Zero Discrimination Association researched "Inequality of opportunity faced by Roma children".

Saturday 20 November 2021 12:08

Today 20 November is World Children's Rights Day. However, on this 20 November, as in the rest of the world, children in Turkey cannot access the most basic rights such as shelter, nutrition, education and health.

While Roma children, who are especially among the disadvantaged groups, cannot access their most basic rights such as education, their living standards are below the universal standards.

Distance education, which started under pandemic conditions, continued for about a year and a half. Distance education has brought with it many inequalities of opportunity. One of the segments that experienced this inequality of opportunity the most was Roma children.

According to the news of Özlem Temena from Tükenmez Haber, in the report "Roma Children's Access to Education During the Pandemic Period" prepared by Ekin Çuhadar from the Zero Discrimination Association, the discrimination suffered by Roma children, who are among the groups with high vulnerability in the Covid -19 pandemic, was revealed.

Groups with the most restricted right to education

According to the studies that the Zero Discrimination Association bases on in its report, poor children, girls, children whose mother tongue is not Turkish, children living in rural areas, children with disabilities, children with learning disabilities, compulsory or seasonal There are children affected by the migration experience, nomadic or semi-nomadic children, LGBTI+ children, working and displaced children at risk, and Roma children.

The Zero Discrimination Association listed the reasons why Roma children cannot benefit from their right to education as follows;

High alternative cost of education and low perceived return

Living conditions based on economic situation, nomadic or semi-nomadic life practices

Lack of public expenditure on education and training, which has emerged in Roma Schools

Peer bullying and discriminatory practices in educational settings

Lack of recognition and belonging

Barriers to access to education

The Zero Discrimination Association has classified the barriers to Roma children's access to education as follows:

Economic poverty: Roma children have been and continue to be cut off from education due to the lack of an inclusive education system that takes into account differences, as well as the lack of even the minimum support they need to continue their education during the epidemic. It is seen that the dropouts from education increase the participation of Roma children in the labor market and their early marriages.

Working Children: Roma working in precarious jobs lost their jobs due to the pandemic, resulting in a further decrease in the age of participation in the labor market for Roma children.

Early Marriages: In these households, where education is seen as an alternative to marriage, closing schools due to the epidemic and switching to distance education causes the disappearance of an alternative for girls and an increase in early marriages.

Physical Conditions of Households: Roma neighborhoods are those where infrastructure and superstructure are relatively inadequate. The dwellings of the Roma groups are quite inadequate in terms of their physical characteristics and hygienic conditions. Many families cannot pay their electricity and water bills regularly. Therefore, electricity, water and telephones are cut off. It is understood that the Roma are not in a position to afford health and transportation services and pay the price, while they are deprived of the energy necessary for cooking, heating and lighting, and the water necessary for hygiene, as they cannot pay their electricity and water bills.

Online education distanced poor children from education

On the other hand, according to the report, the lack of necessary tools to access online and distance education was one of the main reasons preventing Roma children and children from other poor groups from participating in the distance education system.

The following statements regarding the inequality of opportunity created by online education were included in the report of the Zero Discrimination Association;

Limited number of tablets and computers at home: First of all, it is known that the number of households with a computer or tablet is quite limited. Although some of the houses have smart phones with internet access, it is seen that the household members with these phones are generally fathers. It is possible to say that because fathers are mostly not at home or the time of their arrival at home varies, it is possible to say that children basically do not have access to the EBA system via smart phones. Similarly, even though live classes were held in their schools (which is not the case in many Roma neighborhoods, families have stated), students could not attend live classes.

EBA broadcasts could not be followed

In the report, it was stated that distance education was also given via television from EBA, but although most of the houses had television, the majority of the children could not follow these broadcasts made at certain hours.

The main reasons for this were listed as follows:

• Tablets with internet access should be provided to the households of students living in or attending schools in poor areas.

• Stationery materials are the materials that are needed whether education is remote or face-to-face. Access to these materials should be facilitated for children belonging to poor and vulnerable groups, including Roma.

• Besides EBA, access to live classes and internet-based communication platforms where students can interact with their teachers should be free.

• Municipalities should provide free wifi service to poor neighborhoods within their areas of responsibility to access internet-based platforms that will support the education of students.

• Increasing and disseminating live classroom practice; the creation of live classes with a small number of students so that the teacher can communicate effectively with each student; classroom teachers to monitor students' participation in the system and their progress; Developing a proactive approach in the face of breaks and absenteeism and motivating the student by communicating over the phone or the internet.

• In order to ensure that children are fed healthy and regularly, child-oriented food or hot meals should be provided; While planning these aids, the child's daily nutritional needs and demands should be put in the center.

• For children who cannot benefit from EBA support points, community centers should be opened in the neighborhoods where these children live.

• Local services should not be considered as services for women only, local services should be shaped with an approach that focuses on the subjective experience of women.

• Cooperation should be established between the public administration, local administrations and non-governmental organizations at the local level and long-term sustainable policies should be developed in order to eliminate the poverty situation that was already present before the Kovid-19 pandemic.

• Units or support lines should be established in municipalities where poor and vulnerable groups, including Roma, can easily be reached. These units or hotlines should be able to support these groups not only in their access to education but also in their access to basic rights such as basic food, health care and public services; Mechanisms should be developed to meet the demands coming to these units or support lines.

• Support programs and facilitation services should be provided that will enable caregivers to gain awareness, knowledge, skills and competence for the process in order to ensure that children continue their education when the Covid-19 pandemic ends or its effects are minimized.

• Considering that children are not only physically but also mentally disconnected from school, applications should be developed to encourage children whose dreams of access to education are currently limited and whose dreams are gradually decreasing with distance education, to continue their education.

• The needs of the poor and vulnerable groups, including the Roma whose needs are ignored in the transition to distance education, should be taken into account in the organization of remedial education; should act together with public administration, local administrations, non-governmental organizations and society.

• Following up the cases of neglect and abuse suffered by children from poor and vulnerable groups in the home during the pandemic process; taking preventive measures for this situation. In this context, a research on the impact of Kovid-19 on violence, violation and abuse against children, taking into account that children do not only have problems in accessing and continuing education, but also an increase in violence, neglect and abuse cases against children. In this research, it is aimed to identify children who are exposed to violence, neglect or abuse and develop special interventions for these children.

• "Pandemic has increased discrimination against Roma even more"

• According to the report, in the year passed with the epidemic, in addition to systematic discrimination against Roma in Europe, such as mandatory quarantine of neighborhoods where Roma are densely populated, the obligation of armies to supervise quarantines, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles with thermal sensors to disinfect neighborhoods, as well as in different provinces of Turkey. similar discriminatory practices were witnessed.

• According to the Zero Discrimination Association, the situation is not very different in Turkey.

• In the Kırıkhan district of Hatay, the municipality especially refrains from disinfecting the Roman neighborhood with the statement that they are "already infected", Dom and Abdal women, who are marketers in Adana, are confiscated and beaten, Romans in need of social assistance "do not like to work", are "lazy", It was emphasized that with the stigma of a welfare addict poor on the basis of "they prefer to live on benefits", with the prejudice that their poverty stems from their own preferences, discrimination in the society is fueled.

https://www.indyturk.com/node/437961/haber/roman-%C3%A7ocuklar-e%C4%9Fitimde-e%C5%9Fitlikten-uzak?fbclid=IwAR1HiRfScVq_zrrcdKaYU-eSCUZT2ar_XBDa5qqhS8f5iVVsjiN9HHnW6IY