In his summary of the current situation of the Roma both in North Macedonia and the Western Balkans, Europe and the world, the President of the International Roma Union - IRU Zoran Dimov and Coordinator of the Network for Systemic and Permanent Solutions of the Roma in the Republic of Macedonia in his summary of the past period at the end of this year 2023, emphasizes the need for unstoppable activity and even greater efforts in the activities as well as a more serious approach to solving the problems of the Roma and the Roma community, both at the national and international level.
Apart from the external factors, he also sees the essence of the problem in his Roma community. According to Dimov, the policies directed towards the Roma are not at all promising as long as there is an indolent attitude or personal interest towards them.
Roma Times: "How do you evaluate this year 2023 when it comes to the Roma community at a general level?"
Zoran Dimov: "I can say that unfortunately this year 2023 is another lost and difficult year when it comes to solving Roma problems. The growing trend of anti-Roma sentiment and anti-Gypsyism has been noticeable for a longer period of time. The momentum of the right-wing parties in Europe and beyond, which won power in their countries, is growing. Analogous to that, Roma issues and problems somehow came into the background or were not at all in a high place in their agendas for the realization of programs related to Roma issues. Great hopes were also placed in the promising financial support from the EU, who said during their presentations that 1.4 billion euros have been set aside for the implementation of various programs and projects related to the Roma and that these funds will be distributed in that direction. But unfortunately, in what way those funds will be used and distributed, the least known are precisely those for whom they are intended - the Roma and their representatives. In general, it follows that all of this will depend on the political will of the representatives from those countries, in which the least Roma representatives will be included. Also, in the middle of this year, as we know, we were informed that another 100 million euros will be invested for the Roma community in the next decade, which will be redistributed by the European Roma Foundation. Now, time will tell whether those funds will be correctly distributed and intended.
But one thing is noticeable, apart from these 100 million euros, which will be managed by a Romanian organization, for those 1.4 billion euros, there is no information about where and how they will be redistributed. We also know that in the past, whenever it comes to financing projects intended for the Roma, other than established and verified Roma organizations made plans, strategies and offered their own programs on how and where those funds should be channeled, many times the so-called "pilot Roma organizations" were in the game to get those funds, and unfortunately, it has been proven many times that exactly those Roma organizations that appeared at that moment, were short-lived and short-lived, for later when they would take matters into their own hands hands then suddenly "disappeared". And the effects and benefits were overwhelming.
This is exactly why I mention that in the future, when that moment comes, cooperation with verified and proven Roma activists who have been active and reliable for many years is inadvisable.
Roma Times: "What activities will the IRU undertake in the coming period?"
Zoran Dimov: The activities carried out by the IRU are continuous. The set goals that we implemented in 2023 where we held several meetings both with a physical presence and online and also actively participated in a large number of meetings and conferences with prominent European leaders, above all I mean my commitments and suggestions expressed at the meetings in the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, at meetings with the OSCE and other relevant international institutions. Here I highlighted my knowledge about the situation with the Roma from those regions, and also my suggestions on how to help the Roma community in order to amortize this economic crisis. In all those meetings and dialogues, apart from promises, we did not receive any concrete measures. And from there, my conclusion is that we must make the Roma community start from a standstill.
Speaking from the point of view of the IRU, we, as the largest Roma international organization, are making efforts to reduce that trend, and at the same time, in order to achieve this goal, we are available for cooperation with all benevolent and respectable Roma organizations, associations and associations that work for the benefit of the Roma community. community whether it is at the national or regional level. All those organizations have a helping hand from the IRU for joint cooperation that are in the interest of the Roma community, regardless of whether it is economic, political, social, business, health, human rights and equality and all other fields. Exactly in 2024 is the base for establishing those connections. It will be one of the key topics of the IRU Congress, which is planned for the period of April 2024, where a large number of prominent European institutional leaders and officials will be invited, here is a public invitation for all well-intentioned Roma organizations to join us and approach an open dialogue and further cooperation, where it will be necessary to build our future Roma strategy and action. Only in this way will it be shown to the European institutions that we, as influential Roma participants, can act together and make decisions, as well as contribute to the creation of future policies when it comes to the Roma community. Let us not allow Europe to decide on our behalf, but let us also actively take roles in making important decisions when it comes to the Roma, both in Europe and beyond.
Roma Times: "Let's return to these spaces. You are also the coordinator of the Network for systemic and permanent solutions of the Roma community in RSM. What were your activities in the past period, and what are the challenges in 2024?
Zoran Dimov: "I, as the Coordinator of the Network for Systemic and Permanent Solutions, together with all our other members who are part of the Network and are part of the Roma non-governmental sector in the country, in the past year we see that the Roma community could have been much more represented in the plans and actions implemented by the state. Right at the beginning of 2023, our Network was the initiator of the creation of the National Platform of the Roma, which was then joined by other Roma networks. During the whole year, through our coordination meetings and meetings, we upgraded and supplemented it, where we then presented it to some of the state institutions to be part of the Roma strategy. In parallel, our Network, among other things, initiated and organized events such as commemorating significant days and dates for the Roma community from our country, such as April 8, August 2, November 5, etc.
In the meantime, the Network held continuous meetings and meetings, both among the members of the Network and with other Networks of Roma organizations. Well, the last meeting that was held in the middle of December this year, and initiated by the Network in which other Roma organizations and networks participated, one of the basic conclusions is that in the coming year 2024, which is quite interesting from the aspect that it is the year of Parliamentary and presidential elections in our country, our network initiates the literal formation of a form of Union that is in the interest of the Roma community. Only united in this way and in a Union in which more than 50 or more Roma organizations would be members, we will be more noticeable and more compact, and always stronger in our performances, first of all we think before the political entities, regardless of whether they are from the Macedonian, Albanian or other bloc. With the fact that it is an election year, only in the Union we can make requests to political entities with a higher goal and written guarantees. Learned from past bad experiences when, for example, the so-called Directory for Roma Issues was promised in the last elections. But we all know that nothing came of that promise. Therefore, during the meetings with those political parties and leaders, one of the priorities of the demands of the future Union will be only signed written guarantees of the given promises. In this year 2024, in coordination and without egocentrism, to achieve higher goals than the existing ones, and in the political, social, economic, cultural and other fields. Also, the future Union will advocate for greater participation in the field of employment, in the state administration of the Roma community, while taking into account that the current staff of employees from the Roma community in the state administration is not depleted. The demands will also be for higher positioning of the Roma in the state administration.
Otherwise, I, in my own name, and in the name of the Network and the future Union, will do everything for the sake of our future descendants, a better tomorrow in this society of ours. That's why I would finally quote the famous American businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffett: "Someone is sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree many years ago"
