AMBASSADOR MARKS INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY WITH VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000537 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO HELSINKI COMMISSION FOR ERIKA SCHLAGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV GR SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MARKS INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY WITH VISIT TO CAMP AND SCHOOL REF: A. STATE 29991 ¶B. ATHENS 383 Classified By: Ambassador Daniel Speckhard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In observance of International Roma Day on April 8 (Ref A),Ambassador visited a segregated Roma-only school in the Athenian suburb of Aspropyrgos, where he was met by a host of local government officials and educators bemoaning the woes of having a Roma population in their jurisdictions. The Ambassador greeted students in two classrooms and then made a visit to the Albanian-Roma community of Nea Zoi where he talked with residents, walked through the extremely poor community and even visited the ramshackle home of one family. Our persistent message on Roma rights appears to be making some headway -- for the first time, the Minister of Interior released a statement detailing GoG Roma programs. Nevertheless, the GoG has a long way to go in addressing the plight of the Roma in Greece. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Upon arrival at the two pre-fab containers serving as the school, the Ambassador was met by the Nomarch of Western Attica, the Vice-Nomarch, the Mayor, the Vice Mayor, the school director and an expert in multi-cultural education and representative of the Ministry of Education, Professor George Androulakis. The government officials spoke about the problems their non-Roma residents face due to having Roma neighbors (noise and crime mostly) and blamed Roma parents for not sending children to school regularly or only for enough time to qualify them for government grants for families with children in school. In speaking to the two small classrooms of nine Roma children, the Ambassador told them they should be proud of their rich history, ancestry and culture as Roma, prompting one young boy to excitedly and repeatedly express his thanks to the Ambassador. ¶3. (U) Upon departing the school, Ambassador stopped to speak with residents in the nearby terribly poor Albanian-Roma community of Nea Zoi (new life),where he heard about the difficulties of life for this highly marginalized population. Chief among complaints was the lack of basic sanitation facilities, no water, only stolen electricity, and no real homes beyond shacks. "Is this life?" asked one Roma man who invited the Ambassador into his home to see the sparse existence he leads with his wife and four children. Beyond living conditions, residents complained about not having access to real jobs despite having been in Greece legally for more than a decade. While at the camp, several local landowners pressed to speak with the Ambassador about their woes with squatting Roma. ¶4. (U) Embassy's website (http://athens.usembassy.gov/) carried a story and photo covering the Ambassador's visit to the school. ¶5. (C) Also on April 8, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos released a public statement about measures his Ministry had undertaken "over the past four years to shield the rights of Greek gypsies" including a program for the social accession of Roma, "combating exclusion and discrimination, programs for permanent housing, a housing loan program, the building of settlements, and education." The Minister's statement comes shortly after our Best Practices on Roma Issues Conference and government meetings on Roma matters by Helsinki Commission International Counselor Erika Schlager (Ref B). COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) The Minister's statement marks the first time we have seen a positive public message by a high level government official on Roma issues. We calculate that our persistent message to the GoG of increased USG attention to this serious human rights matter may have started to bear fruit. Thus, while many of the identified programs seem more illusory than factual, we see the statement itself as a positive - albeit limited - step forward. Nevertheless, the GoG has a long way to go in addressing the plight of the Roma in Greece. SPECKHARD