Category Archives: Montenegro

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Begging

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The President of the Montenegro Roma Council, Mensur Šalaj, warned that the problem of child begging is widespread throughout the country. According to the council, there are no systemic measures to fight child begging, and often only the consequences, and not the causes, of this phenomenon are dealt with.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro: Roma Participation

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Roma activists in Montenegro are pushing for a reduction of the census hurdle from 0.7% to 0.35% in order to be represented in parliament. Roma activists say  that not one member of parliament proposed an amendment on the reduction of the census by affirmative action for the Roma which shows their interest in the community and the inclusion of Roma in Montenegro.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro: Mediators

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The Institute of Roma-Egyptian RE mediators has proven to be one of the most successful models in the Western Balkans region, which enables this community to have easier and faster access to basic rights at the local level, and now it is up to the state authorities of Montenegro to do their part, i.e. to systematize the position of mediator in local services – it was concluded at the two-day international conference organized by Help on the occasion of the completion of the project “Social inclusion of the RE population through associates in social inclusion – RE Mediators”.

“We received assurances from the representatives of the state institutions of Montenegro on this occasion that work is being done to introduce the position of RE mediator in services at the local level,” said the representative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Budimirka Đukanović.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro, Parliament, and Roma

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The debate in Montenegro about reserved seats for the Roma minority continues.

According to the debate held, it is necessary to ensure that the Roma community has a representative in the Parliament of Montenegro, because members of that people would explain in the best way what problems they are facing and what they see as a solution. This was assessed at the panel discussion “Reserved mandate for members of the RE population in the Parliament of Montenegro”, organized by the Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI) and the MINA agency.

The right question is to ask what a single (or even a few) reserved seats for minorities can do to change things. The anser is easy: NOTHING. This is an alibi exercise.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Roma

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The greatest responsibility for the fact that the Roma community still does not have its own representative in the parliament lies with the politicians, because their voting on any socio-political issue depends on their agreements and party interests, according to the Institution of the Protector of Human Rights and freedom of Montenegro.

Back in 2013, the Institution of the Protector expressed the position that the Roma community should be provided with a lower census in order to be adequately represented in the Parliament of Montenegro, but even today, 30 years after the introduction of multi-party system, the Roma are the only national minority that does not have its own representative in the parliament.

Well, one can and should argue that members of parliament should NOT be allocated along ethnic lines but rather that parties should get minorities involved.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Roma

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Elvis Beriša, the founder and executive director of the NGO “Phiren amenca” comments last week’s scandal when the Montenegrin cultural network promoted the project Montenegro without divisions – with a photo of young people in national costumes, where Roma were presented in utility company workers uniforms:

“I believe that we haven’t had a more obvious example of discrimination and anti-Gypsyism in Montenegro for a long time. The CKM campaign and the portrayal of the Roma community in it is the definition of antigypsyism. Presenting an entire national community as workers of a utility company surpasses all recorded cases of stereotypes and prejudices that we could see in the public space. It is simply incomprehensible that the organizers could not consult with the Roma community about the best way to present it in the campaign. If, as they say, they could not find the national costume of the Roma, they could present them in ordinary everyday clothes. Anything would be better except for what they ended up doing.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Roma

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Aleksandar Damjanovic, chairman of NGO Montenegrin Cultural Network, CKM, founded in 2009 to spread loyalty and respect for the country’s state symbols made a blunder: He wanted to include the Roma community in his “Montenegro without division” campaign, but he did not find an adequate costume. Yes really.
Roma responded saying if the smallest problem faced by Roma was traditional costumes, they’d be really happy there. In any case, the Council of Montenegro’s Roma signed a joint Memorandum on cooperation, as announced the president of the Roma Council, Mensur Šalaj.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Roma

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The Roma community congratulated the recently nominated prime minister Abazović and asked him to help Roma and also to employ Roma in his prime minster office.

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Erdelezi

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A few articles in the Balkan press on the celebrations of Erdelezi or Đurđevdan – simply Saint Georges day in the orthodox calendar – which fell on May 6th, and is celebrated by all Roma in the Balkans.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Montenegro and Elections

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The Democratic Party of Roma plans to go to the local elections in Podgorica, said the president of that party, Mensur Shalaj. He said that the Democratic Party of Roma, which was founded in December 2019, did not participate in the 2020 parliamentary elections, because he thought that the 0.7% threshold for entering the parliament was too high.

