As Europe stands in solidarity with Ukrainians, Roma refugees face further marginalization
The date — 8 April — marks International Roma Day. The day highlights the discrimination, prejudices, hate speech, and intolerance that the Roma still face every day in all walks of life and the persecution they have faced for centuries. The racism often goes unnoticed and has become normalised.
The same sentiment has been present ever since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. However, numerous countries have already made multiple concessions regarding the right of entry or the accessibility to various public services Ukrainian refugees might need. These include free public transport and lifting Visa requirements.
But, these efforts have not only highlighted Europe’s readiness to help those in need. They have also brought to light that solidarity with refugees remains a conditional concept that is significantly dependent on one’s ethnic background, race, religion, or nationality. While some recount the kindness of strangers, volunteers, and officials on their way to safety, for others, the journey was marked by uncertainty and re-traumatisation despite them being Ukrainian nationals as well.
At the moment, an estimated 400,000 Ukrainian Roma, a group already heavily marginalised across Europe, are not only having to process the trauma of war but are also forced to cope with discrimination along their route out of Ukraine. In Ukraine and countries like Moldova and Poland, which have become the first points of arrival for many refugees, the anti-Roma sentiment still runs rampant. The perception of the Roma community still includes a slew of negative stereotypes, including those of them being thieves and criminals. This prejudice gives rise to racially motivated tensions among nationals of host countries and non-Roma refugee groups.
As the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) reports, many Ukrainian Roma are in ethnically segregated reception centres with poor living conditions without sufficient food and water. For example, most Roma refugees in Moldova are accommodated in the Manej Sports Arena, an indoor running track in Chisinau, segregated from ethnic Ukrainians and without sufficient access to necessities such as food and clothing, and medicine. Moreover, the ERRC alleges Moldova of transporting the Roma refugees to the Romanian border without informing them of the immigration process, causing many to be turned away for not having the correct documentation.
In Poland, the position of the Roma refugees is not vastly different. The country has shown tremendous prosociality to over 2 million non-Roma Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. But, the arrival of an estimated mere 100 Roma individuals per day has already been deemed problematic.
According to Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska, a Polish activist and cultural anthropologist, “Roma face racial stereotypes, xenophobia and hatred in many eastern European countries, so when they seek shelter at refugee centers in Poland, tensions immediately erupt. As a result, they are often housed in separate and undisclosed facilities, otherwise they risk being attacked. [Additionally], when Ukrainians of Slavic origin are welcomed by the population of countries they travel through or to, Roma are often denied access to transportation, accommodation and other assistance provided by volunteers.” For the reasons above, many have been left vulnerable and “have become the target of neo-Nazi gangs recently, “ says Elżbieta Mirga-Wójtowicz from the Political Science Institute in Krakow currently works in government programmes for ethnic and national minorities in Poland.
Similar acts of discrimination have also been reported in Hungary, with volunteers at a center offering humanitarian aid in Budapest’s Nyugati train station refusing to help a family of Roma refugees. In the Czech Republic, bus drivers for refugees from Ukraine refused to rescue Roma refugee mothers and children stuck on the Slovak border. At the same time, in Slovakia, they have been accused of “abusing the opportunity for [Slovaks] to cook them hot food and to receive humanitarian aid.”
While the media serves us heart-warming stories of solidarity with refugees “who look just like us,” one cannot turn a blind eye to the hatred shown towards groups such as the Roma community. Although, many European countries indeed emphasise the need to empathise with those most vulnerable at the moment. Nevertheless, groups that have previously faced discrimination and experienced the threat of violence are now being further marginalised, re-traumatised, and are left without protection.
Every refugee deserves protection — regardless of ethnicity, race, or nationality. Thus, it is crucial to provide emergency aid to those fleeing Ukraine and re-examine the mechanisms of marginalisation. Second, we must work on tackling the roots of ethnic and racial discrimination. Third, we must deconstruct the existing systemic inequalities which have caused groups such as the Roma to become ‘second class refugees.’
So let’s use this day to remind European and world leaders to implement effective anti-discrimination measures and legislative and policy initiatives to protect and promote the human rights of all minorities, including the Roma. The responsibility rests not only on the shoulders of public authorities but on all of us. Finally, we must ensure that Europe truly lives up to its equality and human rights values.
“Refugees welcome” includes ALL refugees!
Written by Katarina Pavičić-Ivelja
Edited by Sindhuja Sankaran
