Let's Stop For a Moment: Thoughts on the 5-th Anniversary of Launching The Decade of Roma Inclusion Program

The official ceremony of the International Launch of the Decade of Roma Inclusion took place on February 2, 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The international launch was preceded by thorough preparation executed in a rather tight time frame. This had been the very first time when based on the enforcement of international organizations such an initiation was set off that could actually stimulate governments to make measurable quantitative and qualitative steps in order to accelerate the social and economic inclusion of Roma people. Delegations were formed and National Decade Action Plans were prepared, and the same day 5 years ago high rank governmental officials declared the years 2005–2015 to be the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Five years have passed since then and it is a great opportunity to stop for a few minutes and think over what this period has been like, what we have been able to achieve and can be proud of, and which are the areas we need to concentrate on in the second half of the programme.

We are over a great number of International Steering Committee meetings and workshops. Since the beginning officially three additional countries joined the Decade so the full list of countries participating are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia (that has an observer status) and Spain. Besides the above member countries several significant international organizations joined the objectives of the Decade and actively participated in the development and implementation of the programme. A certain flow of communication and the exchange of best practices have been established among member countries, so by utilizing and learning from each other’s successes or mistakes, they have had the opportunity to launch and implement programmes which are based on the cooperation of governmental and civil organizations to help Roma’s integration. Different structures and projects – focusing on the inclusion & Integration of Roma – were formed and launched by various directorates of the EU, although stimulation of this process had not been a simple one, but fell on deaf ears at the beginning.

Many things have changed since then. By now the first European Roma Summit has been over, and preparations are currently undergoing for the organization of the second one. By now we can find high-ranking governmental officials among Roma civil representatives, who lacked a solid background and were rather weak at the beginning. One of the countries received an international award for its achievement fulfilled in the field of Roma inclusion. We are successful within our international sphere; we use politically correct terms, Decade member countries take part in several international events and we are able to demonstrate specific projects in the priority areas of the Decade (education, employment, housing and health). The Roma Education Fund became a direct outcome of the Decade initiative, with the goal to contribute to closing the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma through a variety of policies and programs, including desegregation of educational systems.

However the question cannot be avoided what happened to ordinary Roma, who have big families, are living in the country side, Roma who are unemployed…Do they know anything about our success stories, can they feel any changes or experience any outcomes in their everyday lives? Let’s stop for a moment, think about it and try to give a realistic answer. Ordinary people in the country side keep in touch with the “official outside world” via the local government. This is their only landmark or compass they can use to find their way in the infinity, the direction of which is defined by the local political force. However, this local political force does not necessarily prefer or is in favour of our politically correct, integration focussed directives as “we all have to live within our means” and the current resources hardly cover the expenses. No matter how wonderful rural development strategies exist, the hegemony of big cities does not seem to decrease. Real opportunities still reside in urban living. There is more information available and it is accessible faster, there are more job opportunities even if life is more expensive.

A vicious circle and it may seem that there is no way out of it…, but there is. Strengthening Roma civil society and making local administration more approachable and accessible with a possibility to link up at international levels. This can bring improvement or might be the solution on the long run. Both problems are known to us. We do not hide anything when we state that the situation is easier in a country where the Roma civil sector is strong and is able to operate, there is an ongoing communication with the central government as well as with the local political administration and this way organizations can establish relationship with the local Roma community. Perhaps people will not get as lonely as they might become at places where the Roma elite are communicating, give advice to the local government and high-ranked local officials, but cannot reach the “small fry” and in many cases they are not even interested in them, despite of the fact that specific assessment/knowledge of the local situation can be found at the lowest levels.

Returning to my initial thoughts, in my view we have to work harder in the second term of the Decade if we wish to look into the mirror with a clear conscience at the end of the next 5 years, assuring that we have done everything we possibly could for the social and economic inclusion of Roma in all the relevant fields by utilizing all the available resources. One can think that it is such an easy job to communicate about a programme, sharing and circulating information, direct and organize processes and projects. From certain aspects it might be true, however, I often found myself almost in a maladjusted situations, felt depressed following a revolting. Experience I had to face. The question is often asked what differentiates the Decade Programme from other similar initiations? What makes it better? My answer is the international cooperation backing the Decade that is unique. This provides the framework of the processes which are undergoing even if we feel the speed is slow. We have a direction to follow, which creates the opportunity and possibility of making changes so that the gaps between Roma and the mainstream society (non-Roma population) could be really decreased. Making real changes needs efforts of several generations, and initiators of the Roma Decade have just set a program timeline as a first step, it is our duty to carry on and participate actively to make a difference.