Tag Archives: War

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Poland: Appeal for Roma Refugees

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The W Stron Dialogu  (Towards Dialogue ) Foundation works for the Roma community in Poland, writes that “Roma and Roma women from Ukraine who found shelter in Poland faced – and still face – discrimination, worse treatment and rejection.” The organization believes that Roma refugees from Ukraine have become “second-class refugees ignored by the current authorities, which turned a blind eye to segregation and the lack of access of Roma women and men to collective accommodation centres, thus allowing discrimination against this weakest group of refugees.”

They launched an appeal to the Polish Government.

Europe News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Two Years

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Two years have passed already since the beginning of the Russian aggression in the Ukraine. Two years of war, two years of mindless killings. Many refugees, and here, as we are a Romani page, let us pause to think about Roma in this war.

They were displaced, especially in the Eastern part of the country. They were killed by Russian troops in several occasions. They were deported by Russian authorities. They also fought on the Ukrainian side, with many Roma in the current army, even the normally not so accepted Roma from Transcarpathian Ukraine.

Roma refugees in Europe were confronted with racist stereotypes and had to fight there too.

Let’s hope we do not need to commemorate another year.

For those who died, may they rest in peace, and for those who live, may they do so for 100 years.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Ukraine Roma Refugees

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Two articles in the Polish press about a Romni activist and Ukrainian refugee currently in Poland.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Roma in the Ukraine

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An interview with Anzhelika Belova from Zaporozhye, now lives in Uzhgorod with her husband and daughter; activist, president of the Voice of Romni organization. She says that nobody should be ashamed of being Roma. We live in Ukraine and we are Ukrainians.

News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Ukraine

Switzerland and Roma Refugees

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As usual with some delays, a 1-1 translation of an article published last week in the Tages Anzeiger about Roma refugees from the Ukraine and the suspicions that they are not quite what they claim to be.

This of course without a shred of any evidence…

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukraine on the Transcarpathian Roma Refugees

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Another article, this time in the Ukrainian press about the fact that there are more and more Roma refugees from Transcarpathian Ukraine arriving in Germany (and Switzerland), especially from the region of Berehove very close to the Hungarian border. Here they say these refugees hide their dual citizenship (i.e. the fact that they also have a Hungarian passport).

While Hungarian speakers can get a Hungarian passport (thanks to the current Prime Minister Viktor Orban), in order to do so, they need to read and write, which is generally not the case there (thanks to the total disregard of those Roma from the Ukrainian authorities). In fact, if citizen of the Ukraine do not speak Ukrainian because they live in remote settlements, it is actually the fault of the Ukrainian government.

  • У Німеччині виявляють все більше біженців з угорськими паспортами із Закарпаття, а саме з Берегова. In: Mukachevo.net. 16.02.2024. http://www.mukachevo.net/ua/news/view/6041721
News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Ukraine

Switzerland and Roma Refugees – 2

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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.

News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Ukraine

Switzerland and Roma

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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 …

News Switzerland

Switzerland, Roma, and Ukrainian Refugees

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Two really bad articles in a formerly good newspaper, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Here, the use the fact that there are several Roma families from the Transcarpathian Ukraine asking for refugee status in Switzerland, to ask for the blanket approval of Ukrainian refugees to be revoked.

They make statements about false passports etc.

Proofs are not there…

News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Ukraine

Switzerland and Ukrainian Roma Refugees

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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.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukraine on Minorities and Foreigners

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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…

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukraine: Shattered Dreams

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The story of a Romano ethnographer and researcher, Janusz Panchenko from Kakhovka, the initiator of the creation of a Roma space in Kakhovka. Before the full-scale invasion, Janusz was writing a dissertation, documenting the memories of elderly Holocaust survivors, and teaching at a school for Roma children.

Even though he was pro-Ukrainian, he remained in the occupied territories. Until the Russian started looking at NGOs.

Sad.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Ukrainian Roma Refugees

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Natalia Yuzypchuk, a Ukrainian Romni, fled to Warsaw from Lutsk, Ukraine, seeking safety for her grandchildren. A year and a half later, Natalia is the driving force behind the Roma Community Centre in Warsaw, run by the W Stroną Dialogu Foundation and supported by UNICEF.

Since the first months of the war, the situation of Roma refugees has been much worse than that of other groups of refugees from Ukraine. Roma refugee families face many barriers in accessing basic services due to administrative obstacles and lack of documents. This leads to bigger obstacles, including: in access to financial support, health care, education, housing and the labour market. Many people also tell us that they have faced overt discrimination as a result of prejudice and stereotypes.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Roma Refugees from the Ukraine

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For the International Day of Migrants, Radio Liberty presented a documentary project “In the eyes of God we are all people” – a film about Roma refugees who found refuge from the war in Moldova, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Czech Republic – Sentences

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A Czech Court sentenced two Roma who took part in a mass fight in Pardubice between Roma and Ukrainians at the beginning of this year’s holidays to 150 and 200 hours of community service. The Ukrainian suspect is not yet sentenced but risks up to two years of prison.

News Eastern Europe Russia Ukraine

Russia, Mobilisation, and Roma

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Russia has long been recruiting prisoners, criminals and its own ethnic minorities from different regions into the war against Ukraine. Now they have begun to “engage” other categories of the population – Roma and migrants.

For example, on December 12, in the Leningrad region, 30 to 50 Roma were taken to military registration and enlistment offices. The head of the Sitting Rus’ charity foundation, Olga Romanova, told Channel 24 about this, noting that they would subsequently be sent to the front.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Poland and Roma Refugees

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According to the article, roughly 25’000 Roma from Ukraine fled to Poland, and these were overwhelmingly illiterate. This probably means they missed quite of few Roma who did not conform to the stereotypes.

A book on this exodus, called “The War of our Times” was published.

News Eastern Europe Poland Ukraine

Poland and Roma Refugees

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Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska, with her foundation, tried for several months to find an apartment for a family of Roma refugees from Ukraine. No chance. – I never thought I would see such a moment – says the activist with regret. And he emphasizes that the Roma are treated worse than others, even though they are also fleeing from the war.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Czech Republic, Roma, and Ukrainians

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Some Czech Roma are protesting about the release of the Ukrainian who killed a Rom in Brno recently. He is no longer in jail but on bail. The release of the murderer from the Brno case is a slap in the face of the Roma. “One less gypsy, so what?” according to Romani leader Tancoš.

These confrontations between Ukrainian refugees and Roma have not been good. Some Roma sided with some extreme right parties to complain about Ukrainian refugees. Our attitude is: Let’s see what justice says about this case. It is definitively bad that the suspect was released on bail, with the judge expressing doubt about this being a murder.

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