Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Hungary, Jobbik, and Roma

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Parties opposed to Viktor Orban agreed prior to the last elections to allow Roma politicians to run on their joint list. This also applied to Jobbik, an extreme right party that usually is very much against Roma and other minorities. Ferenc Varga a Rom, entered parliament in the 2022 election from the joint opposition list in the Jobbik faction.

On January 6, 2023, Ferenc Varga announced that he would leave the Jobbik parliamentary faction and continue his work as an independent. When asked why he made this decision, he said:

“The main reason was that the party was concerned with its own affairs and not with the voters. Even if the number of votes for the change of government was small in the election, we cannot help but constantly deal with the party’s internal affairs and infighting. I didn’t see a way out of this. I did everything in my field, I visited the country, I built the Gypsy Association with Honour, but the politicians who have been sitting in the parliament for several years practically did nothing.”

The Jobbik fraction wants him to give up his seat for another Jobbik politician, but Ferenc Varga refuses, saying that he was elected as part of the overall opposition coalition.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Moravian Deportations to Auschwitz

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Maxmilian Kryštof was only seven days old when, 80 years ago, he was one of more than a thousand Roma deported from Brno to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Anna Míšková, historian of the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, informed about this, which commemorates the transport of March 7, 1943 with a memorial service in the museum building. According to Míšková, the events should not be forgotten, especially nowadays with the influx of people fleeing the war from Ukraine.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czech Public Schools and Roma

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A Rom is the only Roma teacher in a housing estate in Litvín. Twenty years ago, Marian Dancso had to leave the job he loved. As a sailor, he sailed on the Elbe and the North Sea for several years on cargo ships. “I served on tankers that transported chemicals, gasoline, diesel. I also spent a lot of time in Hamburg and Antwerp before I was seriously injured in a fire on board,” recalls the forty-one-year-old man, who after primary school in his native Lom u Most graduated from the Secondary Vocational School of Shipping in Děčín.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czech Republic, Schools, and Roma

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The story of Roma children being taught English but not having any textbook. This in a Roma settlement, which, according to the journalist, resembles wor torn Ukraine.

Bad.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma Representatives

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The Government Office for Nationalities has announced new elections to the Council of the Roma Community of the Republic of Slovenia. This council has already started work, but without seven members from the ranks of Roma municipal councillors, as no voters voted in the first elections. This year’s elections will be held on March 30 in Murska Sobota, and in Novi Mesto on March 31, the office announced.

Roma councillors send their possible candidacy for member of the Council of the Roma Community by mail or bring it in person. The deadline for submitting candidacy is March 17 until 2 p.m. The candidature, which will be submitted by registered mail on February 17, is also considered timely.

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Hungary: Roma Tales

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A Hungarian movie series based on Roma tales was just realised. It was done a unique 3D series. The Gypsy Tales series was the idea of Mária Horváth, one of the founding members of the Kecskemét Animation Studio. After finishing the Hungarian folk tales, it occurred to her to show the values hidden in Roma culture through Roma tales. The creators consider it important that Roma should be proud not only of their music, but also of their fine arts and literature.

Bulgarie Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Bulgaria: Demolition

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It is an election year for local government in Bulgaria. This means it is also the start of a new bout of demolition of “illegal” Roma houses. The mayor of the Varna “Mladost” district, Hristo Hristov, announced that the removal of 50 objects in the “Maksuda” ghetto will soon take place. Prior to this, deeds of municipal ownership will be issued on the land to provide a legal basis for the demolition in court. About 200 buildings have been removed in recent years.

This is bad.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Zdeněk Godla

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The Romano actor Zdeněk Godla, starring in the recent movie “Invalid” spoke about working in a Slovak Roma settlement for the movie. He said he cannot understand how politicians can sinply do nothing about this.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Karel Holomek

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Karel Holomek, an important Roma activist, publicist and politician, celebrateds his 86th birthday on March 6. He was born into a family of original Moravian Roma. Like his father, Tomáš Holomek, the first university-educated Roma in Czechoslovakia, he graduated from university – majoring in mechanical engineering at the Military Academy in Brno and worked there as an assistant for several years. Due to his rejection of the occupation of Czechoslovakia, he was expelled from the faculty.

