Times are changing : Spain s Roma renew fight for rights Reuters 2/17/2021
By Laura Mannering
MADRID, Feb 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Julian Borja Hernandez studied hard to avoid the struggle his father faced, making ends meet as a market trader. Now he tends the same stall and says his career prospects were stymied as a member of Spain s marginalised Roma minority.
He blames entrenched racial discrimination for his failed job hunts - a stigma he sees as embedded in centuries of persecution and popular prejudice that a new wave of Roma campaigners is determined to stamp out.
A proposal aimed at tackling the deep-rooted inequality suffered by Spain’s Roma people, known locally as gitanos, won cross-party parliamentary backing at the end of last year. It provided a ray of optimism for a community that has lived in Spain for generations and is at least a million strong, according to some estimates, but still experiences high unemployment, poverty and inadequate housing.