Appeal for solidarity and action

Cluj, Romania, 10.01.2010. The appeal signatories join the human rights civic organizations’ action started in March 2010, when the local council decisions regarding the relocation of the Roma families from Cantonului area, Coastei and Pata Rat next to the garbage dump in Cluj have been made public (County Patrimony and Property Records Department Report number 64778/451.1 from 25.03.2010, Decisions number 127 from 30.03.2010, number 197 from 11.05.2010). The action included petitions addressed to the local and central authorities, as well as the organization of a panel meeting with the participation of the city hall representatives (http://www.petitieonline.ro/petitie-p19395057.html; http://www.causes.com/causes/471269; or the document „Ascertainmet Report regarding the housing conditions of the Roma communities in Pata Rat area” submitted to the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the Local Council, the Prefecture of Cluj County, the Administration and Interior Ministry, Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, and the Romanian Presidency; or the 21.12.2010 Handout, http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/613721?m=c9577495). The main objective of our actions was and remains stopping the City Hall’s project of moving the Roma families evicted from other parts of the city in the so-called “social houses” in Pata Rat area. Everyone must admit that this administrative measure does not solve the socio-economic problems of the Roma families but aggravates them due to their relocation/eviction to an isolated area at the periphery of the city. We repeated many times that: the creation of such residential area near toxic waste means ghettoization; it means the stigmatization of the communities that would live there as “gipsydom”, endanger the health of people and their social inclusion, and questions the credibility of the integration policies assumed by the Romanian Government. In a number of “Transilvania Policroma” broadcasts on TVR Cluj, we pointed out that without a short, medium and long term strategy regarding the sum of problems of housing-employment-access to education-health, the City Hall adventures in dangerous experiments. On every occasion we insisted on the need of a collaboration Protocol between the City Hall and civic organizations in order to help identify solutions that would avoid residential segregation and would assure the right to adequate housing, in accordance with international legislation regarding decent housing, and as well as with international and national regulations regarding the incumbency of maintaining a safe distance between a residential area and a source of pollution. If until 14-17 December 2010, our actions were considered by some as exaggerations (not being taken into consideration) and the City Hall was appeasing the public opinion affirming that everything is in order (and that it is doing a humanitarian gesture for Roma by moving them from illegal shacks to contracted houses with double glazed windows) the following events have exposed the illegalities and manipulations practiced by the local authorities regarding this issue. The eviction procedures of people from their homes on Coastei street without being properly noticed; the quick demolition of the houses without court order and/or a (public) decision of the local Council and without any compensation; and people’s relocation in “social houses” finalized and handed out in a hurry on the same days, denounce several things: - even if for two decades (including December 2010) the City Hall has cashed in the rent from these tenants, from 2009 the contracts have not been extended (so it collected money for something without legal grounds, positioning itself in illegality); - in the case of children that reached 14 years of age when the issuing of identity papers is compulsory, the city hall agreed to issue these IDs on the Coastei address as long as the parents waived their IDs issued on this address for a “temporary ID” with no address (the negotiation was done tacitly and illegally); - even if in the past those houses were allotted to them from their employer (as it happened before 1990s) or by the local government, people got used to live with the rumours regarding their relocation (their harassments through these rumours and the state of uncertainty that was maintained have degraded the physical and the mental state of many, but as they were not carried out for 20 years it gave them hope that the rumours won’t come true); - many of the