Full video of the events on August 2nd in Auschwitz.
Category Archives: News Eastern Europe
August 2nd Commemoration
The full video of the political speakers and public for the August 2nd commemoration of the Genocide of the Roma.
Olga Fečová: The day was short for me
The icon of Romani culture, almost 80-year-old Olga Fečová, a woman with indomitable energy, presents her life in a book that tells the story of the Roma in Czechoslovakia on the basis of an individual destiny. The selection from the book is complemented by excerpts from an interview with the author, filmed for the non-profit organization Romea as part of the Roma memory project.
- Olga Fečová: Den byl pro mě krátkej. Výběr z memoárové knihy ikony romské kultury. In: Vltava Rozhlas. 29.07.2024. https://vltava.rozhlas.cz/olga-fecova-den-byl-pro-me-kratkej-vyber-z-memoarove-knihy-ikony-romske-kultury-9280232
Ukrainians and Roma
The town of Pilsen, Czechia, deployed joint patrols of Ukrainians and local Roma for crime prevention.
Sixteen thousand Ukrainians live in this city of 170,000, and there are no exact figures on the number of Roma. According to Tereza Schliková from the press department of the Pilsen city police,”Each community defends its own, they don’t need to meet each other. But when it comes down to it, we use combined patrols of Roma and Ukrainian prevention officers who can eventually calm the situation.”
- Ukrajinci s Romy. Plzeň nasadila společné hlídky asistentů prevence criminality. In: Novinky. 27.07.2024. https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-ukrajinci-s-romy-plzen-nasadila-spolecne-hlidky-asistentu-prevence-kriminality-40481828
- Ukrajinci a Romové hlídají plzeňské ulice. Snaží se předcházet sporům. In: TN CZ. 29.07.2024. https://tn.nova.cz/zpravodajstvi/clanek/567062-na-bezpecnost-v-plzni-dohlizeji-ukrajinsko-romske-hlidky-preventistu
Roma Settlements
Šimon and his wife Romana only know life in a Roma settlement. They show their house in Hrušovce, which has only one, but cozy room. It serves as bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom all in one. Šimon says that they would like to move with the help of the organization DOM.ov.
The organisation helps Roma obtain a better home. They have to be employed, have an income to be able to pay the mortgage. At the same time, they must start saving a year in advance, at least 100 euros per month. The NGO then helps them getting and building a new home.
- Z rómskej osady do nového domova: Posúvame rodiny ďalej, hovorí riaditeľ neziskovky. In: TV Noviny. 27.07.2024. https://tvnoviny.sk/domace/clanok/915900-z-romskej-osady-do-noveho-domova-posuvame-rodiny-dalej-hovori-riaditel-neziskovky
The Roma Problem
Another article about the Roma “problem” in Slovenia.
he mayor of Ribniška, Samo Pogorelc, said that in Ribnica, there are approximately 220 Roma who live in three illegal settlements. Half of them have registered permanent residence in Ribnica Municipality. Only two Roma are employed. Children attend kindergarten and school, but with high absenteeism, and they generally leave school in the 6th grade. According to municipal employees, the situation is alarming.
- Romska problematika: Ribniški župan zadel žebljico na glavico. In: E-Utrip. 27.07.2024. https://e-utrip.si/romska-problematika-ribniski-zupan-zadel-zebljico-na-glavico/
The Church and Roma
The working group for Roma of the Ecumenical Council of Churches has published a letter in which it calls on the church community to be more open to Roma believers. “In practice, it is not the case that a Roma comes to a Christian community, where they throw him out ‘by the collar’, saying that he has no business there. But they will let him know that he is not desirable, often behind closed doors,” explains one of the initiators of the challenge, evangelical pastor Mikuláš Vymětal.
