The violation of the right to live in a healthy environment and the struggle of Roma from Pata Rât for housing justice

Romania (RO)

Project facts

Project promoter:
Community Association of Roma from Coastei(RO)
Project Number:
RO-ACTIVECITIZENS-0150
Status:
Completed
Final project cost:
€41,338
Other Project Partners
Desire Foundation(RO)
Programme:
Civil society

More information

Description

Roma citizens in Cluj Napoca are facing the phenomenon of racial discrimination both from Roma citizens and especially from local public authorities. The phenomenon of ghettoization of Roma citizens became widespread in 2010 when the Cluj-Napoca City Hall took the decision to evict 350 Roma citizens and move them to modular houses located less than a kilometer away from a garbage dump and near a chemical waste dump. Thus, Roma citizens face human rights violations and this problem has not been solved so far. The main problem identified is the violation of human rights and in particular the violation of the rights of the minority group to housing and access to housing that does not endanger their lives. 
The project aims to protect the rights of Roma citizens and to support them in developing new skills and civic abilities so that they too can become involved in solving the problems they have encountered in their communities. In order to facilitate the organization of civic workshops, a community house will be built through the project where activities addressed to minority groups will be organized to increase the level of civic awareness among them.  
The direct beneficiaries of the project are 350 Roma people who were directly affected by the 2010 decisions of the Cluj-Napoca City Hall.
The partner of this project, Desire Foundation, has experience in activities directly related to the respect of human rights, the right to housing and the right to live in a healthy environment, as well as in the implementation of activities and projects that encourage civic activism and community involvement. Thus, through the experience that the Promoter and the Partner have in this field, the Roma community in Cluj-Napoca will acquire a series of skills and competences with the help of which they can advocate for regaining the right to housing in areas that do not endanger their lives and health.
 

Summary of project results

The project contributed to raising awareness of Roma rights among Roma beneficiaries and society at large, as well as empowering Roma in the fight for housing justice, involving 250 beneficiaries in activities. The objectives were achieved by running an information campaign during the multiple types of activities included in the project. Education workshops and training courses were held, materials were produced (a publication, exhibition material and a petition) aimed at drawing attention to the cases of injustice to which the Roma community of Pata Rât is exposed. The activities, deliverables and indicators achieved contributed to the project''s objectives: raising awareness of Roma rights and increasing ACRC''s capacity to run programmes to protect them.The children''s workshops counted 12 visits of 109 Roma children to the city. The experiences were translated into drawings for an exhibition. The education workshops were attended by 12 students and 10 young Roma. 20 interviews on the health evolution of the beneficiaries were the basis for the CNCD petition and the publication "Environment and Health in Pata Rât", printed in 200 copies. The petition "Living in a toxic environment: continuous discrimination of Roma in Pata Rât Cluj-Napoca regarding the right to a healthy environment and health" was submitted. The event commemorating 11 years since the evictions on Coastei Street was organized. The exhibition realized in the project has been touring in partner spaces. A microbus and office equipment was purchased. 5 partnerships with NGOs and 2 media partnerships were signed. The training programme included management and project writing courses, computer skills and English language courses. Launch and closing events provided the platform for presenting the project objectives and results.  

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.