SERBIA: RESETTLEMENT A RARE ROMA SUCCESS STORY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001004 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE (PETERSON) AND DRL/AE (NADEL) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: RESETTLEMENT A RARE ROMA SUCCESS STORY REF: BELGRADE 357 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) In a well planned and coordinated effort, local authorities in Belgrade on August 31 resettled without incident approximately 160 Romani families living in an illegal settlement under the Gazela bridge in downtown Belgrade. The resettlement, executed on the eve of the new school year, cleared the way for long overdue reconstruction of the bridge, but more importantly removed approximately 1,000 people, including 127 school-age children, from squalid living conditions. Although local officials neglected to involve the Human and Minority Rights Ministry and some questions remained regarding the fate of non-Belgrade residents, the relocation effort represented a rare success story involving Serbia's most vulnerable minority population. End Summary. From "Cardboard City" to Containers -------------- ¶2. (U) According to press reports, Belgrade municipal authorities, in close coordination with police, fire, and communal services representatives, in the early morning of August 31 undertook a complex operation to resettle approximately 160 Romani families living in an illegal settlement under the Gazela bridge in downtown Belgrade. Known informally as "Cardboard City" due to its more than 200 temporary cardboard structures and the fact that most of its residents make their living collecting recyclable materials, the settlement has long been an eyesore and a thorn in the side of the local authorities. Previous resettlement attempts foundered on resistance by residents of other Belgrade municipalities to "accept" Romani neighbors and complaints from the Romani themselves who wished to remain in the city center. ¶3. (U) The August 31 operation demonstrated that municipal authorities learned their lesson from criticism following their April 2009 decision to demolish another illegally established Romani settlement known as "Belville" (reftel). According to our contacts, "Cardboard City" residents were informed well in advance about relocation plans, and television coverage showed lines of buses prepared to transport people to their new homes. Deputy Belgrade Mayor Milan Krkobabic announced that 114 Romani families with Belgrade residency (more than 1,000 people altogether) would be resettled in 13 of Belgrade's municipalities in 16 square meter "residential containers" equipped with thermo-isolation for weather conditions and with water, electricity, and sewer connections. He added that the city intended to plant trees and grass and build playgrounds in the areas surrounding the containers, emphasizing that the entire undertaking would cost 80 million dinars ($1.2 million). ¶4. (U) Approximately 45 families from the Gazela bridge settlement were not registered as Belgrade residents and therefore ineligible to be relocated within Belgrade under the municipal authorities' resettlement plan. According to press reports and our contacts, these individuals were bused to the Serbian municipalities in which they previously resided, including Vranje, Leskovac, Vladicin Han, and Bujanovac, all of which are in Southern Serbia. Reactions to Resettlement Mostly Positive -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Human and Minority Rights Ministry State Secretary Petar Antic, a Roma born in Vienna, told us on August 31 that he, and the Ministry, were not informed in advance that the resettlement would begin, but that he had not received any complaints. He explained that he had a meeting with Deputy Belgrade Mayor Krkobabic in July BELGRADE 00001004 002 OF 002 and expressed willingness to have the Ministry lend its expertise, but the request apparently fell on deaf ears. Antic also complained that he had been unable to obtain a copy of the Belgrade authorities' resettlement plan (widely reported upon in the press in the past month),although he asked Krkobabic directly. He nevertheless expressed cautious optimism about the quality of the plan, explaining that its suitability was one of the conditions put forth by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for approving a loan for the bridge reconstruction. ¶6. (U) More than 60 Roma from the settlement were returned to Vranje, according to USAID field office personnel who met on September 2 with Branimir Stojancic, the member of the Vranje City Council in charge of a social welfare policy. Stojancic told us that the majority of returnees were living in their own residences or with relatives, but a small number was placed in a local shelter. A dedicated team from the municipality was working to distribute financial assistance (ranging from 140,000 to 200,000 RSD, or $2,000-3,000, per family) provided by the Labor and Social Policy Ministry. Local officials were also addressing the fact that some of the Roma either did not have or had expired identity cards, a prerequisite to obtaining financial assistance. ¶7. (U) In Belgrade, Mayor Dragan Djilas, accompanied by his deputy Krkobabic and other local officials, accompanied 14 resettled Romani children to their first day of school in the village of Makis. Vladimir Todic, the city secretary for education, told the press on September 1 that a total of 127 children from the "Cardboard City" settlement were included in the school system, many for the first time. He announced that special classes would be organized for Romani children who needed additional coursework in order to catch up with their peers. Nine-year-old Silvana, attending school for the first time, told reporters that she was happy to be going to school, adding that she also liked her new home because "now we have a bed and water." In a September 3 interview with "Blic" daily, Roma relocated to the Belgrade suburb of Boljevac echoed the praise for their new accommodations, but expressed some angst about adapting to a new lifestyle after two decades living under the bridge. Comment -------------- ¶8. (U) Although many Belgrade residents who cross the Gazela bridge every day simply will be relieved that the saga involving "Cardboard City" is over, the resettlement effort signified a qualitative departure from recent practice. In a society in which discrimination against the Romani population remains deeply ingrained, Belgrade officials, despite some hiccups in implementation, deserve credit for learning from past mistakes and handling a complex issue admirably. Together with an Education Ministry decision to hire Romani teaching assistants for 26 schools across the country, the move to new, albeit temporary, homes represented much-needed good news for the Romani population. End Comment. BRUSH