COMMENTATOR (COMM):
The Roma have an exotic image - musicians, actors, artists, - sometimes beggars. Europeans called them gypsies because they thought they came from Egypt. But Romani people have lived in Europe for over a thousand years. In first world countries, most live in third world conditions - on the edges of mainstream society.
2005 marks the start of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. But will the eight Central and Eastern European countries where most Roma live help them break out of poverty and exclusion? This is Fakulteta on the outskirts of Bulgarias capital, Sofia. Home to 35,000 people, the majority Roma. Theyre celebrating April the 8th International Roma Day - this is the day in 1971 when their mother country, India, officially recognised the Roma people, their language, and their flag. Its also the day they remember their history their exodus from India a thousand years ago, their travelling, the million plus Roma who died in the Nazi concentration camps.
Persecution and racism are nothing new for the Romani people. But since 1989 - in the transition from communism to capitalism their living conditions in Central and Eastern Europe have deteriorated dramatically. They live, on average, fifteen years less than the rest of the population. In the expanding ghettos on the fringes of cities, many Roma families live in housing with little or no water or electricity. Many children attend segregated, substandard schools and most of their parents dont have jobs. Those living in rural areas are among the most deprived.
WOMAN HOEING:
The President should come and see how we live, we havent got enough to eat. We sleep on beds made out of planks, ten eleven children to a room. Weve got a hoeing job here and we make just enough for food for the evening. We are wretched folk - gypsies.
COMM:
Four out of ten Roma in Romania live on less than two dollars a day, according to the World Bank. The countrys home to an estimated two million Romani people almost one in ten of the population. Many are so isolated from the main population they dont even take basic steps to become citizens. In one neighbourhood of the Galati province, most Roma are born, live and die without being registered outside their own community. The task of wading through bureaucracy to get them on to the local authoritys books is Viorica Gotus full time job.
VIORICA GOTU, Chair, Roma Alliance of Galati County:
I think it is very important because if you dont have that identity document first of all you cant apply for a job, you cant enrol in a training course, you cant receive child allowance. You have no identity. You dont know who you are.
WOMAN WITH CHILDREN:
If Viorica hadnt done it we couldnt have got the registration on our own. The police refused to issue me any papers. They said I have no permanent address and they cant register me.
VIORICA:
But do you want a job?
WOMAN:
Of course, naturally.
VIORICA:
If someone came to you and said, Ill either give you aid or a job What would you prefer?
WOMAN:
Id prefer to refuse the aid and take up the job, so that I can have a better life with my children. Its a better life with a job than waiting around for aid to come once a month.
COMM:
But change is happening. The Roma arent one single group theyre separated by borders and languages, which has led to decades of disjointed political activism across Europe. But now their leaders are starting to bring about change at an international level this time with a common voice. 2004 was a milestone. The European Roma and Travellers Forum, representing the major Romani organisations, joined the Council of Europe and became directly involved in decisions affecting their communities.
RUDKO KAWCZYNSKI, Interim President of European Roma and Travellers Forum:
Well its the first time in European history that Roma have been even recognised. Until now we have been treated like a fringe group, like a social phenomenon, a social problem. Its the first time in history that the European governments have recognised the Roma as a minority, as a trans-national minority that lives everywhere in the European countries with a common problem - and that something has to be done to improve the living conditions of this group.
COMM:
In an expanding Europe, Roma are now one of the largest minority groups and the fastest growing. In Hungary, one of the European Unions newest members, Roma make up six per cent of the population. The countrys produced the first Roma Member of the European Parliament, 30-year-old Livia Jaroka. Shes one of the new generation of leaders.
LIVIA JAROKA, Roma MEP:
Now there is a Roma person in the Parliament so there is of course a great push and also because its much easier now to locate all the energies of the different civil rights organisations that are working on Roma issues in Europe into this one building- basically into my office, so that Roma can get their voice heard. We have in a way political power, Roma have a voice now in the parliament. I rather see this period of Roma history as a time of opportunities.
COMM:
In 2003, leaders from eight Central and Eastern European countries - with support from international donors - acknowledged they must recognise Romani people as equal citizens of their countries. They declared a Decade of Roma Inclusion. But translating promises into practical solutions for ordinary Roma Roma who have never heard of the Decade needs long term financial commitments. Veteran activist, Nicolae Gheorghe says governments need to change their attitude and realise they are the ones responsible for improving conditions.
