David Beňák, a Czech Rom is now heading the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion.
Well done!
– Romani community member David Beňák now director of the Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion. In: Romea. 02.06.2018. http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/romani-community-member-david-benak-now-director-of-the-czech-govt-agency-for-social-inclusion [link-preview url=”http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/romani-community-member-david-benak-now-director-of-the-czech-govt-agency-for-social-inclusion”]
Lots of cultural events this week in France on Roma – and very little negative news. First, a projection of a movie on a Roma camp in Nantes. The movie is presented on the site of that former site, before it is developed. Projection of another movie on Roma in Arles. The exhibition “Mondes Tsiganes” in Paris, with many photographs. That exhibition is not in the right place (in the museum of migration) and is definitively fuelling clichés. Concert of a Slovakian Roma group in the South of France. Then the more usual news: A fire in a camp in Montreuil; a new squat of a empty house near Paris; and, surprise, a positive experiment in Marseilles, where Roma are lodged in apartments …
– Nantes. Miséry de Miséry, tous les chemins mènent aux Roms. In: Ouest France. 31.05.2018. https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-misery-de-misery-tous-les-chemins-menent-aux-roms-5794949
– 8, avenue Lénine. In: Journal Zibeline. http://www.journalzibeline.fr/8-avenue-lenine/
– “Mondes tsiganes” : histoire d’une fascination-répulsion fabriquée par les images. In: France 24. 02.06.2018. http://www.france24.com/fr/20180602-mondes-tsiganes-roms-exposition-photographie-images-stereotype-racisme
– Soirée sous le signe de la Slovaquie au Benefire. In: Midi Libre. 02.06.2018. http://www.midilibre.fr/2018/06/02/soiree-sous-le-signe-de-la-slovaquie-au-benefire,1680419.php
– Un incendie dans un bidonville de Montreuil, une cinquantaine de personnes mises à l’abri. In: France Bleu. 29.05.2018. https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/un-incendie-dans-un-bidonville-de-montreuil-cinquante-personnes-mises-a-l-abri-1527607184
– Montreuil : le bidonville part en fumée, quinze familles à la rue. In: Le Parisien. 29.05.2018. http://www.leparisien.fr/seine-saint-denis-93/montreuil-le-bidonville-part-en-fumee-quinze-familles-a-la-rue-29-05-2018-7742325.php
– Nouveau squat d’une maison inoccupée dans le Val-d’Oise. In: Le Parisien. 29.05.2018. https://fr.news.yahoo.com/nouveau-squat-d-maison-inoccupée-val-d-oise-184324686.html?guccounter=2
– Bouches-du-Rhône: A Gardanne, des camps de Roms à la vie tranquille en appartement. In: 20 Minutes (FR). 29.05.2018. https://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2277007-20180529-bouches-rhone-gardanne-camps-roms-vie-tranquille-appartement [link-preview url=”https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-misery-de-misery-tous-les-chemins-menent-aux-roms-5794949 “]
The story of an Albanian Romni and on how a film about her came to be.
– Virtual reality brought me into the world of a strong Roma woman. In: Medium. 30.05.2018. https://medium.com/@UNDP/virtual-reality-brought-me-into-the-world-of-a-strong-roma-woman-6025b314bea1 [link-preview url=”https://medium.com/@UNDP/virtual-reality-brought-me-into-the-world-of-a-strong-roma-woman-6025b314bea1″]
Young Roma students in the Czech Republic are sharing their stories as part of a campaign in the country called “I Have a Dream”.
– Vanesa Horváthová: I hope there will be more Romani doctors, journalists, lawyers and police officers. In: Romea. 30.05.2018. http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/vanesa-horvathova-i-hope-there-will-be-more-romani-doctors-journalists-lawyers-and-police-officers#.Ww7QlzqNDfM.facebook [link-preview url=”http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/vanesa-horvathova-i-hope-there-will-be-more-romani-doctors-journalists-lawyers-and-police-officers#.Ww7QlzqNDfM.facebook”]
The Khamoro Festival opened in Prague last Sunday.
