Roma community in Bulgaria and COVID 19

The COVID 19 crazies makes evident and sharpens the social inequalities in all the fields. Roma minority that is object of multiple discrimination and faces multiple inequalities is on the “First Line” in this regard throughout Europe.

Four main challenges form everyday reality for Bulgarian Roma in the crisis:

1.Extreme poverty leads to hunger problem not only among the most poor and marginalized families but also among many  families who managed to overcome sharp poverty and hunger before the crisis. In almost all of the Roma neighborhoods can be found now starving families and their number is increasing.Government institutions have taken steps to provide food packages. Due to bureaucratic problems, these measures cannot reach the most marginalized families. In any case, they are not a sustainable solution to the problem. In many places the richer Roma help feed the poorest families or relatives abroad do it by sending money to save them from hunger.

Local authorities -mayors, municipal councilors have separated from their salaries or through the municipal budgets they support some of the most needy families. Many NGOs and donors also provide food for families in greatest need – to the best of their ability. In many places, the richer Roma help feed the poorest families or relatives abroad by sending money to save them from hunger. Many mediators, as well as ordinary people, do the same… The crisis has shown a multitude of different forms of solidarity, engaging both the richer and the poorer. But all this also shows the lack of a systematic solution to the problem. Hunger continues to be a problem for many families in isolated neighborhoods, including in smaller rural neighborhoods. A systemic response is needed!

2. Since mid-March, all Bulgarian schools have been providing distance education. It is undoubtedly a step towards the modernization of Bulgarian education, but at the same time there is a real threat to further widen the serious differences  among different types of schools. The main obstacles are the lack of proper internet connectivity for many families, and especially the lack of suitable devices such as tablets and more. Nationally between 5 and 10 percent of students do not have such devices, but a survey done by the Amalipe Center among 200 schools teaching a high percentage of Roma students indicated that more than a quarter of children do not have such devices. The Ministry of Education has found a solution to the problem of poor families’ internet connectivity by allowing schools to pay for it. There is still no systematic solution to the problem of lack of appropriate devices and schools must rely on donation campaigns.

The Ministry of Education has taken steps to address the issue of internet connectivity. In the neighborhoods identified by the Regional departments of education as problematic in terms of lack of Internet connection with parents and children, the MES and two of the mobile operators negotiated free Wi-Fi zones. Within a week, wireless (Wi-Fi) networks will be established with open free internet access to support the process of distance learning in these areas, downloading of shared learning materials and feedback between teachers, students and parents. The contract provides for pre-paid access to all the necessary resources for carrying out the absentee training, sufficient for the completion of the school year. At this point, it is envisaged to include neighborhoods in 7 cities in southern Bulgaria.

Of course, this solution is partial and will not cover all areas where there is no internet connection. A more systematic solution is the opportunity for schools to pay for the delivery of internet connectivity at the place of residence of students who, for social reasons, do not have access to the Internet. This will be the case where the school’s attendance at school is temporarily suspended at the request of a competent authority, and as a result, the students’ learning takes place remotely in an electronic environment. This became possible after the Council of Ministers adopted an amendment to the Ordinance on the financing of institutions in the system of pre-school and school education, adopted by Decree No. 219 of 2017. Schools will be able to pay these expenses from the savings made in connection with the state of emergency and the introduction of distance learning. The measure applies to cases where distance learning has been introduced – this is likely to be by the end of this school year.

The big problem remains the lack of suitable devices. According to MES data, between 35,000 and 45,000 students do not own such devices. In March Center Amalipe study found that 200 schools  with a Roma concentration of more than a quarter of children do not have facilities. In some schools this percentage exceeds 75, which makes it practically impossible to carry out online distance learning. What can schools do in this case?

To seek out donors to provide them with the necessary devices. Some schools, such as in the village of Karadzhovo, have already successfully done so.

