Or rather, help the brother of a brother out.
My brother Eric is traveling to Hungary and Bulgaria this coming summer and fall to conduct research on marginalized Roma-Gypsy populations in the Balkans. He has received a fellowship from the International Organization for Migration, however, he still has to raise some money to fund the rest of his trip.
If you can spare $10, $20, $50, $500... whatever, you will be helping him out and helping a good cause.
You can find the link to his site here, as well as a summary of his work below-
As part of my work with the Human Trafficking Clinic, I was recently
offered a fellowship opportunity with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC),
the world's leading Roma rights organization, in Budapest, Hungary. I will spend
approximately three months working in the organization's main office in Budapest
researching instances of Romani human trafficking in the media and preparing a
report which will be included in the ERRC's comprehensive human trafficking
report to be disseminated at a conference on December 10,
2010.
Following my work in Budapest I will spend three months in
Bulgaria doing field work and research for a policy paper to be co-published by
the Human Trafficking Clinic and ERRC. The research aims to explore the
push/pull vulnerability factors which increase the risk of human trafficking for
young Romani women. In order to conduct this research I will be working in
Romani neighborhoods in Sofia, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik and Bratsigovo.
As most of
you know, I have been actively involved in Roma rights and anti-human
trafficking work since my time in the Peace Corps. One of the most disturbing
trends which I found in Eastern Europe is the incredibly high levels of racism
and discrimination directed at the Roma by majority populations. While living in
Bratsigovo I became incredibly close with the Romani community and found them to
be some of the kindest, most generous people I have ever come across. Despite
this, approximately 10 million Roma across Europe live in abject poverty with
incredibly high levels of unemployment and illiteracy stemming from a vicious
cycle of racism and discrimination. Due to their marginalized position, the Roma
are at an extremely high risk of human trafficking. Although many studies have
superficially stated that trafficking of Roma is a growing problem, very little
in-depth research has been conducted on the matter. The results of my research
will be groundbreaking in both the human trafficking and Roma rights
fields.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to
combine two of my passions while contributing to efforts to ameliorate the
situation of Roma across Europe and abolish modern slavery and human
trafficking. Unfortunately, due to the specialized nature of this project very
little funds are available to support me in my research. Although I will be
contributing a significant amount of my personal funds to this project, I still
have a way to go in order to reach my goal.
Without your help, my
fellowship and research will not be possible. The money I raise will help
support me for my six months abroad while I serve as an unpaid researcher. It
will be used to cover housing, living and research expenses.
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