Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Summer School

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How a 19 year old future teacher organised a summer camp in Slovakia for Roma children. And the camp is full – for, as she says, Roma children want to learn.
Well done!

– Budúca učiteľka má len 19 rokov, do jej letnej školy sa už hlásili desiatky Rómov. In: Dennik. 21.08.2017. https://dennikn.sk/851615/buduca-ucitelka-ma-len-19-rokov-do-jej-letnej-skoly-sa-uz-hlasili-desiatky-romov/ [link-preview url=”https://dennikn.sk/851615/buduca-ucitelka-ma-len-19-rokov-do-jej-letnej-skoly-sa-uz-hlasili-desiatky-romov/”]

Czech Government, Lety, and Roma

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Following the decision by the Czech government to buy the pig farm located on the site of the Roma concentration camp of Lety, the contract could be signed as early as next month.
This would close the chapter of Lety, but certainly not of the Holocaust in the Czech Republic where Roma were almost totally annihilated – essentially by the Czech themselves.

– Czech Government Agrees to Buy Roma Holocaust Site. In: TOL. 22.08.2017. http://www.tol.org/client/article/27139-czech-government-agrees-to-buy-roma-holocaust-site.html [link-preview url=”http://www.tol.org/client/article/27139-czech-government-agrees-to-buy-roma-holocaust-site.html”]

Hungarian Roma Refugees in Canada

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A long article on the Roma refugees from Hungary in Canada. This story covers the years between the 1990’s and 2000.

– Hungarian Roma refugees in Canada — The Roma fiasco (Part 1). In: The Hungarian Free Press. 24.08.2017. http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/24/hungarian-roma-refugees-in-canada-the-roma-fiasco-part-1/ [link-preview url=”http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/24/hungarian-roma-refugees-in-canada-the-roma-fiasco-part-1/”]

Bulgaria – Law and Order

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The Bulgarian Interior Minister Valentin Radev promised the return of Law and Order in Asenovgrad by adding policemen policing the Roma neighbourhood there. The city had been the scene of riots against Roma – allegedly because of petty criminality …
The right answer would be a different one.

– Minister Valentin Radev: There will be law and order in Roma neighbourhood in Asenovgrad. In: Focus Network. 24.08.2017. http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/08/24/422311/minister-valentin-radev-there-will-be-law-and-order-in-roma-neighbourhood-in-asenovgrad.html [link-preview url=”http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2017/08/24/422311/minister-valentin-radev-there-will-be-law-and-order-in-roma-neighbourhood-in-asenovgrad.html”]

Hungary, Voting Rights, and Roma

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An idea is being floated in Hungary that only people paying taxes should be allowed to vote in elections. This is mainly directed at Hungarians outside of Hungary (many of whom acquired the Hungarian passport under Orban). The Deputy Prime Minister made a slip of the tongue while arguing against this idea referring to Roma – saying that very few of them actually work and pay taxes.

– Dog whistle racism from Hungary’s deputy prime minister. In: Hungarian Free Press. 21.08.2017. http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/21/dog-whistle-racism-from-hungarys-deputy-prime-minister/ [link-preview url=”http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/21/dog-whistle-racism-from-hungarys-deputy-prime-minister/”]

School and Slovakia

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A typical story for Slovakia. The government plenipotentiary for Roma affairs, Abel Ravasz, is trying to mediate an issue of bullying of Roma in a school and a de-facto attempt at school segregation. Bullying against Roma children happened in Demandice, a village where Roma from two neighbouring communes are attending school in. The local council has decided to exclude Lontov and Ipeľský Sokolec from their school district, meaning that the mostly Roma pupils from these municipalities are allowed to attend a school in Demandice, but will not have the travel expenses paid. This is a de-facto exclusion of the Roma as they depend on this stipend.

Rómsky splnomocnenec sa dohodol so starostami na postupe v Demandiciach. In: SME Domov. 22.08.2017. https://domov.sme.sk/c/20631878/splnomocnenec-sa-dohodol-so-starostami-na-rieseni-problemov-v-demandiciach.html [link-preview url=”https://domov.sme.sk/c/20631878/splnomocnenec-sa-dohodol-so-starostami-na-rieseni-problemov-v-demandiciach.html”]

Czech Mourning

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200 people commemorated the victims of the Holocaust on the site of the Hodonin Roma concentration camp in the Czech Republic. The commemoration was attended by the Prime Minister.

