- Visible depuis Lille, un incendie a touché un camp rom de Ronchin : aucun blessé n’est à deplorer. In: Actu.fr. 18.05.2025. https://actu.fr/hauts-de-france/ronchin_59507/a-lille-un-incendie-sest-declare-sur-un-camp-rom-ce-samedi_62651312.html
- Nord : un violent incendie sur un camp de Roms à Ronchin. In: France Bleu. 17.05.2025. https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/un-violent-incendie-en-cours-a-ronchin-9491250
- Ils manifesteront en soutien aux familles roms à Nantes. In: MsVille. 13.05.2025. https://saint-nazaire.maville.com/actu/actudet_-ils-manifesteront-en-soutien-aux-familles-roms-a-nantes-_dep-6805641_actu.Htm
- Roms et anti CRA : les luttes se rejoignent à Nantes. In: Ouesl France. 18.05.2025. https://saint-nazaire.maville.com/actu/actudet_-roms-et-anti-cra-les-luttes-se-rejoignent-a-nantes-_dep-6812549_actu.Htm
- Une manif à Nantes, samedi 17, en soutien aux familles roms. In: Ouesl France. 17.05.2025. https://nantes.maville.com/actu/actudet_-une-manif-a-nantes-samedi-17-en-soutien-aux-familles-roms-_8-6805642_actu.Htm
- Les familles roms d’un des plus grands camps de France se rebiffent pour leur avenir. In: Ouest France. 16.05.2025. https://nantes.maville.com/actu/actudet_-les-familles-roms-d-un-des-plus-grands-camps-de-france-se-rebiffent-pour-leur-avenir-_fil-6810285_actu.Htm?utm_source=RSS_MVI_nantes&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS
- Nantes : la communauté rom en lutte pour sa dignité. In: Contre Attaque. 15.05.2025. https://contre-attaque.net/2025/05/15/nantes-la-communaute-rom-en-lutte-pour-sa-dignite/
- Ces familles roms vivant près de Nantes manifestent pour ne pas être expulsées et être mieux payee. In: Ouest France. 17.05.2025. https://labaule.maville.com/actu/actudet_-ces-familles-roms-vivant-pres-de-nantes-manifestent-pour-ne-pas-etre-expulsees-et-etre-mieux-payees-_dep-6812225_actu.Htm
Khamoro Festival
From May 25 to 31, Prague will once again become the capital of Romani culture. One of the largest and most recognized Romani festivals in the world – Khamoro 2025 – brings a varied program full of music, discussions, film and literature to the streets, libraries, theatres and clubs. The festival is traditionally organized by the Slovo 21 organization, and this year, visitors can look forward to performances by artists from the Czech Republic and abroad.
- KHAMORO 2025: SVĚTOVÝ ROMSKÝ FESTIVAL OPĚT ROZZÁŘÍ PRAHU. In: Praha 1. https://www.praha1.cz/khamoro-2025-svetovy-romsky-festival-opet-rozzari-prahu/
Czechia and Roma Resistance
A memorial service was organized by the Roma and Sinti Association in the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Association of Christian Aid Brno. Its aim was to honour the memory of the Roma victims of Nazism and to commemorate the heroic uprising of the Roma and Sinti in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, which took place on May 16, 1944 – 81 years ago.
- ZÁZNAM: Pieta za romské oběti nacismu v Hodoníně u Kunštátu. In: Romea. 16.05.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/primy-prenos-pieta-za-romske-obeti-nacismu-z-hodonina-u-kunstatu#google_vignette
Roma Resistance Day
April 16th, Roma Resistance Day, commemorates the resistance of Roma inmates in the Auschwitz “Zigeunerlager” when the Nazis liquidated the camp.