inhabitants from Coastei Street have repeatedly applied for social houses allocated based on criteria (such as higher education) that they could not satisfy (which is a display of direct and indirect discrimination, since from those that identify themselves as Roma, very few have higher education); - for those that were up to date with their rent and utility bills it was hard to believe that after a life marked by the desire of “social integration” (with jobs and children in school) they were being cast out from society to the garbage dump (by being forcibly moved to the modular houses in Pata Rat); this fact severely defies the integration policies assumed by the Government, it actually goes against them: it does not integrate the marginalized ones but disintegrates the ones that were integrated and marginalizes them; - instead of notifications regarding the eviction, relocation or the location that they were to be moved to, the families have received on 15 December a notification requiring them to file an application for social housing at the municipality next day; many of those notified (although all of them have been defined as such in the notification) were not “without shelter” and they couldn’t know where and how will the social housing be requested “willingly by them”; - besides the written notification everyone was verbally intimidated by the threat that if they don’t do what was requested they will surely remain without shelter because the houses on Coastei will be demolished; - for those that had no contract (and were living in shelters and improvised barracks) the proposal of a contracted house, wherever it was, would have been gladly received; but those that had contract on Coastei were expecting something better or similar but the city hall moved them all together, which indicates the lack of interest in solving the cases individually and their intention to completely free the Coastei area for precise financial reasons that remain unexplained; - on the morning of the eviction day from the old houses, after their utilities have been stopped, the contracts for the new houses were not ready; for several hours, surrounded by local authority representatives, gendarmerie and masked officers, after it became clear that they cannot remain there, the people were expecting to see those contracts mentioning the new location and their allocation; the waiting period and the random way that they were allotted apartments in the modular houses indicated until the last moment (when the bulldozers came on the site) that the city hall had no clear strategy regarding the allocation of the families (it had, however, a list of people by name, which reflects once again its knowledge regarding the “illegality” of those inhabitants); - in the contracts that they received when they arrived in Pata Rat it was mentioned that they will receive two-room apartments of 15 or 18 square metres, and the names of persons to inhabit those apartments were also mentioned; regardless of the fact that the apartments are of one room and that four apartments compose one module with one bathroom, their overcrowdedness clearly demonstrates that they do not respect the minimum requirements of a home as prescribed by the Romanian law (at the most, they might be considered emergency homes); - for those who did not received a place in the new “modular houses” (being moved from their old houses during winter time without being provided with another place to live in, which is illegal, and having to move with their relatives) the City Hall allocated 20 square metres areas, suggesting that they might build something there; but listing them on a table does not represent a property document, and nobody dares to build again illegally, even if this “solution” has been again tacitly proposed by the municipality representatives; - in the situation that they are with 4-9 people in one room (sometimes more), between 20-40 people for one bathroom (sometimes more), with wet walls, wet floor and wet ceilings (which denotes the poor quality of the construction and endangers their health), with problems regarding the access to public transport (the nearest being at 2-3 kilometres) and implicitly to jobs and schools, with their furniture stored here and there, the people will feel compelled to be glad and grateful if the municipality will allow them to build anything else in that area, although they are scared, among others, by the strong smell that they can feel in the night coming from the toxic deposit of the drug factory, or, when it’s warmer, from the