Category Archives: Slovakia

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Osada

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A rather bold project in a village in Slovakia: Connect the Roma settlement to the centre of the village. They want people to get closer and know each other better by removing the existing physical barrier.

A common feature of all excluded Roma communities is that they are located on the outskirts of municipalities, often kilometres from the centre, where a person from the majority rarely gets to

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Judgement

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The staff of a cafe in Lučenec, Slovakia, made a mistake when they refused to serve a guest because he was  Rom. After almost six years of litigation, the Bratislava I District Court issued a judgement condemning the café to pay 1,500 euros and apologise.

In August 2017, a refused to serve Ladislav Rácz and his friend. He said it was because  he did not have a club card which costs 300 euros. Ladislaw said “When I asked him if it was by chance because we are Roma, gypsies and we are darker, he said that it is not for such a reason and that we should leave the area immediately.”

Ladislaw friend, non-Roma, went to the cafe. They served her without any problems. “She asked the waiter that she saw on the door that entry was only possible with a club card. The gentleman clearly told the camera that it is only for Roma, that they cannot serve Roma.”

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Integration

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907 Mio EUR have been secured from the next period of the integration of Roma in Slovakia. The money will contribute to improving the situation of marginalized Roma communities (MRK). The changes also strengthened the position of the plenipotentiary office, as well as the centralization of the entire agenda, which should lead to a more efficient use of funds. Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma communities, Ján Hero, stated this in response to Wednesday’s (May 10) press conference of the member of the Slovak National Council for SaS Vladimír Ledecký, who criticized the state’s current actions in the area of MRK inclusion.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Discrimination

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The District Court of Bratislava ruled in the case of discrimination against a Rom, Ladislav Rácz, who was refused service in a cafe in Lučenec in 2017. The defendant must apologize to him for the discrimination and compensate him financially, the court’s decision is not final, as the defendant can still appeal.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma Education

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Juraj Čokyna left his job at a newspaper five years ago and went to teach children from settlements in eastern Slovakia for two years. He wrote a book about it, called “Where are the edges?”

Three years later, he is interviewed and states that: “The best are those who went abroad. For Slovak Roma, especially when they live in excluded communities, this is the only chance to experience an environment where they have dignity and the necessary support, for example in schools. Abroad is the only chance for them not to immediately hit the glass ceiling, which they will bang their heads against here in Slovakia very soon.”

Sad.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and School Segregation

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The new Roma mayor of Žehne, near Prešov, Slovakia, wants to radically solve the discrimination of children in kindergarten.

There are purely Roma children in one class, and their non-Roma classmates attend the other class. Other children from the Roma settlement only go to the community centre in the morning.  “So that the children are mixed up. When we have 14 children here, there will be seven and seven there. Also Roma and non-Roma,” explained the mayor.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovenia and Roma

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The President of the Slovene Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, recently held a consultation with representatives of the Roma community, which was also attended by the State Secretary from the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Anton Grizold. The latter is the head of the working group for dealing with the Roma “issue”, which met for the first time almost half a year ago. At the meeting, Grizold said that the task force will tackle the challenges in a two-pronged manner – with an action plan for the most pressing problems and with systemic solutions.

The area of particular concern is the region of Novo Mesto where the police intervene hundreds of times a year in the Roma settlement Žabjak.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Theatre and Teaching

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Jana Pierová, a Romni, founded a theatre club in 2016 after she became a classroom teacher at Podsadok Primary School in Stara Ľubovna, Slovakia.  “I attracted the children to the activity, they were probably oversaturated with dancing and singing. They welcomed it, thanks to the theatre they could express their emotions,” she recalls

“We try to use art to break down prejudices so that the majority perceives us differently,” she explains. Among other things, theatre helps children process difficult topics, such as the Roma Holocaust.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovak Segregation

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A podcast on the issue of segregation of Roam children in the Slovak school system for which the country is sued by the European commission.

In Slovakia, 65% of Roma pupils between the ages of 6 and 15 attend schools where all or most of the pupils are Roma, which represents an increase of 5 percentage points compared to 2016. Slovakia is thus the EU member state with the highest rate of segregation of Roma in education, reports the European Commission.

