News

Czech Republic: 47-year-old man learns to count and read for first time

Teplá, Toužim - Dobrá voda, 20.4.2013 14:46, (ROMEA) The following is a translation of a press release from the Český západ civic association:  full story

Prague Post: The new face of Czech fashion

Prague, 19.4.2013 10:05, (ROMEA) Ironically, the fashion industry likes homogeneity. It thrives in conditions where all of the players are known and can be easily identified, manipulated and pigeonholed.  full story

Poll finds Czechs like Romani people least, Slovaks most

Prague, 19.4.2013 6:14, (ROMEA) A survey conducted in March by the Center for Public Opinion Research (Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění - CVVM) has found that of the national groups living in the Czech Republic, Czech people like Romani people the least and Slovaks the most. More than four-fifths of Czechs surveyed consider Slovaks to be congenial.  full story

Czech EdMin awarded booby prize for data leak about Romani students

Prague, 18.4.2013 13:21, (ROMEA) On Wednesday 17 April 2013 the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport received a Data Leak Award for the online leak of almost 900 Romani students’ personal information. The award ceremony was held at the Karlín Theater in Prague. An expert jury selected the winners on the basis of criteria evaluating the extent of damage caused by the leak, the nature of the information leaked, and the way it was leaked.  full story

VIDEO: Discussion after screening of documentary film “Life and Death in Tanvald”

Prague, 17.4.2013 15:04, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Romani Day, a series of concerts, a debate and a screening of the documentary film “Life and Death in Tanvald” (“Život a smrt v Tanvaldu”) were held at the Cross Club in Prague on Sunday, 7 April 2013. The ROMEA civic association invited one of the producers, Vít Klusák, to discuss the film.  full story

Roma Education Fund announces scholarships for Romani college students

Prague, 16.4.2013 14:23, (ROMEA) Are you a college student, or a high school senior planning to continue your studies? Are you Romani? Are you interested in a scholarship for the 2013/2014 academic year?  full story

Czech Republic: Romani tenants overcharged for substandard housing

Liberec, 16.4.2013 5:38, (ROMEA) Romani tenants of tenements in excluded localities on the outskirts of Liberec, a town of 100 000 in the Czech Republic, pay almost CZK 9 000 in rent for studio apartments, often with mold-infested walls. According to a study mapping the ghetto in Liberec, about 1 100 people are living in such conditions in several residential hotels and 14 apartment buildings.  full story

USA: We cannot ignore the discrimination of Romani people

USA, 13.4.2013 21:34, (www.state.gov ) On the occasion of International Romani Day, 8 April 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry sent greetings from President Obama and the people of the United States of America to Romani people everywhere. International Romani Day celebrates the diversity of Romani culture.  full story

HATTRICK: Famous Romani footballers

Czech Republic, 13.4.2013 19:11, (ROMEA) The following is a translated excerpt from the Czech magazine HATTRICK (the full article in Czech is at http://hattrick.cz/slavni-romove-ve-fotbale-aneb-proc-nehral-s-kollerem-v-utoku-narodaku-gabco/):  full story

Jozef Miker: Hate is No Solution

Krupka, 13.4.2013 3:32, (ROMEA) Who will be chosen as the greatest hero fighting injustice, unfair treatment and wrongs in the Czech Republic? Cast your vote in the survey “Anyone Can Be a Hero” (Hrdinou může být každý) at hrdinou.cz.  full story

UK: Fishery owner bans Eastern Europeans from accessing lake

Great Britain, 12.4.2013 22:53, (ROMEA) BBC online reports that the owner of a fishing lake in Great Britain has decided to prohibit people from Eastern European countries from accessing it because they allegedly have been stealing fish instead of releasing them once caught. Four months ago he posted a sign at the lake to that effect which has become the subject of a local police investigation.  full story

Elena Gorolová: Illegal sterilization

Ostrava, 11.4.2013 23:26, (ROMEA) Who will be chosen as the greatest hero fighting injustice, unfair treatment and wrongs in the Czech Republic? Cast your vote in the survey “Anyone Can Be a Hero” (Hrdinou může být každý) at hrdinou.cz.  full story

Czech NGO asks public to vote on heroes

Prague, 11.4.2013 22:26, (ROMEA) Who will be chosen as the greatest hero fighting injustice, unfair treatment and wrongs in the Czech Republic today? The public can choose their favorite in the online survey “Anyone Can Be a Hero” (Hrdinou může být každý) at hrdinou.cz. The project, designed by the NGO League of Human Rights (Liga lidských práv), is accompanied by a campaign called “Don’t be a sheep, be a hero” (Nebuď béééčko, buď hrdinou).  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion and ROMEA offer to work with media for more objective reporting about Romani people

Prague, 11.4.2013 17:22, (ROMEA) On the occasion of International Romani Day this Monday 8 April, the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion and the ROMEA civic association held a round table on the topic of Portraying Romani People in the Media at the Journalists’ Syndicate under the auspices of Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková. The Agency presented the results of its extensive analysis of the Czech media there.  full story

Slovakia: Romani man from Czech Republic and others beaten by 20 skinheads

Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia, 11.4.2013 16:18, (ROMEA) The Slovak media are reporting that allegedly as many as 20 skinhead attackers brutally beat up a Romani man from the Czech Republic at a party in the Central Slovakian town of Banská Štiavnica. The man lost consciousness as a result of the brawl. Two Georgians and the man’s girlfriend, who is a local resident, were also targeted for attack. It is not yet clear whether the conflict was racially motivated.  full story

British concerns over influx of Bulgarians and Romanians said to be exaggerated

Brussels, Belgium, 10.4.2013 23:23, (ROMEA) The British Government has commissioned an independent study of immigration to Great Britain from Bulgaria and Romania and published the results on 5 April. The number of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania should not significantly grow until the start of next year, when the last legal barriers to freedom of movement for those citizens are set to expire.  full story

Czech Republic: Research shows smaller primary school classes could end illegal selection of children

Karlovy Vary, 10.4.2013 17:16, (ROMEA) A unique research project focused on the capacity of mainstream primary schools to educate pupils with light mental or physical disabilities as required by law has revealed enormous differences among primary schools in the Karlovy Vary region. Success in this regard often depends on the will of the school management and on the depth of methodological support available for teachers.  full story

Statement by Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence on the occasion of International Roma Day

Brussels, 10.4.2013 10:42, (ROMEA) On International Roma Day, 8 April 2013, the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, Chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, emphasised the importance of implementing the National Roma Integration Strategies, which were published in 2012.  full story

Civil society members of Czech Govt Inter-ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs want housing discrimination addressed

Prague, 10.4.2013 2:17, (ROMEA) Civil society members of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission on Roma Community Affairs completely identify with the conclusions reached by experts regarding a recently published analysis commissioned by the Czech Regional Development Ministry, “Social residential hotels as long-term housing for the socially vulnerable” (Sociální ubytovny jako dlouhodobé bydlení pro sociálně slabé). Even before the experts held a press conference on the issue, the civil society members had independently communicated their opinion of how the analysis was produced to ministry representatives.  full story

Czech Govt HR Commissioner submits plan to resolve crises in regions

Prague, 10.4.2013 1:58, (ROMEA) Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková presented information to the 3 April cabinet session on the design of a plan for the state to follow when intervening in regions where social unrest and tensions are growing. The Government asked the Commissioner to elaborate the plan through a resolution adopted last August to set up a Working Group to address crisis situations in the regions.  full story