Category Archives: Serbia

Serbia: Journalism Workshop

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The first workshop organized by the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization (EHO) on the topic “Journalists in the world of discrimination and anti-Gypsyism” was held on June 29 and 30 in Novi Sad at the premises of EHO. The project is supported by the Swiss organization HEKS/EPER, and is implemented by the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization Novi Sad in partnership with 7 municipalities in Serbia.

Serbia and Statistics

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The Serbian language is the mother tongue of 84.4 percent of the population of Serbia according to the latest numbers published by the Serbian Republic Institute of Statistics.

After Serbian, the most represented mother tongues are Hungarian, 2.6 percent, Bosnian, 2.2 percent, Romani, 1.2 percent, and Albanian, 1.0 percent.

We can only guess that many Roma simply wrote their mother tongue is Serbian (or Hungarian).

Osman Balić

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Osman Balić, director of the YUROM centre and president of the Standing Conference of Roma citizens’ associations SKRUG Lliga Roma (Serbia), is speaking about interculturalism as a phenomenon in which we all live together. He tells about the importance for young Roma to preserve their traditions and language.

Serbia and Racism

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An article about a young Romni who is graduating from high school and who could not find anyone willing to go with her to the prom. It turns out she was the victim of constant abuse in her class, with people referring to her origins and making disparaging comments such as being given a piece of copper with the words, “Your people are definitely collecting copper, so let’s contribute”.

Several famous people have proposed going with her to the prom ball.

Serbia: Mentors

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The Roma organisation called “Romani asvin” from Kruševac launched a peer mentoring program. Until the end of August, a program called “Mentors on a click” is available to all Roma students at universities. Since the beginning of May, about twenty people interested in getting mentors have contacted us electronically – says Alma Kajtazi from the Association, explaining the advantages of the website www.romaniasvin.org on the Edu info-roma platform.

Ljiljjana Petrović Butler

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The story of a Serbian Romani singer, Ljiljjana Petrović Butler, born in 2944 in Belgrade, who died in 2010 in the Netherlands, having fled the wars in Yugoslavia.

Unfortunately, this story also reinforces many stereotypes: early marriage and children, no education, dirty, and so on. Sad, as it could have been told differently.

Serbia, Roma, and Rap

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The Gypsy Roma Urban Balcan Beat (GRUBB) is a show in Serbia created by young Roma artists. Here, in the article, a young Rom participated for two years and wants to continue. A reportage on Serbian television that will be shown on April 26th.

Vojvodina TV

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“Paleta” is a program of the Radio-television Vojvodina.It is a selection from the content prepared by the television editorial offices in the languages of the national communities, thus also in Romanes. In order to get closer to each other, “Paleta” is broadcast in the languages of the national communities, with a Serbian translation.

Child Marriages

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Serbia is working on an initiative to amend family law to define and recognize child marriage as a form of human trafficking, as 22-50% of Serbian Romane girls are married before the age of 18 years old.

A recent UNICEF report revealed that more than half of girls from Roma settlements in Serbia and 22% of girls from low-income families marry before the age of 18. Even more worryingly, 16% of Roma girls marry before the age of 15 and 5% give birth at this age.

As usual, take these percentages with a pinch of salt. These usually refer to the Roma that are recorded as such, not to all Roma.

Serbia and Higher Education

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Roma high school students visited the Faculty of Law. The Faculty of Law of the University of Niš has signed an agreement on cooperation with the Roma Education Foundation to ensure the greatest degree of inclusivity in education.

Let’s see if this works out …

Roma in Serbia

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It is difficult to accept one’s Roma identity. All nations in Europe have a majority population, but Roma are a minority in all European countries. That they are the same and yet different is a realization that Roma arrive to very early.

Bojan Branković (34) tells DW that as a child from a mixed marriage, he grew up in a small community, in Trstenik. He experienced discrimination for the first time at school: “Given that I am a child of different cultures, there was prejudice in my primary school, at the expense of my mother, who is a Romni.”

Roma Days of Culture

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With the traditional greeting “Bibijako sastipe” (To the health of Auntie), the Days of Roma Culture began in Čačak, Serbia. These culture days will last from April 7 to 12,.

Bibija, Romani patron saint, healer and not yet canonized saint, is celebrated among Roma of the Orthodox faith. This celebration has been included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Serbia since 2019.

This year, Bibija will be commemorated in Čačak with a special program organized by Roma associations. The following will be organized: an exhibition, a traditional meal, performances by cultural and artistic societies and dance groups, film screenings and concerts by the bands Kal and Pretty Loud.

Vojvodina and Roma TV

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Acting General Director of Vojvodina Radio and Television, Jožef Klem, and the President of the National Council of the Roma National Minority, Dalibor Nakić, discussed the possibilities and ways to improve programs in the Roma language in Novi Sad. They also highlighted the problems that hinder further progress.

Serbia: Gala Evening for April 8th

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The Serbian Minister of Culture, Maja Gojković, said on the occasion of the gala evening in the House of the Army, organized on the occasion of the International Day of the Roma, that fostering friendship and coexistence, equally interwoven with victories and sufferings, the Roma today are an inseparable and extremely important and valuable part of our society.

Gojković pointed out that the Roma community is an integral part of society and that it has always considered Serbia its homeland, just like the Serbian people, and that it is important to make our climate a better place for both Serbs and Roma to live, as well as all other nations and national minorities that they live in Serbia.

Really????

Bibija

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Orthodox Roma celebrated the feast of Bibija in Mladenovac, Serbia. Bibi is celebrated around a fruit tree, usually a pear, which is then called bibi. Before the celebration, the tree is decorated with flowers and red ribbons, and fasting food and drinks are placed around it. Every year, the host of the celebration is another local, and when the singing of the prayer is over, the host serves the guests with food and drinks.

Serbia and Roma

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The mayor of Belgrade said that Roma need to “make a decision about whether they want to live in a way today that follows the standards of the civilized world” – and adding that the city’s Roma get by on stealing and harassing citizens.

He was criticised. He should be dismissed.

Roma and other Minorities in Serbia

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The Serbian Roma Centre for Strategy, Development and Democracy submitted an initiative to introduce the Romani language into official use where, based on the census, the Roma community is represented in the local self-government bodies. They also proposed to introduce the Albanian language into official use throughout the territory of Serbia.

If Serbia is on the way to the European Union, then it is obliged to respect the rights and freedoms of minorities, in this case Roma and Albanians, but also Egyptians, Ashkali, Goranians, Bosniaks and Turks who use the Albanian language, according to the announcement.

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