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Starting from Zero[editar]

On December 15th, 2017 FSG launched the campaign to raise awareness about the inequalities and discrimination practices the Roma community still experiences in Education, Employment, Housing or Health.

To this end, FSG has launched the first-ever video that starts with a negative number of views, #StartingfromZero. The emotive animated short film tells the story of Samara, a Roma girl who travels a road full of obstacles to get to Zero city, the city of equality and which is a metaphor for the difficulties that thousands of young Roma face in their daily lives.

The challenge launched by the FSG seeks to overcome the 750.000 negative number of views (which represent the estimated number of Roma people living in Spain) and reach zero views before December 20, the International Human Solidarity Day.

Additionally, Fundación Secretariado Gitano, seeks the support of citizens, institutions, companies, organizations, schools etc., to start a movement in favor of equality with a view to building a society in which nobody starts at a disadvantage. To this end, FSG has published a Decalogue for a Zero City, a manifesto that everyone can join in on the website of the campaign www.partirdecero.org  

Decalogue for a Zero City
Decalogue for a Zero City

#StartingFromZero, the first-ever video to start with a negative number of views as a metaphor for the situation of disadvantage the Roma community starts out from

Background

Rejection and DISCRIMINATION lie at the root of the inequality gap. Discrimination results and reinforce inequalities. As the main Human Rights organizations have been warning, Roma people experience numerous discriminatory practices which prevent them from a full enjoyment of human rights and equality, and harm their dignity.

According to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)[1], 51% of the Roma population in Spain has experienced some form of discrimination at least once over the course of their lives.

According to a survey by the Spanish Centre for Social Research (CIS[2]), 40% of Spaniards would be very or rather upset to have Roma neighbours; one in four Spaniards would not like their children to be in the same classroom with Roma children; and 52% of Spaniards have little or no sympathy for Roma. According to the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, 65% of the victims of discrimination are under 30 years of age, which is proof of the vulnerability of the youngest generations.

RIGHT TO WORK: Employment rates are particularly low for Roma. Only 38.4% of Roma have some form of paid work compared to 83.6% of the general population. The unemployment rate is approximately 16 percentage points higher than that of the general population and 56% have only temporary contracts. 

RIGHT TO DIGNIFIED HOUSING: Still more than 9,000 Roma families in Spain live in substandard housing and of those 9,000, more than 2,000 live in slums.

POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION: In 2013, as high as 54% Roma lived in a situation of severe social exclusion and 18% of moderate exclusion.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION: 64% of Roma students do not complete compulsory lower secondary education (ESO).

RIGHT TO HEALTH: 58.5% of Roma children are overweight or obese compared to 32.0% of the general population. 15.7% of Roma boys have had an accident in the last 12 months, compared to 8.6% of non-Roma children. There is also greater prevalence of dental problems. The percentages of young Roma (under the age of 14) with dental caries is three to four times higher than those of their non-Roma peers.

[1] FRA’s Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II)

[2] The Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) is an independent entity assigned to the Ministry of the Presidency. The main remit of the CIS is to contribute scientific knowledge on Spanish society. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/ES/index.html

Samara is the main character of the video
Samara is the main character of the video

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  • Decalogue for a Zero City
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