Tag Archives: War

Two articles in the Polish press about a Romni activist and Ukrainian refugee currently in Poland.

• Gdy w szkole coś ginęło, była główną podejrzaną. Przecież “wiadomo, że Romowie kradną”. In: Wysokieobcasy. 22.02.2024. https://www.wysokieobcasy.pl/wysokie-obcasy/7,53662,30715936,gdy-w-szkole-cos-ginelo-byla-glowna-podejrzana-przeciez.html#:~:text=Olena%20Vaidalovych%20–%20prawniczka%20ze%20społeczności,Wysokiego%20Komisarza%20Narodów%20Zjednoczonych%20ds.
• Jak często Romki pojawiają się na okładkach mainstreamowych pism? Czy “WO” są pierwsze? In: Wysokieobcasy. 24.02.2024.https://www.wysokieobcasy.pl/wysokie-obcasy/7,100865,30720090,osoby-ktore-pochodza-z-dyskryminowanych-spolecznosci-musza.html02.2024.

An interview with Anzhelika Belova from Zaporozhye, now lives in Uzhgorod with her husband and daughter; activist, president of the Voice of Romni organization. She says that nobody should be ashamed of being Roma. We live in Ukraine and we are Ukrainians.

• Nikt nie powinien się wstydzić, że jest Romem. Żyjemy w Ukrainie i jesteśmy Ukraińcami. In: Wyborca. 19.02.2024. https://wyborcza.pl/duzyformat/7,127290,30710201,nikt-nie-powinien-sie-wstydzic-ze-jest-romem-zyjemy-w-ukrainie.html

Natalia Yuzypchuk, a Ukrainian Romni, fled to Warsaw from Lutsk, Ukraine, seeking safety for her grandchildren. A year and a half later, Natalia is the driving force behind the Roma Community Centre in Warsaw, run by the W Stroną Dialogu Foundation and supported by UNICEF.

Since the first months of the war, the situation of Roma refugees has been much worse than that of other groups of refugees from Ukraine. Roma refugee families face many barriers in accessing basic services due to administrative obstacles and lack of documents. This leads to bigger obstacles, including: in access to financial support, health care, education, housing and the labour market. Many people also tell us that they have faced overt discrimination as a result of prejudice and stereotypes.

• Wojna na Ukrainie. „My też jesteśmy ludźmi”. Rodziny uchodźców romskich w Polsce. In: Kronika 24. 07.01.2024. https://kronika24.pl/wojna-na-ukrainie-my-tez-jestesmy-ludzmi-rodziny-uchodzcow-romskich-w-polsce/

According to the article, roughly 25’000 Roma from Ukraine fled to Poland, and these were overwhelmingly illiterate. This probably means they missed quite of few Roma who did not conform to the stereotypes.

A book on this exodus, called “The War of our Times” was published.

• Z Ukrainy do Polski uciekło 25 tys. Romów. „Większość rodzin była całkowicie niepiśmienna”. In: WProst. 26.11.2023. https://www.wprost.pl/tylko-u-nas/11490139/z-ukrainy-do-polski-ucieklo-25-tys-romow-wiekszosc-rodzin-byla-calkowicie-niepismienna.html

Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska, with her foundation, tried for several months to find an apartment for a family of Roma refugees from Ukraine. No chance. – I never thought I would see such a moment – says the activist with regret. And he emphasizes that the Roma are treated worse than others, even though they are also fleeing from the war.

• ”Koszmar, gdy ktoś ci mówi, że wynajmie mieszkanie tylko białym”. In: TOK FM. 24.09.2023. https://www.tokfm.pl/Tokfm/7,189660,30212973,koszmar-gdy-ktos-ci-mowi-ze-wynajmie-mieszkanie-tylko-bialym.html

The Fundacja w Stronę Dialogu [Towards Dialogue Foundation] has published a monitoring report for 2022-2023 entitled “They are not refugees, but travelers” on the situation of Roma refugees in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The material presented in the report was collected by the foundation’s team during regular local visits in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, mainly in Przemyśl, conducted from March 2022 to May 2023.

According to the report, in addition to unequal treatment, Roma face widespread anti-Gypsyism, and the challenges they face when fleeing are particularly acute. As a result of the outbreak of war, assistance for this group took on a new dimension: substandard support in reception points and places of collective accommodation.

• „To nie są uchodźcy, tylko podróżnicy”. Raport nt. sytuacji romskich osób uchodźczych w podkarpackim. In: Publicystyka. 22.08.2023. https://publicystyka.ngo.pl/to-nie-sa-uchodzcy-tylko-podroznicy-raport-nt-sytuacji-romskich-osob-uchodzczych-w-podkarpackim