With similar situation while one of the community was
Roma within the same administrative unit. This has allowed each time to make a
comparative analysis of the two or in some cases three comparator settlements.
As there were almost impossible to find two identical villages belonging to the
same local administrative unit of commune, the team has used secondary broken
out data on the basis of the initial data collected to identify information per
person, per child, etc. In some cases there were possible to make a comparison
between three villages belonging to the same administrative commune unit, where
a Roma village would be comparable to a non-Roma village with a larger main
village.
The research has also made the assessment of the
legal norms and laws that are applicable to the situations from the perspective
of the enjoyment and implementation of the human rights of Roma population.
Rural Roma Village
Profile
The typical set up of the rural Roma community is
that it is a part of a larger administrative unit-village composed of usually
two to four communities, of which Roma community is always or usually the
smallest in terms of population and resources. The principal community – in all
cases non Roma community – is in most cases a Moldovan community that is
relatively larger than others. The Roma community in most cases varies from 10%
to 20% of the total population of the administrative unit-village. Village
constituting communities geographically usually are situated at the distance
around 2-5 km from each other making up a territory of 5-10 km2.
The average annual budget of the village was about
700 000-1 000 000 MLD (50-80 000 EURO) with total population
around 3 000 - 4 000 people. Main budget spending lines (around 85%) are:
public sphere employees (city hall, teachers, doctors, etc), payment for
maintaining or renovating of public facilities (school, culture house, library,
etc). Main income comes from tax on land (around 30-40%), regional/central
subsidies (around 40-50%), taxes on salaries from public and private sphere
(around 20-25%) and taxes on private activities. In majority of cases the
villages’ budget were 30-40% were dependent on central Government subsidies.
In all villages the land is the primary source of
income and the arable land has been privatized out of collective farmers as was
the technical and other intangible collective farm assets between people’s of
the village. In most cases we found two-three associations of collective use of
land in the villages that would total to about 60-70% of all land with
remaining 30-40% being worked out by private individuals or not worked at all.
The main agriculture cultures were wine, corn, sun-flower and vegetables. Many
if not majority had cows, pork in private settlings. Few examples of
agricultural industry could have been found: wine plants and tobacco drying
factories. The later had been privatized and shares distributed among the
people. The intangible assets of the land associations and of wine plants were
obsolete dated back to 70’s. There were many instances of plants and
associations suffered from mismanagement, or funds and income embezzlements so
that shareholders received no dividends and land rentees received very low
compensation-unusually products rather than money. The average annual income
(calculated in money equivalent) of a person would not exceed 300-400 EURO.
There was widespread pattern of young people migrated to cities or outside of
country (10-30% of population).
All villages we visited could be categorized into two
situations:
v
type A one non-Roma principal community and one
Roma smaller community (not more than 20% of population) and
v
type B several non-Roma communities with one
large and one non-Roma community (with population not more than 10%); in type B
cases there would be also non-Roma communities comparable with Roma one.
Type A case are the Roma
communities in Vulcanesti (Ciorasti), Bursuc (Cristesti).
Type B case is the Roma communities
in Ursari (Pirjolteni), Parcani (Raciula), Schinoasa (Tibirica), Stejareni
(Lozova)
Type A case Roma communities were
researched on the basis of comparison with larger non-Roma community, while
type B case Roma communities were researched on the basis with comparison with
larger non Roma community and comparable non Roma community. This approach has
revealed no substantial difference in the situation of Roma communities between
type A and type B situations, proving that economic factors development or
thereof lack cannot determine the situation of Roma rural communities. All the
comparisons were made on the basis of the existing conditions of other rural
settlings in the region and particularly in Ungheni judet.
The project divided its findings
into domains of:
v
materials and social situation;
v
access to public services (health and social
sphere);
v
access to educational system;
v
access to assets and income generation;
v
preservation of distinctive identity and
culture;
v materials
and social situation;
Roma communities’ material
situation was extremely poor and comparatively to the non Roma communities of
the administrative unit and comparatively to Ungheni judet conditions as well
as to the generally accepted living standards. Paved or hard covered roads to
or within the community were inexistent, unless a regional road would pass
through the community thus the access was precluded in the time of heavy rains
or snows, especially in autumn, spring and winter. Schinoasa, Vulcanesti
communities are situated couple of km off the main road so the people of
community had to carry ill people in hands up to the main road should they need
an urgent medical intervention. Houses are scarce and in extremely week,
apparently likely to fall apart. Generally houses of three rooms are common
wide, still people live in only one room during cold times and men stay outside
during summer over the night. No running water or wells and access to drinking
water are a general features for the communities. For instance, in Schinoasa
community with population of about 500 persons there were only 4 wells of which
only two used for drinking purposes, but even there, the water was already
visibly bad. In another example, in Ursari village, people complained of two
wells drinking water as if left over the night, some condensate would be
clearly visible. In majority of cases no electricity had been available for
different reasons of lack of resources to pay or electricity system destroyed.
For instance in Schinoasa village, the community was disconnected totally more
five years and in another instance in Ursari village, as it situated on the
main road, only some of the people would have the electricity close to the next
Moldovan village and around the school. For heating, left over of wood or
animal residues are used. For instance, in Schinoasa village one man was
sentenced to 6 months for cutting one dry tree to keep the worm of his house
with three children. People basically use just basic alimentation product
cornflower, potatoes and some vegetables grown up during the summer.
Humanitarian aid, when reached the villages, is a very important source for
survival. Meat or fish is practically absent from diet. Children wear nothing
during the worm times or just clothes donated through humanitarian aid during
cold times. Second hand and humanitarian aid clothes are the prime source for
them. In majority of cases, as is the case of Schinoasa, Ursari, no shops of any
kind (food, clothes, medicine, etc) exist. Health care is almost inexistent.
Pharmaceutical points have been removed by public authorities as considered
cost-ineffective; no allocations are given to the public health care from
central or local budgets. Information comes only through people coming and
going out of community. Nobody subscribes to papers or listen to radio, etc for
lacking money to pay. No telephone
connection exists in majority of communities, as is the example of Ursari
village and Schinoasa community.
When researching the budget
allocations by local and regional bodies (including Social Investment
Fund-World Bank) of the last three-five years, there were almost no examples of
investments in the needs described of Roma communities.
v Access
to educational system and access to minority language education
In all Roma communities there are
state supported primary schools in Romanian (Moldovan) language hosting from 20
to 50 children of various years studying together in one or two rooms. In most
cases the allocation from local budgets for schools is incomparably less then
to schools and schooling for non-Roma communities. For instance in case of
Schinoasa community, local mayoralty gave, comparing to the number for children
from the communities 200 times less, in absolute value amounting to 0,01 EURO
per child in Schinoasa and 25 EURO per child in neighbor non-Roma community
(all types of investments). In Ursari village, situation is comparatively
similar. Children in most cases have no books and other schools requisites. In
Schinoasa community, (during mission) one child was crying after the paper
notes organization used to write and take the notes. There are no kindergartens
in all communities. Libraries contain just some hundred outdated books,
majority in Cyrillic alphabet (prior to 1989) and only some 10-20% in Latin
alphabet. Teachers come in the community school from other non-Roma communities
or nearby villages as rarely there would be a local person able to be a teacher
or qualify for that. Children stay most of their childhood in the community not
knowing where they live, what is the country they live in, etc. Only few
adolescents could read. Kindergartens or other facilities were inexistent in
those communities, while in non-Roma communities, there would be state
supported facilities.
In Vulcanesti community is a
particular community of those Roma that preserved their linguistic identity.
Roma children of the school age 7-8 did not speak any other language than
Romani.
Based on the budget allocations
figures for the last three-four years, one could see a clear pattern of
discriminatory under allocations of funds and investments for Roma communities
per child, in type of allocations, in quality of allocations.
v access
to assets and income generation;
Historical data shows that freedom
from slavery in the second part of 18 century (possession of church-many
researched communities are found near churches/monasteries-, regional
governors, landlords, etc) has turned for Roma rural communities into income
and asset generation dependence on the same masters and evolved into other
institutional forms bringing them wealth. Prior to Soviet times (before 40’s)
they had been made working in the condition of servitude at forest and
agricultural works on daily basis with no land or any other means to generate
income and living in areas withy hard road access. In Soviet time, their
situation has not changed; they continued to live in the same places with hard
road access with just some land necessary to put up a small house and hard work
in collective farms. Many even at that time practiced going to Ukraine for
agricultural works. After the independence, they have been denied access to
privatization to assets of collective farms as well.
As the land is the major asset
generation and survival source in the rural communities. Roma communities had
been traditionally given the status of localities without perspective that substantially
economically and socially disadvantaged the people of communities in Soviet
times and that practice had been kept on after the independence. Roma
communities’ people have been outside the process of privatization of land due
to the policy adopted on privatization. The participation for privatization of
land, for example Schinoasa community, is averagely 40-50 times lesser than in
nearby non-Roma community, so that the size of fertile land was shifted to
non-Roma communities. Local authorities qualified only 5% of persons living in
Schinoasa community for privatization and 95% in neighbor non-Roma community.
In majority of cases central social assistance program is the only source for
existence, however, only several families qualify. No job employment
opportunities exist in the community or in nearby villages as Roma are
considered apt to only season works or day-to-day engagements. Comparing with other localities of Moldova
inhabited by this national minority, the community from Vulcanesti presents a
progress in what regards Roma material situation. Nevertheless, the inhabitants
of Vulcanesti community have very little land in their possession. Thus, Roma
did not receive land quotas, only with a few exceptions, owing to the Law of
the Republic of Moldova “Land Code” No. 228-XII from December 25, 1991, which
does not provide to offer land to those who have not worked in kolkhoz
(collective farm). They are disproportionately disadvantaged by the legal
institutionalized procedure, thus becoming victims of discrimination. This
situation brings a lot of negative consequences upon Roma, making them to
search incomes through other methods.
As a
result of the described practices, Roma community adults would have two
primarily sources of income: earning outside of country on agricultural works (Ukraine) for
3-5 months a year and work on daily basis on agricultural works at private
individuals. In first instance Roma would be frequently robbed at the border by
Ukrainian customs or mafia networks linked with Ukrainian customs (as the
project team was given plenty of documented examples) and their season earnings
would not averagely exceed 600-700 EURO. In the second case the daily payment
would not exceed 0.8-0.9 EURO per day including food.
A look
into the regional concentration of other resources (forest, lakes, water
basins, wine factories, etc) has shown a pattern that all major mentioned
resources have stayed in the property of centrally/regionally administered
authorities with their income not played in the local budgets of the researched
villages. For instance, all the forest resources were concentrated in the hands
of State Forest Associations, (in all cases this region was rich with forest
and actually situated surrounded by forest regions) which income would be
subject of local taxes. Large lakes and water basins were the same with
regional management.
The research shows that Roma
communities effectively deprived of any opportunities to access to income
generation activities as a continuation of past established practices.
- Right to enjoy distinctive
culture and identity
The project research has found
several striking situations regarding Roma identification as Roma. Situation 1
(Vulcanesti, Ursari) are the villages when population speaks Romani and clearly
and openly identifies with Roma. Situation 2 (Schinoasa and partly others) are
the villages when population does not speak Romani but identifies with Romani
(at least in majority of cases). Situation 3 (Bursuc, Parcani, Huzun,
Stejareni) are the villages when the local population of these communities
refused to identify themselves with Roma.
The project has visited, of all
known in the region, several communities Vulcanesti and Ursari with 800 and 600
persons who clearly identified themselves as Roma and spoke predominantly the
Romani language. In these communities the population uses Romani language in
every day life. In Ursari village, Roma spoke Romani and clearly identified
them with Romani identity and culture as did Vulcanesti Roma. In Schinoasa
village, Roma would identify them as Romani but did not speak the Romani
language. No education or study of Romani exists throughout the rural
communities in Moldova.
Local authorities allocate ZERO to the budget line culture for the community of
Schinoasa village and Ursari village.
The project research has considered
the following causes for the described situation of the Roma communities’
situation:
v
Lack of participation in the relevant decision
making-process;
v
Inherited and existing unjust practices and lack
of actions on behalf of authorities;
v
Local power political system favoring the “rule
of majority”;
v
Roma lack of self-awareness;
v
Excessive centralized system of local
self-administration;
v
Pattern of widespread prejudices against Roma
rural communities;
- Lack of participation of
participation in decision-making process and representation in public sphere
With exceptional example (mayor of Cristesti
(Bursuc) village), Roma representatives or Roma themselves are not present in
any local public, governing or decision-making body. All communities
administratively situated in a local administrative unit where they form
minority of less than 25% of population. None of the representatives exist in
local councils due to the structure and respective provisions of the local
electoral system. In case of Schinoasa Roma community, that is a part of larger
administrative entity of Tibirica locality (composed on Tibirica community,
Meleseni community and Schinoasa community) Schinoasa village constituted 9% of
population and none of 9 counselors of town governing body come from Schinoasa
community. In Ursari village case the situation is similar and none of the
counselors come from Ursari community while the about 10% of population of
administrative unit are Roma from Ursari village.
v Inherited
and existing unjust practices and lack of actions on behalf of authorities;
As the description shows, there are
patterns of existing discriminatory practices of public under-locations in
education, social welfare, culture for Roma communities compared with non Roma
communities. Roma have been largely and predominantly deprived from access to
assets and income generation activities within the local Moldovan society and
forced to seek fortune outside.
v Local
power political system favoring the “rule of majority”;
Participation in the local
decision-making process is only possible through election of local executive and
local council that is framed in such a manner that favors the rule of majority.
Only political centrally registered political parties and independent
candidates are allowed to run for local offices and only exceptions get elected
(one example of major and no councilors).
Other forms or participation are inexistent, there is no practice of
informal consultation in decision-making process if the decision affects or may
affect the Roma community. No forms of self-government for minority Roma
communities are provided in the law or exist in practice. The territorial
organization of the state does not take into the consideration the compact
minority community.
v Roma
lack of self-awareness;
There are few central Roma rights
organizations and there are no community based initiatives to express the
interest of Roma rural communities. The Rural Roma communities are week and
have no mechanism for consolidating and expressing community interest. Only few
individuals have asserted themselves in various fields in Moldova.
v Excessive
centralized system of local self-administration;
Many decision-making processes (as
education, type of education, allocations) are made on central or regional
level with the role of local authorities being neglected. Economical assets and
regulation of economic activities depend on regional authorities and central
authorities. Roma rural communities are neglected in some instances by the
administrative organization of the villages to minimize the Roma community
possible influence.
v Pattern
of widespread prejudices against Roma rural communities;
Local, regional and central
authorities, people from non Roma communities reveal a widespread pattern
existing prejudices about Roma portraying them as distinct second type citizens
that require no attention from the authorities.
Suggested Strategies are divided
into Strategies to be initiated and carried out by civil society sector and
strategies to be mainly supported by public authorities or carried out with
their primarily involvement:
v
Community Empowerment (civil society);
v
Advocacy and Awareness (civil society);
v
Economic regional development policy (public
sector);
v
Special measures in various fields (public
sector).
Community Empowerment Strategy
v Building
genuine Roma community associations and education of Roma community leaders
Creation of community based
associations and education of community leaders. Initiative could be based on
existing in Moldova
capacity building resource centers with external support. No external threats
known at the moment. All visited communities had people interested and willing
to take initiatives.
v Building
Roma community capacity for representation in local political bodies (local and
raional/judet councils and local executives)
Education and assistance to Roma
community representatives on decision-making processes and enabling them for
the participation. Encouragement and assistance in representation in local
decision-making bodies. Initiative can be based on Romanian counterparts
examples and with on-goining assistance
from relevant Moldovan ngos. External threats are unknown.
