Monthly Archives: janvier 2022

Slovakia, Corona, and Roma

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In socially excluded Roma groups in Slovakia, the number of deaths in earlier waves of coronavirus infection grew twice as fast as in the majority population. At the same time, the Covid-19 epidemic has halted the increasing employment of Roma, and the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis may be more pronounced for this group of Roma, as up to four-fifths of them were already at risk of poverty before the pandemic.

French Chronicle …

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Pretty usual week in France on Roma. Still several articles about the new “transition village”, i.e. new Roma camp now that the others have been forcefully closed in Montpellier. Near Paris, a fire raged in a camp. In Grenoble, the mayor wants to prevent a new Roma camp after the large fire that spread to industrial buildings. In the North, a commune thinks it has done enough, and the police catches a gang of metal thieves operating in cemmetaries.

Sachsenhausen Trial

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The chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, emphasized the importance of trials of Nazi crimes. “It’s about establishing guilt, not about revenge or about bringing an old man to prison,” said Rose on Friday before the start of the 22nd day of the trial in the trial of a suspected former concentration camp guard in Brandenburg/Havel. “But our society must distance itself from such perpetrators.”

Portugal and Roma

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A new project for integration of migrants and Roma in Portugal. Typical: Throwing Roma in the same pot as migrant makes them alien in a country they have been for 600 years.

Slovakia, Roma and NGOs

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Representatives of the civic association eduRoma claim in an open letter that the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) is building rough walls between the current government of the Slovak Republic and the civic sector.

The controversy follows the allocation of 330’000 EUR to the Conference of  Bishops of Slovakia to support missionary pastoral work in Roma communities and ignoring the work of other NGOs and churches.

Portugal and Roma

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The Extreme Right Party Chega uses Roma as scapegoats ahead of the elections. They really stir up racism against Roma right now.

Germany: Critique

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The President of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament, Muhterem Aras, criticized the way in which Sinti and Roma are treated in south-west Germany. “We are just not as tolerant and open as we sometimes pretend to be,” said the Greens politician to the “Schwäbische Zeitung”. Sinti and Roma are German citizens, they are part of our society.

Czech Parliament and Roma

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On the commemoration of the Holocaust Remembrance in the Czech Republic, a region which basically eradicated all Roma during World War Two.

Slovak Census

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Where are the Roma in the Census? There is a lot of excitement, even outrage at the fact that Roma in their large majority, did not declare themselves as Roma in the latest Slovak census, but rather as Slovak or in quite a few cases as Hungarians.

Well, first, they are Slovaks… Whether the majority population likes it or not. Second, asking for ethnicity is fraught with problems. Third, the main reason people will not declare themselves as a minority is simple: Racism and discrimination. That question is absent from the articles on the topic.

Sad.

Italy: Romanipen Exhibition

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Rašid Nikolić, who is a skilled puppeteer and an activist of Roma culture, was chosen as director of the traveling exhibition ROMANIPEN, Identity and History of Romani culture. The multimedia exhibition opened in Boves and will reach Turin, Rimini and then Rome in the coming weeks.

Remembrance

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On the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the Protestant Church of Reconciliation Dachau commemorates the genocide of the Sinti and Roma, which began 80 years ago in the Kulmhof extermination camp. Church councilor Björn Mensing said that around 5,000 Sinti and Roma from the nearby so-called “Gypsy camp” on the edge of the Lodz ghetto were brutally murdered. The focus of the commemoration is the fate of the Austrian Sinti family Endress.

Jenő Setét

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The Hungarian Roma activist Jenő Setét died last week at the age of 50.

May he rest in peace.

He had become, over the course of his years of activism, the main figure in the fight for the inclusion of the Roma minority in Hungarian society. Noting that “today there is a lack of a politically aware Roma community” capable of defending its political, economic and social interests, he multiplied initiatives to bring out this political awareness.

Jenő Setét

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The Hungarian Roma activist Jenő Setét died last week at the age of 50.

May he rest in peace.

Setét was one of the best-known figures in the protection of Roma interests in Hungary, he organized the Roma Pride Day and also led the Association.

rroma.org
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