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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

Slovak celebrity photo shoot in Romani settlement for ELLE magazine prompts racism

Prague, 21.7.2014 20:19, (ROMEA) Slovak recording artists Dara Rolins and Patrik "Rytmus" Vrbovský are featured on the cover of the August issue of the Czech-language edition of ELLE, and the magazine's photo shoot of them in an impoverished Romani settlement has been analyzed primarily by the tabloid press in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Several online readers have added their racist commentaries to those articles.  full story

Another Czech hate crime? Homeless man murdered in Prague

Prague, 21.7.2014 18:11, (ROMEA) A 43-year-old homeless man died this morning at the Hradčanská tram stop in Prague after being assaulted by an aggressive man who kicked and punched him. Police are now searching for the attacker, who faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted of committing grievous bodily harm resulting in death.  full story

Czech residential hotel cut off from water has no front door either

Ústí nad Labem, 18.7.2014 23:41, (ROMEA) The occupants of a residential hotel in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem have been dependent on a municipally-provided cistern for their water for almost two weeks now. Even though they have been properly paying their rent and deposits for utilities, the owners of the facility, the Joni family, owe about CZK 500 000 in unpaid electricity and water bills.  full story

Analysis: The Czech state's response to the "Year of Extremism"

Prague, 18.7.2014 22:18, (ROMEA) Last year extremists in the Czech Republic convened a total of 272 events, 136 fewer than in 2012 - at least according to the Czech Interior Ministry. So, did we all just imagine those frequent street battles between demonstrators and police last year, or is someone intentionally making fun of us here?  full story

French politician gets nine months for comparing minister to monkey

Cayenne, France, 18.7.2014 16:40, (ROMEA) On Tuesday a French court sentenced a former member of the ultra-right party Front National to nine months in prison without the possibility of parole and banned her from participating in politics for five years. On her microblog, Anne-Sophie Leclère compared French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira to a monkey.  full story

Czech Interior Minister meets director of EU Fundamental Rights Agency

Czech Republic, 18.7.2014 16:15, (ROMEA) On Thursday 17 July Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec met with the director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), Morten Kjaerum. Under the auspices of the EU, the FRA provides assistance to the Member States in applying fundamental human rights.  full story

videoBelgian mayor drives Romani campers out with loud music

Landen, Belgium, 18.7.2014 15:46, (ROMEA) A group of Romani people who parked their caravans on Sunday near the Belgian town of Landen were woken up on the morning of Wednesday, 16 July with loud rock music. The mayor of Landen hired a DJ to play the music in an effort to get them to leave town.  full story

Czech mayor refutes rumor she is forgiving Romani residents' debts

Vsetín, 17.7.2014 20:51, (ROMEA) The official website of the town of Vsetín has posted a statement regarding recent allegations made against Mayor Táborská. A majority-society resident has reportedly verbally abused the mayor over information published by a local weekly.  full story

Documentary film review: "All My Children"

Prague, 17.7.2014 20:00, (ROMEA) "All My Children" (Všetky moje deti), a documentary by Slovak director Ladislav Kaboš, captures the charismatic priest Marián Kuffa and the unusual aid he provides to Romani people. His aim is not to give them what they lack free of charge, but to teach them to help themselves.  full story