News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia and Social Services

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According to Amnesty International, the new Serbian law on the social card is an intrusive surveillance system that risks harming the most marginalized members of the company, in particular to the Roma communities. Amnesty is submitting a legal opinion in the framework of the examination of the constitutionality of this law.

Coming into force on March 1, this law authorizes the creation of a centralized government database which processes 130 data categories concerning people who request social security in order to assess their eligibility. The Serbian authorities affirm that this procedure allows a more equitable distribution of funds intended for socially disadvantaged persons, but it is in reality an intrusive digital surveillance system which threatens the right to equality.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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The United Nations is concerned about “the racist political discourse held by political leaders”, as well as the proliferation of hateful and discriminating words in the media in France. This is not new if one think what Manuel Valls, a former Prime Minister said about Roma while in power. But it is good that it is being highlighted.

Other news are more usual: A group of Roma and volunteers cleaned the garbage in a wood. Police arrested Bosnian Roma specialised in stealing power tools.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

From the Osada to Higher Education

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An impressive interview with Jana Zacharová, a Romni who grew up in an Osada, a Roma settlement. Thanks to her own efforts and small support from her teachers and the non-profit organization Divé maky, she managed to study, later even abroad. Today, she finances her studies of medical pedagogy herself.

She says:

I mainly remember the social side, which was very difficult. In the settlement, there were not many opportunities for development or people I could perceive as a role model. And my parents had problems with alcohol.

So I know what it’s like to have absolutely nothing. What is it like to be hungry because there is no money for food. Or not being able to go to school because there is no money for the trip. These are things I will remember for the rest of my life. The poverty was very crushing.

News Americas

A Reminder

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An article that is not about Roma, but is a reminder of what the truth about Hitler and his racial policies are. This is addressed to Ye (formerly Kayne West) who repeatedly has been praising Hitler.

Well, he, like many of the Nazis admirers, should better inform themselves first.

News Western Europe Portugal

Portugal and Roma

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The Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in a speech on Portugal’s Independence Day commemorated the contribution of Roma who fought for Portugal’s independence. Bruno Gonçalves, the vice president of the Roma organisation “Letras Nómadas” said that “for the first time in five centuries someone has had the courage to remember that the Portuguese are also Roma, who fought, who were also in historical records that often do not appear in textbooks or educational programmes”.

News Eastern Europe North Macedonia

Hate Speech

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A Romani organisation organised a conference on hate speech in North Macedonia and worked on a project on the more general topic of Hate Speech in the Western Balkans.

The Council of Europe published the information yesterday.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas

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The exhibition of Małgorzata Mirgi-Tas’ works, entitled “Wędrujemy images”, will be open to visitors from December 2nd at the International Cultural Centre in Krakow. This is the first exhibition of a Roma artist after her success at this year’s 59th Venice Biennale.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Polish Racism

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A book on Polish racism has been published and is reviewed in the Polish edition of Vogue. The book, called „Odejdź” [Leave] authored by Agnieszka Kościańska and Michał Petryk is insightful, written with exposing passion, painfully interesting and just as necessary. Because Poland is not a tolerant country, but rather a structurally racist one, and has been for many decades. Contempt for the Other is part of our culture.

Polish racism is doing well. It peeks out from almost every corner and withered bush. It is clearly visible on our border with Belarus, where people are dying as a result of the illegal decisions of the Polish government and the joyful consent of many Poles. It can even be seen in relation to some Ukrainians (it is not – so far – fashionable, but who knows what will happen in a moment)

Europe Germany News Western Europe

Roma in Europe

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On German Television, Andreas Bönte talks with his guests about how Sinti and Roma live in Europe today, how prejudices can be broken down and how fairer coexistence can be shaped in the future. Among the prominent ones: Romani Rose, Dotschy Rienhardt, Mehmet Daimagüler.

They said it: The largest transnational minority in Europe.

BUT: Again, they speak of 600 years in Europe, forgetting that Bulgaria, Thrakia, Constantinople, and all the Balkan and Carpaths were and are also part of Europe and that Roma arrived there earlier. When will this stop.

News Western Europe United Kingdom

England and Wales Census

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For the first time in History, Roma in England and Wales had to possibility to declare themselves as such in a census. Over 100’000 did so, with many tens of thousands identifying themselves as Gypsies or Travellers.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia Lunik IX

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An interview of the Roma mayor of the largest Roma settlement in Slovakia: Lunik IX.

