News

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

Analysis: Vlastimil Pechanec - neo-Nazi martyr or hard-core murderer?

Prague, 17.7.2014 18:37, (ROMEA) On 21 July 2014 it will be 13 years since Otto Absolon, a father of two young children, died at the hands of a local neo-Nazi, Vlastimil Pechanec, in the East Bohemian town of Svitavy. At the end of last month, Mr Absolon's murderer was conditionally released from prison.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister completing amendment to enhance ombud powers

Brno/Prague, 17.7.2014 17:17, (ROMEA) Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democrats - ČSSD) will be submitting a draft amendment to enhance the powers of the ombud within the next few weeks. The change would grant the ombud authority to request the Constitutional Court to abolish dubious laws and the authority to file anti-discrimination suits.  full story

Czech adoption at decade low, Romani children often "exported"

Prague, 17.7.2014 16:43, (ROMEA) Authorities in the Czech Republic received the lowest number of requests for adoption last year during the past decade, a total of 626 (see table below). In recent years the number of requests has been gradually declining.  full story

International stipends for Romani college students: deadline 21/7

Czech Republic and other 15 countries, 17.7.2014 15:31, (ROMEA) Roma Education Fund’s Scholarship Program (REF SP) announces yearly scholarship cycle of the Roma International Scholar Program (RISP) for the 2014 - 2015 academic year. The Program is designed to provide partial support to Roma students who are citizens of one of the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, and Ukraine, for pursuing Bachelor, Master, Doctorate, or Postdoctoral education outside their home country or country of residence. The aim of the scholarship is to promote academic mobility of Roma students and support their academic integration internationally.  full story

videoRoma guys see a piano on the street - look what happened next!

Trnava, Slovakia, 16.7.2014 18:06, (ROMEA) A video from Slovakia is spreading like wildfire online featuring an upright piano on the street and three Romani guys. The footage was shot by Peter Bročka of Trnava, who posted the breathtaking clip to YouTube.com.  full story

videoA Flood Lays Bare Inequality in Bulgaria

Varna, 16.7.2014 12:02, (ROMEA) Asparuhovo district in Varna, Bulgaria, was the hardest hit area during the June 2014 floods. The tragedy is enormous; entire streets and houses have vanished. A total of 14 people were killed, including 4 children. I visited the area weeks after the disaster and the scenes remain apocalyptic.  full story

Kevin Basek, a volunteer from Lehigh University: Roma people face systematic exclusion

Praha, 16.7.2014 11:35, (ROMEA) During the first half of July, two students from Lehigh University in the USA, Kevin Basek and Alyssa Wedge, came to the offices of o.p.s. ROMEA having decided to spend their summer doing more than getting tan, taking trips and going to one party after another, as most of their peers probably will, and instead dedicating their time off from school to working for a nonprofit organization as volunteers. The opportunity for their international volunteering is made possible by the Inclusion o.p.s. organization, which focuses on supporting the inclusion and integration of minorities in the Czech Republic in collaboration with Christine Novak, a professor of clinical psychology, the UN Information Center in Prague, and the American Center Prague.  full story

Czech social housing responsibility may shift to municipalities

Prague, 15.7.2014 23:02, (ROMEA) Who should provide social housing? Should municipalities be obligated by law to provide social housing for their residents?  full story

European Shoah Legacy Institute to narrow focus, attract other states

Prague, 15.7.2014 21:33, (ROMEA) The European Shoah Legacy Institute, which is based in the Czech Republic, should become more narrowly focused and its financing and work should involve more countries than at present. Those are the proposals made by Jiří Čistecký, the Czech Government's Special Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, in a report reviewed by the cabinet on 9 July.  full story

videoCzech homeless people make video at Prague train station

Prague, 15.7.2014 18:56, (ROMEA) A total of 29 homeless people are featured in a new video clip that was filmed at Prague's Masaryk train station (Masarykové nádraží). In the emotional clip, the homeless men and women sing the Czech national anthem, "Kde domov můj?" (Where is My Home?).  full story

Czech state to provide co-financing for some EU-funded nonprofit projects

Prague, 15.7.2014 17:40, (ROMEA) Nonprofit organizations will not have to raise their own co-financing for certain EU-funded projects in years to come as the Czech Finance Ministry originally proposed. The Czech state will continue to provide the necessary co-financing to ensure the provision of education, inclusion and social services by nonprofits.  full story