Category Archives: Slovenia

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Minorities

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On January 13, the inter-municipal Roma association Romano Vozo organized a round table entitled Ethnic minorities in Slovenia, their cooperation and integration. This covered Roma, Serbs, Albanians, Bosnians. Regarding Roma, though, the usual views and statements were made: Jožek Horvat Muc, president of the Association of Roma of Slovenia. First of all, he explained that the Roma live in different regions, where they are accepted and organized in different ways depending on the economic, social and social situation of the region.

“Conditions regarding integration, cooperation, political participation and employment are the best in Prekmurje, and the worst in SE Slovenia. Part of the blame also lies with the Roma, who are not sufficiently organized, do not want to integrate into society, cooperate, take care of the development of the Roma community, and part of their worse situation is also the fact that they live in Roma settlements.

Part of the blame???

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Novi Mesto

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From 2016 to 2019, former Zares MP Franci Kek received 20,950 euros from the municipality of Novo mesto to participate as a social worker in the coordination of work between local community authorities and state authorities in the field of Roma integration in their municipality. The municipality explained this as follows: “His work, with his understanding of the Roma issue and the many contacts he has acquired through his previous work, covered an area for the municipality of Novo mesto that was not covered by the colleagues of the municipal administration.”

Some of the conclusions on dealing with the Roma “issue” are interesting: It is particularly pressing in Novi Mesto, as the city is surrounded by Roma settlements, which are the source of crime, violence, unemployment, lack of education… His report on the work done in October 2018 is a cause for concern, in which, among other things, it is written that he was at a meeting with the then to the State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Dominika Švarc Pipan (now the Minister of Justice).

“The secretary believes that it is not up to the Ministry of Justice to implement the measure of abolishing fines at the same time as introducing the possibility of reducing the penalty from the work of social transfers. I think that this move would arouse great resistance in the public, so it would be necessary to hold quite a lot of talks with the non-governmental sphere before that.” for various offenses (Roma in Dolenjska are among the record holders) fines are taken from social assistance’s cash.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Discrimination

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The case of a waitress who refused to serve Roma in a bar in Černelavc. Apparently, the waitress made no secret of her disregard towards Roma. Her and the bar’s lawyer argued that she thought one of the three Roma she refused to serve had been involved in a brawl the day before in the bar, which proved to be untrue.

The bar and waitress lost the case.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Murska Subota Comedy

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A very special comedy is coming to Murska Sobota, Slovenia, on the menu there will be a real ‘Gypsy roast’, a so-called ‘Ciganska pechenka’. On Wednesday, December 21, at 6 p.m., you will be able to taste a real gypsy roast next to the skating rink in Murska Sobota. It is also on stage and the comedy, with the same name is was prepared by well-known representatives of the Sobos Roma community.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia ad Roma

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Around two hundred Roma live in the municipality of Šentjernej in several settlements – on Trdinova cesta in Šentjernej, Mihovica, Draškovec, Roje and Drama. They were represented in the municipal council by Darka Brajdič for two terms, but this year she decided not to run for the post of Roma councillor.

She  says without hesitation what bothers her about her work so far in the Šentjernej municipal council:

“I was not heard, much less considered. In the last mandate, the current mayor has never been among the Roma, he does not know how they live, what needs and opportunities they have. In our municipality, Roma families are not treated the same as others, they even oppose Roma if they want to do something themselves.”

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Missing Pieces

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A defender of the principle of equality recommended to the government in September to prepare and adopt the four missing strategic plans at the national level as soon as possible. Two strategic documents are already being prepared, for gender equality and for anti-Semitism, the Government Communications Office (Ukom) announced after the government meeting. Guess what is among the missing strategic plan? The Roma.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma

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Another diatribe against Roma. Alone the title says it all: “Shooting, extortion, drugs… This is the reality of Roma settlements, but the state closes its eyes!”

The article requests that the  Robert Golob’s government should seriously tackle the “Roma problem”, especially in the area of ​​Dolenjska, Bela krajina and Posavije. The problems there have not been eliminated over the years, but rather they are intensifying due to the growth of the Roma population while at the same time maintaining harmful patterns.

No comments…

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Minorities

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The interesting story of a Slovenian village, Dobrovnik,  where Slovenes are the minority and where Hungarians and Roma are present. During the local mayoral and local elections, there are three electoral commissions, and as many as seven ballots were in front of the voters. Ironically, the village will have to elect a Slovene minority representative in the village administration, a unique case in Slovenia.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Ticking Bomb?

