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Czech Radio: Inclusive education could cure Czechs' racial prejudice

Prague, 18.12.2013 22:06, (ROMEA) For six years the Czech Republic has been under fire from international critics about the education it provides young Roma. In 2007 the European Court of Human Rights gave the Czech Republic the message that it had violated the right to education of 18 Romani children by unjustifiably assigning them to attend "special schools".  full story

Slovakia: Romani woman couldn't find job, now owns her own store

Bratislava/Liptovský Mikuláš, 18.12.2013 17:47, (ROMEA) News server Romovia.sme.sk has reported the story of Jana Ferencová, a Romani woman who lived in residential hotels in the Czech Republic for years before starting her own business after returning to Slovakia (see http://romovia.sme.sk/c/7035901/romka-si-pracu-na-liptove-nenasla-dnes-ma-vlastny-obchod.html#ixzz2npHiVr32 - in Slovak only). This is her second year running a second-hand clothing shop in the town of Liptovský Hrádek.  full story

Czech Govt adopts seven measures to curtail social unrest

Prague, 18.12.2013 2:21, (ROMEA) On 11 December the Czech Government approved seven measures intended to help address the reasons behind a series of anti-Romani incidents that led to unrest this year in the towns of České Budějovice, Duchcov and Ostrava. The resolution tasks the ministries with undertaking specific legislative tasks.  full story

Swedish Police arrest 28 people after neo-Nazi attack

Stockholm, Sweden, 18.12.2013 1:14, (ROMEA) On 15 December, Swedish Police arrested 28 people after a group of right-wing extremists assaulted demonstrators protesting against neo-Nazism in a suburb of the capital, Stockholm. The right-wing radicals attacked the protesters with bottles, firecrackers and torches, the Associated Press reported on 16 December.  full story

Slovakia: Court acquits non-Romani youth of stabbing Romani man to death

Košice, Slovakia, 18.12.2013 0:50, (ROMEA) The District Court in the Slovak town of Košice has acquitted a non-Romani youth of stabbing a Romani man to death even though there is no question he committed the crime. Several psychiatrists testified that he was not responsible for his actions at the time, while other experts came to the opposite conclusion.  full story

Czech Senator Jiří Dienstbier might become Human Rights Minister

Prague, 17.12.2013 23:49, (ROMEA) Today the chair of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), Bohuslav Sobotka, once again reiterated that a Human Rights Ministry might well be part of his new government. Sobotka first mentioned the possibility over the weekend.  full story

UK: Babington Community College shows how to get Romani children out of the Czech "practical schools"

Great Britain, 17.12.2013 21:40, (ROMEA) Czech Radio has produced an extensive report on the opportunities for Romani children in England compared to conditions for them in the Czech Republic. News server Romea.cz here reprints in translation excerpts of the article posted on the website of Czech Radio (in Czech only at http://www.rozhlas.cz/plus/zaostreno/_zprava/babington-ukazuje-cestu-jak-dostat-romske-deti-ze-specialnich-skol--1293273 ).  full story

Czech Amnesty International holding seminar on human rights for educators

Prague, 17.12.2013 17:11, (ROMEA) Amnesty International Czech Republic will be holding a seminar for educators focused on the issues of discrimination, human rights and racism. The first part of the seminar will cover general human rights themes and provide in-depth information about the concept of human rights as well as materials and methodologies for easily including that concept as part of instruction; the second part will respond to educators' demands for a seminar to equip them with arguments, information, and methodologies to effectively respond to discrimination, displays of racism and xenophobia from their students and provide them with inspiration and materials for working with these themes during instruction.  full story

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion holds national Romani meeting

Prague, 17.12.2013 0:56, (ROMEA) On Thursday, 12 December, Romani representatives met with staff of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion and the Office of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs at Lichtenstein Palace in Prague. The meeting was attended by 80 members of the Romani community from all over the country.  full story

Czech Social Democratic chair considering Human Rights Minister in new cabinet

Prague, 16.12.2013 17:38, (ROMEA) On Saturday, 14 December at a meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) in Prague's Congress Center, the party as expected approved a coalition agreement with the ANO movement and the Christian Democrats. Party chair Bohuslav Sobotka told journalists there will be no further referendum inside the party.  full story

