News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Ball in Prešov, Slovakia

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Roma Ball in Prešov, Slovakia

The Roma Ball of Understanding was organized in Prešov. Roma also came from abroad. People from the majority also had fun to the tunes of the cymbalum with the youngest primash Samin from the Ďusi Band Orchestra. “Until the Roma songs start playing, people are like petrified,” laughed the main organizer Juraj Kýr.

Greece News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

Teaching about Roma in Greece and Romania

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Teaching about Roma in Greece and Romania

The representation of people in schools says a lot about their condition. In this regard, that of the Roma raises questions in the Balkan countries: despite some real efforts, school textbooks remain very incomplete and perpetuate false ideas, as in Romania and Greece.

Good article, false history… Roma left earlier than indicated.

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

This week, an article looks at the difficult living conditions in a Roma camp in Western France; one article tells about neighbours of a Roma camp in Southern France complaining about dirt and garbage; and finally, two articles about an altercation between Roma that left 2 people with knife wounds.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Relocation

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Slovakia: Relocation

The city of Žilina will remove unimo cells (basically containers), in which 28 Roma families lived after the fires in Roma settlements in 2009 and 2016. These containers, on Bratislavská Street will be replaced by an apartment building built for 200’000 euros, and there are further plans for another 800’000 euros. Some members of the social commission proposed the abolition of the settlemtn and the immediate integration of Roma among residents in other parts of the city.

Well either way, if the residents do not have jobs and education, this will provide little progress.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: About Mother Tongue …

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Bulgaria: About Mother Tongue …

An article that totally misses the point. A project, that aims to “help” people with a different mother tongue (read Roma and Turks). What they miss is that Roma always grow up with several mother tongues, local and Romanes, and in the Balkan, Ottoman Turkish.

No further comments …

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria and Mahala

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Bulgaria and Mahala

An unfinished apartment block, where Roma families have settled themselves and are raising their children there, continues to be a major problem according to the people of the neighbourhood. Residents have repeatedly filed reports that public order is being violated.

Now these issues in Humni Dol were discussed at a second working meeting between representatives of the local government as well as with Roma mediators. It is doubtful they will find solutions …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia, Roma, and Social Benefits

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Czechia, Roma, and Social Benefits

Approximately 40 Roma men and women met in a cinema in Hrádek nad Nisou on Friday, February 21, to discuss the current situation of Roma in the Czech Republic. The main topics were social benefits reform, a very controversial one, employment, and equal status of Roma in society. One of the organizers of the meeting, Miroslav Tancoš, announced on this occasion that he plans to establish a new Roma political party.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Politics

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Slovakia, Roma, and Politics

The Freedom and Solidarity Party (SaS) points out the government’s failure to address Roma issues. On Wednesday, at a press conference in the village of Doľany in Spiš, MP Vladimír Ledecký (SaS) pointed out that the government plans to invest 1.1 billion euros over the next three years as part of the Action Plan for the Strategy for Equality and Inclusion and Participation of Roma in projects that, according to him, will not help this population group in any way.

He pointed out that these expenses are not explained or justified in any way. He is therefore submitting a resolution to the National Council of the Slovak Republic, which responds to “the passivity of government officials and the inefficient use of resources intended for supporting the Roma community”.

Europe Finland Ireland News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Slovakia

Council of Europe and Roma

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Council of Europe and Roma

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty released today three Memoranda examining the human rights situation of Roma and Traveller communities in Finland, Ireland and Slovakia. Each Memorandum presents country-specific findings and recommendations based on the Commissioner’s visits to these countries, addressing pressing human rights concerns faced by the communities.

Germany News Western Europe

Germany and Racism

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Germany and Racism

In the last ZDF political talk show “Markus Lanz” on February 25, 2025, one of the topics discussed was how the AfD managed to win the constituency in Gelsenkirchen (In the Ruhr). The Moderator and journalist Markus Lanz quickly found a clear answer: He talked about how many problems foreigners cause locally: the young Sinti and Roma are criminals, drop out of school, many of them are unemployed. Completely generalizing and ignoring the fact that structural problems like these are very closely linked to racism and discrimination, Lanz reproduces racist language towards a group that is already exposed to discrimination almost unnoticed to this day.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and a Settlement

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Slovakia and a Settlement

The village of Kolačkov (Stará Ľubovňa district) has a Roma settlement that is threatened by a landslide. The Roma settlement should be moved but the municipality claims it has no land to do so, also because two nature protection zones, one for birds and one for a small stream.

