COVID-19 Robs Turkey’s Roma Children of Schooling

Like most Roma families in Turkey, the Sinniks can ill-afford the laptops, smartphones and Wifi required for home-schooling in the era of the novel coronavirus.

So when schools went online to combat the pandemic, Istanbul fourth grader Ozberk was left to fend for himself.

He can watch some educational programmes on the family's one TV, but the only other device in the household of six people is a dilapidated mobile phone that Ozberk's grandfather, Fahrettin, takes with him when he sets out from the northern suburb of Kustepe to sell flowers in the city. 

A used tablet provided by the NGO Deep Poverty Network quickly died, while the limited teaching the NGO provides is no substitute for proper schooling, the family says.

Ozberk said he was "very sad" to be unable to learn online or play with his school friends. "At the moment, there are no devices for the kid to use," said Fahrettin.

It is a common problem for Turkey's Roma, for whom access to education, not to mention other basic rights, has long been a struggle.

"Our efforts have been set back 10 years," said Elmas Arus, a film director and head of the Zero Discrimination Association that provides support for Roma communities.

"Those children who were the target of our efforts, for whom we tried to provide access to education, are now completely cut off from education."

The Sinnik family. Photo: BIRN/Güliz Vural

Education upgrade project unfinished

Anywhere between two and five million Roma are believed to live in Turkey, often on the margins of society and victims of widespread discrimination.

Local and international organisations have fought to improve their lot, but what progress was made in terms of access to education was...

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