Editor’s Note: This article is a part of the “Journalism of Tolerance” project by the Kyiv Post and its affiliated non-profit organization, the Media Development Foundation. The project covers challenges faced by sexual, ethnic and other minorities in Ukraine, as well as people with physical disabilities and those living in poverty. This project is made possible by the support of the American people through the U. S. Agency for International Development and Internews. Content is independent of the donors.
When Oleksandra Koriak, now 24, was a child, her classmates treated her differently, saying that her appearance was not “typically Ukrainian.”
Koriak, the daughter of a Romani father and a Ukrainian mother, says this painful experience motivated her to pursue a career in human rights. She lives in Kharkiv and works as the secretary of the Parliamentary Commission of Human Rights in the Office of the Ukrainian ombudsman.
“I am Romani, but I am responsible for promoting the human rights of all Ukrainians,” she says. “Everyone has human rights. The government plays a critical role in protecting the rights of minorities, of course, but it is a responsibility shared by all of us, as members of Ukrainian society.”
Koriak says that anyone can help integrate the Roma and other minorities. According to her, the most important thing is to be tolerant and to try to understand people who are different.
“If people see us as we are, instead of the stereotypes they may have of us, they would find that the Roma and other minorities are mostly good people,” she says. “I try to show by my example that I am a good person and a good Ukrainian. All of us can be more tolerant.”
Roma mediators
Regional and municipal governments can best help integrate the Roma by including them in political decision making processes, Koriak says.
“It is more effective to make decisions about the Roma with the Roma,” she says, adding that the exact number of Roma in Kharkiv, as well as in Ukraine, is unknown. A census has not been carried out in many years, and many Roma lack identity documents.
In Kharkiv, and many other major cities in Ukraine, there are designated Roma mediators who are trusted by both the Romani community and the governmental authorities. In some countries such as Moldova, being a Romani mediator is an official position, but in Ukraine, this is not yet the case, so the work of mediators is financed by international donors such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mediators help Roma obtain identity documentation, medical care, and to interface with local authorities including the police. Romani mediators can be Roma or non-Roma. According to Koriak, the most important trait of mediators is that they are known and respected by both the local authorities and the Roma.
Chirikli, an organization that advocates for and assists the Roma, estimates that 40 percent of Roma do not have any documentation – and thus are not able to access health, education, and other basic services to which they should be entitled, having been born in Ukraine. The reasons for this include distrust of the authorities, high administration fees for either attaining or replacing identity documentation, and the difficulties of navigating the legal system, especially for Roma who are illiterate.
Koriak has been pleased with the positive engagement of the Kharkiv regional authorities, but notes that while the municipality has taken its first steps, much more remains to be done, and that Roma still face challenges integrating into Ukrainian society.
For example, Koriak states that while the Roma value education, they sometimes face serious challenges enrolling their children in school. This is a problem because, as she says, “without education, we are nobody.”
