Athens Olympics Pushes Some to the Fringes

Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)

August 26, 2004 Thursday

PLIGHT OF THE ROMA;
Outcasts of Greece and the Games

BY TINA SUSMAN. STAFF CORRESPONDENT

ASPROPYRGOS, Greece - The rubble is everywhere: rusted car parts, a rickety baby carriage, a broken TV and all manner of trash. The ground is unpaved and strewn with rocks. The homes, patched together with stray chunks of wood, plastic and metal, resemble ill-fitted jigsaw puzzles.

Asked what she uses for a toilet, Joanna Aristopoulou motions toward the field. "Nature," she says.

That goes for the dozens of other Roma, or Gypsies, occupying this grimy industrial area outside Athens, which underwent a massive beautification effort to host the Olympics.

Aristopoulou and other Roma say they are victims of this effort and that the attention being focused on Greece should be turned to their plight. That's especially the case, they say, since many Roma settlements were dismantled before the Games, including one cleared to make way for a parking lot at the main Olympic complex.

The Roma say the government has reneged for years on vows to provide them better living standards.

"We are Greek citizens too. What is it for them to give adequate housing to the Roma?" said Aristopoulou, one of tens of thousands of Roma living in Greece, which has long been accused by human rights groups, including the government's own National Commission for Human Rights, of neglecting them. Those accusations took on new strength in the run-up to the Games from organizations such as Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations. Among other things, the government was chastised over the eviction that cleared land for the Olympic parking lot. That Roma settlement had existed nearly 50 years.

"The Games and all the infrastructure that's been done - the highways and this and that - that's all very good and very helpful. But for us to feel good about the Olympics, we need to be housed somewhere," said one of those displaced by the parking lot, Prokopis Nikolaou, 36.

Nikolaou and others who had lived in the shack settlement said they were promised rent subsidies so they could find apartments, and were told permanent housing eventually would be built for them. But the subsidies have been consistently late or not paid at all, Nikolaou said. Two years after the forced move, he, his wife and their three children share a cramped house with other relatives because, he says, the erratic subsidies made it impossible to secure an apartment.

In addition, he said his monthly subsidy, calculated according to family size, was never raised after his wife had their third child 11 months ago. "Basically, we feel we were cheated," he said.

The Greek government denies mistreating the Roma and says they, like other fringe groups, are simply feeling the bite of enhanced police enforcement during the Games. The interior ministry did not respond to e-mailed requests for specific comments, but in response to past criticisms it has described the Roma situation as "of great concern" to Greek authorities. It says it has spent millions of dollars moving Roma into prefabricated houses to replace their shacks and tents; to build permanent housing for others; and to offer them job training.

Determining how many Roma live in Greece is difficult. Estimates range from 120,000 to a half-million, and they are scattered and subject to different treatment, depending on municipality.

Commumities Wiped Out

A common complaint by rights groups concerns evictions by local officials determined to keep Roma out of sight and away from non-Roma, who derisively call them "gyps." Such evictions picked up speed after Athens was awarded the 2004 Olympics in 1997, as local officials saw a chance to bulldoze unsightly squatter settlements, the National Human Rights Commission said in 2001.

Those in Aspropyrgos, northwest of Athens, say they ended up in their current spot after their settlement next to a dump was razed by local officials. In Spata, south of the capital, another group was moved from its settlement behind a school to a seemingly preferable spot a few miles away, on a breezy hill with a view of the sea. But four years later, the promised electricity and water never materialized, and it's too far from town for children to walk to school, or for residents to go shopping or to a doctor on foot.

Land of broken promises

The Romas who were evicted to clear land for the parking lot two years ago are scattered across the city, since no settlement was established for them.

Critics say no matter what municipalities are guilty of, the final responsibility lies with the central government, which in 1996 and 2001 unveiled plans to, among other things, build new settlements for Romas, improve existing ones and make housing loans easier. In May, a report from the UN's Economic and Social Council said few of the promises had been kept and that "persistent discrimination" against Roma existed. It also said it was "gravely concerned" about demolition of Roma housing without adequate compensation or provisions of alternative housing.

Separate lives

The Romas' nomadic past, and the illegal squatter settlements they formed when they were drawn to cities in search of work, have prompted disdain among non-Roma. Many dismiss them as criminals who choose not to integrate with other Greeks. "The Roma are always in camps. They don't want to live in houses," said Theodoros Stefanides, a university student in Athens. "These people always complain, but it's their choice to live in tents. They're difficult people."

His companion, Daphne Dedopoulou, agreed: "If they want more respect from us, they could stop selling drugs."

Those attitudes rile Roma like Spiros Parianos. "Look at our hands! They are honest, hardworking!" he said indignantly, holding out his dry, calloused hands. "We are not illegal. We don't go to steal. We don't deal drugs."

Parianos makes a living selling scrap metal. Others sell wares at street markets but have been hampered by crackdowns on nonlicensed sellers.

Nikolaou admits he was selling trinkets and housewares without a permit. And there's no question some Roma are involved in questionable businesses. As one woman in Aspropyrgos lamented her poverty, her son drove up in a flashy red BMW she insisted was paid for through selling vegetables.

Economic Reality

Human rights groups say the majority of Roma, though, are law-abiding people forced by poverty and discrimination to live on the fringes of society. Nikolaou, for example, now cruises neighborhoods selling watermelons out of the back of a truck because the crackdown makes it impossible for him to sell at the flea market.

"We spent billions to make Athens much more beautiful," said Panayote Dimitras of Greek Helsinki Monitor, a rights group that has taken up the Romas' cause. "If only a tiny fraction of that was spent for those Roma who are in need, we would have model settlements that we could brag about."

