REFERENCE BOOK First draft – June 2013 Project INSEROM 1 19/06/2013 PREFACE The Roma are Europeans This “toolkit” can be used to better understand the Roma and work with them. It is aimed at helping to debunk received ideas which have persisted over time and which are causing, at the beginning of this 21st century, an unprecedented degree of marginalisation of a human community that doesn't quite fit into the “democratic mould” we are supposed to share. The vast majority of Roma is European and has been for at least 600 years. Although they make up the largest cultural minority on the continent, they are often overlooked or, conversely, seen as “too visible”, as strange and foreign, even when they have been living in the same country for centuries. If they are thus misjudged and little-known, it is because they have never staked a claim to a territory for themselves in a Europe of nation States. In short, the Roma are “strange citizens”, who have been set aside in our minds and in our environment, just because they live in mobile homes. This very diverse people nonetheless has a history, traditions, a culture (romanipen) and a language (Rromani) which varies widely because of its spread across the whole of Europe. As one of the constituents of Europe, the Roma could easily adopt the European Union's motto, United in Diversity. Almost everywhere they live there is either an effective Europeanness or a promise of Europe. They live in all 28 European Union (EU) countries (including Croatia from 2013) and the last two enlargements in 2004 and 2007 considerably increased their representation. In the countries surrounding the EU, whether or not they are candidates for accession, the presence of Roma people is also very visible, be that in Turkey, Macedonia, Albania or Kosovo, or even in Switzerland, Ukraine and Russia. Europeanness cannot be dissociated from the Roma identity, romanipen or “Romanitude”. The Roma were amongst the co-founders of the countries where they have lived for centuries. They are our compatriots. Within the European Union, as nationals of the different Member States, they are our fellow citizens. These obvious facts are barely recognized, and although they have a history in the European space predating the birth of entire States including Germany, Italy and Romania, the Roma people have not yet been granted their own space, if only because of the specificity of their “lifestyle”. Wherever they go, they are invited to integrate: to live like other Europeans. This is the main cause of the discrimination that the Roma people so often suffer. Their mobility is not understood – it is confused with nomadism – and their practical philosophy, which excludes them from land ownership, nuclear families, salaried work in businesses and submission to non-Roma (gadje) administrative domination, is not accepted. In fact, populations with more or less the same lifestyle as the Roma (such as the Beas in Hungary, the Ashkali in Kosovo and the Yeniche in Switzerland and Germany) are subject to essentially identical rejection. Whilst it is therefore important to uphold the law and demand compliance with texts, laws, directives and regulations ensuring the protection of minorities – including Roma people – it is easy to see that it is not sufficient. Human rights are consistently flouted everywhere, sometimes even where they have been proclaimed over and over again for decades. Without a constant and vigorous struggle on the part of citizens, universal rights no longer truly apply and are eroded, forgotten and violated. 2 19/06/2013 The Roma have experienced – and continue to experience – confinement (behind separating walls or in prison), exclusion (at best in the outskirts of urban centres, sometimes far from any decent living area, without water, toilets or waste disposal) and inclusion (in specific areas in order to separate families considered more or less undesirable). The societal inclusion of Roma people can only be conceived as the right approach towards those for whom Europe is home, even if their “lifestyle” is not the same as that of most Europeans. Even the vocabulary reserved for these citizens considers them as either assimilated and nameless – and thus not recognized in their culture – or on the contrary, sidelined, and then designated in a stigmatizing way. Never mind that “travelling people” no longer travel, or only rarely; they are still generally referred to as such, even though this expression has no singular or gendered form. Gypsies, Bohemians, Manouches, Roma and Tziganes (not to mention all the other local and popular expressions in each region of Europe) often go un-named or are named wrongly or imprecisely, because a given speaker is not familiar with the group in question. What the Roma (the name adopted and accepted in the European institutions of Brussels) suffer from first and foremost is others' ignorance. Hopefully this set of document citations and references, Inserom, will long serve the Roma people – and the friends of the Roma who support them voluntarily. It leaves out no aspect of the life of the Roma (equality of citizens, freedom of movement, suitable decent housing, education that respects the romanipen, access to employment without discrimination, access to health services, protection of the most vulnerable, access to social assistance, and the fight against Romaphobia). Like all guides, this practical guide for action is aimed at opening the way but will be of no use unless we as concerned citizens are committed to using it. 3 19/06/2013 SUMMARY AEDH: European Associaon for the Defense of Human Rights ...........................................................5 Restric2ons of the right to freedom of movement and residence, derogaons: ................................50 Dismantling of illegal camps for Member States' naonals: ...............................................................50 People who suffer violaons or discriminaons in the rights related to freedom of movement and residence may request an applicaon for amparo to the Cons2tu2onal Court (once they have exhausted all legal remedies before turning to the Cons2tu2onal Court). .........................................56 For more informaon about how to report discriminaons or violaon of rights caused by administraons, individuals or private companies to roma people, will be accessible to the general legal resources relang to racial discriminaon referred to in the file 9. ...........................................56 It is recommended to seek support on NGOs which offering legal advisory service. Some of these organizaons are: Union Romani, FSG, Human Rights Associaon of Andalusia, etc.. .......................56 Therefore, camping will only take in place in areas specifically designed for this purpose and its users will have to comply with the requirements of the accommodaon companies agreeing with the Royal Decree 2545/1982 of 27 August, on the creaon of Touris2c Camping sites. ..........................74 As for the access to basic services such as water, waste collec2on, parking and overnight stay spaces, there are specific places to do so such as service staons and campsites, though some of them are subject to payment. ............................................................................................................................74 Public rental housing: ..........................................................................................................................76 To access to the tenancy of rent housing, pursuant to Act 29/1994, of 24 November, of Urban Leases, there is an obligaon to deliver a month's rent deposit. Althought, the aforemen2oned legislaon does not make explicit the list of documents to necessary to formalize the lease, both the real estate and private owners usually ask for the landlord documentaon cer2fying the creditworthiness of the tenant, such as recent pay slips, statement income for the last year or even contract of work. .................................................................................................................................76 Formali2es for Bulgarians and Romanians .......................................................................................111 4 19/06/2013 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AEDH: European Association for the Defense of Human Rights AME: Aide Médicale d’Etat / State medical aid APDHA: Pro-Human Rights Association of Andalucía BEMIS: Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland BOE: Official Spanish Gazette CASNAV: Centre Académique pour la scolarisation des élèves allophones / Academic centre for the education of new arrivals and Travellers' children CESEDA: Code d’entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d’asile / Code of Entry and Residence of Aliens and the Right to Asylum CJEU: Court of Justice of the European Union CHC: Czech Helsinki Committee CMU: Couverture Maladie Universelle / Universal health coverage Dalo: Droit au logement opposable / enforceable right to housing DDD: Défenseur des Droits / Human rights defender DNI: National Identity document ECHR: European Convention on Human Rights EU: European Union EURES: European Employment Service FRA: European Agency for Fundamental Rights FSJ: Foundation for the Gypsy Secretariat IAE: Tax on Economic Activities ID: Identification Document IMSERSO: Institute of elderly and Social Services IPREM: Public Income Indicator of Multiple effects. INSS: National Institute of Social Security LDH (France): Human Rights League (France) LOE: Organic Law of Education NIE: