Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: The Pope

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Bulgaria: The Pope

Following a police action (and literally dozens of articles), the “Roma Baron” Hristo Varbanov, known for his nickname Itso the Pope, was detained. He was detained in Kostinbrod during an operation by the “Cobra” unit of the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs for property fraud, and for an old affaire of kidnapping.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Šutar Act

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Šutar Act

In January, the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (Furs), based on the so-called Šutar Act, began enforcing cash social assistance against debtors who had repeatedly violated regulations in recent years and failed to pay the fines imposed. They blocked the bank accounts of these people, and blocked even the delivery of the basic social cash assistance, leaving these families without any means.

The Roma community is drawing attention primarily to the social consequences of such implementation of the legislation. In public statements, they highlighted cases of families left without basic resources and demanded changes in the enforcement of fines and greater involvement of social work centers.

Hungary News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Janos Lazar – Slovak View

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Janos Lazar – Slovak View

Two articles in the Slovak press about the Hungarian Constrcion and Transport Minister Janos Lazar comment that Roma are good at cleaning “shitty train toilets.”

These articles stress the discrimination faced by Roma in Hungary.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma

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Slovakia and Roma

The Association of Municipalities and Cities of Slovakia (ZMOS)  and the Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS)  reject the National Employment Project for 17 million euros. This is a government project aimed at marginalized Roma communities. Both ZMOS and SaS believe that it is too much money considering how many people this project will employ.

The project is to be implemented in 140 municipalities and employ 200 members of Roma communities over 30 months, who will complete 39 hours of training in soft skills during these 30 months.

This would amount to almost 3’000 euros per employed person per month. Way over the average salaries in Slovakia.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary and Roma

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Hungary and Roma

On Wednesday morning (28 January), Lajos Lőcsei, vice-president of the Hungarian centrist Momentum Movement, and András Fekete-Győr, the party’s founder, delivered several hundred toilet brushes to the Batida mansion of János Lázár, the construction and transport minister. He had said that Roma should be cleaning toilets in trains.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Ladislav Goral

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Ladislav Goral

Ladislav Goral, an important figure in the Czech Roma movement, has passed away at the age of 86. Hew was born in Slovakia but move after the war to Czech lands. As an actor, activist, he made a huge impact on the Roma movement in Czechia.

May he rest in peace. Te avel i phuv lokhi.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Police Action

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Bulgaria: Police Action

A whole series of articles (we only list two here) about the siege of a property by a special squad of the Bulgarian police. The home of alleged Roma baron Hristo Varbanov, known by his nickname Itso the Pope, in Kostinbrod is under police siege.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

The president of the People’s Initiative of Dolenjska, Silvo Mesojedec, is criticising sharly Roma NGOs.

“Instead of finally confronting the causes that led to this situation (non-attendance at school, crime, unemployment), they are now attacking those rare solutions that are trying to establish order.”

The president of the Roma Association of Slovenia Umbrella – Dežnik wrote that almost 1,300 Roma families were pushed into absolute poverty with one political decision.

“The so-called Šutar legislation and the policies of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia have pushed the Roma community back centuries. The elderly, the sick and children have been left without food, water and electricity. Children are hungry today because of the decisions of a state that outwardly presents itself as social and democratic,” he wrote in a statement.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary, Lazar, and Roma

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Hungary, Lazar, and Roma

An article about the offensive comment of Janos Lazar, Hungarian Minister of Constructuion and  Transport, stating that this could cost Fidesz, Orban’s party votes in the upcoming elections of Apruil 12th.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Memorial Space

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Memorial Space

Descendants of survivors of the Genocide of the Roma in the Czech Republic expressed reservations in a joint statement about how memorialisation is handled in Czechia. First and foremose, the use of “Gypy” camp insetad of concentration camp, but they mentioned other issues such as the lack of consultation with the families of survivors and the used and choice of vicual materials.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

János Lázár

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János Lázár

A blunt (and Slovak) summary about the cotroversy on János Lázár, the Hungarian minister who said that if there is no migrant workforce, then Roma in Hungary will have to fill jobs such as cleaning toilets on InterCity trains.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Cleaning Toilets?