Marcel Šaňa says that he experienced the biggest prejudices as a Roma when he wanted to buy a family home.

For the third time, he was sovereignly elected mayor of Lunik IX, where he has lived for over forty years. He graduated from university while working with his wife, and this year he also completed his doctorate.

“Maybe this whole thing was good for something. We stayed in Luník and were able to help the people here,” explains Marcel Šaňa, the mayor of the Košice district of Luník IX, who is also the vice-chairman of the Roma Coalition Party, in an interview with Postoj.

He took his children to school elsewhere because, according to him, the elementary school in Luník was weak. He explains why the education of the Roma is important, how they cleaned Luník, and also revealed whether he ever plans to move out of the Roma settlement.

Germany Moldova News Western Europe

Germany, Moldova, and Refugees

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There is an ongoing controversy in Berlin currently where the Senate wants to send 600 Moldovan refugees back to Moldova before Christmas to make room for Ukrainian refugees. Some of those 600 are Roma so this is not good.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

More on the Ukraine Killings

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More on the Ukraine Killings

This time in the Slovak Press, an article that cites the same sources as the Ukrainians regarding the execution of 28 Roma in Ukraine’s occupied territories by Russian troop.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Don Vasyl and Plagiarism

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Another article on the Roma musician who has recently been accused of plagiarism. Two Poles, whom Don Vasyl acknowledge helped him on the Polish words of some song claim he infringed on their rights. One of the songs they deposited in the Polish Author’s rights is the Roma National Anthem, in a part Polish version, with Romanes words that tey do not even understand …

Not the first such case.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

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…

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

More on the Russian Murder of 28 Roma

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In the occupied Ukrainian territory, the Russian military shot 28 Roma for poisoning a company of Russian soldiers with vodka. This was stated in an intercepted conversation of one of the Russian soldiers and was reported by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of the Ukraine.

A Russian soldier tells his wife about the lawlessness that is taking place in the territories occupied by Russia.

“Do you know what chaos is happening in the cities here? The military police recently shot 28 gypsies, put them against the wall and shot them because they gave vodka to our military and poisoned them, the whole company,” the Russian says in a conversation. The military of the Russian Federation adds that there were 96 people in the company, and now there are less than fifty left.

Europe

Roma in Europe

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The Roma and Sinti are the largest minority in Europe – and the worst off. This is proven by a new report, which extensively documents the situation of Roma communities in Europe. This report was published by the ERGO network (European Roma Grassroots Organization) and was recently presented by the Swedish politician Soraya Post. The prominent Roma activist was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019 and is a board member of the network, which unites Roma organizations from more than 30 countries. The current ERGO report testifies, among other things, to a clearly unequal treatment of the Roma, in terms of health care. For example, 22 percent of people from the Roma community have chronic diseases and one in four does not have health insurance. The data comes from studies in the relevant countries and confirms that Roma find it more difficult to access healthcare in some EU countries.

These figures, says the Post, show that the situation has not improved since the adoption of the new EU framework for Roma political participation in 2020. On the contrary, we can talk about a deterioration, caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. And this despite the urgent appeal of To the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during the presentation of the strategic framework for the Roma in the EU: “Where is the essence of humanity, when the Roma are excluded from society and oppressed every day?”

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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Two articles this week tackle the recurrent rumours of Roma stealing children in France. One documentary returns to the series of attacks perpetrated against the Roma community in Seine-Saint-Denis following fake news forcefully relayed on the internet. The other one looks at the many instances where this rumour made its mark: Marseilles in 2008, Paris region in 2018, in between Bordeaux, or even Naples in Italy.

Other news are more of the usual ones: 7 years of jail for Bulgarian Roma who smuggled tobacco; issues in a town near Geneva with Roma; and a film festival showing the movie “une jeunesse Rom”.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria, Roma, and Domestic Violence

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Over 200 victims of domestic violence have received legal assistance from mobile teams of lawyers and Roma mediators in the regions of Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo and Varna, the Ministry of Justice informed.  A total of 40 lawyers, together with Roma mediators, tour the remote settlements and Roma neighborhoods in the three regions, so as to shorten the distance as much as possible with the people who need to protect their rights, but do not know how.

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