Planting Trees …

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Planting Trees …

Apparently, the Slovak government is planning to plant trees next to Roma settlements and will use 60 mio Euros for this purpose.

The office of the Plenipotentiary for Roma communities explained that the alleged “planting of trees” is in fact an important multi-departmental project called Revitalization of the area near the settlements of marginalized Roma communities (MRK) through the employment of disadvantaged and endangered groups. The first main activity of this project is the Revitalization of neglected and polluted areas in urban and suburban areas of municipalities with the presence of Roma settlements. The aim is to remove illegally placed municipal waste in protected landscape areas near settlements, in connection with the employment of disadvantaged and endangered groups. The second main activity is the Support of forest cultivation and protection in areas near settlements in connection with the social integration of Roma through their employment in forestry.

Roma Settlements in Slovakia

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Roma Settlements in Slovakia

Ethnologist and Roma expert – Arne Mann (72) has worked at the Institute of Ethnology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 1983. He has been working near the settlements for approximately 40 years, thanks to which he is intimately familiar not only with Roma crafts and traditions, but also with the real causes of the ongoing problem.

In an interview with Aktuality.sk, he explained why the state’s treatment of non-profit organizations (which coincidentally were chosen by the current government of Robert Fico as an easy target to distract attention from the real difficulties of the people) is perhaps the worst mistake of all, and reminded that ethnic differences are not at all the most serious cause of the ongoing situation.

Roma Settlements in Slovenia

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Roma Settlements in Slovenia

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development recently announced that they have distributed dedicated funds to municipalities for this year and next year to regulate communal infrastructure in Roma settlements. All municipalities that applied for them received the funds, except for the municipality of Ribnica. This is a municipality where Roma live in three irregular settlements without basic communal infrastructure, mostly without water, often without electricity. One of them, Lepovče, was visited last year by the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar.

It seems that the municipality did not want to co-finance Roma projects, which is contrary to the rule for attribution of such money.

Slovenia and Education

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Slovenia and Education

Today, at a press conference on pre-primary education, the Minister of Education presented a plan to introduce kindergarten from the age of three for all children, with the option to start as early as two. This step could help, but instead of truly integrating children from excluded communities, it risks separating them even more, said Progressive Slovakia MP Ingrid Kosová.

Belgrade and Languages

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Belgrade and Languages

Serbian is the mother tongue of most Belgraders, and next to it, the most common are Romanes and Russian, according to the study “Population and Households of the City of Belgrade”, published by the Serbian Statistical Office.

The article unfortunately, classifies “Romanes” as a migrant language … No comments…

Children Art

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Children Art

The Gemersko-Malohontské Museum (GMM) in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia, opened the 14th annual exhibition entitled Romano dživipen [Roma life] on Wednesday (April 30). The exhibition is a showcase of children’s works created as part of a competition aimed at presenting the culture of the Roma ethnic group. Almost 130 drawings by children from three districts were submitted for the current year.

Football

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Football

The associations “Roma Cloud of Imagination” and “Ki Rota” organized a football tournament in Kikinda, Serbia , on the occasion of World Roma Day celebrated every year on April 8. This day aims to promote equality, human rights and social inclusion, as well as to highlight the importance of integrating the Roma into all spheres of society.

“The city administration has initiated several important measures to improve the living standards of the Roma. Among these measures is the provision of school supplies for every child from the first to the eighth grade, while last year high school graduates were allowed to use the restroom during the graduation ceremony, and this practice will continue this year. Although it is clear that the Roma face numerous challenges and that the process of their integration and inclusion requires time and effort, the goal of the city administration is to lay a solid foundation for future generations and to do everything in their power to improve the position of the Roma community,” said Željko Radu, member of the City Council responsible for social policy, demographic changes, vulnerable groups and human rights.

Exhibition

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Exhibition

On Monday, April 28, the Matej Hrebenda Library hosted the opening of a traveling exhibition titled The Fates of the Racially Persecuted in Slovakia in 1939–1945. The exhibition, prepared by the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica, will be open to the public until June 13, 2025.

The exhibition consists of 16 panels that map the solution to the so-called Jewish question in Slovakia in 1939–1945. It is thematically dedicated to the creation of propaganda, the creation of the image of the enemy, anti-Semitism, and human rights violations during World War II.

Amnesty on Slovakia

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Amnesty on Slovakia

In its annual report for 2024, the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) warns that thousands of people in Slovakia do not have adequate access to affordable housing. It criticizes the Slovak government for amendments to laws that, according to AI, have disproportionately restricted the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

The organization also notes in the report the concealment of information about arms supplies to Israel, discrimination against Roma, and the unprotected rights of LGBTI persons.

Jenische and Roma

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Jenische and Roma

Following the illegal action of the police in the Canton of Valais, stopping caravans of Roma, an article that totally missed the point. It says that Jenische object being thrown in the same bag as Roma travellers and misses the fact that the real issue is the lack of camping site.

We are not speaking of a large issue: There are maybe 3’000 YEnische travellers, and the same number of Roma who come over the summer…

Spiš, Slovakia

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Spiš, Slovakia

Dennik N is making a series of reportages on the situation of Roma in the Spiš region of Slovakia, looking at how mayors cope with the issues of Roma settlements and at how EU funds, which provide the bulk of the help are being used.

Well, some improvements have bene done, but not much…

Pastoral Care

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Pastoral Care

Peter Bešenyei is a Roman Catholic priest who dedicated himself to the pastoral care of the Roma in eastern Slovakia for over thirty years. In that he is an exception in the Catholic clergy. He lived for several years in the Luník IX housing estate. like the other residents in an apartment without water and electricity.

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Quite a few articles in the French press about the deportation of Roma during World War Two wit  a special commemoration on the “Dzy of Deportation” on Roma in the deportaion Museum in Tarbes, France.

Greece: A Traffic Accident

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Greece: A Traffic Accident

A traffic accident that occurred in the early hours of Thursday, April 25, at the intersection of Thivon and Kanapitseri streets in West Athens, with a 12-year-old girl as the victim. The accident actually occurred in a parallel universe, invisible to most of us. What was the little girl doing there, at this time, alone? Who left her? Where were her parents? Those would be normal questions. But the girl is a Romni, “Gypsy” as most people still say. So, it’s not at all strange that he was all alone on the streets at 2:00 in the morning, “that’s what they do” (said with disapproval and perhaps some disgust). And the issue will end there.

Sinti and Roma Resistance

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Sinti and Roma Resistance

The Human Rights Foundation, in collaboration with Carta di Roma and the contribution of Unar National Office Against Racial Discrimination, has created a podcast to enhance the role that Roma and Sinti had in the Liberation. Starting from an extraordinary interview recovered from the Shoah Foundation by Amilcare Debar, a Sinto from Cuneo, partisan, battle name Corsaro.

Trio Romano

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Trio Romano

The Roma band Trio Romano, which has been appearing regularly at the Balkan Fiesta for several years, will perform again this year – this time at the tenth anniversary edition of this event. The Fiesta will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 8:00 PM at Café Nona on Národní třída in Prague. It will also be the last year under the roof of the New Stage of the National Theatre.

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