Tag Archives: Stereotypes

Roma in Croatia

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Roma in Croatia

In Croatia Roma officially constitute a community of around 18,000 people, although the actual number is many times higher.

Although the position of Roma has gradually improved in recent years, their social status and level of human rights protection still lag significantly behind the average of the majority population. They are often associated with specific and difficult social and economic circumstances – living in settlements without basic infrastructure, without permanent employment and, especially, without administratively regulated aspects of life, from personal documents and legalization of land and houses to working in the grey zone.

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

French news last week were dominated with a reportage from TF1, state TV about how minors are exploited by Roma networks to maximise gains. Again, this might be part of the reality, but how it is presented is simply pandering to sterotypes and extrapolating to all Roma. In brief, a racist narrative.

Other news, the usual: closure of a camp near Orange, in the Sotuh of France, and a fight between Roma (according to the extreme right Breizh info).

Ukraine, War, and Roma

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Ukraine, War, and Roma

Women Leaders Create First Inclusive Social Laundry in Nerubayska Community in Odessa Region. In the social laundry, vulnerable families can not only use services free of charge, but also wait out the power outage, chat, drink tea, and receive psychological or social support. Another task of the “Pure Dignity” project is to overcome stereotypes: public prejudice against the Roma community, and among Roma families themselves, caution in interacting with services.

Bulgaria, Police, and Roma

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Bulgaria, Police, and Roma

A “special operation” by the Bulgarian police in Tasrevo in a Roma neighbourhood resulted in several compl,aints being lodged against the police for viloences. The mayor of the town, Marin Kirov, reacted:

“My position as mayor and citizen of Tsarevo municipality regarding the actions this morning on our territory: It is a pity, we are receiving data about violence against people sleeping in their beds during the action this morning.

That’s right – they are neither running nor hiding, they are sleeping in their beds. They say they were gypsies, excuse me, it’s 2026 and we are in one of the few municipalities with an integrated Roma ethnic group and without significant crime related to gypsies. These are people, for God’s sake!? Nothing was found in them, nothing related to the elections.

We are obviously talking about excessive force and inadequate repression and an operation, planned and implemented in an absolutely insane way, and in Tsarevo – a modern tourist municipality, we depend on this livelihood, on a good image, on the peace between people. We also fully support the local police from tourism with cars, fuel, drug test cassettes and a huge resource for seconded police officers and repairs. And not only the local police, but also regional units of the services.

What are they achieving with these actions? Dozens of jeeps, over 50 berets and uniforms for a few sleeping people from the gypsy ethnic group? For years, they have been working on old signals against the same people who have never been caught or convicted of election crimes.

Are they trying to rewrite the election result? Be patient, they will see in two weeks, Tsarevo is developing and people appreciate it!
The Roma vote is not decisive here, and this aggression is inadequate and will have its own civil resistance in the elections.

Attempts to suggest that a small group determines the agenda and the election result are not based on facts in reality.

Take a walk in Tsarevo – here we earn trust with enormous effort and a lot of work!”

Who are Roma?

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Who are Roma?

An article lin the Italian press about Roma. Roma, a European people of Indian origin, have a vibrant and complex culture. Their historical mobility is not “innate” but arises from expulsions, conflicts, and marginalization. The term “Gypsy” carries stereotypes and stigma, obscuring their identity and history.

They highlight a book “The Roma Journeys” by Joakim Eskildsen.

Romani Pupils

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Romani Pupils

An article about Romani pupils in Polish schools. It says that for a Roma child, the threshold of school is often a threshold to a completely different linguistic world. In homes, especially in groups like Polska Roma, which cultivate a stronger tradition, the first language is Romani. It is an intimate, homely language, acting as a guardian of identity. At school, students must rapidly adapt to Polish grammatical structures to master reading and writing, which represents a tremendous cognitive effort.

Well most of them are bilingual… So not sure about that statement.