Expected results:
Community based associations and
leaders able to formulate and express the needs and interests of the Roma rural
communities;
At least a firm and permanent
representation of Roma rural communities’ representatives in the local
decision-making bodies;
Opportunity
for regional cooperation of Roma associations based on community grass-rooting
initiatives;
Advocacy and Awareness
strategy
- Continue bringing Roma rural
communities concerns at various international (CoE, UN) bodies and relevant
national bodies (Department of Interethnic relations, Judet and raional
authorities)
Second report Advisory Committee of
Framework Convention, third circle ECRI, next report CERD, coming report on
ICESC rights, OSCE meetings. Local resources of Moldovan Helsinki Committee
support from ERRC and IHF.
- Advocating for the more
permissive and friendly legal framework insuring the participation of minority
in decision-making processes
Modifications in Law on electoral
system, Law on Political parties. Lobby with central authorities to pass
regulatory acts on minority participation. Local resources and OSCE on
elaboration of the acts are to be used. External threat - will not be enforced.
- Selection and formulation of
legal cases aimed at attacking the fields of institutional discrimination
patterns;
Cases on nondiscriminatory access
to education, public services, and property rights to be considered framed
under ECHR. Local resources of Moldovan Helsinki Committee, other opportunities
with national courts on various issues could be explored.
Expected results:
Collection of exact and precise
recommendations and obligations imposed on Moldovan authorities to improve the
situation of Rural Roma communities;
Wide awareness and shared opinion
of international and regional relevant authorities of the specific concerns and
problems related to Rural Roma communities in Moldova
Judicial cases and precedents
targeting on specific situations and patterns of institutional discrimination
created at national or relevant international level.
Economic regional development
policy;
v Elaboration
and Implementation of Roma rural communities Strategic Plan of Economic Growth
External expertise and local
partners, External threat of excessive central authority control.
Expected results:
Plan of Economic Growth developed
and under implementation to improve economic conditions (use nature, forest,
beautiful places, Romani culture, access roads, manostaries, etc).
Selected special measures
recommended for the improvement of situation of Rural Roma communities
v Education
- Ministry of Education, regional education
authorities approve and subsidy study of Romani language with regard
Ursari, Vulcanesti children in kindergarten and schools, extra teachers of
Romani language, publication of Romani language manuals;
- Local authorities make available transportation for
children from Roma communities to schools;
- Local and regional authorities allocate resources
for extra teachers to work with children from Roma communities;
- Local authorities make available resources to
establish preschool education system for Roma community children (home
kindergarten, etc);
- Central authorities make available state subsidized
places n high education establishments and create incentives for Romani
teachers, lawyers, economists, etc.
- Roma cultural and historical aspects are integrated
in Moldovan history, in areas with compact population, history of Roma
communities is included as a obligatory additional classes;
- Department of Interethnic relations publish a study
on history of Roma in Moldova;
v public
administration and decision-making
- Political parties reserve places for
representatives from Roma rural communities for local elections;
- All decisions of public allocations and spending
regarding Roma communities to be held with the presence of Roma community
representatives;
- Local authorities institute weekly and quarterly
consultations within Roma communities;
- Department of Interethnic Minorities establish a
unit on Roma problems and employ Roma;
- Consider administrative borders encouraging
consolidation of Roma in one administrative unit;
- Public spending regarding Roma communities to aim
at compensation of underdevelopment and past undespendings;
- Regional and central authorities consider
additional spendings for the development of the Roma communities on basic
facilities, social sphere, water, canalization, electricity, etc.
v access
to assets
- Regional and central authorities renovate and make
hard-paved roads to and where necessary within the rural Roma communities;
- Materials situation to be improved in Roma rural
communities;
- Small scale grants and credit schemes to be
established for Roma communities;
- Regional development to target specifically Roma
communities;
- Public employment opportunities should be
effectively established for Roma representatives in those areas (especially
local administration);
- Professional education courses as well as
professional orientation course to be made available for Roma from the
communities;
- Central authorities to enter agreements with
Ukrainian customs to stop rubbings at the border;
v
Moldovan Government to ratify the revised Social
Charter of the Council of Europe as well to make a Declaration accepting the
collective complaints procedure under Article D, paragraph 2 of part IV of the
revised Charter;
v
Moldovan Government to ratify the European
Charter of Regional and Minority Languages;
v
Regional education authorities to establish
guidelines and best practices for all schools in addressing Roma drop-outs;
v
Regional education authorities to encourage
teacher recruitment: differential pay to attract equally qualified teachers in
Roma communities;
v
Educational authorities to elaborate and provide
teacher training program: cultural competency and Romani language, bilingual
education;
v
Local authorities to immediately implement
preschools and kindergartens in disadvantaged communities;
v
Central authorities to proactively recruit Roma
young people for careers in education, providing scholarships and other
expenses if feasible;
v
Ministry of Education, regional education
authorities approve and subsidy study of Romani language with regard Ursari,
Vulcanesti children in kindergarten and schools, extra teachers of Romani
language, publication of Romani language manuals;
v
Local authorities make available transportation
for children from Roma communities to schools;
v
Local and regional authorities allocate
resources for extra teachers to work with children from Roma communities;
v
Local authorities make available resources to
establish preschool education system for Roma community children (home
kindergarten, etc);
v
Central authorities make available state
subsidized places n high education establishments and create incentives for
Romani teachers, lawyers, economists, etc.
v
Roma cultural and historical aspects are
integrated in Moldovan history, in areas with compact population, history of
Roma communities is included as a obligatory additional classes;
v
Department of Interethnic relations publish a
study on history of Roma in Moldova;
v
Bring spending levels in Roma communities in
line with spending in non-Roma communities
v
Immediately take steps to modernize the
infrastructure of Roma communities, including roads, electricity, gas,
telephone and emergency services, bringing them in line with standards in the
rest of the country.
v
Construct access roads to Roma communities so
that they can be reached in medical emergencies;
v
To ensure effective remedy for cases of
discrimination against Roma in the field of employment, housing, health care,
the protection of the family, and education;
v
Allocate preferentially from central fundings
sources to provide the basic social needs are met by the Roma population and
especially children and elderly;
v
Central and regional authorities to provide for
the facilities for giving small grants to Roma villages (partnerships of local
authorities and local initiative groups) to meet the local social, sanitary and
cultural needs;
v
Proactively recruit qualified Roma for
professional positions in the national and local administration, labour offices
staff, health care providers and school officials;
v
Proactively recruit Roma young people for
careers in medicine and public health, providing scholarships and other
expenses if feasible;
v
Regional and central authorities renovate and
make hard-paved roads to and where necessary within the rural Roma communities;
v
Materials situation to be improved in Roma rural
communities;
v
Small scale grants and credit schemes to be
established for Roma communities;
v
Regional development to target specifically Roma
communities;
v
Public employment opportunities should be
effectively established for Roma representatives in those areas (especially
local administration);
v
Professional education courses as well as
professional orientation course to be made available for Roma from the
communities;
v
Central authorities to enter agreements with
Ukrainian customs to stop rubbings at the border;
v Carry out activities for
the development of the Roma localities economic planning to facilitate the
income in the villages;
v Central authorities to
preferentially allocate extra-sources to put in place the basic infrastructure
needed for the generation of small-range businesses (roads, water, electricity,
etc);
v
Operate modifications in the law on functioning
of the languages and local public administration providing that for Roma
localities where the Roma population is 6% and more to have a public officer
able to communicate in Romani language with those Roma who wish so in relation
to public authorities;
v
Operate modifications in the law on press and
broadcasting that in those localities where Roma constitute 6% and more airtime
is allocated for Roma language and paper space is allocated for Roma language
correspondingly;
v
In Ursari and Vulcanesti localities the use of
Romani language should be a mandatory principle in local administration, the
for public services a Romani proficient public officer should provide necessary
communication with those who wish so.
v
Political parties reserve places for
representatives from Roma rural communities for local elections;
v
All decisions of public allocations and spending
regarding Roma communities to be held with the presence of Roma community
representatives;
v
Local authorities institute quarterly
consultations within Roma communities;
v
Department of Interethnic Minorities establish a
unit on Roma problems and employ Roma;
v
Consider administrative borders encouraging
consolidation of Roma in one administrative unit;
v
Public spending regarding Roma communities to
aim at compensation of underdevelopment and past undespendings;
v
Regional and central authorities consider
additional spendings for the development of the Roma communities on basic
facilities, social sphere, water, canalization, electricity, etc;
v
Organize local and central coordinating councils
with Roma representative to consult and involve them in the decision-making
process;
v
Take proactive measures to raise the number of
Roma employees in public authorities and consider it as a must for the regions
and localities where Roma represent compact population;
v
Introduce in the local schools and kindergarten
curricular information and teaching about the Roma traditions and culture;
v
Operate modifications in the law on political
parties and Electoral Code that prohibit the participation and supporting by civic
and ethno-cultural organizations of candidates at local elections;
v
Operate modifications in the law on political
parties liberalizing the establishment of the political parties at regional
level;
v
Mandatory consult Roma population when operating
modifications in territorial and administrative divisions of public
administration;
v
Law on local public administration to devolve to
regional authorities at level two, where there is minority population of at
least 6%
Ø
Substantial competence of the humanities
educational curricular, within the national educational curricular;
Ø
Substantial competence of the cultural
activities of the commune
v
Law on local public administration, Electoral
Code in the localities where there is a compact minority population of at least
6%
Ø
A reserved sit in local public council at level
one or two for representative of a national minority, elected directly none of
the representatives have been elected in the public council
v
Focus on capacity building within the
organizations. Encourage participation of the staff and the volunteers in
trainings on:
·
Organizational management;
·
Project management;
·
PR (with authorities, media, etc)
·
Leadership skills;
·
Collecting information and establishing databases.
v
Change the working approach from distribution of
humanitarian aid to community development. As there are still many communities
that need humanitarian aid and Roma people perceive this support to be in kind,
initially use both working approaches in parallel.
v
Develop concrete projects and activities aimed
at improving the situation of the Roma community;
v
Focus on awareness raising among the Roma
community about basic Human and Civil rights as well as about the administrative
structure and some basic relevant legislation;
v
Provide consultancy on a daily basis to Roma
individuals and communities, where specific problems can be addressed;
v
Focus on mediation of problems between Roma
communities/individuals and authorities;
v
Focus on development of Young and Youth
leadership;
v
Promote the role of the Roma women within the
community development;
v
Develop co-operative working approaches and
practices as among the Roma NGOs, as well as with non-Roma NGOs;
v
Establish contacts, get informed about and use
the capacities, resources and consultancy of the International organization
present on the field;
The research reveals the alarming picture
of the decade’s (centuries) practices and reinforced current system of the
institutionalized discrimination of Roma villages and their inhabitants. The
research shows several major areas of the institutionalized practice of
discrimination. These areas are based on distinguished not linked to each other
circumstances, facts, policies determined by joint and separate acts and
actions of the local, regional and central authorities.
The statement is true for the
following areas of institutionalized discrimination practices:
v
allocation of public funds related to education,
culture;
v
allocation of public funds on basic material
conditions;
v
lack of the representation in local and regional
decision-making processes;
v
deprivation of access to sources of income.
The phenomenon exists not at
individual level but at the level of long-established practices continuously
enforced by the various Moldovan authorities. The assessment of the situation
is that currently the system is solidly enrooted in the public policy that is
not expected to be addressed in the foreseeable future unless series actions
are taken based on the comprehensive and detailed action plan.
The allocation of public funds is deliberately
done in the manner that systematically disadvantages Roma villages in relation
to the issues of education and culture.
The quality of educational services is incomparable with similar non-Roma
situation. The need for the special treatment of Roma children is not
considered to be addressed. The result of the practice is obvious and is
profoundly discriminatory.
The allocation of public funds and
access to external financial aid aimed at rehabilitation of social objects is
deliberately done in the manner that systematically disadvantages Roma villages
in relation to the material and basic
social infrastructure. Public allocations from local finances, public
allocations from centrally remitted allocations are deliberately miss-channeled
from Roma villages. These villages continue to be neglected their social, basic
commodities and facilities (including water, electricity, telephone, etc)
infrastructure is next to inexistent. That has been the result of the enforced
indented policy of the institutionalized discrimination.
Roma villages and their inhabitants
as entities have been continuously deprived of the means to generate income,
the access to income generation
activity to provide basic living is precluded. Rural Roma population face extinction
and massive emigration to seek survival and living assets as they have no
assets to survive and upkeep Roma families. The practice of servitude and
dependence has been maintained in the modern form of depriving Roma village
inhabitants from access to privatization of land, access to assets generated by
economic activities of the natural resources situated on the territories of the
localities. They are forced to “slave” on a day by day basis or to leave the
home to earn income. As a result Roma face incomparable extreme forms of
poverty of sub nutrition, health degradation, higher rates of morbidity, life
expectancy and rates of death.
The system of political process,
representation of Roma interest and election of Roma in various local, regional
and central authorities is disfavor able to Roma and excessively restrictive.
Formal ways for the Roma representation preclude formation of association forms
in political scope, while political parties remain insensible and disinterested
to Roma needs. Roma are almost completely absent from the decision-making
bodies and their interests are not accounted. This results into the extreme
forms of negligence and under-representation of Roma in Moldovan society.
Recommendations
v
Operate modifications in the law on functioning
of the languages and local public administration providing that for Roma
localities where the Roma population is 6% and more to have a public officer
able to communicate in Romani language with those Roma who wish so in relation
to public authorities;
v
Operate modifications in the law on press and
broadcasting that in those localities where Roma constitute 6% and more airtime
is allocated for Roma language and paper space is allocated for Roma language
correspondingly;
v
In Ursari and Vulcanesti localities the use of
Romani language should be a mandatory principle in local administration, the
for public services a Romani proficient public officer should provide necessary
communication with those who wish so;
v
Specialized authorities, Ministry of Education
to carry out archive research to reveal the history of the villages and
introduce this information and opinions in the villages pupils education
process;
Analysis
The research comprised Roma villages
where Romani identification and Romani life differed.
The project research has found
several striking situations regarding Roma identification as Roma. Situation 1
(Vulcanesti, Ursari) are the villages when population speaks Romani and clearly
and openly identifies with Roma. Situation 2 (Schinoasa and partly others) are
the villages when population does not speak Romani but identifies with Romani
(at least in majority of cases). Situation 3 (Bursuc, Parcani, Huzun,
Stejareni) are the villages when the local population of these communities
refused to identify themselves directly as Roma.
Situation 1: The project has
visited communities of Vulcanesti and Ursari with total population of 800 and
600 persons who clearly identified themselves as Roma and spoke predominantly
the Romani language among them and with Roma experts as members of the research
team. In these communities the population uses Romani language in every day
private life, communication in informal meetings, discussions in the streets,
etc. In Ursari village, Roma spoke Romani and clearly identified them with
Romani identity and culture as did Vulcanesti Roma.
Situation 2: In Schinoasa
village, Roma would identify them as Romani but did not speak the Romani
language. Some older people of the village spoke Romani and knew quite a number
of expressions and words. They would relate to the team that their parents
would speak much better the language and even speak jointly Romani and
Romanian/Moldovan with them; however their generation already almost lost the
Romani language. Local authorities allocate ZERO to the budget line culture for
the community of Schinoasa village and Ursari village. Even though Schinoasa
had not identified them as Roma, they would recognize that everybody (authorities,
neighbor villages) considers them Roma and they do not protest for that and
accept that they are considered Roma. At the same time Schinoasa inhabitants
would also demonstrate to the team their passports of old Soviet standard where
it has been saying that they were Moldovans. That mixed situation had in itself
a lesson.
