Roma Platform EU Brussels report by Major Joan Münch

Transcription

1 Roma Platform EU Brussels report by Major Joan Münch This report contains two parts: I - Considerations and reflections regarding information from the Roma platform and the Salvation Army, II - Notes from speakers and discussions during the platform. Part one: Considerations and reflections regarding information from the Roma platform and the Salvation Army, Both from experience and from the platform it is clear, that something is very wrong with the way Roma populations generally are viewed and treated throughout Europe. Despite many integration strategies and lots of funding being poured into projects, living conditions do not seem to improve and in some cases, they even get worse. The platform identified antigypsyism (in most cases - institutionalized) throughout Europe s major populations as the main obstacle to improving basic living conditions of Roma populations. As the Salvation Army we must confess that lack of knowledge or public opinion, has often lead to indifference or even opposition with regards to Roma populations in countries where we minister. We have not done enough to fill the gap in our ministries and reach out with Roma to Roma populations, wherever we meet them. Participating in the platform allowed the Salvation Army opportunity to speak up and be heard on issues that we know something about, despite our apparent lacking. Participating with two Roma: Vilem Kona & Larisa Lacatus and two non-roma: Joan Münch & Mike Stannett/Catherine Mallet gave us credibility. The call for giving input to the EU Roma integration strategy for the period was launched on several occasions during the platform and the opportunity is certainly available for the Salvation Army, to get more actively involved in recommending policy. The question is, what kind of policy should we recommend? The kind of policy that leads to EU funding opportunities or the kind of policy that we know from experience leads to changed lives and thereby also changed living circumstances? There is not necessarily a dichotomy between the two, but focusing solely on the first will most certainly lead to massive failure as the Salvation Army throughout Europe, does not access much EU funding. Speakers during the platform made some suggestions which could serve as inspiration for a Salvation Army strategy: Participatory Roma integration through facilitation. It can and should only be done together with Roma. Trust between Roma and non-roma has to be built. This can happen through Roma mediators and bridge-builders. NGO s to cooperate and network towards overcoming stereotypes and influence public policies on local and national level. Counter discriminatory measures and denounce antigypsyism actively every time we become aware of it. View Roma as an innovative human resource. Create meeting places where non-roma and Roma can meet. Churches and businesses are such natural meeting places. Look up best practices of successful Roma integration, education and employment, collect stories and share them widely.

2 Actively work towards ethnic diversity being accepted and the norm locally. Launch the debate through key themes at events and social media. Check that all public services locally are available to all in population (kindergartens, schools, hospitals, banks..) if not, campaign for them to be accessible to all Mobilize Roma for change through community organizing. Counter service provision projects locally that create dependency. II - Roma Platform EU Brussels notes from speakers by Major Joan Münch Transition from education to employment Akos Topolanszky: The EU Roma Integration strategy didn t really work. There are few real results. The political relevance of Roma is questionable. There is a political trapping of Roma. Gravitation needs to be transcended. A paradigm shift is needed with regards to Roma in EU. Irena Moozova: A high percentage of young Europeans are Roma. Many Roma are simply excluded from normal social life. It s not only about structural barriers and potential, it is about how we can make Roma succeed, opening doors to jobs and a better life. Segregation in education still exists but small signs of improvement for example with regards to early childhood participation in preschool are evident. However school dropout is growing, sadly => transition between education and employment is not working. Education, employability and participation in social life is the goal. Greater role for Roma in owing their own future. We have to improve implementation of strategies, need to explore ways of how to improve youth employments. Need to do it together with Roma themselves. Work together against exclusion and segregation. Katarina Mathernova: Enlargement of EU back on agenda. Making significant improvement on Roma inclusion is in focus in getting ready to join the EU as well as economic and legal progress. Research currently being realized: Comparing Roma communities (survey) in Western Balkans with non- Roma communities living close-by Looking at returning Roma (qualitative work), consequences for returnees from Germany, Belgium.back to Kosovo, Serbia what are the effects on fx mother and children? Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos: it has been 48 years since the council of Europe noted that all efforts had failed in integrating the Gypsies in European countries. Roma are still excluded and segregated in most EU countries. Europe s education system continue to perform social inequalities talents of millions of young people are wasted and going to waste. Small improvements in education doesn t translate into employment. The number of Roma children in segregated schools didn t decline (despite the EU Roma integration strategy) on the contrary in some cases. And further, not every job provide enough income to live on. Working poor demotivate young people. The typical Roma in job doesn t provide enough for Roma to live on. Workshop transition from education to employment

