting internally displaced persons (IDPs). The lacklustre return
of Serbs and other non-Albanian minorities to Kosovo has long constituted a major failure of the
international presence in Kosovo; one that undermines assertions of Kosovo's supposedly multiethnic character. Without further steps to ensure the sustainable return of Serbs and other nonAlbanian minorities, the prospects for conflict transformation in Kosovo look bleak.
Eduardo Arboleda, the head of UNHCR (the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) in Serbia, insists
that "the return of displaced persons literally stopped" following Kosovo's unilateral declaration of
independence. According to UNHCR statistics, only 631 persons returned to Kosovo last year,
leaving some 205,835 registered Serb IDPs from Kosovo; with some estimates suggesting that a
further 20,000 Serbs remain IDPs inside Kosovo itself. In response to these protests, Serbia's
secretary of state for Kosovo and Metohija, Oliver Ivanovic, has called upon the international
community to "send a clear message to Albanians about their position over this, if their statements
about supporting the return of Serbs are in fact sincere".
Read more on http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/04/kosovo-no-return.html
Action Plan of the Republic of Kosovo for the Implementation of the Strategy for the
Integration of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities, 2009-2015
26/04/2010 - Please find the "Action Plan of the Republic of Kosovo for the Implementation of the
Strategy for the Integration of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities, 2009-2015" on
http://tinyurl.com/26noo89
Source: Human Rights Coordinator in the Government of Republic of Kosovo.
Permanent Impermanence
After 10 years, many Romani refugees from the Kosovo conflict can neither return to their old
homes nor build new ones abroad.
29/04/2010, SHUTO ORIZARI, Macedonia, and POMAZATIN, Kosovo - The anguish is etched on
Nedzmije Selimi’s face even before she starts talking.
In a gray-and-white headscarf and threadbare vest, she lets loose with her lament. First, she lost her
husband to a brain aneurysm, which left her to raise their son alone in Kosovo, a society on the brink
of war. After NATO intervened with 78 days of air strikes, she grabbed her 8-year-old boy and fled a
bloodthirsty climate, southward to neighboring Macedonia.
Selimi and tens of thousands of other Kosovo Roma feared vengeance from ethnic Albanians
returning after their own cleansing, at the hands of Serbia’s Slobodan Milosevic. While the
Albanians blamed Serbs for the campaign, they also accused the Roma of collaboration. At 53,
Selimi has been a refugee for 10 years. She lives on the edge of the Macedonian capital, Skopje –
and on the edge of a country that has shown little hint of hospitality. She describes her struggle to
raise a son, now 18, amid joblessness estimated at 80 percent for the Roma here. Since the NATO
bombardment, her son suffers anxiety and nose bleeds. He hasn’t been to school in 10 years. So she
goes job-hunting for him.
“It’s hard to keep a child on the right track, to teach him not to steal,” she says, on the verge of tears.
“If there were jobs here, I’d gladly work myself.”
Selimi is one of the Kosovo conflict’s oft-forgotten refugees, the Roma.
Read more on http://www.tol.org/client/article/21406-permanent-impermanence.html
Opinion: Europe's Shame: The Treatment of Roma Refugees in Kosovo
21/05/2010 - Just under two months ago, I returned from a visit to Kosovo. I had intended to write
about my experiences and impressions of the province but every time I put pen to paper, no words
were forthcoming.
As with every conflict zone – especially ethnic conflicts of the type seen in Kosovo – the views you
hear from local people are too polarised, the emotions expressed too strong and the very human
symbols of destruction illustrated by the burned out homes; and piles of rubble which still line roads
in the north of the country are still too evident to draw a fair conclusion as to the “rights” and
“wrongs” of any situation.
I won’t touch on the ongoing politick regarding the future of Kosovo as a country, nor will I discuss
the ongoing intimidation and wretched living conditions of the province’s minorities. I do, however,
want to highlight one significant wrong the international community has a duty to right: the
treatment and living conditions of Roma refugees in the country. This problem stems back to the
height of the Kosovo conflict between 1998 and 1999, when the Kosovo Liberation Army expelled
90,000 ethnic Roma citizens from their homes on the basis of Albanian nationalist fears that the
community were stooges of Slobodan Milosevic.
Read more on http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2010/05/europes-shame-the-treatmentof-roma-refugees-in-kosovo-.html
Society for Threatened Peoples presents to ministers of the interior the Göttingen Declaration:
No deportation of Roma to Kosovo!
Hamburg/Göttingen, 27/05/2010 - The Society for Threatened Peoples STP (Gesellschaft für
bedrohte Völker GfbV) will present to the Conference of Ministers of the Interior in Hamburg today,
Thursday, a declaration signed by holders of the Göttingen Peace Prize against the deportation of
Roma from Kosovo. In this Göttingen Declaration the holders call for the approximately 10,500
Roma refugees, who have for many years had temporary residence permits, and their children, who
were born and have grown up here, to be granted permanent right of residence. The situation of the
Roma in Kosovo is dreadful and a return in safety and dignity is not possible.
"Germany has a double duty to the Roma minority from Kosovo”, says the Declaration. "Firstly,
hundreds of thousands of Roma and Sinti were victims of the Holocaust. Secondly, German troops
also of the NATO force just accepted the expulsion of the Roma by Albanian extremists after the
victory over Serbia in the summer of 1999. These refugees have now been entrusted to us. It is quite
wrong for us to drive them out of the country.”
Read more
on http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=2284&PHPSESSID=b5a95c09eed0e8fd014bd1fa511e83c8
Macedonia
On the meeting of October 27, 2009 - Comments and suggestions
During the joint meeting with the refugees and the Refugee Committee it was agreed that the first
priority in relation with the action plan on integration is housing, but this item was only mentioned in
order to please the Ministry of Social Work (as a cherry on top of the cake).
The refugees are wondering why this part of the plan was even mentioned, if it is not to be realized,
or if the Ministry of Social Work, which has created the action plan, has no intention of securing
housing for the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian refugees from Kosovo.
1. According to Dejana Ivkovski, the plan says that we must first make an effort to make an
independent living and secure housing for yourselves. The refugees are wondering, if they are just
humanitarian cases who would secure their own housing, or if they have been displaced and are
refugees of a war. This is why they remind the international community and the UNHCR that they
have a moral and financial obligation towards them and need to contribute to resolve the housing
issue as part of a sustainable solution of their problems.
Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian refugees never lived on the dole. They were gainfully
employed; they were hard workers and good caretakers of their homes. We want to live again from
our work and do not want to depend on social welfare.
Alternatively, we seek a grant of EUR 50,000 per household from the European Union in order to
secure our own housing.
2. The Ministry of Social Work is making an effort to combine our cases with the cases of other
refugees who have, for over 20 years, received 3,000 to 350,000 Dinars, that would pay for annual
electricity and water costs. However, the funds we receive from UNHCR are insufficient and they do
not meet are basic monthly expenses such as rent, electricity, water, food, clothing, heating, etc.
3. The Ministry of Social Work wants to implement a program related to the action plan in the areas
of health, education, and job re-training, while avoiding the issue of housing.
4. Macedonia has recently received a large grant of the Council of Europe Development Bank for the
Construction of houses.
Council of Europe Development Bank has approved 23, 35 million Euro loan for Macedonia
The Council of Europe Development Bank has approved a loan of 23, 35 million for a housing
project for vulnerable groups in Macedonia.
The project costs 50, 7 million and other funds provided by budget. The conversion began two years
ago. So far three residential buildings were built and the construction for another twelve units is
ongoing. The beneficiaries of these houses will be children without parents, unemployed,
beneficiaries of social assistance, single parents, disabled persons and others.
The project is expected to be completed by 2012 and foresees the construction of 37 buildings in 19
cities in Macedonia.
Source: http://www.kanal5.com.mk/default.aspx?mId=44&eventId=50288&egId=14,
14.06.2009.
We, refugees, are not mentioned in this project. The donor of one of the houses is the wife of the
American ambassador in Macedonia, Mrs. Reeker.
5. At our last meeting with the Office High Commissioner for Refugees in Skopje, Mr. Maldonado,
we have suggested to organize, as soon as possible, a meeting with the representatives of the
embassies in Macedonia, where we could present our problems and explain the urgency of resolving
the housing issue. This would be an opportunity to encourage the embassies to contribute to the
implementation of the programe for the integration of the refugees and to the solution of the housing
problem.
6.The group expected to implement the action plan under the expert leader Anja Savic and Dejana
Ivkovski of the Ministry of Social Welfare cannot avail itself of a budget. All their planned actions
are to happen on borrowed money, without much strategy or expertise, as the experience has shown.
The refugees are under a lot of stress and suffering from depression. They have not been explained
the reason or the purpose of this visit. The refugees understood that the UNHCR funding would be
cut and that they would become welfare cases handled by the Ministry of Social Welfare. This is
why it is necessary that the team in the field give the refugees assurances and build their trust
through constant communication and exchange.
7. The UNHCR channels its financing for refugees through the Ministry of Social Affairs. The
Ministry is expected to distribute these funds as monthly payments to the refugees for expenses
involving rent, water, electricity, and food. However, these same funds are expected to cover the
service fees to the UNHCR. These administrative fees are eating into the funds that the refugees
should receive.
8. If the ministry is committed to resolving our problems permanently, it should allocate a part of its
budget to our integration as planned and dedicate it to the rehabilitation of our children. This would
improve the immunity of our children, get them clothes and shoes. Secondly, we should be procured
firewood, since the funds we receive are insufficient. The action plan for Macedonia’s
integration into the EU says that the integration of refugees is a part of the permanent solution. The
last EU report says that “the Macedonian government should secure financial and material
support for Kosovo refugees and the permanent resolution of their situation.
9. The UNHCR says in its reports that there will be no forced return, but instead of implementing the
action plan for the integration of the refugees from Kosovo, the UNHCR office in Macedonia puts
psychological pressure on the refugees to return to Kosovo.
10. The Ministry of Social Welfare offers small business and trades courses such as metalworking,
hairdressing, woodworking, etc. This is a wasteful plan because the refugees cannot become
independent business owners and earn enough to cover the basic monthly expenses. This strategy
proved impractical in Serbia and Montenegro, where the refugees and the IDP continue to live in
difficult social and material conditions.
11. We need a project planned by experts that would create a tool shed with all the necessary tools in
Suto Orizare. This shed would allow the refugees to borrow tools from the central office and return
them in good condition after they have finished their work. This is how we could know how many
tools were checked out and which tools were being used. This would allow us to know which trades
the refugees are practicing, while the tool shed would supply them with tools for practitioners in a
variety of trades, including barbers, bricklayers, woodworkers, painters, butchers, hairdressers, etc.
12. The Macedonian Government is not responsible for the 1999 crisis. The international community
is responsible and therefore bears the financial and material responsibility for finding a permanent
solution for our problems.
13. The Ministry keeps changing its opinion about housing. At our first meeting, we were told there
was no way that houses and apartments could be built with international donations. At the last
meeting, we were told that even if there are interested donors, the Ministry and UNHCR do not have
any strategy in place to bring them in.
14. UNHCR remains responsible for international donations. This is their job and their mandate is to
lobby for and provide such funding. This was done in Serbia for the IDPs (internally displaced
persons), where UNHCR and international donors built apartments for more than 480 households.
15. Our finances for the refugees are secure through the end of 2010 (financial aid).
16. As a guarantee, we request that the international community (UNHCR) and the Republic of
Macedonia sign a Memorandum on housing and equipment that would be implemented with utmost
urgency.
17. If there is no solution or implementation of the action plan for integration of the refugees
regarding our demands for lodging and furnishings, we demand that the EU doors be open to us
(third country resettlement).
Committee of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Refugees from Kosovo in the Republic of Macedonia
with the status of asylum seekers.
New Report: Party and Ethnic Politics in Macedonia
14/01/ 2010 – The Project on Ethnic Relations publishes a new report on Macedonia.
Party and Ethnic Politics in Macedonia.
http://www.per-usa.org/Reports/Macedonia_Report_2009.pdf
Shpetim Gashi
Senior Program Officer
Project on Ethnic Relations
15 Chambers Street
Princeton, NJ 08542, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Barometer No.21 - Macedonia second half of 2009
03/02/2010
Dear Sir or Madam, dear friends and collaborators,
We are presenting you the latest special report of the FES Skopje office: "Barometer of the Current
Events and Political Parties development in the Republic of Macedonia No. 21" (December 2009)
Since 2001, when FES Skopje had launched the first number of the Barometer describing in that time
the ongoing internal conflict development, thus Barometer has grown, extend its aims and at the
same time is presenting a respectable analysis of the present situation development in Republic of
Macedonia.
In this edition you can read more about: the Development of the "Name issue"; Country progress,
undertaken reforms and political support toward European Union and NATO alliance; Macedonian
economy in second half of 2009; Political parties’ development, SDSM party changes and
Congress etc.
In the attachement you will find the full report.
The Report will be available soon on our web.site http://www.fes.org.mk/
Regards,
Nena Trajkovska
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
office Macedonia
ul "Risto Ravanovski"3
P.O.BOX 423, 1000 Skopje
tel + 389 2 3093181 (ext 101), 3093182 (ext 101)
fax + 389 2 3093180
mob + 389 72 230075
[email protected]
www.fes.org.mk
Macedonia Tackles Asylum Issue
Sinisa-Jakov Marusic
05/03/2010 - The number of Macedonian residents seeking asylum in Belgium is decreasing, a
government committee tasked to monitor the situation has announced.
This came after state inspectors on Thursday closed at least two questionable tourist agencies from
Skopje which are suspected of luring emigrants and organising the transport to the EU.
The agencies “Sky Vim-AB” and “Jashko Jashar” were closed after inspections found that they were
operating without a state license and without issuing fiscal receipts.
“The same will happen to other companies as well if irregularities are found in their work,”
Macedonian Economy Minister Fatmir Besimi said.
However, he noted that closing illegal tourist agencies was not a guarantee in itself that the mass
immigrations would stop.
The government committee has already ordered all Macedonian embassies to be more involved in
preventing the abuse of the EU visa liberalisation agreement. At home the authorities announced an
intensive information campaign to explain the rights and obligations related to the recent decision to
scrap visas.
Unnamed government sources yesterday told local daily Vreme that the police force is probing the
involvement of its own officers in the murky business.
Skopje raised the alarm after Belgium last week complained that it has been swarmed with asylum
seekers from Macedonia and neighboring Serbia after the EU visa wall for these countries crumbled
at the end of last year.
Brussels reported more than 400 asylum seekers from Macedonia and a similar number from Serbia
had filed applications in the country. This doubles the total number of applications filed during all of
2009, the authorities in Belgium reported.
Meanwhile local A1 TV recently claimed that the tourist agency “Sky Vim-AB” belonged to the
brother of a Macedonian legislator of Roma decent, Amdi Bajram. Bajram, who is part of the ruling
majority, denounced the claims.
“Roma people should not be labeled as asylum seekers,” he argued, “We have witnessed that other
people from other regions [of the country] are traveling [to Brussels].
Authorities have confirmed that the majority of asylum seekers come from impoverished regions in
the country, mainly from the largely Roma populated Skopje suburb of Suto Orizari and from the
northern municipality of Lipkovo, where ethnic Albanians form the majority.
Link: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/26363/
Monthly Report February 2010
12/03/2010
Dear all,
In the attachment is the monthly report for February 2010 about the Roma rights in Macedonia.
Best regards
Feat Kamberovski
Roma Right Forum ARKA
Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Roma_ex_Yugoslavia/message/5165
Ethnos: Lots of Albanians, Roma people from FYROM immigrate to EU member states
06/04/2010 - Athens. Lots of citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM),
mainly Albanians and Roma people continue immigrating to EU member states, Greek Ethnos
newspaper writes. Since the lifting of the visa regime last October, thousands of FYROM citizens
headed for Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway as many of them are searching for political
asylum to stay permanently in the country. Despite the sharp reactions on the European Commission
and several European governments, emigration continues. The reason is that people are searching for
better life and wants to get away from the discrimination, the newspaper reads further.
Source: FOCUS News Agency
National Roma Centrum (NRC) addresses the public on behalf of 7th April, the World Health
Day
1000 cities, 1000 lives
7/04/ 2010, Kumanovo, - National Roma Centrum (NRC)[1] addresses the public on behalf of 7th
April, the World Health Day, which is being celebrated in honour of forming of the World Health
Organization as a possibility to turn the attention of the wider public towards more significant issues
in the area of health, and this year it is being celebrated under the motto „1000 cities, 1000 lives“.
1000 cities: where locations will be open for promotion of health, regardless whether it will be
organized activities in parks, city halls, to organize campaigns for cleaning or to close down streets
for movement of motor vehicles.
1000 lives: to gather 1000 stories about urban health champions that have taken action and have
significant influence on health in their cities.
This year the World Health Organization is targeting urban environments in which a healthy living
environment is being promoted, healthy way of life and life with fewer motor vehicles.
Roma in R. Macedonia live in urban environments, according to NRC's analyses, from 2008-2009,
made within the framework if its project “Prosperity and health of Roma women, path towards
challenges” realized in 4 cities in R. Macedonia. 2.756 Roma women have been surveyed and they
are facing with the following problems that have direct influence on each individual's health
condition:
1.
Substandard housing
2.
Incomplete coverage for vaccination
3.
Irregular nourishment
4. Insufficient coverage and inclusion of Roma women in preventive programs for health
protection
5.
Increasing of quality of public health services
6.
Lack of information
From a total number of 2.226 births, 173 infants have died during birth, 121 have died within the
first 28 days of birth and 166 infants in the first year of their life. The percentage of post-neonatal
mortality is high within the target group which points out to poor hygienic and socio-economic living
conditions.
Growth dynamics, development and the features of the biologic structure of a child's organism set its
nourishment in a central position. A good, healthy and balanced nourishment is about usage of
products that will satisfy the energy needs and qualitative and quantitative input of important
nourishment matter. In that way the children will develop a harmonic growth and protection from
diseases.
Republic of Macedonia on behalf of the World Health Day needs to consider UN's Milenium
development goals, that are accepted by all UN countries, and should strive to achieve them:
to eleminate extreme poverty and misery,
to decrease mortality of infants,
to include everyone in obligatory primary education,
to promote gender equality
to organize a 100% vaccination on the whole population in the country
to provide free health insurence
Contact person
Sebihana Skenderovska
Project coordinator
Prosperity and health of Roma women, path towards chalenges - continuation
Contacts:
[email protected]
www.nationalromacentrum.org
Tel/fax:+389 31 427 558
Address: Done Bozinov 11/5,
1300 Kumanovo, Macedonia
[1]
NRC is a civil association for protection of human rights in Republic of Macedonia. NRC
as an organization especially urges for protection, respect and realization of rights of members of the
Roma community, as the most marginalized entity in the society and as basis for inclusion of Roma
in social processes as active citizens and an equal subject in the process of integration and inclusion.
NRC is implementing the project « Prosperity and health of Roma women, path towards challenges»
for assistance of Roma women in approach to health protection and realization of their health and
social protection rights.
Debate: Position of Roma in Macedonia improves, efforts for their integration to society to
resume
7/04/2010, Skopje, (MIA) - The position of Roma people in Macedonia is constantly improving
through implementation of projects on inclusion and integration to increase their number in the
educational system and their involvement as well in various segments in governmental authority and
public administration. Macedonia is a leader in relation to meeting the rights of Roma people.
However, there's still a lot to be accomplished in order their status in the society to be satisfactory.
These are some of the stances of participants at Wednesday's public debate "Towards Faster
Integration and Inclusion of Roma People in the Republic of Macedonia", which was held in the
Parliament upon an initiative by MP Amdi Bajram ahead of the International Roma Day - April 8.
From a constitutional and legal aspect, Roma in Macedonia are a constitutional category together
with other communities. They have been having their own representatives in the Parliament,
Government, state institutions and in the local self-government. - Macedonia is the only state in
Europe where a Roma mayor has been elected, Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanovksi said.
- Even though there are prejudices in the world towards Roma and sometimes an open hostility
towards them, fortunately this is not the case here. This demonstrates tolerance towards each other,
which is our continual tradition. It doesn't mean that the state, politicians and citizens together with
the NGO sector shouldn't resume affirming tolerance, unity and solidarity to do our best to
implement the national Roma integration strategy, stated Veljanoski.
Vice PM for European integration, Vasko Naumovski agreed that efforts were constantly being made
to improve the situation of Roma.
- In a bid to make further progress, a national body from the ministries of labour, health, education
and transport has been formed to help the implementation of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, noted
Naumovski.
Thomas Navratil, Deputy Chief of Mission in the US Embassy, said the success of Macedonia in
accomplishing the rights of Roma should be acknowledged and that further steps were necessary.
- Today is a day when past measures should be celebrated and when future challenges should be
addressed. We should continue striving towards equality and fairness in order to improve the
position of this community, Navratil said.
MP Bajram stressed that the Government had been making significant steps to advance the situation
of his native Roma community, urging continuous steps to be made to speed up the integration of
Roma people, to improve their education and inclusion in public administration...
The education of Roma, according to Vice PM Abdilakim Ademi, is the best method for Roma to be
fully integrated in society.
It has been highlighted at the debate that the number of Roma completing elementary education was
increasing. Some of them enrolled in high schools and faculties. In 1994 there were seven Roma
students, while in 2009 250 students went to university. In public administration, 0,1% of Roma
people were included and their number increased to 0,6% today...
