The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights strongly condemns the case of writing offensive graffiti with swastikas and inscriptions "Gyupci", written with black spray on houses of the Roma population on Debarska street in Bitola. This is another case of a hate crime, with a message calling for violence against the Roma ethnic community.

Starting from the aspiration to build coexistence, tolerance and mutual respect regardless of national, ethnic, religious or any other affiliation, we request the competent institutions, above all the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office, to thoroughly investigate the case, to find the perpetrators, who should be held accountable for this act.

The Helsinki Committee expects the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor's Office to properly qualify this act as a hate crime. For our part, we will file a criminal complaint and in the future we will follow all the activities that are undertaken in connection with the case.

In the past years, the Helsinki Committee has on several occasions warned about the presence of hate speech towards the Roma community in the Municipality of Bitola and the need to take concrete steps to increase the awareness among citizens of inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-cultural tolerance and coexistence.

The appropriate reaction from the institutions in such moments is extremely important, because failure to provide effective protection to the victims of hate speech and acts can result in discouraging the victims from seeking protection and encouraging the perpetrators to repeat the crime.

Racial profiling of the Roma remains the key factor that prevents equal access to goods and services and reinforces their marginalized status in society. Precisely because of all this, the Helsinki Human Rights Committee believes that real improvements are possible only through a significant change in the attitude of the state authorities towards this community.

Link: https://mhc.org.mk/news/kukastite-krstovi-vrz-kukite-na-romite-e-zlostorstvo-od-omraza/?fbclid=IwAR1RUTJnjdcy0lmtn6_M65equdLR6yk3no9niJqVCRAw581ysVbLbmNu2Xs

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, millions of citizens fled to European Union (EU) countries, including thousands of Roma in the country, where they were offered residence and residence and work permits under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.

Roma from Transcarpathia, however, were not treated the same. Despite Ukraine's ban on dual citizenship, many Roma from the region also hold Hungarian passports and identity documents and therefore did not qualify for EU temporary protection, meaning many of them ended up in collective centres.

However, a year later, thanks in part to Hungarian NGOs, many Roma from Transcarpathia are rebuilding their lives and finding a new home in Hungary.

According to the 2021 census, up to 150,000 ethnic Hungarians and tens of thousands of Roma live in Transcarpathia. As the poorest and most vulnerable group, the exact number of Hungarian Roma is unknown, but experts estimate that there are around 30,000-40,000 of them.

According to the largest Roma organization in Hungary, Romaversitas, the majority of Roma in Transcarpathia speak Hungarian as their main language, not Romani, Ukrainian or Russian. Many live in poverty, in segregated, fenced villages, and about one third live without running water, heating and electricity.

There are few jobs for Roma in Transcarpathia. According to estimates by Ukrainian non-governmental organizations, only 38 percent of the Roma population was employed, and due to the lack of local opportunities, many men from the region were already working in Hungary before the war.

However, this did not prepare them and their families for the conditions that many encountered in Hungary. "Refugees have arrived in a very broken system," said Lilla Eredics, spokeswoman for Romaversitas. "And Transcarpathian Roma are in an extremely vulnerable situation."

Excluding refugees, 876,000 Roma live in Hungary, which makes up almost nine percent of the population, the largest minority according to a 2018 study. Living in the region since the 15th century, the Roma mostly live in rural areas, especially in the poorer northeast and southwest. A large part of them is uneducated and unemployed, and many live in poverty.

Link: https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/madjarska-ukrajinski-romi-izbjeglice-siromastvo/32444055.html