George Soros and the Fight for Roma Dignity

Origins of a Commitment

For George Soros, the idea of an open society did not merely exist in the abstract, where the rights of individuals were protected against the state. It was also personal to him. “An open society,” he once said, “is one in which a person like me can live and prosper.” As a Jew in Hungary, he survived Nazi rule and experienced the Soviet occupation. The difference between an open and closed society, he realized, was not just about the protection of minority opinions, but also the protection of minority communities. 

When communism fell in 1989, political freedoms expanded across newly independent countries, but the economic and social rights of minorities like the Roma remained elusive—the community still marginalized and impoverished. “In every country I visited,” Soros recalled, “I saw the same pattern. Roma communities were denied access to decent housing, employment, health care, and education.” 

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