Author Archives: Roma Foundation

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and a Settlement

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Slovakia and a Settlement

The village of Kolačkov (Stará Ľubovňa district) has a Roma settlement that is threatened by a landslide. The Roma settlement should be moved but the municipality claims it has no land to do so, also because two nature protection zones, one for birds and one for a small stream.

Basically, they would prefer the Roma to leave …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Roma Action Plan

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Slovakia: Roma Action Plan

The discussion on the Action Plan for Roma communities is moving to parliament, where SaS is demanding a reassessment of its priorities. The Freedom and Solidarity Party (SaS) points to the government’s failure to address the Roma issue. On Wednesday, at a press conference in the village of Doľany in Spiš, a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Vladimír Ledecký (SaS), pointed out that the government plans to invest 1.1 billion euros over the next three years as part of the Action Plan for the Strategy for Equality and Inclusion and Participation of Roma in projects that, according to him, will not help this population group in any way. He pointed out that these expenditures are not clearly explained or justified. He is therefore submitting a resolution to the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic, which responds to “the passivity of government officials and the inefficient use of resources intended to support the Roma community”.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czechia, Crime, and Roma

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Czechia, Crime, and Roma

An article that doesn’t help anyone. A journalist investigating of a Romni who allegedly sold counterfeit sports tickets was threatened by Roma, apparently, one threatening to “pull out a machete and kill him”.

Typical tabloid fare…

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Extremism in Czechia

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Extremism in Czechia

The Czech Ministry of the Interior has published a summary report on extremism for the second half of 2024. According to the document, the anti-system movement is weakening, while the influence of online radicalization is growing, especially in right-wing extremist circles. At the same time, a significant part of extremist and populist groups continues to support the Russian regime and spread its propaganda.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Commemoration

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Slovakia: Commemoration

80 years ago, in the small locality of Dubnica nad Váhom in Western Slovakia, 26 Roma were murdered by Nazis. 6 women who were ill and 20 men were transported from the detention camp and murdered on the site of an arm factory.

There was a commemoration of this event in Dubnica nad Váhom.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: EU Funds

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Slovenia: EU Funds

The Slovenian Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved European funds for the Public Call for Co-financing of a network of multifunctional Roma centres. The total value of the project is 5.5 million euros, with the European Social Fund Plus contributing 4,427,500 euros. The project’s goal is to improve the socio-economic situation of the Roma community, strengthen their inclusion in society and provide better conditions for a quality life.

It needs more than centres like this to change the situation …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Best Roma Athlete

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Best Roma Athlete

In the Duše Škof Hall (former castle hall) in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, awards were presented to the best Roma athletes and teams in 2024. The best Roma athlete of the past year is Alja Horvat, a member of the national champions of the ŽNK Mura Nona team in the under-17 competition, and the best Roma athlete is wrestler Mitja Cener, a member of the Sobota Wrestling Association, who achieved exceptional success in the Balkan championship and domestic competitions.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia: EU Funds

Roma in Southeastern Slovenia have a very bad reputation, and not a week goes by without some headlines in the Slovenian press about the Roma “problem”.

But not all Roma are like that. At the initiative of Silva Mesojedec from the Regional Civil Initiative (RCI) and Darko Rudaš, president of the Forum of Roma Councilors from the Roma settlement Pušča in Prekmurje, members of the RCI and also members of the People’s Initiative (LI) Šentjernej recently went to visit and see Pušča near Murska Sobota. There, they found a clean settlement, well ordered, with people working. The settlement has ca. 600 inhabitants.

Nouvelles suisses

Switzerland and Yenische

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Switzerland and Yenische

Switzerland admitted this week that they committed a crime against humanity when they took away the children of Yenische in the so-called Kinder der Landstrasse between 1926 and 1973. Over 600 children were removed from their families. The press also mentions Sinti and Manouches. They were not really affected by this, as the action was truly centred in the Swiss German part of the country and against Yenische.

However, this legal brief and the Swiss government denied the genocidal aspect of this action.

Nouvelles suisses

Switzerland: Romanian Beggars

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Switzerland: Romanian Beggars

The story of Romanian beggars who have been in Neuchâtel since end of last year. And now, they are not part of a criminal beggar gang, as the Swiss press often claims.

Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Germany: Racism

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Germany: Racism

In Neumünster, the shop windows of the Sinti Union Schleswig-Holstein office were smeared with a swastika and other nazi symbols. This happened, according to Kelly Laubinger, the managing director of the office during the night to Saturday.

Well, reminder: Tomorrow there are elections in Germany and the AfD candidate once stated that Roma and Sinti are alien to Germany… Does it remind you of anything?

Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Germany: Unku

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Germany: Unku
Erna Lauenburger (1920-1943), a Sintiza from Berlin, became known under the name Unku. In 1931, the children’s book “Ede and Unku” by the author Alex Wedding (1905-1966) was published. The story is set in the Berlin working-class milieu and deals with poverty and labour disputes in the Weimar Republic. At the centre of the story is the friendship between the two children of the title.

Together with descendants of Erna Lauenburger, Margitta and Manolito Steinbach from the Menda Yek e.V. association and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Foundation as well as the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma, the Berlin City Museum has expanded the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition to include the biography of Erna Lauenburger.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Pologne

Poland, and Roma Street Musicians

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Poland, and Roma Street Musicians

Roma bands have become an almost permanent fixture on crowded weekends in Zakopane. Eight guitars, one case and a resonance box – these are the losses of Roma bands that have been performing on Krupówki for months. The municipal guard is fighting them. And as you can see during this year’s holidays – with success. There are much fewer performances.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma History

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Slovakia and Roma History

No wonder, the latest survey from the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities also indicates that Slovaks have absolutely no idea about historical milestones in the history of the country related to Roma.

This is unfortunately not only the case in Slovakia.

Pologne

Poland: Endangered Languages

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Poland: Endangered Languages

In 1996, UNESCO developed the Atlas of Endangered Languages, which included as many as nine languages ​​from our country. These include Kashubian, Lower Saxon, Belarusian, Polesian, Romanes, Rusyn, Slovinian, Yiddish, Wymysorys. The fight to preserve the last of them, which is already used by a small group of older residents of Wilamowice near Bielsko-Biała, is still ongoing.

Many Polish Roma have left the country and now live in the UK.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Integration

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Slovakia and Integration

A critical review of the efficiency of the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities who is managing very large sums of EU money aimed at integrating Roma. This office has grown from an original a few dozen employees to over 290, larger that the Culture Ministry. The author states that the Plenipotentiary is nowadays a political appointee and that for all the money spent, very little results have been achieved.

And money they have: Currently 400 Million Euros of EU money are earmarked for Roma integration.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Survey on Roma

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Slovakia: Survey on Roma

The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities commissioned a survey on the attitudes of the Slovak Population towards Roma.
Well, the results are not surprising: 74% of the respondents stated that they would not rent a flat to Roma; 82% think that the social system favours Roma.

Bad.

Europe Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Ukraine

Ukrainian Roma

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Ukrainian Roma

Roma who fled from Ukraine to Germany and the European Union after the Russian attack want to network better. In Göttingen, Roma representatives living in exile founded the association “Ukrainian Roma Advocacy Alliance” (Aura) on Tuesday. “Many Ukrainian Roma abroad do not even know what kind of help is available here,” said Aura board member Janush Panchenko. “We want to inform people about these offers and also advocate for the interests of the Ukrainian Roma in our host countries.” Projects in the areas of political education, culture, humanitarian and legal aid are also planned. In Germany, the association wants to work closely with the Society for Threatened Peoples, among others.

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