NICOLAE GHEORGHE, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, OSCE:
The Roma are first of all citizens of the States in which they live, and its the obligations of States to deal with that and the support coming from outside is rather to build capacity of the States institutions.
FILIZ HUSMENOVA, Minister without Portfolio, Responsible for Issues relating to Minorities, Bulgaria:
There are a lot of problems. We cant solve them with a magic wand to find a solution we need the support of the Romani people. We must try to open up this community and we must work within the Roma society. If partners and organisations co-operate the results will be better at a national level.
COMM:
But the Romas problems arent just national. Stanilaw Stankiewicz believes change has to happen not just inside countries, but across borders.
STANISLAW STANKIEWICZ, President of the International Romani Union:
Roma in the globalisation process are at the forefront as a European nation, because we know how to live within other cultures and among other nations. Why? Because we dont have a problem with religions and cultures. Weve learned this but there is a problem. There is no acceptance of us as Roma as a nation. We dont have a State - we are a trans-national nation. We are something new in the globalisation process. This novel concept should be accepted by politicians.
COMM:
Roma make up nearly a tenth of the populations of Romania and Bulgaria, and both countries hope to join the European Union in 2007. But becoming a member means they have to agree to EU regulations guaranteeing equal treatment for all their citizens in education, employment, housing and health. But how much clout does the E.U. really have?
VLADIMIR SPIDLA, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities:
Most policies are still governed by nation states, so they cant be directed by the European Union. What we can do within the EU is co-ordinate them and present examples of good practice as well as use the anti-discriminatory policies and I will apply them very consistently whenever necessary.
LIVIA JAROKA:
The monitoring is something that cant be done by the national governments - and they dont really let the Roma institutions or the Roma civil rights organisations to take responsibility in monitoring. So, as far as I see now it is definitely the Commission who will have to take on this role.
COMM:
The Roma media play an unique role in this process. Representing their communities views, reflecting their culture, and showing the benefits of being part of what they call the gadje or non-Roma society. In Bulgaria, TV Romas Director, Petar Stefanov, says the media are the eyes and ears of local Romani communities.
BULGARIAN WOMAN:
We are unemployed and we get 36 leva a month (US$ 18). How can we pay electricity, water, how can we feed and dress our kids so they can go to school? PETAR STEFANOV, TV Roma:
As you know we will be entering Europe. Do you know about this? Are you ready to enter Europe?
WOMAN:
No, we are not ready to enter Europe. In our settlement we live in misery - the authorities should understand this is the worst place among Roma here.
PETAR STEFANOV, TV Roma:
Integration is a very long process that has to be made on both sides from one side the Romani community and from the other, the mainstream society. Both sides have to be prepared to work together. My opinion is that there is a barrier that divides both sides, Bulgarians and Roma living in Bulgaria. This means the majority and the minority. So there is this barrier and we have to build cultural bridges to cross it so that people can understand each other better.
COMM:
Roma TV and radio stations across Eastern Europe are now linking up for the first time, sharing programmes and information - bringing more of their communities in touch with decisions affecting them. The broadcasts also give the main populations an understanding of what its like to be Roma.
In Part Two, why so few Roma children get a proper education, and the efforts being made to get more of them into national classrooms.
PART TWO
COMM:
2005 is the start of the Decade of Roma Inclusion dedicated to improving the lives of one of the most excluded groups in Europe. In countries with large Roma communities, governments have promised to break the cycle of poverty in which many live.
Better education is at the heart of the Decade. Many families cant afford to send their children to school, the uneducated cant find work, and the cycle continues. Across Eastern and Central Europe, less than one in five Roma children continue their education beyond primary school.
ALEXANDRA RAYKOVA, President, Forum of European Roma Young People:
What I have observed in my daily practice is that the new generation of 14-15 year olds those that have grown up after the transition in our country- are certainly illiterate, and this is a pity. These children have no perspective for the future.
COMM:
Roma children grow up speaking Romani, their mother tongue, and often have a poor command of the national language where they live. This means they are treated as outcasts at national schools often segregated into Roma-only classes, some placed in schools for learning disabilities, some never venturing from the Romani schools in the settlements. Many children drop out early disillusioned, disadvantaged. But there is hope for a new generation. In Bukovlak, Bulgaria, where ninety per cent of Roma are unemployed, Sasho Aleksandrov is an enrolment co-ordinator, integrating Roma children into local schools in nearby Pleven.
