Red Cross Blogs

Roma: the migrants behind the myths

By Ellie Matthews
September 7, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Some of the most frequently – and casually – misrepresented groups are gypsies, travellers and Roma people. One person who knows all too well the prejudices these groups face is Mick Quigley.

Mick is a case worker on the British Red Cross’ Circles project, which supports gypsy, Roma and traveller communities living in Birmingham. At the moment, almost all the people supported by the project are from the Roma community.

Alongside our work with refugees and asylum seekers, in some areas the Red Cross offers support services to other vulnerable migrants who, for a variety of reasons, have found themselves in difficulty while in the UK.

Since Romania joined the European Union (EU) in 2007, you might assume the situation of Roma migrants had improved. Mick explains that the opposite is true: “They were better off as refugees.” Many Roma are persecuted in their own countries, but as part of the EU they are no longer entitled to refugee status – or to any of the support which comes with it.

Everyday problems

Unfortunately, many Roma find further discrimination upon arrival in England. Mick reels off countless stories of loan sharks, racist receptionists, biased interpreters and impromptu evictions. However, the biggest challenges his clients face are less dramatic but no less devastating.

Many Roma live with grinding economic hardship, compounded by language difficulties and illiteracy. They do not know how to get their children enrolled in school or how to sign up for a doctor. Poor diet leads to ill-health and problems such as diabetes. Many Roma get taken advantage of if they do try to get help.

Almost all of Mick’s clients are single mothers. Some travelled to England alone; others came here only to have their partner leave. These women are left with large families to support and benefits are often the only way they can feed their children.

Mick told me that getting the financial support these women are entitled to can be difficult. However, seeing Mick – a well-informed, English-speaking professional – trying to sort out a client’s housing benefit over the phone, I begin to appreciate just how challenging it really is. As Mick puts it: “If they’re giving me the runaround, imagine what it’s like for someone with limited English.”

Devastating effects

One of Mick’s clients is Nadia, a single mother with five children. She knows just how easily problems with benefits agencies can occur. Using an interpreter, she tells me: “They asked me different questions and I didn’t know how to explain. And because we couldn’t understand each other they just stopped the benefits.”

“They didn’t give me any kind of explanation, they just told me there was a problem and they had to stop it.” Nadia’s voice breaks as she recalls walking with her oldest son: “He was telling me ‘I’m hungry’. It was winter, the snow was big and thick, and where he could find clean snow, he was eating it.”

Luckily, with the help of the Red Cross, Nadia’s situation has improved: “They helped me very much, with basically everything. My kids are going to school now; I have food on the table; I have a house; I have everything because of them.” Her son is also doing well: “Yesterday I was at the award gala at the school and my oldest son received an award. I was the proudest mother ever.”

While Mick is proud of the progress Nadia has made, he knows there is still much more work for the Circles project to do: “There’s always going to be this need. For every one family we get sorted, there are three waiting behind.”

Read more about Nadia’s story

Read the story of Roxanna, who was also helped by the Circles project

Find out more about our health and social care work

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Tags: Birmingham, England, Health and social care, migrants, migration, UK

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