Serbian Authorities Revoke Welfare for Romani Recipients of Compensation from Germany for the Romani Holocaust

22 July 2005

According to research conducted by the ERRC in partnership with Minority Rights Center in Belgrade, on December 2, 2004, several Romani individuals in the town of Obrenovac had state issued welfare revoked in May 2004 because they received financial compensation from Germany for the Roma Holocaust. Mr. Miodrag Vujičič testified to the Minority Rights Center that on May 19th after receiving a one time compensation sum of approximately 5,700 Euro from German authorities, Mr. Miodrag Vujičič went to the Center for Social Work to collect the welfare support he had been receiving for several years. The Center for Social Work told Mr Vujicic that they were aware that he had received compensation from Germany and he was hence no longer eligible for welfare since, in the opinion of the Center, Mr. Vujičič "had enough money for the rest of [his] life". Similarly Ms Olga Vasić approached the Center for Social Work because she did not receive welfare installment and was told that those Romani individuals who had received money from Germany would no longer receive financial aid. Mr. Goran Stanojević of MRC stated that there were approximately ten Roma who stopped receiving welfare because they had received compensation from Germany. Mr. Stanojević stated that only Roma were subject to the withdrawal of welfare. Further information on the situation of Roma in Serbia can be found on ERRC's website at http://www.errc.org.

(ERRC, MRC)