Category Archives: Poland

News Eastern Europe Poland

Racism in Poland

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Racism in Poland

Izabela Jaśkowiak, president of the Harangos Romani Educational Association of Poland on her experiences with Racism against Roma in Poland.

Being ostracised in school and university, racist comments, she had to endure all.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Funerals

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Funerals

Two more article about a lavish funeral of a Polish Romni who died in the UK and was buried in Poland. Again they stress how “different” the Roma customs are from the general population.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Funeral

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Poland: Funeral

An article about the funeral of a 33 years old Polish Romni who was buried in Poland, although she lived in the UK. The article insists on the fact that the funeral rites are different from that of the Poles. They mentioned the night vigil over the coffin, and the hearth that had to be brought from Warsaw.

News Eastern Europe Poland Slovakia

Slovak Polish Concert

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Slovak Polish Concert

The House of Culture Foundation and ETP Slovensko invite you to the Romani Polish-Slovak Concert – a common space of culture in Europe. It will take place next Saturday (June 14) at the Office of Art Exhibitions in Krosno, Poland, starting at 5:00 p.m.

The programme includes: A performance by the “Sila v mladosti” band from Stara Lubovna, which will present the music of the Slovak Roma from the Prešov region (historical Spiš); a concert by the “Romano Iło” band, led by Łukasz Andrasz, representing traditional Roma music from the Podkarpacie region in a modern version; a jam session, during which musicians from Poland and Slovakia will jointly create a space for improvisation and exchange of artistic experiences; as well as dances.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Resistance Day

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Resistance Day

Roma honoured the memory of their ancestors who revolted 81 years ago in the Gypsy camp that was part of the German Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp. Director of the Roma History and Culture Centre Władysław Kwiatkowski emphasized that it was an act of maintaining dignity in the face of death.

Europe News Eastern Europe Poland

Roma Resistance Day

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Roma Resistance Day

April 16th, Roma Resistance Day, commemorates the resistance of Roma inmates in the Auschwitz “Zigeunerlager” when the Nazis liquidated the camp.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Krakow: Celebration

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Krakow: Celebration

The Krakow somewhat belated celebrations of International Roma Day are taking place today place at the Multicultural Center at ul. Zabłocie 20. The program includes a debate, workshops, tasting of traditional dishes and a concert by Marek Balog – an outstanding Roma artist.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Lublin on Roma Integration

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Lublin on Roma Integration

On May 5, 2025, the Municipality of Lublin concluded agreements with the Voivode of Lublin to implement tasks under the “Social and Civic Integration Program for Roma in Poland for the years 2021-2030.”

The projects plans to increase the social integration of Roma and non-Roma children through participation in a joint holiday trip to summer camps in 2025 and to purchase school materials, textbooks, and sports articles for Roma children.

Whether this is enough for integration remains to be seen…

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Ukrainian Refugees

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Ukrainian Refugees

Olena Vaidalovich, defender of Roma rights says that some Roma Don’t Admit Who They Are

In refugee shelters, Ukrainians of Roma origin were separated from other Ukrainians. Coordinators said they were trying to avoid tensions. “Better” Ukrainians had more comfortable conditions – beds, chairs. Where there were Roma, there might have been nothing. I saw children sleeping on cardboard boxes in winter.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma

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Poland and Roma

On 16 April 2025, a meeting was held at the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights between the Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Krzywoń and the Vice-President of the Central Roma Council Karol Kwiatkowski and the Director for Communication and Cooperation at the Central Roma Council Karolina Kwiatkowska.

Representatives of the Central Roma Council presented information on the organization’s activities, its initiatives to date and actions taken to support the Roma community in Poland. During the talks, the following issues were raised, among others: issues of difficult social and living conditions in Roma settlements in Małopolska and barriers faced by Roma refugees from Ukraine. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences and discuss possible directions for further cooperation.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma Settlements

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Poland and Roma Settlements

An old story, in the Polish town of Limanowsa, local Roma lived in a insalubrious building. So the municipality decided to purchase another building to house these Roam families. The catch: They did not buy the building in the town but in another one …

That town is a touristy one and did not appreciate this. Neither did Roma who were de-facto forced resettled.

Since no one moved in, the town of Limanowa needs to repay loans.

We are not going to cry here …

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and April 8th

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Poland and April 8th

A few of the many articles on April 8th in the Polish press. The university of Warsaw claim theyt have been conducting research on Roma “migration” since 2016. There they mean migration of Roma from other countries as Poland such as Ukrainian Roma.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Środa, Poland: Conference

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Środa, Poland: Conference

A special meeting dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Roma and Sinti Genocide during World War II will be held in the Środa Library Aprill 11th. The speaker will be Lucyna Matkowska, née Ondycz, a representative of the second generation of Holocaust survivors from Środa. She will share moving memories of her family, reflections on the memory and legacy of this tragedy, and the challenges facing future generations.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Łodz – Litzmannstadt Ghetto

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Łodz – Litzmannstadt Ghetto

The “Gypsy” camp in Łódź was the first ghetto intended exclusively for Roma and Sinti in occupied Polish lands. In the Łódź ghetto, it was located on Wojska Polskiego, Obrońców Westerplatte, Starosikawska and Głowackiego (in today’s street names). in November 1941 almost five thousand Roma and Sinti from Burgenland (the Austro-Hungarian border) were imprisoned.

A guided tour is organised on April 10th at 18:00.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poznan: Roma Ghetto

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Poznan: Roma Ghetto

There is a Roma settlement on Lechicka Street in Poland, a real ghetto. Fires often occur there, mostly due to the accumulated garbage. The Poznań City Office has been demanding that it be cleaned up for several years. As reported by Radio Poznań, city officials went to inspect. Apparently, the owner of the land, who is staying in the United States, has already been fined 4 times, amounting to several dozen thousand złoty. It seems that enforcing the clean-up is difficult.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Memorial

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Poland: Memorial

A new memorial for 77 Roma who were murdered in Karczew, Poland, in 1943 is planned. During the interwar period, travelling Roma would come to the village of Przewóz (now part of Karczew) for wintering and rented rooms from local farmers. From 1939, Roma lived in the village, as the Germans banned them from travelling. The life of the local Roma community ended tragically on January 2, 1943. Several German soldiers surrounded the village and began to drag Roma out of their homes onto the streets. Anyone who resisted was immediately shot; a total of 77 people were killed during the executions.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Poland and Roma Refugees

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Poland and Roma Refugees

25,000 Roma fled from Ukraine to Poland according to this article, which also states that “Most families were completely illiterate”… Both statements are definitively wrong. There are more Roma refugees, and many are well integrated.

Now four journalists and reporters have published a book describing their plight. “The War of Our Times” by Maria Kądzielska-Koper, Arleta Bojke, Michał Owerczuk and Tomasz Piechal is a collection of ten stories.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Edward Dębicki

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Poland: Edward Dębicki

Fr. Stanisław Opocki, the National Roma Chaplain, prayed on March 6 for the Gypsy artist, Honorary Citizen of Gorzów Wielkopolski Edward Dębicki on his 90th birthday. The Jubilarian and his wife Ewa also participated in the Holy Mass celebrated in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Edward Dębicki, a Roma activist is well known in Poland and beyond.

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