SASHO ALEKSANDROV, Co-ordinator, Malaev Foundation:
Hunger and unemployment made me concerned that people had to become more motivated in order to find work. That means through education they could find jobs. The older generations are earning their living by scavenging in the junkyards and garbage cans. The younger generation who are included in the regular schools will have a completely different understanding and a perception about life. I am trying to be a friend to my son. Hes 9 years old. Now, he is in the second year of the programme. I try to help him with his education because I needed special help with mine, I dont want this to be repeated with my son.
COMM:
But bringing Roma children into mainstream education and helping them feel comfortable, requires approaches from many corners. Miglena Taseva is one of the students from 52 settlements across Bulgaria who attended a six-week course at Veliko Tarnova University to train as a Roma teaching assistant in national schools.
MIGLENA TASEVA, Roma Teaching Assistant:
I admit that when I first arrived, I thought about going back home. But then when I met the others we liked each other and I decided to stay in order to learn something new and to pass on what Ive learnt to children. My dream is to have a job - to be capable and independent.
COMM:
Back in her home town, Lom, Miglena is bringing Romani culture and language into the local classroom as well as helping Roma children get up to speed making way for better understanding and less discrimination.
YOUNG ROMA GIRL:
I like her very much. She teaches us and helps us with anything we find difficult.
FILIZ HUSMENOVA, Minister without portfolio, in charge of Roma Affairs, Bulgaria:
The teaching assistants are very important in such bilingual environments. In this environment they are essential for the students to accept the new teaching materials. Obviously, I hope this policy will continue with the communities if we get opportunities from the European partners, especially in the places where weve had less successful results.
COMM:
In the meantime Roma non-government organisations are replicating the course with universities across the country. But its not just in schools - integration needs to happen in the workplace too. Since the collapse of communism, economic hardship in Eastern Europe has affected everyone - and Roma isolation has increased dramatically.
LIVIA JAROKA:
Until 1989 we had no economic problems. Because we had secure jobs we were working of course, and that meant much more full inclusion into the society than at the present time. After 1989, most of the Roma lost their jobs. Today its about 11 per cent of Roma male Hungarians who have some sort of job and its not always a legal job.
COMM:
Those Roma with poor education and few skills have been the worst hit. Ten years ago the two State brick-making factories closed down in Nusfalau, Romania - and most of the community lost their jobs. But with help from a local organisation and the council, Roma have started to help themselves. Brick making is now providing crucial seasonal work for one in four of the population and its enabled them to rebuild their houses.
ILEANA VARGA, making bricks:
Its the fifth year since I had my first child. I used to take him with me when I was making the bricks for the association. In the first year I used to put him down on a sheet until I got a pushchair and then he slept for a week while I was working!
COMM:
Key to the Romas entrepreneurial success was the support from the wider community. Local businessman, Josef Kabbay started buying the bricks and hiring Romani workers.
JOSEF KABBAY, Construction Manager, Nusfalau, Romania:
I dont discriminate. Everyone gets paid. Its not an issue for me, everyone who works get paid. I dont care whether they are Romanians, Hungarians or Roma. Look at them - everyone gets on with their work. You wouldnt know whos who.
COMM:
Tackling discrimination, and building bridges between communities in places like Nusfalau is essential if Roma are to become equal members of European society.
VLADIMIR SPIDLA, EU Commissioner:
At this moment we cant isolate the problem of Roma discrimination from general discrimination. I firmly hope that we will be able to make a sustainable effort to improve the position of Roma in the EU.
COMM:
But in spite of the progress over the last two years - the first Roma members of the European Parliament, the Forum joining the Council of Europe, and the start of the Decade of Roma theres no room for complacency.
NICOLAE GHEORGHE:
Where I see the possibilities to have added value is to generate interlinks between these initiatives, between the Roma Forum, between the OSCE Action Plan for Roma and Sinti, the Decade. Now they are quite separate developments. Slowly I think we have to bring them together and to identify interlinks and how each can support each other rather than compete with each other, and to try to focus on generating results on the ground.
LIVIA JAROKA:
The Roma have a great responsibility in this as well - showing ourselves, showing we are the same as anybody else from the majority society and this knowing each other, this partnership that we have to build up again together, could only fight the racist and discriminatory fears that people have in their soul.
