In a small room above the police station, right in the center of the colony on Coburgova Street in greater Trnava, two young people are trying to fight windmills. Despite all the hardships that work with Roma bring, Juraj Štofej and Jana Martinkovičová claim that they enjoy it.
Two articles in the Slovenian press accusing the police of inaction in the face of Roma Crime. In one article, the police denies reports that the police in Kočevje recently locked themselves in the police station after people who were allegedly shot by Roma took refuge there.
The mayors of Novi Mesto, Kočevje, Črnomlje and Brežice call on the Government of the Republic of Slovenia to take action. This followed a shooting inside of the Roma community last Sunday in the Roma settlement Šmihel.
The Gypsy Fest international festival of Roma culture promises many surprises this year: many groups from abroad, impressive performances and the first-ever Roma youth talent competition in Lithuania – “Romavision”. In the center of Vilnius: horses, carriages and colorful dances.
After having denied drinking water unti Roma show willingness to integrate and send their children to school, the mayor of the Slovenian town of Ribnica doubles up in another interview. He said: “Council of Roma communities, start working with Roma after thirty years, until now you have let them down and in chaos. You were only a trade union for rights, but not a pillar that would gradually prepare them for integration or socialization.”
Vera Klopčič is an honorary member of the Association of Roma in Slovenia. Until her retirement, Vera Klopčič was employed at the Institute for Ethnic Issues. She devoted an important part of her career to the study of Roma communities in Europe and Slovenia. In 2007, within the framework of the institute, she published a book entitled Position of Roma in Slovenia: Romi and Gadže.
“We must encourage the study of culture, the development and preservation of language and identity even among the Roma themselves. Self-confident Roma will integrate into society more easily,” she believes.
A long and bitter article bemoaning the fact that Roma have been allowed to become unemployed, criminals, of not sending children to school, etc. Of course, the fault is that laws have been made specially for them, and that the equailty of all citizen in front of the law is not guaranteed.
The Vice President of the Council of the Roma Community of the RS, Fatmir Bečiri, today visited three Roma settlements in the municipality of Ribnica. The council of the Roma community recently got involved in resolving the dispute between the municipality and the local Roma. The aim of the visit is to prove that it is possible to talk to the Roma and find solutions to their problems, Bečiri told the media during the visit.
The mayor of Ribnica said that Roma would not get drinking water uless they showed they wanted to integrate and send their chlcren to school.
A small town in Portugal is trying evangelism tto integrate Roma there. This is dangerous, as evangelism has a tendency to erase traditions.
An exhibition of photographs in Perpignan, cements sterotypes.
Tomio Okamura’s Czech SPD movement created a series of graphics and posters before the elections, on which the themes of refugees or the Roma minority are presented. One poster, for example, features a bloodied dark-skinned man with the caption that the SPD rejects “imported surgeons”. Another shows supposed Roma children with cigarettes. Both were generated with AI.
The problem is not the entire Roma community, but individuals with a first and last name. After the meeting on solving Roma issues, Minister of Internal Affairs Boštjan Poklukar and a representative of the Roma community emphasized that this area can only be solved through dialogue.
At an extraordinary session, with 50 votes in favour and 29 against, the parliament adopted the recommendations on the effectiveness of dealing with Roma issues, which proposes to the government to prepare systemic measures by amending the Act on Municipal Financing. At the end of the several-hour debate, which at times devolved into political reckoning, two amendments from the opposition were not accepted.
The “Join II” project brings activities aimed at the integration of the Roma community. Since March of this year, the Centre for Missing and Abused Children has continued to implement the “Join II” project, in cooperation with the Roma Resource Center (RRC). The goal of the project is to encourage the integration of the Roma community and strengthen social cohesion through diverse activities.
In the Czech Republic, there are still 130 segregated schools where Roma make up at least a third of the students. Veronika Hlaváčová’s documentary brings the experiences of Roma whose children ended up in such classes and points to the vast differences in the quality of education.
“Normally, the teacher leaves us there and goes to the office because she has her child there. Completely disinterested,” describes Zdeněk in the documentary. He attends the eighth grade along with 14 other Roma. “We come to school, the teacher comes, we have mathematics and he tells us, for example, to write something down and we do whatever we want for the rest of the lesson,” he adds.
Roma in Europe cannot rely on the support of traditional political parties and must build their own political power in order to gain more influence on political events. Željko Jovanović, director of the Roma Foundation for Europe, stated in an interview for the first Roma internet television, ROMEA TV, in connection with the fact that after 20 years the Roma have no representative in the European Parliament, Jovanović also emphasized the need to strengthen the economic potential of Roma and Roma women and develop their cultural identity.
The illustrated book Jekh, duj, trin! [One, two, three!] introduces children to the everyday life and traditions of an ordinary Roma family and prepares them to enter school.
Well, with a few stereotypes…
Glasgow is gearing up for the return of Ando Glaso Roma Fest 2024, promising a rich program of music, dance, film and cultural workshops. Taking place on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th September, this two-day festival will welcome talented artists from across the UK and Europe and offer visitors a unique insight into the rich and diverse Roma culture.
The Roma Council of the City of Brno (RRB) expressed serious concern over the selection of Martin Máša as the new director of the IQ Roma service organization. According to the council, a long-term problem is that Roma themselves are not included in leadership positions in organizations that focus on helping Roma.
Nothing new, unfortunately…
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Boštjan Poklukar, met with representatives of the regional civil initiative for solving the Roma issue from Novi Mesto, Kočevje, Brežice, Grosuplje, Šentjernej and Škocjan. After the meeting, Poklukar said that the meeting was constructive and that he was happy about the dialogue, while the representative of the civil initiative Novo mesto Silvo Mesojedec expressed several criticisms of the inaction of all Slovenian governments so far and announced the escalation of activities.
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