Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia: Integration

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The “Join II” project brings activities aimed at the integration of the Roma community. Since March of this year, the Centre for Missing and Abused Children has continued to implement the “Join II” project, in cooperation with the Roma Resource Center (RRC). The goal of the project is to encourage the integration of the Roma community and strengthen social cohesion through diverse activities.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

School Segregation in Czechia

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In the Czech Republic, there are still 130 segregated schools where Roma make up at least a third of the students. Veronika Hlaváčová’s documentary brings the experiences of Roma whose children ended up in such classes and points to the vast differences in the quality of education.

“Normally, the teacher leaves us there and goes to the office because she has her child there. Completely disinterested,” describes Zdeněk in the documentary. He attends the eighth grade along with 14 other Roma. “We come to school, the teacher comes, we have mathematics and he tells us, for example, to write something down and we do whatever we want for the rest of the lesson,” he adds.

 

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia: Children’s Book

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The illustrated book Jekh, duj, trin! [One, two, three!] introduces children to the everyday life and traditions of an ordinary Roma family and prepares them to enter school.

Well, with a few stereotypes…

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

NGOs and Roma

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The Roma Council of the City of Brno (RRB) expressed serious concern over the selection of Martin Máša as the new director of the IQ Roma service organization. According to the council, a long-term problem is that Roma themselves are not included in leadership positions in organizations that focus on helping Roma.

Nothing new, unfortunately…

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Another expert on the Roma problem. This one says that one needs a new healthy approach to the issues. Bu he also says that in Kočevje, someone said, if you don’t give me water, the children won’t come to school. Children are a means of extortion, as well as a part of the family economy.

No comments …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Schools in Slovakia

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With a camera, the staff of Slovak Television went to the village of Rakúsy in the Kežmar district to see the beginning of the school year. In the Osada (the Roma settlement), the number of pupils is increasing. Due to limited capacity, the school has two-shift teaching.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and the Roma “Problem”

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An article whose title says it clearly: Integration in a ghetto? It is like learning to swim on dry land.

In brief, the article discusses the problematic of integration when some of the basics are simply not given.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Discussion

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A round table was held on Slovenian TV  on the topic of Roma. The themes were how to provide Roma with drinking water, solve the problem of ownership and use of the land they live on, and better integrate them into the majority population? Present were the president of the forum of Roma councillors, Darko Rudaš, the mayor of Ribnica, Samo Pogorelc, and Olivera Mirković, who has been working with Roma children in Kerinove Grmo for decades.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Romani Music

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On August 22, an energetic Roma Bašavel was held as part of the 21st International Festival of New Circus and Theatewr Letní Letná. The main stars of the evening were DJ GADJO CZ, the Roma band Trio Romano and the young dance star Lily Sarah Ščuková.

Hungary News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukrainian Roma and Hungary

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Even though Hungary claims that Transcarpathian Ukraine is Hungarian (one has to agree that historically this was the case), and even though Prime Minister Orban is granting citizenship to “all” Hungarian speakers outside of Hungary, it sems that this does not extend to Roma from Transcarpathian Ukraine. They mostly speak Hungarian, but Orban has now decreed that they are not from war regions and no asylum is required.

Do you spot the issue? Orban claims Transcarpathian Ukraine are Hungarian lands, but he doesn’t want the Hungarian speaking Roma from there in Hungary …

  • Les Roms d’Ukraine ne sont pas les bienvenus en Hongrie. In: La Libre. 27.08.2024. https://www.lalibre.be/international/europe/guerre-ukraine-russie/2024/08/27/les-roms-dukraine-ne-sont-pas-les-bienvenus-en-hongrie-FEZGIXY6LZBKLPAAM5OLEEWW6A/
France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

French Chronicle …

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Not much about Roma in the French press this week either. A festival in Perpignan, in Southern France showcasing the work of a Romanian photograph, who, sorry to say, perpetuates stereotypes; and the evacuation of one of the oldest Roma camps near Paris, in la Courneuve. The camp was established in 2008. An no one asks why 80 families had to stay there for 16 years …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Another View on Ribnica

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The mayor of Ribnica, Samo Pogorelec, says that he will deny the Roma drinking water until he judges that they have earned it through better behaviour.

When the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, visited the Roma settlement Lepovče in the municipality of Ribnica at the end of May, she said, among other things: school. If it doesn’t go with the carrot, you also need a bit of a stick, in quotation marks.”

Thes repressive ideas are making headway in Slovenia.

This is bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Water, and Crime

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Quite a few discussions in the Slovene press of the action of the Ribnica mayor who said he’d not supply drinking water to settlements as long as Roma do not improve their behaviour. Another mayor said that if people believe that denying drinking water in settlements (that by the way, are de-facto illegal) will encourage children to go to school is not understanding anything about the Roma issue. Another article, on the opposite side bemoans the increased criminality of Roma in the country. On the Slovenian TV, a round table on Roma says that Due to the ineffectiveness of institutions in responding to burglaries, robberies, violence and illegal constructions, mayors and residents are increasingly angry. Where did all the millions that the state distributes to all ends for greater inclusion, employment and education of the Roma go?

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: New Measures

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The Minister of Justice, Andreja Katič, believes that a change in legislation is not necessary directly because of the Roma issue. Several legislative changes and innovations are being prepared, including the law on juvenile offenders and changes to criminal legislation, she said after a meeting with the Minister of the Interior, Boštjan Poklukar.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Threats

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The mayor of the municipality of Ribnica, Samo Pogorelc said in today’s program Studio at 5 p.m. on Radio Slovenija, in which they talked about Roma issues, that he received death threats on Wednesday, which he had already reported to the police. Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar condemned the threats.

Who threatened him is unclear.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: New Measures

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The Slovenian government is preparing several measures in the field of Roma issues. The Ministry of Labor announces the opening of new multi-purpose Roma centres and three new day centres for children from the Roma community, while the Ministry of Education announces several changes to the law on elementary schools.

Let’s see what this brings …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: An accord

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In the town of Ribnica, in Southeastern Slovenia, Roma organizations and the management of the municipality met at a joint meeting. Among other things, they agreed that the municipality will provide drinking water to two settlements when the residents there meet a set of requirements. The municipality requires that Roma, among other things, be get involved in the integration process, send their children to school regularly, clean up the settlement and determine land boundaries.

In brief: So that the municipality provides a service that is due to all its residents, Roma have to fulfil some criteria. Especially the integration one, how will they measure that?

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Jobs, and Roma

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A Roma NGO tested the anti-Roma racism in the Slovak labour market. They created 4 CVs (2 men, 2 women one of each being Rom), and sent these applications for 100 open jobs available in various platforms.

Well, Roma got a much lower response rate than non-Roma. Non-Roma man: 92% response; non-Roma woman: 89%. Rom: 68%; Romni: 62%.

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