Roma NGOs from Kosovo and Serbia are collaborating all the while the respective majority populations are increasingly at odd.
Fruzsina Benkő founded InDaHouse in the most disadvantaged area of Borsod, one of the poorest Hungarian Counties in 2014, driven by her own resources, her frustration with the child protection system, her personal desire to do something and, as she says in the interview, some naivety.
The aim is to show the Roma children that the majority society can believe in them.
Difficult in Hungary …
In March, the final conference of the “Together we are developing Roma civil society” project took place in the Svornost hotel in Prague. This project, which started in October 2021 and ends in April 2024, aimed to support the development of Roma civil society in Prague.
The RomPrague association, as an umbrella organization of other non-profit entities, established a platform on which, by setting up regular and systematic cooperation of Roma non-profit organizations, the foundations were laid for mutual exchange of information and discussion not only between representatives of these organizations, but also representatives of city districts, the City Hall of Prague and other entities whose touches on the integration of Roma.
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.
Władysław Kwiatkowski, director of the Centre for Roma History and Culture in Oświęcim, will talk about the history and present day of the Roma this Tuesday (April 16). There will also be a performance by Józef Merstein Jochymczyk – the bard of Romani music, performing songs and ballads in the Sinti Manousche style and Gipsy jazz. It all starts at 17:00 at the Documentation and Exhibition Centre of Germans in Poland at ul. Szpitalna 11 in Opole.
The current Slovak President Čaputová commemorated International Roma Day. She stated that Roma students would very much like Slovakia to be a more tolerant country that can give Roma children a chance and accept them.
She invited Roma students from universities and secondary schools from all over Slovakia to the palace.
A public mediator will assist in the integration of the Roma in the Ruse region. The Open Society Club in the Danube city and the Regional Administration are starting a new project, the aim of which is to increase the access of Roma from the region to administrative services and justice.
The President of the State Council of the Republic of Slovenia, Marko Lotrič, together with the State Secretary dr. sent Monika Kirbiš Rojs and state councilor Bojan Kekce on their third regional visit, this time to Dolenjska. One of the topic of discussion with local mayors was the Roma “problem”.
The three-year project “BAIR-Joint Action of Bitola for the inclusion of Roma” ended and was financed by the EU, implemented by the Italian NGO COSV, Preda Plus Foundation and the Municipality of Bitola. The final conference of the project “BAIR-joint action of Bitola for the inclusion of Roma” is the culmination of the joint efforts and dedicated initiatives of the project partners and collaborators in the direction of encouraging socio-economic inclusion in the Bair settlement. Through cooperation and dedicated action, the project enabled significant improvements in the urban component in the Bair neighbourhood and improved social inclusion.
Mechanical engineer and influencer Tomáš Csicsó, followed by more than 160’000 people, proves with his stories on social networks that Roma don’t have to end up in factories, but can have big dreams and ambitions, just like he had. He achieved success even though he grew up in poverty and encountered those who told him he would not make it.
The project “Empowerment of young Roma women in matters of health, prevention and human rights” implemented as part of the Active citizens fund program sees Roma schoolgirls return to their camps and teach other women a great lesson about human rights, health and domestic violence.
17-year-old student Katerina Mukani from Zefyri was one of the students trained by experts to give a great lesson on human rights, health and domestic violence to the rest of the Roma women back in the camp where she lives. She says: “My daily life in Zefyri is boring and I feel trapped. I think a lot about my life after the Panhellenic Games, while many nights I dream of the moment when I will leave Athens, even far from Greece. Educating other Roma women helped me a lot to understand that my dreams and all of us are possible because we all deserve something better. None of us should be left on the sidelines.”
Vodafone has joined the scholarship program for Roma students, which is implemented by the ROMEA organization. With this step, Vodafone wants to support equal opportunities and fight against discrimination against Roma in the Czech Republic, which has long been criticized by the Council of Europe. Vodafone contributed one hundred thousand crowns to scholarships for Roma students of secondary, higher vocational and university schools, who face many obstacles in achieving a quality education. The scholarship program offers them not only financial support, but also mentoring, mutual meetings, advice, educational activities and internships in organizations or companies, including Vodafone.
Well done!
The Volvo car company is interested in employing Slovak Roma in its factory. This was stated by the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Erik Tomáš, on Wednesday after the government meeting in the east of Slovakia. “They put emphasis on it and we will do everything to make it happen,” he added.
They are planning almost five thousand jobs.
The Pilsen Roma Council is a project financed by Norwegian funds. Its aim is to get Roma involved in the events in the region thanks. “The idea of how to ensure the participation of Roma at the city level led me to establish the Pilsen Roma Council. How to bring together a group of people that represents the majority. Pilsen is a city founded on great families,” David Tišer explains the motives behind the founding of the Council.
Report on the state of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic for the year 2022
On February 14, 2024, the Government of the Czech Republic approved the Report on the Status of the Roma Minority in the Czech Republic for 2022. The appointment of the historically first government representative for the affairs of the Roma minority, Lucie Fuková was one of the highlights. Other than that, small progress, but lots to do.
A tender announcement for the purchase of services of local trainers in the field of anti-discrimination, as well as protection of the rights of national minorities (communities) and Roma in Ukraine was issued.
The tender was announced within the framework of the Council of Europe projects “Supporting the reform of the legislative framework regarding national minorities and strengthening the stability of national minorities and Roma in Ukraine” and “Supporting the implementation of European standards on combating discrimination and the rights of national minorities in Ukraine”, which are implemented as part of the Council’s Action Plan of Europe for Ukraine “Resilience, recovery and reconstruction” 2023-2026.
Around 250,000 Roma live in the Czech Republic, but not all of them speak Romanes. A large number of families do not speak Romanes with their preschool children, believing that this will make it easier for them to start school.
The main goal of the Roma Council is to support the strengthening of the identity and position of the Roma in the Pilsen region and to create tools for their effective integration.
Škocjan councilors unanimously supported the strategy for solving the Roma problem in the Škocjan Municipality 2023-2030+, from which they expect a lot.
According to the director of the municipal administration Petra Pozderec, the strategy brings clearly defined goals and measures in eight areas – living conditions, upbringing and education, social and health care, employment, culture, ensuring public safety, cooperation of members of the Roma community and the majority population.
Let’s see …
At the request of the Slovenian Democratic Party, the Committee of the National Assembly for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities discussed the increasingly pressing Roma issue in Southeastern Slovenia at an emergency meeting. The meeting was also attended by some mayors and deputy mayors and councilors, representatives of the Novo mesto Police Department and Šentjernej Police Station.
The initiator of the meeting, MP Anja Bah Žibert, pointed out in the introduction that the coalition promised its legal solutions to the Roma issue by the end of 2023.
You wonder how do you resolve an exclusion and discrimination problem with repressive legislative measures?
In western Slovakia, the project Better Future for Young Roma was born under the auspices of the non-profit organization Human in Danger. Roma children get a chance to go to school and work for a better future. The project is currently being developed mainly in Lozorn, Plavecký Štvrtek and Zlaté Klasy.
If necessary, the children’s parents also receive help and support. They have already worked with 94 children and their families. They provided counseling to more than a hundred children, while 46 of them got a job during the project.
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