Tag Archives: Ghetto

Rome: Roma Camp Closure

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Rome: Roma Camp Closure

The Roma camp located in Via Cesare Lombroso in Rome was closed. 33 families lived ther with a total of 145 people, more than a third of whom were children. All the inhabitants of the camp were relocated and the cleaning operations were carried out without recourse to public force. Six families were housed independently, the other 27 were housed partly in social housing and partly in other housing solutions. The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, announced the operation this morning: “Today – he said – is a historic day. For the first time in the history of Rome, this operation is taking place without an eviction order and without recourse to public force.”

It took time …

The Roma Problem

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The Roma Problem

Another article about the Roma “problem” in Slovenia.

he mayor of Ribniška, Samo Pogorelc, said that in Ribnica, there are approximately 220 Roma who live in three illegal settlements. Half of them have registered permanent residence in Ribnica Municipality. Only two Roma are employed. Children attend kindergarten and school, but with high absenteeism, and they generally leave  school in the 6th grade. According to municipal employees, the situation is alarming.

Slovakia and Marginalised Roma Communities

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Slovakia and Marginalised Roma Communities

An editorial on the disastrous conditions faced by some segregated Roma settlements in Slovakia. The author cites that it is totally unacceptable that people live in conditions of the 15th (sic!) century. He also states that nothing has been done in the last 20 years, and that segregated education is not acceptable either.

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A Czech reportage on the notorious Lunik IX Roma housing estate outside of Košice, Slovakia. According to the reportage, an average of 12 people live in each of the flats of the estate.

The article also recalls how this ghetto was created: Originally, there were both Roma and others living there. Ut from 1995 onward, the city relocated Roma from the centre to the estate, and non-Roma to the centre. In addition, people who did not pay their rent were also relocated there. So, effectively, the population in Lunik IX is almost entirely Roma.

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

The usual this week in the French news. The story of a camp that is slated for demolition on the outskirts of Nantes, in Western France; finally, a short respite for another camp near Strasbourg.

Slovenia: Roma “Problem”

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Slovenia: Roma “Problem”

Over last weekend there was a shooting in the Roma settlement Kerinov Grm in the area of the Krško Municipality. While the police intervened and wanted to detain one of the suspects, residents of the local settlement threw stones at the police car.

The former Director General of the Police, Anton Olaj, believes that “the government’s lack of readiness to systematically regulate the Roma issue is reflected in the escalation of violence”. At the same time, he calls on the government to “present the promised softer and “better” solutions to the public after the rejection of the legal initiative of the eleven mayors of SE Slovenia”.

This is a recurring theme in Slovenia and of course populists are on the forefront.

Slovenia and a Kindergarten

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Slovenia and a Kindergarten

Less than a month ago, the Roma settlement of Dobruška Vas in the municipality of Škocjan was left without a kindergarten. It was set on fire by a stranger, and the fire completely destroyed the structure. Fires are apparently common in the mentioned settlement, but the the municipality nevertheless decided to build a new kindergarten. According to the mayor Jože Kapler, they hope that it will be in ready in May.

Czechia: The Story of a Ghetto

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Czechia: The Story of a Ghetto

The once-feared Roma ghetto in Škodova Street near the railway station made it to Přerov’s list of shame. Fifteen years ago, tens of Roma families lived in the dilapidated houses of the railway workers in the “street of horror”, as the locals called it. The buildings were sold to a Slovak company with the tenants, and finally the dilapidated buildings were demolished in 2017. Nevertheless, the district still carries the label of an excluded locality.

And what about Roma who lived there? Well, that didn’t seem to bother anyone…

Montenegro: The Aftermath

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Montenegro: The Aftermath

A fire ripped through a Roma settlement in Bar, Montenegro. The Roma Council has now allocated 12’000 euros for the repairs.

Roma in the Ukraine

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Roma in the Ukraine

A reportage in a Roma settlement in the Ukraine close to the Hungarian border. Recently, Roma residents have been afraid to leave the Roma camp in the Transcarpathian village of Berehove. “They are forcibly taking us away. Nobody wanted to go. If you don’t go, you’ll get something for it,” recounts a resident of the Stěpan settlement. At first glance, the camp looks empty, in the streets the CT staff met mainly women and children. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, the local community had five and a half thousand inhabitants, now only a few hundred remain.

The police of the administrative city of Uzhhorod stated that it had nothing to do with the mobilization activity. The military registration and recruitment office of the city of Berehove pointed out that everyone must register. “Everything must be according to the law. No one is taking anyone away by force,” he emphasized. The CT staff was not a witness to forced conscription, added Stomatová.

Croatia and Roma Settlements

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Croatia and Roma Settlements

It may sound unreal, but in the area of Međimurje, hundreds of families in the local Roma settlements still live without electricity. Electricity should finally reach the homes of the residents of the Kuršanec settlement, because the Government has recently provided 265 thousand euros for it.

Let’s see …

Poland, Sewers, and Roma

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Poland, Sewers, and Roma

Another article about a controversy started by Bogdan Trojanek, a Romano Activist and Founder of the Roma band “Terne Roma” and the construction of sewers in the region of Limanowa, Poland. There, he accused the mayor of the municipality to use funds allocated to Roma programs to build the sewers. The municipality strongly denies this claim but had to admit that in previous years, they indeed used Roma funds to build a treatment plant.

Poland: Roma and Roma Aid

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Poland: Roma and Roma Aid

The ongoing expansion of the sewage system in Koszary, a village in the Limanowa region does not use funds from the so-called Roma program – as claimed by Roma activist Bogdan Trojanek. However, his allegations are not completely groundless, because in the previous term the commune used such financing for similar investments.

Slovakia, Settlements, and Security

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Slovakia, Settlements, and Security

The Minister of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši (Hlas-SD) wants to extend the program of existing community patrols in Roma settlements from 245 municipalities to 424.

The minister stated that “We employ Roma who would otherwise be unemployable, because no municipality would have the money for these patrols. Thanks to this useful project, the Roma and the majority will live in greater symbiosis, in a cleaner and especially safer environment.”

Poznan: Telenovela

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Poznan: Telenovela

The fate of a Roma camp in Poznan never ceases to make the headlines. This time it is because a needed environmental decision by the local government has been postponed, meaning the project of building a housing estate (and removing Roma) cannot go ahead…

Poznan: Respite

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Poznan: Telenovela

The Roma encampment at ul. Lechicka in Poznań will not be closed anytime soon. Developers had applied for a building permit to build several apartment houses on the site. They also applied for an environmental permit in order to start construction. This decision has been suspended by the city, meaning that they cannot proceed.

Montenegro: Fire

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Montenegro:  Fire

A fire in a Roma settlement in Bar, Montenegro, on Volujica hill, left four people dead.

The Roma Council said their thoughts are with the families of the victims and they bemoaned the precarious living conditions of the Roma there.

Roma Settlement in Slovakia

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Roma Settlement in Slovakia

A Roma settlement in Slovakia is being destroyed. Reason is, it became so run down that it cannot be saved. The article says it is the residents’ fault. Well, they did not do anything, but neither did the municipality nor the owners.

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