Situation 3: In villages of
Huzun, Stejareni, Parcani and Bursuc the situation was even more different. The
local inhabitants refused to be considered Roma and even got upset with the
interlocutors if they would be named like that. As the team was composed of
non-Roma and Roma representatives, while non-Roma started talking and asking
questions about their identity and
ethnic origin none would recognize or identify themselves as Roma. Many
interlocutors (old generation or middle age generation) would show their
passports stating that in there it is written that they are Moldovans, they do
not speak any Romani and therefore they are not Roma. When communicating in
private with Roma members of the team who clearly identify themselves as Roma,
as Roma members of the team stated, the interlocutors would show the sign of
closeness and even using the expressions of “us” meaning themselves and the
Roma team members or phrases like “you understand us as you are one of us”,
etc. It was not possible to repeat the same expressions while in the company of
non Roma interlocutors of the team. At the same time the project team found
that other non Roma communities (of the same village or villages in the region
or local, regional, central authorities) treated and considered these
communities as Roma communities. In many expressions and assertions the project
team documented a practice of addressing to the members and population of these
communities as being Roma: “They are Tigani”, “Tigani live there”, etc. When
coming to different neighbor non Roma communities or villages and asking where
we could find Roma communities, all without exception would point and name
these communities.
Comments
on Situation 2 and 3
The appearance and the language and
type of expressions, accent of population of these communities could be easily
distinguished from other non Roma communities from the same village
(administrative unit). Even though they would not speak any other language than
Romanian/Moldovan, not even a word of Romani (as Roma members of the team had
been trying to provoke them), their expressions, accent would be different. The
population of Roma communities would explain themselves that they speck better Romanian/Moldovan
and that they have been more isolated from the public life and therefore they
preserved some different type of expressions and accent. People appearance of
these communities would be typically considered as Romani based on the Romani
in Romania
(who identify clearly as Roma). There were cases described by people from these
communities when they had traveled to Romania and identified there as
Romani immediately and even addressed in Romani but they were unable to reply
in Romani.
Another aspect that project team
researched was whether in their every day live the population of the
communities preserved patterns of life style or habits, traditions attributable
to Roma in the region. In some cases Roma members of the team asserted that
some traditions and habits resembled the patterns of Roma occupation (while
being travelers or settled) based on the division of streams and groups of
Roma.
A deeper research would be needed
to understand the connection of the villages of Huzun, Stejareni, Parcani and
Bursuc that were situated closely to the Orthodox temples and residence of
Hincu, Capriana, Bucovat and Raciula Orthodox Church temples that hystorically
held Roma population in servitude prior to second half of 18 centrury. The
proximity of these temples to the three mentioned villages and these villages
situation in the forested area with no land belonging to these villages would
suggest that they had worked and earned their income being in dependence of the
Orthodox Church. In the case of Schinoasa, the situation could be different
with the population belonging to a landlord in the nearby village of Tibirica
bearing this man name.
Cultural patterns and the
occupation of the villages in situation 2 and 3 shadow direct links to the Roma
origin of the inhabitants as their primarily occupation would not be settled.
At the same time inhabitants would recollect that their ancestors would be
famous of working out things from wood and their link with the mentioned
monasteries of Capriana, Hincu, Bucovat and Raciula were proven. In Bursuc
village the librarian said that she saw a short history of Bursuc village
documented in Hincu monastery stating that Bursuc village belonged to the
monastery since its set up and that the people of Bursuc would be dependent on
the Hincu monastery. The statement could be not verified as the team has not
been given the opportunity to look into the books at Hincu monastery and that
has been a different focus of the research.
Recommendations
v
Regional education authorities to establish
guidelines and best practices for all schools in addressing Roma drop-outs;
v
Regional education authorities to encourage
teacher recruitment: differential pay to attract equally qualified teachers in
Roma communities;
v
Educational authorities to elaborate and provide
teacher training program: cultural competency and Romani language, bilingual
education;
v
Local authorities to immediately implement
preschools and kindergartens in disadvantaged communities;
v
Central authorities to proactively recruit Roma
young people for careers in education, providing scholarships and other
expenses if feasible;
v
Ministry of Education, regional education
authorities approve and subsidy study of Romani language with regard Ursari,
Vulcanesti children in kindergarten and schools, extra teachers of Romani
language, publication of Romani language manuals;
v
Local authorities make available transportation
for children from Roma communities to schools;
v
Local and regional authorities allocate
resources for extra teachers to work with children from Roma communities;
v
Local authorities make available resources to
establish preschool education system for Roma community children (home
kindergarten, etc);
v
Central authorities make available state
subsidized places n high education establishments and create incentives for
Romani teachers, lawyers, economists, etc.
v
Roma cultural and historical aspects are
integrated in Moldovan history, in areas with compact population, history of
Roma communities is included as a obligatory additional classes;
v
Department of Interethnic relations publish a
study on history of Roma in Moldova;
Analysis
The team has paid particular
attention to two aspects of the educational rights related to Roma villages: existence
of education in Romani language in those villages where it is so required so
and the adequacy and fairness of the public spending for the Roma villages.
Situation 1: Vulcanesti and
Ursari communities.
These two communities were of
particular importance since the Romani children at their birth only speak
Romani and this is the language that they first learn and speak. The
predominant parts of the children who come to school in these villages speak
only Romani. The kindergarten system does not exist in all Roma villages. This
is somewhat different from the same commune non-Roma villages where
kindergartens generally existed and where publicly supported. No transportation
facilities existed for Roma children. The reality shows that when they come to
school they struggle first two-three years to learn Romanian/Moldovan as this
is the only language of education offered in these villages. The teaching staff
did no Romani.
Second aspect related to the
quality of the education, the quality and fairness of expenditures has also
raised concerns with the team. Although in Vulcanesti, apparently the school
looked well, the school staff would be employed exclusively from non-Roma
village and as the investigation had shown less than half of the officially nominated
children would come to school, given the full allocations for all officially
registered pupils. In Ursari there was only middle school that had been
adminsitratevly subordinated to the school in Pirjolteni and even visibly the
difference from the other school was substantial.
Situation 2,3: Bursuc,
Parcani, Huzun, Stejareni, Schinoasa communities:
In all these Roma communities there
are state supported primary schools in Romanian (Moldovan) language hosting
from 20 to 50 children of various years studying together in one or two rooms.
In most cases the allocation from local budgets for schools is incomparably
less then to schools and schooling for non-Roma communities. For instance in
case of Schinoasa community, local mayoralty gave, comparing to the number for
children from the communities 200 times less, in absolute value amounting to
0,01 EURO per child in Schinoasa and 25 EURO per child in neighbor non-Roma
community (all types of investments). Children in most cases have no books and
other schools requisites. In Schinoasa community, (during mission) one child
was crying after the paper notes organization used to write and take the notes.
There are no kindergartens in all communities. Libraries contain just some
hundred outdated books, majority in Cyrillic alphabet (prior to 1989) and only
some 10-20% in Latin alphabet. Teachers come in the community school from other
non-Roma communities or nearby villages as rarely there would be a local person
able to be a teacher or qualify for that. Children stay most of their childhood
in the community not knowing where they live, what is the country they live in,
etc. Only few adolescents could read. Kindergartens or other facilities were
inexistent in those communities, while in non-Roma communities, there would be
state supported facilities.
These discrepancies have clearly
shown the practice of different treatment of Roma villages and their needs
inconsideration by the public authorities.
Recommendations
Analysis
Roma communities’ material
situation is extremely poor in comparative and absolute standards. The study
has taken the comparative approach to the non Roma communities of the
administratively related communes and comparatively to Ungheni or Chisinau
judet settlements as well as to the generally accepted living standards. All of
these comparisons could hardly be compared. Schinoasa, Ursari, Parcani, Huzun
and Stejareni are the worst cases of the extremely inferior level of material
conditions. Vulcanesti and Bursuc are somewhat better compared to the previous.
Paved or hard covered roads to or
within the community were inexistent, unless a regional road would pass through
the community thus the access was precluded in the time of heavy rains or
snows, especially in autumn, spring and winter. Researching the public
allocations for roads has revealed the pattern for the systematic negligence
for Roma communities. Central government allocations or international funding
agencies programs (Social Investment Fund, etc) have not been sensitive towards
the Roma communities, while non-Roma villages of the same commune have received
allocations for the renovations and building upon the decision of the local and
regional decision-making bodies. In practice, the team has not found any of the
external funding and allocations into Roma villages. The most characteristic
were the example of Schinoasa, Vulcanesti, Parcani, Huzun and Stejareni
communities that are situated couple of km off the main road so the people of
community had to carry ill people in hands up to the main road should they need
an urgent medical intervention. There was not even hundred meters of hard-paved
road in Roma villages.
Houses and housing conditions were
extremely poor as well. One could not even think of the houses of Roma as
places where people could live. With few exceptions (parts of Vulcanesti community
and Bursuc community) the houses were scarce and in extremely week, apparently
likely to fall apart. Generally houses of three rooms are common wide, still
people live in only one room during cold times and men stay outside during
summer over the night. The houses had only natural land ground. For heating,
left over of wood or animal residues are used. For instance, in Schinoasa
village one man was sentenced to 6 months for cutting one dry tree to keep the
worm of his house with three children. People basically use just basic
alimentation product cornflower, potatoes and some vegetables grown up during
the summer. Humanitarian aid, when reached the villages, is a very important
source for survival. Meat or fish is practically absent from diet. Children
wear nothing during the worm times or just clothes donated through humanitarian
aid during cold times. Second hand and humanitarian aid clothes are the prime
source for them. In majority of cases, as is the case of Schinoasa, Ursari,
Parcani no shops of any kind (food, clothes, medicine, etc) exist. Health care
is limited to a medical point in all those places (Schinoasa exception) that
would be open several hours a day and operating upon the requests.
Pharmaceutical points have been considered to be removed by public authorities
as considered cost-ineffective; no allocations are given to the public health
care from central or local budgets. Information comes only through people
coming and going out of community. Nobody subscribes to papers or listen to
radio, etc for lacking money to pay. No
telephone connection exists in majority of communities, as is the example of
Ursari village and Schinoasa community.
No running water or wells and
access to drinking water are a general features for the communities. For
instance, in Schinoasa community with population of about 500 persons there
were only 4 wells of which only two used for drinking purposes, but even there,
the water was already visibly bad. In another example, in Ursari village,
people complained of two wells drinking water as if left over the night, some
condensate would be clearly visible. In majority of cases no electricity had
been available for different reasons of lack of resources to pay or electricity
system destroyed. For instance in Schinoasa village, the community was
disconnected totally more five years and in another instance in Ursari village,
as it situated on the main road, only some of the people would have the
electricity close to the next Moldovan village and around the school.
Specific Recommendations
v
Political parties to reserve places for
representatives from Roma rural communities for local elections;
v
All decisions of public allocations and spending
regarding Roma communities to be held with the presence of Roma community
representatives;
v
Local authorities to institute quarterly
consultations within Roma communities;
v
Department of Interethnic Relations to establish
a unit on Roma problems and employ Roma;
v
Consider administrative borders encouraging consolidation
of Roma in one administrative unit;
v
Public spending regarding Roma communities to
aim at compensation of underdevelopment and past undespendings;
v
Regional and central authorities to consider
additional spending for the development of the Roma communities on basic
facilities, social sphere, water, canalization, electricity, etc;
v
Organize local and central coordinating councils
with Roma representative to consult and involve them in the decision-making
process;
v
Take proactive measures to raise the number of
Roma employees in public authorities and consider it as a must for the regions
and localities where Roma represent compact population;
v
Introduce in the local schools and kindergarten
curricular information and teaching about the Roma traditions and culture;
v
Operate modifications in the law on political
parties and Electoral Code that prohibit the participation and supporting by
civic and ethno-cultural organizations of candidates at local elections;
v
Operate modifications in the law on political
parties liberalizing the establishment of the political parties at regional
level;
v
Mandatory consult Roma population when operating
modifications in territorial and administrative divisions of public
administration;
v
Law on local public administration to devolve to
regional authorities at level two, where there is minority population of at
least 6%
Ø
Substantial competence of the humanities
educational curricular, within the national educational curricular;
Ø
Substantial competence of the cultural
activities of the commune
v
Law on local public administration, Electoral
Code in the localities where there is a compact minority population of at least
6%
Ø
A reserved sit in local public council at level
one or two for representative of a national minority, elected directly none of
the representatives have been elected in the public council
Analysis
Lack of participation in
decision-making process and representation in public sphere
The representation of Roma in local
and regional councils is next to inexistent. In all communes visited there were
hardly any Roma sitting in local or raional council. There was only one example
of a Roma to be the mayor of Cristesti commune himself coming from Bursuc Roma
village. All Roma communities where part of communes where Roma
community/village was less than 25% of population of the commune. In the case
of Schinoasa Roma community, that is a part of larger administrative entity of
Tibirica locality (composed on Tibirica community, Meleseni community and
Schinoasa community) Schinoasa village constituted 9% of population and none of
9 counselors of town governing body come from Schinoasa community. In Ursari
village case the situation is similar and none of the counselors come from
Ursari community while the about 10% of population of administrative unit are
Roma from Ursari village. Rather similar situation is in the case of Huzun,
Stejareni, Bursuc and others.
Participation in the local
decision-making process is only possible through election of local executive
and local council that is framed in such a manner that favors the rule of
majority. Only political centrally registered political parties and independent
candidates are allowed to run for local offices and only exceptions get elected
(one example of major and no councilors).
Other forms or participation are inexistent, there is no practice of
informal consultation in decision-making process if the decision affects or may
affect the Roma community. No forms of self-government for minority Roma
communities are provided in the law or exist in practice. The territorial
organization of the state does not take into the consideration the compact
minority community.
In the case of Roma villages the
participation of the Roma at regional and central level in the decision-making
process is hindered by the unfavorable legislative framework. Law on political
parties does not allow the association on the ethnic and/or regional basis. It
also has heavy barriers on the establishment of a political party requiring the
representation in at least half of the country local administration entities
(raions). This precludes the development of the regional political parties or
political movements that can have the local or regional agenda. The Law on
public associations also does not allow the participation of the pubic
associations in proposing the candidates for the local councils. The formation
of the local and regional elective bodies is only possible thus on the basis of
the existing political structures that are rarely sensitive to the local or
even real minority needs.
The law on political parties in
article 1(3) outlaws political participation of other associations (cultural,
professional, etc) than political parties in the political process.
Article 5(2, 3) requires the rigid conformity of the Party statutes with the
laws of Moldova and excessively requires the representation of at least 5000
members in at least half of the country public administration of level two.,
Article 12 establishes a high prohibition on the finance of the political party
by the foreign physical and juridical persons as well as persons without
citizenship, as well as unregistered associations of citizens. Article
14 forbids the formation of political parties based on employment principle and
prescribes only territorial principle.
Practice shows that individuals can
hardly compete with political parties to win sits in the local and regional
decision-making bodies as they lack resources and necessary support for this.
In those cases where individuals won the competition with the political parties
backed candidates they were representatives of the businesses or commune well
known personalities with solid backgrounds. Few Roma can qualify, actually only
one person is known.
