The Košice Self-governing Region commemorated the Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day on August 6 with the event Ma bisteren – Let’s Remember. The event will take place at the Romathan Regional Theatre, in Košice, Slovakia.
Bad on both sides… the story of a self-declared king Róbert I. Botoš, who took his symbolic throne in the spring of 2014. There is no such thing among Roma. No hierarchy whatsoever. But this perdures due to stereotypes on both sides.
An evening celebration of a wedding in Sereď, Slovakia, turned into a mass fight, which required police intervention. The incident was preceded by a verbal conflict during the wedding in one of the family homes. According to initial information, a group of Roma participated in the fight, who were supposed to disrupt public order. The seriousness of the situation is also confirmed by the fact that several injured people were treated in the hospital in Galanta.
Bad.
The most famous Slovak musician of Roma origin, Igor Kmeťo Jr., joined forces with Tina and treated his fans to a colorful video clip for the song Av ke mande – come to me. According to the articles, the song is a celebration of temperament, love and the connection of cultures.
On the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, which the world commemorates on August 2, the Director of the Holocaust Museum in Sereď – Martin Korčok, received the honorary recognition “Friend of the Roma”. The award was presented to him by Csaba Horváth from the Opre Roma Slovensko civic association, which since 2022 has been granting this symbolic recognition to people who, although not from the Roma community, actively contribute to the fight against prejudice and discrimination.
Many articles about the August 2nd commemoration of the genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
According to a news article, 140 Roma lost their houses because of a fire in their settlement in the Poprad district.
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.
A long article about the forced sterilisation of Romnja in Czechoslovakia (and beyond), and the long plight to get compensated.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 …
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.
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