3 Kadrin Hasanov Bulgaria: Bulg. Roma children some speak Romanes, some speak Bulgarian, but few speak both. In villages only primary schools available and secondary schools in bigger cities. Girls from patriarchal families are not allowed to travel out of their village and therefore cannot go to secondary school. The official figures of school dropouts are much higher because school don t remove names of children from their lists. When kids return into the school system a mentorship system for accompaniment is needed. The patriarchal system keeps girls back, educational mediators are needed. Simona Torotcoi - Romania: Children from rural disadvantaged areas are more likely to drop out early from school. They dropout due to poverty, household chores, segregation and racism. Attending school is seen as a luxury. The school dropout mean that Roma only have basic skills and that most only work on black labor market. Vilem Kona UK (Czech): From segregation and racism in Czech to every child matters in UK. Was moved to believe in himself. The equal rights to education UK system broke the poverty circle for him. School saw the potential in him and invested in him. Many Roma came to UK, Margate. School started with very few Roma kids and then moved to 30% Roma kids and many Roma kids moved from poverty to employment. There is a need for Roma workers that can build bridges. There is a need for people that Roma can trust. In Czech, the government is keeping Roma down by not letting them develop. Michal Miko Czech: When Roma arrived after WW2 the communists decided that Roma children should be in special schools. The situation for Roma children hasn t changed despite decision of council of Europe. All around Europe we can see the same thing. Roma kids are not in kindergarten with other kids and there will never be equal level of integration. In Czech Roma people are losing their housing and so have to live in hostels. In order to attend school you have to have permanent housing. It was a mistake of EU to include Romania and Bulgaria into EU, because they didn t do well in integrating Roma and didn t fulfill measures of accessing EU. Almost all major investments of EU funds go to Romania and Bulgaria but not to Roma in those countries. Discussion Everything is linked to basic living conditions. The way you live will reflect in everything you do. Your address will determine whether you ll get the job or not. The cycle of poverty is like cancer, where do you start? 58% of young Roma are neither in education nor in employment. Roma as mediators. Don t do anything for Roma without Roma. Combat institutionalized racism. Despite infringement procedure in Czech for breaking EU law that lead to a new school inclusive act in Czech, there s still segregated schools. Each member state signed a national Roma strategy for 2020 when it comes to implementation it s only a paper. Czech adopted the strategy in 2015 but until now no measures have been implemented. Without political will nothing will happen. Until now also no recognition of Gypsy holocaust. No recognition also on EU level. Develop monitoring instruments that take into account the reality we are very good at writing reports. Henriett Dinok feedback from Workshop II education group Vilem Kona, Mike Stannett and Joan Münch from TSA participated Recommendations: Combat institutionalized racism and anti Gypsyism as it is still the major obstacle in implementation of Roma strategy Recognition and acknowledgment of Roma presence as national minority in the country.

4 Monitoring and evaluation of EU financial instruments of the government and public policies Secure equal access to education thus facilitating access to employment Obligation to register all children and give them a birth certificate End segregation in schools, train teachers to deal with multicultural classes, reduce number of children in classes, implement parental programs to help parents help their children, support young Roma mothers so they complete their education Develop scholarship opportunities for young Roma and make sure the young Roma fulfill their studies also away from home Promote community organizing with Roma communities Promote Roma political participation Awareness raising exchange of good practice and media coverage of living conditions in countries of origin Develop public policies to overcome stereotypes in mass media, work with NGO s. We have all research and evidence, what is lacking is implementation. There is no accountability. We need to answer the question of how. Ivan Ivanov feedback from Workshop I employment group Larisa Lacatus from TSA participated Basic conditions in place are needed. Employment is empowerment. Roma voices are not listened to and that leads to anti-gypsyism. Discriminatory measures are not countered. A national strategy will not make a difference unless followed up by concrete action plans. Every Roma has access to education, but not to quality education. All EU countries have anti-discrimination legislation but it has to be implemented. Recommendations: Draw up equality schemes to support a move towards equality National governments should ensure equality in place of work Awareness raising and culture sensitizing training for equal schemes in places of work Support framework for Roma entrepreneurs Coorporation and communication regarding best practices and also regarding failed actions with Roma work integration. Make the wheel roll panel Vera Jourova: Current state of play in Europe is a raise in populism and xenophobia. It s important that the European commission preserve values of equality and humanity. These values are attacked every day. Suggestions from workshops are not new. Roma framework is not new and we re still repeating what needs to be done. We need to think about what should be done after We can join the process. There will be less money available after Brexit. We need to make sure the money will go to people and not to bricks and asphalt. Money must be better spend in new period. Have to get rid of what doesn t work. Livja Jaroka: The parliament is proud to take part in discussions on Roma strategies and these have to move up higher on the agenda. Roma have to show solidarity with other groups in similar situations. There is 110 mill. People living in Europe under similar circumstances and we need to speak up together. Roma has a common history with Europeans and this will continue. Roma is a fast growing population and we like to work. Roma have a lot to offer. 10 Roma members in parliament from every kind of political horizon. We need to discuss from a legal base and not from strategy anymore as member states have been taking the

