An article about the art of Małgorzata Mirga-Tas.
- Fighting Sinti and Roma stereotypes with art. In: Deutsche Welle. 29.06.2024. https://www.dw.com/en/fighting-sinti-and-roma-stereotypes-with-art/video-69501143
Google Translate in Bulgaria
Two articles about Google Translate introducing Romanes.
- Google Translate вече превежда и от ромски език. In: Gospodari. 01.07.2024. https://gospodari.com/google-translate-veche-prevezhda-i-ot-romski-ezik/
- Google Translate вече може да превежда и от ромски език. In: Business Novinite. 01.07.2024. https://businessnovinite.bg/tehnologii/google-translate-veche-mozhe-da-prevezhda-i-ot-romski-ezik.html
Amaro Fest
On July 13 and 14, the eighth annual international Roma festival called Amaro Fest 2024 – open air gipsy festival – will be held in the Nitra amphitheater in Central Slovakia. As the organizers from the civic association Roma Art Agency stated, the goal of the event is to promote and develop Roma culture. The role of the festival is also to support Roma identity and contribute to the social and cultural inclusion of Roma.
- Amaro Fest 2024 – open air gipsy festival predstaví rómsku kultúru. In: Teraz. 01.07.2024. https://www.teraz.sk/nitriansky-kraj/amaro-fest-2024-open-air-gipsy-festiva/805937-clanok.html
Karvina Festival
The Roma festival was recently held in Karviná. Temperamental rhythmic music sounded in the summer cinema area all Saturday afternoon and evening. Various ensembles from the Czech Republic and Slovakia alternated on stage, creating a great atmosphere for all visitors.
Google Translate Romanes
Nice to see that google translate allows for translations in Romanes. It definitively has a bias towards Vlach Romanes, which is not the most common Romanes, but this is a good start! The choices of words on World, to think, and a few others show this bias, but on the other hand, they still use the old Romanes for “life”, which is not Vlach.
Wonder how this was compiled…
Google and Romanes
Romanes is finally in Google Translate: The biggest language expansion in history! Google added 110 new languages.
- Romština konečně v Google překladači: Největší jazykové rozšíření v historii! Google přidal 110 nových jazyků. In: Romea. 30.06.2024. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/romstina-konecne-v-google-prekladaci-nejvetsi-jazykove-rozsireni-v-historii-google-pridal-110-novych-jazyku
TikTok and Roma
Florian Tacorian uses social networks to show the true face of his community, the Roma, victims of prejudice and persecution still today.
- Utiliser TikTok pour lutter contre les préjugés. In: Deutsche Welle. 25.06.2024. https://www.dw.com/fr/combattre-les-préjugés-envers-les-roms-et-les-sinti-grâce-à-tiktok-florian-tacorian/audio-69441801
French Chronicle …
Well, when there is other news, such as the French elections, Roma vanish from the media. Except in some rightist paper such as the notorious Breizh info.
Besides the title about wasting money on Roma, France has spent a huge amount of money not integrating around 20’000 Roma over the last 20 years. Integration would have been by now much cheaper.
- Bidonville à Nantes. 700 Roms à évacuer au nom d’un « pôle d’écologie urbaine », 50 millions d’euros d’argent public. In: Breizh Info. 29.06.2024. https://www.breizh-info.com/2024/06/28/234826/bidonville-a-nantes-700-roms-a-evacuer-au-nom-dun-pole-decologie-urbaine-50-millions-deuros-dargent-public/
Sachsenhausen Camp
The district court in Hanau, Hesse, has refused to open a trial against a 99-year-old alleged former guard at the Sachsenhausen Nazi concentration camp for health reasons.
Too bad.
- Regional court in Hanau refuses to open trial against former concentration camp guard. In: Aussiedler Bote. 27.06.2024. https://aussiedlerbote.de/en/regional-court-in-hanau-refuses-to-open-trial-against-former-concentration-camp-guard/
Tomáš Kačo
An interview with the Romano pianist and composer Tomáš Kačo. He is now well established in many countries of the world after his studies at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston. After fulfilling his dream – concerts in the Rudolfinum and Carnegie Hall – he has other goals ahead of him and he wants to be a role model for Roma.
- Ze 12 sourozenců se dostal nejdál, uspěl v USA: „Chci být vzorem pro Romy“. In: Stream. 27.06.2024. https://www.stream.cz/galerie-osobnosti/ze-12-sourozencu-se-dostal-nejdal-pracuje-v-usa-chci-byt-vzorem-pro-romy-65037378
Germany and Racism
The current German ruling coalition proposed the creation of a commission on racism. The SPD parliamentary group and its chairman Raed Saleh in particular have been a strong advocate for the project. “The Enquete Commission will be tasked with drawing up recommendations on how to strengthen social cohesion and counter anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination.”
Racism against Sinti and Roma will also be included.
- Schwarz-Rot will Enquete-Kommission einsetzen. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine. 27.06.2024. https://www.faz.net/agenturmeldungen/dpa/schwarz-rot-will-enquete-kommission-einsetzen-19817458.html
Slovakia, Covid-19 and Roma
Some Roma communities in Slovakia were placed in absolute isolation during the Covid 19 pandemic, which nowadays thought to have been an overly restrictive measure which possibly violated the basic human rights of the inhabitants of the affected Roma communities.
- Zuzana Kumanová: Covid-19 a Romové? Restriktivní opatření, která vynucovali vojáci se samopaly, zřejmě porušovala základní lidská práva Romů. In: Romea. 22.06.2024. https://romea.cz/cz/komentare/zuzana-kumanova-covid-19-a-romove-restriktivni-opatreni-ktera-vynucovali-vojaci-se-samopaly-zrejme-porusovala-zakladni-lidska-prava-romu
Czechia: Scholarships
Roma students of secondary and higher professional schools as well as university students can apply for a scholarship from the ROMEA organization for the school and academic year 2024/2025 from Monday 17 June to Monday 22 July. The scholarship program of the ROMEA organization was launched in 2016, and since then a total of 605 scholarships worth 10.025 million crowns have been distributed to 301 students. ROMEA will support 20 more students this year than last year. A total of one hundred Roma students will be able to receive a scholarship.
