Director Peter Záchenský made a documentary on the small village Bôrka, about 20 km from Rožňava (Slovakia). Similar to elsewhere – Slovaks, Hungarians, Roma together on a small piece of land, mostly out of work. He explores and portrays the situation from several angles.
In the novel Kamav tu [I love you], Rudi Mlinar opens up a problematic topic. Namely, “Shakespearean” love finding itself in the grip of ethnic stereotypes. The feelings that develop between the Roma boy Zoran and the girl of Slovenian roots, Milena, regardless of society’s prejudices, become not only forbidden, but even persecuted. Milena’s parents move to Australia with their daughter, but their escape does not erase the mutual affection between the two young people. This blossoms again when Milena returns to Slovenia to study and meets Zoran again completely by chance. With this, the young couple become unwanted again.
The writer Rudi Mlinar, born in Dolgi Brdy nad Prevalje, was educated in Carinthia, and later worked at the Ravne Ironworks and at the railway station in Ljubljana. He was also culturally involved all the time. For his literary work, he was chosen among the best beginner writers in Slovenia for prose (1981) and drama (1998), and later received several other awards.
Another article about the Romnja ban Pretty loud, this time in the Bulgarian press. The first all-female rap group has a serious mission: to end early marriage for Roma girls. But the Pretty Loud band doesn’t stop there. Well known in the Balkans, the Serbian gang also promotes university education and social integration for members of an ethnic group that has historically been isolated. The young women of Pretty Loud have lived what they rap about. One of the singers – Zlata became a mother at 17. Diana faced discrimination at school, and Samantha was married by her father without her consent.
Apparently, the Czech get along best with Slovaks, then with Western Europeans and Americans, and worst towards Arabs and Afghans. What about Roma: No surprise, only 24% of the Czech would want them as neighbours.
When a Rom complains about police’s actions, the truth is difficult to uncover. In Slovakia, the police need not fear any punishment, according to Amnesty International director Rado Sloboda.
He went to a regular work dinner but ended up in handcuffs at the police station. He claims that they pressed his head against a table, beat him and kicked him. Roma activist Zoltán Sztojka draws attention to an incident at the regional police department in Trnávka, Bratislava, where, according to his own words, he was beaten. He talks about slaps, kicks and racist insults.
“Being a Roma woman is being a warrior.” Racism is everyday life for Roma. “We are independent, we are strong and we make our dreams come true” – this is how 28-year-old Olena, a lawyer from Ukraine, replied to the question about what Romani women are like. Olena is one of the 6 heroines of the second instalment of the series of portraits of Roma women prepared by the W Torona Dialogu Foundation. The goal of the campaign is clear – it’s time for Roma women to come out of the shadows and talk about themselves on their own terms and in their own words.
A video of a Roma ghetto in Krivoy Roz, near the Dnipropetrovsk region, at one of the largest sewage dumps.
This is bad.
The Museum and Memorial Site in Sobibór has been nominated for the prestigious title of European Museum of the Year 2024. The competition is organized by the European Museum Forum – an independent, non-governmental organization operating under the auspices of the Council of Europe, whose mission is to promote innovation in museology. The winners will be announced in early May 2024. The European Museum of the Year Award is considered the most important distinction for European museums.
More than 200 Roma in Sliven and Tvardishko participated in talks about the benefits of preventive health examinations, the National Patient Organization reported. The campaign was carried out together with the association “Zhadda za život” under the project “Active citizens for local and national reforms in health care”. The target of the explanatory campaign are patients without health insurance and those with limited access to health care, to whom the importance of immunizations, healthy nutrition and raising children was explained.
The liberalisation of Schengen visas for Kosovo residents is a huge ray of hope for Roma in that country. However, there are quite a few Roma who have no identity papers in Kosovo.
The former and fourth president of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Kiska, presented a fashion brand in Bratislava that changes the lives of Roma. The unique ROMADE project was created with the aim of systematically helping people from Roma communities in Slovakia. It provides them with permanent employment, regular income and professional advice. The ROMADE fashion brand is represented by original collections that were created by combining Roma culture, the talent of Slovak designers and the work of Roma.
Another article on the Roma “Problem” in Slovenia in the regions of Dolenjci, Belokranjci, and Posavci. The situation is difficult, but to write what is in the article is not exactly helpful. The article says:
“The majority of Roma are uneducated and consequently unemployed. Roma settlements, most of which grew up on foreign land, with “black” houses, became ghettos, and it is difficult to talk about any kind of socialization. The main source of livelihood for the majority is social transfers, which depend on the size of the family – more children, more money. But what if many spend it on alcohol, drugs and weapons, and crime and threats to people’s safety are also connected to this.”
So in brief, we are all uneducated unemployed social security abusers with many children who are alcoholics and drug addicts… How about a sanity check about those statements?
The commission for monitoring the situation of the Roma community in the municipality of Ribnica held its 4th regular meeting on Monday, November 27, 2023. The proposal of a program of long-term and short-term measures to solve the Roma problem was presented in more detail by the mayor, which will be discussed in detail by the Commission for Monitoring the Roma Community.
Let’s see the outcome…
For the twelfth time, the “Chemik” Cultural Centre will host the Days of Roma Culture and Tradition organized by Public Primary School No. 1. Dance groups will perform on the stage, and Romanes poems will be recited. The star of the event will be Angelo Ciureja, a Roma singer from Wałbrzych, scholarship holder and winner of the National Competition for talented Roma youth in Poland.
Organized by the Office for Roma Inclusion, another seminar was held in Niš from November 24 to 26 for coordinators for Roma issues and for representatives of Roma NGOs. At the seminar, information was exchanged about the situation and position of Roma in local self-governments. The activities and plans for the year 2024, the two most important institutions for improving the position of Roma in Serbia – the Office for Roma Inclusion and the National Council of the Roma National Minority – were presented.
Let’s see what this produces …
A positive article in the Slovak press on the Roam Spirit awards. For the fifteenth time, the Roma Spirit awards were given to those who participate in improving the lives of Roma men and women and coexistence in Slovakia.
An article about the Romani folk singer Teddy Alexadrova. She is 32 years old, and not married. According to this “article”, her family is looking for a suitable husband for her.
Many stereotypes in such a short article.
The 2023 Roma Spirit award nominated its laureates on Saturday (November 25) evening. They were announced at the National Theater in Košice. The prize was awarded by an expert jury in eight categories.
Šukar Dživipen from Banská Štiavnica won in the NGO category.
Zdravé regióny – a state organization won in the category Company and employer.
The city district of Košice – Luník IX won in the the Town and City category.
Paulína Slepčíková from Košice won in the in the Personality category.
The project Stories without Borders won in the Media category.
Barbora Botošová from Bratislava won the award in the Culture category.
Natália Gažiová from Košice won the Act of the Year category.
The special prize of the jury was awarded in memoriam to Daniela Hivešová Šilanova, a Slovak writer, dramaturg and screenwriter, co-founder of Romathan Roma Theatre.
According to the article, roughly 25’000 Roma from Ukraine fled to Poland, and these were overwhelmingly illiterate. This probably means they missed quite of few Roma who did not conform to the stereotypes.
A book on this exodus, called “The War of our Times” was published.
On this Sunday, starting at 9 pm – a great party has been prepared in the club of the Association for the Development of the Culture of Močvara with a concert by KAL, a musical ensemble formed in 1996 in Valjevo.
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