Excessive centralization of
decision-making process;
Majority of the decision-making
processes are made on central or regional level with the neglected role of local
authorities. The administrative reform of 2001-02 has strengthened the negative
tendency. Economic assets and regulation of economic activities depend
primarily on central authorities. Roma rural villages are neglected in
principle by the administrative organization of the villages that minimizes the
Roma community possible influence. Follows the systemized analysis of the
related problems.
v
education
policies related curriculum;
The educational curricular is a
process and a content document that ends up describing the content of the each
grade and each subject of the educational program. Once the document is
elaborated and approved it becomes the major document in the schooling process
that is also linked to the financial allocations of the needed human resources
for the implementation of the school program. This document is approved on the
basis of the framework of the mentioned laws by a Ministry of Education special
council. The educational curricular regulates as much as 95% of the program
content and allows insignificant (around 5%) of subject of change or
improvement.
To describe the process of the
relevant decision-making process it is composed of several processes. Initially
a group of experts in the educational curricular elaborate the draft (that
usually a quite technical process that does not have room for the influence
from the relevant constituencies of the process like minority groups, local
governments, etc) that gets the reading of the political leadership of the
Ministry of Education that is later sent out for the relevant central
authorities like Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture, etc to get the
opinion and the improvement of. That document is subject of the finalization
and is discussed at the mentioned curricular council. The council is composed
of the vice-ministers, minister, representatives of the variety of governmental
bodies (Ministry of Culture, finance, Department of National minorities, etc)
some academics and very insignificant from civil society (might be asked the opinion
of the national relevant association but informed on the decision taken). The
council is an administrative appendix of the Ministry of Education. The Council
adopts the decision after the discussion in the plenary by a procedure that
usually doe not provide for the extensive discussions. The Minister of
Education approves later and issues the order of the enacting of the
educational curricular.
None of the local authorities where
the reside were invited or can influence the process and once the curricular is
in place the financial means are also tailored to the program and no
significant or even relative of importance changes in substantial or financial
part can be made. Therefore, one can see how the decision-making process is
almost closed for the local administration or relevant cultural associations
for the influence. That pattern brings the conclusion of little or any
participatory means available for locally residing Roma to have a role to play.
v
degree of
use of language in public sphere;
The use of the Romani language in
local and regional public administration depends on the Law on functioning of
languages, Law on the protection of persons belonging to national minorities
and the practices of regional and local administrations. The use of Romani
language at local level is relevant, most importantly in the case of Ursari and
Vulcanesti villages. The ability to communicate informally with Ursari and
Vulcanesti Roma by representatives of the respective local autoroties is
questionable. The team has been particularly impressed by the extent Romani
language is used in Vulcanesti and Urasari. In Vulcanesti the team has met many
children that could hardly communicate in any other language than Romani. The
issue of the use of Romani language at least in the informal context with
public authorities has not been by the local administration of the
communes.
Recommendations
v
Proactively recruit qualified Roma for
professional positions in the national and local administration, labor offices
staff, health care providers and school officials;
v
Proactively recruit Roma young people for
careers in medicine and public health, providing scholarships and other
expenses if feasible;
v
Regional and central authorities to renovate and
make hard-paved roads to and where necessary within the rural Roma communities;
v
Materials situation to be improved in Roma rural
communities;
v
Central and Regional Government to establish
small scale grants and credit schemes for Roma communities;
v
Regional economic development to target
specifically Roma communities;
v
Public employment opportunities should be
effectively established for Roma representatives in those areas (especially
local administration);
v
Professional education courses as well as
professional orientation course to be made available for Roma from the
communities;
v
Central authorities to enter agreements with
Ukrainian customs to stop rubbings at the border for Roma returning from work
in Ukraine;
Analysis
After the establishment of Moldovan
independence, Roma were systematically denied access to the assets of
collective farms during the privatisation process. Land is the major asset and
survival resource in the primarily rural economy of Moldova. Roma communities have
traditionally been identified as “settlements without future” (asezaminte fara
perspectiva), a term which set them outside the system of local governance and
set outside the target of public expenditure and allocation of public finances
for decades. By treating Roma villages and settlements as temporary, makeshift
“settlements” of transient people (even if they were actually permanent communities
that had existed for many years), non-Roma political leaders could avoid
directing resources toward the political and administrative organization of
Roma communities, effectively ignoring their existence. Thus the Roma
“settlements” traditionally lacked local mayoralties, which would allow them to
tap into the funding system, which flowed from the central government. These
policies substantially economically and socially disadvantaged the people of
Roma communities in Soviet times, and this pattern of deprivation continued
after the Moldovan independence. As a result rural Roma were not in a position
to claim their share of the country’s resources when the privatization process
began. As a guideline for the privatization of Moldovan land, the government
created the “Land Code”, Law No. 228-XII, which declared that land would only
be granted to individuals who had worked on a kolkhoz, or collective farm, during Soviet times. Though many Roma were excluded because they
had never worked on the collective farms (whether or not they were given the
opportunity to do so is unclear), even those few Roma individuals who had
worked on collective farms were not allocated the shares of land to which they
should have been entitled.
Historical data shows that freedom
from slavery in the second part of 18 century (possession of church-many
researched communities are found near churches/monasteries-, regional
governors, landlords, etc) has turned for Roma rural communities into income
and asset generation dependence on the same masters and evolved into other
institutional forms bringing them wealth. Prior to Soviet times (before 40’s)
they had been made working in the condition of servitude at forest and
agricultural works on daily basis with no land or any other means to generate
income and living in areas withy hard road access. In Soviet time, their
situation has not changed; they continued to live in the same places with hard
road access with just some land necessary to put up a small house and hard work
in collective farms. Many even at that time practiced going to Ukraine for
agricultural works. After the independence, they have been denied access to
privatization to assets of collective farms as well.
As the land is the major asset
generation and survival source in the rural communities. The rate of
participation in the land privatization process, for example, in Schinoasa, a
Roma community, is on average 40-50 times less than in nearby non-Roma
communities, with the result that nearby fertile land was shifted largely to
non-Roma communities. Local authorities qualified only 5% of persons living in
Schinoasa for privatization, contrasted with 95% in a neighboring non-Roma
community. In Parcani and Ursari the
rate of participation in privatization is somewhat higher but in none of the
communities reaching 15%, while in non-Roma components of communes it has been
never less than 60%. These figures speak for themselves, and they indicate a
pervasive pattern of discrimination against Roma individuals and communities. Even if the government simply carried over
the discriminatory policies of the past through the structure of its
eligibility rules, it has certainly failed to “undertake to guarantee that the
rights enunciated in the [ICESCR] will be exercised without discrimination of
any kind…”. Since the privatization
process has now been completed, the new era in Moldova will unfortunately carry
forward the deprivation and disenfranchisement that Roma people have long
suffered, unless action is taken to correct the disproportionate and unfair
distribution of land among the people of Moldova. Similar patters
No job employments opportunities
exist in Roma communities wither in public or private sectors or in nearby
villages as Roma are considered apt to only season works or day-to-day
engagements. Comparing with other localities of Moldova
inhabited by this national minority, the community from Vulcanesti presents a
progress in what regards Roma material situation. Nevertheless, the inhabitants
of Vulcanesti community have very little land in their possession. This
situation brings a lot of negative consequences upon Roma, making them to
search incomes through other methods.
As a
result of the described practices, Roma community adults would have two
primarily sources of income: earning outside of country on agricultural works (Ukraine) for
3-5 months a year and work on daily basis on agricultural works at private
individuals. In first instance Roma would be frequently robbed at the border by
Ukrainian customs or mafia networks linked with Ukrainian customs (as the
project team was given plenty of documented examples) and their season earnings
would not averagely exceed 600-700 EURO. In the second case the daily payment
would not exceed 0.8-0.9 EURO per day including food.
A look
into the regional concentration of other resources (forest, lakes, water
basins, wine factories, etc) has shown a pattern that all major mentioned
resources have stayed in the property of centrally/regionally administered
authorities with their income not played in the local budgets of the researched
villages. For instance, all the forest resources were concentrated in the hands
of State Forest Associations, (in all cases this region was rich with forest
and actually situated surrounded by forest regions) which income would be
subject of local taxes. Large lakes and water basins were the same with
regional management.
The
visits have also revealed another practices when in some Roma communities,
particularly Ursari, Schinoasa, Parcani the attempts of local population to
establish small business have been prevented by operating mafia groups so that
small shops of different types were destroyed and local Roma were forced to
leave their spending in non-Roma settlements. Police has never reacted promptly
to curtail these illegal actions.
Specific Recommendations
Moldovan Helsinki Committee encourages
local and central authorities to take the following measures:
v
Provide measures for the representation of at
least one counselor from Romani village of Schinoasa in the local
decision-making body of Tibirica commune;
v
Eliminate practices of discriminatory public
allocations to education, culture, maintenance of roads, water and other basic
conditions;
v
Assure minimal basic conditions: water, drinking
running water, electricity, telephone, priority distribution of humanitarian
aid, etc;
v
Provide paving roads to and hard roads within
the village of Schinoasa;
v
Assure the schooling at all levels of children
of Schinoasa;
Background
Moldovan Helsinki Committee has
carried out a visit to Schinoasa locality of Tibirica town of Ungheni judet. The team was composed of 8
persons. The mission started with the visit paid to the mayoralty of Tibirica
that revealed a number of relevant information on Schinoasa village. The mayor
asserts that the locality is not even displaced on the map of Tibirica and
cannot be found in any written reference anywhere. The law on territorial
organization that lists all the localities misses it as well.
For the oficial use the locality
does not exist, it did so even started with 70’ when soviets considered the
locality without „perspective” the status that was given to the localities that
would receive almost no investment and development for the aim of building
collective settlement in the soviet understanding. The current treatment of the
locality continues the prior practices of mistreatment and negligence of local
and central authorities.
Village of Schionasa
is situated 57 km North-West of the capital of Moldova-Chisinau and 70 km
East-South of city of Ungheni.
The village is a part of Tibirica commune. Tibirica has around 2 300 persons,
Schinoasa around 400 persons and the third village of commune is Meleseni with
around 1 800 persons. These three make up the commune of Tibirica.
The history of Schinoasa is not
known well. The inhabitants state that it history goes around 100 years back
when a landlord had the property of this land with the name of Andronic. A Roma
who has been traveling has once arrived to the landlord and asked for a place
to settle. He has been given the piece of wild land full with middle (schin) bushes.
Later Roma has been joined a number of his relatives who as the first one have
worked for the landlord and lived there. It is clear that this Roma village has
started as place where Roma were given the place to live and who remained
depended on their lord as a result of 18 century reform for partial
deliberation of peasants and later Roma as special category.
Location of all Researched Roma Villages
Schinoasa village has around 400 persons with around
100 families. The componence of the Roma families vary from 2 to 9 members. The
local officials countered that stating that they have only 270 persons
registered in the files against what has been said by the local population.
Administration
The population division between the
three villages is as follows: Tibirica 52% or 2 330 persons, Meleseni 40% or 1
800 persons and Schinoasa 8% or 400 persons. All of these three villages make
up Tibirica commune with one local council and one executive administration in
Tibirica village. The Law on administrative and territorial division prescribed
that it regionally accountable to Ungheni judet and later to calarasi raion.
Tibirica and Meleseni are situated at the distance of several hundred meters
while Schinoasa at the distance of 3-4 km. At the time of the visit the
Tibirica commune budget was around 800 000 MLD and the executed part of the
budget was 600 000 MLD. The structure of the income was that half of the budget
was made out of the local income and hald based on the central budget
contribution. Local income is based on the taxes from land and property. The
main expenditures lines were salaries for public employees with around 45%,
rehabilitation and maintenance of social objects with 45% and around 3% for
culture, education, etc.
Material situation
Schinoasa community is situated 3-4
km distance from Tibirica not far from Girbovet monastery that could have
plaied a role in the formation of the Schinoasa village. While traveling by car
on the way to Tibirica village, one could miss a turn to left to unpaved road
that in 2 km will go abruptly downwards to Schinoasa village. There is no an
indication of the existence of the village as there is indication on any
official map of the settlement. The road lead to the direction of the forest
while at certain point one could notice on the left a number of first village
houses situated in a kind of small depression. Going towards this depression
one could discover a village
of Schinoasa and the
children running towards and greeting the car.
Continuing by car downwards, one
take the breath as there is a risk that unpaved road will sleep the car into
the depression as the angle is quite sharp. The locals advise to leave the car
at the almost entrance in the village and continue by foot. Continuing by foot
on the main road one could see two rows of houses on births sides. The whole
village is around 1.5 km length. In several minutes one reaches the center of
the village where is situated a well that does not function and produce good
drinkable water. One gets quickly surrounded by the locals who have rarely seen
the outsiders coming to the village. A child noticed notebook in hands of a
team member and started to ask his mother to get the notebook as she needs it
and does not have. Another child is asking for a book with colored pictures
that he noticed on the notebook. One could not forget this first symbol of an
almost undressed turn off second hand clothes child with face and eyes looking
famine asking for a notebook. This picture remains throughout the whole
impression of the village
of Schinoasa.
Local authorities assert that in
Schinoasa there 4 well and there is no any other source of drinkable water
available. Of this 4 well, the team could hardly believe that two contained
healthy water as it has been visibly polluted and dirty. The locals said that
they would take for several days in a basket so that adding could sediment and
the “water” itself is thus separated. We have asked for a basket and took water
from the good well; it turned out to be containing quite of sand and was rather
yellow. When we came back about 20 minutes later the water was not still clink
of the sand and color. The locals said that they can actually use only two
wells for drinking water; one being the well we have described.
Only few houses were connected to
electricity with the majority not having even a lamp in their houses. They
assert they have no money to pay for the electricity and therefore the state
electricity company discontinued the plug in to the network. There is no
heating. Locals use old dry wood from the surrounding areas to heat their
houses. Although Schinoasa is surrounded by woods from two parts it does not
own a part or does not benefit from the income generated from the woods.
Many cases have been told of the
locals being sent to serve imprisonment for being caught to collect “illegally
woods” to worm the houses in the winter. One of these cases was told by a
middle age man of 40 who received detention for 4 months (prosecutor was asking
for 6 years of imprisonment) for cutting several trunks of wood from the nearby
of his house in the winded to heat the house with 3 children between 4 to 13
years.
The major asserted that
humanitarian aid has been distributed to Schinoasa frequently. This information
has not been confirmed by the locals of Schinoasa.
Housing
As asserted by the local
administration of Tibirica there were around 70-100 houses in Schinoasa. The team
could only count around 60 houses. All of them were so old and fragile that
probably none of them could survive an earthquake. All the places could be
recognized as unsanitary and unfitted for the housing. The locals said that
they did not have any sources to repair or stop the gradual demolition of the
houses.
The houses were very small with
sometimes three families leaving in one house. The houses were made of ground
clay covered by concrete layers on the top. The windows were made of plastics
not glass windows with the exception of the so called school. The locals said
us that as many families leave in the same house, women sleep in one room, boys
and men sleep in another while in the time of summer men sleep outside. The two
rooms’ houses are the most frequent type of the house with one kitchen and all
commodities outside.
Inside of a house in Schinoasa village
Food/Grocery shops
The majority of locals said they eat only what they
grow in the gardens plus buy corn flour and potatoes. The garden each house has
is around 20 ha. The food basically contains flour, corn, potato, onion, carrot
with few or extremely rare meat, primarily chicken. The closest grocery shop
could be found at 3-4 km distance in Tibirica. They also buy there bread and
salt. They told us that they tried several times together to set up a shop but
were precluded by mafia group who beaten the initiative group and robbed of the
some money they had.
Clothing
Lack of employment and the priority
need to buy food make the locals to find clothes in second hand shops where
they buy cloths by weight. In the summer children are naked or almost naked
ouside while in the autumn and winter they hardly are called dressed well.
