In early March, two public hearings were held in Lviv to overcome anti-Roma and xenophobic sentiments in the city. The key speakers in those discussions were the representatives of the Roma youth from different parts of Ukraine. They told Lviv community about themselves, told their story of being the Roma / Romani in Ukraine. Besides, they told what, in their opinion, should be the ways to achieve tolerance in the society.
In early March, two public hearings were held in Lviv to overcome anti-Roma and xenophobic sentiments in the city. The key speakers in those discussions were the representatives of the Roma youth from different parts of Ukraine. They told Lviv community about themselves, told their story of being the Roma / Romani in Ukraine. Besides, they told what, in their opinion, should be the ways to achieve tolerance in the society.
The International Renaissance Foundation has been supporting the efforts of civic organizations and activists to counteract discrimination and to involve the Roma community representatives in social processes for over 20 years. In January this year, the Foundation expressed its concern, since in Ukraine, and in particular in Lviv, where the Roma community has about a thousand persons, hate-based communities continue to emerge, in particular, those being united around hate directed at the Roma national minority. In this regard, open discussions can help Lviv residents to really hear and understand each other, as well as make their community more tolerant and close-knit.
During the discussion Janusz Panchenko, a young historian from Kherson, briefly talked about the history of the Roma people. In particular, he told that their ancestors originated from India. Certain tribes engaged themselves in blacksmith’s craft, snake summoning spells, basket weaving, etc. They were constantly moving around the north India in search of places where their services would be needed. Later on, one nomadic group came to Iran, whereas another one went to Armenia and the Byzantine Empire. The Roma began to massively migrate to Europe after the Byzantium was seized by the Ottoman Empire. The Roma population is multiethnic. There are about eighty Roma ethnic groups in Europe, whereas in Ukraine there are fifteen Roma ethnic groups. The Roma can be compared with the Slavonic people, which also have a great number of ethnic groups. The history of Ukraine is the history of not only Ukrainians, but also of all people living in its territory. The Roma in this case is not an exception.
Victor Chovka, a civic activist and a journalist from Uzhgorod, focused on the problems of regional journalism: “Many of the themes of the Romani life, according to my observations, are not covered by journalists. However, the Roma also raise funds for the ATO, they also serve in the Army. Nobody knows about either the Roma studying in post-graduate schools, or the Roma that have three university diplomas, or the educated Roma community representatives in general and Romani civic activists working in Ukraine, in particular. After all, they are trying to convey that they also seek freedom and a decent attitude to themselves”.
In February this year in Lviv during the presentation of the findings of the one-year research project directed at the creation of effective mechanisms to counteract intolerance against the Romani and Jewish communities, it was proposed to introduce a position of the “Roma mediators” to combat xenophobia in Ukraine.
Olga Zhmurko, the Roma Program Initiative Director, concluded: “We find such discussions useful: to change the public opinion and overcome stereotypes is possible only under condition that the groups and communities concerned take a proactive stance. The participation of the Roma youth in such public events demonstrates their desire to establisha dialogue, to tell the world about themselves and bring them closer to the communities. Such public discussions are useful, in particular, in Lviv. Indeed, Lviv, on the one hand, is a multicultural city, the community of which has been traditionally composed of representatives of different ethnic groups. On the other hand, a number of cases of use of media and social networks to spread messages and instigate ethnic hatred has increased. However, such public discussions help to unite the community and form a tolerant and safe environment, accordingly”.
