Germany News Western Europe

Schwaben: Exhibition

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Schwaben: Exhibition

The traveling exhibition “Swabian Sinti and Roma in Past and Present,” organized by the Swabian District Heritage Preservation Office, has opened at the Church of Mary Queen of Peace (Johannesstr. 4). The exhibition is a collaboration between the Swabian District Heritage Preservation Office and the Regional Association of German Sinti and Roma Swabia. It is open daily from 12 pm to 7 pm until January 22. (AZ)

Germany News Western Europe

Berlin: Exhibition

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Berlin: Exhibition

The exhibition “Resistance and Dignity” by the feminist organization RomaniPhen e.V. and the FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum focuses on the knowledge and experiences of Roma and Sinti. Since 1945 to the present day, Roma and Sinti have been fighting for a dignified life and remembrance.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria and Racism

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Austria and Racism

A special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council criticized the lack of awareness of racism in Austria following a visit there. “There is a widespread reluctance to fully acknowledge the existence of racism,” Indian political scientist Ashwini K. P. told the APA news agency on Monday at the UN headquarters in Vienna. She clearly stated her opposition to the planned headscarf ban for girls, arguing that it would reinforce prejudices.

She had also received “disturbing reports and accounts” of discrimination against Roma and Sinti. She was also “deeply concerned” about the increase in anti-Semitic incidents.

Germany News Western Europe

Romani Rose

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Romani Rose

The city of Heidelberg has honored Romani Rose with its Citizen’s Medal for his outstanding commitment to the city and the rights of Sinti and Roma.

Mayor Eckart Würzner presented the award on Thursday evening, December 4, at the town hall. Romani Rose has been Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma since 1982. From 1991, he served as Managing Director of the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma in the Old Town.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Reactions to the Femicide

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Reactions to the Femicide

In reaction to the femicide, Vjelko Kajtazi, president of the Kali Sara Roma association said that every time an incident occurs, Roma suddenly have no name and surname.  He was attending a meeting with the vice president Davor Božinović and representatives of the Međimurje local government. The topic of the meeting was the integration of members of the Roma national minority.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Femicide and Racism in Croatia

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Femicide and Racism in Croatia

in Sitnice, in Northern Croatia close to Slovenia, a man shot two women, killing one, and leaving the other severely wounded in hospital. The two young women were shot in their home in a Roma settlement.

The mayor of Mursko Središće stated that the Sitnice Roma settlement is one of the safest in the country.

A large number of Croats, especially from Međimurje, reacted with hate speech in comments on social networks, without any sympathy for the young woman who lost her life, mocking the Roma and calling for their murder or extermination and the abolition of social assistance.

This is a classic example of femicide, which is a growing problem worldwide, including in Croatia.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Housing in Bulgaria

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Housing in Bulgaria

79% of Roma live in overcrowded housing compared to 34% of the entire Bulgarian population, experts announced at a national roundtable on the topic “From data to action: Conclusions on the situation of Roma in Bulgaria from the study of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights” in Sofia. Organizers are the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The first and most visible problem for our society regarding Roma citizens is forced eviction from their homes, said Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva during a the National Roundtable.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Work or …

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Slovakia: Work or …

The Slovak Ministry of Labour is pushing ahead with the Work instead of Benefits initiative that foresee a stop of benefits if people refuse a job offer. So far, they have sent 13’000 job offers and 77 people are now at risk of losing their benefits as they refused an offer.

They are also creating new positions for Roma assistants have also been created at labour offices. Their task is to help with communication and reduce barriers between clients and offices.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma Settlements

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Slovenia and Roma Settlements

Residents of Vrh pri Šentjerneju and Dobravice warn of increasingly unbearable living conditions near the Roma settlement on Trdinova cesta. Roma councillor says it’s not that bad. Residents complain of noise up till after midnight; shooting, even with semi-automatic weapons; and of speeding cars even at night. They say the police doesn’t do anything.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

The first article in the French press, in a renowned women’s magazine is titled “Report from Romania: Witchcraft as a tool for women’s emancipation”. While there may be such cases, this is by far not the only tool and is definitively pandering to stereotypes. In Verdun and in Metz, two conferences and meetings to better the views of the French on Roma, albeit with a focus on Romania. The rest of the news is standard. Near Paris, 300 Roma camp in a village of 400 inhabitants; and a death following a fire.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia and Revisionism

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Croatia and Revisionism

From the massive concert by Thompson, a Croatian music legend known for his far-right sympathies, which drew 450,000 people to Zagreb in July, to the attacks by hooligans on Serbian cultural events in November, tensions have been escalating in recent months, notes Florian Bieber of the Austrian University of Graz.

“We are seeing both a rise in historical revisionism and an increase in threats against those who think differently,” explains the researcher. This process is accompanied by numerous attempts to rehabilitate the Ustaša, the pro-Nazi regime that ruled during World War II. “This isn’t new, but it has accelerated and intensified this year,” adds Mr. Bieber.

