Category Archives: Slovakia

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Commemoration

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Slovakia: Commemoration

The Community Organizing Center, the Nie v našom mesto initiative, the Bystricka Christian Platform and the OZ Nádej deťom invite the public to a memorial service for the victims of the Genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust. It will take place on Thursday, July 31st at the SNP Square in Banská Bystrica.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Moldova nad Bodvou

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Moldova nad Bodvou

This is a never-ending story. 12 years ago, Roma were beaten up by the police in Moldova nad Bodvou. The Roma sued and found themselves accused of false testimony and condemned. They appealed and finally, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Slovakia in 2020.

They case against the police was reopened but assigned to the very same prosecutor who condemned the Roma. Now, finally, a new investigator has been assigned to the case.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Wedding

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Roma Wedding

Yet another article about the lavish Roma wedding in Košice, Slovakia. According to eh article, the viral wedding of rich Roma in Košice caused quite a stir among residents and tourists alike. After the wedding in the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, to which Charlotka (the bride), Roman (the bridegroom) and other wedding guests walked down the red carpet, a pompous banquet followed. The bride changed into a red dress of Hollywood proportions and later returned with her family to a luxuriously furnished house.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

A good story?

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A good story?

Martin Halík, a successful IT worker, left all behind an moved to a Roma settlement in Gemer. He does concrete help, charity, but also is a priest and as such also preaches.

Nice intentions, one needs to understand more.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Wedding in Košice, Slovakia

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Wedding in Košice, Slovakia

A large Roma wedding took place in the St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral in Košice. Apparently, these was a lavish affair, with the press mentioning large amount of gold.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Jarovnice, Slovakia

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Jarovnice, Slovakia

The Atlas of Roma Communities estimates the number of Roma living in Slovakia at over 405 thousand, which is about eight percent of the population and much higher than the official last census, almost by a factor 3. Larger communities live in over 800 villages and towns.

The largest Roma settlement in Slovakia is in Jarovnice in the Prešov Region. About 8,500 Roma live there, and almost a thousand of them live illegally. i.e. their houses are not legally registered.

According to the article, Roma love to live there… This can sincerely be doubted.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Gypsy Fest

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Gypsy Fest

The festival that breaks down prejudices and unites cultures will celebrate its big anniversary in 2025. After ten years, Gipsy Fest returns to Žarnovica with the strongest program in history. You can look forward to Cigánski diabli, Kandračovci, P.A.T., Jasmina Alagič and many others.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Jarovnice: Remember

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Jarovnice: Remember

The residents of Jarovnice, Slovakia, will never forget July 20, 1998, when six storm clouds combined and brought the most devastating flood in the last millennium. To this day, when it starts to rain, Roma from their houses by the stream run to the hill for safety.

Jaroslav Červeňák was 14 years old when the largest Roma settlement in Slovakia was flooded.

“It was hot and muggy, and then around 2 p.m. it started to rain. At first it looked like a summer shower. Then a big storm hit. Today there would be a warning, but there were no mobile phones back then. People were cooking and washing, no one was prepared for it,” recalls Mr. Červeňák, who lost his aunt and cousin that day.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Project

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Roma Project

A warranted critique of a planned project in Slovakia which plans to invest 20 million euros in the Roma Media House in Banská Bystrica.

However, it is a project that has more of a marketing character than a real impact. It lacks professional anchoring, transparency, and connection to the needs of the community itself. The chosen location – Banská Bystrica – is not the natural centre of the Roma population. This choice raises legitimate doubts about whether the project serves the community or the interests of the Slovak government’s representative for Roma communities, Alexander Dašek, whose office is based in this city.

However, the fundamental problem is not only geography, but also the lack of expertise. How many Roma journalists with experience in professional editorial offices do we have in Slovakia? Who will provide direction, camera, dramaturgy, sound, editing? Who will write in such a way as to create content that has the ambition to compete with non-Roma media – strong content, factually accurate, editorially polished? Without experts, this project will be just a laugh!

