Category Archives: Belgium

Belgium: Not Really Tender

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An illustration of the Belgian practices against Roma refugees: Prison until expulsion, even for children.

– Famille serbe enfermée: «Un nouveau traumatisme pour les enfants», dénoncent les avocats. In: Le Soir. 14.09.2018. http://www.lesoir.be/178344/article/2018-09-14/famille-serbe-enfermee-un-nouveau-traumatisme-pour-les-enfants-denoncent-les
– La famille avec 4 enfants, transférée du centre 127bis de Steenokkerzeel dans une maison ouverte, a été retrouvée. In: RTL. 14.09.2018. https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/la-famille-avec-4-enfants-transferee-du-centre-127bis-de-steenokkerzeel-dans-une-maison-ouverte-a-disparu-1059073.aspx [link-preview url=”https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/la-famille-avec-4-enfants-transferee-du-centre-127bis-de-steenokkerzeel-dans-une-maison-ouverte-a-disparu-1059073.aspx”]

Belgium: Not Really Tender

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An illustration of the Belgian practices against Roma refugees: Prison until expulsion, even for children.

– Famille serbe enfermée: «Un nouveau traumatisme pour les enfants», dénoncent les avocats. In: Le Soir. 14.09.2018. http://www.lesoir.be/178344/article/2018-09-14/famille-serbe-enfermee-un-nouveau-traumatisme-pour-les-enfants-denoncent-les
– La famille avec 4 enfants, transférée du centre 127bis de Steenokkerzeel dans une maison ouverte, a été retrouvée. In: RTL. 14.09.2018. https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/la-famille-avec-4-enfants-transferee-du-centre-127bis-de-steenokkerzeel-dans-une-maison-ouverte-a-disparu-1059073.aspx [link-preview url=”https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/la-famille-avec-4-enfants-transferee-du-centre-127bis-de-steenokkerzeel-dans-une-maison-ouverte-a-disparu-1059073.aspx”]

Belgium, for better or worse

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Did we know that Belgium is interning youngsters from Roma and traveller backgrounds? And that this is not a piece of cake …
Not widely advertised, but really bad.

– Détention d’enfants roms en centres fermés : la Belgique s’illustre à nouveau par le pire. In: La Libre. 06.09.2018. http://www.lalibre.be/debats/opinions/detention-d-enfants-roms-en-centres-fermes-la-belgique-s-illustre-a-nouveau-par-le-pire-5b8fecbecd70ef4bea8c3753 [link-preview url=”http://www.lalibre.be/debats/opinions/detention-d-enfants-roms-en-centres-fermes-la-belgique-s-illustre-a-nouveau-par-le-pire-5b8fecbecd70ef4bea8c3753″]

Bad …

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A video of a fake invalid begging in Bruxelles is trending in Belgium.
Bad.

– Bruxelles: La mafia des mendiants roms est toujours active. In: DH.be. 27.07.2018. http://www.dhnet.be/regions/bruxelles/bruxelles-la-mafia-des-mendiants-roms-est-toujours-active-5b5a3acf55324d3f1396ba65 [link-preview url=”http://www.dhnet.be/regions/bruxelles/bruxelles-la-mafia-des-mendiants-roms-est-toujours-active-5b5a3acf55324d3f1396ba65″]

More on the Brussel Event

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A longer article on the first ever commemoration in the EU parliament of the Roma Holocaust. Roma representatives and MPs decried the current rise of the extreme right.

– Hommage aux ” victimes oubliées ” tziganes de la Shoah à Bruxelles. In: The Times of Israël. 25.01.2018. https://fr.timesofisrael.com/hommage-aux-victimes-oubliees-tziganes-de-la-shoah-a-bruxelles/ [link-preview url=”https://fr.timesofisrael.com/hommage-aux-victimes-oubliees-tziganes-de-la-shoah-a-bruxelles/”]

Brussells – New Camp

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Roma opened a new makeshift camp in Brussels this week. This French trend is slowly expanding to Belgium.

– Un camp de Roms découvert porte de Ninove à Bruxelles (vidéo). In: Le Soir (BE). 28.08.2017. http://www.lesoir.be/111201/article/2017-08-28/un-camp-de-roms-decouvert-porte-de-ninove-bruxelles-video [link-preview url=”http://www.lesoir.be/111201/article/2017-08-28/un-camp-de-roms-decouvert-porte-de-ninove-bruxelles-video”]

France – The Rat Story

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The story and video of the Roma trying to rob a person by dangling a dead rat in their face surfaced in France and Belgium after having been shown in the UK press. There is a definitive summer hole in the news in France for them to use old stories …

