Author Archives: Roma Foundation

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Relocation

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Slovakia and Relocation

Roman Lacko lived with his wife and two children in a shed in a Roma settlement in Važec, Slovakia. He lost his house in a fire in November. The municipality sayas that it tried to help them.

The Liptov village of Važec offers its residents emergency housing 100 kilometres away in another district and region. It bought apartments and a family house there, allegedly because they were cheaper than under the Tatras. According to the association of local governments, however, the problems of socially excluded communities cannot be shifted onto the shoulders of other local governments.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Tibor Horvath

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Slovakia: Tibor Horvath

Tibor Horváth, a Roma advisor to the chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region for Roma communities, died this last weekend. The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities reported on his passing: “These days, friends, selfless colleagues, great people and dedicated activists in the field of work with the Roma community have unexpectedly left us forever. Tibor Horváth from Košice, a fighter for a better life for the Roma, the only Roma advisor on the issue of the MRK from eight Slovak regions, passionate about the work to which he sacrificed everything.”

May he rest in peace.

République tchèque Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Reimar Lust Award

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Reimar Lust Award

The historian Kateřina Čapková is a leading expert on modern Jewish history in Central and Eastern Europe, the history of the Sinti and Roma, and on flight and migration in the 20th century. She teaches at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The central focus of her research is on the experiences of Jewish communities in what was then Czechoslovakia during and after World War II. Čapková opens up new perspectives on the interactions between nationalism, minority policy, and transnational networks in Europe. The Reimar Lüst Prize will enable her to conduct research at the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow in Leipzig.

Europe

Council of Europe Strategy

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Council of Europe Strategy

Latest developments on the strategy for integration of the council of Europe. Let’s hope this time, we will see progress.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Royaume-Uni

UK: Apologies

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UK: Apologies

Greater Manchester Police has apologised ‘for any humiliation and distress caused’ after groups of kids were ordered to leave the city, a leading Travellers’ charity has said.

Well, they took time. And it was definitively racist.

Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Leni Riefenstahl

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Leni Riefenstahl

A documentary about Hitler’s favourite director Leni Riefenstahl only sparingly illuminates how Riefenstahl took legal action against critics of her Nazi involvement.

She produced “The Beautiful Appearance of the Third Reich” and was a dancer, actress and director. With three NSDAP party congress films and her films about the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany, she was the award-winning cinematic figurehead of the National Socialist dictatorship. Director legends such as George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino are among her admirers. Alice Schwarzer defended the artist against the accusation of being a Nazi propagandist.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Discrimination

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Slovakia: Discrimination

Klaudio Virág (27), a resident of the city of Levič, tried to get a job at the Slovak Power Plants in Mochovce as a locksmith. He claims that in a phone call, the job broker told him that they didn’t want Roma people in Mochovce, allegedly because of bad experiences.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

A Fire in Zvolen

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A Fire in Zvolen

Five families in Zvolen, Slovakia, saw their homes burn down in mid-November, and it caused almost no commotion. They were Roma from the area below Pustý hrad. The families refused to go to a community centre temporarily; they were afraid they would lose their children. They moved in with their relatives and acquaintances and don’t know how they will survive the winter.

Europe

EU: Call for Tenders

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EU: Call for Tenders

The Council of Europe is implementing the Joint Programme Roma Integration III in partnership with the European Union to strengthen the capacities of governments in the Western Balkans and Türkiye to address the challenges faced by Roma communities. This initiative includes the development and implementation of public policies in various sectors, such as housing, employment, education, and the fight against anti-Gypsyism.

Kosovo Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Kosovo: Resource Centre

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For young people from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, the Student Resource Centre opened its doors on Wednesday and the Additional Support for University Studies programme was launched. This initiative, led by representatives of these communities, was hailed as proof of the belief in the transformative power of education.

Nouvelles suisses

Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

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Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

The Zurich politician Mario Fehr, after already having made comments on large Roma families from the Ukraine, has now stated that from now on, he doesn’t want to accept large families from Western Ukraine as refugees in the canton.

For large families from Western Ukraine, please read “Roma families from Transcatpathian Ukraine”.  Let us know what you think about this!

France Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Very little news this week in the French media about Roma. Not surprising when there are many important news to report on …

The closure and dismantling of the largest Roma settlement in France near Nantes is hitting a hurdle after the association who said they would lead the project withdrew their offer. In Central France, a discussion on travellers took place; and finally, two articles actually not related to France. one about an adopted Romni from Romania in Canada and one about the instrumentalization of Roma against Ukrainian  refuges in Swtrizerland.

Italie Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Italy: The Usual

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Italy: The Usual

The article depicts what they call the “Italian Sinti mirror scam”. In this case, the Carabinieri were driving, when they noticed two cars pulled over on the side of the road, with their respective drivers in a heated argument. A young 19-year-old – with a criminal record – allegedly ordered the other driver, a 62-year-old, to stop for alleged damage he had caused while driving. He wanted 350 euros, to end it there, refusing to proceed through insurance channels, as the 62-year-old wanted, who was convinced he had not been involved in any road accident.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Roma Children Books

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Roma Children Books

The Czech Roma Literature Publishing House “Kher” published a unique book for children aged four and up this year. It was written by Romani author Eva Danišová, winner of the Milena Hübschmannová Award. For the youngest readers, the book presents a Romani peer as the main character for the first time in everyday life situations and during preparation for first grade.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Forced Sterilisation

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Forced Sterilisation

The Czech government has finally agreed to extend the deadline for submitting their claims for forced sterilisation by two years to January 2027. The deadline was originally set to January 2025, but the authorities raised so many hurdles for Romnja, that is was almost impossible to get these sterilisations acknowledged (even when there was some written evidence).

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest Royaume-Uni

Manchester Protests

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Manchester Protests

A TV Reality Star, who was featured in “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” has been protesting the heavy handed intervention of the Manchester police who forcefully removed Roma from a Christmas market and put them in a train which left them stranded out of the city.

Allemagne Nouvelles d'Europe de l'ouest

Germany: Prosecution

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Germany: Prosecution

 A hundred years old former guard at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp will finally have to face prosecution for his crimes after a court overturned the decision of a lower court that he is unfit for trial.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Research Grant

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Research Grant

Ethnographer Martin Fotta from the Institute of Ethnology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic has received a prestigious grant from the European Research Council (ERC). His project, entitled “Roma Family in the Period of War” (RAW), received financial support of 2 million euros, or approximately 51 million crowns. The aim of the research is to understand how war conflicts and their consequences affected Roma kinship ties, family structures and community cohesion in different parts of Europe and the Middle East.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Doctors and Roma in Czechia

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Doctors and Roma in Czechia

A paediatrician in the Czech town of Aš posted on his door: “In view of the increasing aggressiveness of the Romani people, I am not registering them with immediate effect.”

Apparently, several Roma were in his waiting room without an appointment and behaved aggressively. What really happened remains to be seen.

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