Basically, they would prefer the Roma to leave …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Roma Action Plan

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Slovakia: Roma Action Plan

The discussion on the Action Plan for Roma communities is moving to parliament, where SaS is demanding a reassessment of its priorities. The Freedom and Solidarity Party (SaS) points to the government’s failure to address the Roma issue. On Wednesday, at a press conference in the village of Doľany in Spiš, a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Vladimír Ledecký (SaS), pointed out that the government plans to invest 1.1 billion euros over the next three years as part of the Action Plan for the Strategy for Equality and Inclusion and Participation of Roma in projects that, according to him, will not help this population group in any way. He pointed out that these expenditures are not clearly explained or justified. He is therefore submitting a resolution to the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic, which responds to “the passivity of government officials and the inefficient use of resources intended to support the Roma community”.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia, Crime, and Roma

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Czechia, Crime, and Roma

An article that doesn’t help anyone. A journalist investigating of a Romni who allegedly sold counterfeit sports tickets was threatened by Roma, apparently, one threatening to “pull out a machete and kill him”.

Typical tabloid fare…

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Extremism in Czechia

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Extremism in Czechia

The Czech Ministry of the Interior has published a summary report on extremism for the second half of 2024. According to the document, the anti-system movement is weakening, while the influence of online radicalization is growing, especially in right-wing extremist circles. At the same time, a significant part of extremist and populist groups continues to support the Russian regime and spread its propaganda.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Commemoration

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Slovakia: Commemoration

80 years ago, in the small locality of Dubnica nad Váhom in Western Slovakia, 26 Roma were murdered by Nazis. 6 women who were ill and 20 men were transported from the detention camp and murdered on the site of an arm factory.

There was a commemoration of this event in Dubnica nad Váhom.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: EU Funds

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Slovenia: EU Funds

The Slovenian Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved European funds for the Public Call for Co-financing of a network of multifunctional Roma centres. The total value of the project is 5.5 million euros, with the European Social Fund Plus contributing 4,427,500 euros. The project’s goal is to improve the socio-economic situation of the Roma community, strengthen their inclusion in society and provide better conditions for a quality life.

It needs more than centres like this to change the situation …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Best Roma Athlete

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Best Roma Athlete

In the Duše Škof Hall (former castle hall) in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, awards were presented to the best Roma athletes and teams in 2024. The best Roma athlete of the past year is Alja Horvat, a member of the national champions of the ŽNK Mura Nona team in the under-17 competition, and the best Roma athlete is wrestler Mitja Cener, a member of the Sobota Wrestling Association, who achieved exceptional success in the Balkan championship and domestic competitions.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia: EU Funds

Roma in Southeastern Slovenia have a very bad reputation, and not a week goes by without some headlines in the Slovenian press about the Roma “problem”.

But not all Roma are like that. At the initiative of Silva Mesojedec from the Regional Civil Initiative (RCI) and Darko Rudaš, president of the Forum of Roma Councilors from the Roma settlement Pušča in Prekmurje, members of the RCI and also members of the People’s Initiative (LI) Šentjernej recently went to visit and see Pušča near Murska Sobota. There, they found a clean settlement, well ordered, with people working. The settlement has ca. 600 inhabitants.

News Switzerland

Switzerland and Yenische

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Switzerland and Yenische

Switzerland admitted this week that they committed a crime against humanity when they took away the children of Yenische in the so-called Kinder der Landstrasse between 1926 and 1973. Over 600 children were removed from their families. The press also mentions Sinti and Manouches. They were not really affected by this, as the action was truly centred in the Swiss German part of the country and against Yenische.

However, this legal brief and the Swiss government denied the genocidal aspect of this action.

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