Inside of a house in Schinoasa village
Communication/Access to Information
None of the locals receive any
newspaper, watches tv or listens to radion. The locals have no money to access
that. Local administration says they buy 10 subscribtions to those who leave in
Tibirica and none of them reach those who leave in Schinoasa. National tv and
radio programs do not reach the village as it is situated in a depression. At
the time we have visited the village there were no single telephone. The
available phone number for Schinoasa has been given to Tibirica accountant
office.
The locals have said us many cases
when the lack of telephone caused problems that they could not help children or
old people for the emergency assistance. There were also cases when the police
could not be called for the urgent intervention. The case of the woman who
started a small business has been very recent in their memories which have been
beaten up by some unknown men.
Medical assistance
As said by the mayor of Tibirica,
there are 3 medical personnel that give assistance to any member of Tibirica
commune. The place where the medical personnel are placed is however in
Tibirica therefore in case of a medical consultation the person from Schinoasa
has to go 3-4 km to reach Tibirica.
Education
There is no
kindergarten in Schinoasa and no transportation arranged to go to Tibirica kindergarten.
There is no even a primary school for around 50 children; local authorities
rent two rooms from a private person in the center of Schinoasa for educational
process. Children of different age come and learn together. After the grade 4
they go to Tibirica
School which is 3-4 km
distance. The team was said that in the winter or autumn they actually learn
only a month in total since the access to Schinoasa is very difficult if almost
impossible and the teachers have to come from Tibirica. In the soviet time,
there was transportation facility to Tibirica.
When children of
the grade 5 and higher were asked if they go to Tibirica School,
they said the do it but reluctantly and in sporadically since it is difficult
to go every day 3-4 km, they are hungry, they dress poor and they face
stigmatization in Tibirica. There were also cases of beatings and psychological
harassment of children from Schinoasa. Legal regulations provide that local
public administration have the obligation to assure that children up to the age
of 16 to have all the facilities to come to school. The
regulation therefore is inyterpreted that local public authorities have the
positive obligation to facilitate and create all necessary conditions for the
schooling of the children from Schinoasa or elsewhere.
On the basis of
the study of the local budget around 3% of the budget or 18 000 MLD (1 400
EURO) from the real figures and 24 000 MLD (1 800 EURO) according to the budget
is spent for the activities promoting education and culture. These numbers do
not include salaries for the teachers and educators; those are included in the
separate budget line.
Public allocations for education and culture in Tibirica commune, data
on 2002
|
Approved budget, MDL
|
800 000,0
|
|
Executied budget, MDL
|
600 000,0
|
|
Culture and Education (real), 3%, MDL
|
18 000,0
|
|
Approved Culture and Education, 3%, MDL
|
24 000,0
|
|
Monthly Schinoasa on Education, MDL
|
40,0
|
|
Annually Schinoasa on Education, MDL
|
480,0
|
|
% of allocation for Schinoasa
|
0,1
|
|
Allcation per child in Schinoasa, MDL
|
1,8
|
|
Allocation in Tibirica (without Schinoasa), MDL
|
299,8
|
Of this amount administration in Tibirica
contributes monthly with 20 MDL (1,5 EURO) to maintain and pay the rent for a
small library in Schinoasa. Additionally Tibirica administration contributes
with 20 MDL (1,5 EURO) to pay the rent of 2 rooms for the school in Schinoasa
rented from a private individual. The salaries for the teachers that come to
Schinoasa are included in the general budget line for the school in Tibirica
and in total makes around 2 units.
To sum up all the contributions to
education and culture in Schinoasa one gets 40 (3 EURO) MDL monthly or 480 (36
EURO) MDL yearly. No other contributions were attested by the village
inhabitants. If the allocated amount of 18 000 MDL (1 400 EURO) minus 480 MDL
(36 EURO) of Schinoasa, one gets the amount of 680 EURO for Tibirica and Meleseni
separately. If these to be calculated per person per village Schinoasa will get
0.08%, while Tibirica and Meleseni will get the rest. In other words
allocations per person in Schinoasa are around 1 MDL per year, while Meleseni
and Tibirica will get 4.5 MDL per year. In absolute figures the amount is much
bigger and much more benefits to Meleseni and Tibirica villages compared with
Schinoasa village that creates the discriminatory practice.
Another interesting fact discovered
was the mayor of Tibirica commune asserted that the local administration
contributed with the repair of his rented private place in Schinoasa (failed to
name the sum) while talking to the owner of the place, the team was told that
he was obliged to repair otherwise he would not have had the rent contract for
the next year.
The small house where the school
process was conducted had been on the property of a man who lived in the center
of the village, it had two rooms-each of 6-8 m2. The house did not have any
heating; it has two small windows with broken glasses. The locals said that in
the winter it is impossible to teach as it is freezing inside, so usually the
process of teaching is stopped during the winter cold months. Otherwise the
children study in two shifts with children sitting of the mixed age in the same
class.
While talking to the children, the
team has found out that the teacher brings for each lesson a book that they see
only during their classes and some of them did not even touched it in their
life. They have no notebooks, pencils, etc. They use only wall-table to write.
While talking to the children of 10-12 yaers we found that they could not read
or write. While asked which country they live in or what is the capital of the
country, they could not reply on these questions. They could hardly count as
well. The team found that of 60 children of primary school age 25 resided in
Schinoasa making almost half of the total population of children below the age
of 10.
While visiting the library the team
has found a collection of around 300 books of which 1/3 was in Latin script and
the rest with Cyrillic script. Children were saying that they liked to look at
the books and even though they did not understand anything they liked to hold
books in the arms. The locals say that a person from Tibirica village used to
come several times per week for half of day and opens the library sitting
there. One day she stopped coming as she has been fired, she came and took all
the good things from the library: carpets, chairs and some books. So since
there the only chair in the library has been brought by the neighbor who keeps
an eye on the library and opens and closes it from time to time.
Access to sources of income
The economic development of Schinoasa
has been questioned dating back to the soviet time when the authorities
attributed the status of the “village without the perspective” to Schinoasa –
the village has not since received financial allocations for the social,
infrastructure, etc development. The village has since been a satellite of
Tibirica.
Employment
No person from Schinoasa is
employed in public sector of Tibirica commune. All places of public employment
in Schinoasa are offered to people living in Tibiroca. No other public services
are provided for Schinoasa village in Tibitica commune budget.
Employment in private sector of
Schinoasa is very much reduced if almost inexistent as there are just sporadic
initiatives to start up a small business. The locals have told the yteam about
several attempts to start up a small business that have been precluded, another
barrier represents the taxes they have to pay to open a business that is around
1 200 MDL (80 EURO) that is quite an amount for people of Schinoasa.
Social
assistance
Another source of existence is the
benefits of the social assistance that some categories from Schinoasa receive.
In many cases this is the only source of existence in the village. 30 persons
in the village receive the unemployment benefits that make up 60 MDL (5 EURO)
monthly, a number of persons receive social benefits for orphans and as
families with many children. These contributions are around the same amount as
the other social benefits. This source seems to be one of the main sources of
income for many children and families.
A problem that the team noticed was
that local authorities do not register the birth of the children as this also
requires the payment for registration of birth with local authorities. That
precludes many families to receive social benefits for the children. While
discussing with the local authorities, the team discovered that they did not
know if in Schinoasa there families with more than 7 children. The team has
seen several families with more than 7 children in the village.
Access/possession
of Land
In the discussion with local
Schinoasa population the team discovered that before 70s in the village existed
a collective form called “Dimitrov” that had land, forest a pork farm and other
assets. These assets have given a certain level of income for the population of
Schinoasa. However, later in 70s the decision was taken to join the two
collective farms and transfer the management to Tibirica village as a part of
Tibirica commune.
The locals said that this decision
has contributed to the formation of alienation of the assets from Schinoasa and
Schionasa lack of interest and also less involvement of Schinoasa population in
the agricultural production process of Tibirica commune.
In 1992 the law on the
privatization of land has produced a discrimination of the population of
Schinoasa as it required the eligibility criteria for the participation in the
privatization. People should have at the moment been current employees of the
collective farms who managed the land and other assets. This only criterion
deprived many from the participation in the privatization and accessing the
assets that have been collectively created over the years. The result was that
only 1,9% (5 individuals) of the population of Schinoasa have participated in
the privatization. The table also explains that in comparison in Meleseni and
Tibirica more than half of the population participated in the process of
privatization. The ownership of the assets is 50 times higher and
disproportionate in disfavor of Schinoasa inhabitants.
The rest of the people remained
with no assets to sustain their lives and are forced to use other forms of
generation of incomes.
Access
to land and ownership of land
|
|
Schinoasa
|
Meleseni
|
Tibirica
|
Tibirica commune
|
|
population
|
270,0
|
1 800,0
|
2 330,0
|
4 400,0
|
|
%
|
6,1
|
40,9
|
53,0
|
100,0
|
|
Unit-rate of land per
person
|
80
|
160
|
80
|
106,7
|
|
Number of persons
participated in privatization
|
5
|
700
|
1220
|
1 925,0
|
|
Surface of land under
privatization, ha
|
400,0
|
112 000,0
|
97 600,0
|
210 000,0
|
|
% of persons who
participated in the privatization
|
1,9
|
38,9
|
52,4
|
|
|
% of persons who
participated in the privatization compared with the total population in the
commune
|
0,3
|
36,4
|
63,4
|
|
|
% of surface land per
capita in each villages
|
0,2
|
53,3
|
46,5
|
|
The table shows that in Tibirica 1
220 persons participated in the privatization of collective assets – or 52% of the
population; in Meleseni 700 persons or 39%. The table shows that Schinoasa
having 8% of the population of Tibirica commune has less than 0,2% of the land
in ownership as an asset and much less percentage of the all assets that are
owned in Tibirica; respectively Meleseni-53% and Tibirica-46,5%.
Disqualification from participation
in the privatization of the assets and land has demonstrated that in respect of
Schinoasa where 5% were qualified and 1,9% actually become the owners of some
type of property while in Tibirica 95 % were qualified and more than 50% become
the owners of some type of property reveals the picture of the discrepancy in
the ownersip of the property and the extremisation of the access to finances
and property in the villages.
These figures also demonstrate that
the local authorities have not been keen to provide at least some form of the
social equality and there is not any justification for the result of the
implementation of the policy that creates such form of social injustice in the
village.
Dayly
petty earning
One of the source of income of
population from Schinoasa is to perform dayly work for the inhabitants of
Tibirica, Micleuseni. They are engaged and working out the land of inhabitants from
Micleuseni and Tibirica and receive around 10 MDL per day (06 EURO). They have
to provide themselves the food, etc. They are considered good workers.
Emigrations and working abroad
Another source of income is going
for the period of summer-autumn to Ukraine for agricultural works. The
main destination is Eastern Ukraine (Harkiv
region). There they can earn 100-150 EURO per month. They say that they take
with them the whole family with children and work there every day from morning
to evening with employees to provide only water. The locals say that this is a
very hard physical work.
The team has been told many cases
when those who had gone for season work would have not returned, others would
have returned with no season earning as the Ukrainian costumes had robbed them
for not being able to show the legal reasons from exporting the money form the Ukraine. There
are also criminal groups’ linked to customs from the side of Ukraine that
rob the returning Roma from season earning at the border with Ukraine.
Small
businesses
Another source of income that has
been tried by some locals in Schinoasa was opening some small bossiness – type
of shop, grocery, etc. In all cases the locals said they were precluded by some
mafia type of groups. The policy being alerted to did not carry out the
investigation.
Representation
There was not even a singly
representative from Schinoasa village; all representatives were from Tibirica
and Meleseni villages.
Bordei Vasile, Democratic
Convention, tel: 65 344
Bordei Maria, Democratic
Convention, rel: 65 225
Bordei Iurie, Democratic
Convention, tel:
Gutu Grigore, Democratic
Convention, tel: 65 212
Burnivaeva Maria, Democratic Party,
tel: 65 251
Lupu Dumitru, Democratic Party,
tel: 65 240
Postica Ion, Democratic Party, tel:
65 259
Lavric Boris, Communist Party, tel:
65225
Zubcu, Communist Party, tel: 65225
There is no persons who could come
from Schinoasa village.
Percentage
of population and theoretical proportion of representation in local
decision-making bodies
|
|
Schinoasa
|
Meleseni
|
Tibirica
|
Tibirica commune
|
|
population
|
400,0
|
1 800,0
|
2 330,0
|
4 400,0
|
|
%
|
8,8
|
39,7
|
51,4
|
|
|
Number of councilors
|
0,8
|
3,6
|
4,6
|
9,0
|
Culture, Identity
The process of assimilation of locals
has been intensive. They could be not identified from the other villages by
language, specific type of clothing, traditions or any other means. Their look
and self-identification remain probably the strongest criteria in their Roma
perception as well as others persecution of them Roma. The extreme poverty
however made them impossible to maintain their identity and distinctions.
It could be one of the difficult
questions whether population of Schinoasa identify themselves as Roma. All
people from Tibitica, Meleseni amd other region’s village’s say that
Schinoasa’s population is Roma. In all the discussions there was not any doubt
of that. At the same time the mayor states that if Schinoasa population is
feared to as Roma they show that they are upset. Tibirica and meleseni
inhabitants’ told the team that Schinoasa inhabitants are very difficult and
different in their behavior, etc.
While discussing with Schinoasa
inhabitants the team has observed that Schinoasa inhabitants do not contest and
do not protest being called and named Roma. At the same time few of them (older
population could communicate in Roma). If somebody insists too much in the
conversation about Roma they would show their passports saying that they are
not really Roma as in their old passports they are Moldovans. At the same time
in the conversations on different subjects one could Schinoasa inhabitants’
positive attitude and sharing the conviction of belonging to Roma, in some
cases with expressiveness like “What kind of Roma are we if we are so poor?” A
man who identified himself clearly as non Roma as he came to this village
around 10 years ago marrying a woman in the village said that he liked coming
to Schinoasa Roma village as the inhabitants are very good, calm and the Romani
woman he married is much better than a Moldovan woman he had before.
Recommendations
Moldovan Helsinki Committee appeals
to the local, regional and central authorities to take the following
recommendations and actions:
v
To support the elaboration of the special
measures to involve all Roma of the educational age in schooling in special
Roma girls that manifest the highest level of drop-out;
v
To allocate necessary financial resources to
improve the quality of the education in school, provide teachers who posses
Romani language and provide special treatment for those Roma children that come
to school knowing only Romani language;
v
To elaborate special programs that will raise
the level of education of adults in the village regarding the health, safety
matters, etc.
v
To improve the communication between Vulcanesti
Roma and Ciorasti local administration;
v
To consider the need for the devolution of the
self-administration of Vulcanesti village;
v
To take measures for the promotion of the
climate of tolerance between Roma of Vulcanesti and Ciorasti village;
v
To eliminate the budgetary discrepancies in
allocations to the school on Vulcanesti on the chapter of education and
maintaining of the basic conditions in Vulcanesti School;
v
To provide a Roma sensitive policy in employment
in public sphere;
v
To provide for
Vulcanesti the basic materials conditions of water, electricity,
telephone, humanitarian aid access, etc;
Background
Vulcanesti is a village of Ursari Roma
(meaning those who had practiced traveling around with shows with bears). The
basic material condition of Vulcanesti Roma is good, the quality of house,
roads and other basic conditions has been much better compared to Schinoasa
however apparently worse than in nearby non Roma villages. The village has
disproportional less material, land and other resources and is not represented
in local decision-making body.
