French expulsion of Roma shatters European values
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Russinov said that the West European countries have unclear and dual attitude towards the minority groups. According to him, from one hand the minority groups go there and do the job that the Western people find disgusting: do the dishes, being servants, chambermaids and so on.
"From the other hand, in a moment it happens that these working people are unwanted in these countries,"Russinov said." We find it extremely unfair that Roma are singled out and expelled only because they are Roma."
When asking about the Roma people if they would return after being expelled, Russinov said that in Bulgaria these people live in dire conditions and many of them are not hired because of their Roma origin.
Unemployment is the most serious problem to Russinov. He said that during the communism era in Bulgaria 95 percent of the Roma had a job but after the political changes in 1989 the Bulgarian economy was destroyed and many of these people, being low qualified, lost their job. Therefore many of these people went to the West, in the developed countries, looking for a job.
"These people have the right to work and to feed their families, and when they have not a job here, it's normal to look for it in some developed countries where there is a lack of low- qualified manpower," Russinov said.
According to Russinov, the Roma expulsion from France shows also that the level of discrimination in the Western Europe is at least as high as it is in the Eastern Europe, even higher.
Russinov also said that the level of Roma integration in Bulgaria is significantly higher than it is in the Western Europe. For example, almost half of the about 800,000 Roma people in Bulgaria, live in integrated conditions, in the same buildings where the Bulgarians live, and Roma people live the way that the rest of the people in the country live, Russinov said.
According to him, the real problem are the people living in the Roma quarters but even there it is possible to do the things the right way if there is a normal state policy concerning the infrastructure and, when it is needed, to help them with housing.
The most efforts should be put on a policy of integration in the education, Russinov said. "When a child is integrated in the educational system, it becomes a thinking and responsible citizen in the future, and after that almost no efforts are needed for him to be integrated as a part of the society,"the activist said.
In addition, Russinov hopes that this scandal will push the European Commission to play more active role to form the political will of the governments from the West and East Europe, for the Roma integration in the society. According to him, there is no political will and awareness of the importance of this issue yet.