Link: http://www.idividi.com.mk/English/Macedonia/592391/index.html
Ethnos: Lots of Albanians, Roma people from FYROM emigrate to EU member states
6/04/2010 - Athens. Lots of citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM),
mainly Albanians and Roma people continue emigrating to EU member states, Greek Ethnos
newspaper writes. Since the lifting of the visa regime last October, thousands of FYROM citizens
headed for Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway as many of them are searching for political
asylum to stay permanently in the country. Despite the sharp reactions on the European Commission
and several European governments, emigration continues. The reason is that people are searching for
better life and wants to get away from the discrimination, the newspaper reads further.
Source: FOCUS News Agency
President Ivanov meets leaders of political parties of Roma community in Macedonia
8/04/2010, Skopje, April 6 (MIA) - President Gjorge Ivanov welcomed Tuesday leaders of political
parties of Roma community in Macedonia.
The meeting, organized in honor of the International Roma Day - April 8, referred to developments
in the Roma community and the progress in implementing the Decade of Roma Inclusion initiative,
the President's Cabinet said in a press release.
Macedonia must keep working on full inclusion of the Roma community in the society, which
requires the participation of Roma intellectuals, activists, Ivanov said.
The leaders presented their opinions on necessary steps for further improvement of the living
standard and status of the Roma in general. They also believe that participation of Roma community
in Macedonia's political life should serve as an example to other countries willing to improve the
status of Roma in their societies, the press release reads.
Link: http://www.idividi.com.mk/English/Macedonia/592306/index.html
Police, Roma clash in Skopje
16/04/2010 - Macedonian Interior Ministry stated that 17 policemen were injured in a clash between
the special police forces and the inhabitants of the Roma settlement. The incidents took place in the
settlement of Suto Orizari in Skopje on Thursday, Beta reported.
The conflict broke out when trade inspection attempted to close a major part of the market in the
settlement, where most of the merchandise is smuggled. Because of protests of the owners of goods,
there have been a number of incidents between the inspectors and the traders, after which the
inspectors called for special police forces as backup. The conflict escalated when the majority of the
population of Suto Orizari began hurling stones, bricks and bottles at the special police, after which
the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
There is no information about whether any of the inhabitants of Suto Orizari were wounded. The
chief of the Suto Orizari municipality, Elvir Bajram, arrived on the scene. He urged the police to
withdraw, after which the situation calmed down, the market was closed and the owners complained
to reporters that their goods had been seized. The situation in the Roma settlement of Suto Orizari is
now calm.
Source: Beta
Macedonian Roma protest on Tuesday (20.04.2010)
18/04/2010 - Roma students, youth and citizens of Republic of Macedonia organize a protest as a
reaction to the incidents in Shuto Orizari last week. The protest will take place on Tuesday
20.04.2010. The program of the protest is:
12:00 - 13:00 March from Shuto Orizari to the Macedonian Government
13:15 - 13:30 Addressing the Macedonian government
13:30 - 14:00 March from Macedonian government to the EU Comission office in Macedonia
14:15 - 14:30 Addressing the EU Comission office in Macedonia
14:30 - Press on the spot/end of protest
Link from the incident: http://www.kanal5.com.mk/default.aspx?mId=37&egId=13&eventId=59453
Macedonia: Police Raid & Roma Riot
Posted By Filip Stojanovski
09/05/2010 - On April 15, market inspectors and special police forces in full riot gear raided a textile
market in the Skopje municipality of Šuto Orizari, aka Šutka, inhabited predominantly by ethnic
Roma. The subsequent protest escalated into a full-scale riot that included an exchange of stones and
shock bombs.
According to the official announcement [MKD] by the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the law
enforcement action was to assist the Coordination Body of the Government of Republic of
Macedonia for Protection of Intellectual Property in seizing counterfeit branded clothes. The
announcement published with the title “No excuse for yesterday's hooliganism” and subtitled “All
involved will be identified and brought before the face of justice,” starts with the following:
The Ministry of Interior Affairs condemns all attempts to find any kind of excuse for yesterday's
violent and rowdy behavior by a group of citizens in Šuto Orizari, which involved an attack on the
police officers using stones and other objects.
Instead of defense and apology, primarily to prevent generalization of the bad image to the whole
Roma population, the Ministry expects all the responsible persons and concerned citizens to aid in
the identification of the perpetrators of the disruption of the public order and peace, through the
attack against the police which resulted in 16 injured officers and damage to four vehicles and other
ministry equipment.
The police also informed that immediately after the incident their Internal Control Sector conducted
an investigation about the level of force applied and concluded that:
…police officers engaged in the implementation of the action acted within the limits of their
competences.
So far the Sector has received no complaints or depositions against the police officers, and no
injuries were reported by the citizens.
According to Shpic daily, shopkeepers complained that non-branded merchandise (such as white
underwear) was seized also, and that “more than 40 residents of the settlement were injured, but were
afraid to go to hospital.”
Considering the police announcement, it is not surprising that very few citizen videos from the scene
were published online. YouTube users who wanted to draw the attention to the incident republished
clips from TV news, which compared the incident to confrontations in Gaza or Beirut.
Immediately after the incident Kimi, a right-wing blogger, started a discussion portraying [MKD] the
police as victims of one-sided beating:
…how should the police react to avoid being beaten, in order to solve the situation with the Roma
[sic] in this state (the NGOs protecting them have not made announcements yet)?
Tell me in which state it is legal to sell smuggled branded goods?
PS Someone might object and attack the police when they arrest drug dealers, because those people
are also pitiable, and earn their daily bread.
Dozens of bloggers commented on this post, including Barabbas, who wrote:
Kimi, are you kidding? Did you watch the news, the clips?
Special Forces against the paupers? How come the Special Forces do not go to Kondovo or
Arachinovo when the electricity is cut [to those who do not pay the bills], for instance?
This is a classic show of force - to rule with an iron fist!
…and, filipko, who responded to the actual question:
…Smuggled branded goods are not sold in the states where
- the state apparatus is small and efficient
- the state apparatus does not hang like a stone around the neck of the industry
- the state apparatus helps the economy, creating the conditions for conduct of legal business
- the state apparatus is not stuck up to their necks in bribes and corruption
- the state apparatus is not a place to provide employment for political party apparatchiks
In such states it is legitimate to show force to implement laws.
Referring to a recent scandal [MKD], Oggiedoggie added:
Imagine a country where a high-ranking police official can wear a branded fake watch! Without a
care in the world.
Let me know if there's a state where such a thing is legal?
A group of Roma activists used Facebook to invite people for a protest march [MKD] against the
discrimination of the Roma, starting from Šuto Orizari to the seat of the Government and then to the
seat of the Delegation of the European Union. The event page also served as a place for discussion
between people who oppose the protest and support the actions of the police, and protest supporters
from all ethnic communities. Enisa Eminovska explained the reason for the protest:
Unemployment within the Roma ethnic community is 73%, as opposed to 31% among the
Macedonians and 27% among the Albanians! 63% of Roma live bellow the official poverty line.
This should have been solved before closing the Šutka market! All the governments in the last 10
years tolerated the market because it enabled Roma people to maintain a bare existence. How come
they decided to “fix it” with 1 hour of beating, without tackling the issues I mention above.
The protest took place on April 20, gathering [MKD] “several hundreds” students and other citizens.
Macedonia’s Romani Imam
Ali Berat is a role model for many in his community, but others criticize him for exhorting Roma to
abandon their traditions.
by Michael J. Jordan and Shejla Fidani
4 June 2010
SUTO ORIZARI, Macedonia | Ali Berat is a rarity in the Balkans. A rarity even among his people:
not only is he a Romani imam, but he also hails from a devout Muslim family, within a vast Roma
diaspora known for its mild religiosity.
Berat, however, studied for six years in the Islamic holy city of Medina, then returned to his
Macedonian hometown on a mission to preach to his people. In his crosshairs are Romani traditions
he says help stunt their development.
“I would like to ask one question about all these traditions,” says the bearded Berat, 36, while seated
in his elegantly upholstered living room. “Have they changed the education levels of our people?
Have they lifted us from poverty? … When we say we are Muslims, that is not saying we are not
also
Roma. But all these traditions are taking us one step back.”
It’s not unusual for a charismatic Romani leader to offer religion as a salve for suffering: researchers
track a pattern across Europe dating back 60 years, particularly among Evangelical and Pentecostal
Roma. What’s interesting today is how this is happening to the Roma of Macedonia – a country
polarized by inter-ethnic, inter-religious tensions between the majority Macedonian Orthodox and
minority Albanian Muslims. The dominoes have also tipped toward local Roma. Which is also cause
for concern among some observers, who suggest Roma identity is at risk.
“Islam in Suto Orizari does not show respect toward Roma culture,” says Romani activist Enisa
Eminovska. “Increased religiosity among the Roma concerns me because the price of being ‘real
Muslim’ is abandoning Roma culture.”
Historically, the Roma devotion to family, clan, and tradition has taken priority over religion. At the
same time, experts say they are largely a God-fearing people, enjoying a more private, intimate
relationship at home, not in a church of the ethnic majorities they lived among, says Tomas Hrustic,
a researcher at the Slovak Academy of Science’s Institute of Ethnology in Bratislava.
Read more on http://www.tol.org/client/article/21513-macedonias-romani-imam-.html
Discrimination against Roma children in MK continues
Back in 1993 there were only 3 Roma students in Macedonian universities, and today, thanks to the
quota aimed to encourage higher education of minority communities and the several private
universities, this number is around 150. However, many of them do not graduate due to their low
standard of living in Macedonia.
10/06/2010 - According to the Macedonian statistics, 73% of the Roma children who enroll in school
never finish it, and according to an assessment conducted by UNICEF of primary schools, the
estimated average national dropout rate is 2%, however among children from Roma and rural
Turkish communities this rate is as high as 10%.
This is mainly due to lack of easy access to schools in rural areas, poorer quality of teaching in
schools attended by Roma and rural Turkish children, traditional attitudes towards the education of
girls, early marriage for girls as well as the work in the grey economy for boys.
"The biggest problem is the delayed enrollment of Roma children and the fact that many parents do
not enroll their children in primary education at all. Then, it's the very high dropout rate", said
Dragan Nedeljkovic from the government body for education of minorities, for the research center
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso - OBC.
"It can happen that up to 3-4 children from a family are of school age. The books and the school kits
are expensive. It is impossible for the parents to sustain this economic burden", said Saip Iseni,
principal of a primary school in the largest Roma community in Macedonia, Suto Orizari.
Need for more effective implementation of the National Strategy for Roma
In this context, the national strategy for the Roma currently being developed in the Republic of
Macedonia, has an important role to play in breaking down the barriers with which Roma children
are confronted in the education sphere. Under this program, the government have to adopt and over a
ten year period, implement national strategies aimed at advancement of Roma in their societies. The
Macedonian strategy has four priorities: housing, education, employment, and health protection.
Although the government officials are rather optimistic regarding the implementation of this
strategy, Ramadan Pilji from one of the largest Roma NGOs "Mesecina", stated that "the government
to date hadn't done much for the Roma’’.
"We are not content" says he, "but we are optimists and want to believe. We will have to work hard
in the next 10 years."
HCHR in MK pressures the Government
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia, with concern continuously
points out the same problems regarding Roma education, and reminding the competent institutions of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child that strictly prohibits discrimination regardless of the race,
the colour of the skin, the gender, the religion, the political or other convictions, national, ethnic or
social origin, disability, background or other status of the child.
HCHR has publicly addressed in April this year, to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the
Government of the Republic of Macedonia with a request to inform them which are measures they
have undertaken based on the given recommendations in order to provide proper protection of the
rights and the interests of the children at these schools, primarily having in mind the best interest of
every child individually.
“Roma children are among the most deprived members of society. Through education today’s
children will be able to enjoy better living standards tomorrow. Education can open new
opportunities that have been denied to so many Roma people for so long,” said Ms. Hongwei GAO,
UNICEF Country Representative, in a recent appeal for Roma parents to enroll and keep their
children in school.
Link: http://humanrightshouse.org/Articles/14390.html
Situation for Macedonia's Roma population worrying: report
15/06/2010 - Macedonia's Roma population suffers from discrimination and their living conditions
are "worrying", Europe's anti-racism agency warned Tuesday.
"Roma face difficulties with education, employment and access to health care," the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance said in a report. "Roma women are subject to multiple
discrimination and there are a high number of Roma children in the streets who do not receive
adequate care."
The commission, which is part of the Council of Europe, urged Macedonia to end the practice of
sending Roma children to schools for the mentally challenged, and instead integrate them into
regular schools.
The report said segregation of ethnic minorities remained common, and teaching in languages other
than Macedonian was not up to scratch.
"At the same time, the country continues to be divided along ethnic lines. Statements by politicians
and opinion leaders do not assist reconciliation," the report said, adding that not enough funds were
available to improve the situation for minorities.
The ECRI report found positives, such as the decision to grant citizenship to a number of ethnic
minority people who were long-term residents in the country.
"Changes to the Criminal Code have been a significant step towards consolidating the legal
framework to combat racism. Judges and prosecutors now receive compulsory initial training in this
connection," the report said.
The ECRI monitors problems of racism and discrimination in all 47 member states of the Council of
Europe.
Link: http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/situation-for-macedonia-s-roma-populationworrying-report_76675.html
Magazine “ONE” Education for all
http://www.ednomagazine.com/en/12/news
Respected!
In front of you is the 12/13th issue of the magazine EDNO, with the latest contents that treat and
cover the current issues in the Macedonian society in the area of education, socio-economic
problems, as well as obstacles and problems that interrupt the integration of the Roma community in
the processes of the above mentioned areas and general integration in all social currents.
We hope that our team, with the prepared materials that treat problems from various levels of our
society, will encourage you to review the latest contents and we hope that the information and
impressions you receive from it will be transferred to all your colleagues and friends.
This issue contains coverage of social problems from socio-economic character, problems from a
legal aspect, as well as the currents in the area of media informing.
We hope that with the information and views we offer you, we will succeed to create a successful
communication between us in order to improve the condition on all social levels in Republic of
Macedonia as well as improvement of the condition of the Roma community in Republic of
Macedonia.
The National Roma Centrum hopes that with sending of this issue of the magazine EDNO to you
will accomplish at least in part to achieve the above stated goals. More information about our
activities in relation to these questions can be found on our web portal:
www.nationalromacentrum.org.
The contents of all the previous issues of the magazine EDNO can be found on our portal for the
magazine EDNO: www.ednomagazine.com
Respectfully
National Roma Centrum
25.06.2010
Manager
Asmet Elezovski
Launch of the Handbook for prevention and protection of discrimination in the education
system in Republic of Macedonia.
28/09/2010 - The Minister of Education and Science, Nikola Todorov and the Director of the
Department for Development and Advancement of Education in the Languages of Community
Members, Redzep Ali Cupi, will attend the launch event of the Handbook for prevention and
protection of discrimination in the education system in Republic of Macedonia as part of the Roma
education campaign, implemented by National Roma Centrum, financed by Roma Education Fund.
The launch event will take place in Hotel Alexandar Palace, at 3 p.m.
Source: National Roma Centrum
Promoted Manual for prevention and protection from discrimination in the education system
in Macedonia
The Manual for prevention and protection from discrimination in the education system in Republic of
Macedonia was published by the Ministry of education and science, with support from the “National
Roma Centrum” from Kumanovo, within the frameworks of the project “Campaign for education of
Roma” financed by the Roma Education Fund from Budapest.
Skopje, 28/09/2010 - The Manual which is intended to prevent discrimination in the education
system, was presented today and it is expected to aid in acceptance of differences throughout the
schools in Macedonia.
The Manual, published by the Ministry of education and science has for a purpose to improve and
strengthen the cooperation and coordination among all authorized institutions and individuals
involved in the education system in the direction of providing equal conditions and opportunities for
quality education of all pupils regardless of their religious, national or other basis.
The Manual was published in accordance with the National Strategy for Roma, the international
initiative “Decade for inclusion of Roma 2005-2015” as well as the action and operation plans for
education and all other strategic documents of the Ministry of education and science.
What is important for us is that the Ministry of education is the first institution from the central level
institutions that has started to develop programs and strategies about the issue of discrimination after
the law on protection from discrimination has been brought and I believe that this will incite other
institutions to develop strategies in this direction” said Redzep Ali Cupi, Director of the Board for
development and promotion of education and languages of members of communities.
- The Manual is a result of joined activities of the Ministry of education and science, the citizen's
association “National Roma Centrum” and the Roma education fund from Budapest, within the
frameworks of the project “Campaign for education of Roma – inclusion and continuity in the
education process”. This publication is also our contribution for identification of possible ways of
discrimination, presentation of good practices and introducing of measures for positive
discrimination that will bring rapid equalization of opportunities for equal enjoyment of the right for
education and overcoming of stereotypes, pointed out Todorov.
The Minister of education and science, Nikola Todorov, said that he is certain that this manual will
change the matrix of thinking and the ways of acceptance of differences and will be a good tool for
dealing with discrimination that appears in various forms and with different intensity in different
parts of Macedonia.
I see this is another image in the mosaic that we are building of Macedonia, i.e. the way we all build
Macedonia as functional, multinational democracy in which all citizens will have the same equal
rights as citizens regardless of their race, gender, religion and the language in which they speak, said
the minister Todorov.
According to him the Manual represents a useful tool and contribution for planing, realization and
control of the education process as well as promotion of anti discrimination policy.
- The Manual can be used by all students, teachers and parents, i.e. all concerned sides in the
education process regardless of their ethnic, national, religious and other belonging. With its
understanding and application rights are being respected as well as the role and responsibilities
defined with the relevant legal regulative, added the minister Todorov.
The Manual for prevention and protection from discrimination in the education system in Republic
of Macedonia was published by the Ministry of education and science, with support from the
“National Roma Centrum” from Kumanovo, within the frameworks of the project “Campaign for
education of Roma” financed by the Roma Education Fund from Budapest.
Link: http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=14763
Montenegro
EU Alarmed by Influx of Western Balkan Immigrants
02/03/2010 - The European Commission has demanded that the authorities in Macedonia, Serbia,
and Montenegro take measures to stem the influx of immigrants to Belgium. This has happened after
Belgium requested help from the EC over the fact that since visa-free travel to the EU was
introduced on January 1, 2010, the montly number of Macedonians asking for asylum in the country
increased twofold.
An increased influx of immigrants from Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo has also been registered in
Belgium. The Belgian authorities became alarmed when they noticed that in January and February
they had a lot more asylum seekers from Macedonia than from Afghanistan. All applications for
asylum are to be rejected, and the Belgian authorities have vowed to extradite all illegal immigrants
that do not leave within the required period.
Read more on http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=113775
Fund for Active Citizenship: Building a Community of Trust and Philanthropy in Montenegro
Program Guidelines
Building a Community of Trust and Philanthropy in Montenegro
12/07/2010 - How can building a culture of philanthropy help new countries in transition support
peaceful development and stabilize a region? "When I was a child there was a lot of community
organizing and solidarity. Then it was all gone for 15 years with the war in former Yugoslavia—the
entire social system changed. People stopped caring about each other. It was necessary to talk about
[philanthropic] values and attitudes," said Anica-Maja Boljevic, executive director of Fund for
Active Citizenship (fAKT). "The main obstacle to giving isn't lack of money. It's lack of trust."
Officially registered as a local foundation in early 2008, fAKT emerged from the Montenegro office
of the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), whose projects the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has
supported in Serbia and Montenegro since 2001. Since its inception as a BCIF program in 2006,
fAKT has been the only local grantmaking organization in Montenegro. Today, as a full-fledged
local office, fAKT is more responsive than ever to local needs and contexts. It continues to
contribute to positive social change by providing small grants to organizations based outside of the
capital city of Podgorica, and enabling community groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
and citizens to play an active role in the political, economic, civic, and cultural lives of Montenegrin
society.
fAKT shatters the stereotype of the cold and distant funder and has mastered the art of grantmaking
as a development tool. Praised for being "different from other donors," fAKT staff members spend
quality time consulting with prospective and current grantees. "We are like a Montenegrin family,
despite our foreign funding. We understand the local context very well, because we have our eyes
and ears to the ground," emphasized Boljevic. Because they work at national and local levels, fAKT
not only provides technical advice and support, but serves as a "relationship broker" between
government officials and smaller NGOs. Additionally, fAKT convenes and supports better
coordination and cross-collaboration among the United Nations Development Programme, Soros
Foundation, the U.S. Embassy, and other regional donors, in order to jointly provide more effective
grantmaking in Montenegro.
Listening to the needs of grantees and providing capacity-building development opportunities is
another of fAKT's many strengths. In 2007, fAKT offered advocacy training for eight mostly
women-run NGOs in the greatly underdeveloped northern rural areas of Montenegro. After two days
of advocacy training, the groups were given small grants to realize programs in their communities.
One participating NGO, the Center for Roma Initiatives, located in a Roma community outside of
Niksic, used their newfound skills to petition local authorities to successfully establish a weekly
garbage collection and solve their village's sanitation and waste disposal issue. "These young Roma
women told us that before they received training, they never would have believed that the local
officials would listen to them," said Boljevic. Not only were they able to get the government to
listen, but some Roma women were given jobs monitoring the progress of the new system, and the
project received additional funding from the Employment Bureau of the municipality of Niksic.
Over the last year and a half, fAKT has taken on the challenge of developing the field of
philanthropy in Montenegro. Following a study commissioned on the history and tradition of
philanthropy in the country, fAKT coordinated a special roundtable in May 2009, with a dynamic
array of trusted and respected historians, business people, academics, NGOs, and media personalities
to promote and encourage public-private partnerships in developing local philanthropy. Their efforts
resulted in the formation of the Iskra (Spark) Selection Committee, which held Montenegro's first
philanthropy awards ceremony in December 2009. The Iskra Award for Philanthropic Excellence
honored individuals, corporations, and nonprofit organizations alike for their contributions to
humanitarian and charitable causes, and received extensive media coverage, from the National
Television of Montenegro to daily newspapers such as Dan (The Day) and Vijesti (The News).
