Sam Brownback: “last month, the Prime Ministers of eight Central and Southern European countries met in Sofia, Bulgaria, for their first…”

“last month, the Prime Ministers of eight Central and Southern European countries met in Sofia, Bulgaria, for their first meeting in what has been dubbed ``the Decade of Roma Inclusion.'' This initiative is designed to spur governments to undertake intensive engagement in the field of education, employment, health and housing with respect to Europe's largest, most impoverished and marginalized ethnic minority, the Roma. The Open Society Institute, the World Bank, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program--all supporters of this initiative--hope that this effort will result in meaningful improvements over the course of a 10- year period. In December, a donors' conference pledged $42 million for a Roma Education Fund. But the real goal is to get governments to give more help to their own people from their own budgets, as well as to make better use of the funds already available from organizations like the EU. The fact is, Romani riots in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 2002 and in eastern Slovakia last year should be a wake up call for governments with significant Romani communities. These countries cannot afford to ignore the crushing impoverishment and crude bigotry that so many Roma face on a daily basis. The Decade of Romani Inclusion is all well and good, and I commend the governments that are participating in this initiative. But much more needs to be done to truly advance Romani integration.”