Roma Party Leader: Segregated Bus Driver Training May Increase Ethnic Distance

Srđan Šajn, president of the Roma Party, has voiced concerns that a training program for 100 Roma individuals to become bus drivers in Belgrade, while seemingly a positive initiative, could inadvertently widen ethnic divides.

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The training for 100 bus drivers in Belgrade, in which exclusively members of the Roma community will participate, represents an example that can be interpreted as if members of one minority community are 'guest workers in their own country'.

Šajn stated that such a program, exclusively for members of the Roma community, risks portraying them as "guest workers in their own country." He emphasized that employing Roma and other marginalized groups should be a consistent, systemic obligation for the state, not a segregated practice.

"We cannot create a division of labor where the children of poor Belgrade residents, as well as Roma children, are pre-directed towards certain jobs, such as street cleaning or driving buses, while others are reserved positions in state institution administrations or elite educational institutions," Šajn argued.

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We cannot create a division of labor where the children of poor Belgrade residents, as well as Roma children, are pre-directed towards certain jobs, such as street cleaning or driving buses, while others are reserved positions in state institution administrations or elite educational institutions.

The Roma Party is advocating for affirmative action policies and has requested that city authorities allocate additional funds to include at least 50 participants from other vulnerable Belgrade communities in the training program to ensure inclusivity. Šajn also urged the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality to examine whether this segregated training model aligns with international non-discrimination and anti-segregation standards in education and training.

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We demand that the city authorities provide additional funds to include at least 50 members of other socially vulnerable citizens of Belgrade who are not members of the Roma community in this training program and thus ensure inclusivity.