They shall no longer be abandoned

Promoting and supporting children and adolescents’ rights to be raised by their families and be fully integrated within the local communities is the objective of the Italy-Romanian project “Pro Child”, carried out with the contribution of the European Commission, whose areas of intervention are Milan, Rome, Brasov and Ramnicu Vâlcea. On June 30 the project was presented in Rome, in the Italian seat of the European Commission. Four associations are involved in the project. These are: “Bambini in Romania”, “Spirit Romanesc Roma”, “Interculturando”, “Inima pentru nima”. The event focuses on “Romanian Roma and other abandoned children and those at risk of being abandoned in Romania and in Italy”. In Romania. “Nobody can grow up alone”: this is the slogan of the public awareness campaign launched in 4 cities. The primary objective is “to boost awareness on the rights and the needs of minors that live within a family”. The project includes “measures in favour of the youth and of the families, informative activity to counter acts of intolerance against migrant families, measures to promote social inclusion”. “In Romania – declared the project’s coordinator Antonella Lamorte – the problem regards especially ‘white orphans’, these are children that were abandoned by their immigrant parents in their quest for a job (amounting to 350 thousand according to Unicef), as well as children in orphanages”. “High child abandonment rates are caused by poverty, by the parents’ inadequacy, and by the belief that an orphanage will provide a better alternative to the family”. This leads to the need for intervention measures marked by “prevention, counselling and awareness programs for parents on the rights of the child”, “as well as by support in the placement of orphan children within school environments”, explained Lidia Dobre and father Gino Rigoldi, chairpersons of “Inima pentru nima” and of “Bambini in Romania”.In Italy. A quarter of the migrant population is Romanian. Awareness programs “will address the widespread intolerance against the families of Roma and non-Roma children, often based on prejudice and stereotyping”. According to the European Union the Romanian community is the most discriminated in the Country. Young volunteers will be trained in Milan and Brasov with the task of raising public awareness especially in schools. Formation of “social community mediators” for vulnerable families will take place in Rome and Vâlcea. “The mediators will be tasked with countering child abandonment or negligence in 50 families in Rome falling within this bracket – explained Dana Mihalache, president of “Spirit Romanesc Roma” – by means of dedicated workshops to sensitize families, institutions and the population as a whole”. “The training programs are understood also an opportunity for reflection on child- and migration-related issues, in order to develop the appropriate tools for concrete intervention”, said Nicola di Pirro, from the cooperative “Interculturando”.Victims of prejudice. “A large deal of prejudice and stereotyping of Romanian immigrants does not correspond to statistical data”: explained Franco Pittau from the Statistical immigration Dossier. Between 2005 and 2008, “Police reports of Romanians increased by a third, but the overall population increased three-fold. This means that it’s a virtuous population”. “We’re waging a war against a child population!”, denounced Marco Brazzoduro, Professor at La Sapienza University and scholar in the study of marginal populations, who underlined the high percentages of minors within Roma communities. “Children are forced to live in the camps, that are institutional ‘ethnic ghettos’, and evacuations are carried out in full violation of the rights of the child”. The scholar denied the stereotype according to which Roma children are exploited with violence by their parents and forced to beg. “In Roma families – he explained – children are the object of love and protection. If children beg it’s because that is their only means of survival. Families should be helped by granting them dignified employment and housing, not by taking their children away from them”. Carlo Stasolla, president of “Associazione 21 luglio” (21 July Association) claimed that “according to a survey carried out across a quarter of all Juvenile Courts in Italy, there are 258 cases of Roma children taken away from their families. The reports by social services are marked by a prejudice that influences the authorities. Accordingly, being a Roma child is linked to some form of abuse”.