Monitoring Mission on the situation of Ukrainian Roma refugees in the Czech Republic
On 26 October ERGO Network Secretariat together with our partners and members from Jaw Dikh Poland and Roma Women Platform ROMNI from Moldova held the first monitoring mission to investigate the situation of Ukrainian Roma refugees in the Czech Republic. This is the first mission of our one-year-long project supported by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM).
The organisations met with the Czech organisation Romodrom, which is active in the field of Roma refugee support since the onset of the war, currently working with more than 1500 people from Ukraine in the Czech Republic as well as also providing social services to the Roma in Western Ukraine.
The partners have discussed the work of Romodrom and other recipient countries. The partners from Jaw Dikh and ROMNI shared the practices from their work with mediators and service provision as well as advocacy and lobbying.
The meeting was followed by a visit to a refugee centre in Prague 5, where 90 people are accommodated, most of them Roma from Western Ukraine. Several organisations are contributing to the smooth functioning of the centre: Romodrom by covering the rent and taking care of the logistics, RomPraha provides social services, our members from Slovo 21 are offering cooking facilities and other classes, UNICEF runs after-school classes for children to help them adapt to the new environment.
A report will be prepared after more information is collected, which will provide ERGO Network and the partners with the necessary data to strengthen our advocacy and cooperation with possible allies. Similar visits will also take place in the coming months to Moldova, Poland, Romania and possibly Ukraine.