News

Commentary: Schools - tools for change or the status quo?

Prague, 25.10.2012 20:59, (Romano vod'i) A general comparison of the situation of the Romani minorities in five new EU Member States is now underway in which education is of central importance, viewed as the motor of inter-generational change and a tool for turning segregation into integration. The comparison will produce both an analysis of the state of affairs and of developments, as well as an analysis of barriers to progress, at a minimum because the accent on desegregation policy which has been the backbone of EU documents and the declaratory commitments made by the governments of these five new EU Member States (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) has not produced the desired results, nor has it reversed any of the current adverse developments in this area.  full story

"Stop Social Reform" vs. Czech xenophobic social policy

Prague, 24.10.2012 19:11, (ROMEA) By the end of 2011 and during the start of 2012, many measures known as "social reform" began to apply here in the Czech Republic. While it may not be immediately obvious, these reforms are introducing several completely new elements into the Czech environment that are fundamentally changing the active employment policy system and the provision of social assistance.  full story

videoPetra Gelbart: I don't study the Roma, I study the gadje

New York, 24.10.2012 17:58, (Romano vod'i) Dr. Petra Gelbart was born in Ústí nad Labem and considers Prague her home. At the age of 10, her parents moved the family to the USA. She studied musicology, specializing in ethnomusicology and education. During the school year she lives with her husband and two children in New York, in the predominantly Hispanic/Indian neighborhood of Jackson Heights. She lectures on Romani cultures at colleges and for the general public. Her lectures often feature accordion playing and singing.  full story

Germany: Angela Merkel has opened a memorial in Berlin to Roma Nazi Holocaust victims

Berlin, Germany, 24.10.2012 14:41, (ROMEA) The memorial - a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle - is in Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building.
The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial's design and its cost. Politicians, Holocaust survivors, the artist and various victims’ associations were debating for 20 years.  full story

Germany: Angela Merkel has opened a memorial in Berlin to Roma Nazi Holocaust victims

Berlin, Germany, 24.10.2012 14:41, (ROMEA) The memorial - a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle - is in Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building.
The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial's design and its cost. Politicians, Holocaust survivors, the artist and various victims’ associations were debating for 20 years.  full story

Dw.de: Germany finally remembers Roma persecution

Berlin, 24.10.2012 12:55, (ROMEA) Sinti and Roma have fought for a Holocaust memorial in Germany for decades, not only because they were victims of genocide, but also because they still face discrimination today. Their wish has finally been granted.  full story

Czech town councilors to decide fate of Romani residents

Přerov, 23.10.2012 22:07, (ROMEA) The leadership of the Přerov town hall is leaving the fate of the Romani locality on Škodova street up to local councilors to decide. The town's political leadership says they will demand that Přerov back out of a sales contract with the owner of properties in the locality because the conditions of the sale were not met. Town councilors should decide whether the Romani residents still remaining in the half-ruined buildings should be awarded municipally-owned apartments even though they are not the next in line for them and other applicants have been waiting a longer time. The town council will convene at the start of November.  full story