As the new decade unfolds, new windows of opportunity keep opening, and fAKT and its
committees tirelessly works towards them. The Iskra Award and general awareness of the
innovative culture of philanthropy may take on new directions, including engagement with the
Montenegrin diaspora, and plans for three regional conferences in the former Yugoslavia to discuss
corporate philanthropy, social responsibility, and enabling frameworks. "Energy is what keeps us
moving. Our committees, such as the Grantmaking Committees and Iskra Selection Committee,
keep bringing together people who've never met before, even though we live in a small country,"
Boljevic said. "But now, they have a chance to debate and agree and do something together."
Link: http://www.rbf.org/close_ups/close_ups_show.htm?doc_id=1288719
Veca bezbjednost u romskim naseljima od pozara
23/07/2010 - Povodom obraćanja nekoliko stanovnika pośetio sam izbjegličko naselje na Vrelima
Ribničkim u Podgorici. Postupajući po pritužbama u vezi rušenja baraka saznao sam da je posrijedi
koordinirana aktivnost lokalnih struktura u cilju boljeg intervenisanja na tom prostoru u slučaju
požara.
Saopštio sam da konkretna aktivnost uklanjanja prilaznih ostava („šupa“) predstavlja osiguranje
protivpožarnog puta oko stambenih objekata koju svi stanovnici kampa treba da podrže jer doprinosi
njihovoj bezbjednosti.
Bezbjednost kao osnovno ljudsko pravo nije dovoljno vidljiva u strateškim dokumentima koje se
odnose na status i prava pripadnika romske i egipćanske manjine. Požari u njihovim naseljima su
česti i odnose ljudske žrtve, posebno ñecu, pa zaštita od požara predstavlja ozbiljan društveni i
profesionalni izazov.
Na Ministrastvo unutrašnjih poslova i javne uprave (MUPJU) apelovao sam da razmotri
unaprijeñenje bezbjednosti u romskim i egipćanskim naseljima. Postavljanje odreñene protivpožarne
opreme u samim naseljima uz minimalno osposobljavanje stanovnika, zbog daljine naselja može
poboljšati zaštitu.
Pomoćnik ministra mr Zoran Begović već danas je organizovao veoma konstuktivan i produktivan
sastanak kojem smo prisustvovali načelnik Službe zaštite Glavnog grada ing. Rade Pješčić i ja.
Priliku sam iskoristo da gospodinu Begoviću čestitam na naporima koje MUPJU preduzima u
pogledu razvijanja efikasnog nacionalnog sistema zaštite od požara.
Begović i Pješčić pokazali su, pored visoke stručnosti i profesionalnosti, izuzetan senzibilitet za
problematiku stanovanja i visoki protivpožarni rizik naselja. Upravo su oni inicirali osnivanje
dobrovoljne vatrogasne jedinice na Vrelima Ribničkim i najavili podršku opremanju naselja
odgovarajućom opremom.
mr Aleksandar Saša Zeković
istraživač kršenja ljudskih prava u Crnoj Gori
NACIONALNI SAVJET ROMA I EGIPĆANA: Saopštenje za javnost povodom deportacije
Roma iz Francuske
Podgorica 5. septembar 2010.godine
Francuska vlada je donjela odluku da nekoliko stotina Roma, deportuje čarter-letovima u državu
porijekla, ponudivši im po 300 eura za svaku odraslu osobu i po 100 eura za dijete kao vid ”pomoći
za humanitarni povratak iz bezbjedonosnih razloga”, čime je prekršen Zakon o slobodnom kretanju
grañana unutar Evropske unije. Stvarni razlog njihove deportacije je nasilje koje je usledilo nakon
što je jedan policajac ubio jednog romskog mladića koji je bježao od policije, nakon toga usledili su
neredi, a jedna grupa Roma je napala policijsku stanicu.
Rome ovih dana ponovo nazivaju najnesrećnijim narodom Evrope. Ovakva politika diskriminiše
jednu od najranjivijih zajednica u Evropi, istovremeno pripadnici romske zajednice su često
uskraćeni za osnovna ljudska prava, isključeni iz društva marginalizovani, getoizirani i uglavnom
žive na ivici ponora. Romi se u Francuskoj smatraju "kolektivno odgovornim” za kriminalna dela
koje čine pojedini pripadnici romske zajednice. Demokratski standardi ne poznaju sistem kolektivne
krivice, ako postoji pojedinac koji je počinio odreñeno krivično djelo, nemože da posledice tog čina
snosi čitava jedna zajednica. Ukoliko se nastavi ovakvom politikom gdje se kriminal pojedinca
generalizuje kao kriminal jednog naroda , lako se može desiti da se danas u XXI vijeku, probude
aveti prošlosti i sjećanja, kada je kažnjavanje Roma bilo zakonom dozvoljeno. Ovakvi postupci ne
doprinose rješenju problema, već samo produbljuje napetost i neizvjesnost. U ovom slučaju se
pokušava Romima spočitavati da se sitni kriminal koji je svugdje prisutan pa i kod Roma, pretvara
u ozbiljan, meñunarodni kriminal, samo iz jednog razloga “ da bi opravdal” svoje nehumane
postupke, ćiji je krajnji cilj kolektivna deportacija Roma. Ovakvi postupci doprinose stvaranju
najgorih anti-romskih stereotipa i predrasuda.
Očigledno da i danas kao i u prošlosti, nije lako biti Rom, to se veoma jasno vidi i danas, kada
Evropa poziva na demokratizaciju društva i afirmaciju i poštovanje ljudskih prava, a istovremeno ih
i sama krši, naročito kad su Romi u pitanju.
Francuska, meñutim, nije jedina zapadnoevropska država u kojoj je romska zajednica diskriminisana.
Italija, je prije dvije godine preduzela slične mjere poslije nekoliko krivičnih dela koja su, navodno,
izvršili Romi.
Njemačka se sprema da tokom narednih nekoliko godina deportuje 12.000 Roma na Kosovo, što je
njemački list "Frajtag" nazvao " sramotom za Nemačku", pogotovo kada se ima u vidu da je skoro
6.000 romske dece odraslo u Njemačkoj i ne govore ni srpski, ni albanski, i zato vjerovatno neće
moći da nastave školovanje.
Nacionalni savjet Roma i Egipćana smatra da Evropa ozbiljno mora da preispita svoju politiku prema
Romima. Romi kao narod imaju svoje dostojanstvoi svoj ponos i ne zaslužuju da se bilo ko i bilo
gdje nehumano ophode prema Romima. Tim prije što se njihov egzodus u drugom svjetskom ratu
nikada nesmije zaboraviti. Nećemo i neželimo da vjerujemo da se istorija ponavlja.
Nacionalni Savjet Roma i Egipćana
Podpredsjednik Nacionalnog savjeta Roma i Egipćana u Crnoj Gori
02/10/2010 - U Ulcinju se realizuje projekat OSCE-a, pod nazivom novinarska radionica za djecu
koja pohadjaju osnovnu školu. Ovaj projkat je značajan, jer okuplja djecu scih nacionalnih i vjerskih
zajednica i u tome je njena najveća prednost.
Web-sajt je uradio polaznik novinarske radionice, učenik 7. Razreda Enes Uković, pripadnik
nacionalne zajednice Egipćana u Crnoj Gori.
Bili bi smo Vam zahvalni, ako budete imali vremena da posjetite nas sajt barem na kratko i naravno
ostavite svoj komentar u vidu predloga, sugestija i naravno kritika. Adresa pomenutog sajta je:
http://www.djecja-planeta.tk/
Srdačan pozdrav
Podpredsjednik Nacionalnog savjeta Roma i Egipćana u Crnoj Gori, Muhamed Uković
Nacionalni savjet Roma i Egipcana - Crna Gora
05/11/2010 - Nacionalni Savjet je otvorio novu Web-adresu sajta cija je adresa http://www.romskisavjet.tk/
na ovaj nacin imate priliku da sa upoznate sa nasim aktivnostima, samim tim svaku vasu primjedbu i
sugestiju cemo ozbiljno razmotriti.
Ocekujemo od vas da nam ponudite savjete i smjernice, kako bi integracija Roma i Egipcana bila
kvalitetnija.
Srdacan pozdrav
Podpredsjednik
Muhamed Ukovic
[email protected]
Serbia
Ministry of Human Rights Puts Emphasis on Young Roma
03/06/2010 - The first conference of the Association of Young Roma of Serbia (UMRS) concluded
that the work with young Roma will be a priority for the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights to
ensure that they would become active contributing members of the society and join the work of the
national council and political parties.
The Conference also concluded that the Roma community doesn’t pay attention to youth policies,
and state secretary at the Ministry Petar Antić emphasized that young Roma should join all segments
of public life in Serbia.
"There are few educated Roma, and those we have remain outside of political and public life in
Serbia" Antić said, adding that the Ministry plans to assist the creation of Roma leaders and include
young Roma in local and state administration and institutions. Antić pointed out that young Roma
have to talk more, cooperate and leave the narrow framework of nongovernmental organizations, set
their priorities and create strategies.
Antić said that the UMRS conference was the first serious initiative to gather the young, perspective,
educated Roma from all parts of Serbia, who are prepared to work to find solutions for the problems
of Roma population.
OSCE, which supported the gathering of young Roma leaders, noted the problem that the Roma
seem content to have individual state institutions and international organisations fight for their rights,
instead of picking that fight themselves.
UMRS members and activists agree that Roma youth organizations and individuals need to improve
the networking practices, since there could be no efficient solution for the problem of Roma youth
without organized action.
Source URL: http://www.oneworldsee.org/Ministry-of-Human-Rights-Puts-Emphasis-on-YoungRoma
Ipsos Strategic Puls, Serbia World Bank - Public opinion survey on attitudes towards Roma in
Central European Countries
07/06/2010 - Across Europe, over seven million Roma people continue to live on the margins of
society. They are often subject to discrimination that stems from public policies and attitudes. ‘The
Decade of the Roma 2005-2015’ – an initiative led by nine Central and South Eastern European
(CSEE) countries and supported by the World Bank and Open Society Institute aims to improve the
socio-economic status and social inclusion of Roma.
As part of this initiative, in 2005, Ipsos set out to explore the views of the Roma and the non-Roma
in CSEE countries. The first step in improving the lives of the Roma was to understand the attitudes
and perceptions that prevent their integration into wider society.
Our approach was to hold focus groups in each of the Roma Decade countries with Roma and nonRoma citizens. These qualitative findings were then used to develop a questionnaire.
The next stage involved a quantitative survey of 650 non-Roma and 150 Roma in each Roma Decade
country. All interviews were conducted face-to-face at respondents’ homes, in their local language.
The findings from this study formed the evidence base for the cooperative international effort
"Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015".
The findings were integral to the early stages of the ‘Decade of the Roma’ initiative for two reasons.
First, it informed the communication strategy by identifying messages that would resonate with the
public, how the media might be used to support this effort, and approaches to increase awareness and
knowledge about the Roma in a positive way. Second, it informed programs and policies by
uncovering what kinds of actions citizens would be likely to support. These included housing
initiatives, improving education for Roma children, increasing job opportunities, supporting
leadership efforts within the Roma community, and enforcing discrimination laws more stringently.
Link: http://www.ipsos.com/public-affairs/social-research-institute/clients-case-studies/casestudies/ipsos-strategic-puls
Amnesty slams Serbia over forced evicition of Roma slum
10 June 2010
BELGRADE - Amnesty International on Thursday slammed authorities in Serbia over last year's
forced eviction of a large Roma ghetto from under a bridge in Belgrade.
"The eviction of the Gazela settlement was carried out without the safeguards required under
international law," Sian Jones, the London-based human rights organisation's Balkans researcher,
told reporters.
In order to rebuild a key road link to Turkey, Belgrade authorities forcibly evicted the Gazela gypsy
settlement last August.
In less than three hours homes of some 178 Roma families were destroyed and some 114 families
were sent by bus to several outskirts of the capital where they were housed in metal containers.
Another 64 families were moved to southern Serbia.
"People there did not know when and where they would be evicted... they were prevented from
rescuing their belongings, nor compensated for the loss and damage," Jones said.
According to Amnesty the resettlement options fail to meet international human rights standards.
"The containers they were settled in are small, overcrowded and without adequate ventilation," Jones
said.
The settlement under the Gazela Bridge, part of a major highway linking Greece and Turkey with
Western Europe, has been a longstanding problem for the Belgrade authorities and an obstacle to
repairing the bridge.
Plans to relocate the settlement, a squalid camp sheltering Gypsy families, have for years been
opposed by residents in several Belgrade municipalities who did not want the Roma as their new
neighbours.
At the time, the relocation was backed by rights watchdog the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which described the camps living conditions as "shocking".
However, Amnesty said although "we recognise complexity of the situation," the pressure should be
put on authorities to try to work out the problems that emerged from the eviction.
European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
have conditioned releasing a loan for the reconstruction of the bridge with a proper resettlement of
Roma families.
Amnesty urged the financial institutions to stick to that, Jones said. She added that the organisation
would also call on the European Union to link the issue with Serbia's accession process.
Most of the shanty town's residents arrived in Belgrade in the 1990s, either fleeing wars in other
parts of the former Yugoslavia or seeking a better future in the city, Serbia's economic centre.
Link: http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/serbia-minorities.54b
Protests turn to anti-Roma violence
15 June 2010
Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug BELGRADE -- Threats and abuse towards Romas (Gypsies) the village
of Jabuka, near Pančevo, north of Belgrade, have been ongoing for days, say reports.
Protests began after 17 year-old Dejan S. was murdered. Police have a Roma, also 17, in custody, in
suspicion that he committed the murder.
In the wake of the murder, police have already arrested five people suspected of spreading racial,
religious and ethnic hate.
Police have been protecting the Roma in Jabuka for several days now. Locals have been verbally
abusing the Roma and throwing stones at their homes over the last several days on a regular basis.
Every night, the non-Roma residents of the village gather in front of the village school for what they
call peaceful protests, but some local administration and the Roma calling the gatherings racist and
nationalist.
Pančevo Police Chief Zvezdav Radojković said that police were ready to react at any moment and
those they, joined by Gendarmerie, were in front of every Roma household offering protection.
“The number of villagers gathering is increasing. We now have a situation where the incident (the
murder) is being forgotten and (the protesters) are now trying solving local communal problems. We
are trying to talk to these people and to tell them that police are here not only to investigate, but also
to stop further incidents from occurring,” he said.
Pančevo Mayor Vesna Martinović also visited the village.
“We came to Jabuka in order to try and decrease the tensions through talks, to stress the unfortunate
nature of the tragedy that occurred and to stop such a tragedy for occurring again on a larger scale,
and the number of people that is coming out every night to protest points in that direction,” she said.
The murder of Dejan S. by a Roma boy his age was made public last week, with reports that he was
killed over a pair of stolen sneakers and disoaraging messages on the social networking website
Facebook.
The locals said that they would only talk to the mayor and Radojković if those arrested for
supporting inter-ethnic tensions were released from prison, which was refused.
There was no protest held on Monday night, with increased police presence in the village now,
Gendarmerie included.
Link: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/societyarticle.php?yyyy=2010&mm=06&dd=15&nav_id=67810
Threats Against Roma Continue in Serbian Village
Belgrade | 16 June 2010 | Bojana Barlovac
For the past five days groups of non-Roma residents in the village of Jabuka, north of Belgrade, have
been threatening and verbally abusing the local Roma population.
The unrest began after 17-year-old Dejan S. was allegedly murdered by a Roma teenager last week
over threats related to stolen sneakers which were made on the social networking Web site Facebook.
The man suspected of stabbing Dejan S. with a knife, also 17, is being held in police custody.
Every night since the incidents several hundred non-Roma villagers have gathered for what they call
peaceful protests in the areas were Roma residents live. The authorities and Roma villagers have
described the demonstrations as racist and threatening, and there have been reports that protesters
were throwing stones at the houses of Roma villagers.
The village, home to some 7,000 people, is located next to the town of Pancevo. It is currently under
police protection and five persons suspected of spreading racial, religious and ethnic hate have been
arrested.
Pancevo police Chief Zvezdav Radojkovic said that police were in front of every Roma household
offering protection as the number of villagers gathering for the protests is increasing.
"We now have a situation where the incident [the murder] is being forgotten and the protesters are
now trying solving local communal problems," he noted.
Radojkovic went on to explain what the police was doing in order to resolve the problem: "We are
trying to talk to these people and to tell them that police are here not only to investigate, but also to
stop further incidents from occurring.”
Serbia authorities and NGOs have strongly condemned the situation in Jabuka and called on those
involved to stop their protests.
Petar Antic, deputy minister for Human and Minority Rights, told Balkan Insight that the ministry
has shown its support to the Roma.
"Events calling for violence against any community cannot be tolerated since they represent an
incitement of racial and religious hatred and intolerance," Antic said.
He went on to say it would take some time for the situation to calm down and for Roma residents to
feel safe.
The Association of Roma Youth in Serbia said today that it was frightened by the events in Jabuka
and warned that an entire group of people cannot be blamed for crimes committed by individuals.
"With deep compassion for the tragic loss, the Association of Roma Youth in Serbia invites young
residents of the village of Jabuka to break the vicious circle of violence and be reminded that an
entire people cannot bear responsibility for individual crimes," a statement from the group read.
Meanwhile, the NGO Belgrade Centre for Human Rights said in a statement that the state authorities
must not allow the villagers of Jabuka to become hostages of the anger of their fellow citizens.
"It is necessary to allow Roma people to continue leading normal lives in the village of Jabuka and to
effectively prosecute persons responsible for the attacks.
"This incident also points to the need for greater engagement on the part of the state in order to create
an environment of mutual respect and understanding between different ethnic groups," the statement
continued.
When asked how such cases should be prevented in future, Deputy Minister Antic said that raising
levels of tolerance among youth is the main task.
"The ministry is working with the mayor of Pancevo on implementing programmes in primary and
secondary schools that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflicts," Antic told Balkan Insight.
According to the 2002 census in Serbia, there are about 110,000 Roma in the country, but experts
estimate that the actual number is between 400,000 and 700,000.
In 2002 Serbia adopted a law that recognised the status of national minorities in the country. This
improved the position of the Roma institutionally and formally, but in reality the situation on the
ground has not improved significantly.
Link: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/28801/
ERRC: Rights organisations urge prevention and prosecution of racist attacks in Serbia
BUDAPEST, BELGRADE, 17 JUNE 2010: In light of the recent violent anti-Roma protests in
Jabuka, Pančevo municipality in Serbia, the European Roma Rights Centre and the Minority Rights
Centre (MRC) wrote to the government and the police to urge the full investigation and prosecution
of all responsible perpetrators. Since 10 June 2010, almost every evening, non-Romani residents of
the town have been organising protests, shouting violent threats and attempting to injure Roma
destroy and Romani property with bricks and arson. At least two children have been injured and one
house destroyed. A number of Romani families have left the village, while the other Romani
residents are unable to leave their homes fearing further violence.
The ERRC and MRC called on the Minister of Interior and Chief of Police to implement concerted
efforts to reduce the tension and end violence in Jabuka, including increasing the presence of police
patrols to adequately ensure the safety of the residents at all times and to prevent any further attacks.
Furthermore, the groups call for a prompt and thorough investigation into the violent protests to
identify and prosecute all perpetrators of violence, destruction of property or incitement to hatred.
The full text of the letter is available HERE
For further information, please contact:
Idaver Memedov, ERRC Lawyer, [email protected]
Andrea Colak, MRC Executive Director, [email protected]
EU to invest EUR 3m in Roma's education in Serbia
23 June 2010
BELGRADE - The European Union will invest three million euros (3.68 million dollars) in efforts to
better include Roma children in Serbia's education system, officials said Wednesday.
Some 1.8 million euros would be spent on setting up a network of school assistants who would
connect Roma children and their parents with schools, the Beta news agency reported.
Another 1.2 million euros would be used to purchase school materials and other necessities, the
agency said, quoting participants at the conference "Education For Everyone", organized by Serbia's
Education Ministry and EU delegation here.
"According to the latest data, almost 80 percent of Roma children do not finish elementary schools,"
said Vincent Degert, head of the EU delegation office in Serbia.
He called on Roma parents to enable their children, primarily girls, to continue their schooling as
long as possble, adding that the right to education, as one of the basic human rights, should be
"equally available to everyone," Beta reported.
Serbian Education Minister Zarko Obradovic said that the latest data have shown that "21.4 percent
of Roma children ageed seven to 14 are not included in the education system."
"Also, 62 percent of young Romas aged from 15 to 19 are also excluded from the education system,"
Obradovic said.
According to UNICEF, some 66 percent of Roma children enroll into elementary schools in Serbia
compared to 95 percent of the population in general. Only 28 percent of Roma children finish
elementary schools.
"Education is a chance to ensure better living conditions and reduce poverty among Roma
population," Obradovic said.
The two-year long project "Education for everyone" has started in February.
According to 2002 census in Serbia, 108,000 Roma have been registered in Serbia, but it is estimated
that about 450,000 live in this former Yugoslav republic with the population of 7.5 million,
according to Serbia's Human and Minority Rights Ministry.
Link: http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/serbia-minorities.5at
Reconstruction of Main Belgrade Bridge Begins
Text by Bojana Barlovac for Balkan Insight
02/07/2010 - The long awaited reconstruction of the Gazela Bridge in the centre of Belgrade began
on Thursday, with some lanes closed to traffic.
The works launched on Thursday are part of the first phase of the reconstruction, while the main
works are expected to be carried out from July 25 until October 6.
