Thousands of Roma people face inadequate housing and marginalization in developing countries

By Israel Collier 

Housing discrimination and marginalization is experienced by Roma in the Republic of Moldova, the poorest European state, situated on the outskirts of the EU. Roma communities have been reported as living in slums and in some areas Roma children do not attend kindergarten or primary school. With Moldovan NGOs ringing alarm bells on the worsening situation, local officials seem to be ignoring the problem and providing few explanations for doing so.

However, Moldova is not the only country on the continent that has to deal with ignorance. Despite significant development budgets for the EU Romani people, the situation is not very different in the union as almost 7 million ethnic Roma are out of education, employment, or training. The experience of inadequate housing is distressing and remains unresolved. Numerous experts have suggested that although the focus is often placed on citizens of Roma origin to integrate into society, there should instead be a more concerted effort to deliver better housing conditions for people who are stigmatized because of the color of their skin.

The need for prompt action across all EU member states and neighboring countries such as the Republic of Moldova is urgent. Various regional civil organizations and public agencies have pointed out the lack of awareness and willingness to further investigate the problem of inadequate housing, a situation that continues to impact Romani communities throughout the European Union.

According to a report released in 2014 by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), national political stakeholders had failed to implement sustainable principles of housing inclusion such as social housing programs. Six years later, the OSCE offers similar suggestions in a report by Member of Parliament, Tomás Zdechovský.

Today, the inadequate situation of the Roma people across the EU apparently remains the same as it was six years ago – a fact confirmed by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen:

“Where is the essence of humanity when every single day Roma people are excluded from society and others are held back simply because of the color of their skin or their religious belief?”

The European Union’s consistent inability to serve Romani communities across all member states feeds into their invisibility, especially in terms of adequate housing.

Historically, Roma communities have suffered marginalization across all sectors including education, employment, health care, and housing. EuroCities conducted a series of surveys from north to south of the EU and found that, as of 2017, the Union had yet to consistently manage higher poverty risk, dropout rates, overcrowding, and access to basic services, all problems specific to Roma communities

The Republic of Moldova is no different. With an estimated 16,000 Roma people living within its borders, this community is the most marginalized ethnic group in the country. Unfortunately, due to measurement challenges of the past, public officials continue to deprive Roma communities of basic housing needs such as flooring, roofing, potable water, plumbing, electricity, and waste removal, according to Romani NGOs. However, public officials continue to deny this according to documents seen by DevelopmentAid so these issues remain unresolved and stand to worsen, becoming increasingly expensive for the Republic of Moldova.

Ignoring draconian economic problems (often founded in racism) violates human rights and is not an option to avoid building weak economies. Although the EU’s failure to address human dignity is gaining international attention, member states are still at a loss as to how to collect sufficient data and deal with measurement challenges. Thus, the inability to scale projects is evident as seen in the smattering of projects across the EU. The Roma Civil Monitor project’s most recent report revealed that non-profits and national governments are achieving little to no progress as issues are not being addressed across the EU.

Despite what might be articulated by non-Roma communities, a Moldovan non-profit, A.C.O.P.E.R.I., has discovered the realities for many Roma families throughout the Republic. Roma families are living in overcrowded slums, often having to borrow electricity, and are vulnerable to freezing temperatures during the winter months. Some reports reveal the same problems within EU-member states where authorities are either ignoring Romani communities and/or intentionally leaving them without basic necessities. Such inequalities have been further magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In their initial collection of data in 2020, A.C.O.P.E.R.I. found that small non-profit organizations across Romania have been successful in their strategies to strengthen struggling Roma communities because they do not attempt to force their criteria on the communities they assist. Instead, these small non-profits create a space for Roma communities to have a voice and thus contribute to their sustainability.

According to A.C.O.P.E.R.I., the Republic of Moldova should model itself on the European Union which should set an example of executing more binding declarations in the realm of human dignity.

“These experiences and practices are traumatic, public record and remain unresolved. Although the focus is often placed on citizens of Roma origin to integrate into society, there should instead be a more concerted effort to define better housing conditions for humans who are not stigmatized because of the color of their skin”, concludes A.C.O.P.E.R.I.