he relocation of some citizens to an area where the city’s garbage is stored is a case of serious administrative malpractice. Racial hatred and discrimination are (still) current wounds. How do you proceed when even the state institutions, through their policies, fuel and propagate such behaviors? The Working Group of Civic Organizations campaigned, for almost a year, for the treatment of people with decency and legality. Common sense and humanity’s progress in terms of human rights seem to have stopped in Cluj via GLOC.

Partners in the project

• Pavel Doghi, Amare Prhala, Cluj • Prof. univ. dr. Enikő Vincze, Desire Foundation, Cluj • David Mark, Roma Civic Alliance, Bucharest • Vasile Gârbea, Romani Criss, Bucharest • Norbert Iuonaş, Romano Suno, Cluj • Prof. univ. Dr. Maria Roth, Department of Social Assistance, Babeş-Bolyai University • Assoc. Dr. Gabriel Bădescu, Department of Political Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University • Lect. university Dr. Cristina Rat, Department of Sociology, Babeş-Bolyai University • Assist. university Dr. Norbert Petrovici, Group for Social Action, Cluj • Gábor Ádám, Resource Center for Ethnocultural Diversity, Cluj • Florin Moisa, Resource Center for Roma Communities, Cluj • Andrei Szantó, Habitat for Humanity Cluj • Nicolae Gheorghe, sociologist, Bucharest • Gerhard Spitzer, Banffy Castle Voluntary Association • Bert Looij, Pro Roma Foundation • Adrian Dohotaru, Social Action Group, Cluj • Simona Şerban, Cluj Community Foundation • Mihai Roşca, Romanian Community, Child and Family Foundation, Cluj • Ancuța Frantz , AFMC Christiana, Cluj • European Roma Rights Center • Ernest Creta (representative of the committee of tenants of modular housing in Pata Rât) • Petru Greta (representative of the committee of tenants of modular housing in Pata Rât) • Vasile Ernu, Critic Atac (partner media) • István Szakáts, arts, Cluj • Dr. Cătălin Berescu, architect, Association Frontal, Bucharest

Duration of the project

2011-01-17 – 2013-01-17

Project Name

Decent housing for vulnerable Roma communities – GLOC action

Theme

The Campaign of the Working Group of Civic Organizations (GLOC) was triggered by the sudden relocation by Cluj City Hall, in December 2010, of 56 extended families, most of them Roma, from Coastei Street in the central area of ​​the city to its outskirts, in the vicinity of the landfill, in “social housing” that does not meet the minimum standards of quality and space. Their situation, as well as that of the more than 1,000 people who live in precarious conditions in the same segregated and unhealthy area of ​​Pata-Rât – Cantonului str., is incompatible with human rights and the principle of social solidarity. Continuing the efforts undertaken by the founding organizations Amare Prhala and the Desire Foundation in previous years, GLOC aimed to facilitate the finding of short, medium and long-term solutions to the problem of precarious housing, social marginalization and spatial segregation of Roma and non-Roma families in Pata-Rât area, Cluj-Napoca. At the same time, GLOC acts to prevent forced evictions and sensitize the general public to the problem of Roma exclusion. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the United Nations Development Programme, GLOC offers expertise and advocacy to local authorities for the formulation of a strategy to improve the situation in the Pata-Rât area.

