{"id":698,"date":"2010-12-17T18:14:28","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T18:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/memorial.local:8888\/www\/698.html"},"modified":"2011-08-09T12:30:58","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T12:30:58","slug":"plight-of-roma-a-causes-for-concern-in-various-ministries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/news\/plight-of-roma-a-causes-for-concern-in-various-ministries\/","title":{"rendered":"Plight of Roma a Causes for Concern in Various Ministries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plight of Roma a Causes for Concern in Various Ministries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russian Nazis criticise the Minister for National Policy Issues, but agree with the Deputy Minister of the Interior.<\/p>\n

On <\/span>29 August this year, an event took place that is of significance to anyone who concerns themselves with the plight of ethic minorities in the Russian Federation, and in particular for the lack of legal defence for Roma in Russia. The Minister for National Policy Issues in the Russian Federation, Vladimir Zorin, was involved in the creation of a group of experts dealing with issues relating to Roma in Russia, which included both representatives of the various ministries as well as distinguished Roma cultural figures. At the first meeting of this group, V. Zorin mentioned the need for involving Roma in the current economic life of Russia, and raising the social status of this section of the population of the country. The minister also drew the attention of representatives of the Roma intelligentsia to the problem of schooling, and called upon Roma not to ignore an extremely important public institution, namely: the general school.<\/span><\/p>\n

It seemed hard to object to these sentiments. Undoubtedly it has long since been time to solve the problems of many Roma who have been excluded from the social and economic life of the country. In order to do this, political decisions are required, as are the combined efforts of all state bodies and Roma organisations. Even the situation mentioned above \u2013 that of the education of Roma children \u2013 is not determined by an \u201cunwillingness\u201d to study at school, but is to a large extent the result of a great lack of special programmes for children of different cultures. After all, Russian is not their mother tongue, but instead their \u201cfirst foreign language\u201d. Many schoolteachers know very well that Roma children need to be taught using a different approach, particularly in areas where Roma are living in high concentrations, and where the Roma language and culture are thus dominant. \u201cWhat we need is a programme for ethnic minority schooling,\u201d say the teachers at the primary school in Oselki in the Vsevolozhskii District of Leningrad region, who work with classes of Roma. But such a programme has not yet been set up, and teachers have to decide whether or not to teach these children. And if they decide to teach them, then how should they teach them? It is clear to see that a uniform approach needs to be worked out, that will allow children to obtain all the knowledge they need without losing their own identity. It is equally important to find solutions to the other problems \u2013 employment, social benefits and pensions, accommodation, health. Thus genuine dialogue between the authorities and Roma activists is only to be welcomed.