Category Archives: Slovakia

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma

Published by:

Slovakia and Roma

A third of those surveyed in Slovakia openly express negative attitudes towards Roma, while only five percent have the opposite attitude. Another 61 percent expressed neutrality. Residents of eastern Slovakia and the Bratislava region are particularly critical. This is according to a December survey by the Focus agency for the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities (ÚSVRK).

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Restaurants, and Roma …

Published by:

Slovakia, Restaurants, and Roma …

Roma activist Viktor Duda, an employee of the Sabinovský municipal office, was unable to sit in the restaurant with a friend and two other members of the civil order service on Friday evening. The waitress told them that all the tables were occupied.

They were supposed to meet with the city councilor there. He arrived at the restaurant after them with two other friends – and a table was found for them.

The restaurant owner claims this was not discrimination ….

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Segregated Schools

Published by:

Segregated Schools

The education of children from Roma communities in Slovakia has long been on the fringes of public interest. The Ministry of Education recently announced a pilot project of a national school in the village of Rakúsy, which is to allow Roma children to be educated in their mother tongue. However, this step has sparked a debate about whether it will lead to a deepening of segregation.

Well, for us, this is clear. It is segregation and the results will not be good.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

For once …

Published by:

For once …

On Monday, February 10, in Bratislava, a 24 years woman on a bicycle was attacked by 40-year-old man with a knife who also threatened other passerby’s.

The attacker turned out to be Polish, and the rescuers, Roma… The victim was helped by a group of Roma who managed to pacify the attacker.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Tragedy

Published by:

Slovakia: Tragedy

A 28-year-old man was burned to death in the centre of Gelnica on Sunday morning, and succumbed to his injuries on Monday (February 10). The police have opened a criminal investigation into the crime of assault. According to their findings so far, the man’s clothes were intentionally set on fire by a minor.

Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities Alexander Daško instructed field workers in his office to investigate the circumstances of Sunday’s tragedy as apparently, both the victim and the perpetrator were Roma.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Housing

Published by:

Slovakia and Housing

Unimo cells (Container houses) in the Roma ghetto in Žilina have their best years behind them. The city therefore wants to take action. It plans to repair a destroyed apartment building in the area. The Red Cross, which does not like segregation, is against it.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Interview

Published by:

Slovakia: Interview

An interview with a Romani university graduate. Katarína Pompová, who is a specialist in the implementation of social and legal protection measures and social guardianship says that if you believe in your abilities, you can do anything and that there are more and more Roma studying at universities.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Roma Doctor

Published by:

Slovakia: Roma Doctor

Ján Deme (31) from Klenovec is one of the few Romani doctors in Slovakia. With perseverance, courage and ambition, he proves that even people from marginalized groups can make it really far.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Racism in Slovakia

Published by:

Racism in Slovakia

Marek Badžo and Darina Berková, a Roma couple, bought a house in the centre of the village of Nižná Myšla in the Košice-okolie district. Some residents didn’t like it, so they wrote a petition. They mentioned the Roma origin of the new owners and their concerns that they might be unadaptable people who would cause problems in the village.

The residents justify their position by the mayor’s long-term failure to resolve the situation in the Roma community, and they also have reservations about the way the house was sold. Meanwhile, several politicians have been involved in the events in the village, who see discrimination and segregation in the behaviour of the locals.

Well, you don’t need a Ph.D. to see that.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma In Slovakia

Published by:

Roma In Slovakia

To be a Rom in Slovakia is not easy. The stereotypes are  hard to overcome: poor, with many children, uneducated, not willing to work and integrate, dirty, etc.

Lana, a 28 years old Romni from a small town in eastern Slovakia who now lives abroad, founded the Instagram profile “Kamiben” to counter these stereotypes and told about her experiences as a Romni iN Slovakia. Scary, for example, a customer refused to pay for groceries because a Romni touched them. It says a lot.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Plenipotentiary

Published by:

Slovakia: Plenipotentiary

According to Romano Forum, the current Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities, Alexander Daško,  is failing to prevent discrimination in the policies of other ministries.

