Forced sterilization of Romani women in Slovakia
Today I saw a TV magazine report on how the practice of forced sterilization of Romani women continues in Slovakia to the present day. I’m not sure if it was a syndicated report from something like AP, or whether the Estonian TV crew had actually been on the ground to shoot it locally. Probably it was the former.
Romani women are sterilized without their knowledge or consent in Slovak hospitals. When they go to have a baby, they are told that they need a C-section. They are then sedated and their baby is born, but they are also sterilized in the process. Sometimes they are made to sign papers which say they consent to this, but they don’t really understand what they’re signing.
The most disturbing part was the interviews with Slovak nurses and doctors. They made racist and derogatory generalizations about the Roma like “they all steal, are dirty and practice incest for generations so this is why they are underdeveloped now”. I’ve studied a bit of Nazi history. It sounded exactly like the Nazi officials talking about the Jews. So effectively the Slovak medical system is practicing their own version of Roma genocide.
I found it quite disturbing that something like this is happening in the European Union to the present day and while the EU declares itself to be a community of values and human rights, it doesn’t really do much to stop this practice. I can understand that something like this may happen in a remote third world location, but within the EU itself it’s just incomprehensible.
Feed
Eesti keeles