Stanovanje Roma u Nišu

Koliko su stanovnici naselja Crvena zvezda ukljućeni u proces raseljavanja?

Naselje Crvena zvezda u Nišu je jedno od starijih romskih naselja. Ono je nastalo još 60-tih godina prošlog veka. Na samom početku 20-tak porodica je živelo u barakama za koje su imale Ugovore o korišćenju. Tokom godina broj članova tih porodica se povećavao samim tim i potreba za većim stambenim prostorom. Danas u ovom naselju živi 110 porodica na 1,3 hektara placa, sa nezadovoljavajućom infrastrukturom.  Ovo je jedno od 593 neformalnih naselja u Srbiji. Država i Grad Niš u poslednje tri godine čine dodatne napore kako bi ljude iz ovog naselja raselili i omogućili bolje životne uslove. Međutim kolika je uključenost samih pripadnika u celoj ovoj proceduri raseljavanja pogledajte u našem tv paketu.

 

„Izradu ovog video-materijala omogućio je Fond za jug Srbije. Sadržaj i stavovi izneti u ovom video-materijalu predstavljaju stavove autora projekta „Stanovanje Roma u Nišu“ i nužno ne izražavaju stavove Fonda za jug Srbije.“

 

Are the residents of Crvena Zvezda included in the resettlement process?

The Crvena zvezda settlement in Niš is one of the oldest Roma settlements. It dates back to the 1960s. At the outset, some 20 families lived in barracks for which they had contracts of use. Over the years, the number of members of these families has increased, and so has the need for more housing. Today, there are 110 families living in this settlement on 1.3 acres of land, with unsatisfactory infrastructure. This is one of the 593 informal settlements in Serbia. In the last three years, the state and the City of Niš have been making extra efforts to move displaced people and provide better living conditions. However, how much involvement of the members themselves in this whole displacement procedure read in our story.

Zorana Mihajlović, Serbian Minister of Construction:

“This is the question of resolving the issue of a group of Roma men and women in Niš. I would say that my associates, myself and the City of Niš have been working on it for 2 years. I am glad that today we finalized all that with our signatures, and I expect the implementation to start. In terms of the general relation of the City of Niš and Roma men and women, this time, I really have to thank the City of Niš for understanding and joint efforts. The reason why we decided to sign this today is to make it a part of the regional project we are starting today with the Council of Europe. I believe that without the full inclusion of the local self-government units we cannot include Roma men and women in a normal life led by other citizens of Serbia. So, thank you once again for being a good example in that sense.”

Darko Bulatović, Mayor of Niš:

“The protocol we signed today represents our wish, and the wish of our government and our Roma, is to construct the new settlement with all the conditions, standards, needs, together with Roma who will be fully included in the whole project, in the present Crvena Zvezda quarter, the location where our Roma are settled, on the part of the plot owned by a private person.  As the City, we will provide location, construction of the complete missing infrastructure, together with our government and the projects it will organize and the funds to be allocated, and we will build the necessary residential facilities to make them more satisfied than they are today.”

Question: What about the progress in implementation of the Protocol on cooperation and inclusion of Roma community in the resettlement process?

Tijana Ilić Djordjević, City Councilor:

 

“We included the Mobile Team of the City, formed by the Mayor, and the Team handled details, analysis and filling in of questionnaires. All the residents of Crvena Zvezda provided relevant information under criminal and material liability before the Mobile Team members who are experts in construction, social affairs, whatever was necessary, and we even had the representatives of NGOs who helped with access to families and ensured their cooperation.”

Ana Todorović, Advisor at LEDPO Section for Infrastructure Projects:

“The activities of the Mobile Team enabled obtaining of information about the structure of families, number of members, age structure, their special needs, their occupations, their needs…”

Igor Igić, Secretary of the Urban Planning and Construction Department:

“Crvena Zvezda is one of Roma quarters. It is included in the General Regulation Plan of the area of the City Municipality Palilula, phase II, but that quarter is in the business and commercial area and on the land owned by a private person, so there is no plan to keep the settlement there. So, with cooperation, with some of the already existing projects, we will try to find a better location, of course in cooperation with the people living there…”

Tijana Ilić Djordjević, City Councilor:

“We were searching for location for a very long time, as the location had to be included in a plan as the social housing location. We had to respect the wishes of Crvena Zvezda residents to stay on the same territory they reside at now. It is the territory of Palilula Municipality.

