An article and video on Roma refugees from the Ukraine. According to the article, there could be as many as 100’000 of them. This number is probably too high an estimate. The article focuses on Roma from Transcarpathian Ukraine in the Czech Republic, a problematic issue.
In 2009, Václav Cojocara and Ivo Müller participated in an arson attack Roma on a home in Vítkov in the Opava region. They were caught and condemned to a prison sentence. Now, they have been conditionally released as they purged part of their sentence and showed good behaviour.
Whether this is a good idea remains to be seen…
The staff of a cafe in Lučenec, Slovakia, made a mistake when they refused to serve a guest because he was Rom. After almost six years of litigation, the Bratislava I District Court issued a judgement condemning the café to pay 1,500 euros and apologise.
In August 2017, a refused to serve Ladislav Rácz and his friend. He said it was because he did not have a club card which costs 300 euros. Ladislaw said “When I asked him if it was by chance because we are Roma, gypsies and we are darker, he said that it is not for such a reason and that we should leave the area immediately.”
Ladislaw friend, non-Roma, went to the cafe. They served her without any problems. “She asked the waiter that she saw on the door that entry was only possible with a club card. The gentleman clearly told the camera that it is only for Roma, that they cannot serve Roma.”
907 Mio EUR have been secured from the next period of the integration of Roma in Slovakia. The money will contribute to improving the situation of marginalized Roma communities (MRK). The changes also strengthened the position of the plenipotentiary office, as well as the centralization of the entire agenda, which should lead to a more efficient use of funds. Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma communities, Ján Hero, stated this in response to Wednesday’s (May 10) press conference of the member of the Slovak National Council for SaS Vladimír Ledecký, who criticized the state’s current actions in the area of MRK inclusion.
The District Court of Bratislava ruled in the case of discrimination against a Rom, Ladislav Rácz, who was refused service in a cafe in Lučenec in 2017. The defendant must apologize to him for the discrimination and compensate him financially, the court’s decision is not final, as the defendant can still appeal.
On May 6th, 2023, Ivan Korniyovych Bilashchenko passed away at the age of 97. He was born in the village of Dmytrivka, Zolotoni district, Cherkasy region.
He was a lieutenant colonel and a veteran of the Second World War. He survived the famine when he was 7. When the Second World War began, he was 14 years old, and was sent to a concentration camp. He escaped, he was caught again and sent to forced labour – to build a railway in the Zolotonsky District.
In 1943, when he was already 17 years old, Zolotonishchyna was liberated by the Red Army, and Ivan Korniyovich joined it. He was sent to the front in Vitebsk, where he began his military service, and finished the War in the Baltics States as a commander of a platoon.
May he rest in peace!
The District Museum in Nowy Sącz, Poland, is presenting an exhibition consisting of exhibits collected by Paweł Lechowski, an ethnographer who has been continuously interested in Roma culture since the 1960s. Thanks to his collection showcases the life of travelling Roma for those who know travels only from the stories of the older generation.
Ri Rock Association in partnership with the Roma Youth Organization of Croatia organised the second cultural and artistic event dedicated to Roma culture and art. The event, called “Spin the Inclusive Wheel” aims to promote Roma culture and identity through music and art.
Radio Roža is an internet radio program that is conducted as part of the Gyroscope culture project.
The story of a Serbian Romani singer, Ljiljjana Petrović Butler, born in 2944 in Belgrade, who died in 2010 in the Netherlands, having fled the wars in Yugoslavia.
Unfortunately, this story also reinforces many stereotypes: early marriage and children, no education, dirty, and so on. Sad, as it could have been told differently.
Another article in the press about the Romano journalist Patrick Banga whose first book won the prestigious Czech Magnesia Litera award in the new author category.
It does not please certain people. According to the article, Patrik Banga now reads almost every day that he bribed the entire jury of the Magnesia Litera award. Many people cannot accept the fact that the book award went to Rom.
