Serbia-Montenegro seeks to integrate Roma

07/03/2006

As a signatory to the "Decade of Roma Inclusion" initiative, Serbia-Montenegro is committed to ending discrimination and bettering the lives of its Roma population. Housing and education are key areas.

By Davor Konjikusic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 07/03/06

Many of Serbia-Montenegro's Roma eke out a living by selling paper for recycling. [Getty Images]

Serbia-Montenegro is one of eight countries that have joined an international initiative, launched in 2005, meant to better the lives of Europe's Roma. As part of the "Decade of Roma Inclusion", the governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, and Slovakia have pledged to end discrimination and break the cycle of poverty and exclusion.

In Serbia-Montenegro, the most pressing issue is the existence of separate Roma settlements. According to current data, around 250,000 Roma live in some 600 makeshift communities, often located in industrial areas or near garbage dumps. They are among Europe's poorest people, lacking basic amenities such as electricity, sewage and clean drinking water.

"Roma today are physically segregated in their settlements from the rest of society," says federal Assistant Minister for Human and Minority Rights Jelena Markovic. "They lack adequate access to healthcare and education, and are unable to fulfill other elementary living conditions. Their settlements are segregated from other settlements, they are unhygienic and lack appropriate infrastructure."

To address the problem, the government plans to build housing. So far, the city of Belgrade has secured 58 locations for housing and financing for their construction.

But plans to integrate Roma into mainstream communities haven't always gone over well with the existing residents. In one well-publicised case, a furor erupted over Roma moving into a newly built apartment complex in a Belgrade neighbourhood. Moreover, say authorities, some Roma are unwilling to be relocated, viewing resettlement as a bid to break up their communities.

After housing, the next priority is education. The government has decided to introduce Roma teaching assistants in classrooms where there are a large number of Roma students. Pilot projects have already been launched in some schools.

Although the government has pledged its commitment to meeting the goals of the Roma Decade project, funding remains an obstacle. Under the initiative, efforts are to be financed by the various signatory states. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia thus have the capacity to implement the project more quickly, because they have access to EU funds.

Serbia-Montenegro, however, must cope with scarce financial resources and can expect to see much slower progress.