Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Pavel Sliško

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Pavel Sliško

On August 21, 2025, at the age of 51, Romani activist, proud Romani and good person Pavel Sliško, whom we all knew as Pavel Krtek, left us forever. His passing saddened not only the Romani community in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also everyone who knew him.

May he rest in peace. Te ovel I phuv loki.

Jan Bendig

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Jan Bendig

Young Roma singer Jan Bendig is increasingly becoming known to the general public. He became famous thanks to a singing competition, but then he built his career as a solo singer practically on his own. He sings in Romanes, Czech, and English.

Ukrainians, Trump, and Roma

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Ukrainians, Trump, and Roma

Ukrainians are mocking the pompous style of the White House under Trump and comparing it with rich Romane Interiors. A series of memes.

Reality Shows in Bulgaria

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Reality Shows in Bulgaria

On a reality show on Bulgarian TV, called “Wild and Beautiful”, a man asked on a blind date “Would you have a relationship with a man of Roma origin?” It seems that at least some people reacted to this …

Bulgaria and Roma Settlements

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Bulgaria and Roma Settlements

Employees of “ViK – Smolyan” in central Bulgaria, together with police teams, carried out a massive inspection in the Roma neighbourhood of Ustovo, known as “Second Kilometre”. The reason was suspicion of illegal connection to the water supply network.

They found illegal connections. On the other hand, as the municipalities refuse to acknowledge the existence of these Roma neighbourhood, their inhabitants have no other means than illegally tap water and electricity.

Bad.

Czechia: Commemoration

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Czechia: Commemoration

Yesterday, a commemoration for the Romane victims of the Genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust was held at the Hodonín u Kunštátu Memorial.

A Massacre

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A Massacre

According to the article, early in the morning on Sunday, July 19, 1942, partisans from the Bela Kranjska Detachment surrounded the Roma settlement of Kanižarica pri Črnomelj. They woke up the still sleeping residents and ordered them to gather on the road, while at the same time they began to burn down their homes. Only a few managed to escape, and all the rest were driven past Dragovanje vas towards Doblička Gora and Mavrlen on a rainy Sunday morning.

Two days later, all these prisoners, including women and children, including babies, were killed in the forest near Mavrlen. According to an Italian report, 61 Roma were taken away at that time, but some reports believe that there were many more.

Roma Assistant

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Roma Assistant

The Slovene government has specified what “Roma Assistants” in the context or primary schools are. One outraged lady was complaining that this was discriminatory, and got the full legal explanation of this job and its description.

Slovenia and Community Centres

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Slovenia and Community Centres

The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has selected four projects for the establishment of nine centres across the country within the framework of a public tender for co-financing a network of multifunctional Roma centres, worth a total of 4.9 million euros.

Two of these will also start operating in Pomurje, in the area of Lendava and Murska Sobota, by the end of this year.

One can rightfully ask if those projects will really further integration in view of the current mood in the country about Roma.

Serbia, Media, and Roma

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Serbia, Media, and Roma

In the past few years, there has been a worrying increase in anti-Roma narratives across the. Discrimination against Roma is now taking on new forms and intensities, especially in periods of political and economic instability. The security situation of the Roma community is not only reflected in physical vulnerability, but also in a constant sense of insecurity caused by hate speech, systemic discrimination and media stereotypes.

Roma are often discussed without Roma, and problems are solved without the participation of Roma experts, who come from the community and know the essential issues, but also the ways in which they can be solved and how to improve the life and position of the most vulnerable and poorest community. Which, despite various programs, measures and experiments, still faces institutional discrimination: difficult access to education, health services, the labour market and housing.

Montenegro and Elections

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Montenegro and Elections

The Roma Council in Montenegro informed that, based on the Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms and the Rules for the Election of Members of the Council of Minority Peoples, on 01.08.2025. it published a public call for applications for electors to participate in the electoral assembly for the election of members of the 5th convocation of the Roma Council. According to them, 27 applications for electors have arrived.

The small Roma minority is not really represented in the Montenegro parliament.

Roma Culture in Banat

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Roma Culture in Banat

The Citizens’ Association “Roma Center” from Crepaja is organizing the ninth event “Days of Roma Culture in Banat”, which will be held on Friday, August 22, 2025, starting at 7 p.m., in the hall of the Crepaja Local Community.

The theme of this year’s program is “Roma Literature in Vojvodina”, and the guests of the evening will be famous writers Maja Jovanović and Rajko Ranko Jovanović.

St. Michael

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St. Michael

Saint Michael feast has been a recurring celebration in the Banat. The Banat village of Tornjoš, where Hungarians, Ruthenians, Serbs and Roma live together, this year organized a program that evoked a multicultural spirit, uniting music, sports, gastronomy and tradition, according to a statement from the Ministry for Rural Care.

Transcarpathian Ukraine: Help?

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Transcarpathian Ukraine: Help?

On August 15, 2025, a humanitarian action was held in the Roma settlement of the village of Domboky of the Velykyluchkivska community, aimed at supporting vulnerable families. The event was organized by the head of the charitable organization “SOS Children’s Villages Uzhgorod” Natalia Kryvoruchko with the participation of the Regional Coordinator for National Minorities from the OSCE Projects in Ukraine at the Representation of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in the Transcarpathian region Mykola Chyzhmar.

It looks like a nice alibi exercise. Much more needs to be done.

Slovenia, Politics, and Roma

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Slovenia, Politics, and Roma

The Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has responded to the accusations of the regional civil initiative of South-Eastern Slovenia, which claims that the ministry is not active enough in solving the Roma issue.

The ministry emphasizes that the Roma issue has long been the subject of shifting responsibility between the local and state levels. Nevertheless, they highlighted some concrete activities that have been implemented. Minister Mesec is the first to actively tackle this issue, namely leading an informal government interdepartmental coordination, whose work is bringing visible changes. Important changes have been introduced in the field of education, where the Primary School Act has been amended, and the Kindergarten Act is also in the process of being amended. Roma assistants are now present in schools and kindergartens.

Lovara in Croatia

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Lovara in Croatia

In the village of Maglenča in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Lovari, with the Roma House cultural and tourist centre, preserves its rich history, customs, and cultural heritage, thereby contributing to breaking down prejudices and promoting understanding in society. Under the leadership of the Đurđević family, they offer visitors authentic experiences – from traditional food, lavender products, cultural presentations to inspiring stories about freedom, inclusion, and coexistence.

Sofia: Accident and Surveillance

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Sofia: Accident and Surveillance

Following an accident where a passenger of a public bus was run over, a specialized police operation is being carried out in the Roma neighbourhoods of Sofia. They will be monitoring whether traffic rules are being followed, and patrols will be deployed at the entrances and exits of the neighbourhoods. Law enforcement officers will collect the data of vehicle drivers and subsequently they will be checked at the schools where they received their driving licenses.

So in brief, when there is an accident, it has to be Roma?

Czechia: Remembrance

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Czechia: Remembrance

On August 2, artists symbolically named one of the nameless streets in Česká Bříza “Serinkova”. It was named after the Romano partisan Josef Serinek. The artists are reacting to the decision of the Liberec city council, which refused to officially rename part of Kunratická Street.

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