Periscope Field reports
The Roma students started to overcome Macedonian language, but they don’t have clothes, books and food
SKOPJE… The relation parent-child in the families that I’ve visited is not functioning as it should be. R.D. and D.I. live in very bad conditions. They live with their step-father. He beat them often, especially when they are disobedient. Their mother is powerless to confront her husband’s behavior because she is economically dependent. She has no exit from the situation she is in. She has two other children from hers second marriage. The parents from the other families that I’ve visited have no good relations with their children. Very often they live their children on their own, they rarely ask them how was their day at school, do they need help. Simply, they are not interested for their own children. Sometimes they even don’t care if their children ever been to school or not.
From the report of Ljatife Shikovska,
mediator of NRC
KUMANOVO… D.R. doesn’t know a single letter, he doesn’t recognize the colors, doesn’t speak Macedonian language. D. is the child that I’ve took him away from the street and took him away from begging and signed in to school. I have met him with his mother for several times, where after classes they beg on the streets. I’ve talked with his mother, but there are no results. She said to me that they live from begging. But she promised that D. will be regular at school, but he must beg with her right after his classes ends.
From the report of Ristem Muslievski,
mediator of NRC
SKOPJE… In the class 1-1 at the teacher Violeta, there are three Roma children, S., D. and L. Two of the children, except D. are well accepted by their co-students. D. has speech defect and she can’t communicate good in Macedonian language with her friends from the class. The other kids very often complain that D. is beat them up. She is very agile child, but according to my impression, she is very peaceful child. I suppose that she manifest her angry that way because of her speech defect and because her co-students avoid her. But, her teacher tries to help her. L. is developing very good, he is very intelligent and he learn very fast. He is well accepted by his co-students. S. is lassie. She has potential, but she is not giving so much effort. She is well accepted by her friends too.
From the report of Ljatife Shikovska,
mediator of NRC
KUMANOVO… My assistance on the classes and assistance in domestic conditions gives me opportunity to see the real situation of the progress of the children during the whole school year. There is a huge success compared with the last several months. Now, they can recognize colors, letters, geometrical bodies, days in the week and learned how to write the letter N and the number 3. Children in the first grade don’t have home works. Comparing with the first semester, children now understand better Macedonian language and they can easily speak on Macedonian. Now, they even can make sentences.
From the report of Ristem Muslievski,
mediator of NRC
KAVADARCI… During my assistance on the class I had opportunity to see how Roma students are progressing. But, at the same time, how much attention they get from their teachers. I’ve already informed the head office of NRC in Kumanovo that S.M. has epilepsy and because of that, she must take very string medications and therefore she need extra intention. The teacher helps her very much. She is there for her all the time. Because of the illness, S. is back in the school material, but her teacher stays with her after school and helps her.
From the report of Atiljan Alimov,
mediator of NRC
SKOPJE… This week I visited F.R. and she stunned me. Her mother is illiterate and she can’t help her daughter for her school tasks, but the little girl is constantly with her books, trying to read by herself. When she will bump to some obstacle, she get nervous and start crying because there is no one who can help her and tell her what is right. When I told her that I can help her, she was very happy and at the same moment she asked me to help her reading few lessons. She recited me the Macedonian alphabet and recited several songs.
From the report of Aida Mustafovska,
mediator of NRC
STIP… When I talked to the teacher, I found out that M.J. is not going to school on a regular basis. I went to his home, but I only found his mother there. I asked her why M, is not going to school every day and she claimed that she was sending him to school every day and that she didn’t know that her son is skipping school. We both concluded that she must watch over him and his work at school, she must asks him how are his days during classes, what does he has for home work. That’s the only way she can find out is her son is really at school or somewhere else. The mother promised me that she will control her son more. After that, we learned letters and numbers with M. But, there is no big improvement.
From the report of Demirsha Osmanov,
mediator of NRC
SKOPJE… S. R. is very intelligent child, but during his time in school he is so shy. His mother is very responsible in every aspect of her child’s education, but how she has two month old baby and she can’t be fully engaged with her older son. But, she was very happy when she heard that I can help and pay attention to her son.
From the report of Aida Mustafovska,
mediator of NRC
KAVADARCI… F.R. is not attending school and she is sign out from there because the girl doesn’t want to go to school. She is still on a feeding bottle. Her parents told me that she went to school at the beginning of the school year, but they had troubles. She refused to go to school, she was crying after her parents and she still has some baby habits. Therefore, the parents decided that it would be best for her to stay at home just for another year. And they said that they will try to send her to school again in September. They bought all the necessary school materials. But, they will keep it till the next year.
From the report of Atiljan Alimov,
mediator of NRC
MILADINOVCI, SKOPSKO… During the class, the students were working counting numbers from one to ten. After that, they had repetition through game with their teacher, counting numbers, counting themselves. I was especially impressed by the sisters A. and A. because they were so concentrated in the game and they were very precise saying the numbers. Afterwards, they were exercising train. Every wagon had different color and different animal. The goal of the exercise was to put numbers on the wagons. While I was sitting there I was sorry that I can’t be a little boy and can’t play with the rest of the children because in my time, we didn’t had tasks and games like this. But, one thing was reminding me of Roma people although the material and the teaching methods are different and relaxed, there are some material flows, like cloths, books, school materials, food are really not changed. That really bothers me. The teachers bring clothes for children and they give them part from their food, which very humanely from them, but it hits me the fact that the project that exclude humanitarian part from their programs.
From the report of Febijan Maksuti,
mediator of NRC
SKOPJE… As the time passes, children learn more Macedonian language, reason more for improvement is socializing with the Macedonian children, as well as mixed classes. I suggested to the teachers to put Macedonian and Roma children to sit together in the same bench and to play together. I must note that the children can’t speak Macedonian clearly and fluently. F.B. and A.B. don’t know Macedonian language at all. At home they communicate on Albanian language with their parents because their parents don’t know Macedonian language too.
From the report of Ljatife Shikovska,
mediator of NRC
GOSTIVAR… At the moment I have remark because people that their house was on fire still don’t get the money. On Friday, after classes, along with S. and S.N. and their step-father was in their home to see where are they staying. They are located well. They had never before that good home, but the owner of the apartment plans to rid of them because he asks for the money for the rent of the apartment. He said that the family will be on street if he doesn’t receive his money for the rent. After that, I went to the social care office and talked to one of the employees there and with the jurist. They told me that the money for the family are still not settled and they don’t know nothing because their director is not at work. They told me to call the Ministry for transport or to come back in a day or two, so maybe they’ll tell me where is the problem. During my visits in schools, among students. This week I talked more with the parents, but I did not neglected the children either. In very poor families no one can talk about education if you don’t know the real socio-economic situation first, as well as the problem with the housing. All the children that I’ve visited are complaining that the roads to their schools are impassable. They were complaining that they don’t have winter clothes and shoes and they said that because of that, their co-students make fun of them. The parents are complaining of the poverty which is very important factor that influence on children and their education. They complain that the winter is hard to survive, that they can’t go out and collect old iron in order to make earn some money. The mothers of these children go in villages to beg so that they can provide some food for their families.
From the report of Gjulfer Tochi,
mediator of NRC
SKOPJE… The Nusret Shabani’s family, who’s house was burned down still live in very difficult conditions. The promise from the Ministry for labor and social politics that this institution will re-build the family house, fell down into water. Husret is very disappointed and left on his own. He asked me to help him to write a letter to the Ministry just to remind them about his case.
From the report of Ljatife Shikovska,
mediator of NRC