– Ils exhibent un rat mort pour l’effrayer et lui voler sa carte bancaire (vidéo). In: RTL. 05.07.2017. http://www.rtl.be/people/potins/ils-exhibent-un-rat-mort-pour-l-effrayer-et-lui-voler-sa-carte-bancaire-video–941966.aspx
– Paris : Des adolescents agressent une femme au distributeur avec un rat mort. In: Minute News. 04.08.2017. https://www.minutenews.fr/actualite/faits-divers/paris-distributeur-rat-mort-217719.html [link-preview url=”https://www.minutenews.fr/actualite/faits-divers/paris-distributeur-rat-mort-217719.html”]

Brussels’ Rroma Week

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Last week was the by now traditional Rroma Week in Brussels, an event organised by the European Parliament and European Commission, with ca 40 representatives of Rroma NGOs being invited for the event.
It is meant for the Rroma activists to be able to meet MPs from various European Countries and discuss with them the issues and problems of Rroma in their respective countries.

– Bruselj v znamenju tedna Romov. In: RTVSLO. 01.04.2017. https://www.rtvslo.si/lokalne-novice/bruselj-v-znamenju-tedna-romov/418789 [link-preview url=”https://www.rtvslo.si/lokalne-novice/bruselj-v-znamenju-tedna-romov/418789″]

Belgium and Beggars

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It starts also there … Activists are pushing the police and the prosecutor office to deal with the Rroma children begging in Belgium’s capital.
There would be simpler solutions … Like integration.

– Bruxelles: l’échevine Els Ampe dénonce les enfants mendicants. In: La Capitale. 13.03.2017. http://www.lacapitale.be/1806321/article/2017-03-12/bruxelles-l-echevine-els-ampe-denonce-les-enfants-mendiants [link-preview url=”http://www.lacapitale.be/1806321/article/2017-03-12/bruxelles-l-echevine-els-ampe-denonce-les-enfants-mendiants”]

French Chronicle …

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This week is quieter than the normal in France on Rroma. Close to Paris, in Pierefitte, the residents ask for the closure of a camp; in the Corbeil-Essonnes, also close to Paris, Rroma who were left of the street following the fire of their squat have found a place to stay; in Ervry-Grégy sur Yerres, the clean-up of a former Rroma camp will cost 360’000 Euro, here one has to say that often, non Rroma take the opportunity to dump their garbage in such situations; in Montreuil, the mayor and administration is going a long way to try to eliminate all traces of the presence of Rroma – Rroma who are still on the street.
In other parts of France, in the North, an association is promoting fraternity with Rroma; in the North still, a camp was evicted but the Rroma relocated themselves nearby; in Nantes, 80 voluntaries helped cleaning up the garbage left after the eviction of two Rroma camps; and near Toulouse, a mayor is asking for the closure of a camp.
In Nearby Belgium, a camp was closed and here, o wonder, its residents were lodged by the social services …

– Pierrefitte : les habitants réclament l’évacuation du camp de Roms. In: Le Parisien. 28.11.2016. http://www.leparisien.fr/pierrefitte-sur-seine-93380/pierrefitte-les-habitants-reclament-l-evacuation-du-camp-de-roms-28-11-2016-6387774.php
– Corbeil-Essonnes : les Roms sinistrés ont été relogés. In: Le Parisien. 27.11.2016. http://www.leparisien.fr/corbeil-essonnes-91100/corbeil-essonnes-les-roms-sinistres-ont-ete-reloges-27-11-2016-6382818.php
– Evry-Grégy-sur-Yerres : le nettoyage du camp rom évacué coûtera 360 000 €. In: Le Parisien. 28.11.2016. http://www.leparisien.fr/seine-et-marne-77/evry-gregy-sur-yerres-le-nettoyage-du-camp-rom-evacue-coutera-360-000-eur-28-11-2016-6386412.php
– Familles roms expulsées à Montreuil: un dispositif d’élimination. In: Mediapart. 01.12.2016. https://blogs.mediapart.fr/juliette-keating/blog/011216/familles-roms-expulsees-montreuil-un-dispositif-delimination
– Migrants, réfugiés, roms: une association valenciennoise promeut la fraternité. In: La Voix du Nord. 02.12.2016. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/83661/article/2016-12-02/migrants-refugies-roms-une-association-valenciennoise-promeut-la-fraternite
– Expulsé, le camp de Roms déménage 10 mètres plus loin. In: La Voix du Nord. 27.11.2016. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/80868/article/2016-11-27/expulse-le-camp-de-roms-demenage-10-metres-plus-loin
– 80 bénévoles pour nettoyer deux anciens camps de roms à Nantes. In: RCA. 28.11.2016. http://www.rcalaradio.com/article-15679-80-benevoles-pour-nettoyer-deux-anciens-camps-de-roms-a-nantes.html
– Le maire veut «évacuer le camp illégal» de Ginestous. In: La Dépèche. 01.12.2016. http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2016/12/01/2469601-le-maire-veut-evacuer-le-camp-illegal-de-ginestous.html
– Expulsion du camp de Roms au parc de la Ligne 28: les familles relogées par le Samusocial. In: SudInfor (BE). 02.12.2016. http://www.sudinfo.be/1732541/article/2016-12-02/expulsion-du-camp-de-roms-au-parc-de-la-ligne-28-les-familles-relogees-par-le-sa [link-preview url=”https://blogs.mediapart.fr/juliette-keating/blog/011216/familles-roms-expulsees-montreuil-un-dispositif-delimination”]