5 money without implementing the strategy guilty people should be fired and replaced. We should be digitalized so that people being discriminated against can quickly be helped. There s so few places where Roma and non-roma can meet. Many Roma teachers are unemployed in Romania is the number 32! Things happening in Roma dossiers don t happen anywhere else. In Strasbourg I work with homeless kids who were homeless for the last 13 years. Nobody knows they are in this situation! Business and churches can help actively desegregating our societies. Poor non Roma are worse off than Roma because they don t have the solidarity of the Roma community. Abel Ravasz - Slovakia: Preparation for 2020 strategy, different new period of funding, different for countries who joined EU in There will be lots of cuts, because less money available in next period. Local government have to include Roma in spending EU funds, but they are not very good at it fx kindergardens that don t give access to Roma children. It s necessary to make adjustments to legal framework before changes can happen. Moving away from declarations and moving into action. Important discussion: how do we do it better? There is a need for exchanging best practices so many are available: matching between employer and prospective Roma employee. We need to care for the successful not only the non-successful. Karoly Czibere Bulgaria: Governments promotes investments in young people and education. Investment in disadvantaged children ensures them a good future. Social policy system targets disadvantaged groups. Andrzej Mirga: Roma education fund is a drop in the ocean. Low representation of Roma in higher education. The challenge is massive and systemic. Key message: Roma inclusion in EU is unfinished business. The midterm review indicates where member states stand. There is only minor progress and they must speed up. NGO/civil society organisations can have a meaningful dialogue with governments and the national contact points don t include Roma well. The employment sector address also the private sector. Ethnic diversity needed. From theory to practice Michaela Marksova Czech: More than 600 excluded localities with more than excluded persons. What can be done at municipality level? No law will make municipalities participate. If poor people and Roma start to work then executioners take their earnings because of all their debts. Zornitza Rousinova Bulgaria: Platform is good for discussions between stakeholder and politicians. Since 2017 Bulgaria has presidency of EU. Key points for presidency: Early childhood development. Guaranteed equal rights of children. Not leaving any child behind. Future of work. Vocational educational systems. Different types of employability needs to be acknowledged. Access for people with disabilities. Themes to be debated horizontally. The future of European Social Fund start debate on multinational framework our main target is to keep a human face on the budget. Bulgaria is achieving good results on ESF measures link to reality because of good civil society organisations. One very important horizontal issue is equal rights. Measures difficult to implement and long term results to be expected.

6 Max Uebe: The Youth guarantee program does not know targeted approach. Needs: Light on the situation of young people; push for an individual approach, learn lessons and challenges particularly of Roma. Identification of needs -> many people know too little of needs Proactice approach -> many services not accessible to people who should benefit from them. Partnerships are key. Integrated services that combine a number of services, housing, skills.. Support measures for people further away from labour market fx drop outs from early years, giving them a second chance. Soraya Post: Education, housing and healthcare are not improving unless we fight antigypsyism! In 2012 the EU received the Nobel Prize to have safeguarded peace and reconciliation in Europe. Have we done enough for this? I don t think so. The way most Roma live in Europe today is far from prosperous and peaceful. There is a need to create trust between major society and Roma. Where is the result for the Roma? Politicians are neglecting the Roma and they need to recognize the bad history. What we re talking about is an apartheid system and it is not acceptable. There is a need to safeguard a nondiscriminatory arena with regards to health, education, pensions, employment etc. Not in order to do a favor, it should be a duty. It is the responsibility of governments to take good care of all their citizens. We have strong reasons to be afraid of the political climate in many countries. The acknowledgment of historical past tragedies against Roma is a powerful tool to fight antigypsyism. Snezana Markovic: The platform made recommendations regarding high unemployment rates and lack of skilled workers available already in 2001 and 2009 and countries have put in place measures. Roma inclusion is a shared responsibility. Policy and practice points needs to be defined. Antigypsyism action points are key in this. Entrepreneurship and microfinance as employment tools. Miranda Vuolasranta: Lots of measures directed towards majority society are needed. Many EU countries have not erased legislation from 15 th century this is the root cause of racism in member states. Roma integration framework not implemented because of historical legislation not revoked. Teacher told Miranda as a child: People hate your way of life, if you want a job, you won t be accepted as a Romani woman. Recommendations: Antigypsyism must be mentioned as a special form of racism. It should be eradicated More lobbying needs to be done towards the European Commission with regards to teaching Roma history in schools. In NAPs EU funds should be prioritized towards measures to overcome the transition between education and employment. Roma platform not to become part of a mainstream antipoverty strategy. Roland Hanak - Austria: Roma in Austria relatively small number present for many years bigger population of Roma coming in from Romania, Bulgaria..11 projects in ESF in connection with Roma strategy. Participation by Roma associations or organisations employing Roma. Affirmative and specified actions not a problem if we can get people into mainstream projects. The problem for us is the financial control, how to learn on the job => heavy load on the project. What does the non-roma know about the Roma. Marius Tudor - Romania: Our work should promote us as human beings. Change must happen from local level. How can it be provided? The poverty of Roma communities is extremely high, 80% of Roma in Europe are

7 poor. What I miss from the Roma movement is the willingness to make change happen. Let us develop the willingness to make things happen. Some general comments: The platform missed the participation of local government officials. Europe is doing well but the major source of hope for our people is the people, but they must be supported in what they do. Community organizing as a way to increase Roma participation is one important solution. European funds are only doing service provision thus creating dependency. The misuse of funds is a problem, it s become a business which we need to destroy. Network with companies to provide Roma high school children with job opportunities