According to this article in the Bulgarian press, there was a fight between rival Bulgarian Roma families in Naples, Italy.
Bad for all…
Not much, this week. The usual. A new Roma camp near Nantes; a camp closed near Angers, and the removal of garbage; and young Serbo-Croatian Romnja burglars arrested.
Klaudia Wioletta, an academic, and not a whistleblower learned that the Norwegian police had created a register of Roma, a national minority in Norway, and had no choice but to subject it to public and legal scrutiny.
She first came across the Norwegian Roma “family tree” compiled by police officers during a meeting she was invited to on crime prevention activities in Oslo in the fall of 2023. The police officers wanted to expand their knowledge about Roma and invited her because in her research she dealt with issues related to Roma. She photographed the “family tree” and, suspecting that there was a register behind the graphics, accepted the invitation to another meeting with the policemen who presented it.
Her suspicions were right. During the next meeting, the officer showed her the log on his computer and explained how he created it. The register includes 14 people who have been charged in ongoing criminal cases, 74 are their close relatives and 567 other people. The register even includes Holocaust survivors, deceased persons, and Roma children.
Unfortunately, the usual news in France about Roma this week. A so-called Transition village near Montpellier in the South of France closed after two years. The fate of the 165 Roma who still were there is uncertain. Other news: Near Nantes, a landowner is trying to get rid of a Roma camp on his lands by himself; another camp near Paris is increasing in size; and near Marseille, a fire in a camp.
Tate Britain has today announced that Romani artist Delaine Le Bas is one of the four artists who have been shortlisted for the prestigious Turner Prize in 2024, its 40th year.
Well Done!
An article in the Italian press about the role of Roma in the Italian resistance during the fascist era. Their contribution was not recognised and forgotten.
The usual this week in the French news. The story of a camp that is slated for demolition on the outskirts of Nantes, in Western France; finally, a short respite for another camp near Strasbourg.
An article on Roma Refugees from the Ukraine in Germany. They are fleeing war, but instead of help, in Germany they often experience racism. The Center for Reporting and Information on Antigypsyism demands action.
More than 1.1 million people fled to Germany from the war in Ukraine, including, it is estimated, several thousand Roma, members of Europe’s largest ethnic minority. While other Ukrainian refugees received unbureaucratic and warm care, most arriving Roma experienced a very different Germany: overly formalized, unhelpful, suspicious, derogatory and racist.
A reportage on a Roma theatre in Hamburg fighting against racism in Germany.
The story of a girl’s dream come true.
Several news about the 8th of April in the French press. One is interesting. A French book about Johann Trollmann, the Sinto boxer who won the German heavyweight title in 1933 but was then stripped of the title. Here, no mention about Sinti …
The rest of the news are the usual ones: A camp near Strasbourg will be closed and a fire in a camp in Toulouse.
A portrait of a young Romni in the Ukraine. She completed her studies. But what is written about Roma in this article is just terrible.
The author has obviously no idea what he (or she) is talking about. In addition, the authors puts in multiple stereotypes. Really bad journalism but unfortunately typical of what one finds in the French press.
An article about a house in Berlin where most of the tenants are Roma. And the house owners are letting the house fall apart.
Bad, but unfortunately not unusual.
A report on the day to day discrimination faced by Roma in Germany.
Sad.
An article on Romanes for the International Roma Day.
On Saturday, the city of Brussels organised an event to celebrate the international Roma day.
Not much, but nothing good this week in the French press about Roma. An association that is being accused of preventing the closure of a Roma camp has been denied subsidies; a large police action against drug dealers and burglars in Nantes, focusing on a Roma camp; and near Toulouse, the closure of two illegal camps.
An article about the open bills left by Roma and travellers in a camp in Maontova, Italy. Apparently, they left unpaid electricity bills, tapped illegally in the electrical system, did not pay the fees for camping etc. All this amounting to more than 400’000 euros.
Not good.
On Saturday 6 April at 8.30pm, in Bologna, the DumBO Workshop welcomes the ‘Rom (antico) Fashion Show’, a fashion show in which the designer of Sinti origins Noell Maggini will present a selection of his creations. Born in Prato, 29 years old, Maggini creates tailor-made couture collections and garments, which are designed, cut and made by hand.
“It will be my first fashion show in Bologna and I am very curious – explained Maggini – I brought my models to Florence at Pitti Uomo and to Milan Fashion Week, but Bologna is an important city for fashion, experimentation and new trends, and it is also the city where the Romani presence was recorded for the first time in Italy in the 15th century”. With ateliers and showrooms in Prato, the Maggini brand sells throughout Italy.
Not much this week about Roma in the French press… A camp in Bordeaux was closed leaving 500 people without shelter, and a reportage in Marseilles from the notorious Charlie Hebdo.
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