- ROMEA spouští nový ročník stipendií pro Romy: Letos se zvýší finanční částka a podpoří se více studentů než loni. Stipendium získá stovka studentů. In: Romea. 25.06.2024. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/romea-spousti-novy-rocnik-stipendii-pro-romy-letos-se-zvysi-financni-castka-a-podpori-se-vice-studentu-nez-loni-stipendium-ziska-stovka-studentu
Barcelona Gypsy Balkan Orchestra
An interview in the Czech press of members of the Barcelona Gypsy Balkan Orchestra, a music group that while not Romano, plays many Roma songs from the Balkans.
- BGKO: Píseň nacvičujeme i tři měsíce. In: Proglas. 23.06.2024. https://hudba.proglas.cz/noklasik/world-music/bgko-pisen-nacvicujeme-i-tri-mesice/
Bulgaria, Roma, Beggars, and Switzerland
Due to the presence of s few Roma beggars from Bulgaria in Bern, members of the police in charge of foreigners went to Burgas, Bulgaria, together with journalists from the Tages-Anzeiger.
They do report on the poverty, precarity, and dreadful living conditions, but also speak (rather lest someone speak) about Roma chiefs, who, when owed money that is not repaid, “forces” people to work, “for example as a beggar” in Switzerland. They also say that begging is an important source of income.
Not when the average income of a beggar is less than 20 francs. There are other means that are way more lucrative.
- Dieses Elend treibt Roma zum Betteln nach Bern. In: Tages Anzeiger. 24.06.2024. https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/betteln-in-bern-spurensuche-in-einem-roma-dorf-in-bulgarien-641085761016?gift_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJldGFqMjEyODI3MyIsImlhdCI6MTcxOTI5OTg4MSwiZXhwIjoxNzM1MDY3ODgxLCJ0ZW5hbnQiOiJ0YWdlc2FuemVpZ2VyIiwidW5pdHlJZCI6IjY0MTA4NTc2MTAxNiIsImp0aSI6IjFkYTFhNzc0Y2YwOTBjMjI4NjFmZDhmNDJjNjM3OWFmODg5Mjg0YjNjZGExNTQ1ODhmMTgyZmQ4M2NlNmEyMjgifQ.2CvOUpsfY8KlRM70ytTTqnuGLN6gcHIvUEH5aMQIpwA
Czechia and Segregated Schools
Another reference to this horrid reportage on segregated schools in the Czech Republic. The school teachers and principal statements are beyond comments.
- – Základní školu Vojanova v Děčíně navštěvuje 200 dětí, polovina jsou Romové. In: Ides. 22.06.2024. https://tv.idnes.cz/domaci/deti-skola-zaci-studenti-vyuka.V240619_154656_idnestv_tjz
Czechia, Work, and Roma
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.
- DOKUMENT: Rozsáhlý výzkum ukazuje šokující rozdíly mezi Romy a ostatními. Romové čelí nejistotě v zaměstnání, polovina má smlouvu na dobu určitou. In: Romea. 23.06.2024. https://romea.cz/cz/domaci/dokument-rozsahly-vyzkum-ukazuje-sokujici-rozdily-mezi-romy-a-ostatnimi-romove-celi-nejistote-v-zamestnani-polovina-ma-smlouvu-na-dobu-urcitou
- I když pracují, nemají jistotu. Polovinu Romů má smlouvu jen na dobu určitou. In: iDnes. 22.06.2024. https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/domaci/romove-prace-smlouva-na-dobu-urcitou-integrace.A240622_091805_ekonomika_ivos
Roma and Czech Schools
A dreadful reportage in a segregated school in the Czech Republic. Karel Rajchl, the director of the Vojanova Elementary School in Děčín says that getting children and their families to cooperate is often almost impossible.
“Shh, they’re writing a test,” she warns, upon entering the seventh-grade physics class. The teacher replies “It doesn’t matter, they can’t do anything anyway”. In the last pews, two boys don’t even bother to have an open notebook in which to calculate the task entered on the blackboard, they just giggle. “These boys are one step away from raping our young female teachers,” states principal Rajchl dryly as he leaves the class again.
No Comments…
- Děti učíme jíst příborem, máme i bezpečáka. Jak to chodí v romské škole. In: iDnes. 22.06.2024.https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/zakladni-skola-decin-reportaz-segregace-romove.A240621_180216_domaci_vals
A reportage in Arte about the discriminations that Roma refugees from the Ukraine are facing in the country.
- Les Roms ukrainiens discriminés en Allemagne. Arte. 19.06.2024. https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/120868-000-A/les-roms-ukrainiens-discrimines-en-allemagne/
French Chronicle …
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.
- Femme enceinte tuée d’un coup de fusil : « Pour nous elle n’était pas une Rom, elle était Angela ». In: Le Parisien. 17.06.2024. https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/femme-enceinte-tuee-dun-coup-de-fusil-pour-nous-elle-netait-pas-une-rom-elle-etait-angela-17-06-2024-EGGIZJSILBHV7FJSAIT4YAXFM4.php
- À La Montagne, quel sort pour ces familles Roms installées au stade ? In: Ouest France. 19.096.2024. https://saint-nazaire.maville.com/actu/actudet_-a-la-montagne-quel-sort-pour-ces-familles-roms-installees-au-stade-_dep-6343319_actu.Htm#google_vignette
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