Yet again the same pictures of Kalderaša palaces, taken in Transcarpathian Ukraine.
Bad.
The Swiss government has decided that a large part of Western Ukraine, including Lviv, are safe and that Ukrainian refugees from those regions can safely return home… It was announced right after Lviv was bombed.
This will affect quite a few refugees, and many Roma from Transcarpathian Ukraine.
Bad.
The project “Assistance and Support for Roma Girls and Women from Families of Military Personnel, Veterans, Fallen Defenders, Prisoners of War and Missing Persons” showed that these needs are especially relevant for Roma women.
Well, knowing that currently Roma from the region are forced enrolled, doing something is needed. But the project is just a drop of water…
Ukrainians are mocking the pompous style of the White House under Trump and comparing it with rich Romane Interiors. A series of memes.
On August 15, 2025, a humanitarian action was held in the Roma settlement of the village of Domboky of the Velykyluchkivska community, aimed at supporting vulnerable families. The event was organized by the head of the charitable organization “SOS Children’s Villages Uzhgorod” Natalia Kryvoruchko with the participation of the Regional Coordinator for National Minorities from the OSCE Projects in Ukraine at the Representation of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in the Transcarpathian region Mykola Chyzhmar.
It looks like a nice alibi exercise. Much more needs to be done.
On July 17th, a press conference was held in the Uzhhorod press club discussing the results of the project “Leaders of Change – Roma Children on the Path to Success”, which was implemented in Transcarpathia.
Recommendations for the “Action Plan for 2026-2027 on the Implementation of the Strategy for Promoting the Realization of the Rights and Opportunities of Persons Belonging to the Roma National Minority in Ukrainian Society for the Period Until 2030” in the Transcarpathian Region will also be presented.
Meanwhile, all Roma who can flee the region …
In a Roma settlement in Velykyi Berezne, in Transcarpathian Ukraine, right on the Slovak border, a confrontation between Ukrainian border guards and local Roma escalated. Background is not clear, but Roma threw stones at the border guards, and they fired live rounds. There are wounded, apparently on bth sides, although between stones and rifles, this can’t really be equitable.
All what we said all along about the dreadful situation of Roma in Transcarpathian Ukraine in a reportage in the Swiss press. Well, their history is not quite straight, as the existence of these camps goes back to the Ungarian domination of this region and to Maria-Theresia of Austria. And there, they still call it cigánytelep [Gypsy settlement] rather than the term tabor meaning a camp.
Three perpetrators of the brutal attack on a Roma camp in Lviv in 2018 were sentenced to prison after seven years. The Sychov District Court sent two attackers to ten years in prison, the main organizer received a sentence of ten years and 6 months. The verdict is not yet final. The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) reports.
For once, quite a good article on Roma in Ukraine and specifically in Transcarpathia. While they obviously do not know the various Roma communities, (Servi, Xaladytka, Polska, Kirimlides, Ursaria, Kalderaša, Lovara, etc.) they know that they are different with different histories and issues.
Olena Vaidalovich, defender of Roma rights says that some Roma Don’t Admit Who They Are
In refugee shelters, Ukrainians of Roma origin were separated from other Ukrainians. Coordinators said they were trying to avoid tensions. “Better” Ukrainians had more comfortable conditions – beds, chairs. Where there were Roma, there might have been nothing. I saw children sleeping on cardboard boxes in winter.
An event in Marseilles to help a women organisation of Mukachevo in Transcarpathian Ukraine, who are trying to create a women’s house to better inform about contraception.
The Roma organisation ARCA placed an open call for young activists, youth leaders, historians and researchers aged 18 to 35 to apply for their Summer School on Roma History entitled “Remembering Together”, which will take place in Berlin from June 10 to 15, 2025!
An interview with the coordinator of a facility for children in unfavourable situation who explains that they now have Roma and Ukrainians amongst their client, and that they had to deal with prejudice towards Roma.
An official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic attempted to recruit researcher and Roma community leader Yanush Panchenko to work with the ethnic minorities and persuade them to participate and vote in the referendum. Under enormous pressure, he fled occupied Kakhovka.
25,000 Roma fled from Ukraine to Poland according to this article, which also states that “Most families were completely illiterate”… Both statements are definitively wrong. There are more Roma refugees, and many are well integrated.
Now four journalists and reporters have published a book describing their plight. “The War of Our Times” by Maria Kądzielska-Koper, Arleta Bojke, Michał Owerczuk and Tomasz Piechal is a collection of ten stories.
On March 11th, in Berlin, Café Kyiv will be held in the Colloseum in Berlin. This years’ Roima program will also include a panel discussion “Roma in Ukraine: Fighters for Democracy, Justice & Diversity”.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=958951459681471&set=pcb.958951573014793
Roma who fled from Ukraine to Germany and the European Union after the Russian attack want to network better. In Göttingen, Roma representatives living in exile founded the association “Ukrainian Roma Advocacy Alliance” (Aura) on Tuesday. “Many Ukrainian Roma abroad do not even know what kind of help is available here,” said Aura board member Janush Panchenko. “We want to inform people about these offers and also advocate for the interests of the Ukrainian Roma in our host countries.” Projects in the areas of political education, culture, humanitarian and legal aid are also planned. In Germany, the association wants to work closely with the Society for Threatened Peoples, among others.
On Wednesday, February 12, the Metropolitan Court in Hungary ruled on the lawsuit of Transcarpathian families, who were evicted from shelters in August 2024 after the Hungarian government’s decision to limit assistance to Ukrainians from non-frontline regions. The court ordered the state to initiate a new procedure for granting asylum to 84 Ukrainian refugees from Transcarpathia.
Astonishing when you know Hungary.
An unusual article about Roma in the Ukrainian Transcarpathian region. It states that over 10’000 Roma have left the region, and that the rest is living under difficult conditions. Journalists from the website zaholovok.com.ua talked with Myroslav Horvat, leader of the Roma community, Ivan Jonash, deputy of the Mukachevo City Council, and Viktor Ilchak, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, about what the past year was like for the Roma community, whether changes are felt, whether there are positive developments, as well as about the negatives.
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