To counterbalance the accusations that Roma refugees from Ukraine abuse the system and are actually not Ukrainians, we did an interview in one of the leading newspapers in German speaking Swiss press.
To counterbalance the accusations that Roma refugees from Ukraine abuse the system and are actually not Ukrainians, we did a Radio interview.
An article on Papuša, a Romani poet. The article makes a lot of incorrect statement. That she was considered a traitor, that writing is not a gift for Roma, on the contrary, etc. In brief, it continues stereotypes.
The president of the Municipality of Ruma, Aleksandra Ćirić Bošković, in cooperation with the National Council of Roma, organized a reception for the best Roma students, holders of the Saint Sava Charter and their class teachers, in the City Hall.
Ruma has a high percentage of Roma population.
What do Romanes speakers encounter when their children enter education? Are kindergartens and schools ready to work with foreign language children? The issue is currently being invstigated by research carried out by the Romanes Studies Seminar of the Faculty of, supported by the program for the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The Senate Committee on Human Rights today unanimously endorsed the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-gypsyism as discrimination against Roma. The definition, like anti-Semitism, names a specific form of racism that Roma people face because of their ethnic origin, culture or lifestyle. According to committee chairman Jiří Růžička (for TOP 09), the definition adopted by the Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs on Monday is not legally binding.
Slovaks do not spare hateful comments on Roma on social networks, but they often try to hide their identity. Hateful comments usually appear under anonymous pseudonyms, as research by the Institute for Human Rights and other organizations confirms.
It shows the stereotypes held by the general population, but also that they realise these comments are racist and could be sued against.
At the request of the Slovenian Democratic Party, the Committee of the National Assembly for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities discussed the increasingly pressing Roma issue in Southeastern Slovenia at an emergency meeting. The meeting was also attended by some mayors and deputy mayors and councilors, representatives of the Novo mesto Police Department and Šentjernej Police Station.
The initiator of the meeting, MP Anja Bah Žibert, pointed out in the introduction that the coalition promised its legal solutions to the Roma issue by the end of 2023.
You wonder how do you resolve an exclusion and discrimination problem with repressive legislative measures?
Another two articles in the Swiss press about Roma refugees from the Ukraine who “abuse” the system and are “most probably” not from the Ukraine. All because the Swiss seem to be oblivious that Western Ukraine is Hungarian speaking …
In western Slovakia, the project Better Future for Young Roma was born under the auspices of the non-profit organization Human in Danger. Roma children get a chance to go to school and work for a better future. The project is currently being developed mainly in Lozorn, Plavecký Štvrtek and Zlaté Klasy.
If necessary, the children’s parents also receive help and support. They have already worked with 94 children and their families. They provided counseling to more than a hundred children, while 46 of them got a job during the project.
A Roma settlement in Slovakia is being destroyed. Reason is, it became so run down that it cannot be saved. The article says it is the residents’ fault. Well, they did not do anything, but neither did the municipality nor the owners.
Another article, this time in the Croatian Press about the Roma mansions of the Romanian town of Buzescu. This article never ceases to reappear, here under the title of “Roma Monaco”.
A reportage on Roma patrols, a project funded in part by the EU which sees Roma patrolling their neighbourhoods.
Robert Bladycz, a Rom teaching assistant from schools in Kamienna Góra, has been trying to get a teaching job for many years, he tells Radio Wrocław. He has a higher degree in education, has been working in schools for 20 years, and despite repeated attempts, he has never been offered a position as a beginner teacher.
A report on a Roma wedding in Ljubljana, Slovenia. These articles (and the showing of) do not help the cause.
According to the article, the house has 600 square meters, there was a bar of gold and 10 thousand euros as some of the gifts that the newlyweds received at the Roma wedding in Ljubljana.
In Switzerland, there is currently an influx of Roma refugees from the Ukraine, mostly from the Transcarpathian region. We have seen many cases, and they unfortunately come from segregated settlements, often as large families (8 children etc.). They mostly speak only Hungarian and a limited amount of Ukrainian, and seldom Romanes.
The article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is totally unacceptable. They effectively say they are not really Ukrainian, without any proof, and even put up a picture of Uzhgorod, maybe part of Greater Hungary for the editors of this paper. They insinuate that they have all Hungarian passports, which could be the case, as Hungarian speakers from outside Hungary have been granted passports by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister. However, one of the pre-requisite is to be able to read and write (and not to be Roma), which does not apply in most of the cases here in Switzerland.
In addition, these Roma, even though they are not fluent, speak Russian and Ukrainian. Which cannot be said of Hungarians.
The case of David Scheffel, a Canadian university teacher, who was accused and convicted of the crime of sexual abuse concurrently with the offense of endangering the moral education of youth is being reopened.
In January 2024, the media reported that the case was being heard again at the District Court in Prešov, where two of the victims should testify that no abuse took place and deny their statements from the preliminary proceedings and previous court hearings. The defendant’s prominent lawyer, Daniel Lipšice (now a special prosecutor), said that Roma lie and are therefore untrustworthy…
Bad.
A recent study by the Human Rights Institute shows that on social media in Slovakia, there are many hateful and racist comments about Roma. People try to hide behind pseudonyms and post many disparaging comments on Roma.
Bad.
On February 6, a new Roma-led community center (“Roma Integration Space”) was officially opened in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast, after which another such community center will be opened in Berehove, Zakarpattia Oblast. UNHCR and its local partner NEEKA supported the reconstruction of the buildings and the renovation of the premises of these two centers.
The spaces will work as multifunctional centers to support Roma communities, primarily Roma women and girls, and will complement the national Roma strategy of the Government of Ukraine. Based on the experience and lessons learned from a similar Roma integration space, which has been under the care of the UNHCR and its partner NGO Nehemiah in Uzhgorod since 2022, a wide range of measures aimed at strengthening the access of Roma communities to rights and services, strengthening their potential and integration into local communities.
The Roma Center Association from Crepaja implemented a project in the Elementary School “Sveti Georgije” in Uzdin with the aim of fostering the language, culture and tradition of the Roma.
The Romanes course with elements of national culture in Uzdin is attended by 20 students. The goal of teaching Romanes is for students to master the basic rules of Romanes, as their mother tongue, to communicate in it, and to get to know the literature of their people.
English (UK) English (UK) 
Deutsch
Français