Due to the hostilities in Donbas, thousands of Roma were forced to leave their homes. Zemfira Kondur from the “Roma Women’s Fund “Chirikli” shared with DW the challenges Roma face in other regions of Ukraine.
Vice-President of the international charity organization “Roma Women’s Fund “Chirikli,” Zemfira (Zola) Kondur, spoke with DW while in Warsaw, where the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) on human rights and democracy is taking place.
DW: How do you assess the current number of Roma internally displaced from Donbas? Which regions do they primarily move to?
Zemfira Kondur: Before the military actions in Donbas, according to our data, there were about twenty thousand Roma living there. Approximately nine thousand of them had to leave their homes. Roma mediators (individuals who facilitate communication between the Roma community and governmental and other institutions – Ed.) are currently working there, helping those willing to evacuate and providing support to those who remain. They also provide information about opportunities to receive humanitarian assistance, among other things. In Donetsk, they also assist in finding those who have gone missing. In the Luhansk region, one mediator helped evacuate 130 people from Sverdlovsk and found accommodation for them.
The displaced individuals mainly move to regions such as Kharkiv, Odessa, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Zhytomyr. According to our data, the majority of the displaced individuals are women and children. It’s worth noting that Roma generally leave initially without a specific destination. Afterward, Roma mediators locate these people, assist them in finding shelter, and connect them with volunteers.
In April, there was an attack by pro-Russian militants on a Roma settlement in Sloviansk. What is the situation for its residents today?
Almost all of the Roma from that settlement left. As far as I know, all the houses there were destroyed, and there’s nowhere to return. Some went to Crimea, some to other regions of Ukraine, and some to Russia – wherever they have relatives.
How are Roma internally displaced from Donbas received in other regions of Ukraine? What challenges do they face?
People generally didn’t expect to see such a large number of Roma internally displaced from Donbas. Stereotypes and biases come into play, and local residents often aren’t prepared to have Roma as their neighbors in such large numbers. For example, when we settled a group of Roma in a village in the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi district in Kyiv Oblast in a house without water supply, neighbors refused to give them water – they simply closed their doors. Moreover, both during the day and at night, the local police officer would come to them and say that the village head forced him to check the situation in the house. After living like this for a week, people left that village.
Another Roma family from Donbas settled on the street, in one of Kyiv’s parks. At first, they were advised to move to Kyiv Oblast, and there the village head arranged for a bus to take them away, leaving 55 people, several families, and many children on the street. He said that they should go to a big city instead, where supposedly it’s easier to find work and housing. In Kharkiv Oblast, there was a different situation: people couldn’t find housing and settled on the banks of a river. Due to poor living conditions, one man fell ill with pneumonia and later died.
In general, many Roma can’t even register as displaced individuals because they lack documents. And those who have documents face difficulties in receiving social benefits, as they need to provide certificates from places where the war is ongoing. Among the 85 Roma internally displaced individuals we surveyed, most said they usually don’t have money even for food, resulting in their children going hungry.
Who primarily helps Roma internally displaced individuals overcome these challenges?
Some assistance is provided by the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the United Nations mission in Ukraine. There are volunteer organizations that don’t hold biases against the Roma population and provide help, understanding that everyone is facing the same problem. Among them are volunteers from Kharkiv and representatives of the civil initiative “East SOS” helping residents of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. However, cases where Roma mediators collaborate with volunteers are more isolated. Meanwhile, I haven’t seen any concerted efforts from local authorities to assist Roma internally displaced individuals.
What solution do you see to this situation?
In general, I believe the state should do its job, including implementing the National Roma Strategy. Regarding Roma internally displaced individuals, I think small projects won’t be enough. International donor assistance from outside is needed. For example, the UN’s plan for the restoration of Donbas should specifically include an aspect of supporting Roma internally displaced individuals. Progress can only be achieved collectively, with the efforts of the international community.
Additionally, there is an action plan from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) aimed at improving the situation of Roma and Sinti in our region. Monitoring compliance with the rights of national minorities continues. International expert audiences find it important to receive information firsthand. Therefore, starting in February 2014, our organization “Chirikli” has been collecting information about cases of violence against Roma and Roma settlements. Since July, we’ve been collecting data on the needs and situation of the Roma population in different cities of Ukraine, including in Donbas.
