Ukraine’s Roma have suffered worse than most in the war
Half of them may have fled
The war in Ukraine has shattered its Roma community. At least half of its pre-war population has fled abroad. That is a vastly higher proportion of refugees than among Ukrainians at large. Eleonora Kulchar, the director of a Roma refugee shelter in Uzhhorod in the country’s west, says that many have gone “for a new and better life, because they were discriminated against here and poor”. Few expect them ever to return. Many of them lack passports or identity cards, so may never be able to, because they cannot prove they are Ukrainian citizens.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Hoping for better”
Europe October 5th 2024
- Pedro Sánchez clings to office at a cost to Spain’s democracy
- Why the hard-right Herbert Kickl is unlikely to be Austria’s next chancellor
- Ukraine’s Roma have suffered worse than most in the war
- The Netherlands’ new hard-right government is a mess
- A harrowing rape trial in France has revived debate about consent
- How the wolf went from folktale villain to culture-war scapegoat
From the October 5th 2024 edition
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Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare
A rise in antisemitism puts Europe’s liberal values to the test
The return of Europe’s oldest scourge
Once dominant, Germany is now desperate
As an election looms its business model is breaking down