The gay German-Roma Gianni Jovanovic, born in Rüsselsheim, tells his life story on October 11th at an event of the Groß-Gerauer district adult education centre.
An interview of Dijana Pavlovic spokesperson for the Kethane movement that protects the rights of Roma and Sinti in Italy on her views of the victory of the far right in Italy. One of the question is typical of so-called “journalism”:
“You believe that there is a security problem in Italy. Often most of the crimes, especially those related to heritage, are committed by Roma and Sinti, how do you judge this data?”. Ms. Pavlovic’s answer is the right one: “What data? From this point of view, the data does not exist, it is just a commonly shared perception.”
More news in France on Roma this week. First, a reportage on television about the anti-Roma riots in 2019 that started on rumours that Roma were stealing children. The ones who started the rumours were identified but not condemned. Sad. Near Paris, several Roma families are suing mayors for refusing to enrol Roma children in classes, something that is mandatory and guaranteed by the law. In Bobigny, near Paris, residents who had lobbied to have a camp closed as it was on private land are now defending the new camp on communal grounds. In Lyon, a camp has been growing. In Aubagne, in the South, a camp will be closed, and in Marseilles, neighbours of a squat are fed up.
Anyone who wants to learn something about the history of the Sinti and Roma is in the right place from Sunday in the Paderborn City Museum. This is where the new exhibition “Racial Diagnosis: Gypsy” begins.
Several articles about Roma, Sinti Piemontese, who were arrested for having committed at least 21 thefts in homes of elderly people by passing themselves as gas technicians.
Bad.
Austria has had a national strategy for the inclusion of Roma and Romnja in society for more than a decade. Viennese scientists have now evaluated it: the results are mixed – discrimination is “deeply rooted” in Austria and has not decreased.
A nice article on Anina Ciuciu, a young Romanian Romni who lived in a Roma camp but is meanwhile a lawyer who fights for the right to education. Other news are more of the usual kind, unfortunately. Near Paris, parents are demanding the scolarisation of 9 Roma children; Near Nantes, Roma left a camp just to move a bit further; in Toulouse, neighbours of a camp have had enough of it; and the prefect of the Herault department, who has become known for closing Roma camps is caught up in a racist controversy following a tweet that he then subsequently deleted.
The German Federal Government granted 25 million euros for the planned conversion and new construction of the Documentation Centre of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg. This was decided by the Budget Committee of the Bundestag. The total cost of the project is estimated at 50 million, so half of it is already covered. With this promise, further steps can now be taken, according to the chairman of the Federal Association of German Sinti and Roma Romani Rose. The first draft by the architectural office “Bez und Kock” is now to be further developed. This had already triggered a debate in the summer of 2021 because some residents of the old town were bothered by the windowless facade. The state of Baden-Württemberg had also promised funding for the project. Romani Rose would now like to speak to the state government promptly about the amount of the grant.
The German State of Baden-Wuerttemberg supports the integration of Roma displaced from the Ukraine. All offers for refugees should also be available to members of the Roma minority and other Romani-speaking people.
Apart from the fact that few non-Roma speak Romanes (they probably wanted to include Sinti), this is welcome.
The Landesverband Sinti and Roma from Mannheim, Germany, received German federal funding for their RomnoKher project.
Well done.
Three days to celebrate Roma culture: on October 3, 4 and 6 there will be the twenty-ninth edition of the Amico Rom international art competition. For the first time the event will take place in three cities simultaneously: Laterza in the province of Taranto, Lanciano in the province of Chieti and Campobasso. It is a contest of “literature dedicated to Roma and written by Roma”, explains the statement.
To combat discrimination, the Roma in Duisburg, Germany, have to organise themselves. This is all but simple.
The Freiburg Roma Office has presented its fourth discrimination report. It collects subjective experiences of discrimination by Sinti and Roma, as well as reflections on the coexistence of majority society and minorities and the communication between them.
Not much this week in France on Roma. A fight in a Roma camp near Lyon, a “Nuit Tzigane” showing that the French still have not understood the correct terminology, and politicians freed from accusations of racial hatred, as the prosecution took too long …
Thirty years ago, Austria recognised Sinti and Roma as a national minority.
Romani Rose, the Chairman of the Central Council stated that Sinti and Roma influenced Europe’s music and that when people talk about European culture, Sinti and Roma are often easily forgotten. He would therefore like to open a museum as well as a permanent exhibition in the long term.
This date is considered to be the first written account of the arrival of Roma in German lands. However, here are some accounts from Alsace and Switzerland somewhat earlier. It is also incorrect to use the plural of “Volk” in this context. That they always continue to show Roma as travellers is also annoying.
The Deutsche Reichsbahn took an active part in the crimes of the National Socialists in the “Third Reich”. Around three million people were deported to ghettos, concentration and extermination camps on their trains. Without the logistics and resources of the Reichsbahn, the Holocaust would not have been possible. How does Deutsche Bahn deal with the historical heritage today?
The story of the German boxing champion Johann Rukeli Trollmann, who as a Sinto was then deported to a concentration camp, and eventually killed.
Not much this week in France regarding Roma. A manifestation in Strasbourg for the people living in a camp there, and a justice story where a father who “bought” two minor girls in former Yugoslavia was condemned. This latter story adds fuel to the stereotype that Roma buy their women and sell their daughters, something that only Vlach Roma do as a result of the slavery in Romanian lands.
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