The report titled “Inequality Overlooked: Roma Access to Housing and Education in Turkey” jointly prepared by the Zero Discrimination Association and Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has been released to the public.

This striking report, prepared with the support of the European Union Delegation to Turkey and the British Embassy, reveals the problems faced by the Romani population in exercising their right to housing and education, with the information gathered in the field, and draws a road map on how these problems should be resolved in accordance with international standards.

The Roma population in Turkey, whose total number is thought to be between two million and five million, and similar social groups such as the Abdals are occasionally the target of hate speech and threats of violence; they face discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives, from extreme poverty to exclusion. In the report “Inequality Ignored: Access to the Right to Housing and Education for Roma in Turkey”, which is a product of extensive field studies and desktop research with Romani communities, the obstacles faced by Roma communities in two important areas such as housing and education are listed as follows;

Homelessness is the biggest problem

While homelessness is identified as a primary issue in the report, the number of homes needed for homeless Roma and non-Roma residents is at least 3 million. In the report, the right to shelter is defined as the right to live in a safe, peaceful and dignified place; It draws attention to the discrimination faced by the Roma in this area:

“Some of the landlords in Uşak and Diyarbakır, who realized that the prospective tenants were Roma, decided to terminate their lease agreements and gave up renting their houses, or they did not want to be rented directly. A similar situation may arise in cases where the landlords are Roma, and non-Roma people do not want to rent the house.”

According to the findings in the report, most of the Roma and Roma people are poor, 80% of them live in slums and poor neighborhoods, some of which are under the threat of urban transformation projects.

The "transformation" driving the novels out of the city

The report, which also examines the effects of urban transformation on Roma and living communities such as Roma, includes examples showing how newly established housing areas are far from the city and city life:

“Roma people living in Sulukule district in Fatih District of Istanbul are 40 km away. away from Taşoluk was placed in the district. Again, Çatalca region, which is a very remote settlement on the other side of the city, was chosen for the housing project carried out by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for a group of Romans living in makeshift huts and tents in the Sancaktepe district of Istanbul. TOKİ houses built in Tire District of Izmir are 7 km from the city. It is in a remote location.”

Discrimination in TOKİ housing areas continues

In the report, it is emphasized that as a result of urban transformation practices, the exposing of Roma to live separately from other groups in another part of the city has become continuous. It is emphasized that the right of access to education and the opportunity to receive education with non-Roma are negatively affected by the urban transformation. At the same time, infrastructure is insufficient in settlements where the population of these groups is high. Most homes don't even have mains water or sewer drains.

Novels and the Right to Education

The report reveals that Roma and children belonging to living groups such as Roma are the groups with the lowest enrollment rates. The inadequacy of public resources in Turkey to meet the basic needs of primary schools obliges school administrators to collect in-kind and cash aid from parents both during registration and throughout the academic year. In the process of collecting the aid requested under the name of "donation", there are serious problems that leave both educators, parents and students in a difficult situation, especially in schools with low socioeconomic level. At the same time, it is stated that the teachers assigned to the schools where Roma children study try to leave the institution before the expiry of the assignment period, and that these schools are places of exile and schools where teachers with more than the norm staff work.

Absenteeism stands out as a major problem

On the other hand, it turns out that Roma children are discriminated against in coeducational schools due to their appearance and financial impossibilities, and that they encounter behaviors that amount to harassment by students and sometimes even by teachers. Apart from this situation, other important reasons why children drop out of school or are absent from school are stated as follows:

Parents do not give the necessary importance to education due to lack of education and awareness

Early and child marriage

child labor; the obligation of the child to contribute to the family budget by working

Parents having difficulty in meeting the child's basic education expenses (stationery, school uniform)

Living in one-room houses; the child's lack of study conditions I

Due to the delayed identification of children, a large number of students appearing at the age of 7-8 in the population when they are actually 14-15 years old, and this causes adjustment problems for both children belonging to these groups and other children in the same class.

No one to help children with homework

Performing practice assignments, known as performance assignments, over the internet; children who do not have internet access at home have low verbal grades due to their inability to do these homeworks and they become disgraced at school when they cannot do the homework.

Roma children who are not mentally retarded are included in the education programs of children with disabilities

 

Another practice that Romani children are exposed to is being directed to special education and guidance centers. According to the report, it was learned that after the children were directed to these centers, many of them were reported as mentally disabled, although it was not true. These practices are clearly considered to be a violation of the right to education and the prohibition of discrimination. ECRI (European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance) recommends that such practices should be ended, that Roma children who are not mentally retarded should be placed in such schools, and that those already placed in these schools should be placed in regular schools quickly.

Advice from NGOs

Some of the prominent solution proposals regarding the findings in the report in the context of combating discrimination are as follows;

Settlements that emerged in the form of “Roma neighborhoods” should be eliminated, Romani people's lives in isolation should be ended, but the needs and demands of living groups such as Roma and Roma should also be taken into account in steps to be taken in this direction.

Forced evictions must be stopped; Forced evictions to be carried out in qualified conditions and without the possibility of sheltering close to the place where the evacuation took place should be legally prohibited and prevented.

Healthy and qualified accommodation centers should be built to accommodate groups such as Roma and Roma nomadic, agricultural and seasonal workers.

Urban transformation applications should be carried out not for the purpose of generating income, but for the improvement of housing conditions and in accordance with the principles of "social transformation" and "on-site transformation", and discrimination against living groups such as Roma and Roma must be prevented in the determination of urban transformation areas.

Roma and all children belonging to living groups such as Roma, whether registered or not, should be enrolled in schools immediately.

In order to prevent the children of these groups from leaving school and to continue their education, support programs should be developed for their families in matters such as food, clothing, equipment and transportation.

Awareness-raising activities should be carried out in order for children and young people who have been cut off from education to return to education life again, and families and children should be informed about continuing their education life with different methods such as open education.

Different methods should be developed to ensure that children belonging to nomadic Roma communities or children of Roma working as seasonal workers continue their education.

Special measures should be taken in terms of schools where Roma and children belonging to living groups such as Roma are educated, all expenses of the schools should be provided from the budget of the Ministry of National Education, and special trainings should be provided for teachers in the fight against prejudice and discrimination.

In order to eliminate the low level of education that dominates these groups in general, studies should be carried out in different forms, especially literacy courses.

*You can access the entire report from the attached document.

For information and communication:

Zero Discrimination Association – Hatice Çetinkaya / 0 505 700 70 40 haticecetinkaya2@hotmail.com

 

 

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