HOW A SERIES OF MISTAKES MADE THE PROBLEM OF THE ROMA MINORITY TO BECOME PROBLEM FOR THE UKRAINIAN STATE

The text was published on the webpage “Хвиля”

The attack on the Roma camp in Lviv which ended in massacres was one of the most discussed news of the past week. On one hand, most of the journalists and human rights activists have taken the position of protecting the rights of victims of the national minority. The Ministry of Internal Affairs hastily tries to protect Roma camps that are set up in many cities of the country by representatives of this inclined to travels nation. SBU is looking for the Russian trace. Meanwhile, part of the population shows sympathy for those who talk about the “Gypsy problem” and try to solve it with their own methods that are far outside the law. In addition, Ukraine received a negative international reaction: the EU delegation to our country and the Council of Europe made the relevant statements. Against this background, the representatives of the Roma community had time to say about the persecution of national minorities in Ukraine. Today it can be argued that localizing (not to mention solving) the problem will be expensive and risky, in terms of finance, other resources, and politics. The paradox of the situation is that none of this would have happened if the state had fulfilled its basic functions.