Where are we (Roma) when the pandemic COVID-19 started?

The pandemic over the spread of the COVID-19 virus has affected the entire world and has shown that the world is globally connected and also that the capitalistic, liberal system is unstable when there is not capital turnover. And not only the instability of the system but this invisible phenomenon has shown the true face of modern societies from which all the social deviations and pains that it hides, came out. The percentage of poor and vulnerable groups has become clearer and not only noticeable but as a phenomenon posed a threat to social maintenance. Many countries, even the ones that are in a market economy, to stop the spread of virus for the sake of people and society brought series of measures.Those measures can be divided into three segments: health, social and economic segment. Since the virus concerns the physiological health of people, health measures such as washing hands, wearing masks, and all those measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus at the health level were first adopted. Given that the virus is spread by droplets and contact with other people, the state has adopted a series of social measures that people still find difficult to get used to even after a few months of the virus. These measures primarily concern the social distance of 2 meters, a certain number of people indoors and outdoors, the way of greeting, etc. However, what affects countries the most is the impact of the virus on the business system and the economic system in general. When there is a sudden interruption of the flow of capital, due to quarantine, there is an instability of the system and the threat of economic collapse. In this regard, the state of Serbia has adopted a set of economic measures, which are divided into measures that affect legal entities and measures that affect individuals. Economic measures taken so far include 1. Delay in the obligation to repay the loan (moratorium) for individuals, farmers, entrepreneurs, and companies, reduction of the reference interest rate by 0.5% to 1.75%, tax measures during the state of emergency, limitation of prices and margins of basic foodstuffs.  2. One-time financial assistance to pensioners and deferred payment of expenses, on April 24, the Government of Serbia adopted a decree on the payment of 100 euros to all adult citizens residing in Serbia with a valid ID card, the program “My first salary” for high school and university students.  Based on all measures brought by the state, we can make a prototype of a man who would be affected by these measures. It is primarily a man who has a roof over his head, drinking water, and electricity. Which means he has his basic existential needs met. Then that is probably a man who is socially active, so the state had to adopt measures of distancing and gathering. And the most important adopted measures, economic ones, affect people who are primarily entrepreneurs,  so we have subsidies, interest rate reductions, etc. If he is not an entrepreneur, that man is formally employed at best in a state-owned company. He has a minimum high school education and is legal age. The main question here is what is happening with poor socially deprived groups who are excluded from the mainstream of society and on the margins? With this research, we wanted to investigate how is the situation of the Roma community in Serbia during quarantine caused by the spread of the virus? What measures affected her? And are there any measures that have affected her at all? Finally, we will present what the Opre Roma movement will do regarding this issue. The method used was an online survey sent primarily to local leaders of the Opre Roma Serbia movement who, in cooperation with Roma coordinators, health mediators, and other local institutions, obtained the data.   Also, the same questionnaire was sent to all major municipalities in Serbia, where 4 municipalities responded out of 15 sent. The sample consists of 14  municipalities in Serbia (Aleksinac, Bor, Bojnik, Vladicin Han, Vajska, Vranje, Pavlovac, Prokuplje, Pirot, Niska Banja, Lebane, Subotica, Smederevska Palanka, Zajecar). The obtained data on the number of infected and deceased are unofficial data, considering that no data were kept by nationality. The obtained data are the minimum of infected and deceased, the real number can only be higher. The questions we asked in this research concerned the situation in which the Roma community finds itself when quarantine enters the scene and when a pandemic is declared. According to unofficial data, in 14 municipalities in which the research was conducted, there were 240 infected Roma with the biggest number of 100 Roma infected in Vladicin Han and 80 Roma in Pavlovac, because the virus entered the Roma settlement in these locations. Of this number, a total of 35 Roma died, mostly in Vladicin Han, where 20 Roma people died and 10 in Pavlovac. The research also raised the issue of drinking water and electricity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic because, as we saw in the above text, states have enacted some health measures regarding prevention. The research showed that in 14 locations, 37 Roma families (the largest number in Pirot, Vranje, and Vladicin Han) do not have access to drinking water and that these are data before the pandemic. In some of the locations, municipalities have provided a water tank. These families are not connected to the water supply network due to a lack of money to pay the bills. Regarding the connection to the electricity network, 91 Roma families do not have electricity in these 14 locations. With the largest number in Pirot (30), Subotica (20), Vladicin Han, and Niška Banja (15). Families are not connected because they do not have the financial means to pay the debt, in some locations the municipality met and included them during the quarantine and then excluded them again. This position of the Roma community is confirmed by the jobs they are engaged in. In 14 locations, 61% of the population is engaged in trade, seasonal jobs, and music, and in 30% of locations, in addition to these jobs, they also collect secondary raw materials, the other 9% or two locations stated that there are Roma working in larger factories. This data indicates that as many as 90% of respondents are engaged in informal jobs. Jobs for which the state has not adopted economic measures. When the whole country was closed due to the COVID-19 virus, these jobs were first hit and the families whose members are engaged in making music, trade, and the like were left without income. One data provider even stated: “No one lost their job due to COVID-19 because no one worked anywhere in the whole municipality, maybe 2-3 Roma work. (Lebane) As for the families that received social aid, those families that were in the process of renewing their documents before the quarantine was in big trouble when it came to quarantine. In 14 locations, 111 families are left without social aid because they did not have time to renew their documents. The state did not foresee this situation because it only passed an economic measure for families whose documents expired during the quarantine.  One of the questions asked in the research also touched on discriminatory treatment in hospitals. To this question, in 60% of cases, the data providers said that there was no discriminatory treatment, 13.1% that there was a different treatment for Roma, while the rest did not have data. Seeing and describing the situation of the Roma community before and during the COVID-19 virus, the data providers responded to the extent to which the state did not know the situation on the ground and what economic measures affected the Roma community. The two measures that hit the Roma community are a one-time aid of 100e and humanitarian packages. Two locations provided information that there is also a measure regarding the payment of the minimum wage. Based on these data, we can conclude that the state was not ready to respond to the situation in which the poorest and marginalized groups such as the Roma community found themselves. This virus only confirmed a deprived position that is even more endangered by the COVID-19 virus. In the future, our movement will use this information and advocate for the interests of the Roma community in local institutions. In cooperation with the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, from 2021 we will propose economic measures that will affect the Roma community and help it emerge victorious from this struggle.   For more information, write to us at info@opreromasrbija.rs with the title of this text and the purpose for which you need the data.