Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Marija Aleksandrović

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Marija Aleksandrović

Marija Aleksandrović, a famous Romani activist passed away unexpectedly on April 8th.

Through her pioneering work on the standardization of the Romani language and the introduction of teaching in the Romani language and culture, she enabled young Roma men and women to proudly accept and cherish their language, making it not only academic but also socially important, alive.

May she rest in peace.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and April 8th

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Slovenia and April 8th

The Society for the Development of Voluntary Work Novo mesto (DRPD) and the Center for School and Extracurricular Activities (CŠOD) celebrated World Roma Day on April 8 in front of the Brezje Žabjak Community Center with the traditional Veselo diva (Happy day) event.

Both in the largest Roma settlement in Novo Mesto, Brezje, and in Jedinščica, the DRPD and its professional team have been providing support for children and adolescents with learning and homework for more than 20 years, working closely with all primary schools. They also provide quality afternoons with cooking, sports, creative, social, etc. workshops, in which they connect with the Miran Jarca Library, the Novo Mesto Health Center, the Police, Deacon Matic Vidic, etc. »Both centers are open seven hours a day and more than 50 children and more than 20 adolescents come to us voluntarily every day, because they feel accepted here and trust us more and more every year, as do their families. “We are aware that changing values ​​and habits is a truly long-term process, but this is the only way we can now boast of more and more high school students and also jobs,” said Mojca Vegelj, professional manager of the DRPD’s day center for Roma children.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Brno: Scam

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Brno: Scam

A woman in her 40s approached an 80 years old man saying that she was from a Roma association helping seniors and offered to help him withdraw money. He agreed but she then took the envelope with 30,000 crowns from him and left. The police are looking for her.

This is bad for all.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

School Segregation in the Czech Republic

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School Segregation in the Czech Republic

The paradox of today’s Czech Republic is that a country that aspired to connect with the liberal West after the fall of communism, tolerates a system of educational segregation that would put to shame even the illiberal regimes it once condemned. According to PAQ Research, there are 130 schools in the Czech Republic that are de facto “only for Roma”, where Roma children make up more than a third of the students. There are still 130 segregated schools in the Czech Republic. A third of Roma children end up in them.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Elections

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Czechia and Elections

In the Ušti nad Labem region, in the last parliamentary elections, many Roma preferred Andrej Babiš (ANO). Now, after many years, they have their own candidate, who, thanks to the communists, can get into the Chamber of Deputies. “Kateřina Konečná gives us a historic chance, but Roma voters must help me,” says 44-year-old Marco Cavali and thanks the KSČM chairwoman for the opportunity, who confirmed him as the electoral three on the Stačilo! candidate list in the Ústí nad Labem region. However, Cavali has been insolvent since 2022, but he does not consider financial problems an obstacle to electoral success.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Personalities

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Slovakia and Roma Personalities

The Old Town Library, in cooperation with the Slovak National Museum in Martin – the Museum of Roma Culture in Slovakia and the Romano Forum magazine, opened the exhibition Gallery of Roma Personalities.

The exhibition presents 24 prominent personalities of Roma origin who, with their talent, work and legacy, contributed to the development of society in Slovakia.

Kosovo News Eastern Europe

Mitrovica, Kosovo, and Roma

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Mitrovica, Kosovo, and Roma

Despite efforts, numerous obstacles remain to Roma inclusion in Mitrovica, exacerbated by the divisions between Kosovo and Serbia. At a learning centre, students from the community are bearing the brunt of these ambivalent policies.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma Settlements

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Poland and Roma Settlements

An old story, in the Polish town of Limanowsa, local Roma lived in a insalubrious building. So the municipality decided to purchase another building to house these Roam families. The catch: They did not buy the building in the town but in another one …

That town is a touristy one and did not appreciate this. Neither did Roma who were de-facto forced resettled.

Since no one moved in, the town of Limanowa needs to repay loans.