This is the first reconstruction of the bridge since it was built in 1970. The country's main highway
runs across the Gazela and the city's authorities have been delaying the move as the bridge is one of
the two central bridges in Belgrade and see most of the city's local and transit traffic. Because of this,
there is concern that its reconstruction could cause major traffic back-ups in a city that already has its
fair share.
The highway, which hasn't been restored since the bridge's construction, will also be repaired as part
of the project and next summer Belgraders will use only half of its capacity, the authorities said.
Belgrade's Mayor Dragan Djilas has urged city residents to maximize their use of public transport
during the work on the bridge.
There is a possibility, if the back-ups are deemed excessive, that the city will place a pontoon bridge
over the Sava.
Persons transiting the city will have to focus on the bypass around Belgrade; announcements with the
information will be distributed at the country's border crossings.
The project to reconstruct the bridge has faced a certain amount of controversy.
The removal of the illegal Roma settlement underneath the bridge preceeded the reconstruction and
raised vehement opposition among some NGOs and human rights groups in the country.
The decision to move the Roma from under the bridge was made in 2007, when the European
Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, approved money
for the reconstruction of the bridge on the condition that the people living underneath it were moved
and given adequate housing.
The Roma people living in the settlement were mainly brought to various provincial locations,
depending on their previous residential addresses, armed with promises that the local authorities
would house them in decent conditions.
However, there have been numerous indications that such conditions have not been met. Many of the
families who were forced to leave the Serbian capital and came to the southern town of Vranje in
2009 are still living in improvised huts without electricity and running water.
Link:http://www.balkantravellers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2089&Itemi
d=29
Romi i dijabetes – Romani people and diabetes 2/2
“TO BE, AND NOT TO HAVE” – short movie about diabetes in Romani people in Serbia.
Produced by: Diabetes Association of Serbia & Roma Community Centar 8 April. Screening had
been performed from October 2006 till May 2008 and included more than 2000 people of Romani
people in Serbia.
Link: http://www.theze.cn/diabetes/romi-i-dijabetes-romani-people-and-diabetes-22.html
Serbian Roma families facing forced eviction
03/08/2010 - Amnesty International today urged the Belgrade authorities to halt plans to destroy a
Roma settlement amid fears that an eviction could be imminent.
Amnesty International today urged the Belgrade authorities to halt plans to destroy a Roma
settlement amid fears that an eviction could be imminent.
At least 70 families living in an informal settlement in the Vidikovac area of the Serbian capital,
many of whom fled there after being forcibly evicted from other sites, could be left homeless again if
the demolition goes ahead.
"The authorities have yet to find a long-term solution for Roma who, after seeing their homes
repeatedly destroyed, live in constant fear of being evicted at any time without warning,” said Sian
Jones, Amnesty International’s expert on Serbia.
Under international law, evictions can only be carried out as a last resort, once all other alternatives
have been exhausted.
The Belgrade authorities have not offered the families any alternative accommodation or
compensation. They have failed to consult the community, instead issuing them with two eviction
notices in April and mid-June, and the latter threatening the settlement with eviction from early July.
“The city authorities have no respect for the Roma people’s dignity and human rights, we have been
suffering discrimination in this society for far too long,” a Roma activist, who wants to remain
anonymous due to fear of eviction, told Amnesty International after her visit to Vidikovac on 30
July.
“The youngest of the Vidikovac residents are the most vulnerable to forced evictions. We are talking
about kids with no chance to live normally. They can’t learn like other children, their health is at
risk.”
Thirty-five of the families at risk of eviction joined the Vidikovac settlement in April 2010, when
their homes on the other side of the street were destroyed by the Belgrade authorities. They were
offered no alternative accommodation, assistance or compensation.
Another 20 families arrived at site after being evicted from a nearby area without prior notice,
leaving them unable to rescue anything but the few belongings they could carry. Promises of food
and assistance from the authorities failed to materialise.
“This vicious circle of forced evictions can only be broken through the development of a sustainable
resettlement plan, which ensures the right to adequate housing for all affected communities,” said
Sian Jones.
Many of the Roma families living in Vidikovac were forcibly returned to Serbia from several EU
states between 2006 and 2008.
Many had left Southern Serbia in the 1990s in search for work and, after failing to find adequate
housing or employment when returned to their home towns, joined informal Roma settlements across
Belgrade.
The Belgrade authorities have reportedly said the city's settlements will be removed because they
lack proper sanitation. However, they have not specified where families living on the site can be
relocated or how their human rights will be protected when their homes are demolished.
“The authorities act as if it is our fault that we live in the settlements, as if it is our choice. What
other choice have we got? If you are Roma you haven't got many choices,” the Roma activist said.
Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign aims to end the human rights violations that
drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilise people all over the world to demand
that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in
poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit
http://demanddignity.amnesty.org/campaigns-en/
Link: http://fromtheold.com/wire/serbian-roma-families-facing-forced-eviction-2010080320012.html
Newsletter "Decade of Roma Inclusion: News"
09/08/2010 - Please find on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Roma_ex_Yugoslavia/message/5567 the
newsletter “Decade of Roma Inclusion: news” published by the Ministry of Human and Minority
Rights of the Government of the Republic of Serbia with the support of the Open Society Fund
Serbia.
Source: Office for Roma National Strategy, Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Serbia.
B92: U subotu protest solidarnosti Roma
2. septembar 2010.
Izvor: Beta Beograd -- Romske NVO, partije i Savet romske manjine održaće u subotu
protestnu šetnju u Beogradu zbog odluke Francuske da deportuje Rome poreklom iz
Rumunije i Bugarske.
"Pozivamo sve ljude koji nisu rasisti i anticiganisti da nam se pridruže, rekao je na Jordan Vasić iz
Demokratskog udruženja Roma.
"Širom Evrope pokrenuta je rasistička akcija raseljavanja Roma i u svetu je prisutan program
anticiganizma. Zato smo pokrenuli inicijativu za osnivanje Pokreta za solidarnost Roma", rekao je
Vasić u Medija centru.
Vasić je rekao da su Romi izloženi diskriminaciji u čitavoj Evropi, ali da je najgore u Mañarskoj gde
je prošle godine bilo 16 napada na Rome u kojima je bilo šest žrtava, kao i da se i neki Romi u
Beogradu "bude sa strahom da li su im bageri ispred kuće".
Jovana Vuković iz Regionalnog centra za prava manjina oštro je kritikovala odluku Francuske da
protera Rome u matične države, rekavši da su Romi u toj zemlji izloženi sistematskoj stigmatizaciji i
dikriminaciji.
"Romi su u Francuskoj izloženi medijskom linču. Francuski mediji prepuni su stereotipa o Romima
koji su prikazani kao lenjivci i kriminalci. Francuska, koja se diči slobodarskom tradicijom, istakla je
cenu za ljudsko dostojanstvo i ljudska prava, jer Romima nudi novac za povratak u matične države",
rekla je Vukovićeva.
Ona je kazala je da su Romi iz Rumunije i Bugarske takoñe grañani EU i da se deportovanjem njima
krši pravo na slobodu kretanja, što francuska vlast nevešto pokušava da pokrije medijskim linčom
Roma.
Jovana Vuković je navela da ne vidi ni spremnost vlasti u Srbiji da kazni počinioce diskriminacije
nad Romima.
Srñan Šain iz Romske partije pozvao je predsednika Srbije Borisa Tadića da pokrene inicijativu da
se na evropskom nivou osnuju institucije koje će se efikasno boriti protiv diskriminacije Roma i za
njihovu integraciju.
"Romska zajednica se u Evropi suočava sa diskriminacijom koju organizuju najviši državni
funkcioneri i plašim se da to ne preraste u proces", rekao je Šain.
Bajram Haliti iz Novinsko-informativne agencije Roma rekao je da bi protiv Sarkozija trebalo
podići optužnicu pred Meñunarodnim sudom pravde u Hagu jer za zločine protiv čovečnosti nema
opravdanja.
Haliti je pobrojao slučajeve diskriminacije Roma u Italiji, Finskoj i Francuskoj, ali je takoñe istakao
da je najgora situacija u Mañarskoj gde je protiv Roma "organizovan pravi lov na ljude" u kojem
"nacističke garde" pucaju na Rome, a da počinioci nisu otkriveni.
Protestna šetnja će u subotu u 14 sati krenuti od Pionirskog parka preko Ambasade Francuske u
Srbiji do predstavništva EU na Novom Beogradu.
Protest Roma i u Beogradu - VESTI - SMEDIA
04.09.2010 - Nekoliko desetina članova romskih nevladine organizacije, partija i Saveta romske
manjine okupilo se danas u Beogradu na protestu zbog deportacije Roma iz Francuske.
Protest je počeo u 14.00 sati u Pionirskom parku, a zatim su se učesnici tog skupa uputili do
ambasade Francuske u Pariskoj ulici i predstavništva Evropske unije na Novom Beogradu.
Predsednik Udruženja gradjana Novinske informativne agencije Roma Bajram Tariki rekao je da je
protest organizovan jer vlada Francuske, odlukom o deportaciji, drastično krši prava Roma, gradjana
zemalja EU Rumunije i Bugarske.
Link: http://www.smedia.rs/vesti/detalji.php?id=43140&vest=Protest-Roma-i-u-Beogradu
Roma education, health-care improves
Belgrade, 23/09/2010 - The situation related to education and health-care for Roma (Gypsies) in
Serbia has significantly improved.
However, it is still far from matching the position of Roma to other citizens; it was concluded at the
final conference on the implementation of a training program for pedagogical assistants and healthcare mediators at the local level on Thursday.
The program, dubbed "A coordinated approach to Roma inclusion at the municipal level Pedagogical assistants and health mediators", is being implemented with the support of the European
Union and the OSCE, and its closing conference in Belgrade was attended by a total 180 assistants
and 60 mediators who completed the course, as well as a number of Serbian ministers and
international community representatives.
Education is the most effective means in fighting poverty and the program's approach ensures that
Serbia's educational system is on the way to become part of the European education system, thus
fulfilling one of the essential conditions for Serbia's equal participation in the European community
of nations, Education Minister Žarko Obradović pointed out, and called on all Roma youth to take
part in education.
Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia Vincent Degert recalled that the Union has
already allocated EUR 50 million to support the Serbian government's efforts in implementing
assistance programs for education, social and health-care inclusion, providing help to internally
displaced persons and refugees and for employment programs.
Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Dimitrios Kypreos specifically pointed out that Serbia's state
institutions have made significant progress in the implementation of strategies and action plans
related to the inclusion of Roma, with a warning that many challenges should still be expected on the
way.
Minister of Human and Minority Rights Svetozar Čiplić stressed the importance of coordination
between his ministry and the Education and Health Ministries, since education and health-care
represent two of the four priority areas for implementation of the program dubbed 'Decade of Roma
Inclusion'.
Health Minister Tomica Milosavljević recalled that a project entitled "Health Mediators", aimed at
improving the health-care for Roma, especially women and children, was launched in cooperation
with the OSCE in May 2008.
Link: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/societyarticle.php?yyyy=2010&mm=09&dd=23&nav_id=69854
Comment this on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=14701
EU to donate EUR 6 mln for Roma housing in Vojvodina
European Commission officials and a delegation from Vojvodina discussed in Brussels on
Wednesday the possibility of housing 150 Roma families in the province, a project for which the EU
is willing to set aside EUR 6 million.
08/10/2010 - European Commission officials and a delegation from Vojvodina discussed in Brussels
on Wednesday the possibility of housing 150 Roma families in the province, a project for which the
EU is willing to set aside EUR 6 million.
The European Commission officials stressed that they fully support Vojvodina's model of Roma
inclusion, which is unique in Europe, the Provincial Secretariat for Information said in a statement.
Provincial Secretary for Labor, Employment and Gender Equality Miroslav Vasin and Director of
the Roma Inclusion Office Dusan Jovanovic met with Deputy Head of the European Commission's
European integration unit for Serbia Lars Erik Forsberg, reads the statement.
Link: http://www.emg.rs/en/news/serbia/135053.html
Asylum seekers: Commission demand violates human rights, NGOs say
27 October 2010 – Several Roma and refugee rights organizations have written to the EU
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström asking her to recall the content of two letters,
she addressed, a week ago, to the Serbian and Macedonian ministers of Interior. In these letters,
which were quoted by several European media, the Commissioner asked the governments of the two
countries to take immediate actions in order to prevent a further outflow of asylum seekers, which
would endanger the liberalization of the visa regime.
In their letter to the EU Commission, the NGOs remind of the fact that the European Commission
has already made the granting of visa waivers conditional on the countries signing readmission
agreements with the European Union. They point out to the fact that these agreements mainly affect
Roma and members of ethnic minorities, who are also the bulk of those, currently seeking asylum in
the EU.
Quoting the latest progress reports by the European Commission, the NGOs point out to the fact that
ethnic minorities, in particular, the Roma continue to be severely discriminated in Serbia and
Macedonia. Underlining the fact, that discrimination may well have an impact on a person’s capacity
to earn his or her livelihood, which is recognized by the UNHCR as a constitutive element of
persecution, they reject the statements of the Commissioner’s spokesperson, according to whom, the
asylum seekers are essentially driven by economic motives.
The NGOs say that the Commission’s demand to the two countries to prevent their citizens from
seeking asylum abroad is actually in breach with two fundamental principles of human rights, the
freedom of movement and the right to asylum. They point out to the fact that the implementation of
the readmission agreements has already given rise to serious human rights concerns, and express
their concerns that the “special control measures”, which have been announced by the Serbian
authorities, in reaction to the Commissioner’s letter, may lead to further human rights violations.
“According to the media, the Serbian Minister of Interior announced ‘thorough controls of suspect
travelers and tours organized from areas producing most asylum seekers’. We believe that this will
open the door to the ethnic profiling of travellers,” the NGOs say. They remind of the fact, that
already in 2001, British border officials tried to prevent Roma from boarding flights to the UK, at the
Prague airport, in reaction to Czech Roma requesting asylum of the UK.
The NGOs asked Commissioner Malmström to immediately recall her letters to the Serbian and
Macedonian authorities and to instead ask them to spur their efforts in the field of human and
minority rights. Pointing out at the precarious status of Roma refugees and IDPs, they also asked for
their integration.
Chachipe a.s.b.l.
For further information or statements, please contact the signatories of the letter:
Chachipe a.s.b.l.
B .p. 97
L – 7201 Béreldange
e-mail : [email protected]
www.romarights.wordpress.com
Flüchtlingsrat Niedersachsen e.V.
Langer Garten 23 B
D - 31137 Hildesheim
Tel. 05121 - 15605
Fax.: 05121 – 31609
e-mail: [email protected]
www.nds-fluerat.org
Projekt Roma Center Göttingen e.V.
Haus der Kulturen Hagenweg 2/e
D- 37081 Göttingen
Tel.: 004915205919700
e-mail: [email protected]
www.roma-center.de
Avutnipe
Roma-Dansk Forening
e-mail: [email protected]
http://avutnipe.wordpress.com/
Union des Roms de Yougoslavie en Diaspora/Fleuve Ibar
e-mail : [email protected]
Romane Anglonipe e.V.
e-mail : [email protected]
Förderverein Roma e.V.
Stoltzestrasse 17
D - 60311 Frankfurt/Main
Tel.: 0049 69 440123
Fax: 0049 69 150579-52
e-mail: [email protected]
www.foerdervereinroma.de
Pro Asyl
Postfach 16 06 24
D - 60069 Frankfurt/M.
Tel.: 00 49 69 - 23 06 88
e-mail: [email protected]
www.proasyl.de
Roma Union Grenzland e.V.
Krefelder Str. 72
D-52070 Aachen
Tel.: 00 49 241-2 77 65
e-mail: [email protected]
Flüchtlingsrat Hamburg e.V.
Nernstweg 32 - 34
D - 22765 Hamburg
Tel.: 0049 40 - 43 15 87
Fax: 00 49 40 - 430 44 90
e-mail: [email protected]
www.fluechtlingsrat-hamburg.de
Flüchtlingsrat Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.
Schellingstrasse 3-4
D - 39104 Magdeburg
Tel.: 00 49 391 / 537 12 81
Fax: 00 49 391 / 537 12 80
e-mail: [email protected]
www.fluechtlingsrat-lsa-online.de
Turkey
January – July 2010
Roma, Alevis and minorities are next in line in gov’t initiative
24/11/2009 - The government has vowed to continue its commitment to push on with a democratic
initiative that includes expanding rights to previously disadvantaged groups and communities,
starting with the country’s Kurds, despite resistance from opposition parties to the plan. Now the
government has rolled up its sleeves to expand the democratic initiative to non-Muslim minorities,
Alevis and Roma.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) met this
weekend for the 14th Consultation and Evaluation Caucus of the party in Ankara’s Kızılcahamam
district where they decided on a roadmap they will be pursuing in the period up to the 2011 general
election. Alevis, the Roma and some non-Muslim communities that have a “minority” status under
the law will be included in the democratic initiative package that began as a Kurdish initiative this
summer.
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-193831-100-roma-alevis-and-minoritiesare-next-in-line-in-govt-initiative.html
Turkey looks to ease minority tensions
Istanbul, 30/11/2009 - Turkey is making moves to reconcile with the country’s minority
communities, but analysts are divided on whether this new form of openness indicates a seismic shift
in policy. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to heal the sectarian wounds that run deep
through Turkish society as he looks to take his country closer to European Union membership —
Brussels wants democratic reforms and improvement of human rights before Ankara will be
considered for entry. The Turkish premier has been looking to make concessions to the Kurdish,
Armenian, Roma and Alevi (Shia Muslim, practicing a modern tradition of Islam) communities over
the past year.
“Not long ago, this was all taboo,” said Mehmet Ali Birand, a political commentator with Turkey’s
newspaper of reference Hurriyet.
Read more on http://www.turkishdigest.com/2009/11/turkey-looks-to-ease-minority-tensions.html
Fighting discrimination against Roma a moral duty, minister says
11/12/2009 - Following government initiatives to address the issues of Turkey’s Alevi and Kurdish
minority communities, a workshop was held to bring the state together with 120 representatives of
the Roma community from across the nation.
The government regards the fight against discrimination facing the country’s Roma community a
moral duty, State Minister Faruk Çelik said yesterday.
Speaking at a workshop organized by the government to address issues facing the Roma, Çelik said
it is impossible for a country to be powerful if it neglects its people’s problems. “It is a moral duty to
fight against centuries-old discrimination, intolerant attitudes and prejudice against the Roma. In
principle, we cannot ignore discrimination stemming from cultural, religious or ethnic differences.
The right to equal citizenship is among the indispensable rights of all our citizens,” the minister said.
“It is for this reason that this first meeting with the Roma is an important step for our country’s
future.”
It is finally the turn of Turkey’s Roma community to bring its issues to the discussion table with the
state, following similar initiatives with other minority groups like Alevis and Kurds. A meeting
brought together 120 Roma representatives from across the nation with State Minister Faruk Çelik
and other government officials
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-195214-100-fighting-discriminationagainst-roma-a-moral-duty-minister-says.html
Turkish Roma forced to leave their hometown after violent clashes
Istanbul, 08/01/2010 - Local Roma in the Selendi district of the province of Manisa were taken out of
the city and will be relocated elsewhere after being subject to violence that the Roma claimed the
mayor of the district provoked.
Early media reports from the Aegean province said fighting began after a member of the Roma
community, Burhan Uçkun, wanted to smoke in a coffeehouse. But Uçkun told daily Radikal that it
was not about smoking; instead, he said, the owner of the coffeehouse refused to serve him tea.
Uçkun’s father died on the same day of the fight from a heart attack. Five days later, a second fight
erupted between the same people, but this time, around 1,000 local people attacked Roma houses,
tents and other property.
Read more on www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-forced-to-live-their-town-201001-08
State pledges to build new houses for Selendi's displaced Roma
09/01/2010 - The deputy governor of Manisa's Gördes district, Yalçın Sezgin, has announced that the
Manisa Governor's Office and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) are cooperating on a plan to
construct prefabricated housing for Roma who were forced to leave their homes in Selendi earlier
this week due to high tension in the area.
“You are our guests. It is our duty to meet your needs. A project by the Manisa Governor's Office
and the Turkish Red Crescent to construct prefabricated houses for the Roma will be completed as
soon as possible. The houses will be constructed in an area chosen by the Roma people. All means
will be used to accommodate in Gördes the Roma who lost their property after the incidents on
Wednesday. The people of Gördes are happy to accommodate you here,” stated Sezgin on Thursday.
Sezgin's remarks came during a dinner hosted by the Gördes district governor's office for 74 Roma
people who were forced to leave their homes in Selendi after clashes between Roma and locals.
The clashes broke out on Wednesday after a Roma man was beaten by a group of locals in Selendi.
His relatives attacked the local group, shattering the windows of nearby buildings. The attack drew
serious indignation in the district, with more than 1,000 locals stoning and setting ablaze tents and
shanty houses belonging to Roma. The angry crowd also destroyed numerous vehicles in
neighborhoods mainly populated by Roma.
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-197992-101-state-pledges-to-build-newhouses-for-selendis-displaced-roma.html
Roma eye future with hope, unease
20/01/2010 - Anxiety is on the rise for Turkey’s Roma community with recent events spinning the
peoples’ emotions into a mix of hope and suspicion, according to Hacer Foggo, a leading human
rights activist who has worked with the community for six years. ‘For the first time in Turkey, the
state is listening to the demands and problems of the Roma,’ she says.
A mother quickly grabs her six-month-old baby and runs to the mountains, spending a cold night
rubbing the baby’s feet to prevent them freezing in an effort to escape an attempted lynching. The
story was relayed by a human rights activist describing the aftermath of the recent events in Selendi,
in the Aegean province of Manisa, after a group attacked a local Roma neighborhood.
