Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From Social Exclusion to Social

Inclusionor

The Gold Coin Dilemma

Key Findings

Tirana, AlbaniaMay 28, 2004

Hermine De Soto, Sabine Beddies, Ilir Gedeshi

The Gold Coin DilemmaOnce upon a time, there was a very poor Roma who had many

children. He lived next door to a wealthy white man. Every night, the Roma family would play music and dance and entertain themselves with the few things they had and didn’t think about tomorrow. “Let God think about tomorrow,” they would say.

One night, hearing the music coming from the Roma house, the wealthy neighbor decided to give the Roma family a cup full of gold coins, so that they could make a better living for themselves. The Roma thanked their neighbor for his generosity and went home.

That day, the Roma family began to argue. The husband wanted to spend the gold coins on one thing and his wife wanted to use them for other purposes. They were so upset that they stopped playing music and dancing, they lost their peace and could barely sleep at night.

Finally, they couldn’t take it any longer and decided to return the gold coins to their neighbor. “Those wretched coins took our joy and happiness away. We have done nothing but fight ever since we took them. We Roma are poor but we are happy with our own lives,” the husband told the neighbor, as he returned the gold gift.

Soon, the neighbor heard music sounds coming from the house next door again.

Social Exclusion and Minorities

Rational:

PRSP (2001)

Qualitative Poverty Assessment (2002)

Roma and Egyptians identified as the poorest of the poorRoma and Egyptians not formally recognized as a minority group

Gov’t Albania aims for EU Accession EU requirements: “respect for, and protection of minorities”Gov’t needs a Roma strategy and thus requested WB assistance for needs assessment and policy recommendations

Donor Participation in study: American Embassy, Soros Foundation, Swiss Development Corporation, UNDP, World Bank

Social Exclusion and MinoritiesObjective of WB Needs Assessment

Investigate the socio-economic, cultural, institutional, and historical situation of Roma and EgyptiansProvide data collected -through qualitative & quantitative methods- to the Gov’tProvide insights into social exclusion processesAssist Gov’t to meet EU requirements for ethnic minorities: “Membership requires that the candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights

and respect for and protection of minorities.” (Copenhagen criteria, 1993)

Design concrete actions and policies that facilitate the inclusion of Roma and Egyptians into Albanian society

Social Exclusion and Minorities

Social Exclusion and MinoritiesCauses of Poverty and Social Exclusion

Lack of Adequate EducationLanguage (Roma), discrimination in schools, income poverty, special schools for physically and mentally-challenged kids

UnemploymentLack of market for traditional professions, decreasing value of qualification/skills in changing labor market, skill mismatch, discrimination, casual work, informal sector

Dilapidated InfrastructureLack of access (Roma), limited access (Egyptians) to basic amenities: potable water, sanitation, electricity, heating; overcrowded, dilapidated/inadequate housing

Social Exclusion and Minorities

Causes of Poverty and Social Exclusion (cont.)

Social ProtectionInability to claim state assistance, lack of long-term unemployment benefits, Social Protection

Lack of access to information and governance

No information on gov’t policies, decision-making processes, rule of law; language difficulties, remote location, illiteracy

Limited access to law and justice Discrimination, lack of formal marriage/childbirth registration; lack of understanding of judiciary procedures, limited access to lawyers, ambiguous laws and regulations

Social Exclusion and Minorities

Symptoms of Exclusion = Coping Strategies

Informal Sector ActivitiesWhy? Unemployment: a fact for 92% of Roma and Egyptianss (long-term and now chronic) Coping? Casual and seasonal work, begging, sale of used cloths or metal cans, and musical performance at weddings

MigrationWhy? Lack of formal and informal employment opportunitiesCoping? Internal and int’l migration (often illegal) for casual/seasonal work, mostly in agriculture, sale of used cloths or cans, begging. Coping? Insufficient remittances for families, risk for debt - money borrowing & purchase of basic food stuffs on grocery lists.

Social Exclusion and Minorities Symptoms of Exclusion = Coping Strategies (cont.)

Aid DependencyWhy? Lack of educational and vocational skills, unemployment, informal sector activities, income-poverty, lack of formal social nets Coping? Economic Assistance “Ndihme Ekonomike”

Prostitution and TraffickingWhy? Lack of educational and vocational skills, no formal employment opportunities, divorce, abuse, income-povertyCoping? Women as sex workers in shadow economy, child trafficking: rented into int’l migration, urban begging in Albania, labor migrants with own family

Social Exclusion and MinoritiesApproach to Coping with Exclusion: Social Capital

Wealth of cognitive social capitalFamily networksTrust

Purchase of food through “list”Informal economic transactions, incl. remittances

Lack of structural social capital: Interest representationInstitutionalized networks

Lack of participation in decision-making processes (local, regional, national policy levels)Fragmented Roma and Egyptians associations unable to advocate interests and needsNo political party representation

Culture and IdentityCulture endangered due to lack of formal

minority status & discrimination – risk to social capital (cognitive & structural)

Roma & Egyptians have distinctive cultural features versus Albanians

Roma Culture, identified by Roma: - Social Organization: Fis/Clan - Community celebration: 80% - Kinship structure: Extended family - Family ceremonies: 74%- Romani language: 99% - Wicker work: 67%- Folk tales: 99% - Women’s dress: 63% - Music: 80%

Egyptians Culture, identified by Egyptianss: - Social organization like Albanians - Metal work: 75%

- Albanian language: 100% - Music: 45%

From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion

Social Exclusion: Constraints and OpportunitiesConstraints to Social Inclusion for excluded groups

Institutional barriersLack of political representation (structural social capital)

Opportunities to Social Inclusion for Policy-makers

Concrete understanding of causes and symptomsRealistic policy actions and programsPolitical will to promote inclusive institutions yet acknowledge cultural diversityPolitical participation and interest representation by excluded groups

From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion

Policy recommendations for Social Inclusion

Minority statusLanguage training in Romani and AlbanianMentoring programs to convey need for formal education and vocational skillsFree access to school facilitiesHumanitarian aid: food, cloths, basic amenities, conditional to school or training attendanceAwareness campaigns for basic health careFree basic health services, incl. isolated mountain areas

From Social Exclusion to Social InclusionPolicy recommendations for Social

Inclusion

Prevention of illegal payments for medical treatmentsExpansion of utility and communication networks (water, sanitation, electricity, public media) into Roma & Egyptians settlementsWelfare reforms (eligibility criteria, duration) with clear focus on including the poorest populationsAccess to information and key policy and legal documents via translation into Romani

From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion

Policy recommendations for Social Inclusion

Prevention of judiciary discriminationChange of legal status of common law to recognize unregistered marriages / childbirths, and allow alimony for divorced women Vocational training

tailored to sectoral and geographical demands of labor marketfor women forced into prostitution & trafficking to make ends meet

Improved formal business environment and investment climate

From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion

Policy recommendations for Social InclusionIncreased formal employment opportunitiesAnti-crime measures to prevent trafficking and protect livelihoodsSupport for structural social capital, based on Roma & Egyptians associations, Albanian associations, int’l NGOs, and Gov’t Establishment of Cultural Center to

Strengthen culture and identity Provide basic services: education, health, information, legal adviceCommunity meeting place for Roma, Egyptians ad Albanian