- Romowie upamiętnili bunt więźniów z KL Auschwitz-Birkenau. In: TVP3 Krakow. 16.05.2025. https://krakow.tvp.pl/86742102/dzien-romskiego-oporu-hold-dla-bohaterow-buntu-w-auschwitz
- rocznica buntu Romów w KL Auschwitz-Birkenau. In: Powiat Oświȩcimski. 16.05.2024. https://www.powiat.oswiecim.pl/aktualnosci/aktualnosci-powiat-oswiecim/2025/05/81-rocznica-buntu-romow-w-kl-auschwitz-birkenau
- Romowie upamiętniają heroiczny bunt w KL Auschwitz. In: Onet. 16.05.2025. https://www.onet.pl/styl-zycia/ppo-aipap/romowie-upamietniaja-heroiczny-bunt-w-kl-auschwitz/pq04m1h,0666d3f1
New Book
A new book on the history of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina was recently published. It is a joint publication of the Sarajevo University institute for history and the Zagreb Ivo Pilar Institute. It is an important cross disciplinary work featuring many new research and facts about Roma history in the region.
Slovenia: Victim Remnants
The parliamentary group of the Slovenian Democratic Party has submitted a request to convene an urgent session of the Committee for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities. At the session, they want to discuss the item entitled Piety and dignified burial of the murdered victims from the clandestine cemetery Jama pod Macesnova gorica.
The reason for the request is the decision of the Ministry of Défense to temporarily transfer more than 3,000 mortal remains of victims of interwar and post-war violence, some of them Roma, which have so far been stored in inappropriate conditions in the garage of Komunala Kočevje, to the ossuary near Škofja Loka. “Despite announcements about seeking consensus with relatives and the general public, the transfer was carried out unilaterally, without prior agreement on the final burial location,” the SDS parliamentary group warns.
- Barbarsko ravnanje s pomorjenimi bo obravnavano pred komisijo DZ. In: Nova 24 TV. 13.05.2025.https://novice.najdi.si/novica/9781300002f9dd2fdc2db0cf781c7469/nova24tv/barbarsko-ravnanje-s-pomorjenimi-bo-obravnavano-pred-komisijo-dz
Slovakia, Kindergarten, and Roma
The intention of the Slovak Minister of Education Tomáš Drucker to introduce compulsory pre-primary education from the age of three is not only causing resentment among a group of parents who want to have their child at home at a young age, but also a consideration of whether it will be truly effective and quickly applicable in practice. Currently, it seems most likely that the ministry will need finances for this.
The Ministry of Education claims that it wants to help children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds with the law.
- Druckerov nápadPovinná škôlka od troch rokov vyvoláva aj u Rómov veľa otázok. Vyžiada si hlavne peniaze. In: Dennik Postoj. 15.05.2024. https://www.postoj.sk/175507/povinna-skolka-od-troch-rokov-vyvolava-dalsie-otazky-vyziada-si-hlavne-peniaze
Serbia: Pogrom
A Roma family was the victim of a brutal attack by a mob in a village in Serbia.
- ROMANI FAMILY WITH INFANT ATTACKED BY A MOB IN COORDINATED ARSON IN TAVNIK, SERBIA. In: European Roma Right Centre. 09.05.2025. https://www.errc.org/news/romani-family-with-infant-attacked-by-a-mob-in-coordinated-arson-in-tavnik-serbia
Ukraine: Condemnation
Three perpetrators of the brutal attack on a Roma camp in Lviv in 2018 were sentenced to prison after seven years. The Sychov District Court sent two attackers to ten years in prison, the main organizer received a sentence of ten years and 6 months. The verdict is not yet final. The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) reports.
- Za smrtelný útok neonacistů na romský tábor v ukrajinském Lvově padly po sedmi letech tresty: 10 a 10,5 roku vězení. In: Romea. 13.05.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/zahranici/za-smrtelny-utok-neonacistu-na-romsky-tabor-v-ukrajinskem-lvove-padly-po-sedmi-letech-tresty-10-a-105-roku-vezeni
- A QUESTION OF JUSTICE: THREE SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FATAL ATTACK ON ROMANI CAMP IN LVIV, UKRAINE. In: European Roma Right Centre. 09.05.2025. https://www.errc.org/news/a-question-of-justice-three-sentenced-to-prison-for-fatal-attack-on-romani-camp-in-lviv-ukraine
Lety Commemoration
Two articles on the commemoration in Lety last week end. Both stress the fact that hatred against Roma is on the rise again.
