An entire continent praised for its progressive stances, its fights against inequality, known as the birthplace of democracy and the bases of the modern world; Europe has one of the greatest histories in the entire world, yet part of it is ignored to this day. A region so prideful that it refuses to fully acknowledge the existence of by far its larger minority. The Roma.  

The Roma have a large history of being persecuted across all nations in Europe. In honor of that, the International Roma Visibility Day was established, on April 8, yet no one seems to be aware of its existence, even when it’s been a 54-year-old tradition. The estimated population of the Romani in Europe surpasses 12 million, making up an important demographic in nations like Romania, Spain and Hungary. However, in the vast majority of cases, they live in segregated communities and distance themselves from the rest of civilization.  

This behavior is based on the years of prejudice they have faced along their wandering way of life. Mistrust has been built between travelling populations and the local communities, barriers have long been raised. Discrimination is socially acceptable, with Romani origins being considered equivalent to someone with a criminal record, when regarding a choice in neighbor, as around 50% of Europeans believe. In order to avoid such behaviors, the Roma intentionally organize themselves in settlements. Each home there is in great proximity to the others, which has since seemed to amount for certain hardships the ethnic group has faced.  

A recent example would be the Ver Meadows site disaster, where a traveller site, that was that was legally provided by the Hertfordshire County Council, caught on fire. The safety regulations that were supposedly put into place and enforced by said council, namely a six-meter distance between dwellings, were ignored. As a result, the close-knit community that lived there were forced to watch their homes, as well as their pets, become ashes. Due to the need for the Roma to stay close together, in order to avoid attacks against them, and the improper care of the site, caused by the council’s inability to ensure safety, this near tragedy claimed no human victims due to sheer luck.  

During the COVID-19 outbreak, it also led to a significantly higher percentage of infected per capita, which in turn boosted the mortality rate among Roma communities. Entire families were wiped out, yet when governments attempted to help, their efforts were met with disapproval. This was rooted to the deep mistrust shared between campers and outsiders, as a mere 10% were willing to be vaccinated by doctors. A crisis which could have been simply averted through trust, failed, since no bridges of communication existed before the disease first infected nations’ citizens.  

Since then, there have been attempts to counter the lack of trust between communities. A Roma clinic has been operating in the UK, by a general practitioner that understood the lack of trust between the Roma and healthcare workers, which has since attempted to fill the gap which discouraged individuals from receiving proper treatment. It has since improved the understanding of workers of different communities, as well as boosted the engagement rate of said communities. This has since become a first step towards eliminating hurtful prejudice.  

As people who aim to move forward into the future, no one should be left behind. When no one bats an eye at the clear lack of attempts to engage in fruitful engagement, with people who are otherwise forced under the poverty line due to their extreme marginalization, inside their own nations, then they cannot be truly called an active citizen. It is up to the newer generations to make sure that no ill words are passed down, as to one day help achieve social integration of ethnic groups that have already suffered enough, instead of forcing them to migrate once again, as seen by USA border patrol data in the recent years. Let hate not be part of our policy regarding the Romani community. 

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