Twenty-five years after the end of Kosovo war, Roma refuges that fled to Serbia still struggle to obtain social inclusion and equal opportunities, and even personal documents, a new report says. Many Roma people who fled Kosovo for Serbia after the Kosovo war in 1999 still feel the consequences in terms of their social exclusion from society, poor financial situation and mental health, the Krusevac-based Association Romani Asvin, an NGO, says. Its new report draws on the experiences of Roma refugees from Kosovo now living in Nis, Vranje and Bujanovac and was made based on interviews with 67 people. Research author Bojan Brankovic said that, “as far as health and psychosocial consequences are concerned, post-traumatic stress disorder is noted, through trauma, states of anxiety and loss of security. “There was no social and health protection [for them] at the time of their arrival [in Serbia], and they only managed to acquire some rights later. Even today, many of them live without personal documents,“ Brankovic said on Friday at the presentation of the report in Nis.
via balkan insight: Roma Refugees from Kosovo Still Suffering Exclusion in Serbia – Report