Copyright 2004 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)

August 26, 2004 Thursday

PLIGHT OF THE ROMA;
Outcasts of Greece and the Games

BY TINA SUSMAN. STAFF CORRESPONDENT

ASPROPYRGOS, Greece - The rubble is everywhere: rusted car parts, a rickety baby carriage, a broken TV and all manner of trash. The ground is unpaved and strewn with rocks. The homes, patched together with stray chunks of wood, plastic and metal, resemble ill-fitted jigsaw puzzles.

Asked what she uses for a toilet, Joanna Aristopoulou motions toward the field. "Nature," she says.

That goes for the dozens of other Roma, or Gypsies, occupying this grimy industrial area outside Athens, which underwent a massive beautification effort to host the Olympics.

Aristopoulou and other Roma say they are victims of this effort and that the attention being focused on Greece should be turned to their plight. That's especially the case, they say, since many Roma settlements were dismantled before the Games, including one cleared to make way for a parking lot at the main Olympic complex.

The Roma say the government has reneged for years on vows to provide them better living standards.

"We are Greek citizens too. What is it for them to give adequate housing to the Roma?" said Aristopoulou, one of tens of thousands of Roma living in Greece, which has long been accused by human rights groups, including the government's own National Commission for Human Rights, of neglecting them. Those accusations took on new strength in the run-up to the Games from organizations such as Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations. Among other things, the government was chastised over the eviction that cleared land for the Olympic parking lot. That Roma settlement had existed nearly 50 years.

"The Games and all the infrastructure that's been done - the highways and this and that - that's all very good and very helpful. But for us to feel good about the Olympics, we need to be housed somewhere," said one of those displaced by the parking lot, Prokopis Nikolaou, 36.

Nikolaou and others who had lived in the shack settlement said they were promised rent subsidies so they could find apartments, and were told permanent housing eventually would be built for them. But the subsidies have been consistently late or not paid at all, Nikolaou said. Two years after the forced move, he, his wife and their three children share a cramped house with other relatives because, he says, the erratic subsidies made it impossible to secure an apartment.

In addition, he said his monthly subsidy, calculated according to family size, was never raised after his wife had their third child 11 months ago. "Basically, we feel we were cheated," he said.

The Greek government denies mistreating the Roma and says they, like other fringe groups, are simply feeling the bite of enhanced police enforcement during the Games. The interior ministry did not respond to e-mailed requests for specific comments, but in response to past criticisms it has described the Roma situation as "of great concern" to Greek authorities. It says it has spent millions of dollars moving Roma into prefabricated houses to replace their shacks and tents; to build permanent housing for others; and to offer them job training.

Determining how many Roma live in Greece is difficult. Estimates range from 120,000 to a half-million, and they are scattered and subject to different treatment, depending on municipality.

Commumities Wiped Out

A common complaint by rights groups concerns evictions by local officials determined to keep Roma out of sight and away from non-Roma, who derisively call them "gyps." Such evictions picked up speed after Athens was awarded the 2004 Olympics in 1997, as local officials saw a chance to bulldoze unsightly squatter settlements, the National Human Rights Commission said in 2001.

Those in Aspropyrgos, northwest of Athens, say they ended up in their current spot after their settlement next to a dump was razed by local officials. In Spata, south of the capital, another group was moved from its settlement behind a school to a seemingly preferable spot a few miles away, on a breezy hill with a view of the sea. But four years later, the promised electricity and water never materialized, and it's too far from town for children to walk to school, or for residents to go shopping or to a doctor on foot.

Land of broken promises

The Romas who were evicted to clear land for the parking lot two years ago are scattered across the city, since no settlement was established for them.

Critics say no matter what municipalities are guilty of, the final responsibility lies with the central government, which in 1996 and 2001 unveiled plans to, among other things, build new settlements for Romas, improve existing ones and make housing loans easier. In May, a report from the UN's Economic and Social Council said few of the promises had been kept and that "persistent discrimination" against Roma existed. It also said it was "gravely concerned" about demolition of Roma housing without adequate compensation or provisions of alternative housing.

Separate lives

The Romas' nomadic past, and the illegal squatter settlements they formed when they were drawn to cities in search of work, have prompted disdain among non-Roma. Many dismiss them as criminals who choose not to integrate with other Greeks. "The Roma are always in camps. They don't want to live in houses," said Theodoros Stefanides, a university student in Athens. "These people always complain, but it's their choice to live in tents. They're difficult people."

His companion, Daphne Dedopoulou, agreed: "If they want more respect from us, they could stop selling drugs."

Those attitudes rile Roma like Spiros Parianos. "Look at our hands! They are honest, hardworking!" he said indignantly, holding out his dry, calloused hands. "We are not illegal. We don't go to steal. We don't deal drugs."

Parianos makes a living selling scrap metal. Others sell wares at street markets but have been hampered by crackdowns on nonlicensed sellers.

Nikolaou admits he was selling trinkets and housewares without a permit. And there's no question some Roma are involved in questionable businesses. As one woman in Aspropyrgos lamented her poverty, her son drove up in a flashy red BMW she insisted was paid for through selling vegetables.

Economic Reality

Human rights groups say the majority of Roma, though, are law-abiding people forced by poverty and discrimination to live on the fringes of society. Nikolaou, for example, now cruises neighborhoods selling watermelons out of the back of a truck because the crackdown makes it impossible for him to sell at the flea market.

"We spent billions to make Athens much more beautiful," said Panayote Dimitras of Greek Helsinki Monitor, a rights group that has taken up the Romas' cause. "If only a tiny fraction of that was spent for those Roma who are in need, we would have model settlements that we could brag about."