Amalipe Center with our partners at Teach for Bulgaria Foundation, we launched an “Old devices for a New Beginning” campaign  that is gaining momentum. Through it, we have already recruited and distributed 306 devices with which we supported 27 schools. We expect to support at least as much. See more about the campaign here.  Other NGOs have launched a similar campaign. The crisis brought out the best in many and dozens of companies, organizations, as well as ordinary citizens, donating working old equipment and new devices.

It is clear that donation campaigns could not cover all the needs in all schools. The problem is systemic and requires a systemic solution. The first step in finding one was by allowing schools to purchase tablets or other devices with the funds they receive for extra-curricular activities for the Education for Tomorrow project. The MES supported the move on a proposal by Roma teachers after meeting with Minister Valtchev on April 8th. The same step needs to be taken on the Support for Success project. This will untie the hands of principals and schools to create a school fund of devices to use for distance learning.

3. The requirements for social distance, i.e. the ban on leaving homes, inevitably lead to a serious deepening of the unemployment problem throughout the country. The Roma are even more vulnerable because many of them relied on seasonal work or work without an employment contract. The decrease in unemployment in recent years has been linked to the search for labor and the employment of low-educated and vulnerable citizens. In the coming months, rising unemployment will inevitably lead to higher unemployment among the less educated and ethnic minorities.

4. Some of the large Roma neighborhoods found in cases of coronavirus were blocked by police. This not only makes it difficult for working Roma to move around and increases unemployment in these neighborhoods. But this measure also intensifies anti-Roma sentiment and leads to an increase in anti-Gypsyism in society.

In practice, the serious rise in hate speech against Roma and anti-Roma stereotypes and prejudices has been observed over the last seven years. Annual surveys of social distances against different minority groups conducted by the Open Society Institute research team indicate that:

-Romas are the most undesirable minority, most often subject to hate speech and to the strongest stereotypes and prejudices;

– There is an extremely worrying tendency for the deterioration of the attitude towards the Roma and for the increase of the social distances: a comparison of the results of the surveys for the period 2008 – 2018 shows that by 2012 the Bulgarian society gradually became more tolerant in its attitude towards the four minorities listed, including Roma. Since 2012, there has been a sharp decline in those who agree to coexist, work together and study with representatives of four minorities, especially Roma. The trend is so negative that levels in 2018 are lower than those in 2008.

From the outset of the state of emergency, social networks were filled with videos of non-compliance with social distance measures in the large Roma neighborhoods. The topic was also developed by some of the media, especially those with anti-Roma orientation. Local authorities’ self-initiative in some municipalities with large Roma neighborhoods led to the establishment of checkpoints and even the blocking of some of them. The National Crisis Staff has imposed such a measure on only two of Sofia’s quarters since the opening of COVID 19 in them. It should be emphasized that the Bulgarian politicians this time showed a surprising level and did not succumb to the temptation to blame the Roma community for the coronavirus. On several occasions, ministers and members of the National Crisis Staff stressed that in no way should the problem and its measures be resolved. It is likely that politicians of the so-called “patriotic spectrum” who are not responsible for the fight against the pandemic contributed to this relatively normal tone.

5. In the longer term, the return of many Roma from Western Europe will bring new challenges to their children’s school enrollment, employment and parental income. Over the past decade, the migration and employment of many Bulgarian Roma in Western Europe has been a major contributor to reducing poverty and social tensions in Roma neighborhoods. This is likely to change in the coming months.

On the other hand, Bulgarian Roma coming back from Western Europe are potential for development: both to the Roma community and to the whole Bulgarian society. Many of these people have formed European values, valued the importance of education and employment in the legal economy, have formed working habits and, last but not least, speak the appropriate language. Remaining one part of them in Bulgaria can have a very modernizing effect on the Roma community, similar to the effect of Bulgarian gardeners on Bulgarians in rural areas in the past. The Bulgarian business and economy, which have complained about the lack of workforce in recent months, can very seriously benefit from these young and working-age Bulgarian citizens. This will require targeted action.

Written by Deyan Kolev