Category Archives: Poland

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Interview

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An interview with Sonia Styrkacz, a psychologist from a Silesian Roma family married to a Carpathian Polish Rom.On Christmas traditions, she says: “On Christmas Eve, various traditions mix in our house – Romani, Polish, Catholic, Silesian, highlander. I am a Silesian Roma, my husband is a mountain Roma from Podhale, so our family traditions are different. In my family home, holidays were a time of meeting, peace and conversation. Religious aspects receded into the background. For my husband, there are no holidays without mass. We also have different culinary traditions – my husband’s family fasted on Christmas Eve, while mine ate meat. We weren’t preparing maybe 12 dishes, but there had to be a lot of food – stuffed cabbage rolls, pork chops and minced meat, roulades, which we took over from Silesian cuisine.”

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland, Prisons, and Roma

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Reports and complaints about the improper treatment of Roma in Poland’s prisons have reached the ombudsman’s desk and indicate the widespread use of stereotypes and violations of prisoners’ rights.

Bad, but not surprising.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Romnja in Poland

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“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.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Sobibor

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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.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Katowice: Festival

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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.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Poland and Roma Refugees

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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.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma

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The Pomeranian Voivode invites representatives of non-governmental organizations to participate in the work of the commission assessing applications for 2024 – submitted under the “Program for the social and civic integration of Roma in Poland for 2021-2030”.

Let’s see what the outcome will be …

News Eastern Europe Poland

Clichés

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An amusing story of a German Gadže family who decided to travel through Europe with horse-drawn carriages. And of course, in the article, the analogy to the cliché of a Roma camp comes up…

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Conflict

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Another article in the Polish press about the conflict between the residents of Koszary,  a large village in Limanowa County and its Roma populations, which apparently settled there in the 1970s.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Conflict

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In the town of Koszary, the conflict between the Roma community and other residents is escalating. The dispute has become so serious that the Ombudsman will look into it.

Let’s see if this brings anything.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Conflict

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Koszary is a small town near Limanowa in Lesser Poland. In the 1970s, the Roma settled here. Over time, the Romani settlement began to expand. This sparked opposition from the Limanowa community.

This began to escalate a dozen or so years ago. Cables, electronic waste and started being burnt. These fumes, this smell of plastic in the air quite far. People within a two kilometres radius are complaining. In addition, the soil is being contaminated. Violence is also on the rise.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Polish Campaign

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An article in the Ukrainian press about the polish campaign calling on tech giants Google, Meta and Netflix to improve their services and products to be more inclusive of Roma people.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Appeal to Google, Meta, and Netflix

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Billboards appeared on the streets of Warsaw calling on Google, Meta and Netflix to improve their services and products. So that they are more inclusive and include Roma. The main slogan of the campaign is #StopRomophobia.

A proposal for the design of the first Romani Doodle in the history of Google appeared at Towarowa Street in Warsaw. The drawing could appear on the search engine’s home page on November 5, the International Day of the Romani Language. Doodle’s design was consulted with the famous Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Ukrainian Roma Refugees in Poland

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About three to four hundred Ukrainian Roma refugees are housed in a recreation complex in Poręba Wielka, in Poland’s Gorce mountains. The recreation complex belongs to a controversial entrepreneur who is being accused of making money with the refugees.

The people in the regions complain about these Roma refugees and fear that they will be robbed.

News Eastern Europe Poland

All Saints Day in Poland

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An article about Roma celebrations in the cemetery in Wrocław. Polish Roma honour the departed on November 1st, eating drinking, and making music on their graves.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland: Conflict

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A conflict is brewing between residents of the village of Koszary in the Limanowa district. Roma illegally burn cables in their housing estate to get metals from them. “The stench is so bad you can’t breathe,” say the residents of Koszary. The residents say Roma react very aggressively to all the comments against them. This is confirmed by the recent situation when the residents of the estate beat up the TVP team that was making a program about the situation in the village.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Slums in Poland

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The social housing estate at ul. Sobieskiego in Bielsko-Biała was built in the 1990s. These are five one-story blocks with tiny apartments of a very low standard, where one bathroom and a toilet are shared between several apartments. Something for something, because the rent for the apartments was very low. There are quite a few Roma there too. With such a concentration of poverty, the estate the estate has gained very bad reputation.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland, Cemeteries, and Roma

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Roma graves are often impressive. In this way, they honour those who have departed. These are family graves, and the richer the family, the more impressive it gets.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Limanowa, Poland, and Roma

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The mayor of Limanowa, Poland, on solving the issue of a Roma settlement with funds from the state and the reactions of the people. This saga has lasted several years, and the city was repeatedly condemned by the Ombudsman.

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