On the occasion of World Romani Rights Day on April 8, we talked about Romani groups whose problems are getting worse and who could not work due to the pandemic precautions and faced with hunger.
Emin Karameşe from Romani People Youth, Education and Development Association (ROMGEDER) which carrying on their activities in İzmir, said: “As a society earns their livelihood through the streets, we got hurt at the most. Our musicians, waste collectors, flower-sellers have become unable to earn money. They already have been earning only daily money. However, they’re now destitute to aids of the state institutions and municipalities. The situation in Romani neighborhoods is a tragedy right now. The biggest problem is reaching nourishment right now.”
Hacer Foggo, who is a Romani rights activist, claimed that all the Romani people around the world are now facing with similar troubles and the pandemic made the life of Romani people, who have to live in ghettos, places where the substructure is inefficient and neighborhoods with hygienic problems, more difficult.
* The language of the video is Turkish.
Indicating that Romani people live crowdedly in small places with unhealthy conditions, Foggo said that preventive social distance precautions cannot be applied in these difficult circumstances.
Berfin Egeli from ROMGEDER stated that staple food and medical care are the urgent demands of the Romani organizations. While stating that: “People are paying the price of staying home by facing hunger. We’re just trying to keep people alive right now.” Egeli also emphasized that this problem could only be solved together with solidarity and integrative solutions.