Tag Archives: Discrimination

Marek Badžo and Darina Berková, a Roma couple, bought a house in the centre of the village of Nižná Myšla in the Košice-okolie district. Some residents didn’t like it, so they wrote a petition. They mentioned the Roma origin of the new owners and their concerns that they might be unadaptable people who would cause problems in the village.

The residents justify their position by the mayor’s long-term failure to resolve the situation in the Roma community, and they also have reservations about the way the house was sold. Meanwhile, several politicians have been involved in the events in the village, who see discrimination and segregation in the behaviour of the locals.

Well, you don’t need a Ph.D. to see that.

• Kúpili si dom a dostali odkaz, aby zmizli. V Nižnej Myšli spisovali petíciu proti Rómom. In: Dennik N. 06.02.2025. https://dennikn.sk/4446952/kupili-si-dom-a-dostali-odkaz-aby-zmizli-v-niznej-mysli-spisovali-peticiu-proti-romom/

To be a Rom in Slovakia is not easy. The stereotypes are  hard to overcome: poor, with many children, uneducated, not willing to work and integrate, dirty, etc.

Lana, a 28 years old Romni from a small town in eastern Slovakia who now lives abroad, founded the Instagram profile “Kamiben” to counter these stereotypes and told about her experiences as a Romni iN Slovakia. Scary, for example, a customer refused to pay for groceries because a Romni touched them. It says a lot.

• Slovenská Rómka o svojom živote: Zákazníci odmietali zaplatiť za potraviny, pretože sa ich dotkla Rómka (ROZHOVOR). In: Emefka. 06.02.2025. https://emefka.sk/slovenska-romka-o-svojom-zivote-zakaznici-odmietali-zaplatit-za-potraviny-pretoze-sa-ich-dotkla-romka-rozhovor/

Another article about the survey of discrimination of Roma in restaurants in Slovakia. The survey came out last year, with a flurry of articles, but it is still “news” in Slovakia. Here, more on the fact that this could happen nowadays.

Well, it does.

• Testovanie reštaurácií zamerané na diskrimináciu Rómov. In: SRTV Radio. 24.01.2025. https://slovensko.stvr.sk/clanky/spolocnost/390414/testovanie-restauracii-zamerane-na-diskriminaciu-romov

Researcher Michaela Ujházyová and lawyer Lucia Gandžalová from the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights did test Slovak restaurants. They focused on discriminatory practices against Roma in ten cities in eastern Slovakia.

During a test visit, a Roma couple in a restaurant was told that some products on the menu were not available. Or the staff told a Roma couple that the lunch menu or dessert was not ready yet or that they had already sold out. There was no problem with a non-Roma couple.

The research team involved couples in the situational testing who did not come directly from the places where the selected restaurants were located and who had not even been there. “In no case could it be an experience with specific guests who had previously behaved unacceptably there, disturbed other guests or had debts there,” explains Michaela Ujházyová.

• Testovali reštaurácie. Viaceré Rómov neobslúžili, chceli klubové karty alebo sa vraj minulo menu. In: SME. 11.01.2025. https://korzar.sme.sk/c/23433359/testovali-restauracie-viacere-romov-neobsluzili-chceli-klubove-karty-alebo-sa-vraj-minulo-menu.html