The Roma have an exotic image - musicians, actors, artists, - sometimes beggars. Europeans called them gypsies because they thought they came from Egypt. But Romani people have lived in Europe for over a thousand years. In first world countries, most live in third world conditions - on the edges of mainstream society.
2005 marks the start of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. But will the eight Central and Eastern European countries where most Roma live help them break out of poverty and exclusion? This is Fakulteta on the outskirts of Bulgarias capital, Sofia. Home to 35,000 people, the majority Roma. Theyre celebrating April the 8th International Roma Day - this is the day in 1971 when their mother country, India, officially recognised the Roma people, their language, and their flag. Its also the day they remember their history their exodus from India a thousand years ago, their travelling, the million plus Roma who died in the Nazi concentration camps.
Persecution and racism are nothing new for the Romani people. But since 1989 - in the transition from communism to capitalism their living conditions in Central and Eastern Europe have deteriorated dramatically. They live, on average, fifteen years less than the rest of the population. In the expanding ghettos on the fringes of cities, many Roma families live in housing with little or no water or electricity. Many children attend segregated, substandard schools and most of their parents dont have jobs. Those living in rural areas are among the most deprived.
WOMAN HOEING:
The President should come and see how we live, we havent got enough to eat. We sleep on beds made out of planks, ten eleven children to a room. Weve got a hoeing job here and we make just enough for food for the evening. We are wretched folk - gypsies.
COMM:
Four out of ten Roma in Romania live on less than two dollars a day, according to the World Bank. The countrys home to an estimated two million Romani people almost one in ten of the population. Many are so isolated from the main population they dont even take basic steps to become citizens. In one neighbourhood of the Galati province, most Roma are born, live and die without being registered outside their own community. The task of wading through bureaucracy to get them on to the local authoritys books is Viorica Gotus full time job.
VIORICA GOTU, Chair, Roma Alliance of Galati County:
I think it is very important because if you dont have that identity document first of all you cant apply for a job, you cant enrol in a training course, you cant receive child allowance. You have no identity. You dont know who you are.
WOMAN WITH CHILDREN:
If Viorica hadnt done it we couldnt have got the registration on our own. The police refused to issue me any papers. They said I have no permanent address and they cant register me.
VIORICA:
But do you want a job?
WOMAN:
Of course, naturally.
VIORICA:
If someone came to you and said, Ill either give you aid or a job What would you prefer?
WOMAN:
Id prefer to refuse the aid and take up the job, so that I can have a better life with my children. Its a better life with a job than waiting around for aid to come once a month.
COMM:
But change is happening. The Roma arent one single group theyre separated by borders and languages, which has led to decades of disjointed political activism across Europe. But now their leaders are starting to bring about change at an international level this time with a common voice. 2004 was a milestone. The European Roma and Travellers Forum, representing the major Romani organisations, joined the Council of Europe and became directly involved in decisions affecting their communities.
RUDKO KAWCZYNSKI, Interim President of European Roma and Travellers Forum:
Well its the first time in European history that Roma have been even recognised. Until now we have been treated like a fringe group, like a social phenomenon, a social problem. Its the first time in history that the European governments have recognised the Roma as a minority, as a trans-national minority that lives everywhere in the European countries with a common problem - and that something has to be done to improve the living conditions of this group.
COMM:
In an expanding Europe, Roma are now one of the largest minority groups and the fastest growing. In Hungary, one of the European Unions newest members, Roma make up six per cent of the population. The countrys produced the first Roma Member of the European Parliament, 30-year-old Livia Jaroka. Shes one of the new generation of leaders.
LIVIA JAROKA, Roma MEP:
Now there is a Roma person in the Parliament so there is of course a great push and also because its much easier now to locate all the energies of the different civil rights organisations that are working on Roma issues in Europe into this one building- basically into my office, so that Roma can get their voice heard. We have in a way political power, Roma have a voice now in the parliament. I rather see this period of Roma history as a time of opportunities.
COMM:
In 2003, leaders from eight Central and Eastern European countries - with support from international donors - acknowledged they must recognise Romani people as equal citizens of their countries. They declared a Decade of Roma Inclusion. But translating promises into practical solutions for ordinary Roma Roma who have never heard of the Decade needs long term financial commitments. Veteran activist, Nicolae Gheorghe says governments need to change their attitude and realise they are the ones responsible for improving conditions.