– Romské slunce nezapadne celý týden, začal festival Khamoro. In: O24. 28.05.2018. http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/kultura/2492182-romske-slunce-nezapadne-cely-tyden-zacal-festival-khamoro
– Kultura: Festival Khamoro začal ve studiu Seznamu. Poslechněte si romský All-Star Band. In: Zpravy. https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/festival-khamoro-zacal-ve-studiu-seznamu-poslechnete-si-romsky-all-star-band-47914
– IN PRAG BEGINNT FESTIVAL KHAMORO. In: Radio Prague. 28.05.2018. http://www.radio.cz/de/rubrik/nachrichten/in-prag-beginnt-festival-khamoro [link-preview url=”https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/festival-khamoro-zacal-ve-studiu-seznamu-poslechnete-si-romsky-all-star-band-47914 “]
Another article on the closure of a migrant’s camp near the Frankfurt’s railway station. Many of its residents were Romanian Roma. As in France, no alternative was provided to the people, and they will land back on the streets.
– Polizei räumt Roma-Elendslager: „Sie werden wieder nur auf der Straße sitzen“. In: Focus. 30.05.2018. https://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/sie-lebten-in-huetten-aus-sperrholz-polizei-raeumt-roma-elendslager-in-frankfurt-sie-werden-wieder-nur-auf-der-strasse-sitzen_id_9001339.html [link-preview url=”https://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/sie-lebten-in-huetten-aus-sperrholz-polizei-raeumt-roma-elendslager-in-frankfurt-sie-werden-wieder-nur-auf-der-strasse-sitzen_id_9001339.html”]
A depressing article about the prospects of young Roma from the settlements: If a child is born in a Roma settlement, he has no prospects for the future. He or she usually ends as his parents – without an education and under-employed. According to experts, poverty in Slovakia is due because of the persistent prejudice and the inability of schools to adapt to the needs of Roma children.
– Nikdy z teba nič nebude, počujú neraz deti Rómov. In: Slovensko. 28.05.2018. https://slovensko.hnonline.sk/1752058-nikdy-z-teba-nic-nebude-pocuju-neraz-deti-romov [link-preview url=”https://slovensko.hnonline.sk/1752058-nikdy-z-teba-nic-nebude-pocuju-neraz-deti-romov”]
An article on the series of Pogroms in the Ukraine and the de-facto impunity of the perpetuators. Scary is the fact that this anti-Roma attitude in society has gained hold in recent years.
Bad for all.
– “За погромы ромов так никто и не ответил”. Кто разжигает нетерпимость в обществе. In Vesti. 26.05.2018. https://vesti-ukr.com/strana/290208-za-pohromy-romov-tak-nikto-i-ne-otvetil-kto-razzhihaet-neterpimostv-obshchestve [link-preview url=”https://vesti-ukr.com/strana/290208-za-pohromy-romov-tak-nikto-i-ne-otvetil-kto-razzhihaet-neterpimostv-obshchestve”]
A video of an Interview with Kujtim Paćaku, who recently died. He was a Roma journalist and poet from Prizren. The interview was realised 4 years ago.
– Kujtim Paćaku poète rrom du Kosovo. https://vimeo.com/88567555 [link-preview url=”https://vimeo.com/88567555″]
The lawyer defending the Roma victims of an attack on a camp in the Kharkiv region was brutally attacked. And the leader of the attacker was none other than a local prosecutor. Apparently, the attackers were not even masked and there is CCTV coverage.
Bad.
Also bad that the newspaper used the picture of a Roma shantytown from Paris. It is the camp of the petite ceinture – on the tracks of a disused train line.
– Halya Coynash: Ukrainian prosecutor accused of brutal attack on Roma hate crime lawyer. In: Kyiv Post. 28.05.2018. https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/halya-coynash-ukrainian-prosecutor-accused-of-brutal-attack-on-roma-hate-crime-lawyer.html [link-preview url=”https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/halya-coynash-ukrainian-prosecutor-accused-of-brutal-attack-on-roma-hate-crime-lawyer.html”]
The Bulgarian authorities have begun destroying “illegal” houses, i.e. undocumented constructions, in the Stolipinovo neighbourhood of Plovdiv. Stolipinovo is one of the largest mahala (Roma neighbourhood) in the city.
