Tag Archives: Discrimination

News Western Europe Sweden

Sweden and Roma 

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Sweden and Roma 

The Council of Europe has officially accused Sweden of systemic discrimination against Roma migrants, violating the European Social Charter by denying them medical care.

A report highlighted serious violations, including a lack of national rules leading to indirect discrimination through health service fees, with 129 cases showing inadequate care.

Historical issues of discrimination against Roma in Sweden include illegal ethnic profiling by police and barriers in education and housing, prompting calls for official apologies and memorials for the Roma community.

News Eastern Europe Romania

Politics and Roma

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Politics and Roma

The article critiques the political style of Dávid Endre, the deputy mayor of Székelyudvarhely, Romania, highlighting his use of enemy-focused politics that perpetuates social tensions rather than addressing underlying issues.

It discusses the problematic representation of the Roma community in media and film, particularly criticizing a documentary that portrays them solely through the lens of suffering without addressing structural causes of their poverty.

The author argues for the need for more nuanced and responsible media portrayals that include Roma voices and stories beyond stereotypes of crime and poverty.

Greece News Western Europe

Roma in Greece

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Roma in Greece

The greek Roma community of Gerakas expresses strong protest in an opebn letter against frequent police operations targeting their settlement, citing issues with illegal electricity connections due to inadequate infrastructure.

The community emphasizes that they are not using electricity illegally to avoid payment, but rather due to the state’s failure to provide proper connections.

The letter calls for immediate state intervention to address long-standing issues and criticizes the government for misusing European funds instead of promoting social integration for the Roma community.

Montenegro News Eastern Europe

Roma in Montenegro

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Roma in Montenegro

Elvis Beriša, the executive director of the NGO “Walk with Us,” discussed the marginalization of the Roma community in Montenegro in a podcast episode titled “Roma and Political Parties – Between Representation and Marginalization.”

He described the current status of the Roma community as “very unequal” compared to other minority communities, a sentiment he has held for the past decade.

Beriša emphasized that perceptions of the Roma community are changing slowly, and there is a need for greater awareness of their ability to participate in policy-making at both state and local levels.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria: Racism

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Bulgaria: Racism

A recent incident at Grand Hotel Therme in Bulgaria has been described as a brutal act of racism, where a group of Roma individuals with confirmed reservations were denied entry and humiliated by hotel staff.

Human rights lawyers argue that this case exemplifies a clear violation of Bulgaria’s anti-discrimination laws, highlighting systemic discrimination against ethnic minorities.

The situation has prompted calls for international scrutiny and potential legal action against the hotel, as well as protests from Roma organizations and citizens against discriminatory practices in tourism.

Greece News Western Europe

Disguised Discrimination

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Disguised Discrimination

According to this article, mass police operations against Roma communities in Greece reflect a broader European trend of redefining racial discrimination under the guise of crime prevention and public order maintenance.

The operations, characterized by surveillance drones and aggressive police tactics, have targeted 152 Roma communities, with over 76 operations conducted in just six months.

The rhetoric of crime prevention is used to justify systemic racism against Roma, with the Greek model potentially serving as a template for similar actions across Europe.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Unemployment in Serbia

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Unemployment in Serbia

Roma face high unemployment and discrimination, often leading them to work in the informal economy with low-paying jobs.

Marko, a 25-year-old from Kraljevo, struggled for three years to find a job after completing his hospitality education, facing consistent rejection due to prejudices against Roma. His experience reflects a broader issue in Serbia, where many Roma encounter similar barriers in the job market.

The articles discuss the broader challenges faced by Roma, including high unemployment rates, lack of access to education and healthcare, and the prevalence of working in the informal economy.

The BBC one emphasizes the need for targeted support and educational opportunities to improve the employment prospects of Roma, particularly women, who face additional discrimination and economic dependency.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Education in Slovakia

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Education in Slovakia

Education for children from marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia faces significant challenges, particularly regarding language barriers, as many children arrive at school speaking Romani or a Romani-influenced Slovak. Teachers report that the school system often fails to accommodate these language differences, leading to misinterpretations of children’s abilities and creating additional stress for both students and educators.

There is a call for systemic support, including the return of Roma language assistants and a shift in perspective to view Romani as a valuable part of children’s identity rather than a hindrance to learning.