NICOLAE GHEORGHE, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, OSCE:
The Roma are first of all citizens of the States in which they live, and its the obligations of States to deal with that and the support coming from outside is rather to build capacity of the States institutions.
FILIZ HUSMENOVA, Minister without Portfolio, Responsible for Issues relating to Minorities, Bulgaria:
There are a lot of problems. We cant solve them with a magic wand to find a solution we need the support of the Romani people. We must try to open up this community and we must work within the Roma society. If partners and organisations co-operate the results will be better at a national level.
COMM:
But the Romas problems arent just national. Stanilaw Stankiewicz believes change has to happen not just inside countries, but across borders.
STANISLAW STANKIEWICZ, President of the International Romani Union:
Roma in the globalisation process are at the forefront as a European nation, because we know how to live within other cultures and among other nations. Why? Because we dont have a problem with religions and cultures. Weve learned this but there is a problem. There is no acceptance of us as Roma as a nation. We dont have a State - we are a trans-national nation. We are something new in the globalisation process. This novel concept should be accepted by politicians.
COMM:
Roma make up nearly a tenth of the populations of Romania and Bulgaria, and both countries hope to join the European Union in 2007. But becoming a member means they have to agree to EU regulations guaranteeing equal treatment for all their citizens in education, employment, housing and health. But how much clout does the E.U. really have?
VLADIMIR SPIDLA, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities:
Most policies are still governed by nation states, so they cant be directed by the European Union. What we can do within the EU is co-ordinate them and present examples of good practice as well as use the anti-discriminatory policies and I will apply them very consistently whenever necessary.
LIVIA JAROKA:
The monitoring is something that cant be done by the national governments - and they dont really let the Roma institutions or the Roma civil rights organisations to take responsibility in monitoring. So, as far as I see now it is definitely the Commission who will have to take on this role.
COMM:
The Roma media play an unique role in this process. Representing their communities views, reflecting their culture, and showing the benefits of being part of what they call the gadje or non-Roma society. In Bulgaria, TV Romas Director, Petar Stefanov, says the media are the eyes and ears of local Romani communities.
BULGARIAN WOMAN:
We are unemployed and we get 36 leva a month (US$ 18). How can we pay electricity, water, how can we feed and dress our kids so they can go to school? PETAR STEFANOV, TV Roma:
As you know we will be entering Europe. Do you know about this? Are you ready to enter Europe?
WOMAN:
No, we are not ready to enter Europe. In our settlement we live in misery - the authorities should understand this is the worst place among Roma here.
PETAR STEFANOV, TV Roma:
Integration is a very long process that has to be made on both sides from one side the Romani community and from the other, the mainstream society. Both sides have to be prepared to work together. My opinion is that there is a barrier that divides both sides, Bulgarians and Roma living in Bulgaria. This means the majority and the minority. So there is this barrier and we have to build cultural bridges to cross it so that people can understand each other better.
COMM:
Roma TV and radio stations across Eastern Europe are now linking up for the first time, sharing programmes and information - bringing more of their communities in touch with decisions affecting them. The broadcasts also give the main populations an understanding of what its like to be Roma.
In Part Two, why so few Roma children get a proper education, and the efforts being made to get more of them into national classrooms.
PART TWO
COMM:
2005 is the start of the Decade of Roma Inclusion dedicated to improving the lives of one of the most excluded groups in Europe. In countries with large Roma communities, governments have promised to break the cycle of poverty in which many live.
Better education is at the heart of the Decade. Many families cant afford to send their children to school, the uneducated cant find work, and the cycle continues. Across Eastern and Central Europe, less than one in five Roma children continue their education beyond primary school.
ALEXANDRA RAYKOVA, President, Forum of European Roma Young People:
What I have observed in my daily practice is that the new generation of 14-15 year olds those that have grown up after the transition in our country- are certainly illiterate, and this is a pity. These children have no perspective for the future.
COMM:
Roma children grow up speaking Romani, their mother tongue, and often have a poor command of the national language where they live. This means they are treated as outcasts at national schools often segregated into Roma-only classes, some placed in schools for learning disabilities, some never venturing from the Romani schools in the settlements. Many children drop out early disillusioned, disadvantaged. But there is hope for a new generation. In Bukovlak, Bulgaria, where ninety per cent of Roma are unemployed, Sasho Aleksandrov is an enrolment co-ordinator, integrating Roma children into local schools in nearby Pleven.