garbage dump. We point out the danger that the city hall will not have to create and legitimize the isolated ghetto, because people will “ask” for it, and more and more families evicted from other houses in the city will be moved in that area “on their request”. The local authorities will, maybe, visit the area from time to time and state, as if they would not have instrumented the process, that “gypsies live again in poverty and illegality, because this is their lifestyle”. We invite all responsible civil and political authorities, local, national and international, for at list now, after the damage had been caused, to unite and to compel the City Hall to find other solutions for the evicted people, to assist them with aid in this transition period an to compensate them morally and financially for their loses. Besides this, the aim of our appeal for civic solidarity which transcends ethnic boundaries is to stop forced evictions in this area, to compel local authorities to stop residential segregation caused through administrative actions, and even more, to introduce a desegregation plan into the Cluj urban planning, and to determine them to benefit of the European projects designed to solve the housing problems of disadvantaged groups, among them Roma, together with other aspects of social exclusion. 1. Asociaţia Amare Prhala, Cluj, Pavel Doghi, Preşedinte; 2. Fundaţia Desire, Cluj, prof. univ. dr. Enikő Vincze, Preşedintă; The appeal was signed til now by the following persons and/or organizations: 3. European Roma Rights Centre, Budapesta, Isabela Mihalache, Deputy director; 4. Alianţa Civică a Romilor din România, David Mark, Preşedinte; 5. Centrul Romilor de Intervenţie Socială şi Studii „Romani Criss” Bucureşti, Magda Matache, Directoare Executivă; 6. Fundaţia Ruhama Oradea, Marian Daragiu, Preşedinte; 7. Alianţa pentru Unitatea Romilor – Filiala Brailă, Săndel Grosu, Preşedinte; 8. Asociaţia „Roma Access” Constanţa, Ion Nicu Stoica, Director Executiv; 9. Asociaţia “Romii Romascani” Neamţ, Liviu Daraban, Preşedinte; 10. Asociaţia Romii Ursari Iaşi, Viorel Motaş, Preşedinte; 11. Asociaţia „Şanse Egale pentru Femei şi Copii” Sălaj, Faitaş Mirela, Directoare Executivă; 12. Asociaţia „Şanse Egale” Sălaj, Vaszi Robert Janos, Preşedinte; 13. Asociaţia pentru Apărarea Drepturilor Omului „Şanse Egale pentru Romi şi Sinti ADOSERS” Sălaj, Marcosan Andrei, Preşedinte; 14. Asociaţia Thumende Hunedoara, Cristinela Ionescu, Preşedintă; 15. Centrul Cultural „O Del Amenca” Prahova ,Ganea Daniel, Director Executiv; 16. Agenţia de Dezvoltare Comunitară „INTER-ACTIVA” Botoşani, Semiramida Bălan, Preşedintă; 17. Asociaţia „Divano Romano” Botoşani, Ferariu Rubina, Preşedintă; 18. Asociaţia „Parudimos” Timişoara, Leonard Bebi, Preşedinte; 19. Asociaţia Jurnaliştilor Rromi, Bucureşti, Lacatuş Georgică, Director Executiv; 20. Asociaţia T.R.U.S.T. – Tinerii Romi pentru Unitate, Solidaritate şi Transparenţă Craiova, Alin Banu, Director Executiv; 21. Asociaţia Rhoma Heart Ilo Rom, Brasov, Dan Raea, Director Executiv; 22. Asociaţia Nevo Parudimos Caraş Severin , Daniel Grebeldinger, Preşedinte; 23. Asociaţia Romano Suno Cluj, Norbert Iounaş, Director Executiv; 24. Asociaţia Florarilor Bucureşti, Florin Costel Georgescu, Preşedinte; 25. Alianţa pentru Unitatea Romilor România Bucureşti, Alecu Ionel, Preşedinte; 26. Uniunea Democratica Culturala a Romilor Valea Jiului Hunedoara, Rad Marcel, Preşedinte; 27. Fundaţia Wassdas Cluj, Ildi Otvos, Coordonator programe; 28. Prof. univ. dr. Maria Roth,Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai; 29. Lector univ. dr. Cristina Raţ, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai; 30. Adam Dinu, scriitor, Bucureşti; 31. Marius Vlad, profesor, Hunedoara; 32. Asociaţia Divers, Târgu Mureş, Maria Koreck, Preşedinte; 33. Prof. univ.dr. Michael Shafir, Universitatea Babes-Bolyai, Cluj; 34. Conf. univ. dr. Smaranda Vultur, Universitatea de Vest, Timişoara; 35. Alin Necula, doctorand, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj; 36. Prof.univ. dr. Liviu Ornea, Universitatea din Bucuresti; 37. Carmen Marcu, realizator programe, TVR Timişoara; 38. Ion Vianu, scriitor, Bucureşti; 39. Ion Zubascu, scriitor, Bucuresti, membru al Uniunii Scriitorilor din România; 40. Alina Silea, antropolog, Cluj-Napoca; 41. Calin Goina, doctorand în sociologie, University of California Los Angeles 42. Mariana Goina, dr în istorie, Central European University, Budapest 43. Gheorghe Nicolae, activist rom, Bucureşti, fost Senior Adviser la OSCE 44. Ruxandra Costescu, cercetător, Bucureşti 45. Grupul pentru Acţiune Socială, Cluj, Adrian Dohotaru, Secretar; 46. Andrea Ghita, redactor de televiziune, Cluj 47. Prof. univ. dr. Gabriel Bădescu, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 48. Szilárd Miklós, Asociatia Proiect-Protokoll, Cluj 49. Roma Organization on Migration, Comitetul de conducere, Bucureşti: Viorel Zaharia – preşedinte, Gheorghe Răducanu - vicepreşedinte, Vasile Ionescu – director general. 