project description

The Working Group of Civic Organizations (GLOC) was established towards the end of January 2011 at the initiative of the Amare Prhala Association and the Desire Foundation from Cluj with the aim of finding short-, medium- and long-term solutions to the problem of living in precarious conditions and the residential segregation of of the Roma families moved by the local authorities in December 2010 from Coastei Street in the Pata-Rât area, near the city’s landfill. GLOC opposes the Cluj-Napoca City Hall’s project to build “social housing” in Pata Rât and requests the authorities to implement policies regarding social housing in accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission and the United Nations to promote social inclusion and social protection of vulnerable categories. Beneficiaries: Roma and non-Roma families from the segregated and deprived area of ​​Pata-Rât and Cantonului, near the landfill of Cluj-Napoca municipality Main actions in 2010 (for details, see www.gloc.ro): January 17: Public debate organized at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Assistance of Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca. The event was attended by representatives of families relocated from Coastei Street, representatives from: European Roma Rights Center in Budapest, member organizations of the Civic Alliance of Roma in Romania (including Romani Criss and the Ruhama Foundation), PAKIV Association Romania, the Resource Center for Roma Communities, the Romanian Foundation for Community, Children and Family, the Habitat for Humanity Romania Association, the League for the Defense of Human Rights, the Romano Suno Roma Student Association, the Wassdas Foundation, the Center for Research on Interethnic Relations, as well as employees of the County School Inspectorate, the Directorate of Public Health, the National Agency for Roma, the North-West Regional Office and the Institute for the Study of the Problems of National Minorities, as well as the Presidential Adviser on the subject of national minorities. The responsible departments within the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca did not personally honor the invitation to dialogue, transmitting their point of view in an open letter, read at the beginning of the debate. January 19: Public protest and meeting with the vice-mayor of Cluj, attended by Nicolae Gheorghe, former OSCE/ODHIR advisor on the issue of Roma and Sinti; February 4, Faculty of Sociology and Social Assistance of Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca. Round table discussion open to the public: “Social housing. Problems and Solutions for Cluj”. The debate was launched by Dr. Şerban Ţigănaş, Technical University of Cluj, president of the Romanian Order of Architects. They took part: Dr. Andrei Borda, Technical University of Cluj, Romanian Order of Architects; Dr. Eugen Pănescu, Technical University of Cluj, expert of the Technical Commission of the General Urban Plan (PUG),representatives of GLOC organizations and professors of Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj February 23: Carrying out a comprehensive social survey of the families moved from Coastei street to the Pata-Rât area, assessing their situation and urgent needs; the report drawn up on the basis of the investigation was sent to the Department of Social and Medical Assistance of Cluj-Napoca City Hall; April 8: launch of the “Call for Solidarity”. On the occasion of International Roma Day, gLOC sent to Cluj residents and local public authorities its call for solidarity against residential segregation and for actions to ensure decent living conditions for every citizen of the city regardless of their ethnicity and social status. The appeal gathered more than 400 signatures. In collaboration with the Cluj Community Foundation, a special Foundation account was opened for donations to help families relocated in Pata-Rât. April 10: participation in the Cluj-Napoca International Marathon, where seven marathoners ran for the GLOC cause: Ioana-Lucia Mica (architect), university professor Dr. Gabriel Bădescu (Department of Political Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai Univ.), Adrian Dohotaru (journalist, doctoral student in history), Boroka Jobb (doctoral student in ethnography), Marian Chiriac (journalist), two anonymous runners. 14 children took part in the Children’s Marathon, one placing 4th; April: submission of a notification to the National Council for Combating Discrimination regarding the “relocation” of Roma families from Coastei Street in “social housing” located in the Pata-Rât segregated area, in December 2010 May 10: Representatives of the tenant committee “New Pata- Rât” and GLOC participated in the regular meeting of the Cluj-Napoca Local Council on May 10, 2011, where the draft decision regarding “the free use of the building in the municipality of Cluj to the Archdiocese of Feleac and Cluj was discussed and unanimously approved -Napoca, Coastei street without number, i.e. the land where the former social housing rented by the families moved to Pata-Rât were located, demolished by the local authorities in December 2010. GLOC distributed to the members of the local council individual files, including the documentation of the problem and the actions GLOCK. Adrian Dohotaru and Prof. Dr. Enikő Vincze, GLOC representatives, requested the right to speak during the meeting. The chairman of the meeting asked for the councilors’ vote to approve the request, but the local council unanimously rejected the right of Prof. Dr. Enikő Vincze to speak at the public meeting, although the issue strongly sensitized the Cluj civil society. Prof. Dr. Vincze did not submit to the ban and presented to the local councilors a summary of the GLOC case, mentioning the numerous petitions and addresses sent to the local authorities.The president of the meeting interrupted the speech and said that the issue could be brought on the agenda of the local council in a future meeting. However, this has not happened until now. May 12, London. Transeurope International Festival. Participation in the public seminar: Discrimination against the Roma community is becoming ever more visible. What can Europe’s citizens and institutions do to prevent such discrimination from recurring? GLOC was represented by Prof. Eniko Vincze (Univ. Babeş-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca) May 15, Cluj-Napoca. Transeurope International Festival. Participation in the public seminar: Roma rights in the European Union. GLOC was represented by Prof. Eniko Vincze and lect. Cristina Rat (Univ. Babeş-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca) June 6: Launch of the petition against the possible forced evacuation of families from Cantonului street (the petition