Roma Students Organize For Rights

Their association is named Romankara. "Our first goal is to work in the areas of human rights and democracy. Furthermore, we'd like to establish links and cooperate with Roma institutions in Europe" said Selçuk Karadeniz, one of the founders of the association, talking to bianet.

The association was initiated by five Roma students on February 14. They recently took part in a joint project on the promotion of the rights of Roma people in Turkey.

"Then we decided to go on. First we reached 14, then it became 17 individuals. That's how Romankara was born".

Karadeniz's own story begins with the International Roma Symposium, second of which was organized last year in Istanbul. This changed his approach to the issue.

"As every other kid, I've been subjected to an education based to boost a 'national sentiment' but then I've familiarized with the concept of human rights. I realized how Roma people are discriminated against. They were without education, food or basic rights".

"But now I know we have rights and we can get them, we can force the state to give us our rights" he adds.

He explains the hardships Roma face in Turkey with examples from his own life. It's hard for a Roma kid to go to school, meet with others given his desperate life conditions. It results and feeds from the discrimination and labeling towards all Roma.

But as people get to know each other, their attitudes change, says Karadeniz. "They begin to overcome prejudices, premeditated thoughts about Gypsies and their way of life".

The key question is to render visible their existence. "We have to meld into the society, go out, make ourselves visible".

One of the biggest and immediate problems of Roma in Turkey are the practices brought by "urban transformation" projects.

Roma are forced out of their homes without a concrete proposal for the sustainability of their livelihood.

Lastly, he notes that although Roma are beginning to self organize for their rights, support and cooperation of other NGOs are crucial. "That's a very new concept for us and we make lots of mistakes on the way. We need the expertise and experience of others working on the field".(TK/EÜ)