The fourth government of Robert Fico is marked by a frontal attack on civil society and the weakening of non-governmental organizations. This political trend is also being copied by the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government for Roma Communities under the leadership of Alexander Daško, who is the nominee of the Smer-SD party.

After the elections, the Office suspended the organization of the Congress of Young Roma, which was founded by Daško’s predecessor Ján Hero. It was a format that allowed young university students from excluded communities to collaborate on proposals for inclusive policies and the fight against poverty.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Bratislava: Neo-Nazis

Published by:

Bratislava: Neo-Nazis

The police have identified several people who have been going on a rampage in the centre of the capital for several months. Their victims are mainly foreigners or Roma. The group of neo-Nazis flees after the attack, they film everything on their mobile phones and publish it on social networks.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Discrimination

Published by:

Slovakia: Discrimination

Michal Sivák, a gifted teacher and Rom has a job in a school in Bratislava. The problem: he can’t find an apartment as his applications are rejected because he is Rom.

He now says he won’t stay in education. What a waste.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Monika Vontszemüová

Published by:

Monika Vontszemüová

She is a fashion designer, runs a fashion shop in Bratislava, and is a Romni.

Monika grew up in Bratislava in the middle of the majority. Her parent had a boutique on Obchodná Street and as a child she played near the Medical Garden. She went through her own path of acceptance and learning about Roma. “Until the beginning of elementary school, I had no idea that such a thing existed. Only then did a classmate scold me for being a gypsy. I came home and asked my mother what it was.”

Monika Vontszemüová received the Roma Spirit award for innovative contribution in fashion and fine arts.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Na Plech

Published by:

Na Plech

Extremely incorrect comedy “Na plech” is a big hit  in Czech cinemas with more that 65’000 viewers in the first week, Slovak cinemas are afraid of it. It is an extremely incorrect comedy, with uncompromising style and humor that goes beyond the limit. For example, one of the scenes features a group of Roma cooking methamphetamine.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Forced Sterilisations

Published by:

Slovakia: Forced Sterilisations

Officially, forced sterilisations, which were common in Czechoslovakia, ceased. But apparently not really. This article states that 110 cases of forced sterilisations have been identified and were done after 1989.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Support for Roma Communities

Published by:

Slovakia: Support for Roma Communities

The current system of support for marginalized Roma communities has serious shortcomings, auditors propose fundamental measures. According to the auditors, unclear competencies, excessive bureaucracy in approving subsidies, lack of transparency in the area of ​​human resources and a lack of internal control mean that the funds spent do not bring the expected results.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Neo-Nazis

Published by:

Slovakia: Neo-Nazis

A neo-Nazi group in Bratislava which calls itself “White Zone SS” has been terrorizing people for several months. They mainly attack foreigners and Roma. According to experts on extremism, they resemble radicals from the 90s. They differ only in one thing. They film everything on their mobile phones and publish it on social networks.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia; Social Project

Published by:

Slovakia; Social Project

A Roma activist created a project to support people who need it most. In the village of Valaská in Horehronie, close to Banská Bystrica Ivan Mako created a project that is unique in Slovakia. With a vision to help those who need it most – not only Roma, but all the socially disadvantaged, poor or disabled, regardless of race, nationality or religion, his project has been going on for years and is a flourishing business. Ten years from now, a Roma can be president, he believes.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Writer

Published by:

Roma Writer

An article about the Roma writer Michal Šamko. His parents and siblings came from Svidník, but he was born in Jičín, Czech Republic, where he did not have an easy childhood. “Gypsy filth,” they shouted at him in elementary school, where there were 23 children in their class, but he was the only Roma. The biggest punishment for his classmates was not the remarks, but being seated next to him. Michal Šamko was determined to achieve something in life and in the end he succeeded.

rroma.org
en_GBEN
de_DEDE fr_FRFR en_GBEN