Vulcanesti village together with
Ciorasti village make up Ciorasti commune with the local administration
residing in Ciorasti. Vulcanesti resides
on the road to a regional center – Nisporeni the distance being about 9 km. The
distance to Chisinau is around 45 km. The two villages of Ciorasti and
Vulcanesti is about 4-5 km. The population of Vulcanesti is about 1 500 people,
although Ciorasti local administration asserted that they know of only 1 300
persons. A teacher of mathematics that comes form Ciorasti told us the history
of Vulcanesti that around 120 years ago 3 nomadic Roma families settled here
named Stoina, Arapu an Ibrian. In the village also live around 50-60 Moldovans
who moved from Ciorasti in Vulcanesti in 70s as a result of the land shifts in
Ciorasti. They set up a small community in Vulcanesti separetly from Roma. At
the same time in some recent times there were conflicts between Roma and
Moldovans that made some Moldovans to return to Ciorasti leaving 5-6 families
of Moldovans in Vulcanesti. A
substantial number of Roma families (40%) have more than 2 children.
Vulcanesti has the population of 1
500 persons and Ciorasti has 3 700 persons. Boris Stoica a Roma from Vulcanesti
is delegated as a representative of Vulcanesti in Ciorasti local
administration. He is the person that assures the communication between
Ciorasti local administration and Vulcanesti community and communicates the
decisions of Ciroasti local adminsiutration.
Material situation
Vulcanesti infrastructure is not
adequately developed, however comparing with Schinoasa or Ursari there is a
considerable improvement.
Houses
There are around 500 houses. The
places are very picturesque as the village is surrounded by a forest situated
on the paved well maintained road to Nisporeni. There were many houses
constructed in the last 5-6 years as a result of Roma earning money abroad and
investing in their houses. This was thru to the respect of the houses situated
immediately on the road, while other houses closer to the forest had been
obsolete and old and not repaired. There were also houses that remained ruined.
Water
There is no running water in the
village as there is no also water tubes installed. There are still around 10
wells with water of good quality. The locals said that they are happy with the
quality of water, the problems is that it is at very deep.
Electricity
Many Roma families were
disconnected form the electricity. The mayor said that this happened because
they do not pay for the services, while the locals asserted that they paied the
debts but they are disconnected as they did not pay the so-called connection costs.
The locals also said that they are cheated by the electricity company as the
bills show very high costs.
Heating
There is no central heating system
in Vulcanesti, everybody uses woods and coal to heat their houses. The locals
say that they heat only during the winter. The woods are taken from the nearby
forest that does not belong to them. There are many cases of administrative and
penal sanctions. Alternatively that asks Moldovans whom belongs parts of the
apple/cherry/other fruits former collective former trees.
Roads
Within the Vulcanesti village,
there are no paved roads, the re is only one paved road goes along the village
that leads to Nisporeni. To reach Ciorasti there is not direct road, the only
way is to go through the forest, and otherwise one can use the national
highways to reach Ciorasti.
Food
In Vulcanesti, there 3 small shops
that belong to Roma, there is only a bsic selection of products. Frequently the
y have to go to Nisporeni or Chisinau to buy the food or else. At the same time
the costs of the products in Vulcanesti is higher than in Nisporeni or
Chisinau. In generally the locals would complain of the quality of the food and
that it is limited to some basic elements. Especially this affects those
families that have many children, in the considerable part of their time they
use potato and bins, missing milk, meat, etc.
Photo with Roma children asked to demonstrate their writing abilities
(on the right three
members of the team: Luciana Iabangi, Natalia Mardari, Natalia Simagustina)
The locals told us that there were
a number of humanitarian aid but in many cases the humanitarian aid is given to
local administration in Ciorasti and it is hardly reaches Vulcanesti community.
A case was told us by a mother of 4 children who came to Ciorasti mayor a year
ago and has seen a box with clothes of humanitarian aid provenience. She has
asked for some but was refused by motivation that this boz is only for those
who live in Ciorasti and children of school age.
Accesul to information/comunication
As the locals from Vulcanesti said
they have only two telephone numbers, while the mayor said that Vulcanesti has
around 10 telephones and the majority use mobile telephones for the communication.
There were few who had tv or radio. Theere was not a post office; the locals
should have gone to Ciorasti.
Medical assistance
The locals remember that there was
a medical unit in Vulcanesti where there was a medical assistant and a doctor.
At the moment the medical point is in deplarable situation and there is only
one medical assistant. She offers only basic services, while complicated
services are given by the doctor in Ciorasti. All the medicaments and other
support are given from the office in Nisporeni. The working hours of the
medical point is between 9-10.00 and 15-16.00.
The medical point has been
transferred to the management of Family Planning Unit of Nisporeni hospital
that has promised to renovate the place. The locals said that most of the
health problems are related to TB, cholera, dysenteries and other infections
illnesses. The locals also accuse the doctor form Ciorasti that he refuses to
treat Vulcanesti Roma since they cannot pay the costs of the medicaments. A
case has been brought into the attention of the team when a woman has died
delivering a child at birth in the village as there was not an emergency
intervention. Another case was from 2001 when a child of 2 has died as the
parents could not pay for the costs of the medicaments.
Photo of medical point in Vulcanesti village that was closed during the
day-time
(in front two members
of the team: Luciana Iabangi and Nicolae Radita)
Access to sources of existence
In 60-70s when around 50 Moldovan
families moved to Vulcanesti, Ciorasti local administration started some social
investments. Although all Vulcanesti population has worked for common with
Ciorasti collective farm, it has been only in 60-70s when these investments
started. At that time a new school was built, a medical point was built a shop
was opened. However in 1992 after a conflict in the village, Moldovan families
sold their houses and moved out back to Ciorasti, since than Vulcanesti did not
benefit from any social investments.
Employment
The unemployment is very high in
the village. Only 5 persons are employed in public sector from Vulcanesti in
Ciorasti local administration and public sector. One medical assistant, 1 mayor
representative and 3 teachers form Vulcanesti. Some people are employed in
Nisporeni and Chisiniau on temporary bases and majority are unemployed. People
of working age go abroad and earn money in Russia, Ukraine and come back only
seasonally taking more and more children with them
Social
benefits
Social benefits is one of the
sources that varies from 35-60 MDL (3 EURO), In Vulcanesti only 11 pensioners
benefit form the social pension. A number of families with many children do not
benefit from the social pensions for their children.
Land
Of 1 500 persons living in
Vulcanesti, only 5-6 persons have benefited from portions of land and
participated in the privatization of the land and the collective form assets.
5-6 persons received allocations of land and other assets given their status of
veterans, teachers, etc. The rest of the population lacking the resources and
access to assets will eventually fell in the extreme forms of poverty; others
will leave for earnings outside the country for season works and thus bring
other social problems.
Daily
petty income
One of the sources of income of
population from Vulcanesti is to perform daily work for the inhabitants of
Ciorasti and elsewhere. They are engaged and working out the land of
inhabitants in nearby villages and receive around 10 MDL per day (0,6 EURO).
They have to provide themselves the food, etc. They are considered good
workers.
Earning
outside
Another source of income is going
for the period of summer-autumn to Ukraine for agricultural works. The
main destination is Eastern Ukraine (Harkiv
region). There they can earn 100-150 EURO per month. Another destination is Poland and
Romanian, where apart form agricultural work they are also involved in buying
engr and selling in Moldova.
They say that they take with them the whole family with children and work there
every day from morning to evening with employees to provide only water. The
locals say that this is a very hard physical work.
Small
business
Small business activity is better
developed than in Schinoasa but basically limited to small shops, producing
wine and selling it at Nisporeni market. In the village there are 3 private
small shops opened, in total around 5 persons are employed in private sphere.
Education
The school building has been raised
in 1992 it is situated at the end of the village at the main road. It is a
rather modern and spatial building. It has three stores and the director of the
school is a teacher of mathematics from Ciorasti.
While visiting the school the team
has seen that there is no heating in the school, in some room children’s
parents built a fire place to heat the space. They inhabitants expressed the
interest that the mayor could contribute with the building an autonomous
heating in the school as they contributed to the building of the fireplaces.
The coal and the wood to heat up the school were assured from the contribution
of the American Government.
When children were asked about the
classes, they said that they go there several times per week and not every day
and for only half day in the morning. They said that a number of groups and
ages stay together; sometimes they have 45 children together, since only some
of the rooms are heated.
The team has observed a very high
rate of drop-outs. The register numbered in each class around 40 children,
while visiting some of the classes and talking to children th team found only
10-12 children coming to school and even 6-7 tables to sit at.
Quality
The school register had around 200
school pupils that included the pupils from 1-9 classes. There are 10 Moldovans
and the rest of the children are Roma. Around 30 children are not involved in
schools. Many children follow their parents to work abroad during the school
year. When the team has visited the school at around 13-14.00, there were not
any children or teacher at the school.
When some of the children were
asked to write their names, the team was surprised that some of the could not
do so, even they could not read the texts if simple letters and sentences.
Books
and manuals
Children do not have books and
manuals. The teacher of mathematics said that the policy is that children have
to rent the books form the Direction of Education, but since it costs money not
the entire do have these books. The school library contained a number of
sources with majority being in Moldovan in Cyrillic script and no in Romani
language.
Romani Language
Romani language is not studied in
the school. The team has been surprised by the level of use of Romani language
in private sphere, in families, in the streets and in between the inhabitants.
Children at the age of school come with only Romanin language and they face
certain difficulties in learning in Romanian.
The school teachers do not know Romani language with exception of one
teacher of music and history. There are no manuals in Romani language. While
speaking with a number of children outside in the streets, there were many at
the age of 6-8 who could not communicate in Romanian. Many children even at age
of 10-12 could not read or know letters. The school employed 16 persons, of
which 3 are from Vulcanesti and 2 are Roma (Ibrian Simion and Lepadatu). An
average salary of the teacher was around 300 MDL (25 EURO).
Canine
The school has a canine. Children
are fed by the products originated from the contribution from the Government of
USA, pasta, rice, oil, corn, flour. The rest of the products are lacking.
Sanitary
conditions
There is no water in the school as
there is current water in the village. Commodities are outside the school.
Kindergarten
There is no kindergarten in
Vulcanesti, it has been closed several years ago. In Ciorasti, there are two
kindergartens that are functioning but require renovation.
Participation in public decision-making
Inhabitants of Vulcanesti are not active
in public life. Many seem very passive and are unaware how they can participate
and influence the decision-making process at local level. At the same time
Ciorasti administration does not meet with the inhabitants of Vulcanesti. The
only link existed between the representatives of Vulcanesti in Ciorasti local
council.
The total budget for Ciorasti was
700 000 MDL.
The
budget of Ciorasti commune and in relation with Vulcanesti village.
|
Approved
budget for Ciorasti MDL (subvenţii şi venituri proprii)
|
500 000,0
+ 200 000,0
|
700 000,0
|
|
Real
budget for 2002
|
Venituri
proprii – 50 %
Subvenţii
– 100 %
|
|
|
Expenditures
to support the city hall
|
100 %
|
391 000,0
|
|
School in
Ciorasti, MDL
|
16
000/34 ce e 34lunar
|
336 000,0
|
|
School in
Vulcanesti, MDL
|
6 000/16
ce e 16 lunar
|
210 000,0
|
|
Maintaining
the roads in Ciorasti, MDL
|
|
17 000,0
|
|
Libraries
in Cirasti, MDL
|
|
7100,0
|
|
Culture
in Ciorasti, MDL
|
|
15 000,0
|
|
Kindergarden
in Cirasti, MDL
|
|
124 000,0
|
The local council is formed out of
9 councilors and no representatives form Vulcanesti.
5
persons from Democratic Convention;
2
persosns from Communist Party
2
persoane de la Partidul Comunist,
2
persons were from Democratic Party,
The mayor said that the inhabitants
of Vulcanesti vote a lot for the Communist party and that creates
problems.
Elections
Of 1 500 persons living in
Vulcanesti, 500 have the right to vote, whereas 2000 persons in Ciorasti have the
rights to vote. With this figures still none of the councilors are coming from
Vulcanesti village.
Migration
Migration is very much present in
the community, people migrate on season basis to earn living outside of Moldova and
take their children with them during the winter and early spring they are in
Vulcanesti. The main destination was Russia, Ucraina, Poland.
There is another tendency when people sell there houses and remain in Russia and Ukraine where
they have better opportunities to have access to income.
Roma identity
The inhabitants of Vulcanesti are
clearly identified as Roma who belong to “ursari” branch of Roma. They are
proud of being called Roma. A Modovan teacher who works in the village says
that the children who come to school speak only Romani at least a good majority
of them, speak only Romani, therefore she had to study some Romani in order to
understand the children and communicate with them at the early stage of school.
She was saying that this is helping enormously children in learning process as
they become much more involved.
There is no facility for the
cultivation of Romani culture. The Culture house is in Cirasti and there no one
in Vulcanesti. Local budget of Ciorasti commune does not provide and budget for
the expenditures for culture and cultural activities. The budget for Ciorasti
village provided around 10 000 MDL (700 EURO) for the culture and there was not
any contribution for Vulcanesti in this budget.
Humanitarian Aid deposited and undistributed
Moldovan Helsinki Committee appeals
to the local, regional and central authorities to take the following
recommendations and actions:
v
Provide measures for the representation of at least
one counselor from Ursari in the local decision-making body of Pirjolteni
commune;
v
Eliminate practices of discriminatory public
allocations to education, culture, maintenance of roads, water and other basic
conditions;
v
Assure minimal basic conditions: water, drinking
running water, electricity, telephone, priority distribution of humanitarian
aid, etc;
v
Provide paved roads to Ursari;
v
Assure the schooling at all levels of children
of Ursari;
v
To support the elaboration of the special
measures to involve all Roma of the educational age in schooling in special
Roma girls that manifest the highest level of drop-out;
v
To allocate necessary financial resources to
improve the quality of the education in school, provide teachers who posses
Romani language and provide special treatment for those Roma children that come
to school knowing only Romani language;
v
To elaborate special programs that will raise
the level of education of adults in the village regarding the health, safety
matters, etc.
v
To improve the communication between Ursari Roma
and Pirjolteni local administration;
v
To take measures for the promotion of the
climate of tolerance between Roma of Urasri and Pirjolteni village;
v
To eliminate the budgetary discrepancies in
allocations to the school on Ursari on the chapter of education and maintaining
of the basic conditions in Ursari School;
v
To provide a Roma sensitive policy in employment
in public sphere;
v
To provide for Ursari the basic materials
conditions of water, electricity, telephone, humanitarian aid access, etc;
Local authorities asserted that in
Ursari there are 6 wells and there is no any other source of drinkable water
available. Of these 6 wells, the team could hardly believe that two contained
healthy water as it has been visibly polluted and dirty. The locals said that
they would take for several days in a basket so that adding could sediment and
the “water” itself are thus separated. We have asked for a basket and took
water from the good well; it turned out to be containing quite of sand and was
rather yellow. When we came back about 20 minutes later the water was not still
clink of the sand and color. The locals said that they can actually use only
two wells for drinking water; one being the well we have described.
Only few houses were connected to
electricity with the majority not having even a lamp in their houses. They
assert they have no money to pay for the electricity and therefore the state
electricity company discontinued the plug in to the network. There is no
heating. Locals use old dry wood from the surrounding areas to heat their
houses. Although Schinoasa is surrounded by woods from two parts it does not
own a part or does not benefit from the income generated from the woods.
Many cases have been told of the
locals being sent to serve imprisonment for being caught to collect “illegally
woods” to worm the houses in the winter. One of these cases was told by a
middle age man of 40 who received detention for 4 months (prosecutor was asking
for 6 years of imprisonment) for cutting several trunks of wood from the nearby
of his house in the winter to heat the house with 3 children between 4 to 13
years.
