News

Czech Republic: Activists, evictees to hold open meeting on housing in Ostrava

Ostrava, 29.7.2014 15:57, (ROMEA) The following is a press release from the former residents of Přednádraží Street:  full story

Number of Romani college graduates rising in Czech Republic

Prague, 28.7.2014 22:18, (ROMEA) A Bachelor's in economics, a doctorate in law or a Master's in pedagogy. In the Czech Republic, thanks to special scholarships, the number of Romani college graduates is slowly increasing.  full story

Czech town stops collections on back rent worth CZK 30 million

Most, 28.7.2014 19:34, (ROMEA) Czech Television reports that the town hall of Most has stopped collections proceedings against 120 families living at the Chanov housing estate for debts worth roughly CZK 30 million. The town is also reportedly no longer seeking repayment of back rent and utility bills.  full story

Czech Republic: Water cut to yet another building because landlord didn't pay

Děčín, 28.7.2014 19:05, (ROMEA) The owner of yet another piece of real estate in the Czech Republic has not paid the water bill, so the water was shut off to the entire building on Vítězství Street in Děčín on 15 July. Six families are living there, all of them without running water.  full story

Czech ombud: Inclusive education the only way out of life in a segregated society

Brno, 25.7.2014 23:05, (ROMEA) Anna Šabatová, the recently-appointed ombud, brings a very important personal experience to the post from her pre-1989 past. As a dissident against the former regime, she has experienced what it is to be a minority in society.  full story

videoEuropean Roma Institute: An answer to what question?

EU, 25.7.2014 22:37, (ROMEA) In a video produced by the Council of Europe and posted to YouTube this week, Ulrich Bunjes, the Special Representative for Roma Issues, discusses the idea of creating a European Roma Institute (ERI). Outgoing Commission President Barroso and George Soros announced plans for such a development at the EU Roma Summit this past spring in Brussels.  full story

Commentary: Behind Europe's trend of aggression, intolerance and stupidity

Prague, 24.7.2014 22:02, (ROMEA) As this year's elections to the European Parliament have confirmed, it is no accident that populism and right-wing extremism are gaining strength throughout Europe. This is part of a trend we have been able observe for the last five to 10 years.  full story

German state of Bavaria bans largest neo-Nazi organization in the country

Munich, 24.7.2014 20:23, (ROMEA) The Interior Minister for the German state of Bavaria has banned the country's largest neo-Nazi organization, Freie Netz Süd (Free Network of the South or FNS). According to the weekly Der Spiegel, authorities have also searched a pub that was allegedly a well-known place for meetings of the ultra-right not only from Germany, but also from the Czech Republic.  full story

Western European leaders condemn recent wave of anti-Semitism there

Berlin/Brussels/Paris/Rome, 24.7.2014 19:28, (ROMEA) Anti-Semitic sentiment is growing throughout the countries of Western Europe due to the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. The sentiment is most visible in states with strong Muslim minorities.  full story

Czech Republic: Arson at detention facility, 50 people evacuated

Bělá pod Bezdězem (Mladá Boleslav district), 24.7.2014 18:47, (ROMEA) In the town of Bělá pod Bezdězem a residential hotel housing foreign nationals awaiting deportation caught fire this morning. Someone intentionally set fire to one of the rooms in the facility, which is run by the Czech Interior Ministry.  full story

Commentary: Pets, yes, children and foreigners, no

Prague, 24.7.2014 0:16, (ROMEA) Last week news server Romea.cz published a report about the fact that the North Bohemian Water Supply and Sewerage (Severočeské vodovody a kanalizace - SČVK) company had disconnected a residential hotel in Ústí nad Labem because the owner had not paid the bills, and several people commented online. One contributor posted that she didn't understand why anyone was still living in the facility since it had experienced those problems for such a long time and there are enough apartments for rent elsewhere.  full story

Czech Platform for Social Housing position paper calls for permanent housing

Prague, 23.7.2014 21:12, (ROMEA) The stories of people who have found themselves in need of housing were recently heard over the course of two days in Prague by experts on social issues, the ombud, and representatives of the authorities. Homeless men and women and the tenants of problematic residential hotels described their personal experiences at the meeting, which took place at the Office of the Government.  full story

Czech Government to map socially excluded localities

Prague, 23.7.2014 20:05, (ROMEA) News server Personalista.com reports that a large-scale survey of more than 200 communities throughout the Czech Republic is about to take place in order to determine the degree of their social exclusion and what the people living in such environments must deal with. The venture is part of the Analysis of Socially Excluded Localities in the Czech Republic that is being performed by the GAC company for the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry (MPSV) since the start of the year.  full story

Rytmus: It's narrow-minded to be upset by my photos with the Gypsies

Prague, 23.7.2014 19:27, (ROMEA) Slovak recording artists Patrik "Rytmus" Vrbovský and Dara Rolins are featured on the cover of the August issue of the Czech edition of ELLE. Their controversial photo shoot in a Romani settlement has prompted a wide range of responses.  full story

Czech Social Minister corrects Labor Office director's claims about welfare abuse

Prague, 23.7.2014 18:45, (ROMEA) A press release from the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry (MPSV) issued Monday states that according to the information available from the General Directorate of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic, the degree to which welfare is abused - applied for and received by those who do not qualify - ranges from between five to 10 % of the total volume of disbursals. The situation may vary depending on the region, but the vast majority of welfare makes its way to the right people.  full story

Almost half of all Roma in Slovakia are integrated, others live without sewerage

Bratislava, Slovakia, 23.7.2014 0:17, (ROMEA) News server Romovia.sme.sk reports that currently almost half of the roughly 402 000 Romani people in Slovakia live in integrated neighborhoods among the majority population. More than 95 000 Romani people reside on the outskirts of municipalities, 74 000 in segregated settlements, and roughly 46 000 in ghettos on the territory of towns or villages.  full story

videoBulgaria: Roma blockade demolition of their homes, riot police intervene

Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, 22.7.2014 23:24, (ROMEA) Clashes between police officers and Romani people broke out yesterday morning in the Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora. Romani people formed human chains in an effort to prevent authorities from demolishing their homes.  full story

Analysis: "Where is my home?" Not in the Czech Republic!

Prague, 22.7.2014 20:34, (ROMEA) Last Thursday and Friday in the city of Prague the National Meeting of People in Need of Housing took place. Homeless, impoverished people, whose opinions are usually ignored by most, developed interesting proposals during two days of concentrated work, proposals which, not surprisingly, could be used as a basis for addressing the problem of social housing here.  full story

Slovak TV anchor charged with misdemeanor for racist Facebook post

Bratislava, Slovakia, 22.7.2014 0:19, (ROMEA) The scandal of the racist status update posted by a former sports anchor for the RTVS public broadcasting television channel in Slovakia, Kristína Kormúthová, is now coming to an end. Police and the public prosecutor have investigated the incident and will now be addressing the case as a misdemeanor.  full story

videoRomani opera singer Miro Bartoš: You can't save the world, but you can help individuals

Prague, 21.7.2014 23:35, (ROMEA) Miro Bartoš and his sister Bohunka are among the few Romani people who have managed to escape an environment that did not give them much of a chance. Both siblings have graduated from music conservatories.  full story