was signed by 267 people) June 10: Stocktaking visit at Pata-Rât. The working visit benefited from the presence of high-ranking representatives from important European and international institutions: Aleksandros Tsolakis – DG Regional Policies, European Commission; Yesim Oruc – United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Isabela Mihalache – European Roma Rights Center (ERRC); Fotis Filippou – Amnesty International and Kalman Mizsei – Open Society Institute – Making the Most of EU Funds for Roma Inclusion. Through their active presence, non-governmental organizations such as Romani Criss, the Civic Alliance of Roma in Romania, European Alternatives, PAKIV, the Pro Roma Foundation, the Foundation for Family Support, the Press Monitoring Agency – Active Watch, the Center for Legal Resources, members of European Network Against Racism, representatives of the Romanian Institute for Peace (PATRIR), reiterated their support for the cause supported by gLOC. The event was honored by the presence of representatives of government institutions with responsibilities in the field, such as the National Agency for Roma, the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (ADRNV), but also the presidential advisor for national minorities, respectively some parliamentarians from Cluj from the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. Cluj city hall was represented only by the executive director of the Social and Medical Assistance Directorate. Despite the rain, more than 100 people from various governmental, non-governmental, academic and media institutions joined the visit which began with a two-hour tour of the three ghetto settlements in Pata Rât: the so-called ” social housing” from the “new” Pata Rât, which accommodate 250 people evacuated from Costei Street in December 2010; the colony on Cantonului Street formed 10 years ago with the tacit consent of the municipality, whose tenants (approx.400 people) are sued and threatened with forced eviction by the National Society “Romanian Railways” and the old colony “Dallas” near the landfill, inhabited for several decades by almost 1,500 tenants, most of them Roma, who live in undignified conditions of life and work in the gray economy of recycling and waste recovery, in exploitative conditions. Families from “Dallas” have been helped for several years by the Pro Roma Foundation and the Foundation for Family Support. The press conference and the social forum after the visit were hosted by the Pata Rât Family Support Foundation. In the second part of the working visit, the representatives of the participating organizations and the local community participated in a workshop at the headquarters of the Northwest Social Inclusion Center for Roma people (CISPER Northwest). At the meeting, medium-term strategies and emergency measures that should be taken by the authorities were identified. June 20, 2010: The questioning of Alexandru Cordoş (senator from Cluj) addressed to the Prime Minister Emil Boc and the president of the National Agency for Roma, Ilie Dincă in the Parliament of Romania, with the subject: The situation of Roma families moved from Costei Street to the Pata Rat area, Cluj Napoca ; The question was answered by Mrs. Elena Udrea, Minister of Regional Development and Tourism (the text of the question and the answer are available on the GLOC website); June 19, IRAF Festival, Cluj-Napoca. Presentation of the GLOC mission and the petition against the forced evacuation of families from Cantonului Street at the International Romani Festival (IRAF) by Eniko Vincze and Adrian Dohotaru July 20, Cluj-Napoca City Hall. Participation in the second consultation between UNDP, Open Society Institute, Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the North-West Regional Development Agency, Cluj Growth Pole August 11: Notifications addressed to the Sanitary-Veterinary Directorate and the Spaying Service of Cluj City Hall regarding the danger of stray dogs from the Pata-Rât area, which requires registration, vaccination and relocation to a specialized shelter; August 3, Roşia Montană, FânFest. Organization of the public seminar “Environmental Racism” within FânFest 2011. Presentation of the situations of families relocated from Coastei St. in Pata-Rât, those from the old “Dallas” and Cantonului St., currently threatened with eviction. The synthesis of the GLOC approaches (Prof. Enikő Vincze & Cristina Raţ) was followed by dynamic discussions, moderated by Adrian Dohotaru. August 23: GLOC proposed to Cluj-Napoca City Hall, the Ecce Homo Christian Organization and the residents of Cantonului Street, as defendants, and to Compania Nationale de Căi Ferate SA Bucureşti – Regionala CF Cluj, as plaintiff, the amicable settlement of the process related to the houses on Cantonului str. Local authorities and CFR did not respond to GLOC’s call. On September 19,The Cluj-Napoca court rejected the request of the CFR regarding the eviction by presidential order of the residents of Cantonului Street. September 7, Cluj-Napoca City Hall. Participation in the second consultation between UNDP, Open Society Institute, Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Cluj Growth Pole October 3, World Habitat Day, Cluj-Napoca. Amnesty International activists, together with activists from Romania and residents of segregated areas, mostly Roma, who have been forcibly evicted or face the risk of being forcibly evicted, gathered in front of the prefecture of Cluj, demonstrating for the universal right to housing and protection against forced evacuation. A petition was submitted to the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism. The representatives of the marginalized communities in the Pata-Rât area were involved in all GLOC initiatives. After nine months of activity, we consider that we have taken important steps to combat residential segregation and housing deprivation of poor Roma families in Cluj, but the problem is still far from being solved. GLOC managed to coagulate the local non-governmental organizations around this issue, sensitize the general public and involve both national institutions (the Romanian Order of Architects, the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the National Agency for Roma, etc.) and international bodies ( UNDP, European Commission, Open Society Institute, Amnesty International, European Roma Rights Centre) for the recovery of the situation and the implementation of integrative housing policies.Open Society Institute, Amnesty International, European Roma Rights Centre) for the recovery of the situation and the implementation of integrative housing policies.Open Society Institute, Amnesty International, European Roma Rights Centre) for the recovery of the situation and the implementation of integrative housing policies.

