Roma Festival

A few weeks ago, there was a festival for an international Roma holiday. The schedule included horse races, dinner, and finally a parade and dancing. Has a significant Roma population and – as in everywhere else that I have been in Bulgaria – there is a clear discrimination among the ‘Bulgarian’ population. I could use other words, but since this is a public blog, I will stick to more politically correct lingo and say that they are a highly marginalized community which faces discrimination in education, the work-force, and society at large.

Like any group that is isolated, under-educated, and living in poverty, there are issues of crime, drug use, alcohol abuse, and lack of healthcare. All these issues feed on themselves and just accelerate the downward spiral.

Not all is lost, though. For the next decade, Europe will be implementing the ‘Decade of Roma Inclusion’ in hopes of bringing the problem to the forefront. Here’s hoping.

For more info in the Roma in general: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_%28people%29
For more info on the ‘Decade of Roma Inclusion’: http://www.romadecade.org/en/index.php

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