Environmental racism in Central and Eastern Europe is well documented. In Central and Eastern Europe, socialist governments have generally prioritized industrial development over environmental protection, in spite of growing public and governmental environmental awareness in the 1960s and 1970s. Even though public concern over the environmental effects of industrial expansion such as mine and dam construction grew in the late 1980s and early 1990s, policy makers continued to focus on privatization and economic development. Following the market transition, environmental issues have persisted, despite some improvements during the early stages of transition. Throughout this time, significant social restructuring took place alongside environmental changes.
According to K. Harper et al., "in the case of Roma in CEE [Central and Eastern Europe], spaces inhabited by low-income Roma have come to be 'racialized' during the post-socialist era, intensifying patterns of environmental exclusion along ethnic lines". Romani peoples have inhabited Central and Eastern Europe for six hundred years and have traditionally worked or been employed as agricultural day laborers, musicians, tinsmiths (tinkers), and blacksmiths. In the words of K. Harper et al., The interwar period and the post-socialist period, in their schema, were marked by downward mobility and increased spatial segregation of Roma communities in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. It is in the context of these cycles that patterns of environmental exclusion have come into being. More than 50 years after the social dislocations of World War II and the communist regime change, poor Roma settlements throughout the region are located on the outskirts of villages, separated from the majority population by roads, railways or other barriers, and disconnected from water pipelines and sewage treatment.
In analyzing environmental marginalization of Romani communities in Romania, anthropologist Enikő Vincze writes that "Environmental racism functions at the intersection of polluting the natural milieu, and of marginalizing social categories inferiorized by racial identification." Throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Romani people themselves are often treated as environmentally problematic subjects. Slovak authorities have been criticized by Romani rights activists over the alleged practice of "targeting Romani communities for forced evictions under the pretext of environmental law" by defining them as "waste dumps".Gökҫen, Sinan. "Slovak Republic Targets Roma Homes as 'Waste." European Roma Rights Centre. December 20, 2012. n. pag. Web. April 10, 2016.
In Central Europe, there have been documented cases within popular culture whereupon Romani populations are characterized as ecologically irresponsible. In Slovakia, the region near the transportation corridor between Prešov and Poprad is an important foraging area for Romani communities who collect mushrooms and berries during the summer for trade and direct consumption.Filčák, Richard. Living Beyond the Pale: Environmental Justice and the Roma Minority. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2012. Project MUSE. p. 5-163. Web. April 8, 2016. The activity is particularly significant due to the poor living conditions of many Romani in the area, who frequently take part in the illegal harvesting of state and private agricultural lands. In 2006, a "popular magazine" published an article titled "Grasshoppers: While Roma from Tatra Region Make Money on Forests, Bears are Getting Hungry". In the article, it was alleged that due to Romani foraging, Slovak bears could not find sufficient food to survive the winter. Similarly, K. Harper et al write that Romani people in Hungary are viewed by majority culture as a group that "lacks environmental awareness" while simultaneously being "dissociated from any timeless connections to land":Contemporary environmental discourses tend to portray marginalized and indigenous people in either of two ways: as noble savages or as environmental profligates (Krech, 1999). Unlike indigenous people, however, the Roma in Hungary are not associated with a timeless, revered 'environmental ethic'—perhaps because they were excluded from owning land (Csalog, 1994). In fact, the most destitute Roma have been chided for their short-sighted use of environmental resources: heating the house with forest wood and parts of the house itself (Ladányi and Szelényi, 2006 ...), engaging in extremely hazardous scrap metal processing and allegedly overharvesting snowdrop flowers to sell in the city. While many observers acknowledge the structural inequalities and histories underlying Roma communities' rural and post-industrial indigence, the fact remains that non-Roma widely see the Roma as a group that profoundly lacks environmental awareness.
Lithuania According to a report by RAXEN, overall housing for Romani persons in Lithuania is of poor quality and "often located in disadvantaged places in terms of infrastructure."Centre of Ethnic Studies Institute for Social Research. "Lithuania RAXEN National Focal Point Thematic Study Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers." Centre of Ethnic Studies Institute for Social Research, Racism and Xenophobia Network (RAXEN). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: March 2009. Web. p. 1-68. Retrieved July 17, 2017 At the Romani settlement of Kirtimai in Vilnius, RAXEN has documented concerns regarding the quality of access to utilities such as water and heating, stating:
The issue of Roma housing quality is most evident in the Kirtimai settlement, where dwellings do not meet standards in terms of heating, outdoor toilets, water pumps and limited access to public transportation. The Kirtimai settlement was equipped with basic amenities such as water, electricity and waste collection in 2001, and further – perhaps final – developments were carried out in early 2004.
