Housing and Roma MediationThe role of intercultural mediation in promoting better living conditions for Roma

The case of Portuguese Roma Municipal Mediators

Murska-Sobota 20th September

Alexandra Castro

Legenda

Nº ciganos por concelho (valor absoluto)

0

1 - 60

61 - 100

101 - 200

201 - 400

401 - 900

901 - 2050

Contextualizing Portuguese Roma Population

• The majority of Roma living in Portugal is Portuguese

• Despite the lack of official data about the Portuguese Roma population, its number is estimated to be in a range of about 40,000 and 100,000

• The housing conditions are heterogeneous:

• 25% of Roma live in shantytowns or in tents without an authorization of permanence, mostly in Rural aged areas and industrial urban territories

• 75% of Roma lives in proper housing conditions, mostly in rural areas with demographic concentration and in urban consolidated areas. In these territories there has been a great public investment in social housing

Programme for Municipal Roma Mediators

ACIDI – High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (public institute belonging to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers)

The Programme it’s addressed to all Portuguese municipalities, in partnership with local civil society organizations, with significant Roma population, interested in building bridges towards a constructive dialogue by hosting mediators in municipalities.

The Roma mediators should:

- facilitate communication between Roma communities, local authorities and civil society organizations;

- promote consensus and mediate conflicts;

- promote intercultural dialogue as a strategic methodology of work and intervention;

- promote and facilitate Roma communities’ access to local services and organizations.

Objectives

Organization

Target

Housing and mediationPotentialities regarding citizenship and participation

The concentration of a great diversity of individuals from distinct cultures and social backgrounds make cities innovative places, but also spaces of tension and cultural conflicts.

The ability to manage this tensions is one of the main challenge of modern societies and local governments.

Housing is one of the most relevant fieldwork of the Municipal Mediators, alongside with Social Intervention and Education.

Last year, 21% out of the total mediators activities were developed in housing contexts; the great majority of municipalities intervened in this specific and heterogeneous field.

(public housing, private housing and shantytowns)

How the municipalities address the housing problems?

Housing precariousness Problems focused on individuals

Problems focused at the local context

• Intergenerational reproduction of poverty and growing needs in terms of housing support

• Some families do not accept the solutions proposed for rehousing

• Difficulty in finding housing solutions adapted to the profile of the householders

• Lack of supply of social housing to meet the needs

• Difficulty of access to open market housing - the weight of stereotypes

• Pressure from local residents to a possible relocation in the vicinity of their residence

Management of public housingProblems focused on individuals

Problems focused at the local context

• Difficulty in accepting rules, aggressive behaviors, vandalism in public spaces, conflicts

• Sense of self-protection and impunity due to the strong cohesion of Roma families

• High visibility of the neighborhoods in public spaces, contributing to a negative image of it

• Lack of diagnosis regarding the identification of the most adequate intervention

• Inadequate management of the rehousing processes and negative impacts on the use of housing spaces

• The mutual ignorance between Roma and non-Roma contributes negatively to the local intervention

To support the roma population in the demands and bureaucratic requirements to access housing or other needs concerning household (rehabilitation, housing

transference, rent reductions). The mediators facilitate the local responses to housing demands

[PROMOTION OF PROXIMITY AND ACCESS]

To promote a ‘good use’ of common spaces, to encourage ‘good behaviors’ concerning neighboring and

rental payments, to help municipalities to control the increase of shantytowns . These kind of actions are not

free from problems.

[CONTROL]

Attendance on rehousing processes and to support the planning and management of rehousing and social

quarters.

[COUNSELLING]

To mediate conflicts between neighboors (roma and non roma or just between roma families)

[REGULATION OF CONFLICTS]

Mediation Practices and Housing

Roles of the Intercultural Mediator

Diagnosis and Planning

Facilitator

Social Bond Promoter

Agent of ChangeEmpowerment

Constructor

Keys of success

The diversity of areas of intervention of the mediator allows a systemic and a multidimensional approach of the social exclusion

To be acquainted with the basic principles of mediation by all the intervenients

To recognize the existence of structural problems which cannot be solved only by the project

To be aware of the need to establish relationships based on trust between all actors

Valuing the cultural diversity as something positive, and building spaces of relationship (institutional, technical and social) between individuals and diversified groups.

The need of a political consensus for intervention directed to the Roma

Existence of inter-institutional cooperation

Potentialities on Being a Roma Mediator

Facilitates proximity and

trustful relations with roma people

Increases knowledge on cultural

specifities, decodes and adapts

interventions

Produces a positive image

between the non Roma

Facilitates the relations between roma people and

local services

Difficulties Few margin to negotiate: municipalities have scarce resources to answer housing needs and a very bureaucratic management

Attributing a monitoring role to mediators puts them in a difficult position

To consider the mediator as a panacea to solve structural problems

Nonexistence of an intercultural political point of view

POSITIVIMPACTS

Improvement of the involvment of the Roma families in the management and conservation of buildings, common areas and public spaces

Increase the regularization of the rental debts amongst Roma inhabitants in public housing

Increase of the Roma families with housing supports regarding requalification

Increase of Roma families which initiate housing legalization processes or regularization of their housing situation

The intercultural mediator assumes an important role as a changing agent, but

he/she can not be seen as a substitute for the intercultural dialogue or a panacea to solve

the structural problems

15

Obrigada!(thank you)