‘My example can change minds’: Roma fighting for place in postwar Ukraine

Growing up in Ukraine, Arsen Mednik often found himself singled out – at school children would point at him, calling him “gypsy”, while employers were often reluctant to hire him when they learned he was Roma.

But in early 2022, as Russian forces began their savage occupation of his home town of Bucha, Mednik was among the first Ukrainian Roma to volunteer in the defence of the country.

“My only thought was that I wanted to defend people,” he said. “The Russians weren’t paying attention to who was Roma or Ukrainian. They just killed everyone.”

The 34-year-old is among the many Roma people on the frontlines of the war on Ukraine, risking their lives despite their own personal experiences of marginalisation and wider concerns over whether they will have a place in the country when the war ends.

Exact figures of how many from the community are fighting are hard to come by, but it is estimated that there are a few thousand, said Stephan Müller, an adviser on international affairs with the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

The actual number among the country’s estimated 400,000 Roma could be even higher – a recent survey of 143 Roma in Ukraine by the Roma Foundation for Europe found that a quarter of respondents had relatives on the frontlines. Of these, a third were volunteers.

It’s a remarkable contribution given that Roma, whose roots in Ukraine trace back centuries, rank among the country’s most discriminated against, complicating their access to decent housing, jobs, healthcare and schooling.

In the years before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Roma were targeted regularly by far-right groups, resulting in the deaths of at least two people and leading Amnesty International to warn in 2019 that “attacks against Roma are becoming increasingly vicious in Ukraine” and urge that perpetrators be brought to justice.

“There is strong antigypsyism in Ukraine, we shouldn’t deny that,” said Müller. “But despite all of this racism, Roma are standing on the side of Ukraine and fighting.”

Müller is among the campaigners across Europe who are calling on Ukraine to recognise the contributions of Roma and do more to secure their place in the country once the war ends. Their efforts are guided by recent history, in which Roma were often expelled or excluded from reconstruction efforts following periods of war.

“So in Kosovo, for example, more than 100,000 – almost two-thirds of the Roma population – were expelled primarily after the war,” said Müller. Some were targeted by violence, forcing them to flee, while others ended up displaced after unequal treatment by authorities.

In Ukraine, Roma who are not on the frontlines have sought to contribute in other ways, said Müller, citing fundraising efforts to purchase army equipment, Roma artists who are holding concerts for the army and Roma-led NGOs who are serving up free meals to non-Roma who are in need.

“This has to be made public,” he said. “And has to be acknowledged, recognised and properly rewarded in a postwar period. Rather than wreak havoc and violence against Roma or expel them.”

The efforts to highlight Roma contributions to the war efforts have come up against the stereotype-heavy coverage of the community by many in mainstream media, said Nataliia Tomenko of ARCA, an agency that supports Roma youth and works to preserve Roma history and culture in Ukraine.

“In general, when they talk about communities in Ukraine, it’s not on the level it should be,” she said. “There is no positive representation.” Her organisation has sought to combat this by spotlighting the stories of several Roma soldiers on its website.

The government in Ukraine has also made some efforts to this end, recognising the contribution of minorities, including Roma, to the country’s defence in state programmes and bestowing an award for bravery to Viktor Ilchak, a Roma soldier from western Ukraine, last year.

Campaigners have warned that Ukraine’s national recovery plan fails to meaningfully address many of the distinct issues faced by Roma, such as those who live in informal housing without ownership documents, potentially complicating access to compensation or financial assistance for rebuilding, to those who lack the documents needed to prove their citizenship or residence status.

Postwar plans also need to take into account the disproportionate effect that the war has had on many in the Roma community, said Anzhelika Bielova, the founder of Voice of Romni, an organisation working to empower Roma women in Ukraine.

“The vulnerability of already-vulnerable groups was amplified,” said Bielova, whose organisation has shifted to providing humanitarian aid since the war began.

“The majority of Ukrainians have better access to services and information than the Roma community, which is in a vulnerable situation,” she said, citing the lack of internet access and information on available resources that affect many in the community.

The invasion came on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, both of which forced many schools in the country to shift classes online. Grappling with a lack of technology such as laptops and smartphones, many Roma children were locked out of learning, giving rise to a void that could seriously affect their future but also their postwar role in the country.

Few organisations – whether in Ukraine or outside – have addressed these issues, she said. “In parts of Roma settlements in western Ukraine, people are living in awful conditions, without gas, without heat and without access to water,” she added. “And they’re invisible to humanitarian actors.”

After spending the first days of the war digging trenches in and around Kyiv, Mednik eventually joined the army.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with others in Ukraine, he saw much of the discrimination he had wrestled with his whole life melt away. “People who get to know me, they have a good opinion about Roma,” he said. “I realised that my example can change people’s minds.”

In September, as he crouched in a trench near Kherson, he was hit by an unidentified object, leaving him in a coma for 20 days. When he woke up, he learned he had encephalitis, shrapnel in his lungs and had lost several of his fingers as well as much of his hearing.

After three months of rehabilitation, Mednik returned to the army, helping to coordinate air defence operations. “I have to show a good example for Ukrainians, to show that Roma can fight, not only for themselves but also for other Ukrainians,” he said.

What kept him going, even as exhaustion sets in for many across Ukraine, was his deep desire to defend people. “I’m proud to be Roma. We’re an ancient people, with a history and a culture to match. We’re not military people, we’re a people of peace,” he said. “But in this case, when someone comes to kill me, my family, my friends, I decided to fight. I’m proud to defend people and proud to be Roma.”