The major asserted that
humanitarian aid has been distributed to Schinoasa frequently. This information
has not been confirmed by the locals of Schinoasa.
Housing
As asserted by the local
administration of Pirjolteni there was around 200 houses in Ursari. The team
could only count around 150 houses. All of them were so old and fragile that
probably none of them could survive an earthquake. All the places could be
recognized as unsanitary and unfitted for the housing. The locals said that
they did not have any sources to repair or stop the gradual demolition of the
houses.
The houses were very small with sometimes three families
leaving in one house. The houses were made of ground clay covered by concrete
layers on the top. The windows were made of plastic not glass windows with the
exception of the so called school. The locals said us that as many families
leave in the same house, women sleep in one room, boys and men sleep in another
while in the time of summer men sleep outside. The two rooms’ houses are the
most frequent type of the house with one kitchen and all commodities
outside.
Photo of a
house in Ursari
Food/Grocery shops
The majority of locals said they eat only what they
grow in the gardens plus buy corn flour and potatoes. The garden each house has
is around 20 ha. The food basically contains flour, corn, potato, onion, carrot
with few or extremely rare meat, primarily chicken. There were several shops in
Ursari that were selling basically cheap alcohol and fast food. There were some
other shops and grocery shops in Pirjolteni at the distance of several km. They
also buy there bread and salt. They told us that they tried several times
together to set up a shop but were precluded by mafia group who beaten the
initiative group and robbed of the some money they had.
Clothing
Lack of employment and the priority
need to buy food make the locals to find clothes in second hand shops where
they buy cloths by weight. In the summer children are naked or almost naked
ouside while in the autumn and winter they hardly are called dressed well.
Inside of a house in Ursari
Communication/Access to Information
None of the locals receive any
newspaper, watches tv or listens to radio. The locals have no money to access
that. Local administration says they buy 10 subscribtions to those who leave in
Tibirica and none of them reach those who leave in Ursari. National tv and
radion programs do not reach the village as it is situated in a depression. At
the time we have visited the village there were no single telephone. The
available phone number for Schinoasa has been given to Tibirica accountant
office.
The locals have said us many cases
when the lack of telephone caused problems that they could not help children or
old people for the emergency assistance. There were also cases when the police
could not be called for the urgent intervention. The case of the woman who
started a small business has been very recent in their memories which have been
beaten up by some unknown men.
Medical assistance
As said by the mayor of Pirjolteni,
there are 3 medical personnel that give assistance to any member of Pirjolteni commune.
The place where the medical personnel are placed is however in Pirjolteni
therefore in case of a medical consultation the person from Ursari to go couple
of km to reach Pirjolteni.
Education
There is no
kindergarten in Ursari and no transportation arranged to go to Tibirica
kindergarten. There is no even a primary school for around 150 children; local
authorities rent two rooms from a private person in the center of Ursari for
educational process. Children of different age come and learn together. After
the grade 4 they go to Pirjolteni
School which is 3 km
distance. The team was said that in the winter or autumn they actually learn
only a month in total since the access to Ursari is very difficult if almost
impossible and the teachers have to come from Pirjolteni. In the soviet time,
there was transportation facility to Pirjolteni.
When children of
the grade 5 and higher were asked if they go to Pirjolteni School,
they said the do it but reluctantly and in sporadically since it is difficult
to go every day 3-4 km, they are hungry, they dress poor and they face
stigmatization in Pirjolteni. There were also cases of beatings and
psychological harassment of children from Ursari. Legal regulations provide
that local public administration have the obligation to assure that children up
to the age of 16 to have all the facilities to come to school. The
regulation therefore is interpreted that local public authorities have the
positive obligation to facilitate and create all necessary conditions for the schooling
of the children from Ursari or elsewhere.
On the basis of
the study of the local budget around 3% of the budget or 18 000 MLD (1 400
EURO) from the real figures and 24 000 MLD (1 800 EURO) according to the budget
is spent for the activities promoting education and culture. These numbers do
not include salaries for the teachers and educators; those are included in the
separate budget line.
Of this amount administration in
Pirjolteni contributes monthly with 20 MDL (1,5 EURO) to maintain and pay the
rent for a small library in Ursari. Additionally Pirjolteni administration
contributes with 20 MDL (1, 5 EURO) to pay the rent of 2 rooms for the school
in Ursari rented from a private individual. The salaries for the teachers that
come to Ursari are included in the general budget line for the school in
Pirjolteni and in total make around 2 units.
To sum up all the contributions to
education and culture in Ursari one gets 40 (3 EURO) MDL monthly or 480 (36
EURO) MDL yearly. No other contributions were attested by the village
inhabitants. If the allocated amount of 18 000 MDL (1 400 EURO) minus 480 MDL
(36 EURO) of Ursari, one gets the amount of 680 EURO for Tibirica and Meleseni
separately. If these to be calculated per person per village Ursari will get
0.08%, while Pirjolteni will get the rest. In other words allocations per
person in Ursari are around 1 MDL per year, while Pirjolteni will get 4.5 MDL
per year. In absolute figures the amount is much bigger and much more benefits
to Pirjolteni village compared with Ursari village that creates the
discriminatory practice.
Another interesting fact discovered
was the mayor of Pirjolteni commune asserted that the local administration
contributed with the repair of his rented private place in Ursari (failed to
name the sum) while talking to the owner of the place, the team was told that
he was obliged to repair otherwise he would not have had the rent contract for
the next year.
The small house where the school
process was conducted had been on the property of a man who lived in the center
of the village, it had two rooms-each of 6-8 m2. The house did not have any
heating; it has two small windows with broken glasses. The locals said that in
the winter it is impossible to teach as it is freezing inside, so usually the
process of teaching is stopped during the winter cold months. Otherwise the
children study in two shifts with children sitting of the mixed age in the same
class.
The school building has been raised
in 1992 it is situated at the end of the village at the main road. It is a
rather modern and spatial building. It has three stores and the director of the
scholl is a teacher of mathematics from Ciorasti.
While visiting the school the team
has seen that there is no heating in the school, in some room children’s
parents built a fire place to heat the space. They inhabitants expressed the
interest that the mayor could contribute with the building an autonomous
heating in the school as they contributed to the building of the fireplaces.
The coal and the wood to heat up the school were assured from the contribution
of the American Government.
When children were asked about the
classes, they said that they go there several times per week and not every day
and for only half day in the morning. They said that a number of groups and
ages stay together; sometimes they have 45 children together, since only some
of the rooms are heated.
The team has observed a very high
rate of drop-outs. The register numbered in each class around 40 children,
while visiting some of the classes and talking to children the team found only
10-12 children coming to school and even 6-7 tables to sit at.
Quality
The scholl registry contains 200
pupils in 1-9 grades, of which around 10 are Moldovans and the rests are Roma. In
Ursari, there are around 240 children of school age. A number of parents take
their children with them while going outside the country to earn some income.
In some case, there is also evidence that children are sent out to ask for
money on the streets. Many of the parents do not consider thee duration and
important challenge for their children. At the time of the team visit at around
noon (13-14) none of the
children could be found in the school. There were cases when children are
promoted to the next school grade without coming to school for several years.
The team has asked a number of children to write their names and or read some
basic texts, at the surprise 2 of 5 were able to do so. Many children were not
able to say about the capital of Moldova or about the country they
live in.
Books
and manuals
Children do not have books and
manuals. The teacher of mathematics said that the policy is that children have
to rent the books form the Direction of Education, but since it costs money not
all of the do have these books. The school library contained a number of
sources with majority being in Moldovan in Cyrillic script and no in Romani
language.
Romani Language
Romani language is not studied in
the school. The team has been surprised by the level of use of Romani language
in private sphere, in families, in the streets and in between the inhabitants.
Children at the age of school come with only Romanin language and they face
certain difficulties in learning in Romanian.
The school teachers do not know Romani language with exception of one
teacher of music and history. There are no manuals in Romani language. While
speaking with a number of children outside in the streets, there were many at
the age of 6-8 who could not communicate in Romanian. Many children even at age
of 10-12 could not read or know letters.
Access to sources of income
The economic development of Ursari
has been questioned dating back to the soviet time when the authorities
attributed the status of the “village without the perspective” to Ursari – the
village has not since received financial allocations for the social,
infrastructure, etc development. The village has since been a satellite of
Pirjolteni.
Employment
No person from Ursari is employed in
public sector of Pirjolteni commune. All places of public employment in Urasri
are offered to people living in Pirjolteni. No other public services are
provided for Ursari village in Pirjolteni commune budget.
Employment in private sector of
Ursari is very much reduced if almost inexistent as there are just sporadic
initiatives to start up a small business. The locals have told the team about
several attempts to start up a small business that have been precluded, another
barrier represents the taxes they have to pay to open a business that is around
1 200 MDL (80 EURO) that is quite an amount for people of Ursari.
Social
assistance
Another source of existence is the
benefits of the social assistance that some categories from Schinoasa receive.
In many cases this is the only source of existence in the village. 30 persons
in the village receive the unemployment benefits that make up 60 MDL (5 EURO)
monthly, a number of persons receive social benefits for orphans and as
families with many children. These contributions are around the same ammont as
the other social benefits. This source seems to be one of the main sources of
income for many children and families.
A problem that the team noticed was
that local authorities do not register the birth of the children as this also
requires the payment for registration of birth with local authorities. That
precludes many families to receive social benefits for the children. While
discussing with the local authorities, the team discovered that they did not
know if in Ursari there families with more than 7 children. The team has seen
several families with more than 7 children in the village.
Access/possession
of Land
In the discussion with local Ursari
population the team discovered that before 70s in the village existed a
collective farm that had land, forest a pork farm and other assets. These
assets have given a certain level of income for the population of Ursari.
However, later in 70s the decision was taken to join the two collective farms
and transfer the management to Pirjolteni village as a part of Pirjolteni
commune.
The locals said that this decision
has contributed to the formation of alienation of the assets from Ursari and
Ursari lack of interest and also less involvement of Ursari population in the
agricultural production process of Pirjolteni commune.
In 1992 the law on the
privatization of land has produced a discrimination of the population of
Schinoasa as it required the eligibility criteria for the participation in the
privatization. People should have at the moment been current employees of the
collective farms who managed the land and other assets. This only criterion
deprived many from the participation in the privatization and accessing the
assets that have been collectively created over the years. The result was that
only 1,9% (5 individuals) of the population of Ursari have participated in the
privatization. The table also explains that in comparison in Pirjolteni more
than half of the population participated in the process of privatization. The
ownership of the assets is 50 times higher and disproportionate in disfavor of
Ursari inhabitans.
The rest of the people remained
with no assests to sustain their lives and are forced to use other forms of
generation of incomes.
The table shows that in Pirjolteni
1 220 persons participated in the privatization of collective assets – or 52%
of the population. The table shows that Ursari having 8% of the population of
Tibirica commune has less than 0,2% of the land in ownership as an asset and much
less percentage of the all assets that are owned in respectively Pirjolteni
95%.
Disqualification from participation
in the privatization of the assets and land has demonstrated that in respect of
Ursari where 5% were qualified and 1,9% actually become the owners of some type
of property while in Pirjolteni 95 % were qualified and more than 50% become
the owners of some type of property reveals the picture of the discrepancy in
the ownersip of the property and the extremisation of the access to finances and
property in the villages.
These figures also demonstrate that
the local authorities have not been keen to provide at least some form of the
social equality and there is not any justification for the result of the
implementation of the policy that creates such form of social injustice in the
village.
Dayly
petty earning
One of the sources of income of
population from Ursari is to perform daily work for the inhabitants of
Pirjolteni. They are engaged and working out the land of inhabitants from
Pirjolteni and receive around 10 MDL per day (06 EURO). They have to provide
themselves the food, etc. They are considered good workers.
Emigration and working abroad
Another source of income is going
for the period of summer-autumn to Ukraine for agricultural works. The
main destination is Eastern Ukraine (Harkiv
region). There they can earn 100-150 EURO per month. They say that they take
with them the whole family with children and work there every day from morning
to evening with employees to provide only water. The locals say that this is a
very hard physical work.
The team has been told many cases
when those who had gone for season work would have not returned, others would
have returned with no season earning as the Ukrainian costumes had robbed them
for not being able to show the legal reasons from exporting the money form the Ukraine. There
are also criminal groups’ linked to customs from the side of Ukraine that
rob the returning Roma from season earning at the border with Ukraine.
Small
businesses
Another source of income that has
been tried by some locals in Ursari was opening some small businesses – type of
shop, grocery, etc. In all cases the locals said they were precluded by some
mafia type of groups. The policy being alerted to did not carry out the
investigation.
Income in thousands of MDL
|
Articol de venit
|
|
Total
|
Primaria
|
AS COOP Pirjolteni
|
SRL Vinicerprim
|
Intreprinderea individuala
|
|
Venituri din sursele locale
|
|
179 000,00
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impozit pe venit individual (111.01)
|
|
3 000,00
|
2 000,00
|
|
1 000,00
|
|
|
Impozit funciar agricol (114.01)
|
|
110 000,00
|
87 800,00
|
|
22 200,00
|
|
|
Impozit funciar persoane fiuzice (114.02)
|
|
1 000,00
|
|
200,00
|
800,00
|
|
|
Impozit pe imobil personae juridice (114.03)
|
|
38 000,00
|
38 000,00
|
|
|
|
|
Impozit pe imobil personae fizice (114.10)
|
|
1 000,00
|
|
1 000,00
|
|
|
|
Impozit pe imobil personae fizice (114.11)
|
|
13 000,00
|
13 000,00
|
|
|
|
|
Altele
|
|
13 000,00
|
12 700,00
|
|
1 300,00
|
1 000,00
|
|
Transferuri de la bugetul judetean
|
|
494 000,00
|
|
|
|
|
|
Venitul Total
|
|
673 000,00
|
|
|
|
|
Roma identity
The inhabitants of Ursari are clearly
identified as Roma who belong to “ursari” branch of Roma. They are proud of
being called Roma. A Modovan teacher who works in the village says that the
children who come to school speak only Romani at least a good majority of them,
speak only Romani, therefore she had to study some Romani in order to
understand the children and communicate with them at the early stage of school.
She was saying that this is helping enourmously children in learning process as
they become much more involved.
There is no facility for the
cultivation of Romani culture. The Culture house is in Pirjolteni and there no
one in Ursari. Local budget of Pirjolteni commune does not provide and budget
for the spenditures of culture and cultural activities. The budget for Pirjolteni
village provided around 10 000 MDL (700 EURO) for the culture and there was not
any contribution for Ursari in this budget.
Map Location of Ursari Roma
Village of Pirjolteni
Commune
Moldovan Helsinki Committee encourages
local and central authorities to take the following measures:
v
Provide measures for the representation of at
least one counselor from Romani village of Parcani in the local decision-making
body of Raciula commune;
v
Eliminate practices of discriminatory public
allocations to education, culture, maintenance of roads, water and other basic
conditions;
v
Assure minimal basic conditions: water, drinking
running water, electricity, telephone, priority distribution of humanitarian
aid, etc;
v
Provide paving roads to and hard roads within
the village of Parcani;
v
Assure the schooling at all levels of children
of Parcani;
Commune of
Raciula is situated 11 km distance from Calarasi and 75 km distance form
Ungheni. It is composed of the two villages: Raciula, Parcani and Frumoasa.