Europe Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

600 Years

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Since Wednesday, the House of European History in Brussels has exhibited a copy of the protection document for the Roma, which was issued 600 years ago at the Spiš castle by the Hungarian king and Roman-German emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg. This event was also attended by the vice presidents of the European Commission (EC) Věra Jourová and Maroš Šefčovič, who took part in the ceremony of handing over a copy of the historical document.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma

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600 years ago, the King Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary, issued a protection document for the Roma in Spiš Castle (Slovakia). This event was commemorated on Wednesday at an event in the European Parliament (EP) by Slovak MEP Peter Pollák (OĽANO), who handed over a copy of this document to the House of European History in Brussels during a ceremony.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Relocation

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Roma from Svrčinovac have to be moved. The settlement will fall victim to the construction of a viaduct for the D3 highway. Construction should have already started, the Roma should have been moved, the houses were bought, but they are said to be inadequate. So today no one knows where they will actually go. And not even how many there actually are. According to information from the village, there are 35 of them. In reality, however, there are up to 70 of them. Three houses will not be enough for them.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: Relocation

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A Roma settlement of Svrčinovec stands in the way of an ecoduct (a wildlife overpass) above the D3 highway. The Roma were to be relocated, but it turns out, there are twice as many of them as initially assessed (70 instead of 35), so that the replacement housing is not sufficient …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma Segregation

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The temporarily appointed Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger (Democrats) and Peter Pellegrini (Hlas-SD). Answered questions from the Audience. Some questions also touched on the lawsuit that Slovakia is currently facing for the segregation of Roma children. While Heger claimed that it is not a problem that could be solved overnight with money, ex-prime minister Peter Pellegrini has a completely different opinion. Eduard Heger says that the segregation of Roma children must be solved by their integration, but he did not present concrete steps to achieve this. Peter Pellegrini, on the other hand, is against interfering with the composition of classes. i.e. introducing quotas.

In fact, the issue is not that complex: Segregation occurs when schools are located in Roma settlements, and moving the children to other schools would solve the issue. The US knows about it.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma

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The Slovak historian and member of the Science Adademy Ondrej Ficeri debated Roma issues:

High unemployment, poor hygiene, low literacy, crime and, most recently, an epidemic of infectious diseases.

He specialised in the Study of the Roma and claims that the situation will not change easily. In the discussion, however, things went really bad. In the debate, they discussed “whether and how to change the mindset of some Roma, who do want sewage and drinking water, but do not want to pay for it.”

According to Ficeri, “No, that cannot be changed in my opinion. But even so, it is the responsibility of the municipality to ensure adequate housing and re-educate residents to pay at least for unavoidable services such as rent, water, electricity. Hopefully it will be beneficial at least in the long run, even though it may seem like throwing peas against a wall at the moment. We cannot do nothing.”

So basically, Roma are incapable to adapt and change … Nice statements.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

European Commission, Slovakia, and Segregation

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The European Commission is suing Slovakia for not doing enough in ending segregation of Roma in the school system. Although Slovakia has carried out several legislative reforms and is trying to integrate Roma, progress is insufficient, the EC said in a statement. According to Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, the practical solution to the problem goes beyond one election period.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia and Roma Integration

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One year after the adoption of the first action plan of the Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation until 2030, it will be necessary to strengthen communication and monitoring of the completion of the tasks. Ján Hero, the representative of the Slovak government for Roma communities, admitted it. Former Roma plenipotentiary, current Member of the European Parliament Peter Pollák Sr. points out that even the perfect strategy and action plan cannot improve the situation of marginalized Roma if all those involved do not make increased efforts.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia: 4 Books

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An article on 4 books about exceptional women. What is truly exceptional is that one of this book is one written by a Czech Romni Elena Lacková’s  called “I was born under a happy star”. The first author is Elena Lacková with her memoirs, the second is the Czech romani studies professor Milena Hubschmannová, who recorded them all, transcribed them and prepared them for printing.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovaquie

Slovakia, Work, and Roma

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A video on Roma and work. It cites Jan Hero, the plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government for Roma, who says that the society has not made great progress in employing Roma. But is also says that “some Roma simply do not want to work”.

Bad.

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