European societies and churches have always been struggling deeply with everything that smacked of heresy and loose morals. They felt threatened by anything that flouted their norms: Roma (also know as Gypsies) were unsettled, dark and spoke a different language; they were accused of being involved in witchcraft. It was easy to produce prejudices and for the bad images to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. During their long history Roma became enslaved, faced many problems including thousands of they being sent to concentration camps and to death by Hitler.It's hard to imagine but the situation of Roma in some Central and Eastern European regions shows a lot of similarities with the social economic and human rights situation of communities in developing countries. (A recent report by UNDP, the development agency of the UN, described the situation of the Roma "as equally bad as in Sub Sahara Africa." But with an extra burden other than Africa --bitter cold winters.) One of the key elements that seem to be missing in the development effort of this community is the involvement of the Roma themselves. This ECO is to assist Roma communities in identifying their own needs and in finding their own starting point for change. |
