The Slovenian Roma group Romano Glauso [Roma Voices] was formed in 2018. They say they spread the love for Romani music and playful joy by dancing on tables and drinking wine.
Another unfortunate article about Roma in the Slovenian press. They speak of criminality, brutality, gangs, and the like. In this article, they “explain” that Roma are driving customers away with the intent to extorting money from the businesses.
Bad.
At the initiative of the mayors of 11 municipalities in Slovenia, voters collected the necessary five thousand signatures to submit a package of proposals of changes to laws in the field of social policy and education to the National Assembly. The official aim of this package is to solve the Roma “problem”.
The proposed changes, among others, would pay the social benefits in kind instead of cash for parents not sending their children to school. The same would happen if they are in debt with utilities bills.
There have been severe critics at the proposed changes, with people calling them racist. Effectively, especially the last point on debt on bills, will mean that many Roma families will not have any money left.
The Roma living in Beltinci, Slovenia, are supposed to be moved to a new location called Fazanerija. The
living and social conditions in the current settlement, in which 70 to 80 Roma live, are unsustainable.
In the second half of June, Roma councillor Dušan Horvat resigned due to the excitement caused by the intended resettlement of Roma. Local residents are of course also unhappy about the move.
Another of those articles in the Slovene press … Speaking of the Roma “Problem”, the fact that they are all unemployed, criminals, that they have many more children than the rest of the population, and that most of their children do not even finish primary school.
What they are talking about is not a Roma “problem”, it is a case of poverty and exclusion. And that is a Slovene issue.
A round table “Roma cultural and artistic influences in Europe” was organized in Murska Sobota, Slovenia.
The keynote speaker of the round table was the advisor for culture of the Republic of Slovenia. In his speech, Marko Sraka Stated: “The topic of today’s round table, Roma cultural and artistic influences in Europe, is extremely important. In the public and the media, the Roma community is not often associated with a rich and vibrant culture, because social issues and problems arising from the relationship between the majority population and the Roma are always in the foreground. Every day, the Roma face hatred and rights violations, and have problems with decent and affordable housing, and are often denied employment and rights, and find it harder to integrate into the education system. The Romani language, culture and art have always been those parts of the Romani heritage, which others also recognize as a special value, especially here in Prekmurje,” he concluded in his speech.
The usual statistics: In the municipality around Novo Mesto, Slovenia, on average 12 percent of Roma students completed primary school, or approximately one in eight school-age children. There are currently 290 unemployed Roma registered at the regional office of the Employment Agency, which is 30 percent of all unemployed in the municipality. Of these, 73 percent have been registered at the institution for more than one year and 56 percent for more than two years.
Only issue pops up if you ask how many Roma there are in the municipality. Answer is usually we do not really know … This makes for highly accurate percentage …
The case of Roma being re-settled to a new place with better conditions, but resulting in protests of the village close to which the new settlement is.
It is never good to resettle people, much better to better the conditions locally.
Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar met with the mayor of the municipality of Črnomelj Andrej Kavško. They mainly talked about the removal of the fence on the southern border, the reimbursement of costs due to the increased control of the state border and Roma issues. A few days ago, the minister also had a conversation with the mayors of Novomeje and Kočevo. Regarding the Roma problem, he emphasized the intensive work of the police in the local community, especially in preventive measures. At the same time, he also pointed out that the success and efficiency of the work depend not only on the police, but also on the activities of other services in the field of education, urban planning, social services and employment.
That sure will solve the issue …
Two young women produced a podcast tackling the Yugoslav Nostalgia that seems to exist currently in Slovenia.
In the beginning, the two women touched on the government’s recent cancellation of the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communism. Zala Klopčič explained why the day was celebrated on May 17. “17. May 1942 was the first day when the communists carried out the first mass killing of Slovenian civilians on our soil, namely, it happened south of Ljubljana in the vicinity of Igo. The partisans killed 53 members of the Roma community, including children, a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy,” she reminded, adding that even today these people are not properly buried, because certain influential people on the Slovenian political scene do not allow their burial.
Good that they mention this!
The first mass murder of Slovenian civilians by communist partisans took place on May 17, 1942, when they murdered 53 people in the Iška gorge, south of Ljubljana. The victims were mostly Slovenian Roma. The event has been thoroughly researched and historically documented, as the Government Commission on Covert Graves excavated the remains of the victims in 2017. The perpetrators were partisans of the 1st company of the Šercer battalion, who murdered 53 people that day, of which 49 were Roma and four were Slovenian. The only Romani woman who escaped the massacre in Iška was later murdered in Gornji Igo.
Urška Klakočar Zupančič, the speaker of the Slovene Parlaiment, received representatives of the Association of Roma Councillors of Slovenia. They pointed out that the situation of the Roma is still bad, and they are also concerned about the low reputation of the Roma in society.
According to this article, there are more and more weapons to be found in Roma settlements in Slovenia. Why this is the case is not explained, nor is the source of those weapons.
Bad for all.
Another article on the speech of the Slovene President Nataša Pirc Musar who stated that the Roma community in our country is still very neglected, without access to basic rights such as drinking water, education, social and health care.
On World Roma Day, the President of the Slovenian Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, organised a consultation in the presidential palace attended by members of the Council of the Roma Community and councillors from municipalities where Roma have the right to elect their representatives to the municipal council.
She bemoaned the lack of access to clean water, and the fact that the health and social services have let the Roma down in many communities.
According to the Slovenian Ombudsman, the Constitution guarantees equality to the Roma, but in fact they are pushed away and excluded from society. The president of the Association of Roma in Slovenia, Jožek Horvat – Muc, assessed that the situation of the Roma community in Slovenia is better than in many other countries, despite this, many problems remain. Many Roma settlements are still communally unorganized, there are challenges in the education of Roma children and the employment of adult Roma. In order to improve the situation, it would be necessary to renew some measures that have proven to be outdated and ineffective in recent years, he warned.
The President of the Association of Roma in Slovenia, Jožek Horvat Muc, says that assessments of the situation of Roma in Slovenia vary, depending on who gives them, but in his opinion, this is better than in many other countries. Compared to other EU countries, the position of the Roma is relatively good, but there are also areas to which more attention should be paid, the President of the Roma Association, Jožek Horvat Muc, and the Director of the Office for Nationalities, Stanko Baluh, warn ahead of World Roma Day. In doing so, they highlight the areas of education, employment and security.
Frankly, this is not quite the truth. The situation is quite bad, as the press in Slovenia loves to highlight.
The Government Office for Nationalities has announced new elections to the Council of the Roma Community of the Republic of Slovenia. This council has already started work, but without seven members from the ranks of Roma municipal councillors, as no voters voted in the first elections. This year’s elections will be held on March 30 in Murska Sobota, and in Novi Mesto on March 31, the office announced.
Roma councillors send their possible candidacy for member of the Council of the Roma Community by mail or bring it in person. The deadline for submitting candidacy is March 17 until 2 p.m. The candidature, which will be submitted by registered mail on February 17, is also considered timely.
For its 15th anniversary, the Slovene Roma Academic Club launched the RomaSam.eu initiative, as part of which they are preparing a major awareness campaign about the various roles of Roma in Slovenian society and innovative, didactic material for learning, getting to know and informing about the Roma community. The final event and commemoration of the anniversary will take place on June 14 at Brdo pri Kranje.
Elections were held in Slovenia for the Roma Community Council. Jožef Horvat Sandreli was elected as its president unanimously.
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