The Churches’ embrace

“We appeal to our communities to become more and more open toward the Roma people, who are often excluded and live in poverty at the margins of society”. The Christians Churches in Europe renewed their appeal for the dignity of the “children of the wind” on the occasion of the International Roma and Sinti Day celebrated April 8. CCEE (representing Catholic Bishops’ Conferences) and CEC (on behalf of Protestant, Orthodox and Aglican Churches) have signed a joint statement that underlines: “Every human being is created in the image of God, whatever their language and culture may be. This conviction is shared by Christians and churches. Jesus Christ has called us to proclaim the good news to everyone, but especially to the poor and marginalised”. Culture, values, problems… “Despite hardships throughout their history, Roma minorities have maintained a rich culture that includes values such as family life, love of children, faith in God, respect toward the dead, and enjoyment of music and dance. We regard this culture as a gift of the Creator, deserving respect and support”. But it’s pointless to hide the difficulties linked to the Roma’s integration, whether of individuals, families, nomadic or resident groups. Such problems are experienced in EU member Countries – which years ago launched a dedicated integration program – and in other States of the Old Continent. “The present situation of too many Roma people throughout Europe is deplorable. Major problems include anti-ziganism in speech and action across Europe, high unemployment, lack of professional training and, consequently, utter poverty”. At the same time, “some positive trends can be observed in European societies. More Roma youth study in high schools and universities. Awareness about and sensitivity towards the Roma population is growing”. The task of the Christian community. The Roma are the major European minority. An estimated number of 6 million Roma live in the 28 EU Member Countries (considering the Balkans and Eastern Europe in particular). CCEE and CEC remark: “Christian churches, priests, pastors and lay people have tried to help their Roma brothers and sisters in many ways for centuries. Our conviction is, that beside education and employment, the human heart is a third and important pillar in the development of relations with Roma people. Our churches in many places help Roma communities improve their social integration not to be misunderstood as assimilation—while preserving Roma culture. We do this with after-school teaching, medical services, food, juridical and other counselling, and so on. We summon our communities to stand by these initiatives, to become real brothers and sisters to the needy”. It should also be recognized that prejudice and suspicion towards Roma – sometimes fuelled by the behaviour of the Roma – are widespread also among Christians. “To move forward in justice is to work for reconciliation with this past. We must build new just relationships with Roma people and commit ourselves to the difficult and worthy task of healing and reconciliation”. Discordant statements. On April 8 both the EU and the Council of Europe have stressed the need to ensure the respect of the Roma people, equally highlighting the importance of coexistence with other European citizens. In some Countries there have been politicians that made bluntly racist statements against the Roma. On its part, Caritas Europe, involved in the problems of this population bracket, pointed out that many EU member Countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom) “still strive to obtain effective results in the implementation of local measures for Roma’s integration in the four key areas of education, employment, health assistance and housing”. In particular “only few Member Countries have allocated EU funding for this priority area, signalling a clear lack of intention and political determination”. There are also “positive examples” for the national integration strategies as in the case of Greece, that has launched three pilot programs, or Spain, that allocated a portion of its extraordinary funds to fight child poverty and measures in favour of Roma children, or Latvia, which is planning activities and integration courses for Roma children and adults.