Category Archives: News Western Europe

Buchenwald Mittelbau-Dora

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At the commemoration of the liberation of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora concentration camps this year, the focus will be on the persecution of the Sinti and Roma under National Socialism. Sinti and Roma are one of the population groups that also suffered from the racial fanaticism of the National Socialists in Thuringia, explained the Turingian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow on Thursday.

Roma in the UK

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A recent comprehensive survey highlighted the high level of racism against Roma in the UK, with up to two thirds of the Roma shaving experienced abuse or attacks.

Bad.

French Chronicle …

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Quite a few different topics this week in the French press about Roma. First, the answer of a romano writer to an article which we also published last Sunday about the place of Roma culture in museums and the creation of a museum in Southern France. The writer, Jacques Debos is quite critical. It makes for good reading and for a more differentiated view on the topic of Roma culture.

In Bordeaux, an event showcases Roma culture, with tales and music. In Montpellier, a new exhibition will show Roma history and culture.

Only more usual news is in Montpellier, a new project to help Roma children integrate the school system.

Racism in Germany

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Dosta [enough], is an antiziganism documentation centre that documents and analyses antiziganist incidents in Berlin. In the past two years, the reporting office has documented a total of 372 incidents – the highest number of cases since the start of the project. The number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher.

In one such case, a woman reported that an examiner from the job centre asked why her child was not in school. When she answered that he is ill, he shouted out loud: “Children have to go to school here, otherwise you will all be sent back to Romania on the bus.”

Berlin and April 8th

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April 8, 2023, is the 52nd International Roma Day and on this occasion the Roma flag will be hung in ten Berlin districts – due to the Easter holidays this year on April 6th. On the occasion of the “International Roma Day” numerous events take place in Berlin and nationwide.

Roma Camps in Rome

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The Councilor for Social Policies Funari states that the goal is to achieve true inclusion and the right to citizenship of the Roma who live around Rome. For 69% of Romans, the minority “is a threat” (57% among Italians).

There are problems and they are undeniable: the real estate market, which concerns all Romans, and then the racism that continues to exist, and the further discrimination, caused by the institutions and for which we can only apologize.

Italy’s Roma Inclusion Plans

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The new Italian national strategy for the inclusion of Roma and Sinti communities 2021-2030 has been presented in Rome.

The text responds to the recommendation of the Council of the European Union to address the socio-economic exclusion of Roma and Sinti in the EU and in the enlargement countries, “promoting equal access to education, employment, assistance health and housing, inviting Member States to design national Roma and Sinti integration strategies.” The new plan focuses on the enhancement of Roma culture and at the same time on the fight against anti-Gypsyism.

They’d better resolve the issue of the Roma camps …

Germany: Deportations

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Germany has resumed the deportation of rejected refugees. This is particularly controversial in the case of Moldova. Most of the people from Moldova requesting asylum in Germany are Roma, and there, they are discriminated against.

Čeija Stojka

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An article in the Czech press about Čeija Stojka, who survived the Holocaust, and went to write a book about it and paint.

She was a great woman.

Football and Roma

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Again, and unfortunately as usual, supporters of the AC Roma insulted a player by calling him a Gypsy. Racism among supporters is just not acceptable, but everywhere, authorities turn a blind eye. They should be fined and banned from the stadiums.

Brussel: Exhibition

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On the occasion of International Roma Day, Fidesz EP representative Lívia Járóka organized a contemporary art exhibition entitled “Time of the Gypsies” in honor of the diverse and special Roma culture and art in the EP building in Brussels.

By presenting the works of eleven Roma visual artists of Hungarian origin, the exhibition explores the unique perspectives of Roma visual art and describes its diverse style and specific traditions in its pictorial world.

Lívia Járóka is herself subject of controverses: She is firmly behind Viktor Orban, and thus in effect and in spite of her origins, supports discrimination and segregation of Roma in Hungary.

French Chronicle …

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Some different topics this week, in addition of the usual litany of evictions and crime. An article and an exhibition in the South of France on Roma art and artists. A concert and an exhibition for April 8th in Montpellier. Then the more usual: In Marseilles, a camp was closed. In the North, a camp is threatened with closure, even though it was legally set up in 2010. In Annemasse, near Switzerland, a  new squat behind the railway station. And finally, 3 dead and 5 wounded after a fatal car crash during a car chase between rival Roma gangs in Strasbourg.

Une course-poursuite filmée à l’origine de l’accident mortel au Port-du-Rhin. In: Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace. 28.03.2023. https://www.dna.fr/faits-divers-justice/2023/03/28/un-contentieux-entre-roms-roumains-a-l-origine-de-l-accident-mortel-au-port-du-rhin

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