12
March 2011
More positive discrimination on the way
It has been 316 days since an inappropriate development began in the Greenbelt village of Meriden the centre of England. The photos below shows Nikki speaking at the recent event at camp to mark the 300th day of their valient stand against their rights being trampled on. The basis of their problem is that traveller families have special rights much to the detriment of local people.
This
week the European Parliament voted through the following proposals
to further rights for Roma people
A report tabled in the European Parliament this week has called
for greater rights, positive discrimination, and increased funding
for
Roma peoples.
Lívia Járóka, a Hungarian MEP of Roma descent
herself, has put the report before MEPs on behalf of the parliament's
Civil Liberties,
Justice and Home Affairs Committee during a plenary session in
Strasbourg on March 9th.
The report is calling for a wide range of enhanced rights and
positive discrimination for Roma, especially for those who seek
to preserve
their "traditional
lifestyle" (recital F).
What this would mean in reality, is that special classes would
have to be provided in schools across the EU so that Roma children
can
be taught
in their own language (para 1(c)). Acknowledging problems of
low literacy amongst the Roma, Ms Járóka seeks
to make local authorities - as opposed to the families concerned
- responsible
for reintegrating
those who drop out of education back into the education system
(para 81).
Programmes would be enacted in order to make Roma people more
aware of the special funds and grants that are available to them
(para
98), and
paperwork would have to be simplified in order to make it easier
for them to obtain funds (para 102). Ms Járóka
also calls for such funding as is already available to be increased.
Worryingly, Ms Járóka would like local initiatives and
issues concerning Roma to be overseen by EU bodies (para52).
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&reference=A7-2011-0043&language=EN