“Everyone should put herself in the place of that woman. People now do not feel any problems
because the people who left the town were Roma,” said Hacer Foggo, a human rights activist, has
been working with Turkey’s Roma community for six years and is a member of the committee for
the Roma Workshop organized by the state in December.
Read more on www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-are-hopeful-but-worried-as-well2010-01-20
Erdoğan to meet with Roma representatives in March 2010
02/02/2010 - State Minister Faruk Çelik announced yesterday that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan will meet with representatives of the Roma community living in Turkey on March 14 to
announce new measures vis-à-vis this community in the hopes of improving their living standards in
addition to countering the discrimination they face.
According to the Anatolia news agency, Çelik said the aim of the meeting is to discuss proposals for
solutions to problems faced by the Roma. He noted that Erdoğan will declare what steps will be
taken to help the Roma community.
Çelik said the government launched a Roma workshop in December to listen to the Roma with the
purpose of learning what they expect from the government. A number of proposals were made after
the workshop, with Çelik pledging that the first step will be to construct new housing for the Roma
community in Turkey with the cooperation of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey
(TOKİ).
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-200355-101-erdogan-to-meet-with-romarepresentatives-in-march.html
Romani families from Selendi now live in misery
11/02/2010 - The Romani families forced to flee from Selendi (Manisa) after their neighbourhood
was attacked and burnt came to Salihli (Gordes), where the state had promised them assistance, but
the state has not kept its promises. Today, only a few of the families are able to do some of their
cooking in an oven as many do not have the facilities to cook in their temporary homes. Some are
able to heat their homes but most lack the wood to burn and hot water for washing is a luxury. Only
half the homes have running water. "You cannot keep well and healthy in these conditions', say the
Romanies, "in the past every family had a roof over its head, but now we have plastic sheeting and
live three families to a house". The materials for carrying out the improvements to these properties,
to make them habitable for the Romani families are lying nearby in the local mosque.
Moreover, the Romanies are victims of discrimination in their new location, according to the Salihli
District Governor. "Even when we go to the state to find homes for the Romani families, owners are
not willing to rent," he says. "If this is for the Romani families, the owners tell us, we do not want
someone like that in our apartments."
Read more on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=12775
Erdoğan meets with Turkey’s Roma community in historic gathering
14/03/2010 - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives a roaring ovation from a 12,000-strong
crowd as he arrives to address members of the Roma community at an Istanbul auditorium in the first
such meeting with a Turkish premier. Erdoğan unveils plans to improve Roma housing in 40
provinces as other officials promise better education and employment opportunities. ’Today is the
first time I cried out in happiness,’ one Roma woman says.
Tears of hope and happiness filled the eyes of members of Turkey’s Roma community as they
stepped off the buses that brought them from around the country to a historic meeting with the prime
minister Sunday. Festivities kicked off and emotions ran high in the hours leading up to the meeting
at Istanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Auditorium as thousands of Roma sang, cheered, chanted and
danced outside the venue. Many expressed hopes that their problems would be solved by the
government’s new initiative to integrate ethnic minority groups into society without discrimination.
“For years we have been cast out and forgotten,” Selçuk, a member of the Mersin Roma community,
told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “This day means a lot to me because it is the first
time in history that a prime minister has addressed us and our problems.”
Read more on http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=historic-meeting-with--erdogan-forroma-communities-2010-03-14
Roma Meeting with the Prime Minister in Abdi İpekçi, Istanbul
15/03/2010 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan The Prime Minister of Turkey and Gypsy community of
Turkish Republic met in Abdi İpekçi Sports Center today. Meeting was planned as a part of Roma
Workshops.
There were many different groups from different cities in Abdi İpekçi on Sunday, March 14th at
13.00 for this meeting. Many different Gypsy foundation delegates from different institutes came to
the meeting; 5 buses from Kağıthane Yahya Kemal and its hinterland, 2 buses from Gültepe, 2 buses
from Kuştepe, 7 buses from Çatalca, 3 buses from Mimarsinan and 10 buses from Silivri total 29
buses from İstanbul, 25 buses approximately 1000 people from Edirne, 30 buses approximately 1200
people from Kırklareli, 4 buses approximately 150 people from Şarköy came to Abdi İpekçi for this
meeting. There were also many people from Sakarya, Muğla, Konya, Kahramanmaraş, Bitlis,
Antakya, Tekirdağ and other cities as well. Also there were representatives of the Dom, Lom and
Teber/Abdal groups. According to the participants some money between 10-100 TL as carfare and
lunch boxes were given to all participants for this meeting.
Eleni Tsetsekou from Council of Europe, Elmas Arus the director of the Roma documentary
“Buçuk”, Ivan Ivanov the director of European Roma Information Center made speechs at the
meeting. Elmas Arus impressed the audiences with her emotional speech. Also the state minister
Faruk Çelik who manages Roma Community Projects shared his ideas with the Roma community
with his speech.
Read more on http://www.cingeneyiz.org/prime.htm
Edirne governor pledges jobs for Roma university graduates
17/03/2010 - Mustafa Büyük, the governor of Edirne, the biggest province in the region of Thrace,
known for its considerably large population of Roma people, has guaranteed jobs for all university
graduates from the Roma community.
In a move to support the government’s democratic initiative, which aims to find solutions to
problems faced by country’s ethnic minorities, including the Roma, Büyük said they would find jobs
for all Roma who complete a four-year university degree. Büyük’s pledge came as a concrete step to
support the initiative. “We promise that we are going to see that all those who complete a four-year
university degree are employed,” he said.
This is not the first example of his inclusive policy towards the Roma community. The Edirne
Governor’s Office has embarked upon other projects, ranging from providing scholarships for
students and financial assistance and vocational training programs for their parents to enable them to
establish their own businesses to constructing sports centers to reduce the youth crime rate. Büyük
said they also aim to provide them with housing in coordination with the Housing Development
Administration of Turkey (TOKİ).
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-204560-101-edirne-governor-pledgesjobs-for-roma-university-graduates.html
Turkish Government takes concrete step for Roma people
25/03/2010 - Parliament on Thursday adopted a bill that abolishes the Interior Ministry’s
authorization to deport Roma people and other foreign migrants. The bill was submitted to
Parliament by Ali Koyuncu, the Bursa deputy for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
The article, which stipulated that the Interior Ministry was authorized to deport Roma people and
other non-Turkish migrants, was removed from the relevant law regulating the living conditions of
migrants in Turkey. The AKP government has recently initiated a Roma initiative in a bid to improve
the living standards of this group of people in Turkey. The issue came onto the country’s agenda
after the homes of Roma people living in the Sulukule neighborhood of Istanbul’s Fatih district were
destroyed during an urban-transformation project carried out by the Fatih Municipality.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=government-takes-a-concrete-step-for-roma-people2010-03-25
Roma people live nomadic lives after demolitions in Sulukule
23/03/2010 - Many Roma people, who moved to apartments in the Taşoluk neighborhood provided
by the Mass Housing Administration, or TOKİ, have returned to their original neighborhoods in and
near Sulukule for socio-economic and cultural reasons. Most say the apartment expenses were
beyond their incomes and also the life there was not suitable for them because they prefer houses
with gardens near relatives and neighbors.
Members of Istanbul’s Roma community continue to live like nomads since the demolition of their
houses, despite new apartments offered by the government, according to observers and NGOs.
After the houses of the Roma people living in the Sulukule neighborhood of Istanbul’s Fatih district
were destroyed during an urban transformation project carried out by the Fatih Municipality over the
last three years, renters were allowed to move into apartments built by the Mass Housing
Administration, or TOKİ, in the Taşoluk neighborhood of Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district.
The initiative is part of government efforts to improve living standards of Roma people in Turkey,
but members of the Roma community in Sulukule say they are still suffering from the results of
demolitions.
Read more on http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-lives-nomadic-life-afterdemolitions-in-sulukule-2010-03-23
CoE lauds Turkish initiative on Roma slaps EU for discrimination
27/04/2010 - A European human rights watchdog has lashed out at the European Union for what it
called “the deplorable and unacceptable outburst of violence against Roma in some Council of
Europe member states” while praising the Turkish government’s efforts to address the grievances of
its own Roma as “exemplary and unique.”
In its report, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) said, as a result of pogroms, many Roma have been forced, in a
climate of fear, to flee to other countries in order to seek asylum. Yet they found they were
unwelcome by governments within the EU despite the free movement of people being much
cherished as a policy and legal right.
“When fleeing from one EU member state to another, Roma asylum seekers are confronted by EU
legislation, which provides that in asylum matters, all EU member states shall be considered ‘safe
countries of origin’ in respect of each other. Consequently, a citizen of one EU member state may as
a rule not be granted refugee protection, or complementary protection, in another EU member state,
save for in certain exceptional circumstance,” the report said.
Read more on http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-208597-100-coe-lauds-turkish-initiativeon-roma-slaps-eu-for-discrimination.html
Cingeneyizinternational: 12 Roma Associations Will Found a Federation
03/06/2010
BURSA - A total number of 12 associations including Eskişehir, Düzce, Adapazarı, İzmit,
Pamukova, Altınova, Bursa and its towns have announced that they will found a federation.
The heads of the associations who state that they represent 250 thousand people in total declared that
the solutions to the problems of the Roman society can only be found by combining the power of the
associations. The associations which state that the biggest problems are unemployment and illiteracy
said that the unemployment rate in some regions reaches up to 95%. The heads of the associations
who believe that the most of the problems will be solved by settling the unemployment issue also
reported that they are producing projects to identify and solve the problems. However, expressing
that the authorities don’t take much interest in the projects, the heads stated that that’s why they will
increase their power by founding a federation.
Association authorities who spoke in the meeting shared their ideas on Romans’ were being
employed in areas such as Music, Construction, Agriculture, and Stock-breeding. Orçun Zolun, the
head of Bursa Roman Culture Research, Improvement, Aid, and Solidarity Association, who gave
the final speech emphasized that they are ready to work with all the NGO’s and Social Institutions
for solving the problems of the Romans who are not able to work in local administrations and for
their employment. Zolun also stated that they will do their best for the federation to function the most
efficiently.
Fehmi Acar, the head of Kocaeli Roman Culture Research and Solidarity, who spoke to
Cingeneyiz.org, said that they take the model of EU’s Presidency as an example for their association
structure. According to this, every year the head of a different association is to be the federation
president. Acar said that they believe that a more democratic regulation can be achieved in the
federation this way. Fehmi Acar’s proposal, supported by the heads of the other associations, is
believed to play an important role in structuring the federation.
We as Cingeneyiz.org wish success to the Federation of Marmara Roma Associations.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Turkish housing authority to build homes for Roma
Ankara, 07/07/2010 - The Housing Development Administration, or TOKİ, is expected to launch
projects for 2,524 residential units for Roma people in 11 cities in the months of July and August.
The projects aim to increase the standards of living of Roma people by allocating many of the 45square-meter units to them for monthly installments of as little as 100 Turkish Liras.
TOKİ started working on the project after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, “There will
be no Roma living in shanty houses anymore.”
The construction of 300 out of a planned 728 units for a residential project in the province of EdirneKeşan has already begun. TOKİ is expected to launch more projects for Roma people in Tekirdağ,
Düzce, Ankara, Balıkesir, Edirne, Kütahya and Manisa by the end of July and complete them by
December. Areas where the Roma population is larger, such as Edirne, Balıkesir and Düzce, have
called for larger projects featuring as many as 240 residential units.
TOKİ is not planning to expand this project to other provinces since reports sent from the Governor’s
Offices of Bitlis, Erzurum, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Kars, Mardin, Nevşehir, Niğde, Sivas,
Van, Şırnak, Trabzon and Yozgat said there are no Roma people in those provinces.
More information on the projects can be found on TOKİ’s website, www.toki.gov.tr.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=toki-follows-pm-erdogans-word-allocates-houses-forromans-2010-07-07
Thrace Roma Associations Consortium To Be Founded
13/07/2010 - Last week, in a meeting held in the offices of the Edirne Roma Association Federation,
it has been decided that a Thrace Roma Associations Consortium will be formed.
President of the Lalapasa Roma Association, Mustafa Taşdeviren is expected to serve as the
president of the Thrace Roma Associations Consortium, whose founding meeting took place in June
28-29. The consortium, whose vice presidents are reported to be Lüleburgaz Rom-Der President
Mustafa Gölce and Rom-Der President İbrahım Sünbül, will have EDROM President Erdinç Çekiç
as secretary general.
Roma in Edirne had taken the first step towards forming an association in 2004, by founding the
association called Edirne Association for Researching and Developing the Gypsy Culture and
Solidarity and Support (EDÇİNKAY). The mission of the association was to enable the Roma living
in Edirne to organize and to campaign against the existing prejudices against gypsies in the
community. EDÇİNKAY has decided to continue to work towards this mission under the name of
EDROM (Edirne Roma Association), after a name change it underwent in 2006.
In February of 2006, 11 Roma associations, by gathering under one umbrella, founded the Roma
Associations Federation (ROMDEF). The federation, which was founded with the aim of providing a
united means of movement for Roma associations enabling them to produce strong policies, consists
of Lüleburgaz Roma Association, Tekirdağ Muratlı Roma Association, Tekirdağ Malkara Roma
Association, İzmir Contemporary Roma Association, Mersin Roma Association, Adana Roma
Association, Keşan Roma Association, Ankara Roma Association, Bartın Roma Association,
Lalapaşa Roma Association, Balıkesir İvrindi Roma Association, Kırklareli Roma Association,
among others.
Thrace Roma Associations Consortium, which was founded by a team that gained experience
through their work with EDROM and ROMDEF, is expected to accomplish many important tasks.
The Consortium, whose founding procedures will soon be complete, is considered to be one of the
most important examples of the recently popular process of unifying associations under one
umbrella.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Sample Behaviour from the Serdar Neighbourhood
13/07/2010 - In The Serdar Neighbourhood in Kocaeli, a drug addicted citizen named C.K. has
decided to get rid of this situation thanks to the persistent efforts of the Kocaeli Roma Association
President Fehmi Acar and the people of the neighbourhood.
On 2 May 2010, upon a group of young people coming from the outside of the neighbourhood in
order to find addictive substances asked the Roma youth of the neighbourhood to how to get drug,
Roma youth immediately reacted, and after emphasizing that they cannot accept the treatment for
drug dealers, they wanted the outsiders to get away from the neighbourhood. Surprised by the
determination of the young people, the outsiders left the neighbourhood in a short time.
Getting informed about the issue, the association president Fehmi Acar gathered the residents.
Firstly, he celebrated the young people one by one who behaved in the way that suits the Roma
people, and then he summoned the young man C.K. known as a drug addicted. Acar told him that his
behaviours violated the name of all Roma society, moreover he indicated that he should not use
drugs in no way and he should never make a connection with the people who benefit from the
weaknesses of young people, otherwise they as the residents of the neighbourhood would develop an
attitude towards him.
C.K. said that he would take into account the warnings of the residents of the neighbourhood and
Fehmi Acar and he would do whatever he can do in order to get rid of drug addiction. Besides, he
agreed to be treated for drug addiction in AMATEM. The Roma Association President Fehmi Acar
pointed out that they take saving the young people abused by some dodgers as their duty and they are
determined until the end of this issue.
Now, C.K. is starting off with a clean slate. We celebrate the residents of Serdar Neighbourhood and
the Roma Association President Fehmi Acar for their sample behaviour and invite all our brothers
and sisters to fight to remove this black name beside Roma people.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Turkey, Europe cooperate in projects on Roma initiative
14/07/2010 - Turkey, which recently took the initiative to expand the rights of disadvantaged groups
and communities such as the Kurds, the Alevis and the Roma, has been carrying out joint projects
with European organizations to this end, receiving wide applause from Europe.
Carlien Huijsmans, a representative from the Netherlands-based Spolu International Foundation,
which supports initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe aiming to improve the socioeconomic status
of Roma communities, recently paid a visit to ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
Bursa deputy Ali Koyuncu to be briefed on the government’s Roma initiative.
Huijsmans previously facilitated a grant worth 12,905 euros for a project by the Turkish-based Roma
Youth Association. Stating that he would like to continue to work with Roma associations in Turkey,
Huijsmans said he aims to get EU funding for projects related to the Roma community. Many other
Europeans, including Walter Wolf of the European Commission and Fernando Villareal, a
sociologist who works on issues of minority policy in Spain and across Europe, also paid visits to
Koyuncu to find out more about the government’s initiative.
The government launched the Roma initiative late last year. A government-sponsored workshop was
held on Dec. 9, 2009 to address issues facing the Roma community. Representatives of Turkey’s
Roma community in İstanbul, Edirne, Kırşehir, Artvin, Van and several other cities, 120 people in
all, attended the event. A report was drafted listing the Roma community’s demands from the
government following the workshop.
Roma Youth Association head Selçuk Karadeniz said they have been carrying out projects with the
Spolu International Foundation for a year. Noting that a committee of 11 Roma will be elected next
week in Manisa to represent the Roma community in Turkey, Karadeniz said thousands of Roma will
gather there. “Our problems were brought to the agenda with the Roma initiative. We would not have
carried out such projects if this initiative had not been launched,” he said.
According to the Roma workshop report, 500,000 Roma live in Turkey, while other sources estimate
as many as 2 million. Some 20,000 Turkish Roma are nomads. The most significant problems
experienced by the Roma are insults and discrimination. They are generally referred to as “çingene,”
a pejorative term meaning gypsy, but there are 20 other expressions commonly used in Turkish to
refer to them.
The report includes Roma requests that they be mentioned in Friday sermons in an effort to eliminate
prejudice against them, the inclusion of information about Roma in textbooks and the elimination of
insulting expressions against Roma from course books as well as the provision of identity cards to all
Roma and social programs to keep Roma children from abusing drugs, along with the prevention of
early marriages. Since many Roma live as nomads, they often do not have identity cards. Among
other things, the Roma seek to receive an education and be respected in society.
In an unprecedented meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with nearly 10,000 Roma
in March as part of the Roma initiative.
“As the state, we have shouldered the responsibility on this [Roma] issue. From now on, your
problems are my problems. No one in this country can be treated as ‘half’ a person. We cannot
tolerate this,” the prime minister had said during the speech he delivered at the Roma meeting at
İstanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall.
YASEMIN BUDAK
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-215988-101-turkey-europe-cooperate-in-projectson-roma-initiative.html
Roma people get OK for fete in Turkey’s north
ÖZGÜR ÖĞRET
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The traditional Perşembe Plain festival in northern Turkey brings Roma people together. After a
two-year ban, the festival offers a chance for Roma people to travel from all corners of the country
and set up camp. Officials say the ban was not about discrimination but security issues.
Permission has been granted for Roma people to attend a traditional festival in the countryside of the
northern province of Ordu, after being banned for the last two years.
A group of Roma people were denied attending the annual festival on the Perşembe Plain in the
district of Aybastı last year and were forcibly removed from the location by gendarmerie officers.
This year, Roma people came from different locations of Turkey to continue their ancient tradition,
but again were not allowed to set up their festival tents. However, they did not leave this time, partly
because of the birth of a newborn baby on Monday night, which made the mother unable to travel.
Art historian Gülten Madenli was on the scene this year and she spoke to Hürriyet Daily News &
Economic Review on Tuesday before the permission was granted. She said approximately 300
vehicles, mostly trucks traveling through the country during spring and summer, are owned by Roma
people and make part of the festival. Madenli said 70-100 trucks come to the Perşembe Plain every
year since it is the only festival that lasts for more than a few days, usually a week.
“They told us the governor banned it, but I talked to him and he has not even heard of it,” she said.
According to Madenli, the acting mayor from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, promised
to not to allow Roma people to the festival if elected. “These people have no criminal records and
cause no problems,” said Madenli.
She said the Roma people had a gathering to discuss the matter on Monday night. “They said, ‘We
want to be treated with respect in places we visit, we have rights too.’” Madenli said they have
named the newborn baby “Sabır” (Patience) and refuse to leave Aybastı although the gendarmerie
told them to do so immediately on Monday afternoon. Madenli said the gendarmerie did not use
force, but their manner was rude. “When the baby was mentioned, one said, ‘Did you consult me to
give birth here?”
However, some Roma people and Madenli met with municipality officials at a meeting Tuesday
afternoon and came to an agreement. The Roma people were granted permission to participate in the
festival as usual.
İzzet Gündoğar, mayor of Aybastı, spoke to the Daily News after the meeting and denied Madenli’s
claim about him promising to not allow Roma people to attend the festival prior to elections. “People
who say that, are obliged to prove it, too,” he said. The mayor said problems that surged this year
and in previous years were related to orders coming from the District Governor's Office regarding
security issues and not about discrimination against Roma people. Gündoğar said he perceives Roma
people as no different from other Turkish citizens.
“You know, the AKP has come up with a Roma initiative. It is not possible for us to behave
differently anyway,” the mayor said.
The Daily News called Aybastı’s District Governor’s Office to learn why the Roma people were
considered a security risk in previous years and what had changed this year, but the employee who
answered the phone said no one present was officially authorized to speak to the press at the time.
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-granted-permission-to-attend-festivalafter-struggle-2010-07-13
Young Roma Culture and SolidarityAssociation Established
21/07/2010
AYDIN - The Young Roma Culture and Solidarity Association of Kuşadası has been established in
May with a magnificent ceremony. Erdoğan Pişkin has been chosed as a chairman of the
organization. Beside it, Onur Seyran has been assigned as secretary and Taner Erkıvanç has been
assigned as bookkeeper. On the other hand, Emrah Taş, Hakan Seyran and Şevket Keser have shared
bord member roles with each other.
