Pata Rât is located at the periphery of the city of Cluj Napoca, in Romania and serves as the space for living of three distinct groups of Roma people. In Pata Rât there is no electricity, drinkable water nor sanitary conditions.
While authorities keeps maintaining that people came voluntarily to the community, local activists of Cluj explain that members of Roma people were forced to move there. The number of people change seasonally, coming from Transylvanian villages for seasonal work, and traditional Roma families who live a semi-nomadic life.
Last week we attended the III Activist Fora organised by Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Cluj-Napoca. There, we discussed with some of the activists from the region about the concept of enviromental racism, a new term that names a reality that has existed for centuries. It refers to the experience of certain groups of people that are exposed to a greater environmental risk due to discrimination.
Watch our last episode, a discussion with Enikö Vincze, Anita Lushi, Jana Tsoneva and Claudiu Crāciun. Hosts Niccolò Milanese.