The Roma Situation in Europe like Undeclared Apartheid, claims Universal Society of Hinduism president, Rajan Zed

Despite three years into high-flown "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015" initiative, Roma people of Europe still reportedly live in apartheid like conditions, Universal Society of Hinduism president, Rajan Zed emphasized in a statement in Nevada (USA).

Rajan Zed said that almost everybody involved in Roma upliftment programs would agree that Roma continued to face deeply embedded institutional discrimination and social exclusion. Concrete steps were immediately needed to improve their plight.

Zed says that in spite of this much publicized "Inclusion" initiative involving political commitment by governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of Roma, they unfortunately reportedly continue to suffer from human rights violations and brazen structural discrimination.

Rajan Zed further says that on paper, Roma are fully covered by EU legislation, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin in employment, social protection and education as well as access to goods and services, including housing. But in reality, Roma reportedly regularly face racism, substandard education, hostility, social exclusion, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, unusually high unemployment rates, etc.

European Union and countries of Europe, instead of just sweet talk and paper drives, should act immediately to end the centuries of severe discrimination and abuse of Roma and achieve their social inclusion. It is simply immoral to let this around ten million population of Europe continually suffer and face human rights violations, Rajan Zed says.

Zed points out that effective implementation, firm commitment and strong political will is needed to improve the Roma plight. In the past, policies on paper to tackle Roma discrimination and exclusion had proved very weak to deal with their day-to-day sufferings.

Rajan Zed stresses that European Union and member countries should show more responsibility in handling complex Roma issues. Roma inclusion and integration programs need to immediately take off the ground providing them with better health and education avenues, higher economic opportunities, sources of empowerment and participation, etc. Their alarming condition is a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world.

It is like an undeclared apartheid, Zed argues explaining the Roma situation, and adds that it is moral obligation of Europe to take care of its frequently maltreated population of Roma people.

^* Image : newtrac.org

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