Thanks you very much everyone that left a message on the message board, I am passing the messages onto NICEM who have been working directly with the Roma community to give them to the Roma.
The Roma are persecuted throughout Europe, who can forget the events in Italy last year where two Roma teenage girls drowned and the holiday makers on the beach just covered their bodies with towels and carried on sunbathing. Or when a Roma community worke up one morning in the Czech Republic to find that a wall had been built in the middle of the night seperating them from the rest of the town.Many Many examples of the persecution of the Roma community can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/lk9m9l
Tragically, racism against the Roma and the Irish traveller community is still almost socially acceptable.
It has been a really dark time for community relations in N Ireland and despite belated attempts to make the Roma people feel welcome many are opting to return to Romania rather than stay in Northern Ireland.
Amnesty International research has shown that in Romania the Roma face widespread discrimination and persecution as the following extract from a recent press release shows.
"discrimination against Roma, both by public officials and in society at large, remained widespread and entrenched in Romania. Romanian authorities have repeatedly failed to take adequate measures to combat discrimination and stop violence against Roma.
Roma continue to be denied equal access to education, housing, health care and employment. Roma children can find themselves segregated into special schools.
Previously there have been serious attacks on Roma communities. In the 1990s at least five people were killed and 45 houses destroyed during mob violence. Hundreds of people were made homeless while local authorities failed to intervene or actively participated in the attacks.
Last year the Romanian President Traian Băsescu faced no sanctions despite describing a journalist as a "stinky gypsy", despite the phrase being found to be discriminatory by the High Court."
Most alarming, is that the message that this sends out to the racists, iscthat violence and intimidation against immigrant communities works. Many excellent intiatives have been established such as Love Music Hate Racism and I urge as many people to get involved as possible.
We also need real political leadership to be shown, particularly by politicians who serve the constituencies which have been blighted by these racist events.
Racism is a canker in our society which corrodes it from within and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is challenged where ever it is found.
If you would like to sign up for the Amnesty International e-zine to receive monthly human rights updates and actions go to www.amnesty.org.uk/ni
Peace
Fionna
The Roma are persecuted throughout Europe, who can forget the events in Italy last year where two Roma teenage girls drowned and the holiday makers on the beach just covered their bodies with towels and carried on sunbathing. Or when a Roma community worke up one morning in the Czech Republic to find that a wall had been built in the middle of the night seperating them from the rest of the town.Many Many examples of the persecution of the Roma community can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/lk9m9l
Tragically, racism against the Roma and the Irish traveller community is still almost socially acceptable.
It has been a really dark time for community relations in N Ireland and despite belated attempts to make the Roma people feel welcome many are opting to return to Romania rather than stay in Northern Ireland.
Amnesty International research has shown that in Romania the Roma face widespread discrimination and persecution as the following extract from a recent press release shows.
"discrimination against Roma, both by public officials and in society at large, remained widespread and entrenched in Romania. Romanian authorities have repeatedly failed to take adequate measures to combat discrimination and stop violence against Roma.
Roma continue to be denied equal access to education, housing, health care and employment. Roma children can find themselves segregated into special schools.
Previously there have been serious attacks on Roma communities. In the 1990s at least five people were killed and 45 houses destroyed during mob violence. Hundreds of people were made homeless while local authorities failed to intervene or actively participated in the attacks.
Last year the Romanian President Traian Băsescu faced no sanctions despite describing a journalist as a "stinky gypsy", despite the phrase being found to be discriminatory by the High Court."
Most alarming, is that the message that this sends out to the racists, iscthat violence and intimidation against immigrant communities works. Many excellent intiatives have been established such as Love Music Hate Racism and I urge as many people to get involved as possible.
We also need real political leadership to be shown, particularly by politicians who serve the constituencies which have been blighted by these racist events.
Racism is a canker in our society which corrodes it from within and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is challenged where ever it is found.
If you would like to sign up for the Amnesty International e-zine to receive monthly human rights updates and actions go to www.amnesty.org.uk/ni
Peace
Fionna
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