roma informal settlers

8/2/2019 Roma Informal Settlers

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ROMA INFORMAL SETTLERS

Forcibly evicted in 2000 from the centre of Constanta, eighteen

Roma families are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty and

hunger, crammed into self-built, mud-floored huts on Muntii Tatra

Street on the outskirts of the city. This is the story of one of the

many continuous fights that Roma informal settlers undertake in

various places throughout the country.

According to estimates, 2 to 2.5 million people of Roma descent

reside in Romania, which has a total population of 22 million.

Nearly 80 percent of them live below the poverty line. After the

country joined the EU in 2007, many Roma hoped for a change of

fortune. Instead, their plight significantly worsened; communist-era

forced settlement being superseded by mass evictions. Combined

with pervasive racial discrimination in the fields of education, health

and employment, it can be assumed that, without external support,

their situation will become even worse in the years to come.

Bogdan Chesaru

September 2011

Constanta, Romania


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Since their arrival in Europe in the Middle Ages the Roma people, also referred to as Gypsies, endured poverty and persecution. Enslaved or

hunted for sport up to the 18th century, marked for extermination by the Nazi regime, facing forced assimilation in the former communist

countries or discriminatory policies of expulsion in Western Europe, they are the largest ethnic minority on the European continent.


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It is characteristic of the Roma to conceal their ethnic origin out of fear of discrimination. Most of them don't have birth certificates or identity

cards. Lack of registration, and the statelessness that generally results, accentuate their marginalization even further.


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The Muntii Tatra Street informal settlement, Constanta, Romania, september 9, 2011. Eighteen huts pieced together from scrap wood, ragged

fabric and pieces of rusty sheet metal housing about 70 displaced Roma men, women, and children. Most of them were forcibly evicted over a

decade ago from flats and houses in the city when buildings nationalized during communism were returned to their former owners.


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Lina (46) with two of her ten grandchildren, Denisa (3) and Dalida (4 months), inside their hut on Muntii Tatra Street settlement.


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Gabi (31), sews a pillow inside her shack. The high rate of permanent unemployment mentally breaks most marginalized people and leads to

social isolation which, in turn, is a further obstacle to employment and escape from the cycle of poverty.


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Just returned from school, Maria, second grade, entertains her younger brothers with her readings from the days class. While free primary

education is provided by the Romanian government, families are responsible for purchasing books, school supplies, and providing

transportation. Fifty percent of the Roma children drop out school before graduating the 4th grade. Poverty and the lack of economic

opportunities force many of them to follow in their parents footsteps as day laborers.


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Natalia (43) posing for a portrait with her daughter Emanuela by her side. Married at 14, she never attended school. "I come from a family of

musicians. Going through life with so little education was part of our traditions. I don't want my children to walk the same path."


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Living in a hut on Muntii Tatra street since she was born, Larisa (10) often dances by herself, fantasizing about being an actress in an Indian

movie. During the coming grape-picking season she will have to miss over a month of school to help her family as a nanny for her 3-year-old

sister Denisa.


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Marin (60). Suffering from TB like many others living here, his quality of life has steadily worsened over the 10 years he's spent in the

compound.


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Ana-Maria (14). Her father passed away following a heart attack 4 years ago. "Tomorrow is my first day of high school. I'm kind of excited,

and kind of scared. I will probably be the only one who will not bring flowers to my new teachers. My mother said that with the money spent

on flowers she can support the entire family for 2 days."


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Recently turned 10, Adrian looks through an improvised window.


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With the cooking gas cylinder empty and no money for a refill, Rodica (50) prepares the last meal of the day in her backyard.


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Sorin (6) playing with his favorite toy. His parents had their social aid payments suspended last year after his mother was fined 1,000 RON

for scrap metal theft which they were unable to pay. Both unemployed, they now rely on Sorin's monthly welfare allowance of 42 RON ($13).


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Denisa and Lorena, both three-year-old, playing in front of their hut.


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Lacking the level of education or skills needed for long-term employment, most Roma live a hand-to-mouth existence doing whatever day-

labor jobs they can find.


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Doors and windows are sealed with sheets of plywood. Fifteen men,

women and children from the Muntii Tatra community will be leaving

their huts vacant for over a month during the coming harvest season.


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Anita (16) pausing for a moment while picking grapes alongside her mother Lina at a vineyard near Murfatlar, 20km away from the city of

Constanta.


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Natalia serving dinner to her family.


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Three-year-old Denisa having her hair combed by her grandmother after bathing in a plastic basin inside their hut.


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Once the daylight hours are over, the darkness takes over their homes.

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