The chairman, Erdoğan Pişkin, gave a briefing to explain The Roma Association's acitivities for
future and about the aim of founding this organization. He emphasized that the aim of this
organization is to combine the young Roma people, give them some trainings about social and
cultural activities, arrange some concerts, theatre, maintain cultural trips for them etc.. He
emphasized that the main purpose of this organization is to intoduce Roma tradition to all over the
world. Moreover, the organization aims to find suitable jobs for Roma young people. To supply this,
the organization is contacting to some officiall government organization like Employee and
Employment Detection Organization.
We wish all the best for The Young Roma Culture and Solidarity Association.
Cingeneyiz Aydın
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Roma people file complaint against Turkish columnist
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
27/07/2010 - A group of Roma citizens and associations filed a criminal complaint Tuesday against
journalist Engin Ardıç, saying he insulted Roma people in a recent newspaper column, and
demanding compensation for financial and other damages.
“Engin Ardıç wrote in a July 22 column that ‘it is a vain effort whenever someone in Turkey
attempts to knock sense into Roma people.’ But we say, why doesn’t someone in Turkey attempt to
knock sense into those who insult Roma women, men and children for ethnic reasons and
prejudice?” Metin Salih Şentürk, the head of the Kuştepe Florists Association, said Tuesday, reading
a press statement in front of the courthouse in Istanbul’s Şişli district.
“Nobody has the right to stigmatize or insult the honor and dignity of the Roma people, who
comprise more than 3 million of Turkey’s population. This is why we deny [Ardıç’s] groundless
allegations and we condemn [him] for his column,” Şentürk said.
In his column published in daily Sabah on July 22, Ardıç wrote that the Roma people sell flowers, a
beautiful thing, but sometimes also sell marijuana. He also implied that they stole flowers from
graveyards to sell on the streets.
Ardıç has criticized the Roma people who sell flowers on the streets of Istanbul for not complying
with a recent project of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to offer new kiosks to flower sellers.
The flower sellers say they are worried about losing their current stalls and do not want to rent the
new kiosks, saying the project aims to discourage street vendors.
Ahmet İzgi, a Roma musician who was present at Tuesday’s protest, told the Hürriyet Daily News &
Economic Review that a Roma association plans to file a complaint against Ardıç for insulting them
in a column where he retold a story about a “dark” girl called Güllü – a popular name among Roma
people – who apparently offered to have sex with him in exchange for five dollars.
Speaking at the protest, Şükrü Pündük, head of the Sulukule Roma Association, called for Ardıç to
resign from his newspaper and quit the writing profession.
Professor Orhan Kural, the head of Travelers Club of Turkey, said he had recently planned a project
to work with Roma people and had sent a draft submission to the European Union to apply for
funding. Kural, who attended the protest in Şişli, said he had witnessed firsthand that Roma people
are honest and said they add a colorful side to Turkish culture.
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-files-complaint-against-columnist-201007-27
Book "The Gypsies in Turkey" not Discriminatory
28/07/2010 - With a four to three vote, the ECHR decided that neither the book "The Gypsies in
Turkey" written by Prof. Dr. Özkan nor the dictionary of the Turkish Language Institution contained
discriminatory expressions against Roma in Turkey.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decreed by a four to three majority that the book
"The Gypsies of Turkey" written by Ali Rafet Özkan does not contain discriminatory expressions.
The book by Prof. Dr Özkan, faculty member of Ankara University, had also been introduced on the
website of the Ministry of Culture.
President Judge Françoise Tulkens from Belgium and court board members Nona Tsotsoria from
Gerogia and Kristina Pardalos from San Marino voted against the decision that was announced on
Tuesday (27 July). Turkish Judge Işıl Karakuş was among the members in favour of the decision.
According to Roma researcher Mustafa Aksu, the book contained expressions that humiliated the
Roma, associated them with crime and indecency and evoked prejudice. In June 2001, he had
demanded on behalf of the Turkish Gypsy associations to withdraw the book from sales and to
destroy the remaining 299 copies in the depot of the ministry.
Thereupon, the Ministry of Culture had a scientific research carried out by the Advisory Commission
affiliated to the ministry and informed Aksu that the author would not allow any amendments.
Struggle through all levels of jurisdiction
Aksu on the other hand requested to seize the book and suspend its publication. In September 2002,
the Ankara Civil Court of First Instance announced that he should address the ministry. In 2003, the
Court of Appeals confirmed that "the expressions used in the book were general statements that did
not include all Roma". The Court of Appeals thus approved the local court's decision in December
2003. Subsequently, Aksu opened a case against the Ministry at the Administrative Court. However,
that trial was dismissed in April 2004.
In line with the decision of the local court, the Administrative Court concluded that the contents of
the book remained within the borders of scientific research and did not constitute an insult to the
Roma. Aksu applied to the ECHR in 2004.
Aksu had also complained about a dictionary for school pupils, published in 1998 by a language
association and funded by the Ministry of Culture in 2002. He urged the language association on
behalf of the Confederation of Gypsy Cultural Associations to remove a number of expressions from
the dictionary.
No insult proved
The ECHR agreed that the sections of the book highlighted by Aksu gave the impression of
discriminatory and offensive expressions. Yet, the court announced, "examined as a whole, the book
did not allow a reader to conclude that the author had any intention of insulting the Roma
community".
The ECHR furthermore reminded that the book's "conclusion" pointed to the fact that it reflects a
comparative study on the historic and socioeconomic living conditions of Roma citizens living in
Turkey.
The court furthermore dismissed the complaint against the dictionary of the Turkish Language
Institution. The ECHR was convinced that "the expressions and definitions in question were prefaced
with the comment that they were of a metaphorical nature. The Court therefore found no reason to
depart from the domestic courts' findings that Mr Aksu had not been subjected to discriminatory
treatment because of the expressions listed".
By four to three votes the ECHR conclude that "it could not be said that Mr Aksu had been
discriminated against on account of his ethnic identity as a Roma, or that there had been a failure on
the part of the authorities to take the necessary measures to secure respect for the applicant's private
life. There had therefore been no breach of Article 14 [Prohibition of Discrimination] taken in
conjunction with Article 8 [Right to Respect for Private and Family Life]". (EÖ/VK)
Strasbourg - BİA News Center
Erol ÖNDEROĞLU
Link: http://ww.bianet.org/english/minorities/123743-book-the-gypsies-in-turkey-not-discriminatory
“Not Gypsies…Roma”
30/07/2010 - Yuksel’s family has lived on the Asian side of Istanbul for generations. They are Roma.
Turkey is home to one of the largest Roma populations in the world – an estimated two million
people. Yet here as elsewhere, the community is subject to frequent discrimination – ranging from
overt harrassment to more subtle institutional racism… A PDF of this story can be downloaded
HERE and there is a short audio clip featuring Yuksel HERE
http://www.ciaraleeming.co.uk/photos/not-gypsies-roma/
Istanbul flower sellers up in arms about new kiosk rules
SEVİM SONGÜN
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
27/07/2010 - The recent introduction of new kiosks for flower-selling is upsetting flower vendors on
Istanbul’s streets, a group dominated by members of the city’s Roma community. The vendors claim
they are being pushed out of their stalls and express concerns about regulated prices and compulsory
work hours at the new kiosks.
A municipal initiative to introduce new kiosks for flower-selling has street vendors in Istanbul,
mostly members of the city’s Roma community, worried about losing their stalls or being forced to
adopt new and unacceptable practices.
The municipality has said street vendors are free to rent the new kiosks or continue working in their
old spots, but the vendors have claimed that the company that installs these kiosks makes it
compulsory for those who rent them to wear “unsuitable” dress and also “aims to discourage streetvendors.”
Vendors claim they are being forced to leave their stalls in the streets by the indirect measures taken
by officials with Birikim Consultant Firm, which is building flower kiosks in Istanbul after winning
the tender opened by Kültür A.Ş., a commercial corporation established in 1989 within the body of
the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, or İBB.
Company officials refused to comment or give out any information on the issue.
Emine Çetinbaşlar, who sells flowers in front of Bahçeşehir University, told the Hürriyet Daily News
& Economic Review that firm officials installed a kiosk right beside her stall after she said she did
not want to rent from the company. Çetinbaşlar added that the university had previously renewed her
permission to have the flower stall, so she felt no need to rent the kiosk.
Metin Salih Şentürk, the head of the Kuştepe Florists Association in the Istanbul neighborhood of the
same name, said although İBB officials had assured the group that the kiosks would be built far from
the street vendors’ stalls, some 15 kiosks were recently set up near where Roma people sell flowers.
Vendors say they are also reluctant to rent these kiosks since they will have to sell the flowers at a
regulated price and will not be able to bargain with buyers, something Çetinbaşlar said is part of her
job.
“I am selling flowers to students. Sometimes they do not have enough money, and I can prepare
flowers for them for two Turkish Liras. Sometimes they do not have any money, and I still give them
flowers, and they pay me whenever they get the money,” she said.
Vendors who rent the kiosks also face compulsory work hours, something many of the street sellers
have objected to. Şentürk told the Daily News that vendors have to work from 7 a.m. until midnight
at the Birikim-built kiosks.
According to Şentürk, some officials from the firm invited Roma flower-sellers and told them the
female vendors would have to wear miniskirts and put on make-up if they wanted to work at the new
kiosks. “We are extremely disturbed by these rules that were told to the florists,” Şentürk said. “A
70-year-old lady who told the officials she could not accept these rules was removed from the
meeting room.”
The Istanbul municipality told the Daily News in a written statement that the street vendors were
informed about the practices in the new kiosks, which include a dress code of black pants, a white Tshirt and an apron for the female sellers. “Wearing make-up is not compulsory, but the vendors are
told it would be more suitable if they look clean, elegant and well-groomed,” said the statement,
adding that the renters should pay attention to the cleanliness of their kiosks as well.
There are around 400 flower stalls throughout Istanbul, and vendors pay different prices to various
local municipalities for the street space, Şentürk said.
The Istanbul municipality has planned an initial installation of 56 kiosks, 40 of which are ready.
People who have worked as flower sellers in the same area for at least for five years will have
priority to rent the new kiosks, the İBB statement said, adding that rents for the kiosks will be less
than for alternative spaces.
Şentürk said the flower sellers had not yet been informed about the rents, but were not content with
the other conditions.
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=street-florists-discontent-with-preconditions-of-newkiosks-2010-07-26
Opinion: The EU, Turkey and the Roma Minority
By The Istanbulian — Global Blogger
31/07/2010 - The EU had criticized Turkey in the latest Progress Report, argued that Ankara violated
the human rights of the Roma minority with an urban renewal project in an Istanbul neighborhood.
The EU Commission was absolutely right then. Such gentrification projects as the urban extension of
wild neoliberalism are almost always against the public interest, as well as individual rights.
However, the EU was also applying one of its well-known double-standards from its rich set of
shameless hypocrisies.
Reading from the Guardian:
"The European Union was today accused of 'turning a blind eye' as countries across Europe carried
out a wave of expulsions and introduced new legislation targeting the Roma."
How?
* France announced it would round up and expel illegal Roma immigrants and destroy hundreds of
their encampments.
* The city of Copenhagen had requested Danish government assistance to deport up to 400 Roma.
* Swedish police had expelled Roma in breach of its own and EU laws.
* In Belgium, a caravan of 700 Roma has been chased out of Flanders and forced to set up camp in
French-speaking Wallonia in the south.
* Italy, which in 2008 declared a state of emergency due to the presence of Roma, and evicted
thousands of them, mainly to Romania and Bulgaria, is continuing to implement the policy to this
day.
* Germany is in the process of repatriating thousands of Roma children and adolescents to Kosovo,
despite warnings that they will face discrimination, because many of them were born in Germany
and do not speak Serbian or Albanian.
* In eastern European countries that are EU members, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, accounts are rife of widespread discrimination against Roma,
including physical attacks.
Will France or Germany or others be criticized in the upcoming Progress Reports? Oops, there is no
monitoring mechanism for the member states to see if they still apply the EU criteria or not, right?
However, at least they can learn that Turkish proverb:
Prick yourself with a needle before you stick a packing-needle into others.
Link: http://www.globalpost.com/webblog/turkey/the-eu-turkey-and-the-roma-minority
Cingeneyiz TV presents
16/08/2010
Dear Members,
Cingeneyiz TV dedicates this video to the memory of the Gypsy victims who have been killed by
racist terrorists in different parts of the Europe..
Video can be watched in Romani, Turkish and English..
In Romani: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu1c_vAlq4o
In English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxy5yoViiqU
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page!
Çekin ellerinizi Romanların üzerinden - Taraf - Istanbul -19.08.2010
http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber/cekin-ellerinizi-romanlarin-uzerinden.htm
HACER FOGGO * / Sayın Kadıköy Belediye Başkanı Selami Öztürk, Sayın CHP Genel
Başkanı Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Küçükbakkalköy’de Romanlar inanılmaz koşullarda yaşıyorlar
Dünyada hiçbir etnik grup yoktur ki “davranışları” gerekçe gösterilerek toplu olarak bir başka yere
sürülsün, kampları, evleri, barakaları, çadırları yakılsın, yıkılsın. Söz konusu Romanlar ise daha
inandırıcı bir gerekçe bulunmaya bile ihtiyaç duyulmaz. Fransa Cumhurbaşkanı Nicolas Sarkozy
Elysee Sarayı’nda düzenlediği toplantının ardından Romanların “davranışlarını” gerekçe göstererek
kaldıkları 300 kamptan ilkini boşalttı. Aralarında 22 çocuğun da bulunduğu Romanların uzun
süreden bu yana çadırlarda, sağlıklı olmayan dermeçatma barakalarda kaldıklarını, arazi sahiplerinin
tahliye girişimlerine rağmen bölgeden ayrılmadıklarını belirtti. Sarkozy’e göre Romanların sağlıksız
çadırlar yerine “sağlıklı sokaklarda” kalmaları daha iyi. Fransa’da önümüzdeki günlerde geriye kalan
150 kampın da boşaltılması bekleniyor.
Sarkozy’nin kampları boşalttığı günlerde dünyadaki tüm Romanlar, her yıl olduğu gibi 2 Ağustos’ta
İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Nazi kamplarında öldürülen 1,5 milyon Romanı anıyorlardı, bir daha
zulümler olmasın diye... Ama maalesef zihniyet değişmiyor, akıldışı yoksulluk ve yoksunluklarıyla
dünyanın her yerinde, var olmaya, ayakta kalmaya çalışan Romanlar yalnızca sıradan insanlar
tarafından değil, bizzat devlet tarafından ırkçılığa hedef olmaya devam ediyorlar.
Fransa da, İtalya’da kamplardan sürülüyorlar. Parmak izleri alınıyor, “Roman avlamak” için silahlı
temizlik örgütü kuruluyor. Macaristan’da Roman çocuklar zihinsel engelli çocukların okullarında
okumak zorunda bırakılıyorlar. Çek Cumhuriyeti’nde sadece Roman oldukları için kısırlaştırılan
kadınlar var. Slovakya’da Ostravani adlı bir köyde belediye, köy nüfusunun üçte ikisini oluşturan
Romanları Roman olmayan daha zengin komşularından ayırmak için geçtiğimiz Şubat ayında 150
metre uzunluğunda bir duvar inşa etti.
Romanlar söz konusu olduğu zaman “davranışları ve yoksunlukları” beğenilmiyor ve onlar için
bütün dünyada aynı dil kullanılıyor: Derme çatma barakalarda kalıyorlar, yasadışı işler yapıyorlar.
Hırsızlık yapıyorlar, esrar satıyorlar, fuhuş yapıyorlar, Engin Ardıç’ın dediği gibi “çiçek
araklıyorlar”.
Hakkında bu dille konuşulanlardan biri de 65 yaşındaki Hüseyin Gani adlı yaşlı bir Roman’dı. 1
Nisan 2010 şaka gününde şaka gibi bir metrekarelik bir çadırda Ataşehir Kaymakamlığı’nın tam 50
metre arkasında lüks binaların ortasında, doktor raporuna göre de açlık ve bakımsızlıktan yaşamını
yitirdi. Hüseyin Gani’nin 2006 yılına kadar derme çatma da olsa 4 çocuğu ile birlikte yaşadığı
kırmızı boyalı bir evi vardı. Hurda toplayarak geçimini sağlayan aile hayata sımsıkı tutunmuştu. O
zamanlar Hüseyin Gani’nin eşi Sarıkız henüz aklını yitirmemişti. Defalarca yazdığım, kamuoyuna
basın açıklamaları ile duyurmaya çalıştığım 2006 yılının 19 Temmuz’unda Küçükbakkalköy’deki
yıkımlarda Hüseyin Gani’nin evi de yıkıldı. Eline tutuşturdukları 3-5 kuruşla Hüseyin Gani bir
metrekarelik çadıra mahkûm edildi. Çocukları da başka bir şehirde başka çadırlara... Sonra eşi bunca
olana dayanamayıp aklını yitirdi.
Hüseyin Gani’yi ölmeden bir hafta önce ziyaret ettiğimde eşi çadırdan hızlıca çıktı ve koşmaya
başladı. Başka çadırlarda kalan komşuları olağan bir biçimde “Sarıkız, her sabah kendi kendine
konuşarak koşar” dediler. Ataşehir Kaymakamı çeşitli başvurulara rağmen Hüseyin Gani’nin
ölümünü penceresinden izlemeyi tercih etti. Öldükten sonra yaptığı açıklamada da “kimliği olmadığı
için yardım edemedik” dedi. Kimliği olmadığı halde evinin yıkıldığını hatırlamak istemedi.
Hüseyin Gani’nin oturduğu Küçükbakkalköy Roman mahallesini İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi ile
birlikte CHP’li Kadıköy Belediyesi yıktı. Romanların evlerini Sınırlı Sorumlu Hukukçular
Kooperatifi üç-beş kuruşa satın aldı. Çiçekçilikle geçimini sağlayan Yüksel Dum evi yıkıldıktan
sonra 18 kişilik ailesiyle kendi yaptığı bir barakaya mahkûm oldu. Davası üç yıldır sürüyor. Şimdi
çadırlarda, viyadük altlarında yaşıyor çocuklar. Yüksel Dum’la birlikte CHP İl Başkanı iken ziyaret
ettiğimiz Gürsel Tekin sorunu başkalarına havale etti.
Sayın Kadıköy Belediye Başkanı Selami Öztürk, Sayın CHP Genel Başkanı Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,
Küçükbakkalköy de Romanlar inanılmaz koşullarda yaşıyorlar.
Kadıköy Belediyesi’ne yakın Hasanpaşa’da Romanlar açlıkla baş başalar. Sulukule’de evi yıkılan ve
sokaklarda, orada burada kardeşi ile birlikte kaldığı için bebeğini sosyal hizmetlere veren genç anne
gibi, üç çocuğu ile işgal ettiği Milli Emlak’a bağlı bir evden sokağa atılan ve Balat’ta bir camiye
sığınmak zorunda kalan İpek gibi...
Sulukule’ deki evinin yerine yeni yapılmakta olan ve başkalarının oturacağı inşaatı gözyaşlarıyla
seyreden ve her gün beddua eden Gülsüm teyze gibi...
Lonca Mahallesi’nde ellerine 3-5 kuruş verilerek gönderilen aileler gibi...
Sarıgöl Roman mahallesinde de kentsel dönüşüm ilan edildi. Sarıgöl Roman Derneği başkanı Şadi
Çatı o günden beri her gün, ama her gün “ne zaman evimi yıkacaklar, ne olacak halimiz?” sorularıyla
belediyenin kapısında. Şadi Çatı kentsel dönüşüm değil, sosyal dönüşüm istiyoruz diyor.
Gaziosmanpaşa Belediye Başkanı “kimsenin evini zorla yıkmayacağız” diyor, ama kentsel
dönüşümün verdiği yetkiyi kullanmayacağız, kamulaştırma yapıp el koymayacağız’ demiyor.
Sarıgöllü, Romanlar çok yoksul ve her türlü sosyal olanaktan da yoksun.
Bu yoksulluk ve yoksunluğun dozerlerle giderilmediği çeşitli örneklerle görülmesine rağmen neden
belediye başkanları kentsel dönüşüm yasası çıktığından beri her yoksul mahalleyi, kendi arazileri,
her evi kendi evleri gibi görüp rahat hareket ediyorlar?
O evlerde iyi kötü kaynayan bir tencereyi “daha iyi bir tencerede yemek pişireceksiniz” gerekçesiyle
o tencereyi de bulamamaya mahkûm ediyorlar. Ne olacak gerçekten? Gaziosmanpaşa Belediye
Başkanı Şadi amcayı karşısına oturtup bu evleri yıkmayacağız, siz yerinizden edilmeyeceksiniz, önce
sosyal dönüşüm ve vatandaşlık haklarınızı geliştireceğiz diyecek mi?
Sayın Başbakan, Roman Buluşması ve Roman Çalıştayı’nı hayata geçirerek çok önemli bir adım
attınız. Romanlardan özür dilediniz. Dünyada hiçbir lider yapılan onca zulme, soykırıma rağmen
Romanlardan özür dilemedi. Şimdi lütfen bu sorunu izlemeye devam edin, sözleriniz sizin belediye
başkanlarınız tarafından ve devletin kamu çalışanları tarafından hayata geçirilsin ki, yeniden özür
dilemek zorunda kalmayın.
Sayın Engin Ardıç, 22 Temmuz tarihli köşe yazınızda Romanları esrar satmakla, çiçek araklamakla,
fuhuş yapmakla suçladınız, “sadece dışarıdan bakarak” diyerek de itiraf ettiniz. Biraz da içerden
bakın. Örneğin elinizde tuttuğunuz Sabah gazetesinin kaç gram olduğunu öğrenin. Sonra dört ton
gazete toplayan bir hurdacının eline 100 TL geçtiğini bu para ile ailesini nasıl geçindirdiğini
hesaplayın. Biraz içeriden dokunalım...
