The Roma Children of the New European Union Countries

According to The BBC's Delia Rau, the Roma people's origins can be traced to north-west India and they began migrating towards Europe between the 3rd and 7th century AD. The migrants possessed a range of skills and livihoods from book-keepers to farmers to musicians. Many of them settled in the Middle East and to this day, refer to themselves as Dom, meaning "man". The Dom retained their language, a version of sanskrit, as they migrated to Europe in large numbers. The D of Dom sounded more like an R when they spoke it with their tongues curled up and the word gradually changed to Rom. Now they are known as European Roma, with Roma being the plural form. 

Over the years, they were stigmatized, forced into slavery and treated as untouchables. In Europe in the year 1500, it is believed the Roma were seen as spies for the Turks and therefor hunted and killed by decree. This mass killing and torture can be labeled as the first Roma genocide. During this time many migrated to Russia because they were allowed to retain their nomadic lifestyle, as long as they paid their annual taxes. 

To the West, the Roma were made to assimilate into the local culture by any means necessary, including: forcing removal of children, limiting marriage amongst themselves and restricting the number of musicians. This persecution continued throughout the years of the Holocaust, with many of them becoming the first victims of the Nazi policies. Unfortunately, the European governments failed to provide recognition or aid to any of the survivors. 

The oppression has continued with an upsurge of anti-Roma violence in 1989, following the demise of the Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, it is estimated that six out of the ten million European Roma live in Central and Eastern Europe, with as many as two million living in Romania, a country who practised slavery well into the 19th century. Most of the Roma live in conditions of extreme poverty that is up to ten times higher than the local population. 

A study conducted by the UN Body for the protection of children found that around one million Roma children, in South-East Europe, do not have appropriate documents or adequate healthcare, according to a Unicef report. According to the BBC News website, "The study found that in Romania and Bulgaria - new EU member states- up to one-third of Roma children were not in school, a proportion which reaches 80% in Bosnia-Hercegovina." These children will not be allowed to vote or use social services when they reach adulthood and this will continue with future generations. The oppression has continued to current times and Otto Pohl of The New York Times stated that many of the Roma are looking to the civil rights struggle of the black Americans. They are taking their battle for equality to the courts. This drama is being played out in a typical Brown versus Board of Education type of case. The Roma children are being forced into schools for the mentally challenged or segregated into special classrooms and schools. Civil Suites have been brought to court attempting to end the segregation but even though many times they are winning in the courtroom, the new laws are not necessarily being followed. According to Mr. Pohl's article in The New York Times, in 2006, The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg estimates that up to 75 percent of Roma children in the Czech Republic are being forced into special schools.

In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights had ruled in the favor of Croatia, in a case of school segregation, stating that they did not discriminate against the Roma children by placing them in Roma only classrooms. However, in 2010, the same court overruled the prior verdict and has now ruled that Croatia did discriminate against the Roma children. Croatia must pay each of the 15 former students involved in the case, 4,500 euros in damages. With Croatia being an applicant country to the EU, this ruling could have a ripple effect on the other countries in the European Union. As reported by Tom Perry, Amnesty International claims that a policy is being proposed in Slovakia to forcefully remove Roma children from their homes and place them in boarding schools. They will be placed in these state run facilities in order to ensure they receive a proper education. According to Halya Gowan, programme Directorof the Europe and Central Asia Institute, "Isolated from the outside world, Romani children will find it more difficult to fully participate in Slovak society. The government's proposal will perpetuate the segregation they experience now. In fact it will make it official." Amnesty states that this policy would violate both Slovak law and European Union Policy.

After a brief reading of recent headlines, it is easy to see that the the EU must address the treatment of the Roma people, especially the children, in order to progress into the future. These people can not be left in these extreme cases of poverty, being segregated from the normal population. A way needs to be found to peacefully integrate them into society and provide for their basic needs. I believe these problems will need to be addressed and enforced across the EU and be a strict requirement of all new applicant countries.

European court says croatia violated roma rights . (210, March 16). Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8570418.stm

Inhumane pushing of gypsy families between european countries continues . (2010, March 8). Retrieved from http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/08/inhumanepushing-of-gypsy-families-between-europeancount.html

Parry, T. (2010, March 14). Slovakia plans forced school for roma children . Retrieved from http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/developing-world-stories/2010/03/slovakia-plans-forced-school-f.htm

Pohl, O. (2006, May 7). Gypsies gain a legal tool in rights fight. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/world/europe/07roma.htm

Radu, Delia. (2009, July 8). On the road: centuries of roma history . Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8136812.stm
Thorpe, N. (2008, July 17). Croatia wins in roma pupils case . Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7512378.stm

Thorpe, N. . (2010, March 9). Slovakia's separation barrier to keep out roma . Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8548417.stm

Un urges eu to help roma children. (2007, March 6). Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6422283.stm