Tag Archives: Stereotypes

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Stereotypes in Politics

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Stereotypes in Politics

A member of the European Parliament Romana Tomc (SDS) from Slovenia posted a post on her Facebook profile titled “The Gypsy Carmen and the story of the Dolenjska Roma”. Tomc paints a romantic picture of a “passionate, beautiful and special gypsy woman”, who was once supposed to represent something mysterious and exciting. Then follows the contrast: “Today, the gypsies from the story of Carmen are gone. Instead, we have Roma,” she writes.

Bad

 

News Western Europe United Kingdom

Appleby Horse fair

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Appleby Horse fair

The largest horse fair and gathering of travellers and Roma in the UK is almost there. A guide to it. But alos a tabloid article about communities barricading, the usual stereotypical rants.

Bad.

Bulgaria France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

France, Roma, and Bulgaria

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France, Roma, and Bulgaria

The French Institute of Bulgaria is opening its doors to Roma culture from June 2 to 5, 2025. Through screenings and evenings of discussions, this series will highlight their history, creativity, and the diversity of their artistic expressions across Europe.

Unfortunately, being French, they bring a baggage of stereotypes starting with the names of “Roms, Tsiganes, Manouches, Bohémiens, Romanichels, Sintis, Gitans…” And then go on with saying that Roma reside in Europe since the XVth century.  This in Bulgaria, one of the cradles of Roma culture as part of the Byzantine Empire where Roma have been for more than a thousand year.

One can only wish that journalists manage to learn something at some point …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Schools

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Slovenia, Roma, and Schools

An editorial following an incident in a football field in a school where a Roma boy took the ball from an ethnic Slovene who fell and had to be brought to a hospital. The Roma boy was deemed “aggressive”.

The editorial argues that ethnicity has nothing to do with capacities, behaviour, and values.

Blaming Roma is simply not an acceptable excuse.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

When stereotypes mix with education… Music, songs, this is what Roma children are faced with in “integration”. According to the article, “Roma children actively participated the whole time, we checked on a regular basis whether they understood the stories presented, as some have difficulty understanding the Slovenian language. Smiling and motivated, they happily participated in the creative workshop and coloured a colouring book with fairy-tale characters from the show.”

This is not how one achieves integration…

France News Western Europe

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

An interesting article about a professor in France stating “they are not nomads”. Pretty much everyone knows that, except for France …

Other than that, Roma from a closed camp still have no permanent abode, and two articles on dogs. One where apparently dogs were drugged by Roma for begging, and the other, the case of a dog stolen by a Rom.

Greece News Western Europe

Greece: A Traffic Accident

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Greece: A Traffic Accident

A traffic accident that occurred in the early hours of Thursday, April 25, at the intersection of Thivon and Kanapitseri streets in West Athens, with a 12-year-old girl as the victim. The accident actually occurred in a parallel universe, invisible to most of us. What was the little girl doing there, at this time, alone? Who left her? Where were her parents? Those would be normal questions. But the girl is a Romni, “Gypsy” as most people still say. So, it’s not at all strange that he was all alone on the streets at 2:00 in the morning, “that’s what they do” (said with disapproval and perhaps some disgust). And the issue will end there.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

An Australian in Lunik IX

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An Australian in Lunik IX

Upon arriving at the tiny apartment, an unexpected sight awaited the Australian woman. Although the apartment building seems cramped, the apartment that the young woman visited did not look any different from a normal Slovak household. The apartment was smaller, but considering what she saw outside, she was surprised by the cozy and clean environment.

Well, stereotypes are hard to kill …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and April 8th

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Slovenia and April 8th

The Society for the Development of Voluntary Work Novo mesto (DRPD) and the Center for School and Extracurricular Activities (CŠOD) celebrated World Roma Day on April 8 in front of the Brezje Žabjak Community Center with the traditional Veselo diva (Happy day) event.

Both in the largest Roma settlement in Novo Mesto, Brezje, and in Jedinščica, the DRPD and its professional team have been providing support for children and adolescents with learning and homework for more than 20 years, working closely with all primary schools. They also provide quality afternoons with cooking, sports, creative, social, etc. workshops, in which they connect with the Miran Jarca Library, the Novo Mesto Health Center, the Police, Deacon Matic Vidic, etc. »Both centers are open seven hours a day and more than 50 children and more than 20 adolescents come to us voluntarily every day, because they feel accepted here and trust us more and more every year, as do their families. “We are aware that changing values ​​and habits is a truly long-term process, but this is the only way we can now boast of more and more high school students and also jobs,” said Mojca Vegelj, professional manager of the DRPD’s day center for Roma children.

News Western Europe United Kingdom

Tabloids and Roma

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Tabloids and Roma

Another one of those typical tabloids’ “reports” on Roma in the UK. While they present real people and traditions, these kinds of articles perpetuate stereotypes.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Ball

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Roma Ball

An article on the Roma ball held in Bratislava and the outfits of the Roma who attended. The article stresses the amount of jewellery and gold worn by the attendees.

News Americas

Ballerina

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Ballerina

The upcoming John Wick film “Ballerina”, featuring actors Ana de Armas, Ian McShane, Norman Reedus and Anjelica Huston. What does this have to do with Roma?

Well, the main character “has been trained in the assassin methods of the Russian Roma”. This is de-facto profiling Roma and misrepresenting them.

Besides the fact that killing people is not part of Romani culture.

PROTEST

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Vlach Roma

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Vlach Roma

An article about Vlach Roma in Czechia (called Olah there). Full of generalisations and stereotypes. The article starts by saying “Women in colorful skirts, men hung with gold – a closed community with its own rules and judgments. Weddings at fifteen, a strict division of roles and its own dialect of Romanes.”

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and School Inclusion

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Slovenia and School Inclusion

The Slovene education ministry is planning amendments to the Kindergarten Act, which aims to increase the inclusion of Roma in preschool education.

Now look at the picture used to illustrate this: This is typical of segregated schools, where stereotypes are the norm. Would this happen to other minorities?

Greece News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

Teaching about Roma in Greece and Romania

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Teaching about Roma in Greece and Romania

The representation of people in schools says a lot about their condition. In this regard, that of the Roma raises questions in the Balkan countries: despite some real efforts, school textbooks remain very incomplete and perpetuate false ideas, as in Romania and Greece.

Good article, false history… Roma left earlier than indicated.

Greece News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

Roma Misrepresentation

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Roma Misrepresentation

An article about the representation of Romain Greece and Romania schoolbooks.

Good intentions, but stating that Roma arrived in the 14th century in Europe is also a misrepresentation …

They would never have had the opportunity to learn Greek …

So good intentions, and total lack of knowledge.

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