Commentary

Alexander Oláh: A brief report on the emancipation, integration, and participation of Roma

23.5.2015 8:02 It is completely surprising, but the current Romani Integration Strategy is actually beginning to be implemented. This has never been the case before - the previous Romani Integration Concept was mostly about photographs of former Human Rights Minister Micahel Kocáb and was basically never implemented at all.  full story

Gyulla Banga: The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion is about Roma without them

19.5.2015 6:52 The goings-on around the Agency are genuinely embarrassing. It's a farce!  full story

Commentary: Is the fight over the Agency really about Romani integration?

17.5.2015 8:25 The dispute between employees of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion and Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier began with the dismissal of the Agency's director Martin Šimáček. By now, however, it has completely grown beyond a mere clash over who will be director - although who that is going to be is still an important issue.  full story

Commentary: How to end "school apartheid" in Slovakia?

3.5.2015 1:43 Vlado Rafael, an expert on education who is the director of the Eduroma project, says in an interview with news server Aktuálně.sk that the courts have already ruled against a school for segregating Romani children in Slovakia. The verdict was a breakthrough - three years ago the court prohibited the school in the town of Šarišské Michaľany from segregating Romani children away from others  full story

Commentary: Dismissal of Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion director is bad news, and not just for impoverished Roma

26.4.2015 5:30 At the end of last week, most of those "involved with Roma" were startled by the news that Martin Šimáček had been dismissed as director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion. Voices were immediately raised in support of him by more than 50 employees of the Agency.  full story

Renata Berkyová: Should the Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion have been more "Romani"?

24.4.2015 21:33 Over the last few days, Martin Šimáček has become a popular face in the media in connection with his dismissal from the post of director of the Agency for Social Inclusion. The entire Agency staff and a noticeable portion of the public have protested the decision of Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier to remove him.  full story

Karel Holomek: Why might the director of the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion have been dismissed?

Brno, 24.4.2015 2:36 Czech Human Rights Minister Dienstbier has completely unexpectedly dismissed the director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, Bc. Martin Šimáček. While he did not initially state the reasons for the dismissal on 17 April, he did so in a follow-up on 22 April.  full story

Commentary: Czech Human Rights Minister fights with social inclusion head while the "Nazis" laugh

23.4.2015 1:24 Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier has removed Martin Šimáček from his position as head of the Agency for Social Inclusion and both men have engaged in mutual recriminations in a public clash. The only people who are hugely enjoying this are probably the antigypsyists and the "Nazis", so what are we to make of what seems at first glance to be an absurd situation?  full story

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion staff protest removal of director

17.4.2015 21:35 Staff members of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion have sent an open letter to Czech Human Rights Minister Dienstbier protesting his removal of the Agency's director. News server Romea.cz brings you their letter in full translation below.  full story

Commentary: Can a "trafficker in poverty" improve the participation of impoverished Romani people?

15.4.2015 23:56 The creation of the Romani Council of Ostrava has raised big expectations that are shared not just by local and national politicians, but also by Romani activists and experts. No one seems bothered by the fact that the chair of the Romani Council and the organizer of the elections that chose its officers is Vladimír Leško - or at least, no one will publicly say so.  full story

Czech Television humiliates Romani people on their International Day

8.4.2015 22:30 Czech Television's programming on 7 April ahead of International Romani Day featured somewhat embarrassing dramaturgy and a documentary film promoting antigypsyist stereotypes and clichés. The public broadcaster had announced last week that a program of many documentary and feature-length films would be shown in honor of 8 April.  full story

Commentary: Who is the real expert here?

7.4.2015 1:57 In an article published 27 March by the Česká škola (Czech School) website, Jiří Pilař endeavors to interpret the recently-adopted amendment to the Schools Act. Actually he does not present any arguments in his piece, but simply practices division and spite, first creating and then shoring up an antagonism between "activists" and "experts", both "groups" of his own making.  full story

Commentary: Why are they setting up a European Roma Institute?

5.4.2015 21:30, (ROMEA) Under this heading - substitute with "we" - billionaire George Soros and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland published this comment week before last.  full story

Czech TV journalist Richard Samko on the "Romani star" scandal

4.4.2015 19:10 It took me a few days to be able to write a response to the article recently published by Mf DNES and iDNES.cz about Klaudia Dudová. I am disgusted.  full story

Commentary: Tabloids are based on stupidity, with racism as a side effect

4.4.2015 1:05 "I knew she was the actress from the film 'The Way Out'. That was a guarantee for me of a certain seriousness. I told myself that it's not possible that all Roma are the same," says a landlord whom Klaudia Dudová owes approximately CZK 25 000 in back rent.  full story

Commentary: If I were Romani, I'd go crazy

29.3.2015 20:25 "To be Romani all too frequently means living in an excluded locality. To live in a ghetto means being close to the drug mafia, loan sharks, and speculators in social housing, to be in the sights of those who traffic in poverty. It means to experience despair, frustration , hopelessness and resignation. In such a situation, merely finding the will to escape it is a minor miracle," writes commentator Martin Vrba in an article for the Czech online magazine A2larm.cz.  full story

Karel Holomek: Segregation is a source of crime, frustration and hatred

28.3.2015 19:45 I do not want to a priori suspect Mr Čunek of endeavoring to harm Romani people, even though he is succeeding exceptionally well at exactly that. He is being applauded on an open stage and people undoubtedly ultimately sent him back as Mayor of Vsetín and even as Senator for exactly that reason.  full story

Why we are setting up a European Roma Institute

27.3.2015 20:23, (European Voice) For more than four decades Europe’s Roma community have wanted to establish an institution that would give their music, art and unique traditions their own stage. Across the continent, such bodies exist to celebrate an array of cultures, nationalities and identities. Yet, there is nothing of this kind for Roma. Many feel this absence, particularly among Romani campaigners, educators and intellectuals. It compounds a sense of exclusion and denies all of us the opportunity to celebrate the Roma influence on our shared cultural life. We are joining forces to help put this right.  full story

Commentary: What can be expected of European Union meetings on Roma?

20.3.2015 21:39, (ROMEA) Will the position of Romani people in the European Union ever improve? Does the EU have the concepts in place and enough tools available to effectively boost the integration of the Romani minority?  full story

Commentary: Embarrassing ministerial games about Romani children and the "special schools"

14.3.2015 19:10, (ROMEA) On 12 March a sad and serious fact about the discrimination of Romani children in the Czech Republic was confirmed: The approach of the Czech Education Ministry continues to show that it does not take seriously the notion that schools should be open to all children and that Romani children should enjoy equal access to education. The ministry's position on this issue is embarrassing at the very least.  full story