Ana Todorović, Advisor at LEDPO Section for Infrastructure Projects:

“This housing in buildings (wings) is designed in three residential buildings with five floors, i.e. the basement, ground floor, two floors and a loft, and there other contents planned along with these residential units. Premises for persons with special needs and elderly persons are located at ground floors. There are premises for gathering, training sessions, public activities… There will be such premises  in each of these wings, and there will also be storage rooms, workshops for people collecting secondary raw materials. A part is planned for the public utility company so as prevent accumulation of waste and creation of dump, to enable adequate conditions for that settlement in a way.”

Zenko Osmanović, resident of Crvena Zvezda settlement:

“As far as resettlement is concerned, whenever I think about it, I feel terrible. Although the eviction of this settlement was signed, it is not going to happen …Nobody mentions it. If you want to demolish a settlement, there is money. There is money in the country, as everybody says, both Zorana Mihajlović and Vučić say that there is money. Well, if there is money, let them come and solve the problem. The President of Palilula and Mister Mayor should come and finally solve the problem here …the problem of electricity, the problem of living, so when someone gets and apartment, they can think about their lives. Here we live in one community, and when we move out, everyone will think about their own life and solving their own problems…”

Sulejman Sulejmanović, resident of Crvena Zvezda settlement:

“Nobody from the City management came to ask us, I mean, we had a few meetings, but without the real result. There were people from Belgrade, from the Mobile Team, Aleksandra Petrović working at the UN came, and then the lawyers together with Aleksandra Petrović, working with her…They helped us about electricity, about resettlement, but nothing was resolved about our resettlement. We resolved the issue of electricity more or less, but we haven’t resolved resettlement.”

Tamara Simonović, NGO Indigo:

“The first, and unfortunately the last really serious meeting about resettlement and resolving of housing issues was held within the Legal Clinic at the Faculty of Law in Niš. That meeting was held about three years ago, and things seemed to be going in good direction then, some actual proposals were given. The owner of the part of the land on which Crvena Zvezda settlement is located gave some proposals and the City also expressed readiness to be included in resolving of this issue to the fullest extent. There were the representatives of the UN Office in Serbia, representatives of the European Roma Rights Centre. The background of the settlement was presented along with the legal status…there were discussions about land ownership and so on, of course about the rights of the residents of Crvena Zvezda settlement, too, and things really seemed to be going in a good direction.

Osman Balić, YUROM Center Director:

“Considering the citizen participation, it was not symbolical, but it was non-existant. Actually, a typical method of solving of Roma issues was used – a false attempt, a trick to resolve the issue. The citizens were not included, they still do not know the phase of the issue, and we have nothing to tell them. I can tell you that the funds were not provided for that, so that the residents of Crvena Zvezda should relax and live their lives, as nothing is going to change any time soon. There are no funds. The question is whether they were included or not. It is time for the City to have an honest discussion with its residents about the solution for that issue, as people live in a delusion. I think that the type of solution for that issue was imposed to the City.”

Dragan Djordjević, Human Rights Committee Niš:

“The City of Niš really needs to put an appropriate effort and include residents of Crvena Zvezda completely, every family. You have to talk to every family. You have to see what’s going to happen when the family moves there. You cannot just put someone in a solid facility…no…what is the surrounding going to be like? What about the infrastructure? Each of us has their own needs, and why would we separate someone, and just make a building, and that’s it, it is better than before because it’s a solid construction. You don’t have an issue with weather conditions, disasters …and what about the integral parts of life? There’s more to life than just a dormitory, I just go in and sleep, stay there over night, and that’s it…”

Tamara Simonović, NGO Indigo:

“Finally, even if there are no answers to questions, it is quite o.k. to say – at the moment, we have no answer to that question…We don’t know what to tell you. But this should be first hand information, not through some people, not provided to individuals, but to a larger group of residents, if not all the residents of the settlement.  They should simply be informed about the present status and be able to plan their lives based on that.”

“At the moment the project itself, the conceptual design, already presents the formed residential units for every family. There are residential units for between 1 and almost 9 members, depending on the need. These facilities are located in Kovanlučka street, on a construction plot for social purposes, owned by the City…In this step we have the project documents. So we can easily apply for further steps if both sides are interested in that.”

Prof Djokica Jovanović, Sociologist:

“If it includes moving of people from inhumane living conditions, the conditions unworthy of decent, human living, then the resettlement is surely needed, only if it would provide better and more humane living conditions for the people living in poor and difficult circumstances. In that respect, I find this type of resettlement required, humane and necessary. Of course, people cannot be resettled without showing them where they would go in advance. So, they have to see those places, houses, their future homes. Finally, they need to decide on their won whether those places can be their homes or not. They have to feel that these places belong to them and that they belong to those places.”

„The creation of this video was made possible by the South Serbia Fund. The content and views expressed in this video represent the views of the authors of the project „Housing Roma in Nis“ and do not necessarily reflect those of the South Serbia Fund. „

 

 

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