On occasion of the World Roma Day (April 8), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has sent an urgent appeal to the Federal Government, the federal and state Interior Ministers as well as to the political parties and parliamentarians, asking them to agree on permanent residence permits for the about 5,000 Roma-children from Kosovo who have been living in Germany since one and a half decades, or at least to advocate on their behalf. "We would like to ask you to finally break up the vicious circle in which the refugees are trapped, as it keeps them from making plans for the future. The 5,000 children, most of whom were born and raised here, are suffering incredibly. Germany is their home and German has long become their native language. We appeal to you: Make sure that these children are not constantly disappointed, so they will not lose their hope for a life in safety and dignity. It is in your hands!" says the letter of the STP's Secretary General, Tilman Zülch, which was also signed by Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, by Zoni Weisz, a Dutch Sinto Holocaust-survivor, and by Grattan Puxon, former Secretary General of the World Romani Union.

The about 5,000 Roma refugee children from Kosovo and their parents – who were tolerated in Germany for many years – must now expect to be deported soon. Many of the children and adolescents were born here. Because most of them were only tolerated, their parents are usually unable to find work. They are not even allowed to leave the respective federal state or administrative district. Just like the children and adolescents, they are often exposed to open or subliminal discrimination.

"If the Roma children, who grew up here, and their families are deported to Kosovo, they will be uprooted – and our political leaders will be accused of driving these people into misery knowingly," warned the STP. "Please send a sign of hope now! Liberate the Roma refugee children and their parents from the agonizing, nerve-wrecking uncertainty – and grant these German-speaking children permanent residence permits to free them of their fear of an uncertain future! Agree on a quota-solution for them!"

According to Dzafer Buzoli, the STP's representative in Kosovo, the situation of the Roma in the country is just about hopeless. The members of this minority are still suffering from harsh discrimination – and most of them live in total distress. Roma are usually unable to find a job, they don't get medical treatment if they are ill – and their children are teased and excluded at school. In 1999, after the NATO intervened in the Kosovo War, 120.000 of the previously around 150,000 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians were driven out of the country by nationalist Albanians. 14,000 of the approximately 19,000 homes in their communities were destroyed, and 75 of their neighborhoods and villages were razed to the ground.