Sarkozy, ve Sarkozy gibi düşünenler hepinize söylüyorum: Çekin ellerinizi Romanların üzerinden!!!!
Gazeteci - Aktivist
[email protected]
Sulukule Roma Association’s application to European court accepted
SEVİM SONGÜN
Istanbul, 20/08/2010 - The European Court of Human Rights has accepted the application of the
Sulukule Roma Association against a renovation project in the Fatih Municipality’s historical
Sulukule area, despite the ongoing domestic court cases.
The association applied to the European Court accusing the ongoing urban transformation project in
Sulukule of violating six articles, namely: “protection of privacy and family life,” “prevention of
discrimination,” “protection of property,” “right to fair trial,” “respect of human rights” and “right to
have efficient application.”
Hilal Küey, a lawyer for the association, said they applied to the European Court on May 20 with a
22-page file and 48 pages of supplements. “The European court usually does not accept applications
if the domestic court cases are still ongoing. But they have accepted our application,” said Küey,
adding that there are at least three ongoing court cases in Turkey over the renewal project in
Sulukule.
Küey said the court accepted the application because the judiciary process in Turkey has not borne
fruit for three years now and many people have been removed from their homes within that time.
Viki Ciprut, a member of the Sulukule Platform, a platform organized to support the Roma people in
Sulukule, said the court cases on the renewal project are ongoing in Turkey but despite these court
cases the authorities have continued the project, demolishing all the houses in Sulukule and
removing the Roma people who used to live there. “In reality, everything has ended but the court
cases are still ongoing. I think this is why the European Court accepted this application,” she said.
The Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir denied the accusations of "evacuation of people from their houses"
and said that he was surprised that European Court accepted the application.
The association and three locals filed a lawsuit in 2007, when the demolishment of houses in
Sulukule started, against the renewal project, saying that it was damaging the Roma culture and
historical fabric of this neighborhood, Küey said. She also said another court case was also ongoing,
as some locals did not accept the expropriation sums that were offered to them by the Fatih
Municipality, which is helming the renewal project.
“On behalf of some locals, I objected to the appropriation offers for being too low. According to the
law, Fatih Municipality opened a court case asking for an examination of the real expropriation value
for these properties,” said Küey, adding that this second case has continued since 2008. The Turkish
Union of Engineers and Architects’ Chambers, or TMMOB, has also filed a compliant against the
Sulukule project, and that case is still ongoing.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=sulukule-roma-association8217s-application-to-echraccepted-2010-08-20
The Roma community wins small but important victory
21/08/2010 - The European Court of Human Rights has accepted the application of the Sulukule
Roma Association against a renovation project in the Fatih Municipality’s historical Sulukule area,
despite the ongoing domestic court cases. It is a small but significant victory for the residents and
associations. Because they have been saying all along that the project was indeed in violation not just
of human rights but also of history. So much for the government 'Roma opening', the initiative with
which Prime Minister Erdogan hoped to convince the Roma community that they are indeed part of
the Turkish state. Except, well, they are not benefiting of the same rights. In this the Roma are in
good company, first and foremost with the Kurdish people.
The association applied to the European Court on May 20 accusing the ongoing urban transformation
project in Sulukule of violating six articles, namely: “protection of privacy and family life,”
“prevention of discrimination,” “protection of property,” “right to fair trial,” “respect of human
rights” and “right to have efficient application.”
Sulukule's 3,400 impoverished residents have been forced out under a gentrification project
conceived, so the story went, as part of Istanbul's preparations for becoming the European city of
culture in 2010. City officials deemed the work essential to transform a district blighted by drugs,
prostitution, unemployment and illiteracy. But critics of the project have said all along it threatens
the survival of a Roma population that is thought to have been in Sulukule since the time of Mehmet
the Conqueror, the sultan who captured Istanbul, then known as Constantinople, from the Byzantines
in 1453.
Turkey's Roma community dates back at least 1,000 years. Romas have traditionally eked out a
living as street hawkers, shoemakers, musicians and dancers in a close-knit environment rendered all
the more intimate by Sulukule's ramshackle network of low-rise houses.
That historic setting has been almost totally wiped out, campaigners say, by a blueprint that proposes
several new four-storey blocks as well as 620 modern villas, a hotel and facelifts for 45 listed
Ottoman houses.
Sulukule's 503 homeowners have been offered the new houses at discount prices by the local Fatih
municipality, which is running the regeneration project along with the city council. But the Sulukule
Platform, a protest group fighting to save the district's heritage, said few residents can afford it.
Its criticisms have won the backing of Unesco, which had warned that Istanbul could lose its world
heritage site status.
NUCAN CUDI - ANF NEWS DESK
Link: http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=833
Cingeneyiz.org is 5 years old! (The Responsibility of the 5th Year)
22/08/2010 - Volunteers of Cingeneyiz.org have been working with a great sacrifice for last 5 years.
Results are obvious. We get closer to our basic objectives planned when we set out in great measure.
What was the goal? Our goal was to overcome prejudices about our society not based on any realistic
basis. Our goal was to introduce our society to the people who don't know enough about our society
with a realistic depiction. Our goal was to make a contribution to the communication among Gypsies
and also between Gypsies and Non Gypsies. Our goal was to fulfill the confidence of our people that
they would be able to defend themselves against misconducts arising from prejudices.
We understand that we are approaching our goals as we see increasing of self belief of the people we
have reached through the Site in five years. We understand that we are approaching our goals as we
see non-Gypsy individuals could overcome the prejudices that they had against us. We understand
that we are approaching our goals as we see our sisters and our brother’s emracing Cingeneyiz.org a
little more with each passing day.
***
The days we live in are very important for Gipsy. Unfortunately, in different regions of the world
anti-ziganism have started to increase dramatically. Due to economic conditions and prejudices,
ordinary people are reacting against us. Racist terrorist groups trying to make political chaos using
this reaction are everywhere today. They are killing our brothers and sisters. They are burning our
houses. Unfortunately the mainstream media does not do enough on this issue. Even in some
countries, the media provoke racist terror against us. We know that we have some important tasks as
Cingeneyiz.org family in these circumstances. We have to tell what has actually happened in the
Balkans to the Gypsies living in different parts world and all sensitive people. We will try to fulfill
this mission to the utmost of our power.
As our brothers and our sisters try to live in Balkans under the threat of racist terrorism, there are
other problems for our people in Western Europe. In Western Europe the economic crisis has
increased social tensions. Our brothers and sisters who migrated from the Balkans to Western Europe
in recent years owing to economic conditions and attacks of racist terrorist have been scapegoats in
the eyes of western people. Racist parties are trying to improve their votes popularizing hatred of the
Roma Gypsies. Ruling parties are trying to overcome rise of oppositional parties making more racist
hostility to Gypsies. Roma Gypsies in France, migrated to Europe from the Balkans began to be
deported, even...
In today's world conditions in Western Europe, It is not possible to provide employment for new
immigrants. It's not true for our brothers and our sisters to migrate to Western Europe for fear of
racist terror and economic conditions. They should try to stay in Balkans where they live for
hundreds of years and indisputably become a key element in. The right place where Gypsy people
could overcome racist terrorism and economic challenges in is Balkan geography where they live for
hundreds of years. On the other side, the other Gypsy groups who are the natives of Western Europe
should be prepared against racist mentality which could be more popularize in their own countries in
future. All Gypsies have to build stronger ties with countries they live in. We need to take root in the
soil we live. In this way we can stop flying in the face of racist terror wind.
We argued this issue in the Weekly Agenda series with "Europe and Gypsies" title on
Cingeneyiz.org (not translated yet in English). We, as Cingeneyiz.org, continue to explain the
dangers of the uncontrolled migration to of our brothers and our sisters. The process must be stopped
by the Gypsies before the others start to do. In this regard, we will do our part to spread of this idea
we believe to be true from the heart of. We, as Cingeneyiz.org family, oppose our people to be
refugees in any country. Recovery cycle is no longer a refugee cycle. We have to try to be accepted
as full citizens in each region we live and overcome obstacles in front of us.
***
We, as Cingeneyiz.org family, are aware of the enormous responsibility of the 5th year of
Cingeneyiz.org. We have to identify our society's problems properly, we should address these
problems right solutions and we should make these solutions reach people. We gladly accept this
responsibility.
At this point, we make a call on our friendly volunteers whose efforts stand up for Cingeneyiz.org so
far exactly. As you continue to support, Cingeneyiz.org will continue. We tried to explain what it
means living of Cingeneyiz.org in the above paragraphs. . We need your support to carry the
responsibility of 5th year. In order to carry the responsibility of the 5th year we need all the
spectators of Cingeneyiz.org put it under their hands as volunteers.
Congratulate the 5th Year of Cingeneyiz.org family. Nice to five years!
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Roma groups voice support for reform package
01/09/2010 - Various Roma groups in different parts of the country have announced their support for
government-sponsored reforms that will be presented to a referendum on Sept. 12.
Representatives from five Roma foundations in the western province of Bursa gathered in the Bayrak
district yesterday to announce that they will vote “yes” in the referendum “for the end of military
tutelage in Turkey.”
The head of one such foundation, Efkan Özçimen, said they will vote yes for the future of Turkey so
that their children can live in a safer state.
Noting that every “yes” vote that will be cast for the reform package will place women, children, the
disabled and veterans in a more advantageous position, Özçimen stressed: “We say yes to the
prevention of child abuse. We say yes to blacklist becoming history. We say yes to the trial of the
perpetrators of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. We believe that a new process will begin in Turkey
with the referendum. As Roma people, we give importance to the referendum.”
A group of Roma known as the Karaçadır Aşireti Gırnata musicians from Konya’s Beyşehir district
also announced that they will vote in favor of constitutional amendments.
Members from the Culture and Dialogue Foundation of Taurus Nomads (TOYÖKÜD) are visiting
nomadic people living in the Taurus Mountains in order to urge them to vote “yes” on the proposed
reforms.
TOYÖKÜD President Ömer Gürler and Secretary-General Mücahit Gündoğdu, a lawyer by
profession, visited the Karaçadır Aşireti Gırnata musicians, a total of 20 families, to inform them of
the content of the reform package.
The musicians of the Karaçadır tribe welcomed TOYÖKÜD administrators by playing tambourines
and drums. The leader of the Karaçadır tribe, Mustafa Yaman, said: “As Gırnata musicians, we love
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan very much. We make a living by playing music at weddings - six months in Antalya and six months in Konya. Since the prime minister cares about the problems
of the Roma, we will vote ‘yes’ in the referendum. We will vote ‘yes’ to the reforms so that our
children can receive an education in better circumstances.”
Gündoğdu said they will be visiting 10 villages in the Taurus Mountains before Sept. 12 and
informing villagers about the reform package, adding that these people currently do not have much
information about the content of the package.
“When we’ve held discussions with villagers about the reform package during talks at coffee houses,
they’ve admitted that they don’t know much about the reforms,” added Gündoğdu.
He also noted that TOYÖKÜD views the referendum as being above political parties. “When we
examine the 26-article package, we can see that the amendments are all for the benefit of the nation.
By visiting the villages, we can prevent people from being misinformed about the reforms,”
Gündoğdu said.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-220637-100-roma-groups-voice-support-forreform-package.html
Roma draw attention of Hungarian director
Saturday, September 18, 2010
ERISA DAUTAJ ŞENERDEM
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Hungarian director Diana Groo's films touch on the issues of Jews, Roma and people with
disabilities. While choosing themes for her films and documentaries, she likes combining her life
experience with interesting elements from other people’s lives, says, 37 years old Groo, who's latest
film Vespa was premiered last week in Beyoğlu within the framework of the Hungarian Film Festival
After learning that he had won a Vespa, Lali, a primary school Roma boy living in the countryside,
leaves his house to collect the prize in Budapest. Although he has never stepped foot outside his
hometown, Lali manages to buy a train ticket with money he won by gambling with his friends and
leaves for the capital. Many adventures await the young boy, the hero of “Vespa,” directed by 37year-old Hungarian director Diana Groo.
“I was looking for a boy with an original life story and then I put it [the story] into fiction to write the
film’s manuscript,” Groo told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview earlier
this week before the premier of “Vespa” at the Beyoğlu Cinema in Beyoğlu for a Hungarian film
festival.
She traveled from place to place around the country for three months – interviewing more than 200
Roma children from 9 to 11 years old – before deciding that Sandor Toth, the main character of the
film, who coincidentally was the first Roma boy she had interviewed, would be “the one.”
“It was a funny and miraculous search,” Groo said, adding that the leader of a Gypsy community in
southern Hungary had helped her find the child she was looking for.
“I was told [by friends] that I have high social sensitivity,” Groo said, adding that she has been
making films touching on the issues of Jews, Roma and people with disabilities during her 16-year
career. While choosing themes for her films and documentaries, she likes combining her life
experience with interesting elements from other people’s lives, she said.
Noting that she generally preferred listening to ethnographic world music, such as Roma, Brazilian,
African, Russian and similar rhythms, Groo said, “I somehow feel connected with those countries,
[their people and cultures], once I feel their music in my soul.”
She also said that one of the musicians, an old friend of hers, who had composed music for “Vespa”
suggested that she use Roma music motifs, sometimes combined with jazz music, to smooth the
passage from countryside to the big city’s life.
Hungary and Turkey
The director started learning foreign languages when she was a little girl and can speak fluent
English, French, Russian, as well as Hebrew and German, in addition to her mother tongue.
“Languages give you power, as they help you learn from other cultures,” she said, adding that they
were both key to getting to know other countries and had helped her with her professional life.
The Turkish language has a nice sound, she said, adding that there were many common words
between Turkish and Hungarian.
“I very much like the tone, the melody, how [Turkish language] sounds,” she said, adding that not
only the language but many other traditions of Turkish people were very similar to those of
Hungarian people. “The Ottomans left a very good culture in Hungary, especially the fantastic
Turkish baths which are located in the center of Budapest.”
Important experience from the communist past
Groo, who has a twin sister, grew up during Hungary’s communist regime. Although they had lived
through hard times which could not be imagined by younger generations, she felt lucky to have lived
in both Hungary’s communist system and its modern-day state, she said.
“That has also been an important experience, as my generation can somehow appreciate the new
[democratic] regime and its values,” she said, adding that sometimes she had nostalgia for the colors,
toys and clothes from that time, which used to be uniform throughout all the former Soviet countries.
“We even shared the same TV soap operas and always looked forward to get any chocolate from the
West.”
Incidentally, the 1980s were the best years for Hungarian cinema, although she was pessimistic about
the future of the sector, she said.
“I do not know how the sector will survive within the next 10 years,” she said, adding that especially
with the developing new technologies, people in Hungary preferred to buy DVDs or download
movies from the Internet rather than go the cinema.
However, Groo said she believed the situation was different in Turkey, which has a much bigger
population. “I think Turkish people are very proud of Turkish cinema, as they are in Poland and in
the Czech Republic.”
Being a female film director
Groo said she had never thought of how difficult it was for a woman to be a film director during her
professional life, as she had never encountered any serious obstacles in this respect.
“I may encounter some problems later though, when I create my own family,” she said, adding that
once women settled down to their family lives, they always had to share their time dedicated to their
profession with that dedicated to their families. “With a [male director], this never comes out as a
serious concern.”
One of Groo’s best moments in her career was the first time she shot her own documentary, as part
of an assignment during her university studies. “I was following circus artists in a caravan for six
months to make a documentary on their lives,” she said, adding that she had been sleeping with her
camera to be able to catch any moment even if she fell asleep. “I got my first serious prize [as a
filmmaker] with this documentary, in 1996.”
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=trip-to-hungary-with-a-vespa-interview-with-thehungarian-director--2010-09-17
Istanbul land to sell for five times amount Roma given
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Activists for Istanbul’s Roma community are up in arms after a website recently announced plans for
a land auction in Fatih’s Sulukule neighborhood. The price of the plots could top five times more
than the amount given to the Roma for the property 18 months ago. The Roma could have stayed if
authorities had originally offered market price for their land, an NGO head says.
22/09/2010 - Plots of land in Istanbul’s Sulukule neighborhood that formerly belonged to Roma
residents have been put up for sale at a price five times their original expropriation offer, daily
Hürriyet reported Wednesday.
“The value of the houses was not what Fatih Municipality originally offered to the Roma people. The
city forced them to sell their houses too cheaply,” said Hacer Foggo, a member of the Sulukule
Platform.
Eighteen months ago, the municipality offered the Roma between 500 and 800 Turkish liras per
square meter for their land. On Friday, a 264-square-meter field, located in the Hatice Sultan area of
Sulukule, was put up for sale on a real estate website for 667,000 liras, or 2,552 liras per squaremeter.
Istanbul’s Financial Office will hold an auction Oct. 15 for the land.
“If today’s prices were offered for the original houses, people would not have had to move from the
neighborhood they had been living in for generations,” Foggo said, adding that because the Roma
people were offered so little for their land they could not pay the extra amount demanded by the new
landowners.
“Now, since the price is over 2,500 liras per square meter, the prices will climb up into the millions,”
she said, adding that the property seizure was really just an acquisition of unearned income.
Foggo said land speculators were also to blame. “New residents will include sheiks, sons of
parliamentary deputies, businessmen and municipal council members. Already, TOKİ [Turkey’s
Housing Development Administration] has started building deluxe houses.”
Some of the Roma people were relocated into houses in Istanbul’s Kayabaşı neighborhood far from
the city center. Citizens who could not afford to pay their rent, electricity and water bills had to sell
their houses in an auction and move in with relatives elsewhere in the city.
Cases continue
Roma people who were unhappy with the expropriation amount given by the municipality have
opened legal cases, though for many their homes in Sulukule have already been demolished.
In the cases at Fatih’s Civil Law Courts, legal experts determined the appropriate expropriation
amount to be 1,200 liras per square meter and the municipality was supposed to offer this amount.
But both sides opposed the decision because the amount was deemed too little by the Roma and too
much by the municipality.
Reports have said that the auction could serve as evidence for a number of Roma people from
Sulukule in their case at the European Court of Human Rights, which accepted their applications in
August.
The Sulukule Roma association applied to the European court, accusing the ongoing urban
transformation project in Sulukule of violating six articles, namely “protection of privacy and family
life,” “prevention of discrimination,” “protection of property,” “the right to a fair trial,” “respect for
human rights” and “the right to due process.”
Hilal Küey, a lawyer for the association, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that they
applied to the European court on May 20 with a 22-page file and 48 pages of documents.
“The European court usually does not accept applications if the domestic court cases are still
ongoing, but they have accepted our application,” said Küey, adding that there were at least three
ongoing court cases in Turkey regarding the renewal project in Sulukule.
The Fatih Municipality press department told the Daily News on Wednesday that a detailed official
explanation would be released on Thursday.
A municipality official said what happened in Sulukule was a settlement, not expropriation, adding
that landowners were offered a discount for purchasing new homes to be built on the site that were
worth as much as their land.
When asked about criticism that the Roma people were not wealthy enough to purchase the new
houses, the official said that matter was another argument and required a separate discussion.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=a-huge-rob-off-to-roma-people-by-the-fatihmunicipality-2010-09-22
Comment this on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=14679
Roma Houses were Evicted in Aydin
23/09/2010 - Roma people lived in social-house dwellings for almost ten years reacted to be evicted
from the houses.
During the demolition of 16 social-house dwellings in Aydın Ilıcabaşı Neighbourhood owned by
Special Provincial Administration, there was a short time tension between officials and Roma
reacting to be evicted. Roma people emhasised that they were living in social-house dwellings as a
result of having nowherelse to live. They also said that being homeless is a big trouble these days in
conjuction with the winter is so close.
As the deputy chef of Aydin Police, Mehmet Kılıç told Roma they will be paid some money as
housing benefits by the governorship, People let officials to demolish their houses. Houses were
demolished after taking of the furnitures by the Roma people.
It's said that a fully equipped shopping center will be builded on the area social-house dwellings
existed.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
From the Bosphorus: Straight - Keeping a promise to the Roma
23/09/2010 - We ask readers to return to last March when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
launched what was called the “Roma initiative.” At the historical first address to Europe’s oldest
Roma community, the prime minister won a roaring ovation from the 12,000-strong crowd.
“Our country, our land and our civilization is inspired by love and tolerance,” Erdoğan said in his
opening address. “It is the lack of tolerance that is the sole factor that destroys the inspiration our
land is built on.”
Noting his own childhood among the Roma in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa neighborhood, he decried the
discrimination and racism he claimed to have witnessed many times. “What is important is that you
are people and should be treated no different from the other people who live on this land.”
In the course of Erdoğan’s unveiling of plans to improve Roma housing in 40 provinces, improve
education and create new employment opportunities, one woman told us: “'Today is the first time I
cried out of happiness.”
We applauded Erdoğan for his stance at the time. We do so again today. But we also must remind
readers of the circumstance of hypocrisy that now exists, as Fatih Municipality, which is controlled
by Erdoğan’s own Justice and Development Party, is allegedly profiteering from expropriated Roma
land in Sulukule. We also must remind readers, particularly at a time when Roma face growing
threats and hatred in the European Union, that Istanbul’s Sulukule has been home to the Roma
continuously since the 9th Century.
What has happened is that land purchased through the right of eminent domain 18 months ago for
about 500 lira per square meter is now being auctioned by the municipality for about 2,500 lira per
square meter. Members of Turkey’s Roma community, whose population officially is 500,000, are
outraged. So are we.
Hacer Foggo, a community spokesman, noted the state housing authority has already begun
constructing luxury residences in the already fast-gentrifying district near the Golden Horn. We do
not doubt her claim that it will soon be filled with wealthy speculators and the families of the wellconnected.
