Moldova: Romani Ukrainian refugees suing over August tear gas attack
A group of Romani refugees from Ukraine who were attacked with tear gas by the guards at a refugee center in Chișinău, Moldova are suing the center for racial discrimination. The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is representing them.
The incident occurred on 18 August 2022, when the Romani refugees were sitting inside the “FRISPA” Center for Refugees and having supper in the common area. The refugees say the center employees began behaving toward them in an unfriendly manner for using the common area and told them they had to return to their rooms.
One employee allegedly verbally assaulted the Romani refugees with racist insults. “I’m sick of you all, you abominable gypsies, I want to get rid of you once and for all,” he allegedly said to them.
Security guards were summoned who also verbally assaulted the Romani refugees and searched an older Romani woman, accusing her of hiding drugs in her lunchbox. The guards then ordered everyone to leave the common area and return to their rooms.
When some of the refugees did not leave quickly enough, the guards fired tear gas at them. Some of the refugees, including children and older people, were severely impacted by the gas and required medical treatment from the emergency services called to the scene.
According to the ERRC, Romani refugees from Ukraine had been subjected to discrimination and segregation by the Moldovan authorities immediately upon arriving in the country. “The authorities placed them in ethnically segregated accomodations where they had limited access to basic services. There is no reason, no excuse for using tear gas against children and elderly refugees. The assailants behaved as they did for racist reasons and we will hold those responsible for this legally accountable,” said Jonathan Lee of the ERRC, adding that since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the ERRC has sent staff to Moldova and elsewhere to monitor potential human rights violations by public authorities against the Romani refugees.
The “FRISPA” Center for Refugees is located in an abandoned building of the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Public Administration in Chișinău, on Nicolae Testemițanu Street. In April 2022 the ERRC reported on the poor conditions in that accommodation after ascertaining that Romani refugees were facing not just segregation there, but had no access to clean drinking water or to hot water and were being forced to use water from the toilets.
Many Romani refugees have also reported non-existent or poor medical care and being served a diet that caused their children food poisoning. An older Romani woman who received no medical care even after suffering a stroke told the ERRC “They are treating us like dogs.”
With the support of the ERRC, a lawyer representing the Romani refugees filed a request with the public prosecutor on 29 September 2022 to undertake a thorough investigation of these incidents and depose the injured parties. On 10 October 2022, the ERRC filed a complaint with the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and the Guarantee of Equality against the “FRISPA” Center for Refugees for discrimination and harassment on the basis of ethnic origin.
