Tag Archives: Settlements

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Šutar Law

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Šutar Law

Three articles in French about the newly voted Šutar law in Slovenia. The Slovenian parliament passed this controversial law in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The law was adopted in a rapid succession, just twelve days after being proposed by the government. Those who voted in favour of the “Šutar Law” see it as essential measures to improve security in Slovenia. However, critics of the law denounce unconstitutional provisions and the risk of equating an entire minority with a security threat.

Greece News Western Europe

Greece, Police, and Roma

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Greece, Police, and Roma

Since November 15, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has deployed police officers to 152 areas inhabited by Roma across the country. These “prevention and mediation teams,” as the government calls them, are composed of 473 police officers and 50 mediators tasked with serving as a bridge between law enforcement and the Roma community. They have begun patrolling in the provinces, Thessaloniki, and Attica, and are responsible for monitoring the camps 24/7, conducting preventative checks, and informing Roma citizens about administrative procedures or directing them to social services.

In brief, a special police for Roma settlements.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma, Heating, and Racism

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Roma, Heating, and Racism

Pavol Ľupták, member of the Slovak parliament raised his hand to ask for space to speak at yesterday’s parliamentary committee on finance and budget, no one probably expected what the deputy would say.

“Some Gypsy steals firewood and gets support for it,” Ľupták was indignant at the committee. “I walk around a Gypsy settlement, and I see on the cart that they steal such (large) logs from the forest, living trees. Support for heating also means supporting the theft of Gypsies,” the coalition member claimed.

His comments were widely condemned, but unfortunately are also widely believed by many in that country.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Action Plan

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Slovak Action Plan

The SaS opposition party draws attention to the allegedly inefficient use of public funds within the government’s action plan to address the issue of excluded Roma communities. According to SaS MP Vladimír Ledecký, the document is expected to cost more than a billion euros, with 60 million of them going to planting trees around Roma settlements.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Mayors and Government

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Slovenia: Mayors and Government

The mayors of Novo Mesto, Kočevje, Ribnica and Črnomelj have harshly condemned the video of Minister of Labor Luka Mesco, which he recorded in the Roma settlement of Pušča in Prekmurje. According to them, it contains false and offensive statements. In it, the minister says, among other things, that we have mayors in Dolenjska who have been in office for 20 years, but have never even been to a Roma settlement. He holds Pušča, a model Roma settlement, up as an example regarding kindergarten attendance and employment, and says that this should be transferred to Dolenjska. The mayors demand explanations for his statements, especially which mayor he was talking about and why he has not done anything to solve the Roma problem in three years. They also invite him to Roma settlements in southeastern Slovenia, but not to film where things are functioning.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Mayors and Roma

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Slovenia: Mayors and Roma

The mayors of Novo Mesto, Črnomelj, Kočevje and Ribnica have once again stressed the need for increased employment of Roma before a session of the government working group for addressing Roma issues. In their assessment, work is not paying off for the majority of the Roma population due to “disincentive social legislation”.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Zaharna Fabrika

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Zaharna Fabrika

Two months after the demolition of the illegal buildings in the capital’s “Zaharna Fabrika” district, a flash mob was held in support of the evicted Roma families. The organizers of the peaceful protest demand that the Bulgarian authorities provide all those affected with suitable alternative housing, medical care and social support.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Countryside

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Slovak Countryside

Improving housing for the marginalized Roma community (MRK), the rehabilitation of illegal landfills and the education of children are topics that the mayor of Pečovská Nová Ves, Jaroslav Dujava, wants to open during Wednesday’s field meeting of the Slovak government in their municipality.

That would be a good start…

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Settlements

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Slovakia and Settlements

A pilot project for the construction of modular houses in a Roma settlement in the town of Veľký Šariš will implement many years of experience with similar construction in the Netherlands. Well, difficult to fathom what similar constructions occurred in the Netherlands, as segregated settlements are not common there…

Alexander Daško, the Slovak plenipotentiary for Roma communities also emphasized the merit and motivational factor. “Future tenants will not get anything for free,” he declared. He explained that the condition for obtaining rental housing is participation in the construction. “The contribution will be at least 20 percent of the costs in the form of participation in the construction work.” He also pointed out that tenants will not be able to create debt on energy and water supplies, and they will also be able to reduce the set rent based on compliance with the rules. “Zero debt, compliance with compulsory school attendance of children, maintaining order, regular employment, all of this will be able to reduce the amount of rent.”

