Roma NGOs from Kosovo and Serbia are collaborating all the while the respective majority populations are increasingly at odd.
Dr. Tsvetan Tsenkov, the Mayor of the Vidin municipality, has decided to move the 8 polling stations that traditionally were located in the Roma neighbourhood of Nov Pat, to other parts of town. According to the mayor, this is to prevent irregularities and voter manipulation.
Well, it will also prevent man Roma from voting…
An editorial on the disastrous conditions faced by some segregated Roma settlements in Slovakia. The author cites that it is totally unacceptable that people live in conditions of the 15th (sic!) century. He also states that nothing has been done in the last 20 years, and that segregated education is not acceptable either.
An article in the Italian press about the role of Roma in the Italian resistance during the fascist era. Their contribution was not recognised and forgotten.
After the announcement by Volvo that in their new factory in Eastern Slovakia they will employ Roma, the Slovak Government is pitching in … Fact is, the car industry will need up to 25’000 new workers, and the Volvo factory needs 7’500 by itself. This will not be possible without Roma.
A new book of Romani Tales from the former Czechoslovakia originally recorded by Milena Hübschmannová, a well-known Romologue, was just published in Czechia. In contrast to older books of Roma tales that were extremely successful in Czechoslovakia in the 60s and 70s, these tales were not severely edited to make them more “palatable” to a non-Romani audience. This newer book present stories that are thus quite different. Raw, dishevelled, expressive; disorganized, full of digressions, the irregular structure sometimes makes readers dizzy.
A Czech reportage on the notorious Lunik IX Roma housing estate outside of Košice, Slovakia. According to the reportage, an average of 12 people live in each of the flats of the estate.
The article also recalls how this ghetto was created: Originally, there were both Roma and others living there. Ut from 1995 onward, the city relocated Roma from the centre to the estate, and non-Roma to the centre. In addition, people who did not pay their rent were also relocated there. So, effectively, the population in Lunik IX is almost entirely Roma.
The usual this week in the French news. The story of a camp that is slated for demolition on the outskirts of Nantes, in Western France; finally, a short respite for another camp near Strasbourg.
Fruzsina Benkő founded InDaHouse in the most disadvantaged area of Borsod, one of the poorest Hungarian Counties in 2014, driven by her own resources, her frustration with the child protection system, her personal desire to do something and, as she says in the interview, some naivety.
The aim is to show the Roma children that the majority society can believe in them.
Difficult in Hungary …
A reportage in a Budapest district that is going to be displaced for building the National University of Public Service’s teacher training school. Where’s the catch: Well, 80% of the residents are Roma. And they fear that they will be relocated to nowhere, in the countryside.
Clearly, the buildings are in need of repairs, but many residents invested and renovated their flats by themselves. Now, they are being expropriated by the state.
According to Ingrid Kosová, member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for Progressive Slovakia, it is very important that Roma have representation in political parties. At the same time, she emphasized that they must be experts. “Personally, I would like political parties to choose Romani candidates who are experts, and not just because they are Roma,” she said in an exclusive interview for the first Romani internet television, ROMEA TV, in which she spoke with Jarmila Balážová about her journey into politics, the importance of Roma representation in political structures and her priorities as a parliamentarian.
An article on Roma Refugees from the Ukraine in Germany. They are fleeing war, but instead of help, in Germany they often experience racism. The Center for Reporting and Information on Antigypsyism demands action.
More than 1.1 million people fled to Germany from the war in Ukraine, including, it is estimated, several thousand Roma, members of Europe’s largest ethnic minority. While other Ukrainian refugees received unbureaucratic and warm care, most arriving Roma experienced a very different Germany: overly formalized, unhelpful, suspicious, derogatory and racist.
A reportage on a Roma theatre in Hamburg fighting against racism in Germany.
The story of a girl’s dream come true.
In March, the final conference of the “Together we are developing Roma civil society” project took place in the Svornost hotel in Prague. This project, which started in October 2021 and ends in April 2024, aimed to support the development of Roma civil society in Prague.
The RomPrague association, as an umbrella organization of other non-profit entities, established a platform on which, by setting up regular and systematic cooperation of Roma non-profit organizations, the foundations were laid for mutual exchange of information and discussion not only between representatives of these organizations, but also representatives of city districts, the City Hall of Prague and other entities whose touches on the integration of Roma.
Over last weekend there was a shooting in the Roma settlement Kerinov Grm in the area of the Krško Municipality. While the police intervened and wanted to detain one of the suspects, residents of the local settlement threw stones at the police car.
The former Director General of the Police, Anton Olaj, believes that “the government’s lack of readiness to systematically regulate the Roma issue is reflected in the escalation of violence”. At the same time, he calls on the government to “present the promised softer and “better” solutions to the public after the rejection of the legal initiative of the eleven mayors of SE Slovenia”.
This is a recurring theme in Slovenia and of course populists are on the forefront.
A class for Roma children recently opened in Ostrava. Its goal is to make it easier for them to start kindergarten. According to the Ostrava organization Vzájemne sožižití, up to a quarter of Roma children do not go to kindergartens. Therefore, in one of the local community centres, they started operating a product called Brouček, which children can go to before starting kindergarten.
The Czech Senate, like the government, adopted the definition of anti-Roma racismn, i.e. so-called anti-Tziganism. However, when compared to the government’s proposal, the senate modified its version of the non-legally binding definition to be more in line with the English original, which was established in 2020 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
Less than a month ago, the Roma settlement of Dobruška Vas in the municipality of Škocjan was left without a kindergarten. It was set on fire by a stranger, and the fire completely destroyed the structure. Fires are apparently common in the mentioned settlement, but the the municipality nevertheless decided to build a new kindergarten. According to the mayor Jože Kapler, they hope that it will be in ready in May.
Nikolas Petik, a successful Rom, is part of a program that goes into schools to tell the story of successful Roma to motivate younger Roma to study.
The event is intended to motivate children and their parents for personal development and education, and at the same time introduce the general public to inspiring Roma personalities who overcame a number of obstacles on their way to success. Lucie Fuková, the government commissioner for the affairs of the Roma minority and a native of Pardubice, will also be present.
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