– Some 200 Czechs, including PM, commemorate Roma Holocaust. In: Prague Daily Monitor. 21.08.2017. http://praguemonitor.com/2017/08/21/some-200-czechs-including-pm-commemorate-roma-holocaust [link-preview url=”http://praguemonitor.com/2017/08/21/some-200-czechs-including-pm-commemorate-roma-holocaust”]

Sofia: House Destroyed

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The removal of Roma settlement continues in Bulgaria. This time, Roma 149 houses in Zaharna Faharna that are deemed to be illegal were destroyed.
Illegal means it was built without formal approval/land registry entry which happens to be the case of all Roma Mahalas.
BAD!

– 149 Illegal Roma Houses are being Destroyed in Sofia’s Zaharna Fabrika Quarter. In: Novinite. 22.08.2017. http://www.novinite.com/articles/182518/149+Illegal+Roma+Houses+are+being+Destroyed+in+Sofia%27s+Zaharna+Fabrika+Quarter [link-preview url=”http://www.novinite.com/articles/182518/149+Illegal+Roma+Houses+are+being+Destroyed+in+Sofia%27s+Zaharna+Fabrika+Quarter”]

Slovakia: End of the Festival

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The festival that took place in Zvolen, Banska Bistrica and in nearby towns is ending this week end. Yesterday, a gala concert with Roma musicians from various countries was held in Sliač with musicians from Russia, Hungary, Czech republic and Slovakia.

– Galaprogramom dnes vrcholí multižánrové podujatie Ľudia z rodu Rómov. In: Dobre Noviny. 19.08.2017. http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108437/galaprogramom-dnes-vrcholi-multizanrove-podujatie-ludia-z-rodu-romov [link-preview url=”http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108437/galaprogramom-dnes-vrcholi-multizanrove-podujatie-ludia-z-rodu-romov”]

Germany: Max Birkenfelder

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The Holocaust survivor, Max Birkenfelder, died at the age of 79. Hi family spent four years in the Radom Ghetto in Poland, where they were forced to work under extreme conditions.
May he rest in peace!

– Als Kind Erschießungen erlebt. In: Maheimer Morgen. 18.08.2017. https://www.morgenweb.de/schwetzinger-zeitung_artikel,-schwetzingen-als-kind-erschiessungen-erlebt-_arid,1098227.html [link-preview url=”https://www.morgenweb.de/schwetzinger-zeitung_artikel,-schwetzingen-als-kind-erschiessungen-erlebt-_arid,1098227.html”]

Hungarian Roma in Phiren Amenca

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25 young Hungarian Roma will be travelling to Varna, Bulgaria, to attend the Phiren Amenca Network conference. They will meet Roma and Gadže from all over Europe to discuss a variety of topics regarding Roma.

– 25 young Roma to represent Hungary at Varna forum of Phiren Amenca. In: Politics.hu. 18.08.2017. http://www.politics.hu/20170818/25-young-roma-to-represent-hungary-at-varna-forum-of-phiren-amenca/ [link-preview url=”http://www.politics.hu/20170818/25-young-roma-to-represent-hungary-at-varna-forum-of-phiren-amenca/”]

Theatre

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Two Romnja from Romania use theatre to fight back against discrimination and racism!

– Romania’s Roma rise up with revolutionary theatre. In: Thomson Reuters. 17.08.2017. http://news.trust.org/item/20170817110826-2loti/ [link-preview url=”http://news.trust.org/item/20170817110826-2loti/”]

What????

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The leader of the Jobbik partu, Gabor Vona, is asking the Orban Government to apologise to Roma for blocking any possibility of upward mobility. He is right in the statement, but Jobbik was associated with the Magyar Garda, a semi-military group which wanted to get rid of all Roma and Jews, a view shared by most of the Jobbik party.

– Jobbik leader calls on government to apologize to Roma community. In: Hungarian Free Press. 17.08.2017. http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/17/jobbik-leader-calls-on-government-to-apologize-to-roma-community/ [link-preview url=”http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/08/17/jobbik-leader-calls-on-government-to-apologize-to-roma-community/”]

Hungary: The Miracle of Cserdi

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A long article on Laszlo Bogdan, the mayor of the small village of Cserdi in the South Western part of the country. He has been fighting against unemployment and getting the people of the village, of which 75% are Roma to work. He did so with methods that are often controversial and authoritarian, and the work is mostly manual and in the agriculture. He is also very much against the Roma establishment and politicians, who, he says have pocketed millions from the EU without doing anything.
Can his model be expanded?