- Skoro v každé církvi je někdo, komu říkám rasistická babička, myslí si spoluautor výzvy o Romech. In: Rozhlas. 28.07.2024. https://plus.rozhlas.cz/skoro-v-kazde-cirkvi-je-nekdo-komu-rikam-rasisticka-babicka-mysli-si-spoluautor-9282221
- Romové v kostele vítáni! O větší otevřenosti místních církví, sborů a farností s faráři Mikulášem Vymětalem a Erikou Oubrechtovou. In: Wave Rozhals. 28.07.2024. https://wave.rozhlas.cz/romove-v-kostele-vitani-o-vetsi-otevrenosti-mistnich-cirkvi-sboru-a-farnosti-s-9281846
Operation 1005
Or how the Nazis tried to cover up their atrocities.
- Operation 1005 – How the Nazis Concealed Their Atrocities. In: Deutsche Welle. 24.07.2024. https://www.dw.com/en/operation-1005-how-the-nazis-concealed-their-atrocities/a-69572993
Poland: A piece of history
Thanks to the meticulousness of the authorities of communist Poland, we can learn not only when exactly the first Roma arrived and settled in Środa Śląska, but also thoroughly reconstruct the history of each Roma family, find out what jobs they undertook and how their superiors assessed the quality of their work.
- Z historii Romów w Środzie Śląskiej. In: Roland Gazeta. 22.07.2024. https://www.roland-gazeta.pl/historia/z-historii-romow-w-srodzie-slaskiej
Interview
An interview with Jana Horváthová, director of the Museum of Roma Culture in Brno. She says that “Negative things [about Roma] are heard a lot, although lately it has been decreasing. But recently, during the opening of the monument in Lety, there was again an abundance of hateful comments on social networks dishonouring the Roma and their culture. That’s a real shame.”
- V Romech dřímá potenciál, jejich problémy nikdo nechápe, říká šéfka muzea. In: iDnes. 26.07.2024. https://www.idnes.cz/brno/zpravy/rozhovor-romove-muzeum-romske-kultury-jana-horvathova.A240726_808992_brno-zpravy_mos1
New Book
A new book in Romanes by Ilona Ferkova, a Czech Romani writer has been published by the Kher publishing house. It is called “amen” [we] and is targeted at young romani audiences.
- Za sedmero haldami. In: iLiteratura. 26.07.2024. https://www.iliteratura.cz/clanek/47070-ferkova-ilona-amen
LGBT Dictionary
Another article about the recent LGBT+ dictionary in Romanes published in Slovenia. With a violent diatribe against the government wasting money on such things rather than to solve the real issue of Roma “violence” and so on.
Bad.
- Dosežek Golobizma: Romski LGBT+ slovar. In: Nova 24TV. 23.07.2024. https://nova24tv.si/dosezek-golobizma-romski-lgbt-slovar/
Roma Problem in Posavje
The sad story of Roma two settlements in the South of Slovenia where less than 1’000 Roma live. According to the article, in spite of the work of the municipalities, the situation in those settlements is bad. They say that Roma destroyed the sewers and other infrastructure that has been installed, that in spite of schools being set up, not a single Roma child has completed primary school.
The blame is on the Roma in these kinds of articles. No one asks why this is happening…
- Romi v Krškem za zabavo kamenjajo gasilce. In: Nova 24 TV. 26.07.2024. https://nova24tv.si/romi-v-krskem-za-zabavo-kamenjajo-gasilce/#google_vignette
Slovenia, Roma, and Violence
A long article following the recent beating of a child in a school by a 14-year-old Roma boy. The child is still in hospital. The article states that the government has done nothing, and worse, is de-facto condoning. The article speaks about the Roma violence against the majority population. This is bad.
The article says “We are witnessing the escalation of Roma attacks on the majority population of Southeastern Slovenia, with the ruling coalition rejecting measures that would stop this part of the country from sliding into lawlessness for ideological reasons.”
And is also seen in the other article on the same topic.
- Komentar tedna: Kri na rokah Goloba, Mesca in Fajonove. In: Domovina. 24.07.2024. https://www.domovina.je/komentar-tedna-kri-na-rokah-goloba-mesca-in-fajonove
- NSi z novim predlogom zakona o osnovni šoli nad romsko problematiko in nasiljem. In: 24 Ur. 25.07.2024. https://www.24ur.com/novice/slovenija/nsi-z-novim-predlogom-zakona-o-osnovni-soli-nad-romsko-problematiko-in-nasilje.html
Slovakia, Volvo, and Roma
The first stage of the construction of a new factory in Eastern Slovakia is complete and work is proceeding according to plans. Volvo is preparing to recruit employees at the end of next year. Volvo has committed to hire and train Roma for this new factory.
