Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary: International “Gypsy” Song Day

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On August 8, 2024 – the birthday of the legendary North Macedonian singer Esma Redžepova – the International “Gypsy” Song Day will be held for the third time. This year, 15 venues in six countries will participate in the event series and 50 bands will perform at home and abroad on the initiative of Mihály “Mazsi” Rostás. The face of the series of events is Mónika Lakatos, a Romani singer who won the Kossuth and WOMEX Lifetime Achievement Awards. The International Gypsy Song Day celebrates diversity with the participation of legendary Gypsy and non-Gypsy artists with a range of venues and programs that expand every year.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Health

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The Slovak Ministry of Health reacted to the comments of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’ Flaherty, who, after a recent visit to Slovakia, called on the Slovak authorities to urgently address the “terrible living conditions” of thousands of Roma, and improve their access to health.

The ministry said they would support programs for “socially excluded groups”.

Let’s see.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia: Brawl

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During the evening hours in Ljubić polje in Čačak, South Serbia, there was a massive brawl between Roma which left two people injured.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Jerzy Ficowski

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The Association of Roma in Poland reacted to the accusations against Jerzy Ficowski published in a book by Dr. Emilia Kledzik, who accused Jerzy Ficowski of excessive interference in the translation of the works of Papusza, i.e. Bronisława Wajs, using the word “forgery”.

The Association stated that “We believe that the allegations presented are unfair and require taking into account the appropriate historical context.”

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Oda na kames …

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Oda na kames [what you don’t like] is a two-year project of the Ara Art organization, which aims to map hate speech and violence against the Roma minority on the Internet and in real life.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Pilsen, Roma, and Ukrainians

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Jiří Winkelhöfer, Pilsen city councilor for security and crime prevention, said that Roma crime prevention assistants have been working in the Pilsen Municipal Police since 2013. “Since last year, four more assistants with knowledge of the Ukrainian language, because tens of thousands of refugees have found refuge in Pilsen,” he added.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma

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After a recent visit to Slovakia, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty called on the Slovak authorities to urgently address the “terrible living conditions” of thousands of Roma. In the east of Slovakia, he visited Stará Tehelňa in Prešov, Jarovnice, Petrovany, Luník IX in Košice and Kecerovce, where he met with representatives of Roma communities, local authorities and groups working with Roma.

“Prejudice against Roma is deeply rooted in society. Discrimination affects all areas of Roma life in Slovakia: from placing Roma women in separate maternity wards to segregated Roma children in education. Many Roma are deprived of access to adequate housing and are rejected in job interviews, ” he stated.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Roma Gang

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Two articles in the Czech press about a gang of young Roma in the town of Šternberk who beat up a young girl and broke her nose.

This is bad for all Roma.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, the UK, and Roma

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A reportage in Spiš, Slovakia, where many residents of the Roma settlement work in the UK and return home with nice cars, luxury goods, and renovate their houses. The story from exclusion to integration, albeit in another country.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Amaro Fest

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Over the weekend, Nitra, in Slovakia, will host the eighth annual international Roma festival called Amaro Fest 2024 – open air gipsy festival. As the organizers from the civic association Roma Art Agency stated, in addition to promoting culture, the festival is supposed to support Roma identity and contribute to the social and cultural inclusion of Roma. “Amaro Fest 2024 will offer performances by professional Roma artists from abroad and from home. The audience will see dynamic dance ensembles and the world star from Germany Ricard Kwiek with a live band, Ján Bendig will come from the Czech Republic,” the organizers informed.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Integration

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A Slovak journalist, Petra Strižková, went to two Slovak villages: Bystré and Hlinné. What they have in common is that they succeeded in what many only dream of or say is impossible! Roma-non-Roma coexistence is harmonious there – and has been for decades. The beginning of the successful story of integration was the demolition of a Roma settlement 50 years ago.

Well, that is clear: If you segregate people in a ghetto, you will definitively not integrate them.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Civil Protection, and Roma

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The Office of the Government declared that, in addition to focusing on the field of civil protection, it will make maximum effective use of European funds aimed at the restoration of cultural monuments. “The restoration of cultural monuments, […], also has an important social element, in the form of social enterprises that employ a significant part of members of marginalized Roma communities during the restoration of cultural heritage,” according to the document approved by the government on Wednesday.

It means, like in Hungary, that they hire Roma (usually at low rates) for unskilled work…

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Forced Sterilisations

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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of the Slovak Republic wants to establish a working group that would prepare a legislative proposal for compensation for women sterilized in violation of the law. The Department informed about this in connection with the meeting of its State Secretary Katarína Roskoványi with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty.

It is about time. The practice continued even after the fall of the iron curtain.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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The situation is not getting better in Slovenia, especially in the South East of the country. The article starts with “After the municipal councilors met in an extraordinary meeting last Wednesday due to the increasing insolence, violence and crime of individual Roma or groups of Roma in the municipality of Škocjan, another meeting was also organized last night by the village community of Grmovlje, which in addition to Grmovlje also includes Hudenje, Dobruško village and Doljno Staro village, and also invited villagers from the village communities of Dobrava pri Škocjan and Tomažja village.”

In brief, bridges are burnt. And this is bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

EU, Slovakia, and Roma

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The State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, Katarína Roskoványi, met today with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty. The subject of the meeting was the human rights of the Roma.

Commissioner O’Flaherty informed about his visit to Slovakia. During the initial days, he visited eastern Slovakia, where he met with representatives of the Roma community and held interviews about their situation, access to housing and other rights.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Work

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There are many Roma in Slovakia under the long term unemployed. Many of them retrained, but employers do not want to hire them… And now the minister wants to stop the benefits if they refuse a job. The fear is that the jobs they will propose are menial work with 19th century technology like the Hungarian közmunka (public work).

Moldova News Eastern Europe

Moldova: Flash Mob

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A flash mob took place in the center of Chisinau on July 7. The mostly Roma participants chanted slogans such as “Stop ethnic discrimination!” or “Stop the hate speech. Yes! Stop inciting hatred against Roma. Yes! Stop inciting hatred towards anyone. Yes!”

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Illegal Sterilisations

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A decision of the Supreme Administrative Court says that the Ministry of Health must now actively verify whether an applicant for compensation was subjected to illegal sterilization in the past.

The impetus for changing the system was the request of a woman whose request for compensation was rejected by the Ministry of Health in the spring of 2022. The decision was mainly justified by the fact that the applicant’s medical records had already been shredded and she herself had not proven the illegality of her sterilization.

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