Evicted Roma to meet “Dazhynki” in marquees
Ruined house of Siarhei Rushniakou in Lebiadziouka. Photo by svaboda.org
On 5 August we wrote
about the forced eviction of Roma from a village near Zhlobin due to
the upcoming festival “Dazhynki”. Seven bad-looking houses,
illegally built by the Roma 25 years ago, were ruined by the local
authorities and now are being buried in the ground. The Roma families
have to seek refuge all over the Homel region. Some of them intend to
put marquees in place of the destroyed houses.
A middle-aged
Roma who had lost his home, says with regret: “We will live where
we will have to – what can we do?” We have been living there for
twenty five years. We started gathering documents for the houses. But
they came and started dismantling them!”
Pensioner Siarhei
Rushniakou says that after losing his home he found asylum in the
village of Belitsa, about ten kilometers away from Zhlobin:
“I
was given two days to move out of my home. We have been living there
for twenty five years. It is all because of “Dazhynki”.
72-year-old
Tamara, whose house was one of the first to be ruined and buried in
the ground, says she moved to her relatives, but intends to put a
marquee in place of the dismantled house. Her relatives moved away in
different directions. “Not far from us there lived a woman
suffering from diabetes. She had two children and her husband was a
cripple . They had to go to the village of Ivanauka, somewhere near
Homel. The poor pensioner had to collect her rags, left them at a
Roma place and went away somewhere.”
Vita Yeudakimava, whose
house was ruined as well, cannot hold grudge:
“If we are
Roma, are we dogs? Not people? You can not do that! We need to take
our children to school, but were evicted. Did they do right? Wrong!
They treated us like pigs. It wasn't done so during the war. It is
like shooting to the people. They have been kicked out into the
street before the winter! They planted potatoes, had their own
vegetable gardens and now don't have anything at all. They were left
between heaven and earth."
The deputy head of the
district executive committee on the issues of construction refused to
comment concerning the forced eviction of the Roma from Lebiadziouka
without any financial compensation or giving any premises instead of
the dismantled ones:
“I won't answer any questions. You can
file an official inquiry if you want, then we will give an official
answer.”
The leader of the Belarusian Roma Diaspora Aleh
Kazlouski said that Zhlobin Roma hadn't applied to the public
organization for assistance.