– LÁSZLÓ BOGDÁN IS STILL THE ROMA MIRACLE WORKER OF CSERDI. In: The Hungarian Spectrum. 16.08.2017. http://hungarianspectrum.org/2017/08/16/laszlo-bogdan-is-still-the-roma-miracle-worker-of-cserdi/ [link-preview url=”http://hungarianspectrum.org/2017/08/16/laszlo-bogdan-is-still-the-roma-miracle-worker-of-cserdi/”]

The Auschwitz Painter

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The family of Dina Babbitt, an Auschwitz survivor who dies in 2009 and, while in Auschwitz was forced to paint portraits of other inmates, is trying to recover her art. Seven portraits of Roma she painted are know to have survived the war.

– In Auschwitz, she was forced to paint. Now her family wants her art returned. In: The Jewish News. 15.08.2017. https://www.jweekly.com/2017/08/15/auschwitz-forced-paint-now-family-wants-art-returned/ [link-preview url=”https://www.jweekly.com/2017/08/15/auschwitz-forced-paint-now-family-wants-art-returned/”]

Festival of another Kind

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On the 16th of August, in the Banská Bystrica Historic Town Hall, the largest Roma multi-ethnic event in Central Slovakia will be opened. It is called “Ľudia z rodu Rómov” [People of the Roma family] and will last until the 19th of August. A non-traditional home-based exhibition focusses on Roma women and their position in society in connection with the growing extremism and radicalism is part of the festival.

“The individual activities of the festival will be held in three cities – Banská Bystrica, Zvolen, Sliac and visitors can enjoy outstanding Roma artists from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania,” said Denisa Sciranková from Quo Vadis civic association.

– Rómsky festival Ľudia z rodu Rómov odštartuje netradičnou výstavou. In: Dobre Noviny. 14.08.2017. http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108102/romsky-festival-ludia-z-rodu-romov-odstartuje-netradicnou-vystavou [link-preview url=”http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108102/romsky-festival-ludia-z-rodu-romov-odstartuje-netradicnou-vystavou”]

Slovakia, Roma, and Work

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Representatives of municipalities and non-profit organizations will share their positive experiences with Roma employment in the green economy in Košice. The workshop takes place on the 15th of August in Teledom on Timonova Street, will also include experts from Norway.

“The European Environment Committee has estimated that up to 860’000 new full-time jobs could potentially be generated by waste management – logistics, repair, sales and recycling by 2030. If this ambitious scenario could be met by reducing food waste, re-using textiles, furniture and recycling, by 2020, 425 million tonnes of CO2 emissions would be released into the European atmosphere and almost 61 million litres of water would be saved,” said Slavek Mačáková, Director of ETP Slovakia.

For Slovakia, this could mean an estimated 10,000 jobs and save our air from five million tons of CO2 and save 600,000 litres of water.

– Workshop v Košiciach bude o zamestnávaní Rómov v zelenej ekonomike, In: Dobre Noviny. 13.08.2017. http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108021/workshop-v-kosiciach-bude-o-zamestnavani-romov-v-zelenej-ekonomike [link-preview url=”http://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/108021/workshop-v-kosiciach-bude-o-zamestnavani-romov-v-zelenej-ekonomike”]

Serbia: Spot the Issue?

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Do you spot the issue? Two parties in schoolyards in Serbia. In the first scantily clad go-go dancers, in the second, a Roma wedding.
Against which were protests logged? Clearly against the “depravation” of a Gypsy Wedding.

– Schoolyards in south: Go-go dancers and Roma wedding party. In: B92. 07.08.2017. http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2017&mm=08&dd=07&nav_id=102007 [link-preview url=”http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2017&mm=08&dd=07&nav_id=102007″]

Kosovo and Justice

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Two articles on the lead poisoning and its impact. And on the fact that many years after the fact, the UN refuses to apologise or to help these families. It is the UN who chose and ran the refugee camp for Roma on an industrial dump.

– Au Kosovo, les enfants du plomb attendent la justice. In: Euronews. 06.08.2017. http://fr.euronews.com/2017/08/06/au-kosovo-les-enfants-du-plomb-attendent-la-justice
– Les « enfants du plomb » attendent réparation au Kosovo. In: Epoch Times. 08.08.2017. http://www.epochtimes.fr/au-kosovo-les-enfants-du-plomb-attendent-la-justice-2-51010.html [link-preview url=”http://fr.euronews.com/2017/08/06/au-kosovo-les-enfants-du-plomb-attendent-la-justice “]

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 [link-preview url=”http://www.boursorama.com/actualites/des-milliers-de-roms-toujours-expulses-chaque-annee-sans-relogement-b483a202783105264df70980b4bc0c5a “]

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