City administration of Stara Zagora set up a plan for mass eviction of all Roma settlements in the Lozenetz quarter due to a reforestation of the area in the period 2014–2016 [1] [2]. The plan started with the demolition of more than 50 Roma houses in July 2014. Two years later (2016), the land had not been reforested [1] In the period after 1999 serious tensions between the municipal council and some private land owners, on the one hand, and the Roma community on the other, emerged. As a result, there were several cases of anti-Roma demonstrations and planned evictions as an authorities’ response. Following the 2011 election campaign promise, the current mayor and his administration set up a plan for mass eviction of all Roma houses in the Lozenetz quarter and reforestation of the area [1]. The actual construction of Catholic boarding school emerged however [1] [2]. Still, approximately four hundred Roma were facing an increasing risk of living on the streets [1]. Thirty-eight of those households still live in the neighbourhood, sheltered by friends or relatives. The demolition resulted in the displacement of 124 children [1]. “We know nothing about these people. We know only that they keep coming and coming", the Mayor of Lozenetz stated [1]. The local authority and the neighbours cite "the expansion of the Roma neighbourhood beyond the urban regulated areas in 2015 – compared with an image from 2004 which is accompanied by total deforestation of the surrounding area" [1]. This is why the Roma were evicted. But still afforestation never took place nor are the Roma included in the green urban planning or the reforestation plan in Lozenetz [1] [2]. More than 100 inhabitants of the Roma in Lozenetz had been throwing tiles at the police from a roof of one of the houses to be demolished [2].Others erected barricades and formed a human chain [4]. Two protesters were arrested and and authorities pressed charges against them [4] . Moreover, Roma district Fakulteta in the city of Sofia was in support of the inhabitants of the Lozenets district in Stara Zagora, whose illegal houses were demolished. Three trains were blocked on the road as a result of the protest [3]. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee were also protesting the procedure undertaken by the Stara Zagora town hall: "Practicing institutional racist violence" in this case and "the creation of homeless people does not address social problems, it creates them. The irresponsible behavior of the state will lead to more judgments against Bulgaria and in the long term will have serious consequences for all of society," the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee said in a press release [4]. (See less) |
Displacement of Roma community due to reforestation in Lozenetz, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Roma evicted due to afforestation project that never took place, in Lozenetz quarter in the town of Stara Zagora. They got support from other Roma in Fakulteta district in Sofia.
City administration of Stara Zagora set up a plan for mass eviction of all Roma settlements in the Lozenetz quarter due to a reforestation of the area in the period 2014–2016 [1] [2]. The plan started with the demolition of more than 50 Roma houses in July 2014. Two years later (2016), the land had not been reforested [1] |
| Name of conflict: | Displacement of Roma community due to reforestation in Lozenetz, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria |
| Country: | Bulgaria |
| State or province: | Stara Zagora |
| Location of conflict: | Stara Zagora, Lozenetz quarter |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Infrastructure and Built Environment |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Urban development conflicts |
| Specific commodities: | Land |
| Project details | In 2016 the actions and decisions related to the housing demolition and relocation of the Roma households due to a reforestation of an area that never took place. At the same time the Roma were not included in the "green" urban plan. Instead, the Roma were expelled from the neighbourhood and faced risk of living on the streets [1]. |
| Project area: | 80 |
| Type of population | Semi-urban |
| Affected Population: | 400 |
| Start of the conflict: | 01/01/2014 |
| Relevant government actors: | Bulgarian government. The mayor of Stara Zagora. |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Local Engagement for Roma Inclusion (LERI) (micro-credits based) https://fra.europa.eu/en/project/2013/multi-annual-roma-programme/local-engagement World without Borders https://www.ngo.sviatbezgranici.org/ The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee https://www.bghelsinki.org/en/ |
| Intensity | LOW (some local organising) |
| Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
| Groups mobilizing: | International ejos Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Ethnically/racially discriminated groups |
| Forms of mobilization: | Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..) Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Development of alternative proposals Involvement of national and international NGOs Land occupation Official complaint letters and petitions Street protest/marches |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Accidents |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession Potential: Loss of landscape/sense of place, Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Migration/displacement Technical solutions to improve resource supply/quality/distribution Under negotiation |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | World without borders NGO and the LERI succeeded in convincing a team of two university professors, one construction tutor and two master students students to prepare and design the standardised construction plan equal for everyone in the city of Lozenetz. Some municipal representers were present at the meeting as well. However the municipal officials who had been directly involved in housing integration disrespected the LERI field expert and used racist statements against the Roma [1]. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | On a positive note, some municipal decisions were taken, such as offering land plots at a discounted price for the Roma, and establishing a social housing structure based on the research. Still only four families (out of 400 people) were committed to have houses on the new plots and there is a civil organisation that is able and ready to advocate for them. On the negative side is the permanent threat of eviction stemming from the notices being distributed in some sub-areas of the neighbourhood, then postponing the action for an undefined term; then distributing new eviction notices in another sub-area, then postponing again, etc. [1]. The reforestation never took place, nor are the Roma included in the "green" plan. From the beginning, the plan is to exclude the Roma from the city. Therefore, this conflict cannot be characterised as a successful [1] [2]. |
| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
| |||||
|
| Contributor: | Ksenija Hanacek ICTA-UAB |
| Last update | 21/09/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 4167 |