A Friend …

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Last week, a friend died. A friend not only on a personal way – we did tours together, kept in contact through the year – but a friend of Rroma music. Stephane Karo did soo much for it, it was his passion, it was his life. He discovered and managed the Taraf de Haïdouk, the Kočani Orchestar, and more recently the Romanian Mahala Rai Banda.
He was buried in Brussels, Belgium last week end.
As we say: Te ovel o drom angla leste phuterdo. Ame na bistras tut!

– HOMMAGE À STÉPHANE KARO : LES MUSIQUES DES BALKANS PERDENT L’UN DE LEURS PREMIERS AMBASSADEURS. In: Le Courrier des Balkans. 19.11.2016. https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/le-fil-de-l-info/hommage-a-stephane-karo-les-musiques-des-balkans-perdent-l-un-de-leurs-premiers-ambassadeurs.html [link-preview url=”https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/le-fil-de-l-info/hommage-a-stephane-karo-les-musiques-des-balkans-perdent-l-un-de-leurs-premiers-ambassadeurs.html”]

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Myria, a Belgian Federal organisation on migration issued its 19th report on human trafficking. In Belgium, 33 infractions to the law on human trafficking were related to begging and implicitly to Rroma.
Enough for the Press to title and generalise that all beggars are in the hands of human traffickers and a mafia, stereotypes that are totally untrue and dangerous. Really BAD!!!
And across the border, in the North of France, the police tries to arrest beggars in Lille … This will not solve the problem.

– Quand les mendiants sont aux mains des trafiquants. In: Le Soir. 13.10.2016. http://plus.lesoir.be/63725/article/2016-10-13/quand-les-mendiants-sont-aux-mains-des-trafiquants
– Mendicité : la vérité sur les Roms. In: Le Vif. 13.10.2016. http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/mendicite-la-verite-sur-les-roms/article-normal-561385.html
– Des mendiants aux mains de trafiquants. In: La Libre. 14.10.2016. http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/des-mendiants-aux-mains-de-trafiquants-57ffa651cd70cd5761c9f196
– Mendicité des enfants roms : série d’arrestations de parents par la police. In: La Voix du Nord. 13.10.2016. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/58987/article/2016-10-13/mendicite-des-enfants-roms-serie-d-arrestations-de-parents-par-la-police

Belgium and Rroma Camps

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A few articles on a Rroma camp in Laaken in Belgium. All this for 50 people …

Belgium: No Space for Travellers

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There is no space for Belgium “Gens du Voyage” – in this case, many Lovara and related groups.

Racist acts on the increase

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Racist acts, against Moslems, but also against Rroma are on the increase in Belgium.

Homeless Slovak Rroma in Brussels

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The story of the few homeless Rroma in Brussels (we reported on it), is drawing lots of attention in the Belgian press and now also in the Slovak one. Even the European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák stepped into the fray and stated that “We provide assistance to all of our citizens that approach us with a request for help, but this wasn’t the case in this instance.”

Lots is made of a few isolated cases, and the Rroma who migrated and integrated are barely mentioned. Again, only stereotyped views of the Rroma are pushed by the press.

An Anti Rroma Wall between France and Belgium

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The town of Watrelos in France, right on the Belgian border wants to erect a 2 ½ meter high concrete wall to “protect” its citizen from a camping site for travellers on the other side of the border in the town of Mouscron. The French press is full of several articles on this. Fact is, this is not acceptable in the 21st century in Europe. And these people are Europeans, and to a large extent citizen of Schengen states. A shame for France and for the socialist mayor to the French commune.

Further Evictions in France … As usual

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Meanwhile, evictions continue, and very few of the evicted people are re-lodged as per the directives from the Valls’ government. For example in St.-Fargeau; in Grenoble, where the eviction has been requested by the mayor; and so on…

Meanwhile, in Belgium, there are also calls to re-lodge Rroma, for example in Brussels, in Ixelles, and a bus is being used as a temporary abode for five Slovak Rroma families in Brussels.

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