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and EU Funds

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Slovakia and EU Funds

Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský presented a critical report on the rule of law and the use of EU funds in Slovakia. Improved controls and protection of civil society are required. The report considers the weakening of the rule of law as a key finding, as the abolition of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the National Criminal Agency led to a dramatic drop in the number of indictments for serious economic crimes (in 2025, only two were filed, compared to the previous 120-150 per year).

The report also criticizes the hostile environment towards civil society and the media, as non-governmental organizations face administrative harassment, discredit campaigns, blocking of access to information, and investigative journalists report intimidation when verifying facts about the misuse of EU funds, for example for the construction of EU-funded pensions.

The MP also mentioned the inefficient financing of Roma projects, when there were cases where community representatives were excluded from planning, and projects such as the “Roma Media House” did not meet the needs in the areas of housing, work or education.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Romology Closure

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Romology Closure

The Institute of Romology Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health of the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra is closing down after 35 years. At the end of June, the proposal of the Dean of the Faculty, Tomáš Sollár, was approved by the Academic Senate.

The restructuring of the institute is to create a department of social work for Roma communities at the Department of Social Work and Social Sciences. This also includes personnel cuts – from the original three assistant professors and one associate professor, only two assistant professors will remain in the new department.

Says a lot about priorities …

Czech Republic Europe News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Festivals …

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Roma Festivals …

An editorial one can only agree with. There is a multiplication of events called “Roma festivals”. This article focuses on the ones created in Slovakia, but this is a phenomenon that exists across Europe. Quality, impact, and meaningfulness are seldom discussed. We have basic folklore, unfortunately pandering to the usual stereotypes.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Interview

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Slovakia: Interview

An interview with the musicians Silvia and Vanessa Šarköziová, two Romnja who tour Europe with the groups “Gypsy Devils”. Not the most profound interview, as one of the question is: how are Slovak women perceived aboard? And the answer by Silvia is, that she doesn’t quite fit the perceptions.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Romade Fashion

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Romade Fashion

The unique fashion brand, which supports the Roma cultural heritage, is a project of the fourth Slovak president Andrej Kiska. The brand was supported by many famous personalities right from the start, including Zuzana Čaputová. However, Romade fell far short of the creators’ expectations and ended 2024 with a loss.

Now its future is in question.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Police Violence

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Police Violence

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Amnesty International Slovakia demand an independent investigation into information about alleged police violence against residents of the Roma community in the village of Veľká Ida in Slovakia.

As stated in the statement of the organizations, the investigation of police violence against Roma in Slovakia has been ineffective in the past and has repeatedly failed to lead to justice. According to them, Roma communities in Slovakia continue to face police violence and raids.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Brawl in Slovakia

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Brawl in Slovakia

An article about a police intervention about several hundred people, many of which, according to the police were drunk. One police officer was apparently attacked, and one person was arrested.

What is really remarkable here is that the word “Roma” was not written, only that the incident was under investigation by the office of the plenipotentiary of the government for Roma communities.

Let’s see whether the intervention was warranted.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

“Pleasant Racism”

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“Pleasant Racism”

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) called the withdrawal of social benefits from the poorest “pleasant racism”.

“During the inspection day at the Ministry of Labour, the Prime Minister once again presented the intention to import tens of thousands of foreign workers from third countries – including Muslims from Uzbekistan. At the same time, he defended the law that takes away benefits in material need from the poorest in Slovakia,” the movement said. Pollák added that while the Prime Minister wants to import tens of thousands of Muslims from Uzbekistan, he is taking away the chance for Slovak citizens to gain a foothold in the labor market at home, including the Roma. “Instead of real solutions to support domestic employment, he has chosen the path against his own citizens – importing cheap labour from abroad,” the MP emphasized.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Won!

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Slovakia: Won!

According to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the rights of two complainants, a Roma father and son, were violated after they became victims of violent intervention by the police during the first lockdown in April 2020 in Bardejov. The court found that the use of force by the police, leading to injuries such as a skull fracture in one applicant and a concussion in the other, was manifestly disproportionate and the investigation into the police violence was inadequate. TASR was informed about this by the spokesman for the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Jonathan Lee. The ERRC represented the applicants.

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