Bad
An interview with the popular Czech Roma actor Zdeněk Godla, in which he states “Why should I call myself Roma when I’ve been a Gypsy all my life?” A touchy question.
The Ri Rock Association started the celebration of its eighteen years of activity with Open House Days, which will culminate at the end of the year at the 45th Ri Rock Festival. The association, together with the Roma Youth Organization of Croatia they are organizing the second edition of the cultural and artistic manifestation dedicated to Roma culture and art: “Turning the Inclusive Wheel”. The goal of the event is to promote Roma culture and identity through music and art.
Yesterday was Erdelezi, the Feast of St. Georges, celebrated by Roma throughout the Balkans.
School games under the motto “Sports for everyone” are taking place today at Osogovo Stadium in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. Children from schools that educate children of Roma origin in Kyustendil region, took part in the competitions.
The initiative is carried out under the project “Improving coordination and dialogue between the police and the Roma community”, financed under the program “Home Affairs” of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, and GDNP is a beneficiary of the project. The project envisages improving coordination and dialogue between the police and the Roma community.
The project envisages the construction of 20 stations or their renovation in ten regional directorates in which there are areas with a compact Roma population. “The police inspector is the closest to the people, and when there are no station desks in the Roma neighbourhoods themselves, it becomes difficult for people to access the law enforcement agencies,” the organizers also pointed out.
Juraj Čokyna left his job at a newspaper five years ago and went to teach children from settlements in eastern Slovakia for two years. He wrote a book about it, called “Where are the edges?”
Three years later, he is interviewed and states that: “The best are those who went abroad. For Slovak Roma, especially when they live in excluded communities, this is the only chance to experience an environment where they have dignity and the necessary support, for example in schools. Abroad is the only chance for them not to immediately hit the glass ceiling, which they will bang their heads against here in Slovakia very soon.”
Sad.
Right after the congress of the International Catholic Committee for Roma in Prague on April 24, Fr. Stanisław Opocki – the national Roma chaplain and a member of the Polish Episcopate Commission for Migrants – went to Lviv to support the emerging Roma pastoral care there. Using Polish experience in this area, he assured that he would support the creation of similar structures and work on the educational needs of the Roma in Ukraine.
Apparently, it is never too late for the church.
At least 35% of young Ukrainian men and women polled by sociologists have prejudices against Roma, and another 28% towards LGBT fellow citizens. These comes out of a study “The impact of war on youth in Ukraine”, which was conducted by the Cedos analytical centre and the Info Sapiens research agency.
Well, even though these number are high, they are lower than a while back.
The new Roma mayor of Žehne, near Prešov, Slovakia, wants to radically solve the discrimination of children in kindergarten.
There are purely Roma children in one class, and their non-Roma classmates attend the other class. Other children from the Roma settlement only go to the community centre in the morning. “So that the children are mixed up. When we have 14 children here, there will be seven and seven there. Also Roma and non-Roma,” explained the mayor.
Dessi, 23, is one of the first Roma teachers in Bulgaria. The teaser of the Deutche Welle interview states that “only about 3 percent Roma in the country have higher education, only 23 percent have secondary education. Added to this is the fact that Roma girls tend to marry off the record very early – a common practice that is illegal but usually tolerated by the state.”
Well, all stereotypes, and total lack of the most basic math skills: They do not know how many Roma there are in the country. So how can they state exact percentages?
The President of the Slovene Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, recently held a consultation with representatives of the Roma community, which was also attended by the State Secretary from the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Anton Grizold. The latter is the head of the working group for dealing with the Roma “issue”, which met for the first time almost half a year ago. At the meeting, Grizold said that the task force will tackle the challenges in a two-pronged manner – with an action plan for the most pressing problems and with systemic solutions.
The area of particular concern is the region of Novo Mesto where the police intervene hundreds of times a year in the Roma settlement Žabjak.
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