The Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street has been living in the New Pata Rat area since December 2010. (c) Joshua Gross, Joshua Tree Photography
By Creta Ernest & Fekete Petru members of the Coastei Street community,
Support the call for justice of the Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street by taking action
It’s been over a year 76 families, the majority Roma, were forcibly evicted from the centre of the city of Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Over half of the families were re-housed in new housing units on the outskirts of the city in the New Pata Rat area, close to a garbage dump and a former chemical waste dump, in inadequate housing conditions. The rooms are overcrowded, they do not provide protection from damp and mould and the sanitation facilities are inadequate. 36 families, including the authors of the blog entry, were not provided with any alternative housing. Most of them had to construct improvised homes. They have no access to water, sanitation and electricity. With only a verbal agreement from the municipality and no formal title to the land, they live in a fear of eviction and of losing their homes again. Two young Roma who experienced the eviction shared it with us their story during the recent mission to Cluj-Napoca.
“The forced eviction from Coastei Street nr. 18 started on 15 December 2010. We aim to be as brief as possible in describing the traumatising event which took place from 15 to 17 December 2010. Continuar leyendo ‘Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street share their story’ »
The evictees from Coastei Street want to be moved so that they can return to the life they had before the eviction (c) Amnesty International
By Barbora Cernusakova and Catrinel Motoc, Amnesty International’s EU Team
Support the call for justice of the Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street by taking action
After five months we returned to the city of Cluj – Napoca, in North Western Romania and visited the community forcibly evicted in December 2010. We met again with the inspiring people who have tirelessly fought this injustice ever since. Continuar leyendo ‘The families from Coastei Street keep fighting – support their call for justice!’ »
A bulldozer parked just metres from the via Sacile camp is a reminder that the construction works will go ahead © Private
By Matteo de Bellis, Europe Campaigner at Amnesty International
“We know we have to leave because of the construction works, but they should give us a place to go, not just leave us in the street.”
Giovanni speaks to me while standing in front of a line of shacks, grouped in an area as small as a seven-a-side football pitch.
Continuar leyendo ‘“We’d like a place to stay” – Milan’s Roma face eviction’ »
'Activists in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, call for an end to forced evictions on World Habitat Day, 3 October 2011.' (c) Grupul de Lucru al Organizatiilor Civice (gLOC)
By Barbora Cernusakova and Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International’s EU team
Hundreds of people, the majority Roma, live in a long-standing settlement close to a landfill and a chemical waste dump in Pata Rât, on the periphery of Cluj-Napoca, the third largest city in north-west Romania. More than 70 families, most of them Roma, were moved here to inadequate new housing units, two and a half kilometres from the closest bus stop and far from schools, health services and jobs, after they were forcibly evicted in December 2010 from Coastei Street in the centre of the city.
Florin Stancu was not at home when the municipality announced the eviction, 48 hours before it happened. “I was in Italy for work and I received a phone call to come as soon as possible, because they are demolishing our homes. I took a plane from Rome and arrived at 11pm on 16 December 2010. Everybody had packed. They were told that at 5am the municipal police will come. Whoever had packed would be moved normally. Whoever had not would be moved by force. I asked: ‘Why are you moving us in the middle of the winter? Why are you sending us there with the garbage?’” Continuar leyendo ‘“Allow us to live in dignity” – calling an end to forced evictions in Romania’ »
Via Salaria 971 houses evicted Roma families ©Amnesty International
By Jezerca Tigani and Matteo de Bellis, Europe campaigners for Amnesty International
Our team visited Rome and some camps where Roma live on International Roma Day, 8 April 2011. We witnessed once again how the ‘Nomad Plan’, introduced in 2009 by the prefect and mayor of Rome, has made the living situation of Roma in Rome even more difficult than it used to be.
In our blog published on that day we wrote about an accommodation centre at via Salaria 971, where some families evicted under the ‘Nomad Plan’ have been housed, some of them have been living here for longer than one year.
Continuar leyendo ‘Alternatives offered to Roma families evicted under Italy’s ‘Nomad Plan’ are insufficient’ »
