Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Prague and the Brno Murder

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Following the murder of a young Rom in Brno last week at the hands of a Ukrainian, manifestations were held, notably in Prague with both Roma and Ukrainians denouncing racism and bigotry.

News Osteuropa Slowakei

10 Years

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Tomorrow, ten years since the brutal police intervention in Moldova nad Bodvou, Slovakia, will have passed. The Roma went to court, only to find themselves condemned for perjury and defamation, a judgement that went to the EU court of justice which condemned Slovakia for the facts. Now, it is back in court there, under the very same person who indicted the victims, the Roma.

Not ideal to say the least.

News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Spanien Ukraine

Spain Symposium

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More than forty people from the Roma community, among them refugees from Ukraine participate here in a “protected space” in a symposium on the management of traumas and their healing, for strengthening and empowering oneself.

Roxanna-Lorainne Witt, co-founder of the association Save Space and co-organizer of the symposium, explains in an interview for DW: “Who strengthens those people, who are strong for all of us? How are role models supported, so that strengthen themselves, while they themselves often have to work without stable perspectives and structures? Normal experiences – such as seeing the sea once in a lifetime – are often completely undervalued.”

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Brno Murder: Commemoration

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Brno Murder: Commemoration

Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková will take part in a commemorative event on the Old Town Square in Prague today. Representatives of Roma and Ukrainians will meet there. The event is organized by PULS Europe and the Czechoslovak Roma Union, in cooperation with the Olašské Roma Union.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Brno – Roma Reactions

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An interview with Nick Budai, a Roma activist in Brno, Czech Republic following the murder of a Rom by a Ukrainian last Saturday.

He portrays the Brno Roma community, shaken by the violent death of a young man at the dam a few days ago, as a diverse mass of people with diverse opinions and attitudes. He admits that things are boiling so much among the Roma in the South Moravian metropolis that some of them can hear about manipulations and extreme attitudes. However, he believes that the upcoming Saturday pieta will take place in a calm and dignified manner.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria: Discrimination

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Two young Romnja in Bulgaria signed a contract for managing a restaurant. The contract was cancelled after a few days, apparently because of their ethnicity. The owner claims it is because of the tenant’s plans to organize noisy parties, weddings and baptisms.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria, Roma, and Schools

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The Bulgarian government approved funding for 50% of the costs of the 1’000 school mediators. The rest is funded by a project called “Success for you”. These mediators are working with Roma children to try to avoid them dropping out of school too soon.

News Osteuropa Polen

Poznan and Roma

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A reportage on a Roma settlement in Poznan, Poland. The Roma community has been living in that area of at Lechicka Street for many years. In an area of several hectares, they try to cope as best they can. “It’s hard here. It’s hard to keep clean. We are poor, but we have small children, so it must be clean everywhere,” says Veta, one of the residents, pointing to the carpeted ground.

Despite the early hour, the sun made itself felt. The weather doesn’t bother Ecatarina, who drinks her pickle outside. She is wearing a patterned ankle-length dress and a thick sweater with a zipper. Her gray hair is covered with a colourful scarf. – Every day I get up at 7. I drink coffee and prepare food for my grandchildren – describes the woman. “Then I’m going to fetch water to wash up and do the laundry.” I take a cart that holds four canisters. I do everything by hand because we don’t have a washing machine. I go begging. I’m not lying. I know it’s forbidden, but I have no other choice. We need food and hygiene products.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Brno Murder: Riots

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Following the murder of a young Rom by a Ukrainian las Saturday in Brno, Ukrainians and Roma clashed in the city resulting in the police intervening. What is also tragic is that the extreme right is also using this murder to protest the presence of Ukrainian refugees.

This is bad.

Tschechische Republik News Osteuropa

Brno: Murder

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A 23 years old Rom was killed last Saturday in Brno. He and his friend were heading towards a place to watch a firework when they were attacked apparently because of the music they were listening to. The perpetrator is apparently a Ukrainian.

What is worse, this murder initiated a huge amount of abuse online.

