News

The Roma in Czech film

Prague, 25.3.2014 4:29, (Romano Voďi) In the first double issue this year of the monthly Romano voďi we have prepared a three-part series for you on the topic of foreigners and minorities in film and television. In these three articles about various countries - the Czech Republic, Germany, and the USA - the authors discuss film and television productions and touch on the depiction of Romani people in literature as well.  full story

Czech PM on Ukraine: We cannot agree with right-wing extremism

Prague, 24.3.2014 20:03, (ROMEA) Czech PM Bohuslav Sobotka considers it important for the current Ukrainian government to implement a sensitive national minority policy based on the idea of integration. The PM made his remarks to Czech journalists in Brussels after signing the political section of the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine together with other EU leaders and Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk.  full story

Analysis: What the Czech media ignore about Ukraine

Prague, 24.3.2014 19:19, (Romano Voďi) This article was written for the print edition of Romano vod'i magazine at the start of March.  full story

Commentary: Czech MP blogs up an antigypsyist storm over minor incident

Prague, 22.3.2014 18:43, (ROMEA) The Czech media know what it is they are all selling us here. Money, sex, violence and xenophobia.  full story

Much more EU money to target Czech ghettos, social inclusion in future

Prague, 22.3.2014 17:20, (ROMEA) Much more EU money than previously is slated for investment into the fight against poverty, into measures promoting social inclusion, and into solving the problems of ghettos in years to come. Moreover, individual programs managed by the Czech Education Ministry, the Labor Ministry, and the Regional Development Ministry may become more interconnected in order to improve their impact.  full story

World commemorates International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Prague, 21.3.2014 20:01, (ROMEA) 21 March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In 1966 it was officially so declared by the UN General Assembly.  full story

Czech NGOs say social housing can be addressed through more investment

Prague, 21.3.2014 19:22, (RO) The Czech state should invest more money into social welfare, including social housing, or it will not be possible for towns and villages to be responsible for providing it. That is the joint statement released recently by the Platform for Social Housing and the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic (Svaz měst a obcí ČR - SMOČ).  full story

European Network against Racism: Ethnic, religious minorities face labor discrimination in Europe

Brussels/Prague, 21.3.2014 18:32, (ROMEA) For immigrants to the EU from non-EU countries, Muslims, Romani people, and women from ethnic minorities, discrimination represents a fundamental barrier to finding work. The situation does not improve for many minority group members even if they do manage to gain employment.  full story

Commentary: Czech racism reaches a new low

Prague, 21.3.2014 17:37, (ROMEA) On 19 March, the Czech media reported that a 14-year-old girl from Ostrava had not been seen since the previous afternoon and is considered missing. The Czech Police are asking the public to aid in the search for her.  full story

Czech students, German volunteers launch anti-racism campaign tomorrow

Prague, 20.3.2014 23:03, (ROMEA) In 1966, the UN General Assembly declared 21 March the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The day was chosen to protest the brutal murder of 69 people in 1960 who had been demonstrating in the South African city of Sharpeville against apartheid.  full story

Jan Josef Rosenberg: Roma are now doctors and teachers, but we can't forget about morality

Prague, 20.3.2014 22:03, (ROMEA) Jan Josef Rosenberg is a journalist and photographer who works in film, radio and theater. On 8 April 2014, International Romani Day, the public will once again have the opportunity to see one of his unique exhibitions, "Roma Today as They Were Centuries Ago" ("Romové dnes jako před staletími").  full story

EU Commissioner László Andor: Czech Govt must not ignore jobs, preschools, Roma

Brussels, 20.3.2014 18:39, (ROMEA) The Czech Government should not ignore the issues of the position of the Romani minority, preschool education, and youth unemployment. EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor made those remarks to the Czech News Agency and Czech Radio during his visit to Prague last Friday.  full story

Valeriu Nicolae: Avoiding failing again -The EU Roma Summit – problems and solutions

Bucharest, 20.3.2014 11:57, (ROMEA) The biggest problems in the Roma Social Inclusion process are related to the inability, incompetence and lack of political will at the level of the national governments. There are ways to address these problems but due to strong anti-Gypsyism and corruption addressing these problems is a much more complicated process than solving the existing problems within the European Commission (EC).  The EC  needs to pressure states into reform but has no legitimacy to do so if it doesn’t first change itself.  full story

Commentary: The Roma and the Vietnamese, or the "evil" and the "good" aliens

Prague, 19.3.2014 19:39, (ROMEA) Opinions on the so-called "Roma question" are encoded in the generally popular comparisons of Romani and Vietnamese people that we hear being made in the Czech Republic. In these figures of speech, where Vietnamese people play a purely rhetorical role, the "Roma question" is actually the main topic of discussion; such tropes are essentially just a more sophisticated form of "cursing the Gypsies" here.  full story

Slovak capital distances itself from the Fascist past with a flag and a march

Bratislava, Slovakia, 19.3.2014 15:43, (ROMEA) On 14 March a flag featuring a crossed-out Nazi swastika flew over the office of the mayor of Bratislava to symbolize that the Slovak capital is a city of peace and tolerance. The flag was flown all weekend.  full story

Czech Republic: Verdicts announced in case that sparked 2013 anti-Romani violence

Ústí nad Labem, 19.3.2014 15:05, (ROMEA) Today the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem handed down sentences against the five people involved in last year's brutal assault on a married couple in the town of Duchcov (Teplice district) ranging from one year on probation to three years in prison. The one juvenile assailant involved, who was the most brutal, will spend two years in prison for committing grievous bodily harm, rioting, and attempted theft.  full story

Repairing the Damage of a Roma Eviction

Bucharest, 19.3.2014 10:15, (ROMEA) In early December 2010, over 70 Roma families lived on Coastei Street in downtown Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second biggest city. Many had been in this long-established community for years.  full story

Cyril Koky: Ukraine, where are you heading?

Prague, 18.3.2014 23:36, (ROMEA) Everyone is closely watching what is happening in Ukraine today with horror and an appropriate dose of fear. Ukraine has been seething since November, when its government halted preparations for signing an association agreement with the EU and called for expanding economic cooperation with Russia.  full story

Latvia: SS veterans celebrate, minister who joined them is fired

Riga, Latvia, 18.3.2014 23:02, (ROMEA) On Sunday, 16 March, hundreds of Latvians attended a traditional march in Riga celebrating Latvian veterans who fought alongside German Nazis during WWII. The Associated Press reports that a government minister was fired for stating his intention to attend the event.  full story

Czech Republic: Equal Opportunities Party and Roma Democratic Party field EP candidates

Prague, 18.3.2014 22:09, (ROMEA) A total of 39 political groups have registered their candidates for this year's elections to the European Parliament with the Czech Interior Ministry. There are six more candidates this time than there were during the last EP elections five years ago.  full story