Almost no news in France this week about Roma. Only one article about a Roma camp in Antibes, in the South of France.
A reportage on a festival “Rroma” in Romania entirely devoted to Roma culture.
A reportage on the burial of Robert Botoš in Slovakia.
At the age of 54, Robert Botoš, known as Romana King Robert I, died on Sunday evening. Information about his death was published on the social network by former member of parliament and Košice city councilor Otto Brixi.
Botoš had recently been suffering from serious health problems. In early February, he underwent surgery at the East Slovak Institute of Heart and Vascular Diseases (VÚSCH). Although doctors subsequently released him for home treatment, his condition at home became more complicated.
There have been numerous articles about his death in the Slovak press.
Te avel o droma angla leste phuterdo e i phuv lokhi.
The first co-planning session for regional interventions to improve the integration of Roma, Sinti, and Caminanti (RSC) communities in Puglia was held at the Puglia Regional President’s Office. The objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the nomadic and sedentary presence of RSC communities in Puglia, thus avoiding the risk of marginalization through measures that strengthen social integration policies. The meeting was attended by the regional councilor for Culture and Knowledge, Silvia Miglietta, and the Social Territorial Areas that responded to the expression of interest, which closed on February 13th. “This meeting,” the councilor said, “will be followed by others.
A special concert at Wilhelmshöhe in Menden on Sunday will blend classical music with captivating grooves from the Sinti and Roma music scene. The concert by the Atos Trio, stars of the Sinti music scene on Sunday, February 22, at 6 p.m. The event will feature fascinating music by Haydn and Brahms alongside top-class, authentic Sinti and Roma grooves.
Nazis celebrated the124th of February in Budapest in full SS uniforms. It commemorates the failed attempt by 28’000 SS and Wehrmacht troops to break out of encircled Budapest in February 1945.
Long and sad Roma songs that sing about losses, poverty and injustices – the so-called halgáta. This musical tradition, which is passed down from generation to generation among the Roma, could gain official recognition. Dozens of people, including researchers and members of the Roma community, are trying to register halgáta on the national cultural heritage list.
At the end of last year, a new children’s choir was created in Ostrava, which arose from the efforts of singer and choirmaster Ida Kelarová to find new talents for her ensemble known as Čhavorenge (Romani for “Child”). The children who did not succeed in the audition wanted to continue singing together, and so, thanks to cooperation with local organizations Vzájemné soužití, Ostravská nota, Velká náruč and with Milan Bindatsch from the Ibsenova Elementary School, a new ensemble was born. Its creation brought with it an unexpected effect among the residents of excluded localities – a strong emancipatory and activating effect.
The European Court of Human right has ruled in favour of a Roma couple who were tortured by the Serbian police after having declared their car stolen.
A new exhibition by Delaine le Bas in Manchester.
A must see.
The Bulgarian association “Amalipe” launched a campaing as part of St. Valentimn’s day called “First Diploma in Hand, Then Love”.
The organisers say: “On this day, young people feel excitement and trepidation. Love is beautiful, but for many girls in Bulgaria it comes too early and often limits their freedom. Instead of having time to dream, study and build their future, they find themselves under the pressure of premature expectations – to be wives and mothers before they are ready.”
The Bulgarian artist Rada Tsankova, who has lived and worked in Paris for 30 years, arrives in Bulgaria to open two retrospective exhibitions – today, February 17 in Sofia at the new space “Monument” and on February 23 at the “Papillon” gallery in Varna.
As part of her tour of her natve country, she will hold several workshops. One of them with Roma on February 20th. The artist will hold a creative workshop with the Music Instead of the Street Association, which helps children of Roma origin or in difficult financial situations to have access to classical music. The association was founded by the world-famous Sliven violinist of Roma origin Georgi Kalaidzhiev. The focus of Tsankova and the children’s joint work is “How to Present Music Through Visual Art”.
On Thursday, February 26, 2026, the Society for Geography and Cultures of the World, in cooperation with the Museum of Nature and Environment, will host a lecture at 7 p.m. entitled “Sinti and Roma in Lübeck – From 1933 to the Present Day.” The speakers are the authors of the book of the same name, Elisabeth Eßer and Gerhard Eikenbusch, who will present the results of their joint research on the lives of Lübeck’s Sinti and Roma from the Nazi era to the present day.
Another one of these articles on Roma palaces, this time in the Ukrainian press about these houses in Romania.
No comments…
An article in the Ukrainian press about who is popular in Poland… Poles feel the most sympathy for Italians – 58% of respondents expressed a positive attitude. They are followed by Czechs (55%), Slovaks (52%) and the British (49%).
Poles traditionally feel the most hostility towards Russians – 74% of respondents noted a negative attitude. A high level of hostility is also observed towards Belarusians and Roma (46% each). A noticeable increase in hostility was recorded towards Jews, Americans and Ukrainians, while sympathy towards these groups decreased by several percentage points.
Šutare’s law, which enabled the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (Furs) to collect unpaid fines from recipients of social assistance, will undergo its first changes. New feature in social assistance transfers: One part will be protected from seizure.
Like many other debtors, Krk Roma councilor Dejan Brajdič (left) and former Novo Mesto Roma councilor Zoran Grm (center) were left without social assistance this month.
“My partner and I were left without every cent this month. I’m 60 years old, she’s 55, we’re both sick. I couldn’t even pay for electricity. These days we will go to the Red Cross for help, but I know that they have almost nothing to give there either, because in this system it is not only the Roma who are left without social security, there are also the homeless, many tenants, people with minimum wage and the like,” former Roma councillor Zoran Grm, who was also one of the co-organisers of Tuesday’s Roma protest, which then did not take place, told us these days.
Nearly a million euros was given to the municipality of Novo Mesto for the integration of Roma in the town in 2025. What was done with them remains somewhat opaque, to say the least …
A new graphic Novel based on the life of the Sinto boxer Rukeli Trollmann, who perished in a concentration camp has just been published in Germany.
Only one notable article about Roma in France in the French speaking press this week. A camp near Angers in Western France is awaiting its closure.
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