SASHO ALEKSANDROV, Co-ordinator, Malaev Foundation:
Hunger and unemployment made me concerned that people had to become more motivated in order to find work. That means through education they could find jobs. The older generations are earning their living by scavenging in the junkyards and garbage cans. The younger generation who are included in the regular schools will have a completely different understanding and a perception about life. I am trying to be a friend to my son. Hes 9 years old. Now, he is in the second year of the programme. I try to help him with his education because I needed special help with mine, I dont want this to be repeated with my son.
COMM:
But bringing Roma children into mainstream education and helping them feel comfortable, requires approaches from many corners. Miglena Taseva is one of the students from 52 settlements across Bulgaria who attended a six-week course at Veliko Tarnova University to train as a Roma teaching assistant in national schools.
MIGLENA TASEVA, Roma Teaching Assistant:
I admit that when I first arrived, I thought about going back home. But then when I met the others we liked each other and I decided to stay in order to learn something new and to pass on what Ive learnt to children. My dream is to have a job - to be capable and independent.
COMM:
Back in her home town, Lom, Miglena is bringing Romani culture and language into the local classroom as well as helping Roma children get up to speed making way for better understanding and less discrimination.
YOUNG ROMA GIRL:
I like her very much. She teaches us and helps us with anything we find difficult.
FILIZ HUSMENOVA, Minister without portfolio, in charge of Roma Affairs, Bulgaria:
The teaching assistants are very important in such bilingual environments. In this environment they are essential for the students to accept the new teaching materials. Obviously, I hope this policy will continue with the communities if we get opportunities from the European partners, especially in the places where weve had less successful results.
COMM:
In the meantime Roma non-government organisations are replicating the course with universities across the country. But its not just in schools - integration needs to happen in the workplace too. Since the collapse of communism, economic hardship in Eastern Europe has affected everyone - and Roma isolation has increased dramatically.
LIVIA JAROKA:
Until 1989 we had no economic problems. Because we had secure jobs we were working of course, and that meant much more full inclusion into the society than at the present time. After 1989, most of the Roma lost their jobs. Today its about 11 per cent of Roma male Hungarians who have some sort of job and its not always a legal job.
COMM:
Those Roma with poor education and few skills have been the worst hit. Ten years ago the two State brick-making factories closed down in Nusfalau, Romania - and most of the community lost their jobs. But with help from a local organisation and the council, Roma have started to help themselves. Brick making is now providing crucial seasonal work for one in four of the population and its enabled them to rebuild their houses.
ILEANA VARGA, making bricks:
Its the fifth year since I had my first child. I used to take him with me when I was making the bricks for the association. In the first year I used to put him down on a sheet until I got a pushchair and then he slept for a week while I was working!
COMM:
Key to the Romas entrepreneurial success was the support from the wider community. Local businessman, Josef Kabbay started buying the bricks and hiring Romani workers.
JOSEF KABBAY, Construction Manager, Nusfalau, Romania:
I dont discriminate. Everyone gets paid. Its not an issue for me, everyone who works get paid. I dont care whether they are Romanians, Hungarians or Roma. Look at them - everyone gets on with their work. You wouldnt know whos who.
COMM:
Tackling discrimination, and building bridges between communities in places like Nusfalau is essential if Roma are to become equal members of European society.
VLADIMIR SPIDLA, EU Commissioner:
At this moment we cant isolate the problem of Roma discrimination from general discrimination. I firmly hope that we will be able to make a sustainable effort to improve the position of Roma in the EU.
COMM:
But in spite of the progress over the last two years - the first Roma members of the European Parliament, the Forum joining the Council of Europe, and the start of the Decade of Roma theres no room for complacency.
NICOLAE GHEORGHE:
Where I see the possibilities to have added value is to generate interlinks between these initiatives, between the Roma Forum, between the OSCE Action Plan for Roma and Sinti, the Decade. Now they are quite separate developments. Slowly I think we have to bring them together and to identify interlinks and how each can support each other rather than compete with each other, and to try to focus on generating results on the ground.
LIVIA JAROKA:
The Roma have a great responsibility in this as well - showing ourselves, showing we are the same as anybody else from the majority society and this knowing each other, this partnership that we have to build up again together, could only fight the racist and discriminatory fears that people have in their soul.