Not at the margin

“We must do our utmost to integrate Romany populations”, in order to prevent them “from being confined at the margins of our societies”. Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner for Social Affairs, on May 20 opened Strasbourg’s urgent debate on the situation of Roma people in Italy and Europe, following the request of MEPs filed the previous day. Some thirty deputies took the floor. At end of the debate the EU Parliament didn’t succeed in issuing a joint resolution.Integration and security. Spidla recalled that “discriminations are under everyone’s eyes to see throughout all Countries”. They are present in the working environment, in schools, in health care services and as relates to individual rights in general”. In his address, which received a warm applause, the Commissioner stigmatized all forms of violence against Roma people. He reiterated that the principle of “the free circulation of individuals within the EU must always be guaranteed”, while strict provisions “must constitute a justified exception and ought to be decided case by case”. “It is equally necessary however, to guarantee citizens’ security by combating crime in the framework of the rule of the law” and community regulations. Spidla then reported the recent sad events occurred in Naples (Italy), which demand “a joint effort to ensure solidarity to the Roma people in order to break the vicious cycle of violence and desperation and grant the nomads the possibility of conducting a dignified life”.The voice of Roma deputies. A cry of alarm on this issue was launched by Livia Jaroka, Hungarian MEP from the Popular party of Roma origins. “The situation is horrible throughout Europe”, she said. “Romanies deserve to be fully integrated”. She then added: “In the past ten years not much has been done by left or right-wing governments alike. We are now facing a serious problem” which demands concrete answers and which must “not be politicized”. She reiterated her opposition to “collective expulsion sanctions” against the Romanies. Her colleague Viktoria Mohacsi, member of the Liberal-Democratic party, who is also a Hungarian of Roma origins, recalled the “difficult and marginalized” living conditions of nomad populations. “Too often Romanies are described in terms which foment public concern and which distract the public opinion from other issues”. The latest Roma emergency in Italy “was triggered by the news according to which a 16-year-old girl tried to kidnap a baby from his mother in Naples”, the MEP pointed out. “However, investigations revealed that this story wasn’t true”. “No police report was filed and no ongoing inquiry is under way”.No to marginalization. German Socialist group leader Martin Schulz, who had been the first to request parliamentary debate on this issue, recalled that “Union members all share the respect for human dignity and the principle of solidarity”. The Roma issue isn’t an Italian reality only. It involves all the States”. It is necessary to promote integration and also demand that Roma communities respect EU Countries’ legislation “displaying their willingness to integrate themselves”. Italian liberal-democrat Gianluca Susta remarked: “We must recall that many Romanies are European citizens. Therefore they have the right to enjoy citizenship policies. It’s not a matter of turning a blind eye before their crimes. Indeed, their tragic living conditions and Roma’s social exclusion” in most of the Old Continent should be observed with eyes wide open. The role of local institutions. Children, women and work: the attention of Italian UEN (Union for Europe of Nations) MEP Roberta Angelilli, is focused on these three priorities. “I believe we must give priority to children. The first problem is their poor or inexistent schooling. Schooling would enable the youngest to be integrated with the necessary educational background also in view of future employment. But many Romany families don’t have a positive attitude towards schooling. “School attendance is likely to promote the establishment of positive relations with the institutions, the families and society as a whole”. Angelilli told Sir about women’s condition and employment: “I believe concrete measures can be implemented, such as the improvement of the encampments. Some European Countries placed prefabs and sanitary services. This is crucial also since nobody can live in dirt, with no water and with rats”. “Families should be compelled to send their children to school”, While criminals must be prosecuted for having committed crimes such as theft or child exploitation for “begging purposes”. In this context, “local institutions play a major role and must invest resources for integration”.