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Slovakia: Commemoration

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Slovakia: Commemoration

On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the In Minorita civic association (OZ) has prepared commemorative events as part of the Ma bisteren! project commemorating the Roma Holocaust on Tuesday, which will be held in Zvolen and Čierny Balog.

As the organizers recalled, this year we are commemorating the 80th anniversary of several tragic events. “After the suppression of the Slovak National Uprising in the autumn of 1944, there were reprisals against the civilian population, persecutions also affected the Roma population. Helping the partisans, but also suspicion of such help, was punishable by death,” they said.

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Slovakia: Attack

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Slovakian investigative reporter Kristína Kövešová was physically attacked during the reporting she was working on. The most threatening thing is that the whole situation happened right in front of the police. What is not apparent initially in the article is who, but further down, it implicitly says that the attackers were Roma, and that they also attacked other people.

Bad.

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Slovenia, Crime, and Politics

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The Minister of Internal Affairs, Boštjan Poklukar, met with representatives of the regional civil initiative for solving the Roma issue from Novi Mesto, Kočevje, Brežice, Grosuplje, Šentjernej and Škocjan. After the meeting, Poklukar said that the meeting was constructive and that he was happy about the dialogue, while the representative of the civil initiative Novo mesto Silvo Mesojedec expressed several criticisms of the inaction of all Slovenian governments so far and announced the escalation of activities.

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Czechia, Work, and Roma

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Roma in the Czech Republic are much more likely to receive a fixed-term (limited duration) contract at work. In the whole of the Czech Republic, about seven percent of employed people have it, half of Roma workers. Roughly every ninth Roma then works without a contract. This was shown by research on the socio-economic situation of the Roma population in the Czech Republic for last year and this year. The report with the results was published by the Research Institute of Labor and Social Affairs (RILSA).

This result has been interpreted somewhat differently in the Czech press, for example in the IDnes paper, which states in its title “Even if they work, they have no security. Half of the Roma have a contract only for a fixed period”.

The generalization of half of the people in Czechia who have fixed terms contracts doesn’t mean that half the Roma do.

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French Chronicle …

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Not much this week in France, most probably due to the upcoming elections.

An article about Angela Rostas, a 40 years old pregnant Romni who was killed recently in Savoie, near Geneva, victim of a racist murder. The other article is about Roma who are squatting in a stadium near Nates, after having been evicted from their previous camp.

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Bosnia and Exclusion

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Around 400 Roma live in Mostar. Excluded from a very young age due to lack of support from the education system and the government, they suffer discrimination and prejudice. A double punishment for these citizens who fight every day for their inclusion.

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Lety: Interview

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An interview with Karolina Spielmannová from the Museum of Roma Culture in Brno about why it took 30 years to be finally able to open the memorial on the site of the former concentration camp of Lety.

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Slovak Elections

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On Saturday, March 23, 2024, the first round of presidential elections took place in Slovakia. Voters chose from nine candidates. Voter turnout was at almost 52 percent. The winner of the first round was Ivan Korčok (independent candidate), with over 42 percent of the votes, Peter Pellegrini (Voice) with 37 percent was second.  The nationalist Štefan Harabin came third (11.7 percent), and almost 3 percent went to the chairman of the Hungarian Alliance, Krisztián Forró. He won first place in two districts in the south, in Dunajská Streda and Komárno. These are districts with a significant Hungarian minority, but part of the population is also made up of Hungarian-speaking Roma.

Igor Matovič, leader of the Slovakia movement (formerly OĽaNO), won only 2.18 percent of the vote. Part of his movement is also the Roma platform Pačivale Roma, which is represented by father and son Pollák. Matovič received higher support in the districts of Bardejov, Sabinov, Levoča and Kežmarok, i.e. districts with a higher proportion of Roma, where the Pollák come from. It can therefore be assumed that he was elected by the Roma in the settlements.

The second round of the presidential election will take place on April 6, with more than 4.36 million eligible voters eligible to participate.

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Slovenian Roma Settlements

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Laura Kovač from Dolga vasi is the recipient of Miklošič’s award from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor in the field of sociology. She was awarded for her master’s thesis Roma settlements in Slovenia.

Her research was based on the observation that Roma settlements Slovenia are often called ghettoes, which carries a negative connotation and is often associated with adjectives such as black, immigrant or Roma. “I think that such labeling of areas where Roma live affects the formation of (additional) negative ideas of the wider society about life in Roma settlements, that these can be dangerous places that should be avoided,” she said, adding that the motivation for the analysis also came from the fact that she grew up in the Roma settlement Dolga vas.

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Slovenia: Action Plan

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An action plan for the development of the Roma community in the area of the municipality of Dobrovnik will be presented shortly. The plan was compiled by the Murska Sobota Development Centre and the Lendava People’s University.

“The action plan for the development of the Roma community in the Municipality of Dobrovnik is not just a text, but a document with clearly defined goals, innovative solutions and concrete steps. We believe that this plan will contribute to a brighter future for the Roma community and the entire municipality. Together, we will build solid bridges between different communities, promote inclusivity, understand aspirations and provide equal opportunities for everyone,” said the Mayor of the Municipality of Dobrovnik, Marjan Kardinar.

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Slovakia, Elections, and Roma

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Representative of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma communities, Ján Hero called for parties to remove billboards presenting Roma as antisocial. He also asked on social networks that political parties in the pre-election campaign should not abuse the poverty and difficult living conditions for Roma to present cheap populist solutions.

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Hungary International Roma Song Day

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The International Roma Song Day was organized again this year. The aim of the international movement is to bring together the gypsy communities, culture and folklore scattered throughout Europe, and present it to society as a whole. In connection with this, we spoke with Mihály Rostás “Mazsi”, who dreamed up and put together the event, and among the performing artists such formations as Etnorom, Kalyi Jag, Kanizsa Csillagai, Karaván Família and Vojasa.

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Genocide and now Discrimination

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Several articles highlighting the continuing discrimination of Roma in Europe.

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Slovakia and Roma Settlements

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Local civil and preventive services (MOPS) were still functioning until recently. However, the funding for this activity has been slowly depleted. The Slovak government is planning to restore the service. “Eligible applicants are municipalities with the presence of a marginalized Roma community, which are listed in the Atlas of Roma Communities 2019, and which have at least 80 inhabitants of this community,” explained Ján Hero, the government representative for Roma communities.

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Germany: Exhibition

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The exhibition “Race Diagnosis: Gypsy”  will be held from February 23 to March 23 in the state parliament in Mainz, Germany.

The exhibition on the genocide of the Sinti and Roma shows the history of their persecution from the exclusion and disenfranchisement of the minority in the German Reich to their systematic annihilation in occupied Europe. In addition, the history of the survivors of the Holocaust, who were only later recognized as victims of the Nazis, is dealt with. At the end there is an outlook on the human rights situation of the Sinti and Roma in Europe after 1989.

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Czech Republic: A Success Story

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The story of a small town in the mountains which, 10 years ago had several Roma settlements on the outskirts of the town, where Roma did not attend school, with high unemployment. Thanks to the effort of a social worker Markéta Horneková, who developed a community centre so that the children had somewhere to spend their time meaningfully after school and built a team of field workers from local skilled Roma who were eager to make a difference, huge progress was made.

With the mayor also pitching in, the situation has totally changed ten years later.

Well done.

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