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Minors Weddings

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An article about arranged marriages of minors among Roma in Montenegro. Again, the tradition of a group of Roma (Vlach) is generalised to all Roma – something that is not the case. Here, organisations actually say that this is human trafficking. It is bad for all.

– MONTÉNÉGRO : LES MARIAGES ARRANGÉS DES MINEUR.E.S ROMS, UNE TRADITION HORS-LA-LOI. In: Le Courrier des Balkans. 20.04.2018. https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Montenegro-les-mariages-arranges-des-mineur-e-s-roms-une-tradition-hors-la-loi

Monténégro : les mariages arrangés des roms, une tradition hors-la-loi

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Voluntary Return

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The rate of voluntary returns in Germany has drastically decreased during the year. Germany is still deporting Roma refugees from Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and even Kosovo back to their countries following the declaration of these as “safe countries”.
Safe maybe, but not necessarily for Roma.

– Die Zahl der freiwilligen Ausreisen geht stark zurück. In: MDR Aktuell. 22.12.2017. https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/politik/regional/rueckgang-freiwillige-ausreisen-100.html

Weniger freiwillige Ausreisen |

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French Chronicle …

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Dire statistics on Roma in France: 4’382 Roma were expulsed in France in the first six months of the year from 50 camps or squats, 2’689 by the police, 867 after a fire, and 796 “voluntarily”… they haven’t been re-lodged, which is against the French law. This cat and mouse play has been lasting for serval years. In Marseilles, an article shows the impact of such constant expulsions on the families, while in Paris, the Roma in Montreuil are still on the street, a year after their expulsion. The fate of a family from Montenegro which will be expulsed gives a face to these policies.

– Des milliers de Roms toujours expulsés chaque année sans relogement. In: Boursorama. 10.08.2017. http://www.boursorama.com/actualites/des-milliers-de-roms-toujours-expulses-chaque-annee-sans-relogement-b483a202783105264df70980b4bc0c5a
– Marseille : la descente aux enfers, à force d’expulsions. In: La Marseillaise. 07.08.2017. http://www.lamarseillaise.fr/marseille/societe/62667-la-descente-aux-enfers-a-force-d-expulsions
– Montreuil : une année d’errance pour les familles Roms de la Boissière. In: Le Parisien. 10.08.2017. http://www.leparisien.fr/montreuil-93100/montreuil-une-annee-d-errance-pour-les-familles-roms-de-la-boissiere-10-08-2017-7186014.php
– Des familles monténégrines, bientôt expulsées, vont se retrouver à la rue. In: La Voix du Nord. 11.08.2017. http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/203322/article/2017-08-11/des-familles-montenegrines-bientot-expulsees-vont-se-retrouver-la-rue

Montenegro Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

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A forum on the integration of Rroma just completed in Podgorica, Montenegro. It was organised by the Action Team “Roma Integration 2020”, a project aimed at furthering the integration of Rroma in Europe.
We hope that this will not be another paper tiger but a real one which will advance the cause.

– Podgorica: Završen ciklus foruma o pitanjima Roma. In: Blic. 01.12.2016. http://www.blic.rs/vesti/svet/podgorica-zavrsen-ciklus-foruma-o-pitanjima-roma/w3f8v4y
– https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/roma-integration-2020-brief-20160609.pdf

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Kosovo: The Forgotten Rroma

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An article about the forgotten victims of the Kosovo War: the Rroma. This time about the Rroma refugees in Montenegro.
As a reminder, there are currently less than 10% of the Rroma in Kosovo than the country had before the war.

– Les Roms, oubliés de la guerre du Kosovo. In: Ouest France. 05.10.2016. http://www.ouest-france.fr/europe/kosovo/les-roms-oublies-de-la-guerre-du-kosovo-4535226

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Ban on Balkan Refugees?

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Macedonia is saying the EU is planning a ban on Balkan refugees. This is already the case with the so-called “safe countries” but could be extended to Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. This would bar Rroma who are discriminated in those countries from seeking asylum and would also deprive the community of a mean to improve their fate in those countries. This only happens if refugees are on the EU’s door.

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