Position of Roma is hard, but there is certain progress [RTCG]

There are about nine thousand Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro, out of which a thousand domcile and displaced persons live in Niksic. Their position is difficult, according to a survey on the situation, problems and needs of the Roma population, which was presented today in that city.

The research was conducted within the project Active Measures for the active Roma and Egyptians, conducted by a coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Roma Circle, NGO Humanitarian and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, as well as the municipalities of Herceg Novi, Niksic and Berane.

At the presentation of research results, it was concluded that some progress has been made in the field of education and regulation of personal documentation.

"The Roma community, nonetheless, continues to face discrimination, especially in the areas of employment, health and housing", according to the project results.

The coordinator of the NGO Coalition Roma Circle, Veselj Beganaj, rated the positions of Roma population in Montenegro with "medium grade".

"The state is expected to support further integration of Roma, because, everyone agrees that it is necessary to work more on their integration and create the next action plans at the local and state level", said Beganaj.

According to him, the Roma emphasize the problem of unregulated settlements, extreme poverty, while the first good steps were made in the area of education. 

Beganaj particularly pointed to the unemployment of women, and their participation in cultural events within the Roma community.

"Roma are the most satisfied with situation in health, especially when it comes to the primary level health care, while  secondary and tertiary might be significantly improved", said Beganaj.

Commenting on the statement of the majority of respondents during the survey that a large number of local and national plans have not taken action, Beganaj cited the example of misinformation of Roma, who, he said, know little about local integration documents, although seven were adopted in Montenegro.

Talking about what has been done, Beganaj stated in 2000 to 2002 there were about 400 children in the education system in Montenegro, and now there are about 1,8 thousand, which shows that there has been good progress, although, he said, the it is still not at the level they would like.

"This must be seen as a process and we can not expect that the government and international organizations will create the conditions overnight, because we have to make an effort ourselves in order to achieve full integration. Though, positive moves are visible", said Beganaj.

Associate in Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, Fikret Ljuljanović, said that the situation of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro is not satisfactory, but, as he said, it gets better every day.

"The Constitution of Montenegro, and a set of other laws, provide guarantees of a better life for minorities and their right to feel Montenegro as their country. Our Ministry cooperates with NGOs as it is one of its priorities, in the area of enhancing the position of minorities, especially Roma population", said Ljuljanović.

He disagreed with the allegations of non-governmental organizations that public authorities and institutions mainly  concludeon  the situation of Roma and Egyptians from the cabinets, and spend little time on the ground to see the true situation.

"The representatives of the ministries often visit all the municipalities inhabited by Roma and enhance their cooperation with local governments. Results have been achieved, although not yet at satisfying level", said Ljuljanović.

He said that the construction of residential buildings in Podgorica is undergoing for Roma, while every year there are more and more students in scholols,  from primary school to university.

The survey, which was conducted within the project "Active Measures for the active Roma and Egyptians - Amare", inquired 390 members of RE population in 13 municipalities, 26 state and local institutions, 13 NGOs and five international organizations.