Movies and Roma

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Movies and Roma

An interview with Nick Ferenc, a Romano actor. On social media, he breaks down prejudices and humorously breaks down stereotypes that he himself struggles with. In the podcast Hlas Heroine, he describes how difficult it is for a Romani actor to break free from pre-given expectations and not just play flat caricatures. For example, he sees a positive change in his role in the upcoming series from the creators of the hit Most!, where he plays a prisoner. “It was important to me that I didn’t play ‘Roma’.

As he himself says, even top screenwriters can throw away their talent and write a flat caricature when writing Romani roles.

Viki Gabor

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Viki Gabor

Another flury of articles about Viki Gabor, a singer, who married just before Christmas. And now all sort of stereotypes about Roma weddings, traditions, and so on.

Painful.

Polish Newsweek on Roma

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Polish Newsweek on Roma

Newsweek Poland published an article about Roma. Alone the tilte says it all: How do Romani women live in Poland? I went to their village. “Fifteen is a good age for having children here.”

It is again a generalisation to all Roma based on a stereotypical view and a visit and selective interviews of Romnja in a settlement. And no, in Poland not all Roma by far live in settlements.

Bad.

Italy and Crime

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Italy and Crime

Articles on Roma criminality are a staple of the Italian press. Here a gang of Sinti who robbed appartment were unmasked and arrested by the police. In fact, there are more articles about Roma and migrants criminality than about the mafia …

One wonders.

Z-Salad

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Z-Salad

A bakery from the Canton Zurich sells a saussage and cheese salad as “AZ’-Salad. They were asked by the young socialists from the region to drop the name, as this is insulting.

Well, in Switzerland, it is still acceptable, it seems …

Slovakia and Social Benefits

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Slovakia and Social Benefits

“They live on benefits.” A statement that has been repeated in Slovakia for years. Most people associate it with poor people and especially Roma communities. Almost always, when the living standards of the majority population deteriorate, this sentence becomes a shorthand description of the social system in political debates and on social networks.

This is a myth. “When people talk about the social system, they usually mean benefits for the unemployed. However, they forget that the largest part of it is pensions and healthcare,” pointed out Viliam Páleník, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and president of the Employment Institute.

Sad

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Sad

A sad story from Bulgaria. A 15-year-old girl was admitted to the emergency room with severe pain and suspected acute kidney crisis. After the examinations, however, the doctors established the surprising cause of her condition – the teenager was nine months pregnant and already had a dilation.

The medical team immediately took action and the birth began almost immediately. Not long after, little Emilia cried in the maternity ward. Both the mother and the newborn are in good general condition and under medical supervision.

Prejudice

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Prejudice

An interview with Sára Kaplanová on prejudice, her job as a nurse, and on her social media presence.

Roma in Spain

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Roma in Spain

The book “Pueblo Gitano. 600 años de historia y cultura en España” [The Gitanos People: 600 Years of History and Culture in Spain] coordinated by Gonzalo Montaño, Joan M. Oleaque, and Arnau Vilaró, dismantles six centuries of silence, prejudice, and official narratives about Roma history.

Too bad they used the Gitanos name and not the endonym, “Cale”.

“Gypsy” Restaurant

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“Gypsy” Restaurant

A “Gypsy” restaurant opened its doors in downtown Budapest, on Váci Street, at the end of July this year.There have been a few attempts to run a such a restaurant in Budapest, but none of them have lasted long. On Vaci utca, the main touristic thoroughfare might be more suitable.

Witches?

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Witches?

An article full of stereotypes and folklore… A few excerpts:

In the village of Săpânța, near the Ukrainian border, two women recall: “If a boy was jealous of another, his mother would cast a spell on the girl to make her feel bad and prevent the marriage from taking place.” Next to her, her friend adds: “When my niece left home, we had a falling out. A woman at the market offered to cast a spell on her to bring her back, by the heavens. I refused, of course.”

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Almost nothing about Roma this week in the French press. Just an article about a camp near Paris that was left, but with tons of garbage in its place, and an article in Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical newspaper about Bulgaria, unfortunately with lots of French based clichés on Roma.

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