Monthly Archives: December 2023

Europe

Europe, Roma, and Education

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Most national governments in Europe, the European Commission and other international organizations agree that Roma are left out by the educational systems. The latest report of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights shows disastrous results in 10 countries, including EU member states Romania and Hungary, as well as North Macedonia and Serbia.

The proportion of Roma who felt discriminated against when addressing school authorities has increased over the past five years, the report said. Ethnic segregation in schools has increased among children aged six to 15. The share of young Roma between the ages of 20 and 24 with at least secondary school education remained mostly at the same low level as in previous years.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Jarovnice – Slovakia

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Michal Šľachta has been working in Jarovnice since the summer. He worked for ten years at the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government for Roma communities in Bratislava. In the summer, he accepted an offer to work in Jarovnice. Almost 7,500 inhabitants live in the village, around 70 to 80 percent are from the Roma community.

He wants the village to apply for becoming a town, and wants to finally name streets and number houses. The current ghetto doesn’t have any street names.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Music, and Roma

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When a half-Romani and successful singer releases a traditional song in Romanes, and mangles a few words, this unleashes a flood of criticism from the Roma community. There are valid points in the critique, but on the other hand, it is good that well known artists endorse their origins.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia and Roma Integration

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A forum was held in the city administration of the City of Pancevo on the revised strategy for the social inclusion of Roma men and women. The Roma Cultural Centre Pancevo organized the forum on the topic “Presentation of the strategy for the social inclusion of Roma men and women 2022-2030” with the support of the City.

Will it help?

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Fights

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A fight between two Roma families was allegedly prevented by the intervention of the police forces. The attack was supposed to take place in the “Kaltinets” district of Gorno-Oryahov, the press center of the Regional Directorate of the Police in Veliko Tarnovo announced.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia: New Centre

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The Roma community centre in Beli Manastir just opened, as the result of a joint initiative and cooperation of the City of Beli Manastir and the Association of Roma in the Republic of Croatia “Kali Sara”. Support was provided by the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds and the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia and Education

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According to the article, education, being the most important segment of the Strategy for improving the position of Roma men and women, primarily aims to include Roma children and youth in Serbia’s education system. Pedagogical assistants in primary schools is very important factor of this strategy and they have multiple roles.

Ganimeta Zejnula, pedagogical assistant at the “Petar Petrović Njegoš” Primary School in Zrenjanin, drew attention to the results achieved by Roma students who receive assistance in their studies on a daily basis.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Pianist and Presenter

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The young pianist Orsolya Lázoková, a Romni from Tornale, Slovakia, where she works as a television presenter at Madrom TV. She is a graduate of the Private Music and Drama Conservatory in R. Sobota and is currently continuing her piano studies in Banská Štiavnica. She enjoys her work as a presenter and editor and gathers new experiences.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Discrimination?

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Renáta Karchňáková comes from Vranov nad Topľou, Slovakia, and has never denied she is a Romni. She has a university degree, works as a nurse, and says that people respect educated and decent Roma.
She may be right, but frankly, this would be a real exception…

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland, Social Housing, and Roma

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Another article in a long series about Roma in the city of Pułlawy, Poland. This time about Roma who illegally live in vacant premises in social housing…

The real questions i.e. why are there vacant premises, and why can’t the Roma get to them legally are not addressed here.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma and Schools in Slovakia

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Ildikó Kotlárová comes from the Olaš (VlaX) Roma community and has been breaking stereotypes since she was a child. As a teacher and director of the Lajos Mocsáry Elementary School in Fiľakovo, which is attended primarily by students from the Roma community, she fights against stereotypes.

She says that those who live in generational poverty cannot lead their sons and daughters to education. Even if they wanted to learn, they don’t have the finances to do so.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Discrimination

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A polemic article in the Slovenian press on Roma and on the defender of the principle of equality of the country. Basically, they say that Miha Lobnik, defender of the principle of equality, must ensure that Roma “are discriminated against” in order for him to justify his salary and that of his 28 employees.

Well, in Slovenia, discrimination against Roma is ripe. The article tends to dismiss it.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Roma in Serbia

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The association “Urma” was founded in 2003, and the primary area of activity was the preservation and nurturing of Roma heritage, through traditional Roma dance and music performed by members of the cultural and artistic society. They received funding from the competition of the Provincial Secretariat for the Economy, Employment and Gender Equality for the performance of public works. Miodrag Veldi, president of the association, spoke to Telegraf.rs about the implementation of this work.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia: Romodrom

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As part of the traditional musical and stage event ROMODROM, organized by the Roma Cultural Centre, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy the music of the Amaro Del group and the recitation of the actress Iskra Brajović, who interpreted verses in the Roma and Serbian languages, Miroslav Mika Antić and Jovan Nikolić Jofa.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Another case of the Roma “problem” in Slovenia. In this case, the difficult cohabitation of Roma and locals in the town of Šentjernej. The people there apparently no longer feel safe in their municipality, the situation is getting worse, and their trust in state authorities to improve things is decreasing. Apparently, insecurity is indeed increasing.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Poetry in Serbia

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The Association of Roma Writers and the Association of Writers of Serbia organised a poetry New Year and presented the book “December Meetings” – a collection of poetry for children and adults, prose and aphorisms, as part of the traditional Poetry New Year.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Business Seminars

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More than 80 Roma from Žarnovica and its surroundings took part in infoseminars aimed at starting their own business. The Black and White civic association organized these free seminars for Roma people interested in starting an independent business in the region.

“In total, we conducted 12 seminars on the topics: Legal forms of business (starting/restarting your own business), Economic aspects of business and Basics of marketing for small entrepreneurs. 84 interested people took part in these, a quarter of them were women, which makes us very happy.” said Andrej Kováč, chairman of the civic association.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Interview

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An interview with Sonia Styrkacz, a psychologist from a Silesian Roma family married to a Carpathian Polish Rom.On Christmas traditions, she says: “On Christmas Eve, various traditions mix in our house – Romani, Polish, Catholic, Silesian, highlander. I am a Silesian Roma, my husband is a mountain Roma from Podhale, so our family traditions are different. In my family home, holidays were a time of meeting, peace and conversation. Religious aspects receded into the background. For my husband, there are no holidays without mass. We also have different culinary traditions – my husband’s family fasted on Christmas Eve, while mine ate meat. We weren’t preparing maybe 12 dishes, but there had to be a lot of food – stuffed cabbage rolls, pork chops and minced meat, roulades, which we took over from Silesian cuisine.”

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