© Marika Schmiedt

Street Roots works with our sister paper in Belgrade to look at the plight of the Roma people in Europe
by Grace Badik , 10 Sep 2013, news.streets.org

Before coming to Street Roots in mid-August for a year of service through Jesuit Volunteer Corp Northwest, I  traveled to Central and Eastern Europe to research community organizing in post-Communist European states. Although, not central to my research, I suddenly found myself trying to comprehend a difficulty reality. The Roma people are without an official homeland, although some groups of Roma may have lived in Europe for centuries.

During my time in Europe, I witnessed individuals and families with darker skin who walked down the street, while others would walk on the other side of the sidewalk or take a wide turn around. On the train, people refused to sit in the same cab with Roma people. I witnessed…