Roma Holocaust Memorial Day marked by remembrance, but demands call to action

By Mayowa Ayodele

Roma Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that cannot be forgotten. Once again, the victims of the harrowing genocide are being remembered. Between 2,897 and 4,300 people of Roma and Sinti origin were killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau’s ‘Zigeunerlager’ (gypsy camp). They were part of an estimated 500,000-1.5 million Roma and Sinti people that lost their lives during the Holocaust.

The 77th Roma Holocaust Memorial Day has featured European Roma Rights Centre’s Holocaust stories. They have helped to shed light on the lives that were lost while also echoing a harrowing truth emphasized last year by János Agócs, the chairman of the National Roma Self-Government: these victims had been simple Roma people. They had been mothers, fathers and children whose lives were robbed from them on the basis of ignorance and hatred.

Now more than ever, activists are renewing a message of sincere and proactive engagement with Roma communities to extinguish that hate in its entirety. The emphasis on sincere and proactive engagement is crucial because by jettisoning indifference the preservation of hatred is made that much harder. 

Roma Holocaust Memorial Day: Extinguishing Prejudice

History has shown how a combination of the two (hatred and indifference) has continually allowed for the worst of humanity to swell unchecked, often at the expense of the most vulnerable. 

“It all started with words,” Herfort Marietta, International Director of Phiren Amenca, explained. "Words became laws, and then, freely interpreted, they led to deeds - deeds that brought the darkest era in European history.”

This analysis could be applied to several episodes of persecution and prejudice within the history of 20th century Europe, but for Roma communities, it continues in various socio-economic forms to this day.

The Roma Rapporteur of the Council of Europe’s Joint Council on Youth (CMJ), Georgina Laboda, stressed that prejudice suffered by Roma communities in present-day Europe cannot be overlooked. It is a topic that, as she puts it, falls under our “common cause.”

We cannot ignore the fact that Roma communities in Europe are exposed to discrimination, antigypsyism; and our rights are violated on a daily basis. The image of the Roma continues to be based on stereotypes that have been ingrained for centuries is unacceptable in countries with European values. It is our common cause to remember and to prevent the spread of hatred.

Georgina Laboda

It is for this reason that the silence of political leaders following the death of Stanislav Tomas has been so admonished by leading activists such as Zeljko Jovanovic. 

Its consequences [referring to their silence] are both dangerous for Roma and damaging for the EU. At home, it is hard to believe the EU’s anti-racism policies can ever make a difference if the EU leaders remain quiet even in such an extreme case like this one. This discourages pro-European forces and motivates the far-right and its deeper infiltration among the police forces.

Zeljko Jovanovic

Beyond this Holocaust Memorial Day, we must devote our efforts to truly and pro-actively supporting Roma communities both domestically and abroad. To make this a reality, a more empathetic political framework is required. However, given the current state of play, this may seem wishful. Knowing this, how much more onus must then be on us as a society to highlight prejudice against Roma people when and as it occurs? I would wager a lot. We must be eager, proactive but most of all deliberate in our support - this includes making sure the powers that be are held to account on this matter. This will help to ensure silence and indifference cannot fester in the presence of hatred.

Only when Roma and Travellers' fundamental, legal rights are respected will members of those communities be able to live as equal members of society free from fear and stigmatisation, as every individual should.                                         

Marija Pejčinović Burić, Council of Europe Secretary General