Activists in Slovenia say Roma need to become more active in politics and be recognised as a minority so that they can have a representative in Parliament. This later point is always a subject of debate. What an a minority representative do in a parliament?
– Roma need representative in National Assembly, debate hears. In: STA. 17.11.2017. https://english.sta.si/2451623/roma-need-representative-in-national-assembly-debate-hears
An article about two Roma activists and feminists in Spain and their struggle against traditions but also against the paternalism they face on the “regular” feminist side. They say that Gadže (Payo in Calo), treat them like “talking moneys”…
– Gitanas feministas: “Las payas nos tratan como si fuéramos monos que hablan”. In: El Confidencial. 16.11.2017. https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2017-11-16/gitanas-feministas-las-payas-nos-tratan-como-si-fueramos-monos-que-hablan_1478723/
A Hungarian town is going to extreme means to get rid of its Roma: They pay them 1.5 Mio HUF, a huge sum (more than a year of net salary in the countryside) if they live town. The town seems to be awash in funds and happens to be the hometown of Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták.
– Kisvárda offers Roma families $5,650 to leave town. In: Budapest Beacon. 16.11.2017. https://budapestbeacon.com/kisvarda-offers-roma-residents-5650-to-leave-town/
Jaroslav Staník, the secretary of the Czech rightist party ‘Freedom and Direct Democracy” of Tomio Okamura is prone to verbal abuse. He recently suggested to gas all homosexuals, Jews, and Roma.
In which century and times does he live?
– Tschechischer Politiker: Juden, Homosexuelle und Roma vergasen. In: Qeer. 13.11.2017. http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=30081
An article about the additional pensions voted in Germany for people who had to do forced labour in camps and ghettoes during World War Two. The law makes it almost impossible for Roma and Sinti to get these, as they need a proof of having been registered for 5 years. An eternity in their case.
– Woran die Auszahlung von Ghetto-Renten scheitert. In: Deutschlandfunk. 17.11.2017. http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/zwangsarbeit-woran-die-auszahlung-von-ghetto-renten.862.de.html?dram:article_id=400843
A really worrying trend in Berlin: Stumbling stones, these little stones encased in the pavement remembering victims of the Holocaust, are being removed an destroyed. A worrying trend.
– Vandals Are Attacking Berlin’s Powerful Citywide Holocaust Memorial. In: City Lab. 16.11.2017. https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/11/berlin-stolpersteine/545990/
A social worker who exposed a large children sexual abuse ring has said that encountered similar structures among Roma. She says that girls as young as ten or eleven where forced into prostitution – implicitly by other Roma.
This is bad.
– Fear for Roma ignored in Rotherham. In: The Times. 17.11.2017. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fear-for-roma-ignored-in-rotherham-hq3wtbjvn
The Liberal and Libertarian Party SaS in Slovakia unveiled their plans for Roma. A new ministry for “socially excluded communities” and help linked to “merit” and willingness to do something.
One can only wonder how this will be measured …
– Politika hrubšej palice nedostane Rómov z pasce chudoby. In: SME. 16.11.2017. https://komentare.sme.sk/c/20695376/politika-hrubsej-palice-nedostane-romov-z-pasce-chudoby.html
– Nicholsonová chce nové ministerstvo pre Rómov. Vládny splnomocnenec krúti hlavou! In: Plus. 13.11.2017. https://www1.pluska.sk/Spravy/Z-domova/Nicholsonova-chce-nove-ministerstvo-pre-Romov.-Vladny-splnomocnenec-len-kruti-hlavou
A Canadian ethnology professor studying Roma in the Prešov region has been arrested for possession of child pornography and for abducting an 11 years old girl.
– V Prešove zatkli profesora, ktorý skúmal Rómov. V počítači mal detské porno. In: Aktuality. 15.11.2017. https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/539262/v-presove-zatkli-profesora-ktory-skumal-romov-v-pocitaci-mal-detske-porno/
It seems that some schools in Slovakia are considering Roma children as a business rather than as pupils who need to be taught. In brief, the staff selected children, apparently overwhelmingly Roma, diagnosing them with various health disabilities, which resulted in their subsequent inclusion in a group of pupils with special educational needs where the school could receive more than twice the amount of money than for standard pupils.
Slovakia has a long story of putting Roma children in classes for mentally disabled people – before basically as racism, now for profit…
– Kto zarába na rómskych žiakoch. In: Dennik. 15.11.2017. https://dennikn.sk/blog/kto-zaraba-na-romskych-ziakoch/
More on the controversy about the German children movie “Nelly’s Adventure” with split opinions.
We share the opinions of the German Council of Sinti and Roma. The movie promotes the usual negative stereotypes about Roma.
– Überwiegend Zuspruch für “Nellys Abenteuer”. In: Welt N24. 12.11.2017. https://www.welt.de/regionales/baden-wuerttemberg/article170545909/Ueberwiegend-Zuspruch-fuer-Nellys-Abenteuer.html
– Sinti und Roma kritisieren SWR-Jugendfilm. In: badische Zeitung. 10.11.2017. http://www.badische-zeitung.de/computer-medien-1/sinti-und-roma-kritisieren-swr-jugendfilm–144794702.html
– Ist der SWR-Film „Nellys Abenteuer“ rassistisch? In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten. 08.11.2017. http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.kritik-von-sinti-und-roma-ist-der-swr-film-nellys-abenteuer-rassistisch.36eb4510-77fb-4ec8-8265-3fd50f17d547.html
– „Nellys Abenteuer“ rassistisch? – SWR strahlt Film vorzeitig aus. In: Südkurier. 10.11.2017. https://www.suedkurier.de/nachrichten/panorama/Nellys-Abenteuer-rassistisch-SWR-strahlt-Film-vorzeitig-aus;art409965,9490767
An article about organised crime in Rome and the role of Roma in the mafia – some of the businesses like in Ostia are in Roma hands.
