Author Archives: Roma Foundation

News Osteuropa Slowakei

Slovakia and Forced Sterilisations

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Romnja, who were sterilized in the past in present day Slovakia, are demanding compensation. This initiative has been going on for more than twenty years and is still not fulfilled. It is possible that, like other problems, society in Slovakia will “avoid” this issue. Promises will remain at the verbal level, but we will not receive real compensation.

Czechia introduced a law to compensate women a while back, but are still dragging their feet in actually compensating the victims.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia: The Wall

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25 years ago, On October 25th, in the Czech town of Úští nad Labem, the local government built a fence made of prefabricated parts, which separated the Roma neighbourhood from the rest.

The structure, 1.8 meters high and 60 meters long, was removed after six weeks under pressure from the government and after protests by Czech and foreign human rights defenders, who saw it as a manifestation of racism.

News Schweiz

Switzerland and Begging

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Very soon, begging in the streets of Lausanne, Vevey or Yverdon will no longer be a good idea. On October 1st, the Grand Council of Vaud adopted a new law on begging that is stricter than the draft of the Council of State, which prohibits the persons concerned from begging in a large number of places, such as markets, near public buildings, daycare centres, schools, playgrounds, banks, post offices, cash machines and parking meters, shops, medical and care facilities, museums, theatres and cinemas.

While the law was originally thought against Roma beggars, it affects many drug addicts who are Swiss too…

Frankreich News Westeuropa

French Chronicle …

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Not much this week in France The coutnry is more focused on its government (or potential lack thereof) than about Roma. Only one notable article about the closure of a larg Roma camp near Nantes.

Kosovo News Osteuropa

Kosovo, Roma, and Discrimination

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Members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities face discrimination in hiring processes, and even when they do get a job, they face an environment of exclusion, as they often become the object of ridicule and insults, due to their ethnicity. They mainly do temporary work, and usually manual labor, maintenance and street vending. Civil society activists say the situation is no better than in the private sector, even in the public sector, where quotas for marginalized communities are often abused.

News Osteuropa Slowenien

Slovenia: Attack

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A young Roma student apparently aggressed a school worker, apparently a counselor at the Brežice Elementary School. Apparetly, it is student with whom the school is said to have educational problems. The blow is said to have occurred during the eeting of the student with the counselor.

News Osteuropa Slowakei

Slovakia: Obituary

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Several articles in the Slovak press commemorate the singer L’jubo Virág who died at the age of 68.

Litauen News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Schweden

Opera and Roma

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Gopalas Michailovskis is a Rom from Lithuania who went to high school and who studied opera, one of his great loves.

Listen to what he says about opera and listen to how Gopalas Mikhailovsky sings opera in Romanes.

News Osteuropa Polen

Łodź Festival

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The Łódź Festival of Many Cultures began in 2002. At that time, Witold Halski created the formula of the Festival of Dialogue of Four Cultures. At that time, it was about Polish, German, Jewish and Russian culture. Later, the name changed, and this year it was decided to broaden the scope of the event. Today, the festival wants to tell more about contemporary Łodź. Ukrainian, Belarusian and Roma influences are also strongly present in Łódź.

The festival began on Friday (October 4) and will last until Sunday (October 13). Almost 60 events have been planned, including concerts, exhibitions and film screenings. There are more Roma centred event this year.

News Osteuropa Polen

Gdansk: Concert and Commemoration

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A unique event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Sinti and Roma Genocide during the Holocaust will take place in the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk on October 19, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.

There will be a concert and a photography exhibition.

News Osteuropa Slowakei

Slovakia: Special Schools

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“Every teacher should teach at least one year at a special school. It will significantly affect his life both personally and professionally. It will acquire important values.” This is the advice for all teachers from the Slovak woman of the year 2021 in the field of education and the director of a unique school in Kežmark.

Unfortunately, this is a segegrated Roma school, and a pilot in Slovakia. This is not how integration is done.

News Osteuropa Slowakei

Slovakia Obituary

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“Slovak singer, musician, composer and lyricist Ľubo Virág died yesterday,” reports Roma television TV Romana. The singer has been struggling with serious health problems for the last few years. Ernest Šarközi from Gypsy Devils sent him a message to heaven: “Ľubka, rest in peace.”

Te ovel o drom anda leste puterdo.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia and Forced Sterilisations

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NGOs have called on the government to give victims of illegal sterilizations more time to claim compensation. According to them, the Ministry of Health does not process applications on time for a long time. The deadline now runs until the end of this year. And there are cases where the victims have been waiting for 554 days. The legal limit is 60 days …

This is bad faith on the Czech administration.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia: An Attack

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A clash between a pupil and a teacher at a primary school in Koryčany in the Kroměříž region is still under investigation by the police. It is preliminarily classified as a misdemeanor. The family of a 12-year-old Roma boy is convinced that the teacher knocked the son to the ground and strangled him. The father of the Roma boy apologized for the threats he uttered to the residents of Koryčany.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia: President Visit

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President Petr Pavel visited the Museum of Roma Culture after he had already visited the place of commemoration in Lety u Písek twice. The first time was last year on the occasion of the traditional May memorial gathering to honor the memory of the victims of the local camp. The second time was in April of this year during the ceremonial opening of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust Memorial in Bohemia.

News Osteuropa Slowakei

Slovakia: Roma Museum

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For the last twenty years, the Slovak National Museum in Martin has been dedicated to the second most numerous Slovak national minority through the Museum of Roma Culture in Slovakia.

A new exhibition “Hin amen museum! / We have a museum!” maps the activities of this specialized museum, which has been actively involved in research, documentation and presentation of the rich cultural heritage of the Roma since 2004.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia: Attack

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The case of an alleged attack by a teacher on a 12-year-old Roma primary school student is moving the people of Kory in the Kroměříž region these days. The locals’ view of this case is not uniform. Some people are surprised that the teacher allowed himself to be provoked, others are of the opinion that it is a fictional event and the attack did not take place.

Roma say this was racism.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Czechia and Illegal Sterilisations

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The Human Rights League (LLP), Roma organizations and activists called on the government to extend the law on compensation for illegal sterilizations. Organizations criticized the Ministry of Health for prolonging the application process. By law, the resort has 60 days to do so, but in practice it can take several months to years. The ombudsman repeatedly criticized the ministry’s approach to compensation.

Dozens of women demonstrated in Ostrava for compensation for forced sterilization.

News Osteuropa Slowenien

Slovenia and Roma Integration

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An interview with the Sociologist Jana Javornik on the situation of Roma in Slovenia where she rightly say that the situation will not improve wth further repressive measures.

She says: “Successes can only be seen in environments where trust is established with the Roma community. The result of long-term exclusion is distrust in social institutions and in everything non-Roma. There is no doubt that violence of all kinds is dangerous for both individuals and communities. Problems that are co-created, have been imposed for decades. There will be no coexistence and development with increased police presence, punitive measures and the reduction of social rights. They also contribute to less safe communities for all and the reduction of rights for all Repression, punitive and stigmatizing social policies never lead to integration, but deepen marginalization, segregation, mistrust, hatred and violence. We will all feel the consequences.”

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