- Prvá etapa výstavby je hotová. Automobilový gigant má zmeniť východ Slovenska. In: TV Noviny. 234.07.2024. https://tvnoviny.sk/ekonomika/clanok/915424-prva-etapa-vystavby-je-hotova-automobilovy-gigant-ma-zmenit-vychod-slovenska
Slovenia, Roma, and LGBT
The Slovenian government assessed that it is very important for the Roma community living in Slovenia to be educated in the field of the LGBT+ agenda. Thus, the Ministry of Culture financed a Slovenian-Roma LGBT dictionary prepared by the DIH Association and the Roma Academic Club. The translation is written in Prekmur Romanes. The dictionary of LGBTQ+ terms explains different sexual orientations and gender identities, and the personal experience of being gay in the Roma community is also added.
- DOBILI SMO PRVI SLOVENSKO-ROMSKI LGBT+ SLOVAR: Financiralo ga je ministrstvo za kulturo. In: Regional Goriska. 24.07.2024. https://regionalgoriska.si/novica/dobili-smo-prvi-slovensko-romski-lgbt-slovar-financiralo-ga-je-ministrstvo-za-kulturo
Interview with Dragan Ristić
Dragan Ristić, producer, actor and member of the KAL group, talks to Danas about the position of Roma in Serbia, their inclusion that Europe insists on, how important education is when it comes to the minority population, prejudices that should be broken, as well as about Roma symbols.
- INTERVJU Dragan Ristić: Sporo se ruše tabui prema Romima u Srbiji. In: Danas. 22.07.2024. https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/dragan-ristic-intervju/
Slovakia, the Police, and Roma
For the first time in the history of Slovakia, the court ruled that the police acted in a discriminatory manner during the intervention in the Roma settlement. It happened more than nine years ago in the village of Vrbnica near Michalovce. Fifteen Roma ended up in hospital after police intervention. T
he Ministry of the Interior appealed against the court’s verdict.
- Polícia počas zásahu v rómskej osade konala diskriminačne, prvýkrát v histórii tak rozhodol súd. In: RTVS. 23.07.2024. https://spravy.rtvs.sk/2024/07/policia-pocas-zasahu-vo-vrbnici-konala-diskriminacne-prvykrat-v-historii-tak-rozhodol-bratislavsky-sud/
Slovakia, Osada, and the EU
Following a monitoring visit to Slovakia, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty called for an urgent housing solution for the Roma, who often live in unsatisfactory conditions without sewage or access to drinking water.
Following a monitoring visit to Slovakia, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty called for an urgent housing solution for the Roma, who often live in unsatisfactory conditions without sewage or access to drinking water.
Let’s see …
- Treba riešiť hrozné životné podmienky tisícov Rómov, tvrdí splnomocnenec. Chce využiť zdroje z Únie. In: HOnline. 23.07.2024. https://hnonline.sk/slovensko/96160683-treba-riesit-hrozne-zivotne-podmienky-tisicov-romov-tvrdi-splnomocnenec-chce-vyuzit-zdroje-z-unie
- Komisár Rady Európy vyzýva na urgentné riešenie zlej situácie Rómov, pripája sa aj poslanec Peter Pollák mladší. In: Sita. 23.07.2024. https://sita.sk/komisar-rady-europy-vyzyva-na-urgentne-riesenie-zlej-situacie-romov-pripaja-sa-aj-poslanec-peter-pollak-mladsi/
Kesaj Tchave
An article about the Slovakian Romano Group “Kesaj Tchave”, founded more than 20 years ago by Ivan Akimov. The group recently made a tour in France.
- Děti romské víly Kesaj roztančily Kampus Hybernská. In: Romea. 18.07.2024. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/deti-romske-vily-kesaj-roztancily-kampus-hybernska