A welcome mat for Europe鈥檚 Roma
The long-stigmatized minority, which originated in India, won a victory with the appointment of the first Romani minister under a new president in Romania.
Participants dance during a Roma festival in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2023.
Reuters
For a relatively small nation, Romania is now playing a distinctive role in Europe. It has marked a new path for including a key ethnic minority in government with the appointment of the first minister hailing from the Roma community.
The historic move came after the election of a new president, the pro-European Union Nicu葯or Dan. In his acceptance speech, the former mayor of Bucharest addressed the Roma in their own language. His victory May 18 was also helped by another sizable minority, Romania鈥檚 ethnic Hungarians.
The appointment of Petre Florin Manole as labor minister on June 26 has caused ripples on the continent. 鈥淚t is a systemic rupture,鈥� wrote Mensur Haliti of the Roma Foundation for Europe, on Facebook. 鈥淔or the first time, a Roma assumes a central portfolio. ... This appointment marks a shift 鈥� from exclusion to strategic relevance.鈥� The new president has promised to set up a Roma Presidential Advisory Council and a National Roma Youth Fund.
The long-marginalized Romani people are the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania and the largest in Europe, which has an estimated 10 million to 12 million Roma. Arriving in Europe from western India about 1,000 years ago, the once mostly itinerant Roma faced segregation and discrimination from the outset. They were enslaved in Eastern Europe, deported from England, and targeted by the Nazis. Perceptions of Romani people as unsocialized and crime-prone are still pervasive. Limited access to education and low levels of employment have constrained their economic prospects and civic integration.
In recent decades, the EU has supported projects to improve Roma access to education, housing, and financial services. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Romania鈥檚 new labor minister plans to open up the job market to better integrate Romani people into the economy. This, in turn, could generate much-needed tax revenue.
While the Roma welcome efforts to improve their livelihoods, they also want to be 鈥渢reated with dignity and respect,鈥� the World Bank reported in 2017, based on focus group discussions. Romani actor and filmmaker Alina 艦erban, who grew up in near destitution in Bucharest, expresses that sentiment through her art.
鈥淚 remember not fitting in. I remember being rejected,鈥� she told the entertainment website Variety. She has translated her experiences through stories, plays, and award-winning short films.
鈥淚 want to empower ... young people that share the same [Romani] background,鈥� Ms. 艦erban said. 鈥淚 want to instill in them the belief that they matter.鈥