Category Archives: Croatia

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The Story of an Expulsion

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An interview of the young Rromni Leonarda Dibrani who was expulsed from France together with her family (in spite of being in school). While they were expelled to Kosovo, she now lives in Croatia, which says a lot about the “safety” of Kosovo for Rroma. And it is difficult for her.
A worthy read on the damage of mistaken Refugee policies.

– La jeune rom kosovare, expulsée avec sa famille de notre pays en 2013, a raconté son quotidien en Croatie à “BFMtv”. “Je peux venir en France quand je veux !”, a-t-elle notamment lancé. In: Planet.fr. 09.01.2017. http://www.planet.fr/international-la-nouvelle-vie-de-leonarda-en-croatie.1280920.29335.html
– Leonarda Dibrani : “J’ai envie de revenir en France pour remercier les gens qui m’ont aidée. In: France Infos. 09.01.2017. http://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/roms/expulsion-de-leonarda/leonarda-dibrani-j-ai-envie-de-revenir-en-france-pour-remercier-les-gens-qui-m-ont-aidee_2008851.html [link-preview url=”http://www.planet.fr/international-la-nouvelle-vie-de-leonarda-en-croatie.1280920.29335.html “]

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Croatian Misstep

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The Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic posed on a picture with a Croatian flag bearing the symbol of the Ustaša during a visit in Canada. The flag, while being close to the current Croatian one, shows the coat of arms starting with a white square on the left hand corner, which is the Ustaša pattern.
Knowing the current revisionists views in Croatia concerning their fascist past, this is not really good …

– La présidente croate sur une photo à côté d’un blason pro-nazi. In: La Libre. 26.11.2016. http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/la-presidente-croate-sur-une-photo-a-cote-d-un-blason-pro-nazi-5839c5ffcd70a4454c05b929 [link-preview url=”http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/la-presidente-croate-sur-une-photo-a-cote-d-un-blason-pro-nazi-5839c5ffcd70a4454c05b929″]

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Croatia: Prime Minister Attends International Romanes Day

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The Croatian Prime minister Plenkovic attended the celebration of the international Romanes day in Zagreb.

– Prime Minister Plenkovic attended International Romani Language Day. In: Government of Croatia. 04.11.2016. https://vlada.gov.hr/glavni-izbornik-14951/news/prime-minister-plenkovic-attended-international-romani-language-day/19581?big=0 [link-preview url=”https://vlada.gov.hr/glavni-izbornik-14951/news/prime-minister-plenkovic-attended-international-romani-language-day/19581?big=0″]

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Croatia: Stepinac Rehabilitated

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Croatia: Stepinac Rehabilitated

Croatia rehabilitated Cardinal Stepinac. The cardinal had been condemned in 1946 in a trial, which according to the current judge violated his right to a fair trial. May well be, but Stepinac was a supporter of the Ustaša regime and he never condemned their actions, especially not the killings of Jews and Rroma.

Stepinac is and remains a supporter of mass murderers.

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German Dictionary and Ustasha

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German Dictionary and Ustasha

The Duden is at the centre of a controversy regarding the Ustasha. In its latest definition, they say “Croatian Nationalist movement who fought against Serbian centralism”. This prompted a backlash in the Web, as the Ustasha are definitively Nazis who killed all Rroma in Croatia (yes) and nearly all the Jews there.

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Football: Callas to Ban Croatian Song

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Football: Callas to Ban Croatian Song

The French Association SOS Racisme is calling for a ban of the Croatian supporters’ song “Lijepa Li si” a song that was composed by an ultra-nationalist Marko Perkovic, an admirer of the Ustacha. The song also promotes the conquest of Bosnian lands …

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Croatia: Pressure against Minister

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Pressure against the Croatian Minister of Culture, Zlatko Hasanbegovic, is increasing. Several international personalities are calling for his resignation, following his statements on Holocaust and his open revisionism concerning the Ustasha in World War Two.

WRITE to the Croatian Embassy in your Country!

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Crime Boss in Denmark

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Crime Boss in Denmark

A crime boss who happens to be also a Rrom from Croatia can stay in Denmark. He is a criminal and claims to be the boss of Rroma in that country.

Well, as one says in the Balkans, he was under the bridge. And he is a criminal and should be treated as such. Ethnicity has lost nothing here.

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Croatia: Jews and Serbians Boycott Jasenovac Celebrations

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Croatia: Jews and Serbians Boycott Jasenovac Celebrations

Jews and Serbs have boycotted the celebrations of the liberation of the Croatian Concentration camp of Jasenovac on Friday the 22 of April. This is an infamous concentration camp where many Jews and Rroma were exterminated by Croatian Ustasha. Jews and Serbians are protesting against the rehabilitation in Croatia of people associated with this regime and crimes.

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Zagreb: Attack

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Zagreb: Attack

A bomb was thrown at a Rroma children day care centre during the night in Zagreb. The daycare centre is located in the same building as the Rroma association of Croatia. This brings bad memories ….