50. Alex Cistelecan, Asociatia Proiect-Protokoll, Cluj 51. Mihaela Gheorghe, asistent social, Budapesta 52. Asociaţia Pentru Promovarea Incluziunii Sociale, Câmpia Turzii, Zoltan Kovacs 53. Lorena Doghi, Cluj/ Varşovia 54. Dana Stoica, doctorand, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 55. Anca Gheaus, cercetătoare în filosofie, Munchen 56. Lect. dr. Könczei Csilla, Universitatea Babes-Bolyai 57. Raluca Petcuţ, coordonator proiect, Fundaţia Dezvoltarea Popoarelor, Bucureşti 58. Boróka Parászka, jurnalistă, Tg. Mures 59. Crina Marina Morteanu, coordonator regional Fundatia ERSTE 60. Asist univ. dr. Maria-Carmen Pantea, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai Cluj Napoca 61. Core Maria, Asociatia ,,Gi Rromano''- Harghita 62. Kinga Pakucs, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 63. Alexandra Jivan, antropolog, Montreal 64. Veronica Szabo, sociolog, University of Pittsburgh 65. Laura Georgescu, doctorand, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 66. Lect. univ. dr. Ana-Maria Palimariu, Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Iaşi 67. Conf. univ. dr. Alexandru Florian, Universitatea Dimitrie Cantemir, Institutul National pentru Studierea Holocaustului din România "Elie Wiesel" 68. Laura Panait, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 69. G. M. Tamás, filosof, preşedintele Stîngii ecologice, Budapesta 70. Hajnalka Harbula, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 71. Prof. univ. dr. Marta Petreu, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 72. Theodora-Eliza Văcărescu, asistent universitar, Universitatea din Bucureşti 73. Conf. univ. dr. Liviu Chelcea, Universitatea din Bucureşti 74. Noémi Magyari, PR, Fundaţia Desire, Cluj 75. Ioana Bursan, asistent proiect ClujEst - Punct de cercetare vizuală 76. Prof. univ. dr. Ovidiu Pecican, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 77. Teodora Takacs, Cluj-Napoca 78. Prof. univ. dr. Mihai Dinu Gheorghiu, Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Iaşi 79. Alis Costescu, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 80. Lect. univ. dr. Selyem Zsuzsa, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 81. Andreea Lazăr, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, traducătoare, Cluj 82. Diana Ureche, psiholog, preşedintă de onoare DiversEtica, Bucureşti 83. Conf. univ. dr. Marius Lazăr, sociolog, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 84. Lect. univ. dr. Geambasu Reka, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 85. Viorela Ducu-Foamete, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 86. Loredana Peca, biolog, Institutul de Cercetări Biologice, Cluj-Napoca 87. Timotei Nădăşan, redactor şef, revista Idea artă + societate, Cluj 88. Lect. univ. dr. Imola Antal, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 89. Jobb Boróka, masterand, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 90. Mihaela Panainte, director Sala Mica teatru independent, Centrul Cultural Independent Fabrica de Pensule, Cluj 91. Lorena Văetişi, doctorandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 92. Júlia Szilágyi, critic literar, Cluj 93. Tudorina Mihai, Centrul FILIA, Bucuresti 94. Emil Moise, Preşedinte Colegiul Director, Asociaţia Solidaritatea pentru Libertatea de Conştiinţă, Bucureşti 95. Ovidiu Anemţoaicei, Doctorand, Gender Studies Department, Central European University, Budapest 96. Iulia Pascu, Cluj 97. Maria Bucur, Professor of History, Director of Russian and East European Institute, Indiana University, USA 98. Bakk-Dávid Tímea, TRansindex, Cluj 99. Balázsi-Pál Előd, Transindex, Cluj 100. Dunai László István, Transindex, Cluj 101. Fülöp Noémi, Transindex, Cluj 102. Kudor Emese, Transindex, Cluj 103. Kertész Melinda, Transindex, Cluj 104. Rácz Tímea, Transindex, Cluj 105. Irina Sorescu, Preşedintă Executivă, CPE - Centrul Parteneriat pentru Egalitate, Bucureşti 106. Cristina Neculcea, Asociaţia ASPER, Bucureşti 107. Ovidiu Tichindeleanu, Editor, IDEA arta + societate, Cluj 108. Sorin Tita-Călin, sociolog, Constanţa 109. Doina Doru, scriitor 110. Ioana Florin Tala, mediator şcolar, Cluj 