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.
Ukraine is pushing forward registering and issuing papers to its Roma minority. For very long, this did not happen. Now they need soldiers…
Yes, it is equal opportunity as the article says, but … You also have to appreciate the traditional Ukrainian shirt on the illustration.
In January 2025, thanks to the employees of the Shostka Department of the Migration Service, a 14-year-old citizen of Roma nationality received an ID card for the first time.
The event brought together Roma activists, representatives of civil society organizations, government representatives and international partners to discuss the involvement of Roma communities in public life and the development of an inclusive and diverse society in times of war.
The forum discussed the issues of discrimination against Roma, access to education, medical care and passporting of citizens, as well as ways to build a joint system of work, response and informing communities for the further implementation of programs and initiatives of various organizations.
On January 30, the “National Forum on the Implementation of the Roma Strategy. Valuing Diversity” was held in Kyiv. The event was initiated by the public organization Association of Roma Women “Voice of Romnja”.
Activists of Roma communities, representatives of the UN, the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian authorities gathered for the forum in the capital of Ukraine.
The discussions at the Forum focused on the implementation of regional action plans of the Roma Strategy until 2030 and monitoring their effectiveness.
News on the Hungarian TV about the current raids on Roma settlements in Transcarpathian Ukraine. According to the news, “even the sick and half-blind are being dragged to the front, and companies do not have enough workers to carry out their tasks”.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?mibextid=WC7FNe&v=1413523512949840&rdid=DZ3sqqoCElq7Lwes
Az ukrán területvédelmi erők toborzóparancsnok helyettese szerint Ukrajnának militarista polgári országgá kellene válniaUkrajna mindeközben egyre nagyobb bajban van. Már a betegeket és a félvak embereket is elhurcolják a frontra, a vállalatoknál pedig nincs elég munkaerő a feladatok ellátásához. Egyre kegyetlenebb kényszersorozás zajlik az országban. Az ukrán területvédelmi erők toborzóparancsnok-helyettese azt mondta, hogy a háború után megfosztják az alapvető állampolgári jogoktól azokat, akik nem szolgáltak a hadseregben és felelős állást sem tölthetnek be.
Posted by M1 on Wednesday 29 January 2025
Our sources in Transcarpathia indicate that the Ukrainian Military Police is raiding Roma settlements in the region and taking men to enrol them in the army.
Many of them do not have even yet Ukrainian papers …
The UN takes on the responsibility to support the Roma community, to make efforts to include representatives of Roma communities in the decision-making process and to rebuild communities. This was stated by the UN System Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, during the “National Forum on the Implementation of the Roma Strategy. Valuing Diversity” on January 30, 2025 in Kyiv.
Providing equal opportunities for Romnja, including their participation in decision-making and involvement in all processes, contributes to Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership. This was stated by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, Natalka Tsmots.
A series of photographs of Christian Baptists Kalderaša from the Transcarpathian region of the Ukraine. As usual, these kind of articles pander to stereotypes. Roma palaces, “mysterious” Roma, etc…
Bad for all.
The UNESCO has granted “temporary enhanced protection” to two significant cultural sites in Ukraine: the Literary Museum in Odessa and the Babyn Yar Memorial in Kiev. The move comes as the third anniversary of the Russian war in Ukraine approaches, which caused extensive damage to Ukrainian cultural heritage.
Babyn Yar commemorates the victims of the Nazi massacre of 1941, in which more than 33,000 Jews, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war died. In 2022, the monument was threatened when a Russian missile hit nearby, killing five people. The Holocaust memorial itself was unharmed, but the building intended for the new museum was damaged.
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