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Jasenovac

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Jasenovac

The celebration of the commemoration of the evasion of more than 600 inmates of the notorious Croatian Deacth Camps Jacenovac were boycotted by Jewish organizations. Jews and Rroma were murdered in this camp by local Croatian Ustasha during World War Two. In Croatia, only ca. 20 (really!) Families survived the War.

The reason for the Boycott: The tendency to re-habilitate several Croatian key figures who contributed to these crimes.

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IDPs in Serbia

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According to the UNHCR, 21 thousands internally displaced (IDPs) Rroma live in utter poverty and a third of them live in buildings not intended for housing. These Rroma were mostly displaced during the Wars between Serbia and Croatia as well as during the Bosnian conflict and the Kosovo war.

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22.05.15 The Final Solution of the Gypsy Question

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22.05.15 The Final Solution of the Gypsy Question

A theatre piece in Berlin, called “Zur Endlösung der Zigeunerfrage” – the final solution of the Rroma question – relates the murder of Rroma during the Nazi times. The collective behind the piece, composed of youngsters and scientists, have researched first hand accounts of Rroma and Sinti of that period and brought them to the stage. Questions on ethnicity, racial profiling are also raised in the piece.

A must, and a stark reminder that Rroma were murdered in scores by the Nazis during world war two. In some countries such as the Czech republic or in Croatia, the entire Rroma population was wiped out. In others, one estimate that 250 thousands to maybe a million or more were murdered in camps, but also simply shot on the spot.

– Dokumentartheater zur NS-Geschichte: Zur Endlösung der Täterfrage. In: TAZ. 20.02.2015. http://www.taz.de/Dokumentartheater-zur-NS-Geschichte/!155110/

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08.10.2014 Visible Rroma in Serbia

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Ivanji (2014) reports on visible Rroma in Serbia. In a Belgrade suburb, next to a refugee centre, where even two decades after the war, refugees from Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo are living together with other asylum seekers, there is a Rroma camp. Kameraj Sajin lives there with his family. He is one of those who is directly affected by the new status of Serbia of “safe country of origin”. Although the Sajins are not persecuted, they are affected by severe poverty and exclusion: “Eight months the family spent in Steinfurt, this year “three months and eleven days.” A few weeks ago, they were deported to Serbia. The stay was “really nice” tells Sajin. After the family had moved between several asylum homes, they received an apartment and around 1,200 Euros a month. At Caritas they could buy clothing and food for two Euros. The daughter went to school, the two sons to the playschool. “Not like here”, says Sajin […]. Here, in Krnjaca, his daughter has to go to evening school because, she lost her place in the regular primary school and he has no confirmation that she attended a German school. For the boys, there is no kindergarten, and from the state he gets only 10,000 dinars (around 85 Euros) of child benefit.” This article addresses the important question of whether one should not recognise poverty and exclusion as legitimate reasons for asylum, and not only political persecution. It must also be added that Rroma in South Eastern Europe, even though many are affected by severe poverty, are not living exclusively in slums. Rroma, especially in the former states of Yugoslavia, belong to all social classes, but are usually only perceived as Rroma if they conform to the stereotypes of the minority. But there are also Rroma doctors, policemen, teachers, etc., which are fully integrated, and have been so for generations.

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26.07.2014 Stereotypes: fifteen Rroma sentenced for child trafficking

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Numerous French language newspapers reported about the verdict against fifteen Croatian Rroma in Nancy. The Rroma were convicted of inciting their children to commit about a hundred thefts in France, Germany and Belgium. The defendants were sentenced to prison sentences of two to eight years. While all Rroma were convicted for incitement to theft, individual defendants were indicted for trafficking and forced marriages. The court of appeal of Nancy thereby confirmed the judgment of the criminal court. The prosecution demanded maximum sentences of ten years. The evidence of the prosecution was based on the survey of 120 suspects, who confirmed the existence of organised, hierarchical gangs, let by a clan chief: “These children had no choice”, said the prosecutor in front of the audience. “It was not a matter of education and self-realisation, only one thing was important: to steal. It was a downright education to steal. Families borrowed children, according to their potential in theft and even bought wives for their sons to strengthen their teams” (Nicolas 2014, see 20 minutes in 2014, La Dépêche 2014 RTL 2014). The stereotype of criminal, hierarchically organised Rroma clans who commit thefts under the command of a clan chief, is widely spread. It cannot be critically evaluated at this point whether the judgment is justified, as the evidence is only discussed in passing. But it is important to emphasise that Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. The idea of hierarchical family ties traces back to the projection of the medieval caste system on Rroma and on the equation of Rroma families to criminal organisations. However, this is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important place among Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian. The case discussed here is therefore an exceptional occurrence and not the norm. In addition, the stereotype of arranged marriages is conveyed, which also is only true for a minority of the Rroma. The phenomenon of child trafficking as it is presented here, has furthermore to be critically assessed. As social science studies show, social realities behind begging or alleged child trafficking are largely hidden. Similarly, structural differences between the involved societies and related reasons for a migration to France need to be highlighted. The research conveys a more complex, less black and white notion on the subject and points out that crimes such as incitement to begging or stealing are pervaded by a wide variety of morals views in the analysis and assessment by the authorities. The authorities often deny the perspective and motivations of the persons concerned and impose their own ideas of organised begging, criminal networks or child trafficking on them. Not uncommonly, behind the accusations one just finds impoverished families in which the children supplement the family income by begging, and whose way of life thereby contradict the bourgeois notions of a normal family and childhood (compare Cree/Clapton/Smith 2012, O’Connell Davidson 2011, Oude Breuil 2008).

