Fostering Roma Community Groups
The Roma in Giurgiu, Romania, are traditionally skilled craftsmen and masons, but recently Roma-run construction companies are finding it difficult to compete against larger Romanian construction firms for the limited available projects. Further, corruption is rampant, and Roma cannot afford to pay frequently demanded bribes. Low education levels within the Roma community make it difficult to find jobs in other sectors and, as a result, the Roma unemployment rate is roughly twice that among other Giurgiu residents. Many Roma families survive only with the assistance of their neighbors and state welfare, and many feel they do not have a voice in the decisions that affect them.
Recently, several actors in Giurgiu have been working to improve the Roma situation. Partners-Romania has helped a group of local and regional government officials and Roma representatives explore creative ways to overcome the challenges. The project began when Partners-Romania facilitated a meeting of 20 city hall and council officials, police, county officials, Roma community representatives and local media to discuss opportunities and obstacles to cooperation between the majority and minority communities. The participants recognized many possibilities for collaboration and decided to form a permanent Working Group committed to finding new solutions to old problems.
Partners-Romania has continued to work with the group, helping members learn how to prioritize goals and articulate potential solutions, rather than simply state problems. The group has decided to focus on creating jobs (particularly in construction), locating funding for a small agricultural project, improving education and social services in the Roma community, and building the capacity of local Roma groups.
The Democratic Roma Association (DRA), one of several local Roma organizations, represents the Roma community in this process. The DRA provides economic and social support to its members in times of need, but has lacked the capacity to organize and advocate proactively for the community. The project thus presents an opportunity for the Roma to learn how to organize on behalf of their community, while forging partnerships with local government. Partners-Romania is also trying to recruit other local Roma organizations to the Working Group, in order to strengthen cooperative relations within the Roma community. With this project, the Working Group members hope to attract much needed attention and resources to the plight of the Roma community and to use their collective voice to set a positive example for majority-minority relations across Romania.
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