International experts discuss Europe's antigypsyist discrimination against Romani refugees from Ukraine at conference in Prague
The recent international conference called "Excluded in Exile: Supporting Romani Refugees in Times of Crisis" has focused on the issue of the discrimination perpetrated against Romani refugees from Ukraine since Russia's full-fledged invasion of that country in 2022. Both non-Romani and Romani experts from Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine discussed the challenges Romani people face when seeking aid in Europe and pointed to the need to improve their situations.
The conference was held on 16 October in Prague at the Villa Lanna. Organized by the Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, it featured experts, social workers, NGO activists, volunteers and academics from all over Europe who shared their experience with aiding Ukrainian Romani refugees. The problems faced by Roma when fleeing the ongoing war were discussed, including discrimination and the disparities in the treatment of Romani refugees compared to other Ukrainian refugees, such as Romani refugees being accused of misusing humanitarian relief.
The event featured two main sections: The first offered insights into the international experience with aiding Romani refugees in Hungary, Germany, Poland and Moldova, while the second focused specifically on Czech experiences, including contributions about the challenges faced by Romani refugees in their access to basic services, housing and registration in Czechia. Participants also discussed the systemic problems preventing more effective assistance to Romani refugees.
Speakers such as Veronika Dvorská from the Main Train Station Initiative (Iniciativa Hlavák), which organizes volunteers at Prague’s main railway station to aid refugees, and Romani community member Jan Husák of the Romodrom organization described the challenges of assisting the Romani families who ended up living in the main station for weeks. They also discussed the differences in the treatment of non-Romani refugees compared to Romani ones, disparities especially apparent during the first months of the war. The Czech speakers in particular argued that the self-congratulation from politicians regarding
their response and generosity towards Ukrainian refugees is unfounded in light of the racist mistreatment of Romani refugees.
Experts from abroad pointed to problems related to the accommodation of Romani refugees in the inadequate and often spatially segregated collective shelters which are common in most European countries. Particular attention was paid to the impact of recent legislative changes which make the position of refugees from Ukraine more difficult upon their arrival in European states.
Among the main speakers were two Ukrainian Roma, Yanush Panchenko and Kristina Kulchar, who offered their personal experiences with fleeing Ukraine and their subsequent involvement with the project called “Unequal Citizenship and Transnational Mobilisation of Polish, Czech and Ukrainian Roma in the Face of the War in Ukraine”. Both emphasized how important it is for the international community to continue to concentrate on combating racial discrimination and creating fair conditions for all refugees irrespective of their ethnic origin.
The conference closed with a discussion of the need for deeper reflection on the differences in the approaches taken toward non-Romani and Romani refugees. The speakers appealed to European countries to improve their integration strategies and provide equal conditions for all refugees, including Romani refugees from Ukraine who frequently face marginalization and segregation not just in their own country, but also in the countries to which they have escaped from the ongoing war.
