Ramnicu Sarat

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Last update 12/10/2016

Râmnicu Sărat is a town in Buzau County, Romania. It is situated roughly 6 km from Ramnicelu, another ROMACT municipality.  According to the 2011 National Census, out of a total population of 33,843 persons, 2,797 declared themselves to be Roma.  However, based on alternative unofficial sources for the municipality, the Roma population in Râmnicu Sărat exceeds 3,500 persons in Râmnicu Sărat alone. There are four additional Roma communities in the municipality which are concentrated in three compact areas (Costieni - cca 700, Zidari - cca 2500, and Barasca - cca 700) and a fourth part spread throughout the city.

Around 30% of the Roma population belong to lăieși group, and the remaining 70% is divided between zidari, cărămidari and spoitori. The different communities bear the names of their traditional occupations - professions which are still practiced today: zidari, traditional mason workers in construction; cărămidari are traditional brick makers; and spoitori traditional tin pot painters. The spoitori  group are the only Roma community who have preserved the use of Romani language.
One of the most important issues of the Râmnicu Sărat Roma community is the lack of property and identification documents (this is a challenge for approximately 25% of the 875 Roma households in the municipality). Some houses were built without construction permits in flood plains which makes them not only impossible to legalise, but also a threat to the safety of their residents. The lack of IDs impacts the ability of Roma citizens to find formal work and also to access health insurance and other social rights. Additionally, infrastructure is lacking in some areas of the municipality, in some areas there is a complete lack of utilities (running water, sewerage systems, electricity, paved roads, public means of transport), this is a problem found particularly in the more compact Roma communities. In terms of health, around 25% of the total Roma population is not covered by the national health care system. There is also a high drop-out rate among Roma children, an issue that the municipality had tried to address through a tutoring programme, which was ended due to lack of funding.