Category Archives: Slovenia

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma

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The final conference of the international ACE project, led by the Roma Association of Slovenia took place in Murska Sobota. The project, done in cooperation with partners from Italy and Spain, lasted two years and had a clear goal: to empower young and older Roma and political stakeholders for better cooperation and inclusion. According to the project team, the project has positioned Slovenia as an example of good practice, as it is the only one of the participating countries with an adopted law on Roma and a national program for Roma. “Slovenia is a bright spot of the project, because with legislation and experience we can contribute a lot to other countries,” emphasized Škerlak.

Well, judging by the Slovene press, this seems highly doubtful…

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Roma in Slovenian Education

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Bojana Rozman has been a Roma assistant at Bršljin Primary School for more than 13 years, and her work week is always dynamic. Providing learning assistance, working with a social worker, resolving conflicts between students and visiting a Roma settlement are just a few of the activities of many Roma assistants. Together with other school employees, they solve the problems of Roma students.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Antigypsyism

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The Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Nationalities recently published an invitation to participate in a public prize competition for children and young people entitled Together against Anti-Gypsyism.

Roma representatives greeted the idea, but there are several politicians and parties who criticise this as a waste of money.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Humour?

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A Slovenian Radio produced a “humorous” video clip as a parody of a new measure introduced by the Slovenian government about the right to disconnect, i.e. the right not to answer emails.

Their parody involves a debt-ridden Rom who tapped into the water supply and complains about the water “cutoff”.

Bad.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Campaign against Racism

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The Slovenian government campaign Together against anti-Gypsyism has upset residents living near Roma, as well as Roma. The Government Office for Nationalities explained that by announcing a prize-winning competition for children and youth entitled Together against anti-Gypsyism, they want to tackle so-called anti-Gypsyism, which is an internationally accepted and established term.

In communes with a Roma minority, people have started protesting saying “what will a 4th grader in SE Slovenia, who has a Roma classmate four years older than him, who bullies him every day and demands money from him, think about this prize game?”

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Access to Water

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Representatives of Amnesty International Slovenia, Roma organizations and Roma people warned at a press conference in Ribnica that a fifth of Roma settlements in Slovenia still do not have drinking water, even though the right to water is guaranteed as a human right under the constitution. They therefore called on the government with a special petition to provide water where it is not yet available.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma Settlements

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An interview of Jasna Hudorovič, a 60-year-old Romni who was born to a single mother in Gornje Lepovče, Ribnica. She has now lived in the Roma settlement in Goriča Vas near Ribnica for forty years and has been without water and electricity her entire life.

This says it all …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia, Roma, and Employment

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The employability of Roma in Slovenia remains a challenge, as they face high levels of unemployment and limited employment opportunities. According to data from 2002, about 15% of Roma were employed, while 85% were unemployed. They are for bright exceptions that prove that this is also possible. This is the case of Đani Stojanovič, who works at Komunala Novo mesto.
Why no journalist ask how one gets at such numbers if governments do admit they do not know how many Roma live in a country?

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma Workers

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An article about Unemployment programs and their success in enrolling people in long term jobs. Well, for Roma it doesn’t seem to work. And in Slovenia, one often hears that Roma are not interested in working. Maybe it’s the employers who are not interested in Roma…

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Stereotypes

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In discussions about the Roma community, there are constant warnings about the need to improve the educational picture. Available estimates on the involvement of Roma in education show that the gap between Roma and the majority population is very large. Despite this, the situation has been slowly improving in recent years, and there are big differences within the Roma community. There is no official data.

“The myth that Roma are uneducated is not true,” Jože Horvat Muc, president of the Roma Association, told STA. As he estimated, there are “quite a few Roma who are educated” in Prekmurje. In the southeast of the country, however, the reality is different, as there are more Roma who do not finish school, he admitted.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia, Roma and Funds – Some other News

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Again an article about the funds allocated to municipalities with a Roma population in Slovenia. The current way these subsidies are calculated favours large municipalities, regardless of the number of Roma who live there. Now the government plans to change that. And several mayors are not for it.

In any case, Roma complain that the funds are not spend on purpose, and the mayors say that the funds are not sufficient to move the needle …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia, Roma, and Funds

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In Slovenia, there are twenty-five municipalities with a registered Roma population, among them eleven in Dolenjsko, Posavje, Bela Krajina and the Kočevsko-Ribinška area. From 2021, based on Article 20a of the Municipal Financing Act (ZFO-1), they are entitled to additional state funds (3.5 percent of eligible spending), the main criterion being the number of all residents of the municipality. This means that the bigger the municipality, the more money it gets, regardless of the number of Roma. This is not fair for smaller municipalities with a large number of Roma.

Roma complain that the funds are not spend on purpose…

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Romanes Day in Slovenia

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On today’s World Day of the Romani Language, the need to preserve this language, which is on the verge of disappearing in Slovenia due to many factors, is becoming increasingly evident. According to Roma assistant Bojana Rozman, Roma is heard less and less, as young people rarely use it, and the school system neglects the Romani language. Also, the language is changing rapidly, modern expressions are entering, as a result of which its authenticity can be nullified.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Roma Community in Slovenia

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An article about the Roma community in South Eastern Slovenia. Here, the article focuses on a program for teenagers and young mothers at the Brezje – Žabjak. The young mothers agree that their children should go to kindergarten, but not to a Roma kindergarten, but to a normal kindergarten, where they get to know other children and learn the language at the same time.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma Funds

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The Slovenian government has allocated funds to municipalities where Roma live in Slovenia as part of the National Program of Actions for Roma for the period 2021-2030. In the municipality of Krško, they allocated 80’000 euros of their 700’000 allocation to raise awareness among the residents of the Roma settlement of Kerinov Grm. Apparently, the money went straight to a long-time builder for the municipality and a Roma councillor. This is not quite the purpose of these grants …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma

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Anti-Roma rhetoric is on the rise in Slovenia, echoed by the media and fueled by politicians of all persuasions, following several incidents involving members of the community in the south-east of the country. While Roma are the most discriminated against minority in Slovenia, there are solutions to improve integration. An interview with a Roma activist.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Not Good

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The now 40-year-old Bogdan Miklič, a Rom from the village of Stranska vas pri Novem mesto in Slovenia, had a promising career as a journalist at RTV Slovenia, and he is also active in his Roma Civil society. Among others, he was the president of the association Gypsies once – Roma today,  and still is the legal representative or president of the Roma Association for Dolenjska.

According to the article, he is nowadays most often seen in court for fraud and theft, and in this particular case, for threatening his farmer neighbour.

Whatever he did, this kind of articles does not further the Romani cause.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia, Roma. In Murska Sobota

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The Roma Academic Club organized a discussion in the Regional and Study Library in Murska Sobota while reading Roma literature entitled Sar zapisje Romi [How Roma write]. An exhibition titled Me som _ Jaz sem [I am] was also on display. The traditional mini Roma Olympics took place in Murska Sobota, where children could try out several sports. Maribor’s Kralji ulice association orgnised an excursion to Murska Sobota for Romnja. With the recording of the concert, one will remember the musician Igor Misdaris, the singer of the band Šukar.

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