Monthly Archives: Dezember 2024

Roma Minority in Slovakia

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Roma Minority in Slovakia

Roma have been in Slovakia since the 14th century. The first written document about the Roma population in Slovakia is a document from 1322, in which the presence of Roma in Spiš is mentioned by the Spišské novoveske mayor Ján Kunch. Later, larger groups of Roma arrived in Slovakia. In 1423, Sigismund of Luxembourg issued a document at Spiš Castle that guaranteed the Roma certain guarantees of protection and self-governing judicial powers.

The difference in number of Roma in the 2021 census and the number of Roma residents in the latest Atlas of Roma Communities from 2019 is almost threefold. While the 2019 atlas indicates that at least 417,535 Roma people live in Slovakia, in the 2021 census, only 156,164 Roma people declared themselves Roma.

Latvia Roma Platform

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Latvia Roma Platform

Thanks to European funding, the Ministry of Culture will be able to continue implementing the project “Latvian Roma Platform VIII”. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the report on the project’s progress and the allocation of the necessary funds the day before, the ministry reported in a press release.

The funds are to be spent between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2027. The funds were allocated from the pan-European program “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” following a competition for projects designed to promote equality, inclusiveness and participation of the Roma minority in society. The total funding for the project is 221,657 euros, of which 199,491 euros (90%) are funds provided by the European Commission.

Bulgaria, School, and Roma

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Bulgaria, School, and Roma

An outraged teacher sent an anonymous letter to Nova TV complaining that students are doing belly dances in the assembly hall of the “Vasil Levski” vocational high school in Ihtiman. The young people are drinking beer and dancing instead of being in class and studying. The teacher says he was shocked.

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

The final conference of the international ACE project, led by the Roma Association of Slovenia took place in Murska Sobota. The project, done in cooperation with partners from Italy and Spain, lasted two years and had a clear goal: to empower young and older Roma and political stakeholders for better cooperation and inclusion. According to the project team, the project has positioned Slovenia as an example of good practice, as it is the only one of the participating countries with an adopted law on Roma and a national program for Roma. “Slovenia is a bright spot of the project, because with legislation and experience we can contribute a lot to other countries,” emphasized Škerlak.

Well, judging by the Slovene press, this seems highly doubtful…

Poland, Roma Music, and PiS

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Poland, Roma Music, and PiS

A video emerged of two politicians of the ultra-conservative PiS party dancing on Roma music. Nota bene, the party is not particularly well inclined towards Roma…

Roma Feminism

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Roma Feminism

A discussion with Dr. Joanna Talewicz about emerging Roma feminism, cultural changes in Roma communities, and the influence of pop culture on these processes.

Mitrovica: Concert

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Mitrovica: Concert

“This Friday, December 13, at 7Arte we welcome you for a musical evening with Gipsy Groove, a fantastic group known for their dynamic music that combines traditional Roma sounds with reggae, ska, and funk,” the announcement states. The event takes place in Mitrovica, Kosovo.

Slovakia: Commemoration

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Slovakia: Commemoration

On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the In Minorita civic association (OZ) has prepared commemorative events as part of the Ma bisteren! project commemorating the Roma Holocaust on Tuesday, which will be held in Zvolen and Čierny Balog.

As the organizers recalled, this year we are commemorating the 80th anniversary of several tragic events. “After the suppression of the Slovak National Uprising in the autumn of 1944, there were reprisals against the civilian population, persecutions also affected the Roma population. Helping the partisans, but also suspicion of such help, was punishable by death,” they said.

Slovakia and Relocation

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Slovakia and Relocation

Roman Lacko lived with his wife and two children in a shed in a Roma settlement in Važec, Slovakia. He lost his house in a fire in November. The municipality sayas that it tried to help them.

The Liptov village of Važec offers its residents emergency housing 100 kilometres away in another district and region. It bought apartments and a family house there, allegedly because they were cheaper than under the Tatras. According to the association of local governments, however, the problems of socially excluded communities cannot be shifted onto the shoulders of other local governments.

Slovakia: Tibor Horvath

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Slovakia: Tibor Horvath

Tibor Horváth, a Roma advisor to the chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region for Roma communities, died this last weekend. The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities reported on his passing: “These days, friends, selfless colleagues, great people and dedicated activists in the field of work with the Roma community have unexpectedly left us forever. Tibor Horváth from Košice, a fighter for a better life for the Roma, the only Roma advisor on the issue of the MRK from eight Slovak regions, passionate about the work to which he sacrificed everything.”

May he rest in peace.

Reimar Lust Award

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Reimar Lust Award

The historian Kateřina Čapková is a leading expert on modern Jewish history in Central and Eastern Europe, the history of the Sinti and Roma, and on flight and migration in the 20th century. She teaches at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The central focus of her research is on the experiences of Jewish communities in what was then Czechoslovakia during and after World War II. Čapková opens up new perspectives on the interactions between nationalism, minority policy, and transnational networks in Europe. The Reimar Lüst Prize will enable her to conduct research at the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow in Leipzig.

Council of Europe Strategy

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Council of Europe Strategy

Latest developments on the strategy for integration of the council of Europe. Let’s hope this time, we will see progress.

UK: Apologies

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UK: Apologies

Greater Manchester Police has apologised ‘for any humiliation and distress caused’ after groups of kids were ordered to leave the city, a leading Travellers’ charity has said.

Well, they took time. And it was definitively racist.

Leni Riefenstahl

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Leni Riefenstahl

A documentary about Hitler’s favourite director Leni Riefenstahl only sparingly illuminates how Riefenstahl took legal action against critics of her Nazi involvement.

She produced “The Beautiful Appearance of the Third Reich” and was a dancer, actress and director. With three NSDAP party congress films and her films about the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany, she was the award-winning cinematic figurehead of the National Socialist dictatorship. Director legends such as George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino are among her admirers. Alice Schwarzer defended the artist against the accusation of being a Nazi propagandist.

Slovakia: Discrimination

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Slovakia: Discrimination

Klaudio Virág (27), a resident of the city of Levič, tried to get a job at the Slovak Power Plants in Mochovce as a locksmith. He claims that in a phone call, the job broker told him that they didn’t want Roma people in Mochovce, allegedly because of bad experiences.

A Fire in Zvolen

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A Fire in Zvolen

Five families in Zvolen, Slovakia, saw their homes burn down in mid-November, and it caused almost no commotion. They were Roma from the area below Pustý hrad. The families refused to go to a community centre temporarily; they were afraid they would lose their children. They moved in with their relatives and acquaintances and don’t know how they will survive the winter.

EU: Call for Tenders

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EU: Call for Tenders

The Council of Europe is implementing the Joint Programme Roma Integration III in partnership with the European Union to strengthen the capacities of governments in the Western Balkans and Türkiye to address the challenges faced by Roma communities. This initiative includes the development and implementation of public policies in various sectors, such as housing, employment, education, and the fight against anti-Gypsyism.

Kosovo: Resource Centre

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Kosovo: Resource Centre

For young people from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, the Student Resource Centre opened its doors on Wednesday and the Additional Support for University Studies programme was launched. This initiative, led by representatives of these communities, was hailed as proof of the belief in the transformative power of education.

Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

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Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

The Zurich politician Mario Fehr, after already having made comments on large Roma families from the Ukraine, has now stated that from now on, he doesn’t want to accept large families from Western Ukraine as refugees in the canton.

For large families from Western Ukraine, please read “Roma families from Transcatpathian Ukraine”.  Let us know what you think about this!

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