A posthumous book entitled “Tsiganes” by Patrick Williams, a French anthropology professor who died in January at the age of 73 has just been published.
We definitively disagree with the title, which is typical of the French confusion about Roma.
Not much this week. Ab amusing (and inaccurate) article on the French slang expression “nachave pelo” meaning in slang “get away”, “run”. It comes from the verb našav, to flee or to escape, and pelo, a testicle (and not a man as they say). Near Paris, an abandoned camp is an ecological problem, and near Bordeaux, the future closure of a camp means many inhabitants will loose their lodgings, and no replacement solutions have been organised.
The German Grimme Prize is considered the most important prize for German TV. The winners have been known for a while, but they only now received their prizes. In the “Information & Culture” category, Peter Nestler was honoured for his documentary film about the injustice against German Sinti and Roma families. He tells of Romani Rose’s family, their resistance and their insistence on justice (ZDF/3sat, 112 minutes).
An exhibition about Roma will open in the museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations in Marseilles on May 9th. It is called “Barvalo”.
Why this title? And why singular?
Well, the latest survey of the attitudes of the German police come as no surprise. 17% stated they would have issues if Roma settled in their neighbourhood … And there is more.
In a speech during the commemoration last Sunday, the chairwoman of the State Association of German Sinti and Roma Berlin-Brandenburg, Petra Rosenberg, recalled her father. He survived the concentration camp, but always struggled with what he experienced there and with the memories of it. Rosenberg also criticized the fact that Sinti and Roma still experience discrimination and stigmatization today.
Commemorations were held yesterday in Buchenwald and Bergen Belsen on the 78th anniversary of the liberation of those camps. These commemorations focused this year on Sinti and Roma and the current increase in racism towards them.
Today, the liberation of the concentration camps of Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora will be commemorated.
The portrait of a very successful Sintiza in Germany, and the discrimination she faced in school.
Not much this week in France. In Western France, in Angers, the authorities are asking themselves how to resolve the issue of 4 Roma camps in the city. Well, for 400 people, this should not be really complicated … An event in Brittany with Roma music and initiation to Romanes was organised in collaboration with a Roma association. Then the more usual: Near Paris, a camp will probably be closed and also near Paris, a squat in a former police building was evacuated.
Another article on the commemorations of the liberation of Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora.
A Rom truck driver who lives in Manchester has become a social media star and has turned into an activist. A reportage.
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.
An exhibition on the Genocide of the Roma during the Holocaust in Hannover, Germany.
The city of Berlin will henceforth give more money to fight anti Roma racism.
Good news.
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.
With the current economic crisis and the war, racism against Siti and Roma is on the increase in Germany.
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.
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.”
It is not easy to be a Rom in Ireland. Racism is ripe and prevalent against them.
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