Europe

Roma Education

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Roma Education

Danijela Dimitrovska highlights that Roma communities in Europe face significant barriers in education and employment, with 36% unemployment among Roma and 56% of young Roma not engaged in education or training.

She emphasizes the need for education, vocational training, and support systems to enable equal participation in the labor market, while also addressing discrimination and racism as major obstacles. Dimitrovska calls for greater integration of Roma into society and warns that Europe cannot afford to exclude millions of young people, especially during times of labor shortages and social challenges.

While her position and statements are correct, the use of percentages is definitively not. There are no definitive population numbers for Roma in Europe. And if one doesn’t know, the population, percentages are meaningless.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Schools and Roma

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Czech Schools and Roma

Romani children face prejudice, bullying, and violence in schools, with nearly half of teachers admitting to having negative personal feelings towards them.

A new project by IQ Roma Servis aims to empower Romani mothers to advocate for their rights and their children’s rights through community legal advisors. It operates a center in Brno for parents and children, including a preschool club that helps children transition to kindergarten and teaches them social skills. The club aims to prevent children from feeling marginalized and encourages them to communicate any discomfort to their parents.

A new project called “Aven savore džas anglal” is training Roma mothers to advocate for their rights and those of their children, with the goal of empowering them to become legal advisors in their communities.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Giving Birth in Hungary

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Giving Birth in Hungary

Reports of humiliation, threats, and vulnerability are not uncommon in the birth stories of Roma women. An initiative in Alsózsolca is trying to provide an answer to this: doulas trained from local Roma women accompany pregnant women. An interview with doula Rita Kishonthy-Kardos, the professional leader of the EMMA Association’s community companions program, about obstetric violence, racism, and how doulaship can become community support and a tool for self-assertion.

Germany News Western Europe

Germany: Increased Discrimination

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Germany: Increased Discrimination

Significantly more cases of discrimination, denigration, insults, and violence against Sinti and Roma have been registered with the Reporting and Information Center for Antigypsyism (MIA) in Rhineland-Palatinate. The number rose by 41 to 100 incidents last year. However, there is a high number of unreported cases, said MIA board member Christian Kling in Mainz.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Roma

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Czechia and Roma

An open letter from Jana Kokyová, chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust, an association of families of Roma survivors of the Holocaust, to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens – ANO) regarding the transfer of the Roma affairs agenda to the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry. According to her, the Government’s decision undermines the importance of Roma affairs at the central level.

She is right.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Discrimination in Slovenia

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Discrimination in Slovenia

Advocate of the Principle of Equality Miha Lobnik submitted his regular annual report for 2025 to the President of the National Assembly Zoran Stevanović. The report shows that discrimination in Slovenia remains present in many areas of life, in work, access to services, healthcare, and education. Prejudices against Roma, LGBTIQ+ people, foreigners, and even religious minorities are growing.

Austria Germany News Western Europe

Zentralrat on Austria

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Zentralrat on Austria

The Chairman of the German Central Council of Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, pointed out that the National Socialists called on the population in 1933 not to buy from Jews and had police and SS troops march in front of Jewish businesses. He was criticising a letter by the Austrian police of the Burgenland warning the population about Sinti and Roma.

Rose appealed to Interior Minister Karner of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) to initiate disciplinary proceedings against those responsible within the police force. He emphasized that the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force in Austria in 1998. This obligates the state to counteract all forms of anti-Gypsyism. The Central Council stated that the Europe-wide rise of nationalist forces, which often base their political program on racism and incitement and have now become the strongest political force in Austria, is alarming.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

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Austria, the Police, and Roma

The Austrian Equal Treatment Commission criticized a letter issued by the Burgenland police authority in Neusiedl on Friday, in which the police warned the population about Roma and Sinti. The letter, the Commissioner argued, perpetuates historical anti-Roma stereotypes. The letter’s instruction not to accept services from members of this ethnic group could constitute an incitement to discrimination, emphasized Sandra Konstatzky, head of the Equal Treatment Commission.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Police, and Roma

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Slovakia, Police, and Roma

A deaf Rom was locked up in a police detention cell in Slovakia for 48 hours without water and without knowing why, says Tomáš Dunko from the organization Svet ticha, who was then called to the police department to interpret into sign language.

Tomáš Dunko is a deaf Rom who strives to help marginalized communities, especially people with hearing impairments there. He says that not only in the area of ​​criminal or administrative law, there is enormous injustice for hearing-impaired Roma, bordering on human rights violations.

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