Weekly Briefing, Vol. 17, No. 3 (HR), April 2019
ROMANI PEOPLE IN CROATIA
The Romani people are one of the 22 recognized national minorities of Croatia. According to the latest census of 2011, 16,975 Romanis live in Croatia, most of them in Međimurje County. According to unofficial data from the Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities of the Government of Croatia, there are currently 30,000 to 40,000 Romanis in Croatia, meaning that most of them are not mentioned as Romani, but under some other nationality. There are eight different Romani groups in Croatia, among them Lovari, the indigenous Croatian-Roma.
On 8 April 1971, the first major international meeting of Romani representatives was held in Chelsfield, near London. In honour to that event, the International Romani Day was declared in 1990. The International Romani Day is also held every year in Croatia, and this year welcomed a great celebration.
BRIEF HISTORY
Romani people, otherwise more colloquially referred to as Roma, originate from north-western India. It is a common misconception that Romanis originate from Romania, or vice versa. However, it is true that a large part of Romanis in Croatia speak the Romanian language and dialect. According to documents signed by Prince Dan I, until 1856, Romanis lived as slaves in the area of today’s Romania, which explains their knowledge of the Romanian language. After the liberation from slavery in 1856, a significant number of Romanis left Wallachia and Moldavia and settled on the territory of today’s Croatia.
During the Turkish conquest, the Romanis were respected in their craftsmanship and they often followed the army, making various useful items. In the systems of planned economy, they were mostly employed as an unskilled labour force, but such work was relatively well paid.
The situation changed after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Since then, Romani people have been struggling to find work on the standard labour market mainly due to relatively low levels of education, low qualifications and employers’ prejudices.
INTERNATIONAL ROMANI DAY IN CROATIA
International Romani Day is April 8 and this year it was celebrated in the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. The Central Commemoration of the International Romani Day was organized this year by the Union of Romanis in the Republic of Croatia “Kali Sara” and the Parliamentary Representative of the Romani people, Veljko Kajtazi. Among the guests were the President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek, the Parliamentary Representative Vesna Bedeković (HDZ), the mayor Milan Bandić, members of the diplomatic corps and various representatives of the Romani communities from a number of European countries and Canada.
The President addressed the audience at the event where she emphasised on education and cultural preservation or the Romani people. In her address, she emphasised the importance of education and urged Romanis to send their children regularly to school and encourage them to learn. She identified the task of the state was to help each Romani child have textbooks and all other aids so that every Romani boy and girl can complete high school and enrol in an study they wish to pursue. The President stated, “there is no reason why Romani children and young people should not be included in the education system from pre-school to the university.” Emphasising on the important of integration, she identified education to be the most fundamental and the best way towards the full integration of Romani children and young people into society. She also identified this to be the first step towards bettering employment and in turn the socio-economical integration of Romani people in Croatian society.
She also stressed the need to preserve the Romani language and culture as it is the foundation of the Romani national identity. The President ended her speech by stating that, “social integration and national affirmation are needed to avoid, on the one hand, assimilation and, on the other, ghettoization of Romani people. In that sense, we all have to work on the progress of the Roma in the Croatian society”. Met with an applause the speech was very positively received.
Veljko Kajtazi also pointed to Romani education as a priority:
We are doing everything in our ability to educate the Romani community, but there are still obstacles, so Romani children are often opting for three years high school education. This is not our future; it should be a four-year education, a gymnasium and technical vocations for Romani children.
He also noted the progress made in the Romani community in Croatia, mentioning some of the most recent achievements. He pointed to the legalization of 1200 facilities, the arrangement and asphalting of roads in the individual Romani settlements, the introduction of a water network and the construction of sports fields. For these improvements, the Union of Romanis “Kali Sara” awarded the mayor of Belišće Dinko Burić and the mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić annual prizes at the ceremony.
INTEGRATION PROBLEMS OF ROMANI PEOPLE IN CROATIA
The largest Romani population in Croatia lives in the Međimurje County. Most of the problem of the Roma population in Međimurje arises from a very low level of education. Four out of five Romanis from the Romani settlement Kuršanec have no elementary school education. Only every fifth resident of the Romani settlement Kuršanec successfully completed elementary school. Survival thanks to social benefits has become a way of life for the Romani people in Croatia. In the existing social welfare system, many Romanis are more likely to be unemployed than working. This is mainly because of the lack of a skilled labour force, which means they are only to get poorly paid jobs. The social welfare benefits they receive often exceed the amounts they would earn through work. In addition, the lack of a permanent employment relationship leaves enough space and time for occasional forms of work in the sphere of grey economy.
These socio-economic conditions are among the reasons of high birth rates in Romani society in Croatia. In addition to these conditions, the high birth rate is also due to the economic role of children in today’s Romani communities in areas such as the Međimurje County. As once in rural areas, children were an important economic factor in terms of labour force, so today, Romani children play a vital role in securing income for their families in terms of social benefits and child allowances. A very large number of young women are giving birth means also Romani women have and extended fertile rate when compared to the average female population of Croatia. This contributes to the higher birth rate representation.
SOCIAL CARE OF ROMANI PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLIC CROATIA
The Government of the Republic of Croatia systematically develops programs for integration and care of Roma, with the following goals:
- Reducing poverty of Romani people.
- Decrease of the number of working-age beneficiaries of financial assistance.
- Prevention of behavioural disorders among Romani children.
- Improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.
- Implementation of the measures of family law protection of Romani children.
- Encouraging foster care in Romani families.
- Encouraging humanitarian aid.
According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Croatia, there were 16,975 members of the Romani national minority in 2011. Most Romanis live in the area of Međimurje, Osijek-Baranja and Sisak-Moslavina County and the City of Zagreb. According to the Law on Associations in the Republic of Croatia, more than 145 associations have been registered.
In the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia, through the National Minorities Council in 2017, funds amounting to 468,000 HRK were provided for information programs, publishing, cultural amateurism and cultural manifestations of 7 Roma minority associations as follows:
– Romani Cultural Society “Darda” (Darda),
– Association of Romani Women “Better Future” (Zagreb),
– Association of Romanis in the Republic of Croatia “Kali Sara” (Zagreb),
– Romani Cultural Centre, Sisak, Roma Rights (Sisak),
– Baranja Romani Association (Beli Manastir),
– Romani National Forum (Beli Manastir)
– Romani Association “Step by Step” (Koprivnica).
In the Croatian Parliament, the interests of the Roma national minority are represented by Veljko Kajtazi, a representative of twelve national minorities (Germans, Austrians, Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Roma, Bulgarians, Russians, Romanians, Poles, Vlachs, Turks), who is also a member of the Council for National Minorities. Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia in the Preamble include all national minorities, including the Romanis.