The COVID 19 pandemic is having serious consequences for hundreds of thousands of Roma throughout Europe, resembling a humanitarian disaster: Because of the curfew, many places are threatened by hunger. Old, revived resentments lead to racist attacks and arbitrary repression measures. The frequent lack of access to clean water and medical care has fatal consequences.
The Alliance for Solidarity with the Sinti and Roma of Europe and the Observatory on Antigypsyism in Europe (in development) therefore initiated the campaign #Act4RomaLives. We call for reporting under this hashtag on current conditions, racist incidents and ethnicised measures not only in countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. On 26th May 2020, we also organized the online conference "#Act4RomaLives. Human Rights of Roma in Times of COVID-19", in which about 80 activists from almost 30 different countries participated and which resulted in a broad international support network and six new specific project ideas. The record of the conference can be read here.
On the initiative of the RomaTrial association and the Foundation Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, a broad inclusive alliance formed in 2015 in solidarity with the Sinti and Roma of Europe. The aim of the alliance is to send a clear signal against antiziganism.