Andra Matzal, coordintor of TOTB.ro
As a coordinator at TOTB.ro, I have published many articles where we try to fight, as much as we can, racism, xenophobia and other diseases that attack the 'immune system' of society. I have also received a huge amount of comments from our readers which reveal how racist attitudes are persistently and deep-rooted in everyday life. Whenever we tried to show good examples or role models from Roma communities, we found that they were still fragile as an ethnicity. In my opinion, projects like ''A Generation of Roma Specialists for the Medical System” are extremely important to correct this perception. But I also think that these kinds of projects could be successful only if they are supported by coherent policies on many levels. The prejudices of a huge part of Romanian society are strongly consolidated and we need more efforts to make exceptional cases of Roma professional success into a normal everyday reality.At the same time, as long the job of changing mentalities is still at a basic level, I consider that these kinds of campaigns have to go further, beyond the specialized press and NGOs.
