'There Is Such Attitude Towards Us, Roma!'

A teenager was put in a mental hospital for stealing a phone.

15-year-old Rodion Makarov comes from a Roma family. He fell under criminal prosecution, having stolen a phone from a neighbor. During an ordinary interrogation in the Investigatory Committee, the guy was taken to a closed adult department of a psychiatric hospital, Radio Svaboda reports.

“Why have they done so to my Rodion? He's not crazy! And there, he will definitely go crazy! ”, the youngster's mother cries.

Natalya Makarova has four children. Two are adults, two are minors. The youngest son is three years old. Natalya lives in the village of Prybor, Homel region. Two weeks ago, her 15-year-old son stole a phone from a neighbor. “We returned that phone, but they started a criminal case anyway. On Friday, July 5, we came to the Investigatory Committee for questioning. Ms. Hanna from the guardianship department arrived there. She ordered my Rodion to be taken to the mental hospital. On what basis?” says Natalya.

In the morning of July 8, in the education department of the Homel regional executive committee, it became clear that Hanna Mishyna, the head of the children's rights protection sector, no longer worked there. Natalya Makarova was received by Deputy Chairman of the commission on juvenile affairs of the Homel district executive committee Alena Kavalyova. She assured that all actions of the guardianship agencies are aimed to help and protect Rodion.

Alena Kavalyova stressed that no one took away the child from Natalya, and the decision to hospitalize Rodion was taken by the doctor in a psychiatric hospital. Ms. Hanna from the sector of protection of the rights of childhood just took a teenager there for a consultation. For what purpose, why the teenager needed a psychiatrist consultation - the official of the juvenile affairs commission didn't tell.

Fiddle-footed, or loves freedom too much

The commission on juvenile affairs is aware of the situation with Rodion. A few years ago, he and his little brother, who was just born, were taken away from Natalya and placed in an orphanage due to unfavorable living conditions. Natalya improved the conditions and got her children back. However, Rodion ran away from the orphanage - and this is in the winter, in the cold. He was found in summer clothes under the bridge.

The commission believes that the teenager is fiddle-footed. They could not find him to bring to interrogation. Mother claims that Rodion just loves freedom very much, and she cannot tie him to herself with a rope. “He lives now with his dad. I did not tell where he was, when they came for him from the police and the guardianship agency, on purpose, so that they would take him to the orphanage again,” says Natalya.

“We cannot correct the way our children behave, as we haven't corrected our own behaviour.”

Now Rodion is in the 11th closed department of the Homel Regional Psychiatric Hospital. “Poor boy, he's crying, wants to go home. He's scared there. He told me that he would throw himself out of the window. Oh, how to save my baby. I will soon go to the psychiatric hospital myself,” says Natalya.

A doctor from the 11th hospital answered Natalya that she hadn’t examined Rodion yet, so she doesn’t know how long the boy will be in the hospital. “My boy has been here for four days and nobody saw him! Why was he taken here? ”, the resident of Prybor is surprised.

Natalya is sure that all the problems of the Roma are due to their laws, which contradict the Belarusian ones. “We are too freedom-loving people. We can not live by their laws. We used to live in tents. Barefoot, naked, hungry - and no one took the children from us! We all live under our own law. We cannot correct the way our children behave - after all, we have not yet corrected our own behavior. No one can change us. They explain to us how to live according to Belarusian laws, but we cannot understand this - we still do ours, and our children do ours. After all, we are free people. My parents didn't command me - I got married at 13 years old. And I can't command Rodion. Wherever he wants, he goes there,” says Natalya.

“The education system is a repressive apparatus for the Roma”

Human rights activist Maryja Klimovich has been dealing with the problems of Homel Roma for many years. She is also familiar with Natalya. The human rights activist believes that the woman “fell into a trap”.

“This is a considerable fault of officials. Previously, Natalya lived in the Brahin district. There she had good living conditions. But there was no work in the village. She was forced to move here to Prybor, to her relatives. Now she is being terrorized by the education department for poor living conditions, they are threatening to take away the children. Once the children were taken to the orphanage. Because of this, Natalya lost the right to receive benefits for the birth of a child. And for this money she could have improved their living conditions. This is a trap,” says Maryja Klimovich.