- „Nenávist roste. Odpovědí musí být vzdělávání,“ uvedla romská vládní zmocněnkyně Lucie Fuková v Letech u Písku. In: Romea. 11.05.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/komentare/nenavist-roste-odpovedi-musi-byt-vzdelavani-uvedla-romska-vladni-zmocnenkyne-lucie-fukova-v-letech-u-pisku#google_vignette
- Lhostejnost otevírá dveře násilí, zdůraznil při pietě v Letech šéf Senátu. In: O3. 11.05.2025. https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/clanek/domaci/lhostejnost-otevira-dvere-nasili-zduraznil-pri-piete-v-letech-sef-senatu-360872
Lety Museum
The Roma and Sinti Holocaust Memorial in Bohemia was opened in Lety by the Museum of Roma Culture last April. According to the museum’s director, Jana Horváthová, the memorial’s indoor exhibition was visited by about 10,000 people in its first year of operation last year. And she emphasized that among them were numerous school trips.
“But the Museum of Romani Culture cannot function alone in this matter (education). A national education policy is essential. It is absolutely essential that the topic of Romani history and culture be included in the framework educational programs, that it be taught in schools at least from the second level (elementary school). It is not yet,” said Horváthová.
- Je to lhostejnost, která otevírá dveře genocidě a holokaustu, zdůraznil v Letech Miloš Vystrčil. In: iRozhlas. 11.05.2025. https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/je-lhostejnost-ktera-otevira-dvere-genocide-a-holokaustu-zduraznil-v-letech_2505111449_cen
Slovakia: Municipal Work
The Slovak ministry of Labour wants to push for so-called “activation work” for long term unemployed. This means doing some menial jobs for municipalities, and, according to statistics, only 1 to 2% of people in this scheme find a job afterwards.
- Aktivačné práce čakajú zmeny. Rezort ich chce kategorizovať, opozícia riešenie považuje za neefektívne. In: TA3. 11.05.2025. https://www.ta3.com/clanok/993725/aktivacne-prace-cakaju-zmeny-rezort-ich-chce-kategorizovat-opozicia-riesenie-povazuje-za-neefektivne
Roma in Resistance
“One of Us. Roma and Sinti in the Resistance” is a podcast against anti-Gypsyism, proposed by the Carta di Roma Association and the Human Rights Foundation.
The document intended for students and addresses the issue of anti-Gypsyism to counter stereotypes that dehumanize an entire community and to remember the Roma and Sinti who fought for liberation from Nazi-fascism. “They did not fight for a homeland that discriminated against them,” explains Danilo De Biasio, author of the work, “they fought together with other Italians to bring back democracy.”
- Rom e sinti nella Resistenza, il podcast di Carta Roma al liceo Dante. In: La Republica. 10.05.2025. https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/05/10/news/rom_e_sinti_nella_resistenza_il_podcast_di_carta_roma_al_liceo_dante-424179288/
Lety: Commemoration
The traditional commemorative ceremony honoring the memory of the Holocaust and its Romani and Sinti victims took place at the site of what was previously called the “Gypsy Camp” in Lety u Písku on Sunday, may 11th.
- LIVE BROADCAST 11 MAY at 12:00 CET: Commemorative ceremony honoring the memory of the Holocaust and its Romani victims at the site of the former concentration camp in Lety u Písku, Czech Republic. In: Romea. 09.05.2025. https://romea.cz/en/czech-republic/live-broadcast-11-may-at-1200-cet-commemorative-ceremony-honoring-the-memory-of-the-holocaust-and-its-romani-victims-at-the-site-of-the-former-concentration-camp-in-lety-u-pisku-czech-republic
Kosovo and Roma
A report by the Voice of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, titled “Assessing Behavioral Change in Journalistic Reporting on the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities,” highlights significant progress in the way Kosovo media report on the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.