Norm changes

On June 10, 2011, which coincided with the “Stocktaking visit at Pata-Rât” organized by GLOC (with the participation of Alexandros Tsolakis – DG Regional Policies, European Commission and Yesim Oruc, UNDP), Cluj-Napoca City Hall signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) regarding “joint actions for the implementation by the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca and for the national authorities, including the Structural and Social Fund Management Authorities in Romania, of a local policy on social housing with social inclusion implications, which benefits from the relevant structural and cohesion funds made available to Romania, the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and its local partners” (Memorandum of Understanding, Art. II, par. v).

Results of the campaign

Perhaps the most important result of the project consists in the fact that a marginalized community of Roma, former residents of Coastei Street relocated to inadequate “social housing” near the landfill, obtained a public voice and could request, with dignity and conviction, respecting human rights and protecting the vulnerable. The representatives of the relocated families, as well as of the other families from the Pata-Rât and Canton areas, took part in all the actions organized by GLOC and were consulted in all our initiatives. The protest of January 19, 2011 was the first public protest by a deprived Roma community, and World Housing Day (October 3, 2011) was organized for the first time in Cluj, in partnership with Amnesty International. We are happy that 14 children resettled in Pata-Rât participated in the Cluj-Napoca Children’s Marathon (April 10, 2011), and one of the boys won fourth place in the competition. Following the Stocktaking visit at Pata-Rât organized by GLOC (June 10, 2010), a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNDP and Cluj City Hall and a collaboration between UNDP, Cluj City Hall and the North-West Region Development Agency began – Cluj-Napoca Growth Pole in order to develop an integrative housing policy for the deprived categories in Cluj. GLOC was consulted in this process and was able to provide advocacy to the public authorities involved. We hope that in the future local public authorities will show more openness to consultation and collaboration with GLOC.

Continuation

GLOC will continue the steps necessary to implement a segregated housing policy, integrated in comprehensive measures for social inclusion and combating poverty, addressed to vulnerable categories, among which the ethnic Roma must be explicitly mentioned. GLOC partners (academics, civic activists, social workers, artists, etc.) are willing to collaborate with local and national authorities in order to review and improve current policies, especially in the development of an integrative strategy at the level of the Cluj metropolitan area and the Pole of Cluj Growth within the North-West Region Development Agency. At the same time, GLOC will inform the authorities about the current problems in the Pata-Rât area and will continue the actions to raise awareness and mobilize civil society. We mention that Prof. Enikő Vincze, together with other GLOC member academics, won the funding of the research project The spatialization and racialization of social exclusion. The social and cultural formation of “Gypsy ghettos” in Romania in a European Context” (PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0354) by UEFISCDI, Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. The project will allow the comparative research of the problems in Cluj with similar situations in Bucharest, Târgu Mureş and Miercurea Ciuc. The Desire Foundation, a founding member of GLOC, is competing for funding from the Open Society Institute for a civic project to combat discrimination against Roma entitled Anti-racist solidarity for social housing (Nov. 2011-Oct. 2012), which will focus on artistic manifestations and social forum.

Other relevant information

GLOC has no legal status of its own, no budget. All actions were started through the private and voluntary financial support of GLOC members. The GLOC cause has created alliances between very diverse segments of the population: from students to university professors, from construction workers to internationally renowned architects, from artists to activists and politicians. Media coverage of GLOC’s actions was facilitated by the partnership with the online cultural magazine CriticAtac (via Vasile Ernu) and the TVR Cluj TV Policromă show (via Andrea Ghiţă).