On April 8th, International Romani Day is celebrated. This is the international holiday of the Roma people. The purpose of its establishment is the self-identification of the Roma ethnic group as a united nation, drawing attention to the unique culture and history of the Romani ethnicity and its 80 Romani sub-ethnic groups, overcoming discrimination, oppression, and the alienation of Romani people.
On this day, according to tradition, Roma people light street candles at a specific time, as a symbol of Romani unity, and release wreaths onto water in rivers, symbolizing the challenging fate of the people – eternal wanderers without a historical homeland.
According to the data from the 2001 All-Ukrainian Census, the population of the Romani community in Ukraine is 47.6 thousand individuals (0.1 percent of the country’s population). However, non-governmental Romani organizations estimate the number to be between 150,000 and 400,000. The largest areas of compact Romani settlements are in Zakarpattia (up to 30 percent of Ukrainian Romani), Odessa, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions.
On this day, we are speaking with the Vice President of one of the influential Romani non-governmental organizations in Ukraine – the International Charitable Foundation “Chirikli” – Zemfira Kondur.
Although today is a celebration, let’s start our conversation with the problems that Roma people in Ukraine most frequently encounter.
There are numerous challenges, but among the main ones, I would mention the following: difficult access to quality education, social and medical services, limited employment opportunities, poor living conditions, lack of documentation, and so on.
How are these issues addressed by the government and Romani organizations?
In 2013, by the President’s decree, the Strategy for the Protection and Integration of the Romani National Minority into Ukrainian Society was adopted, aimed at solving the aforementioned issues. However, for various reasons, the Strategy is not fully implemented, so Romani and international organizations step in to help. For example, our organization, the “Chirikli” Foundation, implements a program of Romani social-medical intermediaries, which is specifically designed to improve Roma access to social and medical services and facilitate dialogue between Roma and local authorities. Thanks to these intermediaries, we have gathered information about the needs of Romani communities and relayed it to those local authorities that are open to cooperation and want to improve the living conditions of Roma. Armed with this information, they were able to establish mechanisms of collaboration with Romani intermediaries and enhance their overall work with the Romani population.
Ms. Zemfira, in your opinion, what is the significance of the work of Romani social-medical intermediaries in European countries and in Ukraine?
The most compelling argument in favor of such work has been and remains the need for Roma people to access proper medical and social services. Ensuring non-discriminatory treatment towards Roma by service providers has always been a significant challenge. Mediation is one of the mechanisms aimed at addressing this issue. It’s used in Europe to eliminate inequalities between Roma and the local population when it comes to employment, medical care, education, and access to social services.
Starting from 2010, social-medical intermediaries came to the aid of Romani communities in Ukraine. They are primarily representatives from the Roma communities who enjoy a special level of trust and respect among Roma. They also possess a certain level of education. Among these intermediaries, there are individuals who are not of Roma ethnicity but are simply people who are concerned about the issues faced by the Romani community and are well-versed in the specifics of their culture.
Over the course of several years, these intermediaries have gained the trust of the average residents of Romani settlements. By assisting Roma daily in meeting their medical and social needs, the mediator networks have managed to create an information database covering social, medical, legal, educational, and other issues of Romani communities. Additionally, they have developed a certain understanding of their main characteristics and peculiarities. Given the closed nature of Romani communities and the low level of trust in government authorities, having a mediator who can consistently and effectively explain to people the procedures for approaching different institutions and convey information about their rights enhances the legal and social opportunities of this vulnerable population.
Amid the current crisis and the war in eastern Ukraine, the work of Romani intermediaries is even more necessary than in previous years, as the forced displacement from conflict zones and occupation has increased the number of Roma in need of social and medical assistance.
What attempts have been made to eliminate disparities in access to social and medical services between the Roma population and others in different countries?
Attempts to address disparities in access to social and medical services between the Roma population and others in different countries in Europe have been varied. There have been many efforts to improve the socio-economic situation of the Roma population in Europe, but the majority of these attempts have only been partially successful. This was primarily due to the low level of attention from society and authorities towards the culture and traditions of the Roma national minority, which play a crucial role in interactions with the community. European experience has shown that involving Roma individuals as “mediators” is the best strategy for improving the health of Roma and organizing the self-management of the Roma community as a whole. Currently, there is a network of Roma social-medical mediators working in Roma communities in Ukraine, with a total of 55 individuals. During the implementation of the project, Roma mediators have provided assistance to over 12,000 Roma.
For the past four years, the Charitable Foundation “Chirikli” has been promoting the model of Roma social-medical mediators in Ukraine with the support of the Roma Health Program (Budapest) and the Roma Program Initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation. The goal is to garner support for this model from the state at the national and regional levels. The starting point for influencing the development of state policy regarding the Roma was the approved Strategy for the Social Protection and Integration of the Roma National Minority into Ukrainian society, as outlined by the Presidential Decree.
Has the project of Roma medical mediators exhausted its potential in the four years of its operation?
The need for Roma social-medical mediators in Ukraine still exists. In numerous regions, communities continue to live in isolation (in compact settlements), and the access of Roma to basic medical and social services remains limited. Despite the lack of official statistics regarding the healthcare provision for the Roma national minority, the work of mediators during project implementation demonstrates that Roma require improved access to medical services and assistance in addressing legal and social issues (obtaining identification documents, social protection, etc.) [1]. This is highlighted in the publication “Roma Medical Mediators in Ukraine: Achievements, Challenges, Opportunities.”
Additionally, since June 2014, due to the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, approximately 9,000 Roma have been forced to leave their homes and relocate to nearby regions within Ukraine. Most of these Roma lack access to quality medical care, and many children require such care but are unable to receive it due to a lack of funds and documentation. In such a situation, Roma social-medical mediators are a valuable resource in promoting social and medical protection for the Roma. Over the past two years, the Chirikli Foundation has developed a strong theoretical and practical foundation to integrate the program of Roma social-medical mediators into existing state and local programs.
We expect that Roma social-medical mediators will continue to work closely with local social services to provide appropriate support to Roma communities. We hope that this will significantly advance the model at the local level and ultimately enhance the capacity of Roma communities.
Which institutions in Ukraine do you collaborate with as part of the implementation of this project?
The main partners of the Chirikli Foundation in implementing the program of Roma social-medical mediators include the International Renaissance Foundation, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture, and other ministries and agencies. Extensive work is conducted with local and regional authorities.
Since 2015, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Policy, our activities have been focused on the development, approval, and implementation of the State Standard of Representation of Interests. Representing the interests of Roma communities is the primary task of Roma social-medical mediators. We anticipate that this document will formalize the profession of Roma mediators. For the training of Roma mediators, we have close cooperation with the ROMED program of the Council of Europe/European Commission, as well as the ROMED-2 program, which aims to strengthen cooperation between Roma communities and local authorities.
What do you personally and the Roma community as a whole expect from the implementation of the project?
As the main outcome of our efforts, we anticipate the recognition of the work of Roma mediators at the state level. We hope that the approval of the State Standard for Advocacy will ensure the accessibility and effectiveness of the mediation service for vulnerable population groups, including the Roma. This, in turn, should lead to reducing disparities in Roma health indicators and their access to social services compared to the general population.
The Roma Mediator Program in Ukraine is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation, the Roma Health Program initiative, the ROMED Program of the Council of Europe/European Commission, and the WHO Roma Health Program.
