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GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2005 Roma & Demography The virtual absence of basic Roma demographic data makes it difficult to address their issues. For instance, the lack of concrete statistics on something so fundamental as the actual size of Roma populations is a major shortcoming, such that the magnitude of their problems remains elusive. Interpreting the little data that does exist is also risky since broad PAGE 50 generalizations are likely to be inaccurate. A complicating factor is that Roma often avoid identifying themselves for fear of becoming stigmatized by the larger community. 58 It has been estimated that in Albania alone, there are at least 95,000 Roma, which comprise 2% of the total population. These statistics, however, are dated. Distribution of Roma Population in Southeast and Central Eastern Europe Between 1991-1994 (1,000) 59 Country Roma Population Total Population % of Roma Albania 95 3,421 2.0 Bosnia & Herzegovina 45 4,383 1.0 Bulgaria 750 8,459 8.9 Croatia 35 4,788 0.7 Czech Republic 275 10,323 2.7 Hungary 575 10,280 5.6 FYR Macedonia 240 2,191 10.9 Poland 45 38,446 0.1 Romania 2,150 22,761 9.4 Slovak Republic 480 5,345 9.4 Slovenia 10 1,993 0.4 Yugoslavia 425 10,675 4.0 A survey of the most recent data sources, ranging from Albanian local government estimates, Roma association information, the U.S. State Department, to several non-Albanian authors of the Balkans Estimated Population of Albanian Roma by District 60 58 The Roma in Central and Eastern Europe: Avoiding the Dependency Trap – A Regional Human Development Report, UNDP, December 2002. 59 Hermine De Soto, Ilir Gedeshi, Sabine Beddies, & Daniel Perez, Roma and Evgjits in Albania: From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion or The Gold Coin Dilemma, Report I: Recommendations and Policy Implications, (Poulton, Bugajski, Bruner), reveal that there are between 60,000-150,000 Roma in Albania. In the Gjirokastra region, there are somewhere between 1,200-2,000. World Bank, April 2004. 60 Hermine De Soto, Ilir Gedeshi, Sabine Beddies, & Daniel Perez, Roma and Evgjits in Albania: From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion or The Gold Coin Dilemma, Report I: Recommendations and Policy Implications, World Bank, April 2004.
Regional Council data for the region, however, is based solely on the southernmost part of Gjirokastra city, on the road that leads to Lazarat, where approximately 660 Roma live. The majority of these families are composed of 10-13 people, and nearly 300 are capable of being economically active, even though unemployment is presumed to be exceptionally low. As mentioned previously, many Roma migrate for short periods, to Greece for instance, when income from the formal and informal markets are too small to maintain their livelihoods. Nevertheless, while migration is a poverty reduction tactic, it normally leads to higher levels of poverty in the long-term. Since most migrants are unable to secure a visa to the host country of their destination, they travel illegally. As the costs associated with black-market visas are exuberant, migrants will usually go without, which forces them to work in low-skilled positions that offer nominal wages. Remittances are most commonly spent on subsistence needs and for paying off debts to local shopkeepers. By the time international migration expenditures are covered and consumption expenses are met, Roma are sometimes left with less than before they migrated. Migration also means that children are not enrolled in school for lengthy periods, workers are not subscribed to any type of pension program, and debts continue to grow, causing many to continue migrating. Women marry or are married off young in order to bear children to help with the expense of living. Typically, Roma men marry at 18.2 years of age, Roma women marry at 15.5 years of age and average family size is approximately 6.4 people. Importantly, early marriage has harmful consequences for young girls. It can lead to the denial of education, as married girls tend not to continue their education. It also relates to severe health problems, such as premature pregnancies, and increased maternal and child mortality rates. Despite the difficulties in the collection and accuracy of statistical data, more Romaspecific demographic information on gender composition, age structure, civil status, and life expectancy is necessary in order to design appropriate policies aimed at addressing Roma issues. Education Besides lack of resources in the education sector, Albania has endured two periods of mayhem that saw educational facilities destroyed and massive population movements, which have placed new economic demands on the already unstable academic system. The turmoil following the end 61 Human Development Sector Unit: Europe and Central Asia Region, Albania - Poverty Assessment, Vol. 1 of 1, World Bank, November 2003. GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2005 of the communist regime and the collapse of pyramid schemes brought about vandalism of public property that did not spare educational facilities. Buildings were damaged to such lengths that substantial investments are now required to fully rehabilitate them. Furthermore, mass migration from rural to urban settings has exerted excessive pressure on urban schools that were ill prepared to receive the influx of students from rural areas. Subsequently, two major challenges have begun to surface. First, there are a substantial number of children that need to be educated and their distribution is increasingly unbalanced. Second, migrants relocating from areas where educational quality is lacking means that the needs of these students differ from those of city children and must be adequately addressed. 61 The residents of the Gjirokastra region have always had a desire to learn, despite the difficulties that people in the region have faced. Following the intense economic, social and political changes in the country during the past decade, it has become a priority to regenerate the educational system to accommodate, not only the new generation, but also all age groups. Notwithstanding, educational standards have been in rapid decline for years, as have national enrolment rates. 62 The low level of education has been a major contributing factor to the high percentages of the unemployed. A direct result of the many young people having left school in the 1990s is that they now represent a large contingent of those who are jobless. The Education Index & The Equally Distributed Education Index 63 The education index measures a country’s relative achievement in both adult literacy and combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment. The equally distributed education index takes disaggregated data on gender and uses the education index to measure the difference between male and female relative achievement in both adult literacy and combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment. The gender composition of the second chart below illustrates gender disparity in school attendance in most regions of the country. Since there are more females in the population aged 6-23 than males, there should be more females attending school. This is only true, however, for Tirana. In all other regions the case is the contrary, whereby male enrolment outnumbers female enrolment. 62 The Albanian Response to the Millennium Development Goals, The Human Development Promotion Center, Tirana, May 2002. 63 National Human Development Report, 2004. PAGE 51
Page 1 and 2: GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ST
Page 5 and 6: List of Acronyms GJIROKASTRA REGION
Page 7 and 8: Table of Contents GJIROKASTRA REGIO
Page 11 and 12: Introduction Gjirokastra Vision Sta
Page 13 and 14: Role of the Regional Council The Re
Page 15 and 16: Poverty Poverty in Albania, as expl
Page 19 and 20: unemployment and reductions in soci
Page 23 and 24: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Econom
Page 25 and 26: Living Space Poverty can also be vi
Page 29 and 30: largest proportion of families who
Page 33 and 34: holds (71,887) that receive partial
Page 39 and 40: Roma & Employment In Central and Ea
Page 41 and 42: ated with rural poverty can be tran
Page 45 and 46: egion. 46 Evidence also indicates t
Page 49: GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ST
Page 55 and 56: As between the districts, Gjirokast
Page 61 and 62: Health and Health Services The heal
Page 65 and 66: While the averages for the Gjirokas
Page 67 and 68: Since 1990, because of the lack of
Page 69 and 70: more vulnerable to the epidemic bio
Page 71 and 72: Agriculture Agriculture is the larg
Page 73 and 74: According to the map based on class
Page 79 and 80: Livestock breeding, such as cattle,
Page 81 and 82: Infrastructure While income poverty
Page 85 and 86: growing number of users. The broade
Page 87 and 88: Composition of the Region’s Fores
Page 89 and 90: partridge hunting. Atmospheric Poll
Page 91 and 92: Goal 1: Alleviate Poverty and Incom
Page 93 and 94: This, in turn, has caused a regress
Page 101 and 102:
issues are faced. The feasibility o
Page 103 and 104:
GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ST
Page 105 and 106:
health sector policies, is a major
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Goal 4: Ensure Environmental Sustai
Page 111 and 112:
Current and Forecasted Indicators:
Page 113 and 114:
Goal 5: Improve Governance Aligned
Page 115 and 116:
citizen participation. 5.2. Establi
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Annex 2 - Indicator Description Ind
Page 121 and 122:
interaction, it is best combined wi
Page 123:
the monitoring and implementation o
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