Features and Commentary

How Easter has been celebrated among Roma of Slovak or Vlax origin in the Czech Republic

21.4.2019 16:33  full story

William Bila: Can we put an end to the dehumanization of Roma in France?

10.4.2019 16:20  full story

Karel Holomek: New name of memorial at Hodonín u Kunštátu does not reflect the fact of the Romani genocide

29.3.2017 11:58 On 16 March, the daily Právo published an article about transferring responsibility for the "memorial to Romani suffering during the Second World War" to the management of the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno. The memorial commemorates the camp at Hodonín u Kunštát where predominantly Romani people who were living in Moravia at that time - 1 400 of them - were imprisoned from mid-1942 until the end of 1943.  full story

Testimonies of survivors of the Nazi-era concentration camp for Roma at Lety in Czech Republic still not discussed

27.3.2017 7:53 On 15 March 1939, Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler proclaimed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in those regions of occupied Czechoslovakia. His representatives
proceeded to violate the provisions of the Czechoslovak Constitution concerning human rights for the duration of the Protectorate and, in addition to imposing binding,
discriminatory regulations targeting Jews, the Protectorate Government, led by Rudolf Beran under the direction of Nazi Germany, also targeted persons living on the fringes of society.  full story

ROMEA reports 10+ criminal incidents involving racist commentaries and threats on Facebook to the Czech Police

23.3.2017 16:36 During the past two months, the ROMEA organization has reported more than 10 suspected crimes involving racist posts and threats made through the Internet in which some people discussing online have verbally assaulted minorities, Roma included. In four of these cases, however, the police have not responded within the timeframe established by law for informing those who report suspected crimes as to whether police have taken any measures at all in those matters.  full story

Czech Senator embarrassingly falls for satire claiming EU wants to change the Czech alphabet

20.3.2017 7:20 We have written several times here at Romea.cz about Czech Senator Jaroslav Doubrava. Mostly we have reported his anti-Romani, racist remarks, or his attacks against the European Union (EU).  full story

Gwendolyn Albert: Is impunity ending for ethnic discrimination in the Czech schools?

16.3.2017 16:59

The judgment earlier this month finding that a primary school discriminated against Romani enrollees into first grade on the basis of their ethnicity stands out as an example of children and their parents asserting their right to education in the Czech Republic. Should the school appeal, and should the first-instance judgment withstand higher court scrutiny, we might be able to say that a first blow has been dealt by the Czech courts to the impunity for ethnic discrimination in the schools that has persisted here for decades.

 full story

Czech Republic: Romani child adopted by a non-Romani family tells his story

4.3.2017 11:31 Otakar Chládek (age 21) was born in and grew up in the Pardubice Region and holds a certificate as a waiter from the Zámek High School for Crafts, Services and Trades in Žamberk, Czech Republic. He currently is attending a medical course for emergency medical technicians and would like to complete his secondary education after that.  full story

Jan Cina: Being Romani is a normal part of my identity, but more important is what I know how to do

22.2.2017 8:01 Journalists have an easy time with him. He is civil, talkative, thoughtful, and for now any affectations of being a "star" haven't touched him yet.  full story

Inclusive education from the Czech Republic to Georgia to the USA

26.1.2017 8:29 If you were to tell people anywhere else in the world that inclusive education was not required by law in the Czech Republic until 2016, they would be shocked. If you were to tell them that the main reason for this change having to be forced onto the system by the state is the absurd number of Romani children attending the so-called "practical schools", they would have a hard time believing you.  full story

Carmen Russo: The Fight For a Better Future. Battling Racism in Czech Schools

12.1.2017 12:15 A small group of American interns at The New Presence office were exploring the answer to a seemingly difficult question: Why are some Czechs so outwardly racist?  full story

Albín Balát: The curious New Year's maneuvers of the Czech Police

10.1.2017 9:48 Recently photographs and video footage have been appearing on online social networking sites showing various interventions by the Czech Police. These amateur photos and recordings have been viewed several thousand times.  full story

Filip Sivák: Critical thinking is the greatest benefit of an education

15.12.2016 0:07 On 9 December, the ROMEA organization handed out its traditional Romano Suno awards for the Literary Competition for Romani Students at the American Center in Prague. The contest was announced on the occasion of International Romani Language Day.  full story

Kate Lapham: School should be a place where children learn how to live in society as citizens, to treat each other with respect, and to solve problems

7.12.2016 17:30 Kate Lapham: School should be a place where children learn how to live in society as citizens, to treat each other with respect, and to solve problems
Interview with Kate Lapham, senior Program Manager, Open Society Education Support Program

First I would like to ask you about whether there are any interesting projects in Europe that we could see as successful examples of integration under challenging circumstances?
There has been a great experience in Northern Ireland around the integration of Catholic and Protestant students. The aim is to put these two groups of students, who had previously been experiencing or still are experiencing the impacts of the conflict there within their own family, into the same school environment so they can learn together and also live together again.  full story

Renata Berkyová: Who were the guards at Lety by Písek?

7.11.2016 8:58 Even though more than half a century has passed since the camp at Lety by Písek came into existence, to this day that place and especially its story continues to spark tempestuous emotions. For some, the Romani Holocaust is one of the most tragic episodes in the life of the Czech Roma, while for others this controversial topic seems, at a minimum, one that it is appropriate to cast doubt on or to exploit as a way to score votes  full story

Romani heroes: The "Black" Partisan, Josef Serinek

10.10.2016 8:23 Josef Serinek (1900-1974, sometimes also spelled Serynek), a Czech Roma who went by the code name of Černý ("Black"), was a soldier during the First World War, a prisoner of the Lety concentration camp during the Second World War, and later a Partisan commander. After the end of the Second World War he ran a pub called "U černého partyzána" ("At the Black Partisan's Place") in the Czech town of Svitavy.
 full story

William Lazarus Bila: Roma joining the bandwagon on anti-refugee campaigns

6.10.2016 10:27 I am angry and disappointed. Despite the recent Hungarian Migrant Quota Referendum being deemed invalid and not succeeding in obtaining enough voter participation to have any significant meaning, the Hungarian Prime Minister and his followers have already begun spinning this failure into a success story for the delusional and uninformed. We need to stop this, for Europe.  full story

Martin Dudi: I want to become a teacher or work with children from poor families

5.10.2016 14:52 Martin Dudi is a 22-year-old Romani student from Písek who comes from a family that does its best to uphold Romani customs and traditions and even still speaks the Romanes language. Until the age of three he only spoke Romanes at home, and he did not begin to use Czech until he went to preschool.  full story

US Professor Ian Hancock on the Miss Roma competition: Romani girls do not need to sell their beauty

26.9.2016 21:21 The finale of the 16th annual competition "Miss Czechoslovak Roma", which was held on Saturday, 24 September in the Czech town of Hodonín, prompted many different reactions. In addition to commentaries on social networking sites, Petr Uhl published a critical article about the Romani beauty contest on news server Romea.cz.  full story

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance met with Czech Government about removing the pig farm at Lety concentration camp site

18.9.2016 14:16 On 12 July an International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) delegation including the IHRA Chair, Ambassador Mihnea Constantinescu, attended high level meetings in the Czech Republic to discuss the future of the former concentration camp site of Lety u Pisku where a pig farm currently stands. Martina Maschke, Chair of the IHRA Committee on the Genocide of the Roma and Mirjam Karoly, ODIHR's Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues formed part of the delegation and reflect below on their visit to the site.
 full story