In cooperation with Mrs. Daniela Stankova, Director of the State Social Agency /SSA/ – Svishtov it is established dispute resolution mechanism for cases concerning Roma rights violation conducted by the SSA employees. Due to the case specifics, the litigation approach is hardly applicable to them. SSA is the governmental structure responsible to administrate governmental relief funds to people with disability, to provide urgent grants /i.e. for medications, transportation, school etc. to families with low financial incomes/, to provide social monthly welfare, maternity relief and other types of social support. If one approaches the SSA seeking assistance this means that a pressing need exists and very often the SSA is in fact “the last hope”. Thus, applying quick remedy to the case is crucial as usually the alleged victims of SSA officials misdemeanours seeking assistance from the state agency do to a concrete critical need that requires urgent actions and any delay in providing remedy is often equal to non-remedy at all.
Our organizations concerns mostly about non-existing legal basic knowledge among the SSA officials at the ground level, which results in misinterpretations of the Law and illegal actions towards people, sought SSA assistance. In order for an SSA employee to seek legal assistance within the agency system, one should be contacting the SSA direction, which to forward his request to a Legal Consultant that exists in the District SSA direction. The overall length of this procedure however stultifies its purpose when it comes about urgent decision that needs to be taken.
Along with insufficient knowledge of existing legal acts, that concerns SSA activities, inappropriate conduct towards people seeking assistance by the SSA’ employee often occurs. Though that the position of a social worker within the SSA requires a hired person to possess professional and moral values and qualities, rude behavior and lack of understanding of other people that sought SSA assistance’ problems often exists at the local level. Instead of being a social service providers officials usually became a barrier to this services.
Poor legal knowledge and the wide spread prejudices against Roma determines their rights to be at a high risk of violation by the officials.
Following cases presents some of the violations committed by the SSA local officials that were successfully redressed.
Family of Dancho Angelov and Violeta Rashkova Angelova, Roma from the village of Radanovo have approached the organization presenting a case concerning their daughter, Rumyana Dancheva Angelova, ten-year-old child with mental disability. They did approach the labour expert doctoral commission /TELK/ to determine their child disability so she to be able to receive relief funds by the Governmental budget. Mr. and Mrs. Angelovi stated that during the examination medics from the TELK did not undertake a thorough medical exam but just asked the child a few quick questions and finished the examination with decision that she has 40 % disability.
After consultations with the family GP, organization submits an appeal to national labour expert medical commission /NELK/ as the only quasi-judiciary body that adjudicates decisions of the TELK. After one month a decision on the case was made with which NELK reconsidered Rumyana to be with 80 % disability since the date of birth. Thus she have to receive about 5 000 leva / 2 500 Euro/ relief funds from the Governmental budget.
To receive these relief funds Angelovi family submit an application to the local bureau of State Social Agency /SSA/along with an application from the mother, Mrs. Violeta Angelova to be appointed as a personal assistant to her child. Because the father Mr. Angelov is currently employed as a security guard in the town of Veliko Tarnovo and the salary he is paid exceeds the minimal salary per member of the family at the time application was submitted, their applications were rejected. Mr. Angelov testified that while submitting applications one of the employees at the Polski Trambesh bureau, SSA said, “There is no way I’ll give this amount of money to a Gypsy”.
A legal statement was issued by the organization to the Director of SSA – Svishtov, Mrs. Stankova clarifying the fact that the two applications from the family should be considered separately as they are seeking SSA assistance on a different basis. Child’s right to receive governmental relief funds for disability are separate from the possibility child’s mother to be appointed as an assistant to her. Mrs. Stankova took the case under direct supervision and the family received within two weeks from submission of the applications 4 606 leva relief funds.
However, the project coordinator continued to negotiate with the Director Stankova, that child’s mother to be appointed as a personal assistant to her daughter and using mediation approach convinced the Director to appoint her on exception, due to the circumstances. Thus, Mrs. Angelova was included to governmental programme “personal assistance to disable people” on the next recruitment cycle of the programme and appointed as an assistant to her daughter after four months from the applications submission.
Mrs. Donka Marinova approached our organization with a signal that she has been denied appointment as a personal assistant to her mother, Mrs. Nedyalka Choneva Marinova under the programme “personal assistance to disable people”. Under this governmental programme State Social Agency /SSA/ employs long term unemployed people, registered in the State Labour Agency as personal assistants to the disabled people from their family, receiving a minimal salary.
The mother, Nedyalka Choneva Marinova, has suffered from a neurological disease that caused her complete immobility and chained her to the bed. She was determined as a disability person with 95 % disability by the labour expert medicinal commission /TELK/ and has no leaving husband or other relatives to take care of her, besides her daughter Mrs. Donka Marinova. She is a single mother of four children, long time unemployed, counting on the maternity reliefs, as only income and does not have financial means needed to care for her mother. Before approaching NGO Roma Together Donka has applied several times to the position of personal assistant but the SSA rejected her applications.
Project coordinator approached Mrs. Genova, Head of the State Social Agency, Polski Trambesh bureau to investigate the reason of denials. Mrs. Genova refers to the administrative penalty inflicted by the local State Labour Agency, Polski Trambesh bureau. After investigating, the case it has been determined that the local bureau of SLA has punished Donka striking her out the long term unemployed lists because she has failed to attend governmental programme “from social welfare to employment” under which she should be sweeping streets for five days per month. To be considered as eligible candidate for this programme she needs to be enrolled in the long term unemployed lists.
Legal analysis of the case reveals that inflicted administrative penalty to Mrs. Donka Marinova by the SLA was made contrary to the Law, as at the time she was enrolled in the governmental programme “from social welfare to employment” she was taking care of her infant children being a single mother. This condition dismissed her, according the Law, from the obligation to participate in the governmental programmes. NGO Roma – Together submit a legal statement revealing this fact to the SSA – Svishtov Director, Mrs. Stankova. The director abolished denials of the SSA, Polski Trambesh bureau head, Mrs. Genova. Mrs. Donka Marinova was appointed as a personal assistant to her mother. Administrative litigation was chosen as the fastest approach, needed due to the case urgency. The whole procedure took two weeks from receiving the signal to apply remedy on the case.
