To counterbalance the accusations that Roma refugees from Ukraine abuse the system and are actually not Ukrainians, we did an interview in one of the leading newspapers in German speaking Swiss press.
To counterbalance the accusations that Roma refugees from Ukraine abuse the system and are actually not Ukrainians, we did a Radio interview.
The Senate Committee on Human Rights today unanimously endorsed the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-gypsyism as discrimination against Roma. The definition, like anti-Semitism, names a specific form of racism that Roma people face because of their ethnic origin, culture or lifestyle. According to committee chairman Jiří Růžička (for TOP 09), the definition adopted by the Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs on Monday is not legally binding.
Slovaks do not spare hateful comments on Roma on social networks, but they often try to hide their identity. Hateful comments usually appear under anonymous pseudonyms, as research by the Institute for Human Rights and other organizations confirms.
It shows the stereotypes held by the general population, but also that they realise these comments are racist and could be sued against.
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?
Another two articles in the Swiss press about Roma refugees from the Ukraine who “abuse” the system and are “most probably” not from the Ukraine. All because the Swiss seem to be oblivious that Western Ukraine is Hungarian speaking …
In Switzerland, there is currently an influx of Roma refugees from the Ukraine, mostly from the Transcarpathian region. We have seen many cases, and they unfortunately come from segregated settlements, often as large families (8 children etc.). They mostly speak only Hungarian and a limited amount of Ukrainian, and seldom Romanes.
The article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is totally unacceptable. They effectively say they are not really Ukrainian, without any proof, and even put up a picture of Uzhgorod, maybe part of Greater Hungary for the editors of this paper. They insinuate that they have all Hungarian passports, which could be the case, as Hungarian speakers from outside Hungary have been granted passports by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister. However, one of the pre-requisite is to be able to read and write (and not to be Roma), which does not apply in most of the cases here in Switzerland.
In addition, these Roma, even though they are not fluent, speak Russian and Ukrainian. Which cannot be said of Hungarians.
A recent study by the Human Rights Institute shows that on social media in Slovakia, there are many hateful and racist comments about Roma. People try to hide behind pseudonyms and post many disparaging comments on Roma.
Bad.
The Berlinale Festival invited 2 AfD politicians to the opening on February 15th. They justify this invitation by saying that all parties are invited and have a contingent.
Yes, but not all parties advocate throwing out foreigners and non-German aliens out of the country either. And this can easily encompass Roma and Sinti, as well as Jews…
Slovak Prime Minister Fico’s Government has announced they will provide funds for camera systems. The goal is to increase safety. And how do they determine which localities will get those cameras? Solely on the number of Roma living in settlements there.
This is both populist and racist and stokes discrimination.
A newly released statistic shows that the Ukrainians are definitively no longer Russian friendly. They are at the bottom of the list of people they willing to deal with. They are even less popular than Africans and Roma…
Petr Pollák asked the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico about his statements at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where, according to him, he spoke about “gypsies in Slovakia”. According to Pollák, he about how difficult it is to get them to work despite the fact that nowadays in every community they tell him that they need work. According to Fico, the Roma cannot only have rights in Slovakia, they must also have obligations, and they could create jobs for people who cannot be employed in the long term, for example “cleaning streams”.
He also claimed in the parliament that someone from OĽANO “bribed, corrupted and made promises Roma” before the last elections.
Young Roma and Romnja who participated in a volunteer project that fights against hate speech on the Internet in the Czech Republic published two studies today. They reveal the extent and impact of online racism against Roma and propose measures to counter it. The publications are the result of an innovative initiative that showed how Roma people can actively defend their rights by documenting and filing complaints and criminal charges against those who spread racial hatred on the Internet. The project was organized by the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), the ROMEA organization and the Human Rights Forum.
“The “Pro Sinti & Roma” contact point is intended to make it easier for people who live here, regardless of their origin and religion, to have access to society. The project is intended to be a door opener for people who are somewhere between their country of origin and their country of immigration.
Again an article on the Roma and security in Slovenia. The parliamentary group of the Slovenian Democratic Party requested the convening of an urgent meeting of the Commission for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities.
According to the article, inhabitants of the Dolenj municipalities express their concern about the increasing level of crime and violence in various ways, including in the school environment, where they witness cases of violence perpetrated by Roma. Children from Roma families often miss lessons and, as a result, lag behind their peers in terms of knowledge, which often leads to physical dominance in the classroom and, as a result, to extortion and fights. Many of them drop out of school, which in turn increases their risk of unemployment, social poverty and involvement in criminal activities.
Well, it is a self-made issue…
Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said at the Davos forum that a significant part of the long-term unemployed are part of the Roma minority, and also said that it is difficult to convince them to join the labor market.
Roma in Slovakia protested against these statements.
An article on minorities in the Czech Republic. Thy by now make up 10% of the Czech population. The article highlights the continuing difficulties encountered by Roma, and also stats that the state created a register of Roma as early as 1927 which was then used to deport them to concentration camps. In the Czech lands, almost none survived.
The AfD (or at least several of its members and allied groups) is reported to have drafted a relocation plan for citizen of non-German origins. Olaf Scholtz, the German Chancellor has slammed this plan that reminds of the Nazis’ racial laws. The definition of non-German raises questions for Roma and Jews alike.
A polemic article in the Slovenian press on Roma and on the defender of the principle of equality of the country. Basically, they say that Miha Lobnik, defender of the principle of equality, must ensure that Roma “are discriminated against” in order for him to justify his salary and that of his 28 employees.
Well, in Slovenia, discrimination against Roma is ripe. The article tends to dismiss it.
Recent research shows that Roma men and women are the most frequent victims of discrimination, but the number of cases reported to the Ombudsman, special ombudsmen, police and courts is still extremely low. In order to empower the victims of discrimination, Informative Legal Center (IPC) Roma mediators visited Roma settlements in Brod-Posavina and Osijek-Baranja counties for 10 months and spoke with victims of discrimination and connected them with IPC legal staff who provided them with free legal assistance. The victims of discrimination with whom the Roma mediators talked most often complained about discrimination at work and in employment. They say that employers can often conclude that they are members of the Roma national minority based on their name, surname or address, and do not even invite them to a job interview. If they come for an interview in person, they find that employers use various excuses to not hire them, such as the position being filled, even though the ad is still active.
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