World

European Roma and Travellers Forum asks Pope to revise his rhetoric on Roma

6.11.2015 17:52 In a letter addressed to the Pope today, the President of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) Mr Gheorghe Raducanu welcomes the Catholic Church's recent initiatives to combat discrimination against Roma, Sinti and Travellers, but regrets that some of the Pope's well-intentioned remarks are likely to instead promote the sentiments that promote such discrimination by the majority population. “Asking the audience to be good Christians 'avoiding all that is not worthy of this name: lies, frauds, swindles, altercation', is excellent advice to be addressed to all Christians but, in the context of an audience with Roma and Sinti, this advice seems to be addressed exclusively to them," the letter notes.  full story

German state of Bavaria prepares to sue federal government over alleged mishandling of the refugee crisis

4.11.2015 22:39 The German daily Tagesspiegel reports that the German state of Bavaria is preparing a Constitutional complaint against the German Government over the current influx of refugees into the country. The country's largest state is of the opinion that the federal government is not meeting its obligations during the refugee crisis by not attempting to restrict the arrival of immigrants to the country.  full story

Slovakia: Roma build new homes with EU money

3.11.2015 22:08 The Office of the Slovak Government's Plenipotentiary for Romani Community Affairs allocated financing last year for three local administrations to build lower-standard small apartment buildings. That successful project can now continue thanks to a subsidy in the amount of EUR 70 million to be provided to Slovakia by the European Union for the purpose of building more such dwellings.  full story

Analysis: Did the Hungarian Justice Minister really warn that Roma could join jihadists in Syria?

2.11.2015 17:31 Brussels-based news server EU Observer reported recently that Hungarian Justice Minister László Trócsányi allegedly spoke at a recent conference in Brussels of the danger of the possible radicalization of Romani people, who could become the next jihadists in Syria. However, what precisely he said and what he meant is now the subject of ongoing discussion and speculation.  full story

videoEXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Romani police officer originally from Czech Republic becomes a Member of the British Empire

31.10.2015 17:46 On 29 October, police officer Petr Torák received the honor of being appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the UK Home Office. The high civilian honor was awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth II for his community work in the town of Peterborough.  full story

Slovakia: Artists protest Governor after he blocks anti-xenophobia project funding

31.10.2015 16:02 In the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia artists are protesting the actions of Governor Marián Kotleba, who is known for his admiration of the WWII-era clerical Fascist Slovak State, his anti-Romani posturing, and his extremist political opinions. The Governor has refused to sign already-approved subsidies for projects aiming to warn young people against the dangers of extremism and xenophobia.  full story

Romani participant in international pilgrimage: Meeting the Pope is the experience of a lifetime

31.10.2015 14:49 Anna Bystrá was a participant in the recent meeting with Pope Francis as part of the International Pilgrimage of Gypsies in Rome. News server Romea.cz interviewed her about her experience there.  full story

Austrian Chancellor: Fences will not solve the problem of refugees

30.10.2015 20:46 The building of fences on borders is not the solution to the current refugee crisis. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann made that statement during a debate televised by the ORF station on Wednesday evening.  full story

UN migration representative: Lack of agreement on refugees risks the European project

28.10.2015 9:07 Peter Sutherland, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for International Migration, warned last month that failure to agree on a united response to the current asylum-seeker crisis poses a danger to the very concept of European unity. “If there is no agreement to share refugees between the countries of the European Union, it risks undermining the very essence of the European project,” he told The Guardian.  full story

UK: Traveller people have to "prove" their ethnicity under new planning rules

28.10.2015 7:44 Dan Allen, a lecturer in Social Work at the University of Salford, reported for The Conversation last month that recent actions by the UK Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) might make the lives of Traveller communities worse. The department has introduced new planning rules that Allen says will adversely directly affect the health of these people.  full story

Refugees to have their own team at Rio under the Olympic flag

28.10.2015 6:30 Leading athletes who are also refugees and therefore technically unable to represent any country will be able to compete in the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. Thomas Bach, the chair of the International Olympic Committee, announced the development at Monday's session of the UN General Assembly.  full story

Pope Francis to Roma: Your nation deserves a new story

27.10.2015 10:11 Yesterday Pope Francis received more than 5 000 Romani people from the Americas, Asia and Europe at the Vatican. The meeting was part of the International Pilgrimage of Gypsies, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples from 23 to 26 October on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of a visit paid to Romani people in Pomezia, Italy, by Pope Paul VI.  full story

Italy: Several thousand Roma walk the stations of the cross in Rome

27.10.2015 7:34 On the night of Saturday 24 October those attending the International Pilgrimage of Gypsies walked the stations of the cross. At each of the 14 stations a different person from a different country was asked to speak.  full story

Slovakia internationally criticized for forced sterilization, police impunity for brutality against Roma, position on refugee reception and segregated education

26.10.2015 12:00 The Slovak Spectator reports that the United Nations has sharply criticized reports of Slovak Police brutality against Romani residents. Repressive, systematic actions by police are occurring hand in hard with ineffective investigations of police misconduct.  full story

Slovenian PM: Refugee crisis could be the beginning of the end of the EU

26.10.2015 9:03 Several Prime Ministers from EU Member States used unusually direct, harsh words, including against the European Commission, when arriving in Brussels yesterday for a negotiation about migration routes to the EU through the Balkans. The mini-summit of high representatives of countries from the region, where some are EU Member States and some are not, was convened last week by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker with the aim of quickly agreeing on concrete measures for addressing the crisis situation of tens of thousands of refugees passing through the area in an attempt to reach Western Europe before winter sets in.  full story

videoLIVE BROADCAST 10:30 GMT today: Romani people meet with Pope Francis

26.10.2015 7:01 Pope Francis will receive more than 5 000 Romani people from the Americas, Asia and Europe today in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City at 10:30 GMT and the event will be broadcast live online. The meeting concludes the International Pilgrimage of Gypsies, which was organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples between 23 and 26 October this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's visit to Romani people in a travellers' camp in Pomezia, Italy.  full story

Moldova: First Romani women elected to local government

25.10.2015 7:20 UN Women reports that this summer's local elections in Moldova resulted in the election of two Romani women for the first time. A total of 15 Romani candidates, seven of them women, ran in the June elections.  full story

Planned EU ban on Balkan aylum-seekers alarms Roma there

24.10.2015 8:47 Balkan Insight reported last month that Macedonian Roma associations have objected to EU plans to ban Balkan nationals from claiming asylum as part of its response to the refugee crisis. The groups say the plans are unfair to their own persecuted communities.  full story

Ireland: Romani family compensated for hysteria around blond child

24.10.2015 8:07 Compensation of more than EUR 60 000 has been awarded to the family of a blond Romani boy in Ireland after he was taken away from his family for no reason in October 2013. Social workers mistakenly believed the boy was not the biological son of his parents.  full story

Sweden: Racism motivates fatal sword attack at a school

24.10.2015 7:27 Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports that detectives say the assailant who mudered a pupil and a teacher at a school in southwestern Sweden on 22 October acted out of racist motivation. Swedish media had speculated that the 21-year-old attacker, who was shot during the police response and subsequently succumbed to his injuries, might be an ultra-right sympathizer.  full story