111. Lect. univ. dr. Cristina Dogot, Universitatea Oradea 112. Liga Pro Europa, copreşedinta Smaranda Enache, Târgu Mureş 113. Timea Falticska, secretară, Municipiul Satu Mare 114. Conf. univ. dr. Gabriel Troc, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 115. Iulia Dudaş, vicepreşedinta Asociaţiei Studenţi pentru Societate Cluj 116. Prof. univ. dr. Ion Ianoşi, Bucureşti 117. Janina Ianoşi, traducătoare, Bucureşti 118. Dr. Könczei Csongor, etnograf, Cluj 119. Asociaţia Femeilor Ţigănci „Pentru Copiii Noştri”, Timişoara, Letiţia Mark, preşedinta 120. Majtényi Ildikó, comuna Acăţari, judeţul Mureş 121. Majtényi Ágnes, comuna Acăţari, judeţul Mureş 122. Lect. univ. dr. Hanna Orsolya Vincze, Universitatea Babes-Bolyai 123. Ferenc Sütő, Cluj 124. Daniel Peslari, masterand, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 125. Irina Postolache, doctorandă, Universitatea Babes-Bolyai 126. Diana Prisacariu, coordonator Transeuropa 2010, reprezentant European Alternatives Cluj, studentă a Facultăţii de Istorie şi Filosofie, UBB Cluj 127. Corina Iosif, cercetător, Institutul "Arhiva de Folclor" a Academiei, filiala Cluj 128. Adrian T. Sîrbu, cercetător, Institutul de Istorie "G. Bariţiu", Cluj 129. Oborocca Mónika, Radio Cluj 130. Szakacs István, Cluj 131. Petra Ştefan, Direcţia Sănătate Publică, Cluj 132. Marta Herki, CRCR, Cluj 133. Maria Diaconescu, UBB Cluj 134. Estera Hetea, Cluj 135. Ţuglui Manuela, Sibiu 136. Şandor Iulia, Sibiu, 137. Irina Zincă, Sibiu 138. Alina-Sandra Cucu, Cluj 139. Alexandru Greta, Cluj 140. Petru Greta, Cluj 141. Ernest Creta, Cluj 142. Eugen Varga, Cluj 143. Cristina Mărculescu, coordinator Relaţii Externe OSUBB Cluj-Napoca 144. Cristian Adrian, student şi membru OSUBB, Cluj-Napoca 145. Bibiana Pîslariu, Agenţia de Dezvoltare Comunitară Inter-Activă, Botoşani 146. Alia Adriana, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 147. Diana Cataramă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 148. Teodora Bârlea, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 149. Laura Bota, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 150. Ioana Micu, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 151. Mircea Troc, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 152. Octavia Borş, Cluj 153. Molnár Emese Zsuzsa, Cluj 154. Antoniu Greta, Cluj 155. Sebastian Florin Hoca, Cluj 156. Florin Gherasim, doctorand Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 157. Raluca Soreanu, doctorand University College London, Londra, Marea Britanie 158. Anca Simionca, Central European University, Budapesta 159. Violeta Vavură, Profesor de limba română, Bucureşti 160. Cristian Pop, doctorand UBB, Cluj 161. Ioana Hoaghia, studentă Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj 162. Iulia Hossu, antropolog, Cluj-Napoca 163. Mihaela Griga Anghelescu, Director Departamentul de educaţie pentru pace şi dezvoltare, PATRIR, Cluj 164. Georgiana Hanea, masterandă, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai 165. Danciu Dalia, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 166. Popa Luciana, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 167. Nacu Dumitrita, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 168. Mironescu Violeta, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 169. Benghea Rita, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 170. Axinte Ramona, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 171. Daboc Ovidiu-Dumitru, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 172. Ferdean Rares-Petru, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 173. Balmus Emanuel, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 174. Nedelus Roxana, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 175. Bara Diana, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 176. Maria Moldovan, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 177. Oltean Ioana Maria, student, sociologie, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai 178. Dan Zeman, doctorand, Universitatea din Barcelona 179. Societatea Academică din România Doina Lazăr 180. Gabriela COMAN, Département de Sociologie, Université de Montréal 181. Andrei State, filosof 182. Raluca Voinea, critic de artă și curator Asociația E-cart.ro, București, și Revista IDEA. Arta + Societate, Cluj 183. Andrei Anastasescu, traducător, Centrul de Carte Germană din Bucureşti 184. Alexandra Pirici, artist independent 185. Farid Fairuz, coregraf 186. Monica Mocanu, profesor, preşedinte ARDOR 187. Stanca-Daniela Smarandache 188. Ana Bazac, Profesor, Universitatea Politehnică Bucureşti