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23 November 2020

On 20 November, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presented the main results of a survey conducted in 2018-2019 in various European countries, including Belgium. This took the form of a digital meeting organised in cooperation with Foyer vzw, UNIA and the Belgian national Roma platform.

The figures were presented by Giorgos Tsioukas of FRA, and the reality behind the statistics was brought to life by testimonies by Roma, Travellers and experts. Koen Geurts of the Roma and Travellers Service of Foyer moderated the discussion of the different themes that were treated in the study.

As far as poverty is concerned, it is striking that 40% of the Roma and 55% of Travellers live in poverty. A small minority of the Roma are homeless, but they form a group that is difficult to reach and very few homeless Roma manage to escape their precarious situation. Among the few who do succeed is Gheorghe Mailat, who testified about his path to work, training and housing. Biser Alekov, a street worker for the municipality of Anderlecht, pointed out that poverty also means lack of access to certain facilities and insufficient participation in society. Participation and, among other things, bridging the digital divide, therefore also deserves attention.

Housing does not pose a major problem for the majority of Roma, but it does so for Travellers, who often have difficulties to find a site. Kim Janssens of the Minderhedenforum explained that this puts great pressure on both the communities and the Traveller culture as a whole, which is in danger of disappearing. Janssens attributes this to the lack of a coordinated and sustainable policy.

The FRA research results were particularly striking in the area of health, with a life expectancy that is  far below the Belgian average for both Roma and Travellers. Only 55% of Travellers describe their own health as good. Mihaela Covaci, intercultural mediator in the health care sector at Foyer vzw, sees a lack of knowledge about healthy food and its importance, little attention to prevention and a distrust of health care institutions as major causes. However, there are also positive trends: the better educated young Roma women become, the better the family’s state of health. For example, the number of abortions has fallen and contraception is no longer a taboo subject for the younger generations. Hans Verrept of the Public Health ministry endorses this: the positive evolutions are there, but there remains work to be done on health literacy among Roma. The mutual distrust between Roma and health services must also be eliminated.

The educational situation of Roma children and young people shows how sustained efforts and investment can pay off: 95% of 6- to 15-year-old Roma go to school. However, the situation for Travellers is far less rosy. Damaris Craitar, a young Roma woman from Romania, described how she managed to finish secondary school and find work that enabled her to live independently. She is now an example for many girls in her community. Natasja Naegels of CAW Antwerpen has been working on schooling for many years and advocates even more strongly on the right to education, specifically for Roma girls. After all, their empowerment is a catalyst for empowerment of the community as a whole. As always, one cannot ignore the importance of mediators in order to really reach the Roma communities.

Szabolcs Schmidt of the European Commission then presented the package that Europe is proposing to member states under the new strategic policy framework (2020-2030). New elements are a stronger commitment to tackling discrimination and promoting empowerment. Patrick Charlier of UNIA underlines the importance of continued investment in improving the quality of life of Roma and Travellers. The last word was for Alexandre Lesiw of the POD Social Integration who also points out that, despite progress, major challenges remain, not only in Belgium but everywhere in Europe. Strong commitment and synergy between different policy levels are needed to develop solid policies.

https://fra.europa.eu/en/video/2020/roma-and-travellers-belgium

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