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Cleaning Toilets?

According to AFP and Hungarian news, the news made it to Malaysia, Janos Lazar, stated on Thursday:

“So if there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the toilet on the Intercity, because otherwise Hungarian voters don’t show up there with such enthusiasm to clean someone else’s shitty toilet, then the internal reserves have to be revealed, and the internal reserve means the Gypsies in Hungary.”

He then also backtracked. Spineless in addition.

He then spent time defending himself sayin he has worked on the integration of Roma. Just go in the Hungarian countryside to see what BS this is…

According to AFP and Hungarian news, the news made it to Malaysia, Janos Lazar, stated on Thursday:

“So if there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the toilet on the Intercity, because otherwise Hungarian voters don’t show up there with such enthusiasm to clean someone else’s shitty toilet, then the internal reserves have to be revealed, and the internal reserve means the Gypsies in Hungary.”

He then also backtracked. Spineless in addition.

He then spent time defending himself sayin he has worked on the integration of Roma. Just go in the Hungarian countryside to see what BS this is…

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Brawl

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Bulgaria: Brawl

Always bad when the Bulgarian press reports a brawl among Roma. This time in the Sdofia Roma neighbourhood of Fakulteta were a melee between several Roma occurred in front of a local store. According to eyewitnesses, the cause of the conflict was a runaway bride, which led to tension and physical altercations between the groups.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Racism and Football

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Racism and Football

Last November, young footballers from Jihlava, Czechia, had to listen to racist insults on a train from Děčín. The event also angered President Petr Pavel at the time. The Jihlava club Mongaguá is now reporting another unpleasant experience, this time directly from the Jihlava square.

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia: Women Project

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Bosnia: Women Project

The Women’s Roma Centre for the Affirmation of Roma and Other National Minorities (ŽRC Roma), a newly established association that works to protect and promote the rights of Roma women and women from other national minorities, has successfully completed the implementation of its first project.

This is a project entitled “Promotion and marking of important international dates with the aim of drawing attention to the position of Roma women from the city of Zenica and other cities of the Zenica-Doboj Canton”, which was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Labor, Social Policy and Refugees of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Šutar Act

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Slovenia: Šutar Act

Several articles about the recent impact of the so-called Šutar Act on Roma in Slovenia. Here, the Financial Administration (Furs) explained that in recent days, based on the Act on Urgent Measures to Ensure Public Safety (the so-called Šutar Act), they have issued 1,275 enforcement orders to debtors who had at least three unpaid obligations from misdemeanor claims in the last two years. Enforcement is also permissible for cash social assistance.

Roma representatives have warned about enforcement of social assistance. Several dozen Roma at the bank have not been able to collect part or all of their social assistance because Furs seized it, the president of the Roma Community Council, Jožef Horvat Muc, told the Slovenian Press Agency.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Social Benefits

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Slovakia and Social Benefits

“They live on benefits.” A statement that has been repeated in Slovakia for years. Most people associate it with poor people and especially Roma communities. Almost always, when the living standards of the majority population deteriorate, this sentence becomes a shorthand description of the social system in political debates and on social networks.

This is a myth. “When people talk about the social system, they usually mean benefits for the unemployed. However, they forget that the largest part of it is pensions and healthcare,” pointed out Viliam Páleník, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and president of the Employment Institute.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Unemployment

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Slovenia, Roma, and Unemployment

The Municipality of Kočevje in Slovenia is investing extensive and long-term efforts in Roma integration, especially in the field of preschool education, but Mayor Gregor Košir warns that without changes at the state level there will be no real breakthrough. He says “As long as it is not worth it for people to work, we can forget about Roma integration”.

He is putting the carriage in front of the ox. As long as there is no prospect of work, there is no integration …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Systemic Racism

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Systemic Racism

A new report finds systemic racism against Roma in the Czewch Republic. Not suprising, but sad.

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