Roma women cry as riot police arrive to assist in the eviction of more than 100 people from their homes in Bucharest, Romania, Sept 15, 2014. PAimages/Vadim Ghirda. All rights reserved.Few people are more caricatured and stigmatised in media and political discourse by stereotypes, sensationalism and myths than Roma, by far the largest minority in Europe. Many Europeans believe that Roma choose to live in shanty camps in abject conditions, and that it is their culture to rear their children in the mud, pull them out of school and force them to beg. The reality is different.
We have visited Roma settlements in many European countries and met with Roma, with civil society groups, and with national authorities and, in practically every case, it has been clear that the situation of poverty, marginalisation and social exclusion in which many Roma live is not inevitable. Instead, the housing situation is most often the visible result of discrimination and social exclusion.
Roma are regularly forced to live in segregated settlements. Lacking basic infrastructure, they are victims of repeated forced evictions, and face more obstacles than majority populations in accessing affordable adequate housing. With access to education, health care, and other social services – not to mention employment opportunities – often dependent on the possession of an official address, the lack of proper housing only reinforces Roma marginalisation.