– Събарят незаконните постройки в кв. Столипиново в Пловдив. In: Novini. 22.05.2018. https://www.facebook.com/Novini.bg/videos/1873962609337056/ [link-preview url=”https://www.facebook.com/Novini.bg/videos/1873962609337056/”]
Roma are deprived of health care
According to the President of the Union of Roma of Slovenia Jožko Horvat Muca, the Roma community is deprived of health care. “Roma are still living in often illegal settlements, under bad conditions, without drinking water and electricity. All of this contributes to the poor health situation”.
– Romi so pri zdravstveni oskrbi prikrajšani. In: STA. 25.05.2018. https://siol.net/romi-so-prikrajsani-v-zdravstveni-oskrbi-468470 [link-preview url=”https://siol.net/romi-so-prikrajsani-v-zdravstveni-oskrbi-468470″]
Schooling is difficult for Roma in Bosnia. In Modrički Lug, a van was is planned to be bought in order to ferry Roma children to the nearby city of Vukosavlje, where they can pursue their school career. There is no upper secondary school in the city, and due to poverty, most cannot afford the transport. The purchase is a local Roma initiative.
– ROMS DE BOSNIE-HERZÉGOVINE : GRANDE PAUVRETÉ VS. DROIT À L’ÉDUCATION. In: Le Courrier des Balkans. 23.05.2018. https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Roms-de-Bosnie-Herzegovine-grande-pauvrete-vs-droit-a-l-education [link-preview url=”https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Roms-de-Bosnie-Herzegovine-grande-pauvrete-vs-droit-a-l-education”]
Is it a trend? Or is it a change? The news this week on Roma in France are definitively different. Education, about a Romni in Montreuil fighting for the enrolment of Roma children in school; help, with a story of students of a prestigious French university (Science Po) devoting time to Roma in Poitiers; a Roma manifestation in Nice about the living conditions in Romania; a movie about a Roma family; an integration centre is being discussed in the North of France and one opened near Paris in Ivry; and then the usual news, a fire in a camp in the North, and a camp closure near Paris.
Finally, racism in France with Moslems and Roma coming on the top of the league … A depressing pattern in Europe.
– Montreuil : Liliana se bat pour scolariser les enfants roms. In: Le Parisien. 20.05.2018. http://www.leparisien.fr/info-paris-ile-de-france-oise/montreuil-liliana-se-bat-pour-scolariser-les-enfants-roms-20-05-2018-7726188.php
– Les étudiants de Sciences Po agissent auprès des Roms. In: Centre Presse. 22.05.2018. http://www.centre-presse.fr/article-604073-les-etudiants-de-sciences-po-agissent-aupres-des-roms.html
– Les Roms manifestent contre les ghettos en Roumanie. In: Nice Matin. 21.05.2018. http://www.nicematin.com/vie-locale/les-roms-manifestent-contre-les-ghettos-en-roumanie-231892
– 8, AVENUE LÉNINE. In: Mill Bâbords. http://www.millebabords.org/spip.php?article31813
– Projet «Sas Roms», une seconde réunion publique bien plus calme. In: La Voix du Nord. 23.05.2018. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/382341/article/2018-05-23/projet-sas-roms-une-seconde-reunion-publique-bien-plus-calme
– Ivry : des chalets et de l’insertion pour onze familles roms. In: Le Parisien. 25.05.2018. http://www.leparisien.fr/val-de-marne-94/ivry-des-chalets-et-de-l-insertion-pour-onze-familles-roumaines-25-05-2018-7736010.php
– Une dizaine de caravanes détruites dans l’incendie d’un camp de familles roms. In: La Voix du Nord. 23.05.2018. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/381676/article/2018-05-23/une-dizaine-de-caravanes-detruites-dans-l-incendie-d-un-camp-de-familles-roms
– Yvelines. Houilles : le camp de Roms de la rue Bapaume démantelé. In: Actu.fr. 25.05.2018. https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/houilles_78311/yvelines-houilles-camp-roms-rue-bapaume-demantele_16969991.html
– France : Selon un rapport, Roms et musulmans sont les minorités les plus stigmatisées. In: Yabiladi. 25.05.2018. https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/65272/france-selon-rapport-roms-musulmans.html
– Le racisme en 2017 : l’état des lieux de la CNCDH. In: Vie Publique. 24.05.2018. http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/alaune/racisme-baisse-du-nombre-actes-racistes-signales.html [link-preview url=”https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/houilles_78311/yvelines-houilles-camp-roms-rue-bapaume-demantele_16969991.html “]
The EU is giving funds for the integration of Roma in the school system and to avoid the de-facto segregation of schooling that is still prevalent in the country.