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An incendiary article about the “ticking Roma social bomb in Dolenjsko”. In Brief, the mayors of this region of Southeastern Slovenia complain that the central government is not doing enough, and that effectively, the situation deteriorates. So far so good, but these mayors also hold Roma responsible for a large part of the problem, saying they are not sending their children to school, do no efforts, and generally tend to be criminals. They had petitioned the government earlier in the year to harden the delivery of social help to Roma.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Ljubljana’s Mayor and Racism

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Zoran Janković, the current mayor of Ljubljana, Slovenia, is trying to be re-elected for the fifth time in a row and also to get a majority in the city council to govern. He is however involved in a controversy about the burial of Roma from Ižan, victims of the Nazis and of the Partisans in Ljubljana’s cemetery. He is opposing the burial and has now been officially accused of racism by the Assembly for the Republic who published a harsh statement: By not burying the Roma from Ižan, he showed a level of racism hitherto unknown in Ljubljana, that he despises the sanctity of life by abusing cemeteries, that he incited intolerance and hatred with his political appearances.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Roma “Issues”

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The working group for dealing with the Roma issue (which is supported by the mayors of the municipalities of southern Slovenia) held its first meeting yesterday. The group will strive for a comprehensive approach of the state in solving the complex Roma problem, ensuring decent living conditions and active inclusion of Roma in social life, the government announced.

What is so complex in discrimination, racism, and the resulting exclusion? It is not a Roma “Issue” it is a gadže issue.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Roma Victims

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As noted by the member of the committee for the excavation and solemn burial of Roma killed during the war, Dr. Miran Komac from the Institute for Ethnic Issues, the Roma minority in Sloveniantry experienced the murder of around 70% of the entire population  during the Second World War – committed both by the occupying side and by partisan units.

Recognising that even partisans killed Roma is an important step. Miran Komac lobbied for the burial of Roma victims in Ljubljana, but Ljubljana’s mayor Zoran Janković persistently rejects this request. It is to be noted that other victims of World War Two got a space in the Ljubljana’s cemetery. So this is definitively racially motivated …

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Discrimination

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Discrimination of the Roma community is still present in Slovenia according to  Jerica Lorenci, the researcher of the Epeka association who presented the report of the project Promoting Roma Equality in Slovenia and Slovakia. She also drew attention to the lack of statistical data related to the Roma community.

Since there are no reports of discrimination, their level is higher than that perceived by the Defender of the Principle of Equality, she stated. Every one of the 50 people who were interviewed as part of the research had experienced discrimination, Lorencijeva told STA on the side-lines of the presentation, which took place in the premises of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: Roma Language Symposium

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November 5, 2008 marks the World Romanes Day. A symposium entitled “ROMA LANGUAGE – basis for understanding Romani history and culture” was prepared on the occasion of World Roma Language Day. It is a project that was implemented with the help of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Council of the Roma Community of the Republic of Slovenia. The organizers of the symposium are the Association of Roma of Slovenia and the Roma Association Romani Union and IRŠIK, the Institute for Roma Studies, Education and Culture.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia: New Initiative

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The mayors of 11 municipalities in South-Eastern Slovenia submitted an initiative to to amend five laws to “resolve” Roma issues. They want “to protect children” who have no future in Roma settlements. Municipalities have exhausted the possibilities for rescue, so a systemic approach by the state as soon as possible is necessary, including changes in legislation. They proposed changes to the laws on parental care and family benefits, on social security benefits, on regulating the labour market, on the protection of public order and peace, and on drivers.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob also spoke about the initiative of the mayors of 11 municipalities in southeastern Slovenia to change laws related to Roma issues.

Last time there was such an initiative, the laws were actually repressive, so let’s see.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia and Roma

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After the recent events in the Roma settlement of Brezje near Novem mesto, where a 22 years old was shot dead and two were wounded, some mayors in south-eastern Slovenia point to the need for a comprehensive solution to the Roma problem. They propose the establishment of a special interdepartmental working body.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Robert Golob, the mayor of Novo Mesto, Gregor Macedoni, assesses that the latest tragic confrontation in Brezje, is a new harsh reminder that the Roma issue in south-eastern Slovenia deserves concrete inter-ministerial attention. consideration at the state level.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia, Murder, and Roma

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In a Roma settlement in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, a Rom was murdered. The mayor and the municipality issued a statement saying that they hoped that justice would be done. They also insisted on the fact that the state had not paid enough attention to the fact that illegal weapons are common in Roma settlements. Whether this is truly the case remains to be verified.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenian Pilgrimage

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Roma have been participating in this pilgrimage in Brezje, Slovenia for a century. Usually set a week before Mary’s Assumption day, during the festivities, they help carry the image of Mary from the church to a nearby park and back to church, a trip symbolizing the search for an abode that Mary and Josef had to do.

After two years where the feast was cancelled because of Corona, it takes place again. But the local authorities do not want to provide a place where the Roma could stay during the pilgrimage, in fact, preventing them from attending. This is bad, but in view of the general view of Roma in Slovenia, not surprising.

Nouvelles d'Europe de l'est Slovénie

Slovenia Holocaust Commemoration

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A word of warning during the Slovenian commemoration of the Roma Holocaust Day in view of hate speech and racism towards Roma.

rroma.org
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