News Eastern Europe Slovakia

The Church and Roma

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The Church and Roma

The village of Lomnička in the Stará Ľubovňa district will probably make it into the news. The church works with the Roma community there to a significant extent. It achieves almost miraculous results.

Over 90 percent of Roma live in Lomnička, which is one of the highest proportions in Slovakia. A thousand children attend the local school. The two-shift operation here will not be eliminated anytime soon. Many residents of Lomnička live below the poverty line. The church often helps them. The local priest is also a teacher, a construction worker and has a tractor driving license. “When necessary, he will build a road. He also built a playground. He does everything for us,” says Lomnička resident Karol Mirga.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Mayors

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Roma Mayors

On March 5, Roma mayors and representatives of third sector organizations from the Slovak Gemer region met in the village of Barca in the Rimavská Sobota district. The aim of the meeting was to renew the cooperation that had worked in the region in the past, and to create a common platform for solving current problems and supporting the further development of the region.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenia

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Roma in Slovenia

Zvonko Golobič, president of the Association for the Development of the Roma Community from Črnomelj warns of drastic deterioration of conditions in the Roma community.  A consultation organized by the Association of the Roma Community Umbrella-Dežnik, after 100 days of the so-called Šutare Act, representatives of the Roma settlements of southeastern Slovenia assessed that the situation of the Roma community had drastically deteriorated. They adopted the manifesto Good for Roma, Good for Slovenia, which represents efforts for better integration.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Movies and Roma

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Movies and Roma

An interview with Nick Ferenc, a Romano actor. On social media, he breaks down prejudices and humorously breaks down stereotypes that he himself struggles with. In the podcast Hlas Heroine, he describes how difficult it is for a Romani actor to break free from pre-given expectations and not just play flat caricatures. For example, he sees a positive change in his role in the upcoming series from the creators of the hit Most!, where he plays a prisoner. “It was important to me that I didn’t play ‘Roma’.

As he himself says, even top screenwriters can throw away their talent and write a flat caricature when writing Romani roles.

Greece News Western Europe

Greece: Theft

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Greece: Theft

A large police action recovering stolen electrical cable and documenting water theft. Apparenly in a Roma neighbourhood, although this is not directly mentioned in the article but just in its hashtag.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Romano Vod’i

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Romano Vod’i

Rehearsals for the Romano voďi (Roma Soul) singing group take place regularly every Tuesday. For the children, it is a fixed point in the week that they look forward to. “We rehearse in the facilities of the Mutual Coexistence organization on Bieblová Street in Ostrava,” says Milan Giovanni Bindatsch. However, it is not just about “singing”. According to him, the key is to work systematically and sensitively. “It’s not just about singing itself, but mainly about working with the voice and listening to others so that the children sing in harmony with each other and don’t shout at each other,” says Bindatsch.

Germany News Western Europe

Photographs

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Photographs

An exhibition in the newly furnished exhibition room at the Museum of City and Cultural History in Menden, opens on March 7, 2026. It is titled  “Photographs of Sinti and Roma” by the photographic artist Dirk Vogel  who photographed several series of images of Sinti and Roma in Germany, Poland, and southern France during his studies.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Museum

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Roma Museum

Several articles about the inauguration of the European Museum of Roma Culture in Murske Soboti, Slovenia.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenia

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Roma in Slovenia

A review of land owenership in one of the largest settlements in Novo Mesto shows that the largest share of land is still owned by the state (44.1%). 13.2% of the land is owned by Roma, and 22.3% is owned by others. The municipality of Novo Mesto owns 20.4% of the land.

Why they put a picture of poor Tuskish Roma from Istanbul as a picture is somewhat strange …

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Odessa and Roma

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Odessa and Roma

A former Roma neighbourhood in Odessa is being refurbished, with the creation of a large residential building xalles “Soho Quarter”. There is a catch though: the nearly 2100-square-meter plot is designated “for other historical and cultural purposes,” where residential construction is prohibited. Furthermore, the property was previously seized as part of a criminal investigation on suspicion of fraud, and the court explicitly prohibited any construction work.

Seems that the developer nevertheless got the permit … What happened to the Roma who used to live there is unclear.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Brawl

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Bulgaria: Brawl

Another of those stories of a fight between Roma families in Bulgaria. This time in Karnobat.

Six seriously injured young men were brought to the emergency department of the Burgas University Hospital after a mass fight between two Roma families in Karnobat. The six have serious injuries from blows with hard objects, some have superficial lacerations, probably from knives. Two of the injured are in critical condition.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenian Politics

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Slovenian Politics

Two Slovenian parliamentary parties  (Svoboda and Levica) did not attend the so-called confrontations on Roma issues in Šentjernej and Novo mesto. These were organised by the Dolenjska People’s Initiative who advocate drastic measures to curb what they deem a “Roma problem”.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Museum

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Slovenia: Museum

The European Museum of Roma Culture and History opened its doors at a new location at Štefana Kovača Street 24 in Murska Sobota. The opening was also attended by Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko, who emphasized the importance of preserving Roma cultural heritage and strengthening dialogue in society. The event was prepared by representatives of the Roma Association of Slovenia, the Municipality of Murska Sobota, and the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Nationalities.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

EU Help

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EU Help

A very critical report on the current office of the plenipotentiary for Roma communities and on how they use the rather large funds (ca. 200 Mio euros) received from the EU for the integration of Roma communities. It contrasts this current era with the work that was done by previous plenipotentiaries.

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