President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who boasts close ties with the Romani community thanks to a childhood spent in a neighborhood with a substantial Romani population, plans to spearhead renewed efforts to improve their rights.
Erdoğan is expected to attend the second large gathering of the community in the western province of Izmir next year as part of the government’s Romani initiative. Erdoğan became the first Turkish leader to embrace the community and pledge to improve their standing in society when he attended a major gathering of the community in 2010, while he was serving as prime minister. He later hosted them at the Presidential Complex, a first for a Turkish president.
The president, who met lawmakers from his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) earlier this week, urged new action for addressing the problems of the Romani community. The AK Party is one of only two parties to have a lawmaker from the Romani community.
Erdoğan is expected to announce new steps for the community at the Izmir gathering on education, employment, health care, accommodation and social services. These will include new housing projects for Romani citizens living in places under “urban transformation” (a government-sponsored project where old, decrepit buildings unable to endure earthquakes are demolished and replaced with new ones). The new houses will be independent units, rather than multistory buildings allocated for social housing projects. Most Romani families prefer living in houses with gardens and with a single floor suitable for their lifestyle and in the past, several municipalities built such houses for the community. The government will also open new youth centers to help promote employment and training of Romani youth and endorse women’s cooperatives.
Türkiye’s top housing authority TOKI will build 5,000 houses for the community in provinces with high Romani populations, including Izmir, Kocaeli, Çanakkale, Tekirdağ, Bursa and Aydın.
The government will also increase the number of Social Solidarity Centers (SODAM), venues exclusively opened for the community by the Ministry of Family and Social Services for the social integration of Romani citizens. The centers host activities and projects for the vocational and artistic development of citizens.
