Category Archives: Slovakia

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Children Art

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Children Art

The Gemersko-Malohontské Museum (GMM) in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia, opened the 14th annual exhibition entitled Romano dživipen [Roma life] on Wednesday (April 30). The exhibition is a showcase of children’s works created as part of a competition aimed at presenting the culture of the Roma ethnic group. Almost 130 drawings by children from three districts were submitted for the current year.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Exhibition

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Exhibition

On Monday, April 28, the Matej Hrebenda Library hosted the opening of a traveling exhibition titled The Fates of the Racially Persecuted in Slovakia in 1939–1945. The exhibition, prepared by the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica, will be open to the public until June 13, 2025.

The exhibition consists of 16 panels that map the solution to the so-called Jewish question in Slovakia in 1939–1945. It is thematically dedicated to the creation of propaganda, the creation of the image of the enemy, anti-Semitism, and human rights violations during World War II.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Amnesty on Slovakia

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Amnesty on Slovakia

In its annual report for 2024, the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) warns that thousands of people in Slovakia do not have adequate access to affordable housing. It criticizes the Slovak government for amendments to laws that, according to AI, have disproportionately restricted the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

The organization also notes in the report the concealment of information about arms supplies to Israel, discrimination against Roma, and the unprotected rights of LGBTI persons.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Spiš, Slovakia

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Spiš, Slovakia

Dennik N is making a series of reportages on the situation of Roma in the Spiš region of Slovakia, looking at how mayors cope with the issues of Roma settlements and at how EU funds, which provide the bulk of the help are being used.

Well, some improvements have bene done, but not much…

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Pastoral Care

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Pastoral Care

Peter Bešenyei is a Roman Catholic priest who dedicated himself to the pastoral care of the Roma in eastern Slovakia for over thirty years. In that he is an exception in the Catholic clergy. He lived for several years in the Luník IX housing estate. like the other residents in an apartment without water and electricity.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

An Australian in Lunik IX

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An Australian in Lunik IX

Upon arriving at the tiny apartment, an unexpected sight awaited the Australian woman. Although the apartment building seems cramped, the apartment that the young woman visited did not look any different from a normal Slovak household. The apartment was smaller, but considering what she saw outside, she was surprised by the cozy and clean environment.

Well, stereotypes are hard to kill …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Settlements

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Slovakia and Roma Settlements

On March 20, five people died in a fire in a Roma settlement in Veľký Šariš near Prešov. This tragedy also highlighted the conditions in which Roma people often live. The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities is currently trying to legalize dwellings in excluded communities.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Pope Francis

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Pope Francis

Residents of the Košice housing estate of Luník IX still remember the pope’s visit there.

“Dear brothers and sisters, too often you have been the subject of prejudice and merciless judgments, discriminatory stereotypes, derogatory words and gestures. Thanks to this, we have all become poorer. Poorer in humanity,” with these words Pope Francis addressed the Roma in the Luník IX housing estate. The news of his death also affected the local community.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

School Segregation

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School Segregation

On February 28, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a fundamental judgment that affects the lives of thousands of Roma children in Central Europe – and especially all of us who are trying to ensure that our children have a chance at a decent education. In the case of Salay vs. Slovakia, the court ruled in favour of a young Roma man who was unfairly placed in a special school for children with mental disabilities as a child, even though there was no reason for this.

All too common still.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Isolation during Covid

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Isolation during Covid

A draft resolution in the Slovak parliament to apologize to Roma for being isolated by the state in settlements during the COVID-19 pandemic divided the parliament and provoked one of the harshest exchanges of opinions in recent years. The main protagonists were Progressive Slovakia MP Ingrid Kosová – of Roma origin – and the former mayor of Humenné, long-time MP for Smer Jana Vaľová.