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04.07.2014 Rroma and stereotypes: prison sentences against Rroma child traffickers

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Nicolas (2014) provides information about a trial against fifteen Croatian Rroma by the French prosecutor’s office. The prosecution requested for five of the fifteen defendants the maximum sentence of ten years of imprisonment. The Rroma are accused of deliberately having instigated minors to steal and to having traded them amongst each other. The children were literally educated to steal, the prosecution states. The charge is organised crime, human trafficking and group theft. The accused are charged with the involvement in over a hundred thefts, of which the vast majority was committed in France. The gangs were allegedly built on hierarchical families, that were lead by a clan chief: “For the judiciary, those offenders, who settled on sites in  Lorraine and Alsace, belong to family structures that are completely hierarchiszed, with up to seven clans operated in the mode of groups that are directed by family chiefs from afar. The operation mode was always the same: burglaries during a few days, aimed at homes in a given sector, virtually raids to find jewellery and money” (Nicolas 2014). With this charge, Nicolas conveys a common misconception about Rroma. The accusation of criminal, hierarchically organised family-gangs, who commit crimes on the command of a clan chief, has been transformed into an unquestioned fact. However, this supposed fact is based on massive prejudices, misinformation and culturalising racism. Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. A cultural explanation for crime is necessarily racist and ignores and discredits the majority of the blameless Rroma, living integrated. The idea of hierarchical family ties traces back to the projection of the medieval caste system onto the Rroma. However, this is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important place among the Rroma, the organization is largely egalitarian. In addition, the stereotype of arranged marriages is communicated, which is only true for a minority of the Rroma. Furthermore, the phenomenon of child trafficking, as it is presented here, has to be critically questioned. Social science studies show that social realities behind begging or petty crime are largely hidden. Similarly, the structural differences of the societies involved and any related reasons for a migration from Romania to France. The research conveys a more complex, contradictory notion of the subject and points out that crimes such as incitement to begging or trafficking of children are pervaded by a wide variety of morals in the analysis and assessment by authorities, which deny the perspective and motivations of the people concerned and force on them their own ideas of organised begging, child trafficking or criminal networks (compare Oude Breuil 2008, Pernin 2014).

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12.03.2014 Roma and the European migration policies

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Döhner (2014) reports on the European migration regulations, on the basis of a tragic individual case. Irijana Rustemi is born in the Kosovo in 1978. At the age of three the Rromni immigrates with her parents to Croatia. In 1993, they come to Germany. Because of massive family conflicts with the family of her ex-husband, who feels provoked by the new partner of Rustemi, she and her family flee to Denmark for 22 months. This exit becomes a calamity for the family: “If refugees enter Germany over a “safe third country”, they can not apply for asylum here, but only in the country over which they have entered.” Now the large family is facing deportation into the Kosovo, although all children of Rustemi are born in Germany and go to school there. Rustemi had previously received a residency permit on humanitarian grounds, but it was cancelled due to the departure to Denmark. In Denmark their asylum application was rejected.

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24.01.2014 Discrimination of Rroma in Europe continues

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The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (2014) published is “World Report 2014” on the discrimination of the Rroma in the European Union. The report notes that the Rroma are still victims of massive exclusion. They are the main victims of the significant increase in right-wing policies and politicians, together with immigrants and homosexuals. For Germany, this means that Rroma migrants are being confronted with strong prejudices and that the deportation practices do not verify the conditions and discrimination in countries of origin like the Kosovo. France has set a new record in evictions during 2013: around 13,000 Rroma were evicted from their informal settlements during the period of January to September. In Greece, Human Rights Watch critiques the continuing segregation of Rroma in public schools. Additionally, the Rroma are being illegally persecuted and monitored by the authorities. For Croatia, the organisation criticised the exclusion of Rroma from public institutions such as schools, hospitals and social institutions. In Romania, the Rroma are still victims of numerous evictions and are generally disadvantaged in public life. A particularly bad assessment befalls Hungary, when it comes to the integration of Rroma. The report notes: “Roma were faced also last year with discrimination and harassment. The mayor of the city Ozd in northern Hungary separated Roma settlements with an estimated 500 families from the public water network. In January, the European Court of Human Rights judged Hungary guilty of discriminating two Rroma students, because the authorities had placed them in special schools. In July, the court upheld the decision of a prohibition on the Hungarian Guard, an extremist group agitating against Jews and Rroma. In August, a Budapest court convicted four men for murder, who had been involved in racist attacks in the years 2008 and 2009, in which six Roma had been killed, including a child.” As long as the economic conditions in Europe remain poor, the Rroma face an unfavourable fate. They are the first to suffer from social ills. It is much to be hoped that the bad tradition of centuries-old discrimination against the minority will soon be consigned to history.

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