Visit of Ukrainian Roma Delegation to ERGO Network
On 12-13 October 2022 ERGO Networked welcomed a delegation from our Ukrainian member organisation Roma Women Fund Chiricli and Roma mediators with the purpose to present the current situation of the Roma IDPs and refugees (access to housing, education, the particular situation of the Roma women, cases of discrimination, to gather feedback on possible solutions and partnerships to address the issues and propose immediate anti-discrimination measures for ensuring Roma equality during the current refugee crisis.
The delegation consisted of Director of Chiricli Yulia Kondur (currently working from France), organisation representative Viola Popenko (currently working from the United Kingdom) and mediators Mikhailo Biliavskyi and Marina Bublyk (now based and working with Ukrainian Roma refugees in Germany).
On the first day of their visit, our Ukrainian colleagues met with Members of the European Parliament Peter Pollak, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Romeo Franz, Dietmar Kostner and the assistant of MEP Sergey Lagodinsky to present the research they have carried out during the summer, involving over 1000 Ukrainian Roma mediators working with IDPs and refugees on the ground.
Roma Women Fund Chiricli together with the mediators provided comprehensive data on the situation of the Roma in different regions, in order to find common points for cooperation.
On the second day the organisation spent time with ERGO Network to strategise on our future cooperation, as well as continuing with their meetings of the EU officials: this time meeting Marta Garcia Fidalgo, the Advisor on Roma Policy in the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) of the European Commission..
Roma Women Fund Chiricli is the largest Roma-led organisation in Ukraine, involved in a wide variety of projects, among them on policy-making. Together with ERGO Network, Chiricli worked on the most recent Roma strategy for the Ukrainian Government.
Since the beginning of the war, we have been working closely together, assisting this organisation in their work on the ground with among other initiatives fundraising for the Ukrainian Roma refugees and also running the “Hot Meals for Ukraine” project (provision of hot meals in war-affected regions for all vulnerable groups who need those, including non-Roma). ERGO Network has also liaised with several donors for funding assistance for Roma IDPs in all areas of Ukraine and the provision of a special centre for the IDPs in Western Ukraine specifically.