- Le rapport « La Voix des Roms, des Ashkalis et des Égyptiens » fait état de progrès significatifs dans la manière dont les trois communautés sont présentées. In: Koha. 07.05.2025. https://www.koha.net/fr/arberi/raporti-i-voice-of-roma-ashkali-and-egyptians-flet-per-progres-domethenes-se-si-raportohet-per-3-komunitetet
Transcarpathian Ukrainian Roma
For once, quite a good article on Roma in Ukraine and specifically in Transcarpathia. While they obviously do not know the various Roma communities, (Servi, Xaladytka, Polska, Kirimlides, Ursaria, Kalderaša, Lovara, etc.) they know that they are different with different histories and issues.
- Les Roms de Transcarpatie et la guerre en Ukraine. In: Info Libertaire. 05.05.2025. https://www.infolibertaire.net/les-roms-de-transcarpatie-et-la-guerre-en-ukraine/#/
French Chronicle …
An interesting article about a professor in France stating “they are not nomads”. Pretty much everyone knows that, except for France …
Other than that, Roma from a closed camp still have no permanent abode, and two articles on dogs. One where apparently dogs were drugged by Roma for begging, and the other, the case of a dog stolen by a Rom.
- « Ils ne sont pas nomades » : cet universitaire chasse les idées reçues sur les Roms. In: Ouest France. 05.05.2025. https://saint-nazaire.maville.com/actu/actudet_–ils-ne-sont-pas-nomades-cet-universitaire-chasse-les-idees-recues-sur-les-roms-_dep-6794007_actu.Htm#google_vignette
- Les familles Roms de l’Arbois toujours soumises à la précarité. In: La Marseillaise. 07.05.2025. https://www.lamarseillaise.fr/societe/les-familles-roms-de-l-arbois-toujours-soumises-a-la-precarite-CO18078129
- Mendicité : des chiens drogués pour attendrir les passants, un campement illégal de roms démantelé par la police. In: Police Réalités. 07.05.2025. https://policeetrealites.com/2025/05/07/🇫🇷-nice-mendicite-des-chiens-drogues-pour-attendrir-les-passants-un-campement-illegal-de-roms-demantele-par-la-police/#google_vignette
- Un SDF prénommé Benoit retrouve sa chienne volée grâce à des policiers municipaux trois mois après sa disparition, un rom interpellé. In: Police Réalités. 10 https://policeetrealites.com/2025/05/10/🇫🇷-marseille-un-sdf-prenomme-benoit-retrouve-sa-chienne-volee-grace-a-des-policiers-municipaux-trois-mois-apres-sa-disparition-un-rom-interpelle/#google_vignette .05.2025.
Lety: Commemoration
On Sunday, May 11, 2025, at 12 noon, a traditional commemoration of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust victims will take place in Lety u Písku, which will take place at the site of the former so-called gypsy camp. The annual gathering commemorates the tragic fate of hundreds of Roma men, women and children who were deported from this place to extermination camps. The commemoration will also be possible to watch live this year thanks to the first Roma internet television, ROMEA TV, which will offer a live broadcast from the site.
- PŘÍMÝ PŘENOS: Pietní akt k uctění památky romských obětí holokaustu na místě bývalého koncentračního tábora v Letech u Písku. In: Romea. 09.05.2025. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/primy-prenos-pietni-akt-k-ucteni-pamatky-romskych-obeti-holokaustu-na-miste-byvaleho-koncentracniho-tabora-v-letech-u-pisku#google_vignette
Children’s Music
Čeky Čháve Čhavorenge is the title of the third album by the Roma band Lomnické čháve and Marián Čekovský. It is an album on which children and their parents will find children’s rhymes set to music in Slovak and Romanes. Manager Tomáš Slebodník says how this whole project came about.
- Čekovský prišiel s rómsko-slovenským CD pre deti: Hudba je reč, ktorej rozumieme všetci. In: Živor. 10.05.2024. https://zivot.pluska.sk/rozhovory/cekovsky-prisiel-s-romsko-slovenskym-cd-pre-deti-hudba-je-rec-ktorej-rozumieme-vsetci