This is a total alibi exercise that builds up on stereotypes that Roma abuse the social system. The real issue are land rights, connection to municipal services (water, electricity), and of course, work.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Atlas of Roma Communities

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Atlas of Roma Communities

Data collection as part of the sociographic mapping of Roma communities will continue until the end of June. This was announced at a press conference on Tuesday by the Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government for Roma Communities Alexander Daško and the staff of his office. The reason is the effort to integrate data from the maximum number of municipalities with a relevant presence of Roma communities into the census.

What is remarkable, is that this atlas doesn’t really coincide with the official census …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Integration

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Slovenia and Integration

A round table held in Slovenia on Roma integration stated that one of the key challenges is the legalisation of Roma settlements. Roma representatives, however, warn that solutions and legislation on them are often adopted without them.

News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Ukraine

Reportage in Transcarpathian Ukraine

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Reportage in Transcarpathian Ukraine

All what we said all along about the dreadful situation of Roma in Transcarpathian Ukraine in a reportage in the Swiss press. Well, their history is not quite straight, as the existence of these camps goes back to the Ungarian domination of this region and to Maria-Theresia of Austria. And there, they still call it cigánytelep [Gypsy settlement] rather than the term tabor meaning a camp.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Dogs

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Slovenia, Roma, and Dogs

The Slovenian Šentjernej municipality has put up warning signs in villages with Roma because of dangerous dogs.

The sign Danger of collision – dogs without supervision has upset the villagers of Mihovica. Instead of the authorities doing their job, they are shifting the responsibility onto the drivers, they say.

Well, who’s to blame: Roma…

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Planting Trees …

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Planting Trees …

Apparently, the Slovak government is planning to plant trees next to Roma settlements and will use 60 mio Euros for this purpose.

The office of the Plenipotentiary for Roma communities explained that the alleged “planting of trees” is in fact an important multi-departmental project called Revitalization of the area near the settlements of marginalized Roma communities (MRK) through the employment of disadvantaged and endangered groups. The first main activity of this project is the Revitalization of neglected and polluted areas in urban and suburban areas of municipalities with the presence of Roma settlements. The aim is to remove illegally placed municipal waste in protected landscape areas near settlements, in connection with the employment of disadvantaged and endangered groups. The second main activity is the Support of forest cultivation and protection in areas near settlements in connection with the social integration of Roma through their employment in forestry.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Settlements in Slovakia

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Roma Settlements in Slovakia

Ethnologist and Roma expert – Arne Mann (72) has worked at the Institute of Ethnology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 1983. He has been working near the settlements for approximately 40 years, thanks to which he is intimately familiar not only with Roma crafts and traditions, but also with the real causes of the ongoing problem.

In an interview with Aktuality.sk, he explained why the state’s treatment of non-profit organizations (which coincidentally were chosen by the current government of Robert Fico as an easy target to distract attention from the real difficulties of the people) is perhaps the worst mistake of all, and reminded that ethnic differences are not at all the most serious cause of the ongoing situation.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Settlements in Slovenia

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Roma Settlements in Slovenia

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development recently announced that they have distributed dedicated funds to municipalities for this year and next year to regulate communal infrastructure in Roma settlements. All municipalities that applied for them received the funds, except for the municipality of Ribnica. This is a municipality where Roma live in three irregular settlements without basic communal infrastructure, mostly without water, often without electricity. One of them, Lepovče, was visited last year by the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar.

It seems that the municipality did not want to co-finance Roma projects, which is contrary to the rule for attribution of such money.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Spiš, Slovakia

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Spiš, Slovakia

Dennik N is making a series of reportages on the situation of Roma in the Spiš region of Slovakia, looking at how mayors cope with the issues of Roma settlements and at how EU funds, which provide the bulk of the help are being used.

Well, some improvements have bene done, but not much…

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Settlements

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Slovakia and Roma Settlements

On March 20, five people died in a fire in a Roma settlement in Veľký Šariš near Prešov. This tragedy also highlighted the conditions in which Roma people often live. The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities is currently trying to legalize dwellings in excluded communities.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma Settlements

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Poland and Roma Settlements

An old story, in the Polish town of Limanowsa, local Roma lived in a insalubrious building. So the municipality decided to purchase another building to house these Roam families. The catch: They did not buy the building in the town but in another one …

That town is a touristy one and did not appreciate this. Neither did Roma who were de-facto forced resettled.

Since no one moved in, the town of Limanowa needs to repay loans.

We are not going to cry here …

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgarian Politics, Roma, and Mahalas

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Bulgarian Politics, Roma, and Mahalas

Kiril Petkov, a former Bulgarian prime minister and candidate in the upcoming elections is defending the rights of a Mahala (a Roma neighbourhood) in Sofia. He is not alone in defending the “Zaharna Fabrika” which has who has called for manifestations in front of the parliament.

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