Segregated From Birth

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From Health Care to Education
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In most of Europe it is unacceptable for children to be kept segregated simply because they are black or white. It is however the standard in European schools to keep Roma children segregated from their peers. And as to be expected, these segregated class rooms are separate and Not equal.
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And even when Roma children are allowed to enter into "normal" schools they often receive the same discrimination as before. Roma children in the Czech Republic that are granted access to the standard education are stunted due to Czech policies. In most of the Czech Republic these Romani children are placed in classes with "slightly to fully mentally retarded". The reason, Czech citizens view Roma as "socially stunted".
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Perhaps the Roma would not be "socially stunted" if in the rest of Czech society they were accepted and allowed to stay in their homes un-harassed. But that is for another post...
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When the European Union gave the Czech government the opportunities to draw upon 4.5 billion euros, the Czech schools asked for computers and school books. These accommodations were being given to the Czech school systems because they had "integrated" Roma into their "standard" schools (into mentally handicapped classrooms). This money was being given to the Czechs so as to help with the integration of Roma children and yet the computers and books were going to all the other classrooms Roma children are not allowed into.
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Klara Laurencikova, who pushed for Roma integration and succeeded this last March in getting legislation passed, recently left her post at the Education Ministry due to her country's failures. Despite laws and mandates the Czech people still sway toward open prejudice against Romani peoples... even Rom children.
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The Czech Republic however is not alone in its methods of dodging "integration". In 2009 Slovakia was shown to have forced Roma children (those eligible for the "standard" schools) into special schools for the mentally ill and handicapped. Three out of four children in Slovakia's schools for the mentally handicapped were Romani children. This is despite the fact that Roma make up less than 10 percent of Slovakia's total population. The number of Roma being placed in handicapped schools continues to rise in Slovakia.
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In Bulgaria the Roma children are actually used as weapons against their parents when it comes to school. Despite laws in the country that make it difficult for Roma parents to stay in one place for any given length of time, Roma parents are now expected to keep their children in the same school all year long. Any truancy would therefore result in the child's expulsion from school and the parents' loss of any governmental aid... i.e. welfare or Bulgaria's food aid programs for the poor.
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Yet in most places across Europe the simple fact is that Roma children are simply kept out of schools or forced into segregated schools or classrooms. If even offered access to any form of education at all, Roma schools are severely disadvantaged. The level of education is so far below the "public school system's standards" that many Roma children are still considered illiterate by national standards despite their "education".
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For those kept out of school in countries like Slovakia face constant attacks from not only local citizens but even the Police. This month alone six Roma children in Slovakia were arrested without any given cause then taken back to police headquarters in Kosice, Slovakia and tormented by 9 policemen and one police women. Throughout their ordeal the police forced the boys to attack one another, lick the police officers' boots, strip naked for lengthy periods of time, and even have police rifles put to their heads and the triggers pulled only to hear the hammer click.
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If convicted in Slovakia's courts the police officers will most likely be given 10 years for public display of disapproval (disapproval only being that the officers got caught) and yet serve less time than Lindsay Lohan.
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Here in the United States we are constantly reminded of the reasons a quality education is important. We know that the fundamental elements of our future rest upon the basis of our education. Ask any of your parents just why they forced you to go to school even when you wanted nothing more than to quite... they will tell you they did it so that you could succeed in life. Roma children across Europe are not getting that opportunity. They are being stunted from birth by racist laws and public condemnation. And once of age to go to school, Romani children are lucky if they even get into a class for the mentally handicapped.
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