Shades of Persecution Past? Germany Forces 50,000 Roma to Leave
Country Germany has decided to deport 50,000 Roma, better known
as Gypsies back to Kosovo from which they had fled during the
ethnic cleansing and wars of the 1990s. The Roma will be
returning to a region which routinely limits Roma travel and
freedoms and where just last year, ethnic Albanians rioted
against the Roma, forcing 4,000 from their homes and killing 19.
This is not a safe region. But the United Nations has signed off
on Germany’s plan, claiming that Kosovo is now stable.
Additionally, neither the UN nor Germany will be providing the
Roma any aide once they return. Many who are being forced to
return have lost all contact with Kosovo and have no homes or
employment to return to. What is most disturbing is that while
Germany is deporting the Roma refugees, ethnic Albanians who
fled the same conflict have often been allowed to stay in
Germany. This is why many human rights organizations are calling
the German actions racist. In fact, Ger