Kosova stated: “It is a shame for Slovakia and a shame for all mayors and mayors who have not yet put a serious end to this situation”. Vaľová defended herself, stating how much she had done for the Roma community, but also saying “they do not pay their bills”.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Archaeology

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Slovakia, Roma, and Archaeology

The sad story of an archaeological site on top of which there is a Roma settlement in Slovakia. Although everyone agrees the settlement needs to be relocated. The issue, in spite of available funds, is that no one wants to have these Roma as neighbours…

This has been going on for years.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma and Politics

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Roma and Politics

Roma must be given a chance in politics for elective positions, says Irena Biháriová, MP and the first Roma woman to lead a major political party.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Segregation

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Slovakia and Segregation

Roma children still face entrenched discrimination in education. This is according to a report by Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Center. The organizations are calling on the government to adopt systemic measures to end segregation in schools as soon as possible. The Ministry of Education responds that it is actively addressing this issue.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and School Segregation

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Slovakia and School Segregation

Several organisation including Amnesty International Slovakia and the European Roma Rights Center informed at a press conference on Wednesday that segregation of Roma students continues to occur in Slovakia. According to NGOs, the measures that Slovakia is introducing against the segregation of Roma children in schools are incomplete and are not bringing positive results.

The government, on its aside claims it does everything correctly …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Personalities

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Slovakia and Roma Personalities

The Old Town Library, in cooperation with the Slovak National Museum in Martin – the Museum of Roma Culture in Slovakia and the Romano Forum magazine, opened the exhibition Gallery of Roma Personalities.

The exhibition presents 24 prominent personalities of Roma origin who, with their talent, work and legacy, contributed to the development of society in Slovakia.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and the Billion for Roma

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Slovakia and the Billion for Roma

Slovak opposition Vladimír Ledecký (SaS) calls for reconsideration and revision of the action plans for the Strategy for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma until 2030 for the years 2025-2027, which were approved by the government in December 2024. As a Member of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic, he submitted a resolution in which he warns that, based on the action plan, millions of euros are to be spent on “meaningless projects whose real contribution to improving the living and economic situation of the Roma is zero”.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Housing

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Slovakia: Housing

The city of Veľký Šariš today began installing new unimo cells for residents who lost theirs in the tragic fire on March 19th with five victims. After today’s installation of the connection on Thursday, the unimocells (container housing units) will be connected to the existing networks, and the tenants should start moving into them from Friday.

It is in such housing units that the fire started. And nothing has really been done to prevent a further tragedy. But this is at least something.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Illegal Houses

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Illegal Houses

The mayor of the village of Torysa near Sabinov has ordered the residents of the settlement to remove illegal buildings. They are using the land on which their homes stand without any legal title. The government’s plenipotentiary for Roma communities Alexander Daško is looking for a systemic solution with the mayor of the village of Torysa. The demolition of 77 illegal dwellings would deprive four hundred Roma of a roof over their heads. Miriam Žiaková, director of the media department of the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities, informed about this.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Politics and Roma

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Slovakia: Politics and Roma

The chairman of the political party “Progressive Slovakia”, Michal Šimečka, said: “Approximately 440,000 Roma live in Slovakia. A huge number of them face discrimination, open or hidden hatred or violence every day. And I am not just talking about the thousands of them who live in settlements without sewage and drinking water.”

According to the chairman of the Progressive Slovakia, by excluding them, we are unnecessarily losing the potential, wasting the talent and job opportunities of tens of thousands of people who could be an enrichment for our society – humanly, culturally and economically.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Illegal Buildings

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Slovakia: Illegal Buildings

The mayor of the village of Torysa near Sabinove has ordered the residents of the Roma settlement to remove illegal buildings. They are using the land on which their homes stand without any legal title.

According to the mayor of the village, Jozef Stedina, the residents of the settlement have not yet responded to repeated calls to legalize their homes and have not even paid a fine. For this reason, he sent them calls to definitively remove the illegal buildings within nine months.

This is a usual trend to remove settlements. The issue is that at the fall of communism, Roma were not given the land on which they lived. Thus, all buildings are illegal. The same argument was done in Bulgaria to remove Roma.

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