The settlement is located on the outskirts of Vilnius, spatially isolated within an industrial area in close proximity to Vilnius International Airport. An estimated 500 persons inhabit the settlement, which has been described by RAXEN as arguably "ghettoised and discriminated against with regard to housing opportunities". With regards to the nationwide status of utilities access for Lithuanian Romani persons, RAXEN has concluded that "In general, a significant portion of the Roma lives in sub-standard dwellings, and there are Roma families throughout the country who have no access to public utilities (mainly sanitary facilities, water, and electricity)."
Poland Access to water and electricity While Romani settlements in Poland are distributed throughout the country and less segregated than many areas of Central and Eastern Europe, geographical isolation remains a concern with respect to access to means of sustenance.Mikulska, Agnieszka and Hall, Dorota. "Poland RAXEN National Focal Point Thematic Study Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers." Warsaw, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Racism and Xenophobia Network (RAXEN). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: March 2009. Web. p. 1-60. Retrieved July 17, 2017 According to a report by RAXEN,
The majority of Roma settlements [in Poland], e.g. in the region of Małopolska are outside other settlements and are deprived of potable water, sewage and roads that allow for ambulance access. The problem also concerns roadblocks to obtaining settlement permits, especially in city centres, which necessarily results in them moving to the outskirts, away from infrastructure that allows for decent living conditions." According to the study, Romani persons throughout Poland, especially those from the Bergitka subgroup, face ongoing issues with respect to accessing water and utilities, leading to detrimental health conditions and persistently high rates of tuberculosis.
Wrocław
In 2013, an estimated 80–120 persons of Romanian Romani origin were living in two shantytowns in Wrocław.Jupowiecka, Ewa. "Antagonism, Agonism, and Dialogue in Civil Society: Wrocław's Romanian Roma." Democracy in Dialogue, Dialogue in Democracy: The Politics of Dialogue in Theory and Practice. Ed. Jezierska, Katarzyna and Koczanowicz, Leszek. New York, NY: Routledge, 2016. Print.Kostka, Joanna. Roma Matrix Country Report: Poland. Roma MATRIX. July, 2014. Web. p.1-35. Retrieved July 17, 2017.Nomada Association for Multicultural Society Integration. Romanian Roma Community in Wrocław. Wrocław: Nomada Association for Multicultural Society Integration, November 2013. Web. n. pag. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
The settlements, which had no heated homes, running water, electricity, or sewerage, were constructed using materials salvaged from dumps. These settlements had historical ties to a settlement that existed between 1993 and 1997, when the first Romanian Romani came to Wrocław from the city of Făgăraş in search of employment. Residents at the settlement were employed in scrap metal collection. At the former Kamieńskiego Street shantytown, there was documentation of waste disposal concerns, raw sewage dumping, and burning of plastic causing pollution.
After receiving a municipal order to evacuate the Kamieńskiego Street shantytown in April 2013, residents wrote a letter to the mayor of Wrocław, Rafał Dutkiewicz. The letter reads:
We feel residents of this city [sic]. We have nowhere to move to. Could we count on support and advice on where else we could settle down? We realize that we might be cumbersome neighbors to the inhabitants of Kamieńskiego St., because there are many of us here and we often ask them for help ... If there were any jobs for us, we would gladly take them and dedicate ourselves to the development of and work for the city of Wrocław. What we only ask is, please give us a chance. We want to stay in Wrocław and integrate with the city's society. (Żuchowicz, 2013, p. 2)
Citing begging, trespassing, complaints from neighbors, disturbance to the area, and littering, alongside health and sanitation initiatives previously delivered by the city, the Social Affairs Department rejected residents' requests, concluding that clearing of the site was required. In the words of Jupowiecka, the response letter stated that the Roma presence produced an actual epidemiological hazard, and could no longer be tolerated". According to Kostka in 2014, "In Poland this is an unprecedented case, without jurisprudence, and can potentially have a huge impact on the Polish legal system and the image of Poland across Europe (Nomada 2013)." On July 22, 2015, the Kamieńskiego Street settlement was demolished.Nomada. Forced Eviction and Demolition of Roma Camp in Wrocław (Poland). Nomada. July 31, 2015. Web. n. pag. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
Małopolska In the region of Małopolska, there have been documented cases of communities lacking clean drinking water, electricity, and sanitation.Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Field Assessment Report: The Situation of Bergitka Roma in the Małopolska Region of Poland. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. October 16, 2007. Web. p. 1-13. Retrieved July 17, 2017. These issues have been noted by OSCE observers in the villages of Maszkowice, Jazowsko, Koszary, Krosnica, and Czarna Góra. In Maszkowice and Jazowsko, there have been documented allegations by local residents of theft of garden vegetables and unauthorized wood harvesting by Romani residents.
Czech Republic
In Ostrava,Steger, Tamara et al. eds. Making the Case for Environmental Justice in Central & Eastern Europe. Romani communities have been residing in living accommodations situated on top of an abandoned mine where methane gas exposure and subsidence are serious concerns. Ostrava has one of the largest Romani communities in the Czech Republic.