Another case of an attack by Roma on non-Roma in Slovenia. That these occur is bad, but that the press simply expands this to a “Roma behaviour” is bad and dangerous.
An archaeological dig is taking place in the New Forest in the UK on the site of a compound where Roma were forced settled. The compound was later replaced by a ‘Gypsy Rehabilitation Centre’ which says a lot about the ideological background of those initiatives.
An editorial against a racist article in the Czech press. This is unfortunately still too common in the country, where stereotypes and clichés dominate the view about Roma.
The German State of Thuringia has decided not to renew the position of an Antiziganism Commissioner in the state. Rational behind this decision, is that the “broad-based strategy” of “integration policy for all people” does not require a dedicated representative for Sinti and Roma.
Well, this decision is being criticised, with right.
On a reality show on Bulgarian TV, called “Wild and Beautiful”, a man asked on a blind date “Would you have a relationship with a man of Roma origin?” It seems that at least some people reacted to this …
In the past few years, there has been a worrying increase in anti-Roma narratives across the. Discrimination against Roma is now taking on new forms and intensities, especially in periods of political and economic instability. The security situation of the Roma community is not only reflected in physical vulnerability, but also in a constant sense of insecurity caused by hate speech, systemic discrimination and media stereotypes.
Roma are often discussed without Roma, and problems are solved without the participation of Roma experts, who come from the community and know the essential issues, but also the ways in which they can be solved and how to improve the life and position of the most vulnerable and poorest community. Which, despite various programs, measures and experiments, still faces institutional discrimination: difficult access to education, health services, the labour market and housing.
A tendentious article about Roma camps in Naples. The reality is described correctly, the background is totally ignored. Why Roma were parked in segregated camps overseen by the police, why the mafia was involved in this, and now, again, there is collective guilt of all Roma.
We already reported on it, but Roma youngsters stole a car from French tourists, and while fleeing, killed a 71-year-old passerby. And of course, all Roma are guilty by association.
Most of the numerous articles this weak about Roma in France are dedicated to the creation of a new camp in Doulon, Nantes, set to temporarily house Roma who where displaced by the closure of other camps in the region. Neighbours complain that they were not consulted and they vocally object to Roma living next to their houses.
Not a single article raises the questions of why these Roma who have been in France for a long time need to live in such camps, and not one asks why the reactions of the future neighbours are so based on stereotypes.
The Thuringian state government will not reappoint the position of antigypsyism commissioner. As a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told MDR Thuringia, the state government views the integration of Sinti and Roma as a cross-departmental task. All ministries—including education, labor, health, and housing—are responsible for ensuring equal access.
This is not going to help …
Four Roma children aged between 11 and 13 stole a car, raced through Milan, and ran over an elderly woman, killing her. The accident shocked the whole of Italy, partly because the children are Roma. Lega leader Salvini wants to demolish entire Roma camps.
On Social Media, Salvini wrote: “The Roma camp must be cleared immediately, and then razed to the ground, after years of theft and violence, pseudo ‘parents’ must be arrested, and parental rights must be revoked. Mayor Sala and the left, are you there???”
Bad.
The editorial office of Moja Dolenjske received a letter from the Roma Association Vstani, Roma Child, which is based in Murska Sobota. In it, they threatened the portal with criminal charges if, when reporting on criminal acts involving individual Roma, they do not stop stating that the criminal acts were committed by Roma.
The association is convinced that when writing, they should keep silent about the fact that the criminal acts were committed by Roma, as this would unjustifiably stigmatize the entire Roma community, but at the same time they believe that reporting should be based on the act and not on emphasizing that it was committed by Roma. They also state what proper reporting should be like, and suggest some titles such as: Police handle case of theft and violence, Police investigate morning attack and Three men suspected of attacking utility workers.
Well, they are right …
Another one of those articles. It states: “Living with members of the Roma community in southeastern Slovenia, which includes Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and the Kočevsko-Ribniško area, is very difficult. Not because citizens are hostile or in any way hostile to the Roma, but because some of the latter are gaining momentum in committing criminal and other violent acts.”
And of course, the government is not doing anything.
Bad.
Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against Roma, one Elvis Presley song at a time. He says: “I never wanted to get on stage, I didn’t think about it,” Lakatos, 58, said after a recent gig at a restaurant in the capital, Bucharest. “I only wanted one thing — to make friends with Romanians, to stop being called a Gypsy,″ he added, using an often derided term for Roma.
The story of a Czech Romni married to a non-Roma man. She starts by saying that a strange woman shouted at me not to speak Romani to my son in a shop!
She says:
I am a Romani woman. For some, it is just a word, for me it is my identity, my history and my pride. My husband Petr is Czech, a “gadžo”, and together we are raising our two-year-old son Davídek. Our home is a place where two worlds, two cultures meet. We speak Czech together, but I have also spoken Romani to Davídek since birth. I want him to know the language of his grandparents, to understand the songs and stories that shaped our family. I want him to be proud of both halves of his body.
The Czech politician Tomio Okamura and his SPD party are facing charges of inciting hatred. The case is related to last year’s election posters in which the party attacked migrants and Roma.
Would be good if this goes to court before the upcoming elections…
The Gera Regional Court will not open a trial against controversial administrative judge Bengt Fuchs. The public prosecutor’s office had accused him of incitement to hatred.
In August 2019, Fuchs allegedly wrote a comment under a Facebook post in a student fraternity group that was deemed incitement to hatred. Fuchs allegedly equated the Sinti and Roma ethnic groups with traveling gangs of thieves. In the group, the user “Bengt-Christian Fuchs” had described the group as “rotational Europeans with a weakness in property attribution.”
If this is not racist, what is?
A fire erupted in a poor neighbourhood in Bulgaria. A 49-year-old local resident was detained. An argument broke out between him and the woman he lives with. Then he lit a blanket and caused a fire. The buildings were built of highly flammable materials.
According to the paper this is a fire “with a Roma flavour” … What does that mean, apart from obvious racist views?
Roma Party President Srđan Šajn today called on parliamentary parties to initiate the impeachment of Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Dema Berisha for his statement on Roma, and the competent judicial authorities to initiate the investigation of his criminal responsibility.
During a visit to the Moravički District, Berisha said that he does not separate Roma from other residents, but that it is necessary for them to finish school, be engaged in work and useful members of society, because “they must understand that neither the state, nor municipalities, nor local governments are ATMs”.
Novo Mesto (Slovenia) Mayor Gregor Macedoni spoke about the Roma “issue”, calling for systemic solutions. According to him, security has been steadily deteriorating in recent years, especially in southeastern Slovenia. We are really seeing this on the ground. Above all, it is worrying and real, and should also concern everyone in Ljubljana, that these crimes are increasingly bold and violent, that they are directed at officials… Police officers are being beaten, teachers are being slapped, doctors in the emergency room are being threatened. So, in this country we do not know how to respond systematically. The police are on the ground, but the system will also have to adapt to these new forms of crimes.
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