Category Archives: News Western Europe

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.

French Chronicle …

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Not much and nothing really good in France about Roma this week. A festival against racism in Toulouse. But figthing rcism with stereotyps is not the best approach. Other than that, residents of a commune near Lyon ask for a Roma camp to be closed. And then, petty criminality: in Alsace and near Nantes.

Berlin Ake Dikhea Festival

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The successful Slovak series Iveta was among the selected film productions at the well-known international Roma festival Ake Dikhea?, which takes place every year in Berlin. This festival, which has been appealing to a wide international community for several years with its uniqueness and cultural significance, focuses on the presentation of Roma films that reflect the diverse stories, lives and perspectives of Roma around the world.

Berlin Memorial

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The Berlin Memorial of the Sinti and Roma victims of National Socialsim is being threatened by work for a new subway line. It could potentially be closed for quite a while.

On Saturday evening, more than 100 demonstrators gathered on Potsdamer Platz to protest against planned construction work for the new S-Bahn line 21 that will not just force the extended closure of this memorial to victims of Nazi genocide, but will also cause a permanent impact due to the felling of nearby trees and other long-term changes to the surroundings.

Even in Death

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The general secretary of the Federal Association of Sinti and Roma, Romeo Franz, is said to have been severely discriminated against by an undertaker in Homburg. Franz reported to the taz that the owner of the funeral home refused to sell him a coffin and funeral service. He said that he did not do business with Sinti and Roma. Franz described the incident as “dismaying” in an interview with the taz.

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The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, has called on Finland to continue to honour its strong record in promoting and defending human rights, following a visit to the country from 23 to 26 September, which focused on the situation of Roma and migration and asylum issues.

Well, there is still room for improvement…

French Chronicle …

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Two artciles about the racist murder of a pregnat Romni in France near Geneva. One exhibition about Roma (with a lot os tereotypes); on person stopped while wanting to destroy a Roma camp with a bulldozer; and the case of landowners ordered to cleanup an illegal dump that was apparently started by Roma.

Greece and Roma

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Another one of those articles. This time, about residents who are “terrorised”, “trembling”, when faced by Roma “Criminality”. Clearly, there is a problem in some neighbourhoods, but such articles will not help solving the issues.

Rome: Roma Camp Closure

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The Roma camp located in Via Cesare Lombroso in Rome was closed. 33 families lived ther with a total of 145 people, more than a third of whom were children. All the inhabitants of the camp were relocated and the cleaning operations were carried out without recourse to public force. Six families were housed independently, the other 27 were housed partly in social housing and partly in other housing solutions. The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, announced the operation this morning: “Today – he said – is a historic day. For the first time in the history of Rome, this operation is taking place without an eviction order and without recourse to public force.”

It took time …

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Only notable news in France this week about Roma is about the arrestation of three people for a tentative of arson on a Roma camp. Clearly, the fact that the three were of North African origins opened doors to some of the most extreme rightist parties, alothough some of their followers did the same.

Roma and Statistics

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Another one of those “statistics”. Here, it states that only 29% of Roma are getting the minimum living income. It then proceeds to conclude that 71% of Roma who are entitled to this benefit are not receiving it.

Spot the issues? 1. How many Roma are there? No one knows for sure. 2. The author is assuming that all Roma are poor. Which is not the case.

Bad journalism, even worse arithmetics.

Germany: Eviction

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Dozens of Bulgarian Roma families in Duisburg have received letters from the German municipal authorities informing them that they must vacate their apartments by mid-September 2024, according to the organisation “Stolipinovo in Europe”.

The local authorities also specify that the affected tenants are all tenants of Gertrudenstraße, Diesterwegstraße, Pestalozzistraße, Wilfriedstraße, Halskestraße and Wiesenstraße, who are in fact tenants of the company Ivere Property Management. It turns out that the company that owns the buildings, about fifty in total, has not paid electricity and water bills to the municipal property management company for months. It now intends to cut off the drinking water supply, which, according to the municipal authorities, makes the apartments unfit for consumption and leads to a mass eviction.

Glasgow: Ando Glaso Roma Fest

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Glasgow is gearing up for the return of Ando Glaso Roma Fest 2024, promising a rich program of music, dance, film and cultural workshops. Taking place on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th September, this two-day festival will welcome talented artists from across the UK and Europe and offer visitors a unique insight into the rich and diverse Roma culture.

Crime in Greece

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A rehash of an old story. It says that 84% of the Greeks involved in theft and burglaries in 2002 were Roma.

Well, other say these are migrants, and so on.

Bad.

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