Bulgaria Marks International Roma Day

Many Roma communities all over Bulgaria mark April 8, the International Roma Day, with festivals and performances. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Roma across the country celebrate Thursday April 8 - the International Roma Day.

April 8, the International Day of the Roma, is a day of celebration of Roma culture, history and traditions. The Day also draws attention to discrimination directed to Roma and Gypsy communities globally and calls for all human rights to be respected and observed.

The day was officially declared in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congress of the International Romani Union (IRU), in honor of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, 7-12 of April, 1971 in Chelsfieldnear London.

On Wednesday, the European Commission issued a special statement urging all EU members to intensify the social inclusion of Roma and use EU funds for their social and economic integration, their access to jobs and non-segregated education, housing and health services.

“Roma communities, the European Union’s largest ethnic minority, continue to face persistent discrimination and segregation…The integration of the estimated 10 to 12 million Roma – a population as large as Belgium’s or Greece’s – is a joint responsibility of Member States and EU institutions,” the statement reads

The EC points out that although the situation of many of Europe's Roma people remains difficult, important progress has been made at EU and national levels. The Commission has launched legal proceedings against 24 Member States to make sure that EU anti-discrimination law on the grounds of race is correctly transposed into national legislation. Out of these cases, 12 are still open while 12 were successfully concluded.

The Communication and progress report will be discussed at the second European Roma Summit, held in Córdoba, Spain on April8-9, organized with the Spanish EU Presidency.

Many Roma communities all over Bulgaria mark April 8 with festivals, dance performances, concerts and tournaments, held in a number of Bulgarian cities and towns.

The most wide-spread theory is that Roma first came to Bulgaria around the 11th-12th century through the Byzantine Empire. The mass influx of Roma, however, begins with the Ottoman rule, when many Roma arrive in the footsteps of the Turkish army.

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