World

Slovakia: More than 50 children from socially deprived families institutionalized since year began

19.1.2017 8:49 Since the beginning of this year audits have been underway of the living conditions in socially vulnerable families in Slovakia during the persistently cold weather, with social workers visiting thousands of families around the country and institutionalizing 56 children as of 17 January. "The consequence of our visits is that we discovered cases in which we had to remove the children. In some cases, our colleagues had to call ambulances for them," said the head of the Slovak Headquarters for Labor, Social Affairs and the Family, Marián Valentovič.
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Slovakia: Entrepreneur organizes food distribution to the needy

19.1.2017 7:21 The entrepreneur Marián Markovič has been organizing humanitarian aid since 9 January in the town of Komárna in southern Slovakia for homeless persons and the socially vulnerable. He reached out to local restaurants Alegra, Fiest, and Neptún, which have been providing him food, and posted to his Facebook profile asking people to give the needy warm clothing.  full story

Hungary: Camerawoman gets three-year probation for kicking at migrants

17.1.2017 9:56 A court in the town of Szeged has placed Petra László, the Hungarian camerawoman for the N1TV station who kicked migrants at the Hungarian-Serbian border in September 2015, on probation for three years. The public defender is appealing and asking that his client be released.  full story

Slovakia: MP for fascist party criticizes recipients of state honors because of their origins and work

16.1.2017 10:17 Stanislav Mizík, an MP with the fascist party called "Kotleba-People's Party our Slovakia" (LSNS) has criticized Slovak President Andrej Kiska for awarding high state honors to figures such as film director Juraj Jerz and the Czech musician Michael Kocáb. The MP justified his criticism by stating that those honored were of Jewish origin and by disparaging their activities.  full story

Civil March for Aleppo in the Czech Republic receives both hate and love

15.1.2017 11:02 Many readers may have noticed in the media, or in online social networks, that the March for Aleppo is proceeding through the Czech Republic - but what is it? Last month a Polish blogger and journalist living in Berlin, Anna Alboth, made this video:  full story

Human Rights Watch: Success of populists in Europe and US endangers human rights

13.1.2017 11:15 The electoral success of Donald Trump in the USA and the triumphs of populists in Europe represent a serious threat to the protection of fundamental human rights. Today the international organization for human rights protection, Human Rights Watch (HRW), presented that finding in its annual report.  full story

Hungarian PM attacks nonprofits supported by Soros, wants to close them

13.1.2017 9:24 The BBC and the Bloomberg wire service reported yesterday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is said to be intent on taking aggressive action against NGOs financed by billionaire George Soros. The Hungarian PM has previously been criticized by the EU and the USA for his attacks on such organizations.  full story

Slovak President gives state honors to 20 figures, including Czech politician

10.1.2017 11:45 High state honors were awarded yesterday in Slovakia to film director Juraj Herz, in memoriam to the longtime editor of the Romano nevo l'il newspaper Daniela Hivešová-Šilanová, and to the Czech politician Michael Kocáb. They were among 20 such figures honored by Slovak President Andrej Kiska at the castle in Bratislava.  full story

Germany: Berlinale Film Festival opens with film about Django Reinhardt

10.1.2017 10:55 The 67th annual incarnation of one of the most significant film festivals in the world, Germany's Berlinale, will open this year with the world premier of "Django". The feature-length film about the genius Sinti jazz musician is a directorial debut for French producer and screenwriter Etienne Comar, who is known primarily thanks to his work on the screenplay for the critically-acclaimed 2015 film "Mon Roi" (My King).  full story

England: Families of girls who died after hit-and-run give thanks for support, ask Romani community not to raise any more money

10.1.2017 8:26 The families of the Romani girls who were killed in England on New Year's Eve by an irresponsible hit-and-run driver have sent a video message through the Facebook profile of one of their relatives asking the public not to organize any more fundraising drives to support them. In the roughly three-minute message, the family members each express their gratitude to everybody who has already provided them with financial, moral and psychological support.  full story

Civil March for Aleppo crosses into the Czech Republic

9.1.2017 17:24 Hundreds of people left Berlin, Germany at the end of 2016 on a 4 000 kilometer long march to Aleppo, Syria. Those participating will continue through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey to Syria.  full story

Model is shocked by Czech racists' response to him, incident now an international embarrassment

9.1.2017 7:26 The scandal of racist commentaries being posted to Facebook in response to the international Lidl retail chain's use of a black model in an advertising flier in the Czech Republic has drawn media attention in many European countries including Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. The news has reached the model himself, who lives in Hamburg, Germany.  full story

NGO representatives from 20 countries attend ODIHR/OSCE round table on monitoring demonstrations and keeping them nonviolent

6.1.2017 8:06 Last month the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held a three-day round table on the topic of monitoring public assemblies and demonstrations during which representatives of nonprofits from 20 countries, including a representative of the ROMEA organization in the Czech Republic, presented their experiences with monitoring demonstrations and working with local authorities and police during public assemblies. Roughly 35 representatives from 20 countries worldwide attended.  full story

Czech Republic: Two-day European conference on Romani education to take place in Prague

5.1.2017 11:51 On 17 and 18 January an international exchange conference called "It Is Not Too Late" (Ještě není příliš pozdě) will take place at Prague City Hall (Mariánské náměstí 2). The program will feature primarily examples of good practice in the area of educating members of the Romani minority.  full story

Poland: Solidarity march with Muslims planned in Elk after xenophobic unrest continues

5.1.2017 8:05 In the Polish town of Elk, anti-foreigner unrest has been continuing after the death on New Year's Eve of a young Polish man during a scuffle with the employees of a kebab restaurant there. Police have already arrested at least 24 local residents and charged most of them with disturbing the peace.  full story

Renáta Kováčová: Tragic death in UK of two Romani girls from Czech Republic sparks horrible online commentary

4.1.2017 7:30 Most of us have probably heard about the tragedy that happened on New Year's Eve in Great Britain when a driver ran into two young girls from the Czech Republic and then left the scene without providing them first aid. One girl died on the spot and the other also succumbed to her injuries later.  full story

Germany: Researchers find there were more victims of the Holocaust than previously believed

3.1.2017 8:46 The number of victims of the Holocaust from the Jewish communities living on the territory of the German Reich is approximately 15 000 more than has heretofore been reported. According to the German news server Spiegel Online, researchers from Germany's Federal Archive announced the findings on the basis of a detailed study of the fates of individual Jewish people living in Nazi Germany.  full story

Poland: Attempted robbery results in death, racist unrest

3.1.2017 7:14 Polish Police have chargd a 26-year-old Tunisian man with murder after the stabbing death of a 21-year-old Polish man on New Year's Eve sparked racial unrest in the town of Elk in the northeast of the country. Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported yesterday that police arrested 28 people who were involved in the unrest on Sunday.  full story

Ukraine: Odessa is flooded with anti-Romani posters

2.1.2017 11:33 Squares and streets in the Ukrainian city of Odessa have recently been flooded with posters featuring portraits of Romani people splattered with blood and messages such as "Roma are bandits and murderers!" Other posters read "Don't forget Loshchynivka", a reference to a case in which a girl from that village was murdered in August, sparking pogroms against local Romani residents.  full story

videoSlovak President addresses anti-Romani sentiment in New Year's Day speech

2.1.2017 9:28 Not all Romani people are parasites and not all Muslims are potential terrorists, Slovak President Andrej Kiska pointed out in his New Year's address yesterday. Kiska highlighted that people are now willing to tolerate the hatred, nonsense and vulgarities spreading on the Internet and online social networks.  full story