Let’s hope it helps.
– Schools open to all? Slovakia uses EU funds to include Roma children. In: EURActiv. 25.05.20128. https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/schools-open-to-all-slovakia-uses-eu-funds-to-achieve-inclusive-education/ [link-preview url=”https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/schools-open-to-all-slovakia-uses-eu-funds-to-achieve-inclusive-education/”]
The ERRC is now reporting on the spate of attacks in Ukraine against Roma.
– FAR-RIGHT ATTACK: THIRD IN RECENT WEEKS AGAINST ROMA IN UKRAINE. In: ERRC. 25.05.2018. http://www.errc.org/news/far-right-attack-third-in-recent-weeks-against-roma-in-ukraine [link-preview url=”http://www.errc.org/news/far-right-attack-third-in-recent-weeks-against-roma-in-ukraine”]
A video on Roma in the Ukraine in the context of the recent attack in Ternopil region.
This being a Russian News outlet, some of the comments are to be taken with a word of caution.
Fact remains, the perpetrators of the attacks are largely not arrested and much less condemned.
– ПРИЧИНОЙ НАПАДЕНИЙ РАДИКАЛОВ НА РОМОВ МОЖЕТ БЫТЬ ПОЛИТИКА ИЛИ ОТВЛЕЧЕНИЕ ВНИМАНИЯ. In: RU TSN. https://ru.tsn.ua/video/video-novini/prichinoy-napadeniy-radikalov-na-romov-mozhet-byt-politika-ili-otvlechenie-vnimaniya.html [link-preview url=”https://ru.tsn.ua/video/video-novini/prichinoy-napadeniy-radikalov-na-romov-mozhet-byt-politika-ili-otvlechenie-vnimaniya.html”]
Following the statements by Branimir Bunjac, a Croatian MP from the Živi Zid party (a populist party) that Roma bride were sold in Northern Croatia, the press took the information over and splashed it everywhere.
Now the police stated they had NO EVIDENCE of such transactions.
No further comments.
– Police have no information on Roma brides being sold to marriage. In: Total Croatia. 24.05.2018. https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28535-police-denies-young-roma-brides-being-sold-to-marriage [link-preview url=”https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28535-police-denies-young-roma-brides-being-sold-to-marriage”]
Another article on bride selling – this time in Croatia, a country where racism runs anyhow high. Again, the right question is not being asked: Is it “selling” or is it an early wedding with the Vlach tradition of paying the father of the bride.
Such small differentiations are probably too much to ask.
– Young Roma Brides Sold in Northern Croatia. In: Total Croatia. 23.05.2018. https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28515-young-roma-brides-sold-in-northern-croatia [link-preview url=”https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28515-young-roma-brides-sold-in-northern-croatia”]
Again an attack against Roma in the Ukraine. This one took place in the Ternopil region on May 22nd.
– Возле Тернополя сожгли табор ромов. In: Segodnya. 23.05.2018. https://www.segodnya.ua/regions/lvov/vozle-ternopolya-sozhgli-lager-romov–1140762.html
– IN TERNOPIL REGION SHOT GYPSY CHILDREN. In: Bobrtimes. 23.05.2018. https://bobrtimes.com/in-ternopil-region-shot-gypsy-children/49790/ [link-preview url=”https://www.segodnya.ua/regions/lvov/vozle-ternopolya-sozhgli-lager-romov–1140762.html “]
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