News

European Parliament proposes official Romani Holocaust Memorial Day

17.4.2015 16:22 On Wednesday 15 April the European Parliament (EP) proposed that European Union Member States recognize 2 August as European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, an occasion for commemorating the suffering that Romani people endured during the Second World War. The EP also called for greater efforts to combat discrimination, hate crimes, and hate speech against Romani people  full story

Interview with Czech manager who doesn't hire Roma as housekeepers

16.4.2015 17:12 News server Romea.cz has obtained a recording in which Anna Pižlová, manager of the Clinea firm, refuses to invite a Romani woman to interview for a housekeeping position. On the recording, the manager explains that her clients would not want the woman because of her nationality.  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 Republic: Romani Council of Ostrava gets politicians' blessing

15.4.2015 22:34 Yesterday in Ostrava representatives of the local Romani Council and its team of Romani experts met with politicians. Members of the Romani Council as well as political representatives view the creation of the Council as a milestone in collaboration between the Romani community and the city when it comes to solving their common problems.  full story

Czech Interior Ministry supports Roma-targeted projects in Kolín

Kolín, 15.4.2015 20:04 The Czech town of Kolín will begin a so-called Romani mentoring project in mid-year to aid Romani people with financial literacy and finding work. The aim is to keep Romani people from falling into the debt trap and intensifying the problems of socially excluded localities.  full story

Czech Labor Minister: Social problems solvable if towns would just access public funding

15.4.2015 19:18 The Czech Labor Office is able to help address social problems at the Janov housing estate in Litvínov. Czech Labor and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksová (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has recommended that the local government use money from the Labor Office to hire crime prevention assistants or maintenance workers.  full story

Spanish Roma protest label of "swindler" in dictionary

15.4.2015 0:48 The New York Times reports that several groups representing Romani people in Spain launched a campaign on Wednesday, 8 April, International Romani Day, to remove a reference from a world-renowned dictionary of the Spanish language that mentions Roma as "swindlers". The Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) and other Spanish organizations delivered protest letters to members of the Royal Spanish Language Academy, which produces the dictionary.  full story

Czech court sentences attacker to six years for six crimes against Romani family

14.4.2015 20:36 At the beginning of April a verdict was handed down in the case of a violent racially-motivated attack against a Romani family whose identities we are not reporting at their request. The defendant has been unconditionally sentenced by the first-instance Regional Court to six years in maximum-security prison and his driver's license has been suspended for a year and a half.  full story

Hungary: Appeals verdict expected in case of murder spree against Romani people

14.4.2015 18:55 Tomorrow, Wednesday 15 April, the second round of a court proceedings in the matter of a murder spree perpetrated against Romani people in 2008 and 2009 will begin at the Municipal Appeals Court in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. It is presumed that the second-instance court's verdict will be announced in May.  full story

Czech Police propose pressing charges over publication of radical Islamic book

Prague, 14.4.2015 17:51 The Czech Police have proposed pressing charges over the publication of a radical Islamic book. Czech Television reported today that Pavel Hanták, spokesperson for the Organized Crime Detection Unit, announced the recommendation.  full story

Hungary: Ultra-right Jobbik defeats governing party candidate again

Budapest, 14.4.2015 17:04 A by-election on Sunday for a parliamentary seat was won by a candidate for the ultra-right "Movement for a Better Hungary" (Jobbik) party who narrowly defeated the rival candidate for the governing "Hungarian Civic Union" (Fidesz) party. Jobbik boss Gábor Vona called his party's victory "historic".  full story

Czech branch of Russia's "Wotan Jugend" to stand trial

14.4.2015 1:00 Police and prosecutors have completed their investigation into the case of the establishment of a Czech cell of the neo-Nazi organization Wotan Jugend, based in Russia. Five people charged with the crimes of establishing, supporting and promoting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms will stand trial on Wednesday, 15 April.  full story

Czech Republic: 30 injured after Čunek's container housing catches fire

Vsetín, 14.4.2015 0:14, (ROMEA) Approximately 50 people had to be evacuated during a blaze in the prefabricated containers known as the "Čunek houses" in the Poschlá quarter of Vsetín, where a total of seven firefighting units had to intervene on 31 March after 15:00. The insulation on the first floor of the containers caught fire and two other stories were extensively damaged by smoke.  full story

Roma Education Fund scholarship deadline is 11 May 2015

Czech Republic, 13.4.2015 23:34, (ROMEA) The Roma Education Fund's scholarship program has announced its scholarship cycle for the 2015-2016 academic year; the deadline to apply is 11 May 2015. Through an open academic competition, the scholarship program offers a stipend to Romani students who are either citizens of or have permanent residency in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia or Turkey and who are attending Bachelor's, Master's or doctoral studies at state-accredited colleges.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani quintuplets have a new account for donations

Milovice/Prague, 13.4.2015 20:59, (ROMEA) At the start of April a new transparent account was opened for donations to the first-ever family of quintuplets in the Czech Republic. The purpose of the public fundraising campaign, which has been announced by the Maminky dětem (Mothers to Children) group in the town of Milovice, is to finance the quintuplets' needs until they attain majority.  full story

Greece: Influx of illegal immigrants has risen sharply this year

Athens, 13.4.2015 20:02, (ROMEA) The number of illegal immigrants arriving in Greece during the first quarter of 2015 has tripled compared to the same period last year. Agence France-Presse reports that the Greek Coast Guard announced the findings last Thursday.  full story

Czech Republic: 30 Romani people demonstrate for reopening of murder investigation

13.4.2015 3:40 Just 30 people assembled on Saturday, 11 April in the Czech town of Tanvald for a demonstration demanding a new investigation into the case of the shooting death of Ladislav Tatár, Jr. Jan Sieber of Tanvald was 63 years old when he shot the Romani youth and his brother in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2012.  full story

Czech Labor Minister: Current system serves speculators in poverty

12.4.2015 2:44 Even if the Czech state changes the current housing benefit system, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksová Tominová (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) says it will take a long time for it to be completely eliminated. The minister said the current system plays into the hands of speculators who house socially vulnerable people in their properties in order to draw money from the state in exchange for providing this form of service  full story

Slovak President: The Romani issue is one of society's most pressing problems

12.4.2015 2:14 The President of the Slovak Republic has issued the following press release:  full story

Documentary film review: "Suppressed Letters", about a Czechoslovak experiment with Romani children

12.4.2015 1:27 On 9 April, Czech Television broadcast the documentary film "Zatajené dopisy" ("Suppressed Letters"), which premiered at this year's One World Film Festival in Prague. In this film, director Tomáš Kudrna reveals the history of the so-called Květušínský experiment, which took place 65 years ago.  full story