The largest Roma festival Khamoro in Prague has started.
A brawl between two families during the pilgrimage of the Saintes-Marie de la Mer resulted in shots being fired, with two people seriously wounded and some others hit by baseball bats.
Bad.
98 percent of the Slovak municipalities included in the sociographic mapping of Roma communities have already completed the registration, and all the necessary data has already been completed by 60 percent of the municipalities that stated that there are Roma localities on their territory. This was announced by the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities (ÚSVRK) on social networks.
Thrilling rhythms, strong voices and a unique atmosphere – that’s how the 27th year of the world’s largest Romani festival Khamoro will kick off tonight. The opening concert on the open-air stage in Gauč at Prague’s Výstaviště will feature contemporary Romani music performed by Tereza “Tessie” Ondičová, the band Ritmo Gitano and singer Thomas from 7:30 p.m.
An article about Roma access to education. As usual, in spite of their good intentions, the generalisation is quite obvious: All Roma have issues accessing education. As a result, for the average reader, most Roma must be illiterate.
One speaks here of the most segregated Roma living in segregated settlements, and not of all Roma.
Not much this week about Roma in France. Another article about Roma in Nantes protesting their expulsion as they are working, and another one about a fire in a Roma camp in Lille, in Northern France.
The yearly pilgrimage of Saintes Maries de la Mer has started.
The Roma Spirit Award is in its 17th year. This year, it also focuses on promoting respect, inclusion and positive changes in society. Nominations for the award, which highlights personalities, organizations and initiatives to improve the lives of Roma men and women in Slovakia, are open until September 9, 2025.
The event officially kicked off on May 21 with a press conference in Bratislava attended by the organizers, members of the preparatory committee and project partners. Roma Spirit is announced by the Association for Culture, Education and Communication in cooperation with Slovak Television and Radio and the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities.
An article on the condemnation of some Roma to prison for an extortion scheme with pensioners. According to one of them testifying in court: “My husband and I were driving home in the dark when we saw a group of people, Roma, in front of us right in front of our home. They were standing by the road, but the man thought he wouldn’t be able to pass, so he stopped. Suddenly, one of them actually stepped into the middle of the road and hit the hood of the car and started screaming that the man had almost run him over. One of them approached the man, who had opened the window a little, and demanded that we give him 50 euros, otherwise he would call the police. The one who hit the hood of the car lay down on the road and took pictures of the car, but otherwise everything happened very quickly.”
The Slovenian Šentjernej municipality has put up warning signs in villages with Roma because of dangerous dogs.
The sign Danger of collision – dogs without supervision has upset the villagers of Mihovica. Instead of the authorities doing their job, they are shifting the responsibility onto the drivers, they say.
Well, who’s to blame: Roma…
A three-day excursion by students from the Pedagogical College from Klagenfurt (Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten, Viktor Frankl Hochschule) took place in Prekmurje and Porabje from 14 to 16 May 2025 as part of the seminar Research Learning in the Slovenia Region.
On the first day of the excursion, the students visited the Roma Information Center, which also includes Radio Romic and the Romano Pušča Kindergarten. According to the article, they learned about an example of good practice in the inclusion of preschool Roma children.
Well, Slovenia is not really successful there …
The exhibition “Rohatí / The Horned Ones” is on display at Prague’s Artivist Lab until June 7, combining the works of Monika Kováčová and Adrián Kriška. The art installation connects blacksmithing and textile creation with queer identity, Romani tradition and the mythology of resistance. The opening took place on April 7 as part of the celebrations of International Roma Day.
The film Chaplin I Spirit of the Tramp tells the story of the Roma identity Charlie Chaplin. It will have its Czech premiere in Prague: during the Khamoro Roma Culture Festival on May 27 at the Atlas Cinema and on May 30 at the central Municipal Library.
The film captures the family’s search for the Romani roots of the famous actor, director and screenwriter, whose character The Tramp has become one of the most iconic symbols of world cinema. The documentary is based on the testimonies of members of Chaplin’s family, especially his son Michael. But it also draws from a unique family archive. Viewers will get to know previously unpublished materials and get to know Chaplin from a new perspective.
From Wednesday (May 21), people can submit exceptional personalities, strong stories and concrete solutions for the Roma community to the 17th edition of Roma Spirit.
Roma Spirit showcases successful Roma people, but also projects that help those living in excluded communities. “It is very difficult to choose the right actors so that they can be the right finalists. I think that everyone who submits applications has won in their own way,” said Alexander Daško, the Slovak government’s plenipotentiary for Roma communities.
The Burgas District Court has overturned a verdict issued by the Pomorie District Court, by which the mayor of the Pomorie village of Bata, Georgi Georgiev, was found not guilty. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to ten months in prison, postponing the execution of the imposed sentence for a probationary period of three years.
Georgiev was found guilty of giving sums of money in the amount of 50 leva to S.R., I.Ch., Z.B. and M.S. in Bata in early April 2021, in order to persuade them to exercise their right to vote in the parliamentary elections in favour of a certain political coalition.
Spring Roma dishes arepresented at the Ethnographic Museum in Burgas, Bulgaria for an unconventional offer – the Week of Roma Spring Feasts.
Cooking will be done in front of the general public by residents of the village of Rusokastro. They are old friends of the Burgas Museum, and during the summer months they work on the excavations of the medieval town of Rusokastro. Here, they will work as master chefs, and will reveal to us the secrets of Roma cuisine and more precisely – of spring Roma dishes.
On Wednesday (May 21), the recipe Ribnik without fish will be presented, which is prepared with the first spring green beans. On Thursday (May 22) we will enjoy lean sarmi from duckweed with an appetizing sauce, and on Friday (May 23) we will be able to try the unique lapadnik – bread with duckweed, green onions and gyozu.
On Tuesday (20.05.), the regional criminal police intervened in several places in Bratislava as part of the case of a masked neo-Nazi group that was planning to attack people in the capital. According to noviny.sk, the police detained more than 20 people. Among them were juveniles. However, their number may not be final.
This group had been targeting migrants and Roma in the capital for months.
The police did not protect a family who was attacked by a mob on May 3rd in the Serbian village of Travnik, shouting racist insults. The police then trivialised the event.
Shame.
Madeline Potter, a Romni with a PhD from a British university, just published a book called “the Roma” after having travelled through ten countries.
When stereotypes mix with education… Music, songs, this is what Roma children are faced with in “integration”. According to the article, “Roma children actively participated the whole time, we checked on a regular basis whether they understood the stories presented, as some have difficulty understanding the Slovenian language. Smiling and motivated, they happily participated in the creative workshop and coloured a colouring book with fairy-tale characters from the show.”
This is not how one achieves integration…
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