On Sunday, during a curfew, about 20 members of the intervention police used physical force on the homeless living under the Skopje Railway Station during their intervention. Homeless people told CIVIL Media that a homeless man who did not live in the neighborhood came to them drunk and asked them to play music, to which the residents of the surrounding buildings reacted.

"When the police came, they asked for the music to be turned off and we turned it off immediately, but Harun (who is otherwise known to the police because he often knows how to cause problems and incidents) started arguing with the police and they called for reinforcements. In a few minutes, about 20 alphas arrived, with five or six vehicles, and without asking what was happening, they immediately started hitting us. "They didn't choose whether to beat men, women, the elderly or children," said homeless Suzana Demir, who complained of bruising on her hands from the beating.

Susanna's husband, Emran Aslan, says they were beaten for nothing, just because they played loud music during a police lesson.

"The fact that the police came to tell us to turn off the music was right and we turned it off, but when the alphas came they didn't ask anyone anything, they just got out of the vehicles and immediately started beating us, and the men took us to the police station in Aerodrom. Aslan says.

The rest of the residents did not want to talk in front of the camera for fear of being shot, they say that now that they hear a cat or a dog knocking outside, they are shocked because they think that the police have come again to beat them.

One mother says: “The child from that day, in the middle of sleep, gets up and starts crying and trembles with fear. I can hardly calm him down. "There are a dozen small children here who have been traumatized since that day because they were crying, screaming and fleeing to hide from the police."

A resident who did not want to speak in front of the camera said: “I have a lot of attitude, I am afraid they will come again to beat us. There is no one to protect us. We have no one to complain to. "

CIVIL Media requested an answer for this case from the Ministry of Interior, where they answered that on 07.06.2020 at around 18.30 behind the PIOM building on the quay by the river Vardar, police officers from the Police Station Aerodrom took measures and activities. following a report from a citizen about violations of the curfew by a group of citizens who were gathered in a public place and disturbed public order and peace by smoking loud music. Five people then rudely approached the police officers, after which they physically assaulted them, and one of them threw a stone at the police van.

"AB (27), A.M. (23), AA (30), EA (30) and HJ (44), all from Skopje. In order to humiliate the police officers, the five detainees were registered for a misdemeanor in accordance with Article 13 of the Law on Misdemeanors against Public Order and Peace, while due to non-compliance with the curfew and the Government's recommendations for dealing with the pandemic of Kovid 19, with which a crime has been committed, after completing the documentation, criminal charges will be filed against them in accordance with Article 206 of the Criminal Code, "the Ministry of Interior told CIVIL Media.

On June 4, three days before the incident with the homeless, the technical Minister of Interior, Nake Chulev, met with representatives of several Roma NGOs and said that they discussed "hate speech against the Roma community as a marginalized group." in society, the problem of street children, domestic violence ...

Will the Ministry of Interior really stand in defense of the most endangered, in this case the homeless Roma, or will the Roma be (mis) used only for "painting" before the elections?

Text, camera and editing: Dehran Muratov

Every year, the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, together with the European Youth Forum, awards the prize “Young European of the Year” to a young person who has shown a particularly strong commitment to a Europe of solidarity. This year’s winner, Maria Atanasova, comes from Bulgaria and fights for more visibility and participation of young Roma people.

Since 1997, the award has been supporting young committed Europeans with prize money of €5,000 for an internship in a European institution or to create their own project. The award is given to young adults who are committed to European integration and intercultural understanding.

Maria Atanasova (23) is awarded as Young European of the Year 2020 for her efforts to increase the visibility of young Roma people. At the age of 23, she is already a mentor supporting children and young people from the Roma community and a member of the Roma Youth Volunteer Network.

As a young Roma in Bulgaria, Maria experienced discrimination at an early age. “Romani women are often placed in separate maternity wards – segregated from non-Romani women. Discrimination against Roma begins literally at birth”, explains the midwifery student.

“As a young Roma woman, I believe in my community and in the fact that young Roma are among those who make a difference. Mutual support within our community is the path to social change. I am delighted to be honoured as Young European of the Year and I would like to use the award to make Roma and especially young Roma in Europe more visible”, says the awardee.

Link: https://schwarzkopf-stiftung.de/en/young-european-of-the-year-2020/