Karel Holomek worked in the first Czech Roma organization, the Gypsy-Roma Union. Between 1982 and 1989 he worked for the Samizdat publishing house, in the post-Soviet period he was a member of the Czech National Council for the Civic Forum.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Serbie

Niš, Serbia: Forum

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A forum will be held “Suffering of Roma and Sinti in the Second World War” will be held on March 7th in the Synagogue of Niš. Osman Balić, president of the Presidency of the Standing Conference of Roma Citizens’ Associations in Serbia – League of Roma, Đokica Jovanović, retired sociologist and university professor, and Nebojša Ozmić, senior curator of the National Museum in Niš, will speak at the forum.

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Hungary, the Church, Roma, and the EU

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The Christian Roma Vocational Colleges Network and the Roma Vocational Colleges Association will participate in a professional trip at the beginning of March to present themselves at an international conference in Brussels.

In Hungary, eleven Roma vocational colleges have been working for more than ten years on the higher education career path and institutional and social integration of young people of Roma origin and/or underprivileged.

The issue with this is the fact that education is segregated. That seems not to be obvious to the promoters of such colleges…

Hongire Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Racism in Hungary: “Get out of here, Gypsy!”

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A scandal broke out at a festival in Miskolc, Hungary.  Gyula Horváth, the president of a Roma organisation had all the permission to collect donations and distribute balloons at the festival. The city police, however, harassed him and told him to leave.

“They have been harassing me since the morning, since the Festival started. First they wanted to disturb me, then they threatened me, then they wanted to ring out the stand with a cordon. There were about ten people here, they checked my papers, but I have all the official permits,” Horváth told.

The president negotiated with the police for two hours. In the meantime, they took photos of him, and then the police sent the photos to the mayor.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czech Republic: Award

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Marsell Bendig won the award of best actor in a supporting role of the Czech Film and Television Academy on Saturday. He gave an exclusive interview to ROMEA TV right after the ceremony.

The movie for which he received this award is called “Banger” and was directed by Adam Sedlák. The movie was shot on an iPhone and was shown in July 2022 at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. It tells the story of Alex, a young drug-addicted dealer who wants to change his life and become famous as a rapper, played by actor Adam Mišík. Marcel Bendig played the role of Alex’s friend Ládi in the film.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czech Republic: Music Label

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For the last three years, Filip Kaleja (38) has been helping budding musicians who don’t have enough funds to make their own recordings to make their dreams come true. He co-founded the label RMF Evolution Records, which publishes Roma musicians, including those from the poorest backgrounds. In addition, he heads the organization Ostravaská Nota, which co-organizes cultural events in Ostrava, but also supports the use of Romany among the youngest generation of Roma.

République tchèque Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est

Czech Republic and Roma Integration

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An interview with Magdalena Karvayova, co-founder of the Awen Amenca association which focuses on equal access to quality education for Roma children.

There is a long way to go still

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Roumanie

Romania, the Church, and Roma Slavery

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The Romanian Orthodox Church should apologize for centuries of Roma slavery. It would be a long overdue symbolic gesture, historians, sociologists and representatives of the Roma community believe.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Pologne

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas

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A long article about the Romani artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas and her plans for the future. She recently received a scholarship in Berlin, visits friends in London, opens an exhibition in Sweden, brings new ideas to her studio in Szaflary in Podhale, and comes to her hometown of Czarna Góra in Spiš. Her work is raising a lot of interest. Recently, the New York Times proposed to prepare a large reportage about her.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia School Segregation

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After the supreme court judgement on school segregation, condemning the state and town of Stará Ľubovňa-Podsadek, another case of segregation was judged by the regional court in Prešov. This one concerned three Roma students in the Elementary School with Kindergarten in Hermanovce in the Prešov district. The court judged they were discriminated against. The parents of the three children will receive each 5’000 EUR.

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