Author Archives: Roma Foundation

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Lunik IX Children Choir

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Ondrej Ferko leads the Devjatkakare čhave choir, with almost 40 children from the Luník IX housing estate in Košice. They performed during the Pope’s visit to Slovakia and in the television competition Czechoslovakia has talent. “In three years, we have destroyed stereotypes for other educators, who thought that nothing could be done with these children. And we also destroyed the children’s self-doubt,” says Ferko.

At the beginning, Milan Dulina, director of the Ľ Elementary School, also joined the work. Together with choirmaster Ferko, they explain, among other things, how they work with promising singers and also how artistic training has changed the results of children at school.

Ferko added “Roma children are not born knowing how to sing well, it takes a lot of hard work”.

Germany News Western Europe

New Head

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The Antiziganism research center at the University of Heidelberg has a new head: Prof. Dr. Tanja Penter. The Rector of the Ruperto Carola, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel appointed the professor of Eastern European history as director at the beginning of the year. In this function she succeeds the Heidelberg contemporary historian Prof. Dr. Edgar Wolfram. The institution, which was established in 2017, investigates mechanisms of prejudice formation and practices of discrimination and persecution of Sinti and Roma in Europe from a historically comparative perspective.

Germany News Western Europe

Paintings in Heidelberg

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The Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma is showing paintings by the Benedictine monk Lukas Ruegenberg until March 19. Together with numerous fellow campaigners, the 94-year-old supported families in the Roma settlement of Habeš in Slovakia. This resulted in impressive and colorful paintings. The public vernissage will take place on Wednesday, February 8th at 6 p.m.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Series

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Alžbeta Ferencova, an actress, singer, dancer, who plays the main character in the series “Iveta”, talks about the portrayal of Roma in the series and about her great-grandmother, the first Roma writer Elena Lacková, in an interview.

The series Iveta opens up Roma topics in Slovakia, such as racism, stereotypes and eastern Slovakia. It was filmed by the Czech director Jan Hřebejk. The mayor of Trebišov, who was offended by the portrayal of his city, has also spoken out.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic: Demonstration

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In the Stodolní Street in the center of Ostrava in the eastern part of the country, about a hundred Roma demonstrated in the early evening on Wednesday. They protested against the fact that security guards of some bars in this area allegedly physically attack Roma visitors for no reason, and the police allegedly do nothing about this violence. The crowd reached the nearby police station.

The event was called by Roma activist David Mezei. “There were two such cases in January alone, when the security guard beat up a young visitor for no reason just because he is Rom. It doesn’t work like that anymore. The police only save money, but they never investigate anything,” Mezei was angry, with other participants of the demonstration shouting in agreement.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Holocaust

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On February 2, 1943, in Imbramowice, near Wrocław, the Germans murdered 43 Roma, including women and children from families who lived there with Polish families at the time. It is also known that seven people escaped, the Germans caught them and murdered them the next day in Wolbrom. There were 50 victims in total.

The secretary of the Roma Association in Poland, Władysław Kwiatkowski is related to the families of the victims of the German murder and commemorates this murder 80 years ago.

May they rest in peace.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Lety Memorial

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The memorial to the Roma Holocaust on the grounds of the former pig farm in Lety will be completed within a year and will cost 199 million CZK (4.2 million EUR). In February, the winner of the competition for the indoor and outdoor exhibition of the monument will be announced.

Austria News Western Europe

Motion for a Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Yesterday evening, the National Council unanimously passed a motion for a resolution to the government with the aim of recognizing the genocide of Roma and Sinti during National Socialism as a historical fact and establishing August 2 as a national day of remembrance for all victims of this genocide.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic: Roma Integration

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Last week, the Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs, Lucie Fuková, met with the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and the Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartoš. They discussed the functioning of the Agency for Social Inclusion and the solution to the social exclusion of Roma not only in economically disadvantaged regions.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Poverty and Hunger

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A blog article in Slovakia that reflects many stereotypes. Young Roma groomed for begging for food. They are dirty, badly dressed. And among them, one exemplary young Rom who doesn’t want to turn out like his parents.

What the blog is mentions is that the shop in the village is 30 to 50% more expensive than the supermarket. The blogger misses the fact that these Roma cannot go to the supermarket, as they have no car…

In brief, a very bad article.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, School, and Roma

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Slovakia, School, and Roma

Up to 99 percent of the students of the Hungarian-language Lajos Mocsáry Elementary School in Fiľakovo, headed by Ildikó Kotlárová (55), are Roma. She also is a Romni, from the Olah (Vlach) group. While traditionally, women from this group marry very early, thus interrupting their studies, she chose a different path and today, is a role model for many. In the interview, she says that many of the pupils in school come hungry. It is bad.

Germany News Western Europe

German Evangelical Church and Roma

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The head of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Anette Kurschus, acknowledged that her church was involved in the exclusion of Sinti and Roma during the National Socialist period. Kurschus said in Berlin that the Evangelical Church took many blamable actions. The church was involved in betraying people and handing them over to be destroyed. Kurschus also announced an increased commitment against today’s discrimination of the minority.

This is a historical event. When will the other denominations follow?

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Around two hundred Roma live in the municipality of Šentjernej in Slovenia in several. Roma representatives in the local administration are now boycotting the sessions of the municipal council. Darka Brajdič, the former elected Roma representative, says without hesitation what bothers her about her work so far in the Šentjernej municipal council:

“I was not heard, much less considered. In the last mandate, the current mayor has never been among the Roma, he does not know how they live, what needs and opportunities they have. In our municipality, Roma families are not treated the same as others, they even oppose Roma if they want to do something themselves.”

France News Western Europe

France, the Holocaust, and Roma

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A conference in Strasbourg on the Alsatian criminal police and the persecution of Sinti and Roma between 1940 and 1944.

At last one speaks about it.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French television presents a movie about a young Romni who studies and wants to escape an arranged marriage, which according to the television is the tradition among Roma. Not quite correct, after all stereotypes are always ok about Roma. Other news are more usual: A fire in a camp in Fresnes and residents in Thiais protesting delays of closing a camp, both near Paris. And a house that was squatted by Roma in Grenoble is destroyed.

News Western Europe United Kingdom

The Church and Roma

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The Church of England took a positive step and recognized that the church played a significant role in anti-Roma racism.  When are the other churches (and also non-Christian denominations) going to do the same?

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