We mark International Roma day by celebrating the rich Romani culture and
the diverse contributions of Roma to our societies. On this day, the Roma
can stand up and proudly say “We are Roma: this is what we are.”
It is however, also on this day that we recall the constant rejection of
the Roma in all countries and in all walks of life. The European Roma and
Travellers Forum (ERTF) expresses its strong solidarity with all those Roma
who still experience extreme poverty, miserable conditions, fear and
discrimination in their daily lives. Current conditions are an affront to
human dignity everywhere.
Roma continue to face wide-ranging discrimination in access to education,
employment, housing, and healthcare. In recent years, the global economic
crisis has slowed down progress in addressing these challenges and led to an
increase of anti-Gypsyism, often expressed through violent attacks of the
Roma communities. The walling off of some Roma villages from neighbouring
areas and the eviction of entire communities of Roma families from their
homes vividly illustrates their exclusion and isolation. We cannot ignore
these deeply troubling developments. No country can meet 21st century
challenges with a large segment of its population discriminated, intimidated
and excluded.Europe seems to have forgotten the central lesson of the past
century – Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We take this occasion to pay tribute to those who have fought, and continue
to fight – despite the hardship and sacrifice involved – for equality and the
right of all people to live with respect and dignity. The struggle to break down
the prejudices towards Roma and to eliminate discrimination is essential to the
struggle for social justice and a better world, which is the responsibility of
us all.
The ERTF calls upon all Council of Europe member states to honour their
legally and politically binding obligations and commitments to secure equal
opportunities and support for the Roma community. We encourage all states which
have not yet done so, to ratify all these legally and politically binding
documents as soon as possible and to resist the appeal of anti-Gypsy ideas and
policies.
There are enormous challenges ahead in the quest for equal opportunities for
all – from achieving more effective coordination and mobilisation of resources
at the international level, to building better capacity at the national and
local levels. All of us can play a part in raising awareness of these challenges;
all of us can play our part in overcoming them.
We call on all the Roma to express openly their pride in being Roma, pride in
their culture, their language and in their traditions; to stand up fearlessly
against marginalisation and humiliation and claim loudly their right to be
treated as equal citizens in the country they live in.