Bad.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria Festival

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The children’s Roma festival “Open Heart” was held for the 18th time in a row and brought together children and young people from all over Bulgaria in V. Tarnovo. This edition was also a bit special for the organisers from the Amalipe Center for Inter-Ethnic Dialogue and Tolerance, as in 2023 the forum turns 20. Many songs, dances, poems, a theatrical production and a number of other side events entertained the spectators and the participants themselves in the festival, which traditionally gathered in “Marno Pole” park. It was attended by more than 1,000 students from over 70 schools across the country, included in the Folklore of Ethnicities, Roma Folklore and other activities of interest, girls and boys from the Youth Groups for Tolerance and Civic Participation, as well as educational mediators.

News Osteuropa North Macedonia

North Macedonia and Racism

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The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights strongly condemned offensive graffiti with swastikas and inscriptions “Gyupci”, written with black spray on the houses of the Roma population on Debarska street in Bitola, North Macedonia. According to them, this is another case of a hate crime, with a message calling for violence against the Roma ethnic community.

“Starting from the aspiration to build coexistence, tolerance and mutual respect, regardless of national, ethnic, religious or any other affiliation, we demand that the competent institutions, above all, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office thoroughly investigate the case, find the perpetrators , who should be held accountable for this crime,” the Helsinki Committee stated.

News Osteuropa Ukraine

Ukraine and Roma

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The Ukrainian state guarantees its citizens equal access to legal aid and justice. The possibility of receiving services in the system of free legal aid does not depend on social status, race, ethnicity or other characteristics. At the same time, the Roma national minority, which is quite significant in Ukraine, is also one of the most socially vulnerable, and therefore requires the special attention of human rights defenders.

In order to ensure unimpeded access of Roma to free legal aid, specialists of the BPD system organize out-of-court consultation points in settlements where Roma live, explain the rights of representatives of national minorities during legal education events, prepare and distribute information and explanatory materials about the rights of national minorities.

“The lawyers of the BPD system in Sumy Oblast are constantly approached by representatives of the Roma nationality. In the regional centre, we even organized a consultation centre on the basis of one of the schools, where part of the children belong to the Roma community. Yes, at the specified time, everyone who wants to can consult with a specialist,” says the director of the Sumy local centre for the provision of BVPD Valentyna Troshechko.

A Step in the right direction …

Deutschland News Osteuropa News Westeuropa Ukraine

Germany: Fire

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A small child died in a fire in an asylum seeker centre in the Thuringian town of Apolda. The child is from a Roma family from the Ukraine.

It is not yet known whether this was arson or an accidental fire. Romani Rose, the chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma is asking for a prompt investigation.

Bulgarien News Osteuropa

Bulgaria, Rock, God, and Roma

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A Bulgarian rocker who emigrated a long time ago to the US and turned preacher in an evangelical church there, is helping Roma – apparently praying for healings of sick Roma – and also helping children. Frankly, this could be done without the religion, as many Roma there are Moslem, and the others orthodox.

News Osteuropa Slowenien

Slovenia and Statistics

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The usual statistics: In the municipality around Novo Mesto, Slovenia, on average 12 percent of Roma students completed primary school, or approximately one in eight school-age children. There are currently 290 unemployed Roma registered at the regional office of the Employment Agency, which is 30 percent of all unemployed in the municipality. Of these, 73 percent have been registered at the institution for more than one year and 56 percent for more than two years.

Only issue pops up if you ask how many Roma there are in the municipality. Answer is usually we do not really know … This makes for highly accurate percentage …

Ungarn News Osteuropa Ukraine

Ukrainian Refugees in Hungary

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Roma from Ukraine fled to Hungary because of the war, but not because of poverty. Rozina is 38 years old Romni and is one of several thousand refugees from Ukraine who fled to Hungary after the Russian invasion in February 2022.

She sits at a table and practices writing her name at a school in the eighth district of the Hungarian capital. She has freckles on her face, a bright smile, and struggles with the letter “k” when writing the surname Farkaš. The classes are run by Taleta, a non-governmental organization founded by two Hungarian women, Silvija Moldovan (Szilvia) and Agnes Pletser, immediately after the war began, with the aim of helping to educate young Roma refugees from the western Ukrainian Transcarpathian region.

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