Czech experts believe centrally-located schools lead out of the ghetto

Brno, 16.12.2013 6:49, (ROMEA) The primary schools in the neighborhood of the Czech city of Brno referred to locally as the "Bronx" are almost exclusively attended by Romani children, and you won't normally find other kinds of children enrolled there. Activists want to integrate these Romani children more into the rest of society.  full story

Czech PM meets with Platform for Social Housing

Prague, 16.12.2013 3:43, (ROMEA) Czech Prime Minister Rusnok has met with representatives of the Platform for Social Housing, which published an open letter in which it took a stand against the Social Housing Concept drafted by the Czech Regional Development Ministry, as well as against the early adoption of an amendment to the Law on Aid to Those in Material Distress. The PM expressed appreciation for the Platform's activity and promised its representatives that he would review the materials.  full story

videoCzech rapper Bonus: Alone in the dead of night, heading upstream

Prague, 15.12.2013 22:07, (ROMEA) Bonus, aka Bourek, aka Martin Tvrdý - real name Martin Hůla - is a DJ, musician, rapper and songwriter. He was behind the creation of the band Sporto and has recently been performing with the Martin Tvrdý Trio project.  full story

Czech court reviews case of assault based on mistaken identity

Teplice, 15.12.2013 4:06, (ROMEA) A court in the Czech town of Teplice has begin reviewing the case of four Romani perpetrators who assaulted two ethnic Czechs in front of a local restaurant in the town of Duchcov after an anti-Romani demonstration there. The attackers wanted to settle scores with a local racist and a member of the DSSS party, Jindřich Svoboda, who had organized the protest.  full story

Senator Okamura: "The Czech Republic cannot afford social immigrants"

Prague, 15.12.2013 2:14, (ROMEA) On Tuesday, 10 December 2013, the Czech lower house discussed the first draft of a bill on the position of labor immigrants from countries outside the EU. The amendment was not approved upon a first reading as the Government urged and discussion of it will continue.  full story

Roma discrimination: end illegal expulsions and ethnic profiling, MEPs say

Brussels, 14.12.2013 21:56, (ROMEA) EU countries must stop illegal expulsion of Roma people and end ethnic profiling, police abuse and human rights violations perpetrated against them, says Parliament in a non-binding resolution adopted on Thursday. It assesses member states' strategies to boost Roma integration and calls for more funds to prevent discrimination and reach small community projects.  full story

Filip Borev: Genocide by another name? Assimilation and the 'Roma Question'

Londýn, 13.12.2013 15:22, (ROMEA) Young British Romani blogger writes on growing antiziganism in the UK - Genocide by another name? Assimilation and the 'Roma Question' Filip Borev is an 18-year-old British Romani writer whose voice is one of the freshest and most interesting in the UK today. He has been blogging, mainly about Romani issues, for two years and the extremely witty, mature and forthright style of his writing has won him many fans and also helped to dispel a lot of ignorance about the lives of Romani people and their history. In 2012, he came to the attention of the mainstream media when he wrote an open letter to one of the major UK TV channels, Channel 4, challenging the damaging racist stereotypes in their popular programme My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
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Czech NGO: Case conferences can address pupils' school difficulties

Prague, 11.12.2013 19:39, (ROMEA) Support for the academic and career success of young Roma and for quality inclusive education is one of the main priorities of the IQ Roma servis organization's Youth Program. The program seeks ways to resolve children's scholastic difficulties by working with them on an individual basis.  full story

Czech Green Party demonstrates for Human Rights Minister

Prague, 11.12.2013 18:19, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the Green Party (Strana zelených - SZ) held a demonstration calling for the creation of the post of Minister of Human Rights, Minorities and Equal Opportunities. During the "happening", which took place directly in front of the Lidový dům ("People's House"), the headquarters of the Czech Social Democratic Party on Hybernská Street, sidewalk was symbolically blocked and access was only granted to "adaptable citizens" while "inadaptables" had to take another route.  full story

Czech Gypsy Spirit awards 2013 go to Emil Cina, František Kostlán and Romodrom

Prague, 11.12.2013 4:25, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, after a three-year hiatus, the Gypsy Spirit awards were once again given out at the Prague Crossroads (Pražská křižovatka) cultural center. The prize for NGOs was won by the Romodrom civic association and the individual prize was awarded the late Emil Cina, who passed away in October.  full story