Ultimately, this will be ruled upon by the European Court of Human Rights, which already has a
related case be before it. Turkey will again, as it has recently in the case arising from the murder of
journalist Hrant Dink, agree to a “friendly settlement.” State coffers will be tapped for some form of
compensation. The profiteers, however, will already have secured their gains with impunity.
We can suggest an interim and imperfect solution, one that will certainly help Turkey’s case in
Strasbourg. This is that the sums now being accumulated by this government-led exercise in real
estate be immediately placed in escrow on behalf of the interests of the Roma community. The use of
the funds can be decided later. Given his promises, it is the least Erdoğan can do.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=keeping-a-promise-to-the-roma-2010-09-23
Turkish prosecutor seeks jail time for 80 in attack on Roma
SERKAN OCAK
ISTANBUL - Radikal
26/09/2010 - An attack on Roma people in Turkey was motivated by prejudice and intended to drive
the victims from their homes, a prosecutor has said, asking for prison sentences of up to 150 years
for 80 suspects.
Camera records and police statements dealing with a Jan. 5 assault in the Aegean province of
Manisa’s Selendi district show that the events were discrimination-fueled lynch attacks against Roma
people, Selendi Prosecutor Makbule Karadağlı Çetin said in a recently completed indictment about
the incident.
According to the prosecutor, the camera records not only show the attacks on Roma people but also
document hate-filled statements by the assailants, such as “Let’s kill them” and “Exile them.”
The indictment prepared by Çetin includes 80 suspects, 74 petitioners and three people who are both
petitioners and suspects in the alleged crimes, which include damaging others’ property,
manipulating the public to discriminate and abuse based on religious beliefs, assaulting people and
holding a demonstration without permission.
Roma people were allegedly relocated from Selendi to the Gördes and then the Salihli district in the
aftermath of clashes with local residents. According to the accusations, Roma houses with children in
them were attacked with stones and a mob assaulted a Roma neighborhood after an argument over
smoking indoors in a teahouse.
According to the indictment, the Jan. 5 assault began around 8 p.m., when a large group went to a
Roma neighborhood in Selendi. The camera records show footage of members of the mob saying
things such as “They should leave or we will do what is meant to be done,” “Selendi is our district
and it will be ours,” “Roma people should leave here,” “Let’s attack them, exile them,” “They swear
at our mosque, our religious beliefs, our wives and our daughters,” “We do not want them to live
here,” “Let’s kill them,” “Let’s burn their houses,” “We won’t let these people live here,” “These are
Roma people, let’s beat them down to size” and “They steal, they bother us.”
The mob vandalized the tents and houses of Roma people using sticks and stones and tried to burn
their property, according to the indictment, which also said that Roma people were taken to the
Selendi district gendarmerie command in accordance with security measures.
After the Roma people left the places where they were living, the vandalism continued. The mob
continued damaging Roma people’s cars, houses and tents despite statements by Selim Palamut,
head official of the district, urging people to calm down. Security officers fired their guns in the air
to try to disperse the crowd. One hunting rifle and one gun firing blanks were seized in the operation.
A few suspects allegedly resisted the gendarmerie, telling them not to stop them. “The locals are
angry,” suspects said, adding that they had warned the Roma people to leave. Members of the angry
group allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a bus and urged others in the area to attack the Roma
people.
Roma people will give their statements in the case Oct. 11 in Salihli. The Selendi court will hear the
case Dec. 16.
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=roma-people-assaulted-says-prosecutor-2010-0926
Comment this on http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=14736
Latest News About the Selendi Event
27/09/2010
Prosecutor of Selendi had started an investigation about the Selendi Event completed the criminal
charge. 80 people get into the event were offered to be received imprisonment for various crimes
between 3 and 150 years.
It was said that the event existed last winter derived from not lettting a young Gypsy man to drink tea
in a coffeehouse by the owner in conjuction with the young Gypsy man's ethnic identity. However
the coffee house owner and some neighbourhoods from Selendi claimed that responsibility of the
event owned to the young Gypsy man who wants to smoke even smoking is forbidden indoor with
laws. There were a big tension after the event and Gypsy families had lived in Selendi for many
years were obliged to leave Selendi. Firstly they were settled to Gördes County of Manisa.Than they
were sent to another County of Manisa, Salihli. According to comments of Gypsy families were
suffered from the event a group from Selendi was provocated against Gypsy families with untrue
claims just like "Gypsies attacked to mosque, Gypsies cursed to the God, the Flag, the Goverment"
by unknown provocateurs.
The criminal charge about the Selendi Event was completed by the prosecutor making investigation
about the event. The prosecutor watched all videos about the event. There are 80 suspects, 74
cleiment and 3 people who are both suspect and cleiment. The suspects could be seen in the videos
not only damaged furnitures and houses of Gypsies. They also used some sayings just like "Let's kill
Gypsies" "Send them from here". Suspects were charged with damaging property, provocating
people to hostility against others and holding an unpermitted demonstration. The suspects were asked
to be received imprisonment between 3 and 150 years.
According the criminal charge prepared with police paperworks, videos taken at the event by police
and videos taken by tv channels, the event existed in that way: A crowded group using sayings just
like "They must go from here or we, as people, will do what it's needed. Selendi is ours and it will be
ours. Gypsies must leave here. Let's attack, Let's exile Roma. Gypsies are cursing to our mosques,
our religion, our wife, our daughters; we don't want them to live here. Let's kill them, let's burn their
houses. Don't let these dishonest people to live here. They are Gypsies... They are stoling." came to
the neighbourhood The Gypsy had been living and started to burn and rectify houses of the Gypsies
at 2010 January 5 around 20.00.
The crowded groups damaged cars of the people living in Gypsy neighbourhood with stones and
rods. People who didn't have life security during the event were taken to gendarmarie station under
police escort. Leaving of the Gypsies didn't change anything. The group continues to attack houses,
tents and cars. Police officers and the district governor of Selendi, Selim Palamut tried to stop the
group.
Some people walking infront of the group said to security forces "never try to stop us, people are too
angry" and damaged house of a citizen named E. Ç. Some people shouting as "They will go from
here, or we will do what is needed. Let's fix their vagons." tried to provocate the group with the
slogan "Hit Gypsies". It was also surprising that a person with a blank firing gun said to a police
officer "Are you tring to make me afraid? Nonsense, your gun is empty" after the word "they must
go from here, they are damaging Selendi" targeting to the Gypsies. Another suspect seen in the
videos were saying to security forcess "Why are you saving them? Let people to hit Roma, to kill
Roma. Gypsies will go from here."
Writing of the criminal charge of the Selendi Event by the prosecutor make people more trusting to
the justice. Everybody is now waiting for the case result. Expectation of all citizens is justice to be
done.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Bursa Kemalpaşa Dere Neighbourhood
30/09/2010
Tolga Beygirciler joined to our "Introduce Your Neighbourhood" campaign and told us about one of
the biggest Gypsy neightbourhood of Turkey, Kemalpaşa Dere Mahallesi. Here is one of the very
distinctive neighbourhoods different groups live together!
There are different roma groups called Immigrants, Basket Makers, Tinner, and Dramalı in Dere
Neighbourhood. The first founders of the neighbourhood are coming from Beygircioğulları family
which is managed by Hurşit Beygirciler and they are coming from Carpathian region. After that, the
first group "Immigrants" settled in the region and then Basket Makers, Tinners and Dramalılar
settled too. Kemalpaşa Dere Mahallesi has the biggest Roma population in Turkey following an
other Roma neighbourhood in Edirne. According to the unofficial information there is 25000 roma
people living in this neighbourhood.
Farming and stockbreeding are becoming more common nowadays among neighbourhood residents.
Carting, Tourism, Porterage, Pedlar's Trade are also some of the other jobs that Roma people have.
Horse breeding is also one of the other traditional jobs done by one of the Roma groups living in the
neighbourhood. This group is generally called as "Cambaz" by the other groups.
They keep their wedding tradtions. After circumcision feasts it is still a tradition to have ceremonies
with food. Wedding ceremonies are celebrated usually for 3 days and 3 nights. After the wedding,
bride would be taken from her own house with ceremonies and brought to the groom's house. Young
couple stays in their new house and after they go out some other ceremonies start. According to this
tradition, baggy trousers of mother-in-law of bride are burned by the residents accompanied with
drumming.
This region is a very well developed area. It raised represantatives, mayors, and business men who
are known in tourism sector. Region is known as animal market of Turkey. Bovine breeding is a
growing sector. And most of the young population has opportunity to get education in the
neighbourhood.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Introduce Your Neighbourhood
Bursa İznik Roma Neighbourhood 15/10/2010
Nihat Atar, one of our audiences joining our campaign named "Introduce Your Neighbourhood"
introduces his neighbourhood in İznik district of Bursa. Here is a Roma Mahala aged 150 years
founded by blacksmith and sieve maker Gypsy groups.
According to olders having detailed information about the neighbourhood, It's founded with settling
of blacksmith and sieve maker Gypsy groups 150 years ago. These two Gypsy groups still live in the
neighbourhood. Sievemakers are also known as "Esnaflar" by the others. There are some Gadjo
groups just like Manavs, Georgians beside Gypsy population in the neighbourhood.
Weddings continue for 3 days in the neighbourhood in pursuance of traditional way of wedding
organization. Wedding entertainments with alcohol are forbidden by the residents for a long time
ago. There have been also some religional ceremonies in weddings.
There are some residents working as stockbreeder. There are only a few families still resuming
blacksmithing. Number of young people being educated is rising quickly. There are some residents
working in government foundations. Many of residents are agricultural laborers. Number of
musicians living in the neighbourhood is almost none existing. Traditional jobs of residents are
blacksmithing, sieve-making and horse acrobatics.
There are some Roma groups in the neighbourhood coming from out of İznik. They live in poor
livestyle conditions.
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page!
Istanbul cultural policies criticized at ‘Soul for Europe’ forum
Istanbul, 13/10/2010 - Urban renewal projects are ignoring the people factor and lacking cultural
policies, according to activists participating in the 'A Soul for Europe' conference. Renowned actor
and activist Memet Ali Alabora says Istanbul's 'city culture was destroyed by taking the Roma people
out of Sulukule'
Istanbul lacks cultural policies and allows its environment to be changed by projects that ignore the
human factor, according to experts examining the issue of what culture does for urban development
in cities at the “Soul for Europe” forum.
Memet Ali Alabora, a theater actor and activist participating in the conference organized at Tophanei Amire Culture Center on Wednesday, said Istanbul today faces wild urban transportation projects
and the culture factor is ignored while changing the environment in cities.
Saying that Istanbul people are not exactly aware of what kinds of project are implemented, Alabora
said the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has continued to approve projects that destroy cultural
values.
“A city’s culture was destroyed by taking the Roma people out of Sulukule and the Housing
Development Administration [TOKİ] has been building apartments on Byzantine archaeological
ruins in the area,” said Alabora. He said plans to demolish 278 buildings in Istanbul’s Tarlabaşı
district are also destroying culture.
According to Alabora, these applications are not only limited to the historical regions of Istanbul.
The modern parts of the city will be transformed for the benefit of institutions such as TOKİ. “The
beautiful coast of Istanbul’s Ataköy district, designed during the 1950s, will also become a TOKİ
project,” Alabora said, adding that the municipality wants to transform cultural venues by
disregarding the historical significance behind them.
The alteration of the culture concept’s scope within cities was another topic discussed at the
conference. Saying that culture is utilized today to question pluralism and multiculturalism, Dr.
Korhan Gümüş, executive board member of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency,
said intellectual actors such as architects have started to interfere in the public process.
“Projects using mixed budgets should be prepared as a mission,” said Gümüş. He said he believes
that central authorities, local authorities and the private sector should all be included within the
decision-making process on behalf of the city.
Representing the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, Gümüş said they started
working so that Istanbul people can contribute to the city’s development. Emphasizing those
nongovernmental organizations should be used as strategic instruments; Gümüş criticized authorities
who see NGOs solely as mechanisms of objection.
The Marmaray project, which will connect the two sides of Istanbul via an underwater railway
connection, was an example that was shown problematic by Gümüş. “Even though it is the biggest
project in the history of Istanbul, it has encountered problems with its archaeological and
administrative dimensions because only its transportation side was thought out,” said Gümüş, adding
that historical ruins dating back to the fourth century were found and had to be taken off in layers,
slowing the project.
Globalism was another topic discussed at the forum as it is seen as a threat to preserving Istanbul’s
unique culture. Claiming that the multiculturalism of Istanbul is endangered by the standardization
brought with globalization, Nevzat Bayhan, general director of the Istanbul Municipality Kültür
A.Ş., said they try to resist that with their own activities.
“If you watch the same theater, cinema and television in New York, Beijing, Tokyo and Istanbul,
then you would wonder about the multicultural structure of the world,” said Bayhan.
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=cultural-policies-of-istanbul-was-criticized-in-theistanbul-forum-2010-10-13
Turkish Minister urges Europe Council not to ignore Roma issue
Celik said that preparations were under way to open a Roma Research Center in Turkey.
21/10/2010 - Turkish State Minister Faruk Celik said that Council of Europe countries obliged to
solve Roma people issue, not to ignore and delay the solution.
Speaking at an international conference of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on problems of Roma
people on Wednesday, Celik briefed participants about the steps which were taken in Turkey in this
issue.
Noting that it was necessary to see and accept a problem to solve it, Celik said that Roma people
were one of the most disadvantageous groups in Turkey and the whole Europe too.
Celik said that there were nearly two million Roma citizens in Turkey, and most of them were settled
in the country.
Turkish government met with 120 Roma associations, listened their problems, and prepared a report
on problems like prejudices, education, health, unemployment, vocational education, population
registry and housing, said Celik, adding that they also held a meeting with 20,000 Roma citizens
with participation of prime minister.
Celik said that preparations were under way to open a Roma Research Center in Turkey, adding that
discriminating expressions in all regulations were also removed.
He said that Housing Development Administration of Turkey started to build 10,000 houses which
were appropriate to traditions and conditions of Roma citizens.
Celik said that Turkish government had the will to implement "Strasbourg Declaration" which would
be adopted in the meeting today.
The conference aims to find solution to problems of Roma population which is nearly 12 million in
Europe.
Participants are expected to make joint decisions on fighting racism against Roma people, recovering
the economic and social status of them as well as providing their social integration.
Ministers and high-level executives from 47 countries and international organizations including the
European Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are in
attendance at the gathering.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland and Council of Ministers Committee of
Ministers Chairman Antonio Miloshoski are hosting the event.
The Council of Europe's main objective is to encourage its members to take a comprehensive
approach to Roma issues.
Since 1995, the Committee of Experts on Roma and Travellers (MG-S-ROM) has been tasked with
advising member states and encouraging international authorities to take action where needed.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=65389
Hurriyet Daily News: The Roma and the European abyss
CAROLINE FOUREST
26/10/2010 - The five words at the bottom of a circular – “Primarily those of the Roma” – not only
mean that France has lied to the European Union, but also that it has betrayed itself, which is far
worse. This ethnic focus is unworthy of an originally non-discriminating republic. Rejecting such
words means remaining faithful to her.
Many French people may not view it that way. Those will retain but one image: That of a France
called to order by Brussels for saying the obvious and uttering the annoying words; especially if they
have reported the seventh burglary of their house and the police tell them, wrongly or rightly, that
this is due to the Roma; if they see pictures of camps along highways; if they board their train at the
Gare du Nord in Paris, where one is beset by aggressive begging. Things were different three years
ago. In a country that sees a chain of security laws, everything seems to be going the wrong way. ...
Politics has its mysteries that only the policy of decay could account for.
Exasperated and white-hot from insecurity, many French people turn a deaf ear to what the
supporters of complexity have to say: that police would be more effective against burglaries and
begging if they were not understaffed or busy dismantling caravans; that there would have been
fewer illegal camps if France had built sufficient legal camps to ensure smoother coexistence
between sedentary and nomadic lives; that there is need to differentiate between Travelers (often
French people) and the Roma (from Romania or Bulgaria).
However, many are likely to understand the rushed integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the
European Union as a mistake. The Roma often flee abject living conditions in their countries of
origin. The union had to ensure that the millions in these countries improved their environment
before opening the doors to a foreseeable exodus. Once again, the race for expansion guided by
economic motives – a large market and low-cost workforce – has acted against political Europe.
Nationalisms
The result is there. Several EU countries, not just France, are struggling with it. In Italy, popular
reactions are going up to pogroms; Sweden and Germany have the wisdom to act without pointing
fingers. In France, the president, in fear of seeing his electorate migrate to the far right, makes a
cynical bet; once again playing the role of the one who says out loud what everyone thinks to
themselves, a spectacular policy and, the icing on the cake, appear as though France is standing up to
Brussels.
Successful effect! A European Parliament going headwind against the French government; a
commissioner evoking a "roundup;" a French president referring to his Luxembourg origin. What a
picture! What a mess! And what a bonus to extremes!
This is just the beginning. From 2011, free movement will unrestrictedly apply to citizens from
Romania and Bulgaria. France will no longer be allowed – as it is today – to deport EU citizens on
grounds of "insufficient resources." The scenario and campaigning dialogue are: "You see. The left
wing does not want to use the annoying words and Brussels is binding me!"
Nice rant! Not sure, however, whether in this register the National Front has no better tragic figure.
France will not be the sole victim. A European issue par excellence, the Roma issue has undisputed
potential to rouse nationalism. It can kill the European dream. Unless and until the EU is committed
to urgently improving the situation of the Roma in Bulgaria and Romania, France will have to find
strength to remain itself.
*Caroline Fourest is a French writer and columnist, and United Nations Global Expert. This piece
appeared on Global Expert Finder, www.globalexpertfinder.org, a project of the United Nations
Alliance of Civilizations.
Link: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=the-roma-and-the-european-abyss-2010-10-26
Cingeneyiz International: Hacı Evhat Neighbourhood is Changing
28/10/2010
TEKIRDAG - Hacı Evhat neighbourhood is an old Gypsy settlement aged for almost 60 years in the
Malkara district of Tekirdağ. Basketmaking and tinning have been forgetten in Haci Evhat. Many of
the residents are working in coal mines today.
Hacı Evhat Neighbourhood in Malkara district of Tekirdağ is one of the most importan settlements
of Roma Gypsy in Thracian region of Turkey for long years. Memories being talked among the
residents about Turkish National War show how old the neighbourhood is. One of the most dramatic
memories about the War is about a woman trying to hide herself and her baby from invader soldiers.
She used to try shutting her baby crying up compressing the baby to her chest and this caused her
baby to die.
Gypsy population was low until 1950's. It rose with the migration sourced from the 72 Gypsy
villages around Malkara after 1950. There have been some migrations from Edirne, Uzunköprü and
Tekirdag to the neighbourhood beside the villages of Malkara. People settled to the neighbourhood
were generally Gypsies specialised on basketmaking and tinning. They were living in serious hard
live conditions according to older residents of the neighbourhood. Houses were builded from reeds.
Thoug bigger part of the population were the Gypsies coming from the villages of Malkara, there
were some Gypsies came from Greece and Bulgaris Turk-Greece Population Exchange at 1924.
Some families started to work in agriculture and husbandry on farms given by the government
between 1940-1945. Some of them underselled their farms because of urgent needs. Some families
lost their farms in the discussions about ownership of the lands. For some families farms started to be
inadequate as population raised and they also selled their lands. There are only a few families doing
agriculture. Many of them are living in the villages of Malkara and they have better live conditions
comparing to other Gypsy families.
Some residents went to the foreign countries to work between 1960-1970. The other went on
basketmaking, tinning, blacksmithing and agricultural working. Though musicianship was common
among the Gypsies came from Bulgaria and Greece, their descendants are not musicians today.
Traditional ways of subsistence just like basketmaking, tinning and blacksmithing have unexisted
today in the neighbourhood. Residents found new ways of subsistence. Most of the residents are
working in coal mines. There are almost 20 coal mine in Malkara. They are being paid 20 tl (14 $)
for all work days. Some of the residents are collecting coal pieces falled from coal bogies and sell. It
is started to be current working in textile fabrics among teenager girls in recent years. Many people
believe that working in textile fabrics will be more common among Gypsy people in future. A few of
the resident are working as refuse collector in the municipality. There are also some Gypsy butchers
and cafe keepers in the neighbourhood.
There are three groups of dialects of Romanes being spoken among the residents: Kalayci, Sepetçi
and the dialects of Roma migrated from Greece and Bulgaria.
Most important problems of the neighbourhood are being unable to reach education and
unemployment. Especially older residents remember Tahsin Eren with a great respectation beause of
his support to the neighbourhood as a municipality president.
7000 Roma Gypsy people are living in the neighbourhood with Erenler district on Hayrabolu way in
our day.
Çingeneyiz Tekirdağ
www.cingeneyiz.org
Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as
Gypsy. Here is your web page !
Human Rights Europe: Sulukule: End Of The Roma 'Jerusalem'
29/10/2010 - In her Council of Europe exhibition entitled 'Sulukule,' photographer Aurora Ailincai
underlines the Roma people's struggle for place in Europe.
The photographer captures the soul of the 956 year old Sulukule neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey,
through the images of its men, its women and particularly its children.
Ms Ailincai arrived in Sulukule, considered the 'Jerusalem' of the Roma world, just in time.The
neighbourhood, the oldest Roma settlement in Europe, was in transition and within a short time
would fall victim to an urban renewal project.
"The soul of Roma people disappeared," says Ms Ailincai."It was the identity of Roma people
disappearing not only the neighbourhood."
Link: http://humanrightseurope.blogspot.com/2010/10/sulukule-end-of-roma-jerusalem.html