Some 12 million Roma live in Europe, including one million in the Western Balkan states. While prejudice against them still exists, many people are trying to change things.
What exactly do we do for improve the situation of Roma in Europe? Euronews journalist Hans von der Brelie travelled to Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to find out.
A contrasting picture
During my journey, I see children playing on rubbish dumps and others getting ready for school. I discover dilapidated shacks and modern social housing.
I meet hard-working Roma and others who are unemployed. I listen to those who talk about everyday discrimination and those who live in harmony with other citizens.
The picture is mixed, but let’s start with Ramiz Šakoli, a resident of a Roma neighbourhood on the outskirts of Nikšić, Montenegro: “We go to the city centre and people point at us and say: ‘Here are the gypsies’. We go into a café and they say again: ‘Here are the gypsies’. Relations are not good.”.
However, in some cities, change is underway. The European Commission has awarded seven mayors from the Western Balkans for their pro-Roma attitude.
Social housing for the Roma community in Montenegro
In Montenegro, the winner is Marko Kovačević. He is the mayor of Nikšić, the second largest city in the country: some 70,000 inhabitants, among whom an estimated 1,500 are Roma.
Marko Kovačević encouraged the construction of 31 social housing units, 17 of which were allocated to Roma familiesBut when he planned to expand the project, there was resistance.
“Changes are too slow”he explains. “The reason for this is the different lifestyle of the Roma community and the rest of our community in Nikšić. Recently, we wanted to build 10 social housing units in a neighbourhood where the rest of the population opposed the project”.
I visit the Center for Roma Initiativesan NGO that defends, among other projects, the rights of Roma women. Health, school, work, housing – everything is connected, explains director Fana Delija.
An important first step would be to clarifying property issues, a problem that exists in all regions of the former Yugoslavia.
“The biggest problem is the lack of legalisation of the land where the Roma community lives”says Fana Delija.
Housing and employment remain central issues
Some Roma are homeowners, others are not. A few years ago, on the outskirts of Nikšić, in the Gracanica district, the municipality built social housing, where some 300 people now live.
Huge families are crammed together, some in miserable living conditions.explains Bukurija Sejdi, an elderly resident of this Roma neighborhood: “14 people live in this house, with grandchildren, and also my son with a sick baby. And no one has a job, only one person receives social benefits”.
Fana Delija emphasizes: “It is really important to focus on employment in the community in the next four years”.
I accompany Zoja Tarlamišaj, a Roma mediator at the local secondary school, who visits Amela and her six children at home. Amela is married to a Roma man.
Women know this: To find a qualified job, you first need a solid education. This is why Zoja Tarlamišaj closely monitors the grades of the few Roma children who have managed to reach secondary school.
Zoja, who comes from the Roma community herself, has successfully completed her university studies, which is rare for Roma in Montenegro. She calls on policy makers to change the legislation.
“If secondary education were made compulsory, Roma students would not leave school so early (after primary school) and, by acquiring better qualifications, their lives would improve”she says.
Bosnia and Herzegovina focuses on education
My journey continues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Bijeljina. About 100,000 people live in the agglomeration, including nearly 2,000 Roma.
The city has built social housing, a shelter for exploited children and supports a Roma festivalMayor Ljubiša Petrović presented her second action plan for Roma, which covers the period 2024-2027.
“One of the main preconditions for greater inclusion of the Roma minority is education, education, and more education”he says.
This is why, from today, Roma children receive year-round care. The Otaharin NGO offers academic and psychological support. Every day there is something to eat and offers to participate in creative artistic activities.
Many families speak Romani, which means their children grow up without speaking Serbian at home. When they enter primary school, they face considerable obstacles, says Sanita Smajić, a Roma coordinator at the Otaharin day centre, who is calling for intensive language support.
“My proposal is that primary schools have assistants who speak the Romani language”she explains.
An initiative to develop market gardening jobs
It’s scorching hot outside when I meet Vesida and her colleague, harvesting strawberries and cleaning onions. Vesida has a permanent job at a nearby vegetable farm, Agroplan. But Many other Roma prefer to work as day laborers, some of them having difficulty with long-term contracts.explains Vesida.
The Austrian Development Agency, Care International, the Roma NGO Otaharin and the Municipality of Bijeljina support the Agroplan vegetable farming project, which was created to primarily help women.
“I am very satisfied with my work”says Vesida. “I know how hard it is to live without a job. There are basic needs and bills to pay.”.
Efforts for housing in Serbia
The last stop is the spa town of Vrnjačka Banja in Serbia. The town attracts tourists and has an image of openness and tolerance. Some 400 Roma live there.
Drinking water, electricity, building materials, vocational training – over the past eight years, Local Roma projects received a total of one million euros from international donorsThe city added almost €200,000 from its own budget.
“In concrete terms, we built social housing for families who were living in terrible conditions and we installed them there.”explains Boban Đurović, the city’s mayor.
Since 2016, the municipality has employed a Roma mediator, Dejan Pavlović. We drive to the nearby village of Gračac. About 250 Roma live there, it is the largest Roma settlement in the municipality.
There I meet the village representative, Živoslav Vujičić. He worked for many decades in Germany. When he returned to Serbia, he built a beautiful, large house with a well-kept garden. Today, He is the local spokesperson for the Roma and stresses the good relations he has with the mayor..
“He responds to everyone. Not just on Facebook, Viber or Messenger.”Vujičić said. “People even go to him for help. And he answers. He’s someone like that.”.
Many Roma still live in difficult conditions
But Vujičić admits: “There are problems everywhere. Our greatest need is the sewer system.”.
We walk through the neighborhood. In front of a dilapidated house, I meet Vladica. This German-speaking Roma suffers from diabetes, his brother has heart problems. Their social benefits are not enough to live onexplains Vladica.
He invites me in. There is no toilet in the house, they have to use an outdoor shelter. The municipality has provided building materials for the renovation, but who pays the workers?
“The plan was to rebuild the bathroom and connect us to electricity properly. We have received building materials, but we are still waiting for the workers to come”explains Vladica.
Some village houses are very beautiful and well-kept. But not all of them.
Roma mediator Dejan Pavlović shows me a ruin. A large family lived there. Rain came through the roof. A year ago, social services finally found a solution.
“Six people lived in this house and were moved to a new building constructed as part of a social housing programme implemented by the municipality of Vrnjačka Banja”explains Dejan Pavlović. “I am happy that this family has obtained housing”.
Combating school dropouts and teenage pregnancies
Today, Melissa, 7, and her family have started a new life. They have moved from the ruins to a brand new flat in a social housing estate co-financed by European Union funds.
Melissa’s father is a trained tailor, but as there is not enough work in this sector, he earns his living on construction sites. To stabilize the family, two adult sons received vocational training, with the support of the municipality. : one became a tiler, the other a hairdresser.
The mother, Sonja, is relieved: “We have enough room to sleep now. We are no longer packed in like sardines.”.
Her teenage daughter Kristina already has a baby, Gabriel. School dropouts and teenage pregnancies are also a problem in Vrnjačka Banja.
I ask Kristina what her professional plans are: “Maybe a hairdresser”she replies. “I only have one child and I’m 17 years old”.
She shows me around the place: “Here we have a kitchen and a bathroom where we can take a bath. Before, we had to do it outside. It’s great here”.
For things to really change, real political will, money, a lot of patience and the friendly cooperation of all those involved: NGOs, donors, municipalities – and local Roma communities – are needed.