We are not going to cry here …

Lithuania News Eastern Europe

Vilnius – Lithuania and April 8th

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Vilnius – Lithuania and April 8th

On Tuesday April 8th, Vilnius hosted celebrations to mark World Roma Day. An event with the participation of representatives of the authorities and the Roma community was held in  the Visitors’ Centre of the Seimas (Parliament). The Roma anthem was sung on the banks of the Neris River, and wreaths of flowers were lowered into the water to commemorate the victims of the Roma genocide.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and April 8th

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Poland and April 8th

A few of the many articles on April 8th in the Polish press. The university of Warsaw claim theyt have been conducting research on Roma “migration” since 2016. There they mean migration of Roma from other countries as Poland such as Ukrainian Roma.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgarian Politics, Roma, and Mahalas

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Bulgarian Politics, Roma, and Mahalas

Kiril Petkov, a former Bulgarian prime minister and candidate in the upcoming elections is defending the rights of a Mahala (a Roma neighbourhood) in Sofia. He is not alone in defending the “Zaharna Fabrika” which has who has called for manifestations in front of the parliament.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia: School Segregation

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Czechia: School Segregation

The segregation of Roma children in education in the Czech Republic continues. There are still more than 130 segregated schools, of which in 78 of them Roma children make up more than half of the pupils, according to a PAQ Research study based on estimates from the Ministry of Education. Segregated schools are located in most regions and the situation has not changed significantly in the last decade.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Charter 77 Award

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Charter 77 Award

The František Kriegl Award of the Czech Charter 77 Foundation for Civic Courage was awarded this year to Romani activist and social worker Elena Gorolová. The jury honoured her for her personal and professional contribution to the fight for compensation for victims of illegal and secret sterilizations. It particularly highlighted her long-term efforts and the courage with which she raised the topic, as well as her subsequent fight for compensation for victims of illegal actions by state healthcare facilities.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechoslovakia: Sterilisations

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Czechoslovakia: Sterilisations

It is estimated that thousands of women of Roma origin were sterilized in Czechoslovakia since the early 1970s. They had to wait decades for compensation.

In the Czechoslovak environment, forced sterilizations often took place in delivery rooms, at the moments of greatest vulnerability of women, during cesarean section births. Women in pain and under pressure from medical personnel were unable to give truly informed consent. The decree on sterilizations was repealed in 1993, but unfortunately isolated and illegal cases continued to occur. The last verified case of involuntary sterilization in the Czech Republic dates back only eleven years, to 2007. As Kateřina Čapková from the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic emphasizes: “Forced sterilizations as a scientific topic seem to me to be important to study mainly in international contexts as a phenomenon that appears in states with different, and one could even say contradictory, ideologies.” The Prague Forum for Roma History therefore plans to support deeper research into this area that has so far been insufficiently researched.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and the Billion for Roma

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Slovakia and the Billion for Roma

Slovak opposition Vladimír Ledecký (SaS) calls for reconsideration and revision of the action plans for the Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma until 2030 for the years 2025-2027, which were approved by the government in December 2024. As a Member of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic, he submitted a resolution in which he warns that, based on the action plan, millions of euros are to be spent on “meaningless projects whose real contribution to improving the living and economic situation of the Roma is zero”.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and International Roma Day

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Slovenia and International Roma Day

Some articles in the Slovenian press about the international Roma day. In one, a discussion with the German/Kosovar publicist, artist, photographer and human rights activist Behar Heinemann, and in the other, the more traditional dance and folklore.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Housing

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Slovakia: Housing

The city of Veľký Šariš today began installing new unimo cells for residents who lost theirs in the tragic fire on March 19th with five victims. After today’s installation of the connection on Thursday, the unimocells (container housing units) will be connected to the existing networks, and the tenants should start moving into them from Friday.

It is in such housing units that the fire started. And nothing has really been done to prevent a further tragedy. But this is at least something.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

LGBT+ Roma

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LGBT+ Roma

David Tišer is a well-known Czech Roma activist. He is the director of the Ara Art organization, which also supports LGBT+ people among the Roma. In his interview, he was asked why some Roma consider queer people ritually unclean and why coming out among Roma can be even harder than in mainstream society.

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