Hindus condemn demolition of Gypsy settlement in Spain

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Hindus have condemned the reported recent demolishing of Gypsy (Roma) settlement of Puerta de Hierro on the banks of the Manzanares River on Madrid outskirts in Spain.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was unfortunate and simply inhuman to thus devastate the lives of voiceless Gypsy families forcing many into homelessness, some of whom called it a home reportedly for over five decades.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, asked for provision of immediate compensation to thus affected Gypsy families and alternative accommodation for them.

Instead of unleashing repression, Spain and Europe needed to work on social inclusion and rehabilitation of Roma communities, which were residents of Europe since about ninth century CE and now numbered around 15 million, Rajan Zed argued.

What was more baffling that even religious elite of Spain had not come out openly against this unjust crackdown on poor gypsies while the religions clearly told us to help the helpless, Zed noted.

Europe’s most persecuted and discriminated community, Roma were reportedly facing apartheid conditions in Europe. Roma reportedly regularly encountered social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc., Rajan Zed pointed out.