We reported also on the fact that a “debate” on the victims of Jasenovac was held in the premises of the Croatian Parliament, denying the fact that Jasenovac was an extermination camp.

Nevertheless, thousands of Croatian manifested against this revisionism and the extreme right.

News Switzerland

Switzerland: Racist Police

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Switzerland: Racist Police

The RTS, the French speaking Swiss television channel published the content of some 2,500 pages of internal WhatsApp conversations within the Lausanne police force. The analysis reveals a shocking extent of discriminatory and extremist remarks.

Blacks, Roma, Moslems, Jews, all is included in these racist statements, going as far as mentioning the Nazis of the KKK. And this is a municipal police force in Switzerland.

Sad.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Prison?

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Prison?

Géza Buzás-Hábel, a Roma gay and human right defender, who organized the Pécs Pride 2025 in Hungary, faces criminal charges for planning a peaceful march for LGBTI+ rights. The Pride in Pécs took place on October 4th despite a ban issued under Hungary’s “anti-Pride” law. He faces up to a year in prison.

He teaches Romani language and culture and trains future teachers. He has been organizing Pécs Pride – the only pride march in Hungary outside Budapest – for a long time.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Model Settlements

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Model Settlements

The Prime Minister’s Office has sent a letter to municipalities with Roma settlements, inviting them to propose a location that would be suitable for setting up a model model of a Roma settlement. Two locations will be selected throughout the country. What are the selection criteria and who will pay for it?

A Roma settlement in which ownership relations, infrastructure and access to public services – especially education – will be clearly regulated. This is what a model Roma settlement looks like on paper. Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Luka Mesec says that this is the next step after the adoption of the Šutar Law: “After security is ensured, it is necessary to ensure the conditions so that the Roma community and the majority population can begin to coexist differently than they have done so far.”

As he says, we already have good examples in Slovenia – for example, the Pušča settlement in Murska Sobota, where Roma live in their own houses, are employed, and their children regularly attend classes. “In Roma communities, however, the situation is the opposite. They live in illegal constructions, they have no assets or property, and because they have no assets or property, they are absolved of any responsibility,” says Mesec.Model Settlements

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Roma Business Fair

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Roma Business Fair

A Roma business fair was held at the Grandior Hotel in Prague on November 27, presenting successful examples of business, a space for sharing experiences and new opportunities for cooperation. The event was created as an extension of an educational project focused on community development and entrepreneurship, implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Germany News Western Europe

Concert

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Concert

Frankfurt marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with a concert by the Roma and Sinti Philharmonic. The event was dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust and carries a strong message: memory is not the past, but the responsibility to prevent hatred and war. Representatives of German institutions emphasized the importance of the culture of remembrance and its transmission to young generations. Music has become a bridge between peoples and a reminder that forgetting leads to repetition.

Germany News Western Europe

Documentary

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Documentary

The impressive film by Melanie Spitta and Katrin Seybold sheds light on the persecution of the German Sinti during National Socialism, as well as the challenges and resistance associated with coming to terms with this dark chapter.

News Switzerland

Swiss Media and Roma

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Swiss Media and Roma

The Swiss Press Council decided in two cases we brought to their attention that Journalists of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and on 20 Minuten.

The «Neue Zürcher Zeitung» violated points 3 (sources) and 8 (prohibition of discrimination) of the «Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists» with the article «North Africans have little to fear» and the corresponding online article. In that article, the journalist said about North African criminals: “contrary to Roma, they are not organised in criminal clans”.

With its article “Protection status S: Resentment over abuse by Roma grows” of February 12, 2024, «20 Minuten» violated points 1 (truth), 3 (withholding important information) and 8 (discrimination) of the «Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists».  This article pretty much was stating that Roma refugees from the Ukraine abused the Swiss Asylum, and that many were not even Ukraininas or had false papers.

Montenegro News Eastern Europe

Montenegro: Theatre

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Montenegro: Theatre

The Centre for the Affirmation of the Roma and Egyptian Population – CAREP begins the implementation of the project “To See Each Other Better – to Understand Each Other Deeper”, with the support of the Fund for the Protection and Exercise of Minority Rights. They will fund a Forum Theatre as a Bridge of Understanding between Youth and Communities and will include a two-day training for 10–12 young people, three forum theatre performances in three municipalities, a public forum “Roma language and culture – how much do we know about Roma”, as well as the production and distribution of information brochures for schools and institutions.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Musician and Weddings

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Musician and Weddings

Singer Nikola Ajdinović is among the most sought-after singers at Roma weddings, and now he shocked by admitting that his colleagues steal the tips they receive from guests at the celebrations where they sing. – There are usually a lot of us singers, but I have to say that I do most of the work. I sing almost the entire evening. That’s true, whether some people like it or not. It’s not hard for me, I love gigs and parties, but it’s not always easy – says the singer.

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