Romani refugees from #Ukraine face segregation in #Moldova.
Authorities are deliberately housing most Romani refugees separately from others fleeing the war next door, in a manner that constitutes unequal & discriminatory treatment.
New reporting from Human Rights Watch…
🧵
Authorities are deliberately housing most Romani refugees separately from others fleeing the war next door, in a manner that constitutes unequal & discriminatory treatment.
New reporting from Human Rights Watch…
🧵
Since 24 February, more than 471,000 refugees have crossed into #Moldova from #Ukraine, the highest per capita influx to a neighboring country.
About 87,700 refugees have stayed in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe.
About 87,700 refugees have stayed in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe.
Moldovan authorities have offered critical support to people fleeing #Ukraine, which isn't easy for a relatively poor country, but there can be no excuse for ethnic segregation of refugees.
Human Rights Watch found a practice that appeared to be based on an agreed policy to segregate Romani refugees in designated state-run reception centers, and to deny Romani refugees housing together with other refugees in alternate state-run centers.
Since mid-March, almost all Romani refugees whose housing has been processed by the government have been placed in a previously abandoned university building at the Faculty of International Relations, Political Sciences, and Public Administration (FRISPA).
Many were transferred there from the Manej Sports Arena, while later arrivals said they were directed there from the border, train station, or MoldExpo reception center without being informed of any other accommodation options.
Conditions at Manej were inferior to those in other facilities.
Volunteers who worked to find housing for refugees said that, from the outset of the crisis, some center administrators refused to accept Romani refugees.
A government official told volunteers they should confirm refugees’ ethnicity before placing them in housing.
A government official told volunteers they should confirm refugees’ ethnicity before placing them in housing.
#Moldova authorities should urgently end this policy & practice of segregating Roma.
They should ensure equal access to reception centers, housing, and all services and humanitarian aid for Romani & non-Romani refugees, and provide all refugees with equivalent information.
They should ensure equal access to reception centers, housing, and all services and humanitarian aid for Romani & non-Romani refugees, and provide all refugees with equivalent information.
For more details, read our new publication: hrw.org/news/2022/05/2…
Or read this personal account of one case:
Grandmother Olga, her daughter Maria, and her 3 teenage granddaughters, who fled their home in #Ukraine and sought refuge in neighboring #Moldova...
hrw.org/news/2022/05/2…
Grandmother Olga, her daughter Maria, and her 3 teenage granddaughters, who fled their home in #Ukraine and sought refuge in neighboring #Moldova...
hrw.org/news/2022/05/2…
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