Recent Romnews postings
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Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 20:20:20 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Recent Romnews postings
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Recent Romnews postings
Rome/ITALY (RNN Correspondent) January the 26th, 1999
On last monday, 25 january a child of three months of age died in a
hut in the camp of "Casilino 700", eastern periphery of Rome. The baby
died for cold during the night, when the temperature joined the under
zero Celsius degrees. The child's name was Salem Ramovic, he was born
on november, 11th 1998, his parents are from Bosnia, arrived in Italy
in 1992 because of the war in the former Yugoslavia. His father,
Ercules Ramovic, 30 years of age, lives with his wife and his 8 sons
collecting and selling old copper and other materials from garbage.The
Community of Sant'Egidio (a christian association deeply linked with
the gypsy community and involved in several programs of cooperation
and help to the Roma) declared that it was "... an announced and
foreseeable death, because every year there are in Rome deaths of
babies for cold or for fire (the only way of warming in huts), while
the public institutions remain inactive." Between 1988 and 1991 eleven
children died in Rome for cold or fire. On september 1997 Sabrina (11
mounths) and Alen (2 years) died in the same camp of Casilino in the
fire of their hut. On decembre 1996 a baby of 4 mounths died for the
exalations of monoxide. On december 1998 one family with 5 sons had
their hut burned, lukely nobody died. On november 1992 a baby died for
fire in the camp of "Ponte Marconi". On 1988 in the same camp died
Muhamed, 4 years, for the fire lighted by a candle, the only way to
enlight the caravan. On 1994 Sabrina died for cold in the "Tor di
valle" camp, on 1995 Maria (three mounths) and on 1989 Alex, always
for cold.
--------------------------
London/UK (RNN Correspondent) January the 27th, 1999
Romany Refugees in London Appeal for Help
British tabloid newspapers have been screaming for the past two years
about the "bogus" claims of Roma asylum seekers arriving in Britain.
Neo-nazi's have even demonstrated at the English port of Dover. Yet
behind the racist hysteria and media hype many Romany asylum seekers
are still struggling to remain in this country and avoid being
deported back to the Czech and Slovak republics. Last summer the Roma
Refugee Organisation was founded in London to fight for the rights of
the 2800 Romany refugees currently in this country.
>From their small office in Archway, north London, Vojtech Sliska,
Monika Figurova and Ladislav Balaz are doing all they can for the Roma
refugees. The drop-in centre they run helps refugees claim state
benefits, find sympathetic lawyers to pursue their asylum claims, and
end the internment of Romany asylum seekers.
Vojtech is an articulate Czech Roma who has been in this country for 5
years but is now a "stateless person" since the land he left,
Czechoslovakia, has been split into the Czech and Slovak republics.
With no passport he cannot leave Britain and with his asylum case
still not settled he cannot begin a life here either. Stuck in a
bureaucratic limbo he spends his day helping other Roma assert their
claims for asylum. "The biggest problem we face" says Vojtech "is the
British government's racist attitude that all asylum applications from
Roma are "bogus" just because they come from Gypsies. They simply
refuse to acknowledge international reports on the persecution of the
Roma from respected international human rights organisations such as
Amnesty International, Helsinki Watch and European Roma Rights
Centre." There have been over 20 racial killings in the Czech Republic
since 1991. And no-one has been imprisoned for murder. A poll by the
European newspaper in 1995 found that 91% of Czechs said they would
refuse a Gypsy as a neighbour
Romany families fleeing the racism and persecution in eastern europe
face an uncertain future in Britain. Families are routinely separated
with the men often going to prison and the women and children being
placed in local authority care. Many live on inadequate welfare money
without the right to find employment. Those denied welfare money
sometimes turn to crime to feed themselves. Those that are not
immediately deported join the queue of 51,000 asylum seekers currently
fighting to stay in this country. The system which the government
itself describes as a "shambles" then consists of waiting, often for
years, for an initial decision and subsequent appeals.
The good work of the Roma Refugee Organisation may soon go to waste if
the British governments white paper entilted" Fairer, Faster and
Firmer: A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum" becomes law. The
governments proposals include removing all benefits for asylum seekers
and a streamlined process that could mean the forced deportation of
many Roma. The law may well be passed early this year.
Vojtech says "We need help fast if we are to avoid the deportation of
thousands of Romany refugees from Britain. Many of us don't want to
live here anyway but it's better than going back to the Czech and
Slovak republics. We have heard that the Canadian government has a far
more open attitude to Romany asylum seekers than the British one. We
would like to have contact with Roma groups in Canada who might be
able to help us get there". He also would like to see far more
contact between the Romany refugees and British Romanies and
Travellers. We both agree that those of the same blood should help
each other.
The Roma Refugee Organisation urgently needs money and practical
support from British travellers. You can contact them at:
Roma Refugee Organisation
1b, Waterlow Road
London
N19 5NJ
Tel: 0171 267 8198
Fax: 0171 209 2669
--------------------------
Pisa/ITALY (RNN Correspondent) January the 26th, 1999
The death from cold of a baby in the �Casilino 700� camp has probably
contributed to push the local USL (sanitary authority) to write a
compulsory letter to the new major Fontanelli (Left Democrats) in
which the sanitary state of a camp located in �Coltano-Ontani�, near
Camp Darby, an American military installation, is declared unsafe and
a risk for the whole population.
Major Fontanelli, according to italian law, should issue himself an
evacuation decree wich will mean an even worse situation for around
100 person, from Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia all of them living in
Pisa from a long time. Many of them have regular permits to reside in
Italy, other mainly from Kosovo applied as refugees, waiting for
their responses. In this situation the 'irregular' is the minority
and the helpless such as women whose husbands were previously
expelled from the country, for instance. Eventually the decree can be
issued from the judge, in case of omission or delay from the first
citizien.
There is an authorized camp where around 70 persons are living at
present and this is the only one that the town government recognizes.
Surrounding cities have repeatedly refused to host small groups of
Roma in order to close the �Ontani� camp in former negotiations
between Carlo Macaluso, chief of the Social Services of the Pisa
administration.
It is worth to remember, however, that the administration is aware of
the situation in the �Ontani� camp, which is up from 1994, but has
omtted even to set up a water fountain there preferring to fournish
water with
tankers. So the (formal) emergency is lasting from five years now with
the only solution to enter the comunal camp (when some place is free)
or wait and see...some people in fact were trying to solve the problem
occupying other dismissed areas, striking for obtaining a permit to
adapt them to their needs. Those people, though more organized and
with some political support from some local organization, is
continuosly unsecure of
their future as those of �Ontani� camp the and obliged to displace
frequently from a site to another.
The Major Fontanelli promitted to �study the situation in short times�
in order to find �some solution at least for the humanitary cases�,
but repeatedly underlined to be obliged to comply to the USL report
and the
requested evacuation.
----------------
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