Elodie de Bethmann and Johnstuart Winchell, volunteers with the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations reflect on Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day and Presbyterian engagement with the Roma people.
On the night of August 2, 1944 approximately 3,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered when their people were attacked under the orders of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, a leading member of the Nazi party. August 2 serves as Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to remember the tragedies of the past and to address the violence and exclusion that Roma people still face to this day. As the United Nations Expert on minority issues has reported, there is a “rising tide of hostility and discrimination against Roma in Europe that shames societies.”
Presbyterian Women have responded to the marginalization of Roma women through the Roma Development Project. This initiative is a two-phase plan aimed at providing Roma women with income-generating opportunities, such as basket-making microenterprises. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) offers prayers and thanksgiving for the Roma people.