Parcani village is situated around 4 km along the national road to Raciula and
6 km distance from Frumoasa. If one is to go Parcani, it will be easy to miss
the turn on the right as there is indication of the village direction. Raciula
is a big village that had some industrial agricultural activity in the past.
The total land surface of the Raciula commune is 4 280 ha of which Raciula
village is 2 682 ha, Frumoasa village 1 041 ha and Parcani 110 ha.
Interestingly that at the same time the land surface of the villages is 806 ha
of which Raciula 556 ha, Frumoasa 140 ha and Parcani 110 ha. One can easily see
that the surface of Parcani village coincides with the total surface of the
land belonging to Parcani which is quite different in the case of the other two
components of Raciula commune: Raciula total surface is 5 times higher,
Frumoasa 8 times higher. That has a meaning that Parcani village has no surface
and land to use for the agricultural purposes.
Photo of an ordinary house in Parcani
The first
historical observations about Raciula come from 1599, whereas village of Parcani
in 1807 as well as Frumoasa in 1807.
The population of Raciula is about
3 854 persons, in Raciula itself is 2 452, in Frumoasa 825 persons while in
Parcani is 577.
Map Location of Bursuc Roma
Village of Cristesti
Commune
Photo of a medical point inside
Access to assets and income generation
At the time of 1992 when Bursuc has
been separated from Iurceni and become an independent entity, there was made a
division of assets and properties between Iurceni and Bursuc. At that time the
ownership has not been certainly equally divided as Bursuc remained with much
less land and assets per capita. At the time of division, Bursuc had a small
enterprise that employed around 100 (30% of labor of the village) persons to
dry fruits; it also had some land and trees of plum, apples, etc. The process
of privatization has not been carried out by the initiative of the local
administration and the state enterprises being economically inefficient have
accumulated a lot of debts to fiscal and social funds. The fiscal authorities
than have sold the enterprise so the people of Bursuc remained with almost no
assets. The enterprise has been privatized by another company in Chisinau the
capital and it is almost impossible now to find out what happened to the
enterprise, but people have lost the income and the jobs in the village.
The collective farm has also not
been privatized and the debts that the collective farm had towards the state
has been transferred to the people who worked inn the collective farm. Fiscal
authorities are asking that the assets of the state enterprise to be sold in
order to reply the debts, the court trial is in the process and there is a fear
that these assets will be lost again.
Around 30-35% of the population
work at different plants and 30% work in the state collective farm, the rest of
the population goes after the income leaving the village for Ukraine, Byelorussia, Russia. These
are the sources of income in the village.
Of 700 persons able to work, 200
(or 33%) have received portions of land, evidently in Cristesti and in Iurceni
the percentage of people who received land and right to an asses is at least
twice as much as in Bursuc. Moreover, the portion of land in Cristesti is
higher and is 97 ha, while in Bursuc is only 80%. Bursuc is still the only
place in the region where the privatization has not come true. The other side
of the non-privatization was that the council of directors of the state
collective farm was responsible for the management of the assets and as the
management was inefficient some of the properties has been arrested by fiscal
authorities for the debts. This was the price for not privatization it at the
right moment and holding it with the people.
While talking to some people on the
street, the team has also been told that only 200 had received the land and
state assets and there are also 250 who did not receive and assets and land.
These persons go regularly to Ukraine,
Russsia and Western countries to earn money.
Education
The mayor says that there is enough
of teachers for all subjects.
Children frequently go with their
parents to help earning money and only old people remain in the village. The
school has around 200 children in Bursuc and around 250 in Crisesti. A family
normally has from 2 to 4 children; there are also families with more children.
Many young families do not have the place to stay and they are forced to go
abroad to earn money to build a house. Many families live in 10 persons in one
house of three-four rooms.
In the school, a teacher was saying
that they do not have Roma in Bursuc, they used to by but have left or
assimilated with Moldovans, only the mayor is Roma. However all the others-Bursuc’s
nearby villages consider those live in Bursuc Roma.
Majority of the graduates live from
Bursuc-around 60%, tub that is much higher compared to Cristesti.
The heating in the school is done
through the self-made fire places and using coal and woods.
There are many cases when children
remain alone as their parents live for work, in some better cases they stay
with their grandparents, anyway the parents encourage the children to go to the
school.
There is a library in the school.
Medical assistance
In Bursuc medical point the team
has discussed with the chief of the medical point. He stated that there are 59
children of age below 3 in Bursuc, he says only in emergency cases they call
the ambulance from Nisporeni. He says that since the water is not provided in
the village, they had 38 cases of hepatitis this autumn, the wells seems to be
polluted and this is bad for the health of children. In Cristesti comparing to
Bursuc they have a small pharmacy and one extra doctor and the equipment there
is of better quality compared to Bursuc. The doctor said that in the past, when
Bursuc was a part of Iurceni commune, all the best investments were done there,
while Bursuc was considered a village of Roma„ therefore now Cristesti has the
new medical point and Bursuc again has been “discriminated”.
The water for medical or other
reasons is brought from the wells, the heating is absent, they use woods and
coal.
The progress report is to give an overview
of the activities carried out by the team of experts to assess the situation of
Roma rural communities in the Western and Central parts of Moldova. The
visits took place in August-December 2002.
The project team has been made up
of the 7 persons having the expertise and knowledge in the several distinct
fields of: human rights/Roma rights, education, law, social problems and
allocations, medical issues and management aspects of the functioning of the
local public authorities and the social situations. The team has slightly
differed from Roma settlement to Roma settlement. The team had at various times
three Roma representatives.
The Team
The project team has been made up
of the 7 persons having the expertise and knowledge in the several distinct
fields of: human rights/Roma rights, education, law, social problems and
allocations, medical issues and management aspects of the functioning of the
local public authorities and the social situations. The team has slightly
differed from Roma settlement to Roma settlement. The team had at various times
three Roma representatives.
The
composition of the team:
Nicolae Radita, Roma rights advisor
and coordinator of the project
Serghei Ostaf, legal expert;
Luciana Iabangi, legal and medical
expert;
Stefan Uritu, education expert;
Vanu Jereghi, functioning of local
authorities’ specialist;
Elena Taban, management issues
specialist
Valeriu
Fedco, economy specialist,
Doina Straisteanu, legal expert,
Natalia Simagustina, educational
expert,
Petru
Stratan, management expert,
Natlia Mardari, legal expert
Volunteers:
Natalia Vrajmasu,
Alla Marin,
Elena Duminica
Oxana Buga.
Visited Roma Settlement
During the filed visits there have
been visited over 15 Roma and non Roma communities from.central-west part of Moldova,
including Nisporeni district, Calarasi District, Straseni district Among those communities are:
Vulcanesti Roma community of
Ciorasti village;
Ursari Roma community of Pirjolteni
village;
Parcani Roma community of Raciula
village (also Frumoasa);
Schinoasa Roma community of
Tibirica village;
Bursuc Roma community of Cristesti
village;
Stejareni Roma community of Lozova
village;
Huzun Roma community of Micleuseni
village;
v
Vulcanesti
Roma community of Ciorasti village;
The visit has been carried out on
21-22 August 2002
Detailed
Agenda
21 August 2003
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Ciorasti local
administration
10.00 Discussions with Ciorasti
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal
authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to
Vulcanesti Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
22 August 2002
09.00 Meeting for the debriefing
and discussions on the findings
12.00 Division of the work on the
report of the visit
14.00 Break
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Axinte Pavel - Mayor of Ciorasti has briefed the
team on the history of the village
of Ciorasti and on
the village
of Vulcanesti, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Ciorasti, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Ciorasti councilors, other information.
- Gutu Valeriu, Secretary of local council together
with administration accountant has provided with the information on social
and other type of allocations, practice of decision-meking in the council
(allocations documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Axinte E.- Local counselor and local fiscal
representative discussing the practice of political representation and
electoral voting and the perspective of the economic development and
sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the villages’ situation and
double-checking the information.
Other interwieved persons who
provided information to the team was: Adam Gheorghe - head of the school from
Vulcanesti, Ibrian Ion – roma representative from Vulcanesti, Stoica A. – roma
woman from Vulcanesti, etc.
v
Ursari
Roma community of Pirjolteni village;
The visit took place on 3-5 September 2002
Detailed Agenda
3 September 2002
08.00 Departure from Chisinau
10.00 Arrival to cross-road to
Pirljolteni, trying to access country road to Ursari and deciding to return as the
rain has started and that made impossible to travel to Ursari
12.00 decided to visit Budda
village that in the same administrative subordination
14.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
16.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
4 September 2002
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Pirjolteni local
administrations
10.00 Discussions with Pirjolteni
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal
authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to Ursari
Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and discussing
houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
5 September 2002
09.00 Meeting for the debriefing
and discussions on the findings
12.00 Division of the work on the
report of the visit
14.00 Break
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Spinu Gheorghe, Mayor of Pirjolteni has briefed the
team on the history of the village
of Pirjolteni and on
the village
of Ursari, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Pirjolteni, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Ciorasti councilors, other information.
- Vasile Stavila, Secretary of local council together
with administration accountant has provided with the information on social
and other type of allocations, practice of decision-making in the council
(allocations documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Batir Vladimir, Local counselor and local fiscal
representative discussing the practice of political representation and
electoral voting and the perspective of the economic development and sources
of income.
- Discussions with responsible persons from medical
unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the villages situation and
double-checking the information (namely Stoica Maria, Parapir Liuba, Alla
Eugenia, Cvetu Aurica, etc).
v
Parcani
Roma community of Raciula village;
Detailed Agenda
15 September 2003
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Raciula local
administration
10.00 Discussions with Raciula
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal
authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to
Parcani Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
16 September 2002
09.00 Meeting for the debriefing
and discussions on the findings
12.00 Division of the work on the
report of the visit
14.00 Break
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Benderschii Vasile - Mayor of Raciula has briefed
the team on the history of the village
of Raciula and on
the village
of Parcani, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Raciula, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Raciula councilors, other information.
- Spatacovschii
L. - Secretary of local council together with administration
accountant has provided with the information on social and other type of
allocations, practice of decision-meking in the council (allocations
documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Carteianu D, Timircan Margareta - Local counselor and
local fiscal representative discussing the practice of political
representation and electoral voting and the perspective of the economic
development and sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the villages situation and
double-checking the information.
We had
discussion with representative from the community: Silvia Arapu – roma woman
Parapir Ion, Zorila Alexandru, Bogatu Eugenia.
v
Schinoasa
Roma community of Tibirica village;
The visit took place on 7-8 October 2002
Detailed
Agenda
7 October 2002
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Schinoasa Roma
community
10.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
14.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
15.00 Dividing into two teams: one to
travel to Tibirica village and another to Meleseni village and visiting the
following places
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
8 October 2002
09.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival to Tibirica local
administration
10.00 Discussions with local
administration
13.00 Debriefing and division of
further work
15.00 Traveling back to Chisinau
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Spinu Anton, Mayor of Tibirica has briefed the team
on the history of the village
of Tibirica and on
the village
of Schinoasa, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Tibirica, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Tibirica councilors, other information.
2 Secretary of local council together with
administration accountant has provided with the information on social and other
type of allocations, practice of decision-meking in the council (allocations
documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Bordei Vasile, Bordei Maria, Gutu Grigore- Local
counselor and local fiscal representative discussing the practice of
political representation and electoral voting and the perspective of the
economic development and sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom order
and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some information
obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the village’s situation and
double-checking the information.
Interview with
Roma: Cozma Raisa, Cimpoies Maria, Lumpaciuc Mihail.
v
Bursuc
Roma community of Cristesti village;
The visit took place on 21-22 November 2002
Detailed Agenda
21 November 2003
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Cristesti local
administration
10.00 Discussions with Cristesti
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal
authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to Bursuc
Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and discussing
houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
22 November 2002
09.00 Meeting for the debriefing
and discussions on the findings
12.00 Division of the work on the
report of the visit
14.00 Break
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Bogdan Iurie - Mayor of Cristesti has briefed the
team on the history of the village
of Cristesti and on
the village
of Vulcanesti, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Cristesti, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Cristesti councilors, other information.
- Birladu F- Secretary of local council together with
administration accountant has provided with the information on social and
other type of allocations, practice of decision-making in the council
(allocations documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Macarie H, Lupu V- Local counselor and local fiscal
representative discussing the practice of political representation and
electoral voting and the perspective of the economic development and
sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the villages situation and
double-checking the information.
v
Stejareni
Roma community of Lozova village;
The visit took place on 18-19 December 2002
Detailed
Agenda
18 December 2002
08.00 Departure from Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Lozova local
administration
10.00 Discussions with Lozova
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to
Stejareni Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
19 December 2002
09.00 Departure from Chisinau and
Traveling to Stejareni Roma community;
11.30 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
16.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Micu Ivan, Mayor of Lozova has briefed the team on
the history of the village
of Lozova and on the
village of Stejareni, has offered the general
information on the geography, population, location, infrastructure of the
two communities. Documents and information collected (Xerox-copy): statute
of the commune of Lozova, Annual budget for 2002 and the execution of
annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and telephones of Lozova
councilors, other information.
- Pahome Elena, Secretary of local council together
with administration accountant has provided with the information on social
and other type of allocations, practice of decision-making in the council
(allocations documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Filopov M, Badan V, Local counselor and local
fiscal representative discussing the practice of political representation
and electoral voting and the perspective of the economic development and
sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
- Discussing separately with regional authorities and
confirming some of the data related to the villages situation and
double-checking the information.
v
Huzun
Roma community of Micleuseni village;
The visit took place on 25-26
December 2002
Detailed
Agenda
25 December 2002
08.00 Departure from Chisinau
10.00 Arrival to cross-road to
Micleuseni, trying to access country road to Micleuseni from two access points
12.00 decided to return next day as
the weather promised to melt road cover to claim the coutry road to
Micleuseni
26 December 2002
08.00 Departure Chisinau
9.30 Arrival Micleuseni local
administration
10.00 Discussions with Micleuseni
mayor, local administration secretary, accountant other local administration
personnel;
12.00 Meeting with local fiscal
authority
13.00 Meeting with local
councilors;
14.00 Break and Traveling to Huzun
Roma community;
15.00 Separating into three working
groups and visiting:
-
medical point,
- school and
kindergarten,
- local water
facilities;
- local library
and/or cultural house;
- visiting shops
and small owners;
- visiting and
discussing houses of Roma;
18.00 Gathering for the summing up
discussions on the findings;
27 December 2002
09.00 Meeting for the debriefing
and discussions on the findings
12.00 Division of the work on the
report of the visit
14.00 Break
Brief
description of the interlocutors, types of documents and the information
collected
- Turcan Ivan, Mayor of Micleuseni has briefed the
team on the history of the village
of Micleuseni and on
the village
of Huzun, has
offered the general information on the geography, population, location,
infrastructure of the two communities. Documents and information collected
(Xerox-copy): statute of the commune of Micleuseni, Annual budget for 2002
and the execution of annual budget for 2001, information on contacts and
telephones of Micleuseni councilors, other information.
- Cius Leonid, Secretary of local council together
with administration accountant has provided with the information on social
and other type of allocations, practice of decision-meking in the council
(allocations documents per each village, school, entity, etc).
- Micleusanu Eudochia, Local counselor and local
fiscal representative discussing the practice of political representation
and electoral voting and the perspective of the economic development and
sources of income.
- Discussions
with responsible persons from medical unit, library, culture house, etc
- Variety of meetings with simple people and seldom
order and in public places gatherings discussing and verifying some
information obtained from the local administration.
Discussing separately with regional
authorities and confirming some of the data related to the villages situation
and double-checking the information.
