The French TV channel France24 has recently broadcast a story about the Rroma families living in the Romanian village of Barbulesti, just 60 km away from the capital city, and the problems they have to face to go to school. “An estimated 2.5 million Rroma people live in Romania. Here, the government has fully understood the importance of education in integrating the community into wider society. But in practice, going to school often brings new problems for these Rroma families,” starts the France24 story named “Rroma: integration school”.

The story focuses on two Rroma children living in Romania, namely Alina, 9, and her sister Nina, 12, who get ready for the first day of school. The two girls are trying to write a letter to their mother that left for  France, but soon Alina realizes that she forgot how to write. “Look, I’ve forgotten how to write!” she says. “Before the summer holidays I could write neatly in my notebook, but now I’m not used to it any more. But it’s not that bad, school starts tomorrow and I’ll learn how to do it again,” she says. Their parents moved to France two years ago, hoping to make a living by begging, according to France24.

At the beginning of the 1990s, after the fall of the Communist regime, only 100,000 Rroma children were attending school in Romania, but now, that figure has tripled, according to the TV channel. You can see the entire France24 story here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)