Europe's forgotten citizens - Defending Roma rights in the European Union

There are between ten and twelve million Roma living in the European Union today – roughly equal to the population of a medium-sized EU Member State, like Belgium or Greece. Yet despite the fact that the Roma have played an integral part in European history and culture for over seven centuries, most of us still know very little about them. And what we think we do know is more often than not based on ignorance, prejudice and stereotypes. This has led to a situation where millions of Roma in the EU today face extreme levels of social deprivation. Unemployment in many Roma communities is rife. Basic education is often lacking and when it comes to health care, life expectancy is well below the EU average. This film tries to look at the reasons why anti-Roma feeling has been so ingrained in so many European countries for so long and also looks at efforts being made to remedy the problem. Interviews: Oláh Csaba, Roma Civil Rights activist Lívia Járóka, Member of the European Parliament of Roma origin Johnathan Borja Silva, Butcher Juan Reyes, Fundación Secretariado Gitano Vasile Tanase, Labourer Miguel Santiago, Fundación Secretariado Gitano Mária Varga, President Roma self Government, Pomáz József Ignácz, Chief Editor Radio C Marcos Santiago Cortés, Lawyer and Journalist Enikö Horváth, Roma pupil

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Google Video | November 4, 2008

Tags:. .countries. .based. .communities. .between. .president