I moved to America a bit ago ( 🤢 ) But was born and raised there. It's definitely not great in Greece for us, but it's not great for us anywhere. Not great access to water/electricity, and usually segregated schools or at least where my family has been specifically.
Yes! Even though America has a lot of its own issue, my family was able to actually get jobs here and make more money. I don't take for granted having a proper house nowadays that's for sure.
Oh that's good. It's really hard to figure out how one could help roma in Greece. The situation doesn't seem to be getting better. Now they're being scapegoated for covid. Thing is, they're kind of segregated from the rest of society so there isn't a lot of communication, and if there isn't communication, how are we supposed to come up with something better? I really don't know, it's all very hard and confusing. I don't know how much experience you had with communities in Greece, but what are some of the things you think most people would like to be changed and what are the main problems they're facing?
Oh, there's also the horrible drug epidemic... That makes things even harder...
I think the main problem can stem down to Roma facing extreme job discrimination. Lots of people don't want to hire gypsies just due to racism. So then we make very little money, cannot afford better housing or running water or heat, and then we beg on the streets or steal to survive, or our kids drop out of school to try to get jobs to make money. That all contributes to people viewing us as uneducated criminals which leads to more job discrimination, so it's a vicious cycle. So I think Roma just being able to get good jobs would help immensely. Wouldn't solve everything, but if we just had a chance to let kids be educated and not live in a horrible "house" then it would be lifechanging. There's a million little and big things I could list here, but I think that's one of the main things.
And yeah, can name countless relatives of mine who suffer from addiction. It's also a pretty bad cycle there...
I think the main problem can stem down to Roma facing extreme job discrimination. Lots of people don’t want to hire gypsies just due to racism.
Makes sense, definitely agrees with what I have observed.
So I think Roma just being able to get good jobs would help immensely.
How do you think this could be done? The fact that Greece has such a high unemployment rate for everyone also complicates things...
The worst I heard was from a friend who studies medicine and worked in hospitals for a while. Apparently there's tons of roma children ending up in hospitals with horrible and rare infections, and doctors often try to give them as many vaccines as possible for the time they stay in hospitals because most are unvaccinated and they probably won't ever come back to get vaccinated some other time. It feels like the whole thing is taking steps back, like, a few decades ago it seemed like there was starting to be some kind of cultural communication etc, there was many very famous gypsy musicians (for instance Kostas Hatzis), gypsies were more visible and there seemed to be some kind of progress. Now it's like gypsies and other people aren't living in the same plane of existence, especially after the drug epidemic.
I mentioned Covid before, the issue is that there's outbreaks in their communities so the government forces them into lockdown. But how are they supposed to survive if they're under lockdown? Almost none of them have "normal" jobs. So the result is that they defy the restrictions, which in turn means they get fined a lot (the fines have actually gone up to 500 euros now, it's sick how much the government is trying to exploit the situation, it's as much as many people earn per month), and other people are getting angry at them because they blame them for covid spreading. It's a horrible situation.
Hahaha yeah you don't wanna know about her views on roma.
Also yeah you probably are chapo's only Greek gypsy, do you actually live in Greece? How are things for you?
I moved to America a bit ago ( 🤢 ) But was born and raised there. It's definitely not great in Greece for us, but it's not great for us anywhere. Not great access to water/electricity, and usually segregated schools or at least where my family has been specifically.
Were you raised in a settlement or a house?
More of a settlement. Village-y shantytown type of area.
Yeah I know the ones. It's pretty bad over there. Is your living arrangement better in the US?
Yes! Even though America has a lot of its own issue, my family was able to actually get jobs here and make more money. I don't take for granted having a proper house nowadays that's for sure.
Oh that's good. It's really hard to figure out how one could help roma in Greece. The situation doesn't seem to be getting better. Now they're being scapegoated for covid. Thing is, they're kind of segregated from the rest of society so there isn't a lot of communication, and if there isn't communication, how are we supposed to come up with something better? I really don't know, it's all very hard and confusing. I don't know how much experience you had with communities in Greece, but what are some of the things you think most people would like to be changed and what are the main problems they're facing?
Oh, there's also the horrible drug epidemic... That makes things even harder...
Yeah, it's very difficult.
I think the main problem can stem down to Roma facing extreme job discrimination. Lots of people don't want to hire gypsies just due to racism. So then we make very little money, cannot afford better housing or running water or heat, and then we beg on the streets or steal to survive, or our kids drop out of school to try to get jobs to make money. That all contributes to people viewing us as uneducated criminals which leads to more job discrimination, so it's a vicious cycle. So I think Roma just being able to get good jobs would help immensely. Wouldn't solve everything, but if we just had a chance to let kids be educated and not live in a horrible "house" then it would be lifechanging. There's a million little and big things I could list here, but I think that's one of the main things.
And yeah, can name countless relatives of mine who suffer from addiction. It's also a pretty bad cycle there...
Makes sense, definitely agrees with what I have observed.
How do you think this could be done? The fact that Greece has such a high unemployment rate for everyone also complicates things...
The worst I heard was from a friend who studies medicine and worked in hospitals for a while. Apparently there's tons of roma children ending up in hospitals with horrible and rare infections, and doctors often try to give them as many vaccines as possible for the time they stay in hospitals because most are unvaccinated and they probably won't ever come back to get vaccinated some other time. It feels like the whole thing is taking steps back, like, a few decades ago it seemed like there was starting to be some kind of cultural communication etc, there was many very famous gypsy musicians (for instance Kostas Hatzis), gypsies were more visible and there seemed to be some kind of progress. Now it's like gypsies and other people aren't living in the same plane of existence, especially after the drug epidemic.
I mentioned Covid before, the issue is that there's outbreaks in their communities so the government forces them into lockdown. But how are they supposed to survive if they're under lockdown? Almost none of them have "normal" jobs. So the result is that they defy the restrictions, which in turn means they get fined a lot (the fines have actually gone up to 500 euros now, it's sick how much the government is trying to exploit the situation, it's as much as many people earn per month), and other people are getting angry at them because they blame them for covid spreading. It's a horrible situation.