Tag Archives: Discrimination

Slovakia and Social Benefits

Published by:

Slovakia and Social Benefits

The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (MPSVR) of the Slovak Republic presented a specific bill regulating the reduction of social benefits in the event that a person able to work refuses to work. The discussion on the withdrawal of social benefits began in the middle of last year.

The issue here? Roma. And the work that the ministry is proposing is very much in line to what is being done in Hungary, so called közmunka [communal / public work] meaning cheap labour based on 19th century technology.

Bad.

Roma Housing in Slovakia

Published by:

Roma Housing in Slovakia

A small town in Eastern Slovakia, Gelnice, want to build social housing in the town. This raises fears, as many of the social beneficiaries are Roma. And their housing is bad.

But then, no one wants them as neighbours.

Bad.

Slovenia and Roma

Published by:

Slovenia and Roma

An article about a politician asking how much money has been spent on Roma projects in the Roma settlement of Dobruška vas, where around 350 people live in the Municipality of Škocjan. A new kindergarten was inaugurated recently after the previous one was destroyed by arson. But apparently, this is the third time, money has been spent on a kindergarten.

North Macedonia: Discrimination

Published by:

North Macedonia: Discrimination

Skopje’s public transportation is apparently discriminating against Roma, not stopping at stops in the Roma neighbourhood.

Bad.

Southern Slovakia

Published by:

Southern Slovakia

In Fil’akovo, a third of the city’s population are Roma. However, there are no excluded communities and makeshift dwellings like in eastern Slovakia. There is a different historical development behind this.

The local Roma mostly speak Hungarian, the majority language in the city. They attend secondary schools, and some then go on to study at universities. Jobs in this region are still scarce, far away, and poorly paid. For Roma, this means that it is even more difficult to find one, which is why many choose to go abroad.

Slovakia, Romnja, and Work

Published by:

Slovakia, Romnja, and Work

Romnja from the Bardejov district in  Slovakia have been trying to improve their financial situation by getting a job for years, but many are not successful. The obstacles are persistent racism, practical problems of life in the settlement, but often also resentment from their own families. Women from marginalized Roma communities thus remain the least working group.

Slovakia: Discrimination

Published by:

Slovakia: Discrimination

The Slovak National Centre for Human Rights (SNHRC) warns of discrimination against Roma in restaurant. It revealed this based on monitoring in ten cities in eastern Slovakia. In as many as six of them, discrimination was detected. A Roma couple tested the restaurants, and, if the result was discriminatory, another couple came to verify. The centre thus teste the services in 137 restaurants in total.

Council of Europe, Hungary, and Roma

Published by:

Council of Europe, Hungary, and Roma

From 10 to 13 December 2024, the Roma and Travellers Division of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the Agent of the Hungarian Government before the ECHR and the Hungarian police authorities, organised a training of trainers based on the toolkit for police officers, focusing on the Council of Europe standards on racially motivated crimes and non-discrimination.

Well… Discrimination in Hungary is rampant. And the government has done nothing in the last 20 years against it…

North Macedonia: Unequal Opportunities

Published by:

North Macedonia: Unequal Opportunities

“The poorest areas (ghettos) or suburban areas are poorly developed neighbourhoods with poorly built houses, without access to water, sewage, paved roads, electricity and other basic public services available in the modern world. All this contributes to creating an unequal starting point and life opportunities compared to other citizens living in a developed neighbourhood, settlement, district or city. “Due to poor housing conditions, a series of other social problems arise, such as social exclusion, insufficient inclusion of children in education, difficulties in accessing work, health, social rights and other public services,” says the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.

Slovakia: Discrimination

Published by:

Slovakia: Discrimination

Klaudio Virág (27), a resident of the city of Levič, tried to get a job at the Slovak Power Plants in Mochovce as a locksmith. He claims that in a phone call, the job broker told him that they didn’t want Roma people in Mochovce, allegedly because of bad experiences.

Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

Published by:

Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

The Zurich politician Mario Fehr, after already having made comments on large Roma families from the Ukraine, has now stated that from now on, he doesn’t want to accept large families from Western Ukraine as refugees in the canton.

For large families from Western Ukraine, please read “Roma families from Transcatpathian Ukraine”.  Let us know what you think about this!

Slovenia and Antigypsyism

Published by:

Slovenia and Antigypsyism

The Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Nationalities recently published an invitation to participate in a public prize competition for children and young people entitled Together against Anti-Gypsyism.

Roma representatives greeted the idea, but there are several politicians and parties who criticise this as a waste of money.

Slovenia: Campaign against Racism

Published by:

Slovenia: Campaign against Racism

The Slovenian government campaign Together against anti-Gypsyism has upset residents living near Roma, as well as Roma. The Government Office for Nationalities explained that by announcing a prize-winning competition for children and youth entitled Together against anti-Gypsyism, they want to tackle so-called anti-Gypsyism, which is an internationally accepted and established term.

In communes with a Roma minority, people have started protesting saying “what will a 4th grader in SE Slovenia, who has a Roma classmate four years older than him, who bullies him every day and demands money from him, think about this prize game?”

Czechia and Racism

Published by:

Czechia and Racism

The 50 Shades of Anti-Roma Racism campaign draws attention to the long-lasting expressions of hate and discrimination. It brings awareness, specific stories, but also instructions on how to defend yourself. The details and goals of the campaign are described in an interview by its leader psychologist Monika Mihaličková from the RomanoNet organization. She says that “Most people imagine manifestations of racism and discrimination in connection with very explicit situations, but quite often they also have a more subtle form.”

Kosovo, Roma, and Discrimination

Published by:

Members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities face discrimination in hiring processes, and even when they do get a job, they face an environment of exclusion, as they often become the object of ridicule and insults, due to their ethnicity. They mainly do temporary work, and usually manual labor, maintenance and street vending. Civil society activists say the situation is no better than in the private sector, even in the public sector, where quotas for marginalized communities are often abused.

EU, Czechia and Roma

Published by:

The European Commission has sent a formal notice to the Czech Republic for failing to comply with EU anti-discrimination rules, citing the continued segregation of Roma children in schools.

The Commission has found that many Roma children are disproportionately placed in schools for children with disabilities or in separate classes, despite reforms aimed at ending the segregation of Roma children.

Even in Death

Published by:

The general secretary of the Federal Association of Sinti and Roma, Romeo Franz, is said to have been severely discriminated against by an undertaker in Homburg. Franz reported to the taz that the owner of the funeral home refused to sell him a coffin and funeral service. He said that he did not do business with Sinti and Roma. Franz described the incident as “dismaying” in an interview with the taz.

Slovakia and Discrimination

Published by:

Another article about Roma being refused services in a café. The cafe in the Mlyny shopping center in Nitra made a very bad headline a few days ago. A video on social networks captured the discrimination “live”. The author of the video was Marcel, whom the waitress refused to serve because he is Rom.

He came to the cafe with his friends, but they refused to let them in and order. As the waitress also said on camera, Roma are not allowed to enter the cafe because they “shout and don’t pay”.

Slovenia and Roma

Published by:

A manifestation will be held, aimed at drawing attention to the long-standing problem of violence at Šentjernej Primary School, which was mostly initiated by Roma children, supporting the father of the abused child during the last incident, and demanding measures that will lead to an improvement in the security situation at the elementary school.

Czechia, Floods, and Roma

Published by:

Roma from Ostrava and the surrounding area, who were affected by the recent floods, still report cases of unequal treatment in the provision of aid. The director of the Labor Office rejects accusations of unequal treatment of Roma affected by floods. Government agent Fuková has the opposite information.

rroma.org
en_GBEN