About 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine to Europe are estimated to be Roma. They are particularly vulnerable, and yet appear to suffer from discrimination in at least some European countries, such as Czechia and Moldova
Deep inequalities in all major aspects of life prevent the very Roma inclusion. Referring to the huge gap in access to legal work, education, water and basic needs, Sean Benstead talks of an “economic destitution” affecting Roma populations. Indeed, according to the European Commission’s Roma Integration Strategies report , in 2019 68% of Roma in the EU left school early, only 43% had a paid employment and 80% lived under the poverty threshold.
In addition to these material inequalities, Romani people face a widespread anti-gypsyism: the Roma and Travellers Survey published by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in 2019 notes that nearly half of Roma and Travellers respondents (44%) experienced hate-motivated harassment in the 12 months preceding the survey. The situation is particularly though in Central-Eastern European countries, where Roma were recently blamed for spreading Covid-19.
