I have been a migrant. I have lived, legally and illegally, in nine different countries. In 1993, I first tried to escape Romania.
Despite a few years of small efforts, and decades of very strong but mainly empty rhetoric, Roma remain the most discriminated-against ethnic group in Europe and the most unrepresented within the decision-making structures.
The governments of many Roma countries of origin are guilty of resorting to an economic fallacy that prevents the social inclusion of Roma – both at home and in western Europe. This fallacy must be exposed, and abandoned.
Roma need to become respected but also responsible citizens in their own countries. There are solutions. But none of those solutions are immediate or cheap.
Twenty eight years exactly since the first resolution on Roma was passed by the European Parliament, the EU is finally publishing its Framework Strategy on Roma. But is there any progress to report?
Small steps forward are not sufficient to stop the overall negative current when it comes to the social exclusion of Roma. Those small steps forward will soon become irrelevant if serious reform is not put in place