Bad for all.
– I nuovi clani e le altre mafie, ecco le famiglie che stanno conquistando Roma. In: Notizie Tiscali. 13.11.2017. http://notizie.tiscali.it/cronaca/articoli/sinti-mafie-lazio-roma./
A few articles from Slovakia on the comments of the Czech President on Czech Roma. Zeman said on television that 90% of “inadaptable citizen” are Roma and only10% are white.
– Zeman nahneval českých Rómov. In: Aktuality. 12.11.2017. https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/538263/zeman-nahneval-ceskych-romov/
– Český prezident popudil proti sebe Rómov. In: Pravda. 13.11.2017. http://kormidlo.blog.pravda.sk/2017/11/13/cesky-prezident-popudil-proti-sebe-romov-2/
Ten years ago, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the segregation of children, in this case 18 Roma who were placed in a school for children with mental impairments and asked for equal access for all children in the EU.
There is still work to be done!
– Call to action: Bring children together for diversity. In: FRA. 13.11.2017. http://fra.europa.eu/en/press-release/2017/call-action-bring-children-together-diversity
Roma Ostrava demonstrated for equal access to quality education. In the Czech Republic, it is well known (and noted by the UN and EU) that Roma are discriminated against in the school system.
– Almost 2 000 Roma assemble in Czech town to ask for equal access to quality education. In: Romea. 13.11.2017. http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/almost-2-000-roma-assemble-in-czech-town-to-ask-for-equal-access-to-quality-education
The Czech President Miloš Zeman, in an interview broadcasted on Cable TV in the Czech Republic stated that 90% of “inadaptable citizen” are Roma and only10% are white.
The Full quote is: “It is probably true that 90 percent of them are Roma. Nevertheless, there may also be 10 percent of white lazybones and we have to approach both [groups] equally. Only if we discriminated against either of the two groups, either positively or negatively, it would amount to human rights violation,”
Not sure how Mr. Zeman arrived at his numbers, but he certainly has preconceived views of the world. Shame on him. Activists are protesting and calling for people not to re-elect Zeman in the January 2018 elections.
– Czech President says 90 % of “inadaptable citizens” are Romani. In: Romea. 13.11.2017. http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-president-says-90-of-inadaptable-citizens-are-romani
– Roma reps condemn Zeman’s words, warn of his re-election. In: The Prague Monitor. 13.11.2017. http://www.praguemonitor.com/2017/11/13/roma-reps-condemn-zemans-words-warn-his-re-election
– Civil society members of Czech Govt Roma Council call on voters not to re-elect Zeman. In: Romea. 13.11.2017. http://www.romea.cz/en/features-and-commentary/reportage/civil-society-members-of-czech-govt-roma-council-call-on-voters-not-to-re-elect-zeman
The German Central Council of Sinti and Roma sees itself proven right in having stated that the children movie “Nelly’s Adventures” is actually racist and present a stereotyped view of Roma.
– Nach der Diskussion : Zentralrat Deutscher Sinti und Roma sieht seine Kritik am Film ‚Nellys Abenteuer‘ bestätigt: Film produziert Angst vor dem Fremden. Zentralrat Sinti und Roma. 12.11.2017. http://zentralrat.sintiundroma.de/nach-der-diskussion-zentralrat-deutscher-sinti-und-roma-sieht-seine-kritik-am-film-nellys-abenteuer-bestaetigt-film-produziert-angst-vor-dem-fremden/
The Czech republic has been under pressure at the UN in Geneva reading Roma and the persisting racism and discrimination against them in the Czech Republic.
Good!
– INTÉGRATION DES ROMS ET MONTÉE DU RACISME : L’ONU RECOMMANDE À LA TCHÉQUIE D’EN FAIRE PLUS. In: Radio Praha. 07.11.2017. http://www.radio.cz/fr/rubrique/faits/integration-des-roms-et-montee-du-racisme-lonu-recommande-a-la-tchequie-den-faire-plus
– LE PRÉSIDENT ZEMAN CRITIQUÉ PAR LES REPRÉSENTANTS DE LA MINORITÉ ROM. In: Radio Praha. 12.11.2017. http://www.radio.cz/fr/rubrique/infos/le-president-zeman-critique-par-les-representants-de-la-minorite-rom
An initiative in the Canton Vaud in Switzerland to forbid begging was approved by the cantonal parliament. It is currently suspended while court proceedings against it are in progress. This raises the question as to whether begging is a right.
Actually, the real question is whether this law was racist as it was aimed solely at Roma begging in the street of Lausanne.
– Mendier est-il un droit fondamental? In: Swiss Info. 08.11.2017. https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/economie/à-la-justice-de-trancher_mendier-est-il-un-droit-fondamental-/43654278
In Litvinov, in the Czech Republic, several Roma families have had their water supply cut off in spite of having paid their rents…
– Czech housing estate sees water cut off, situation is critical for residents. In: Romea. 31.10.2017. http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-housing-estate-sees-water-cut-off-situation-is-critical-for-residents
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