Jana Baudyšová

Germany compensating Czech and Slovak Roma 72 years after Nazi atrocities

19.6.2017 16:09 "From an inconspicuous article in the newspaper I learned that Germany had begun to compensate Jewish [Holocaust survivors] in the post-communist states. I could not find any mention of Romani people anywhere. That country left such a horrible mark on us Roma and continues to behave as if nothing ever happened to us. That angered me terribly," recalls the chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (VPORH), Čeněk Růžička, when asked how last year's breakthrough decision came about to compensate Czech Roma for the hardships caused them by their imprisonment in German concentration camps.  full story

Czech youth faces three years in prison for Nazi salute and swastika

15.6.2017 10:23 A youth wearing a Nazi swastika on his back was arrested on Zábělská Street in the Czech town of Plzeň on Sunday morning. He had consumed alcohol and drugs and was giving the Nazi salute.  full story

Slovakia: Romani band Sendreiovci perform at concert of Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer

8.6.2017 13:19 On 2 June the Sendreiovci Romani band performed at the Bratislava concert of the famous Hollywood composer of film scores, Hans Zimmer, one year after performing at his afterparty. "Yesterday we played for the Czech Prime Minister in the Tatras and today we're here," Vlado Sendrei told the Slovak news server dennikn.sk.  full story

Finland investigating racist commentaries shared on Facebook by police officers

7.6.2017 10:51 Police officers in Finland may face criminal prosecution over racist commentaries about immigrants that they posted to a closed Facebook group after the Finnish investigative news server Long Play discovered the commentaries and reported on them. Czech news server denik.cz cites the BBC as reporting that the Finnish National Police Council has submitted material to the prosecutor on the issue.  full story

Sweden to compensate thousands of Roma after police illegally keep ethnic database on them

5.6.2017 7:32 An appeals court in Sweden has backed the Romani plaintiffs who have sued over illegal data collection about them. The 11 people, eight adults and three children, will receive 35 000 Swedish crowns (EUR 3 600) as compensation for the damage done to them by police in the Skane District of southern Sweden creating a database about them solely on the basis of their ethnicity.  full story

videoCzech Republic: KHAMORO festival began yesterday and runs through Saturday

29.5.2017 10:54 Last night the KHAMORO Festival of Romani culture began with a concert on Střelecký ostrov (Shooter's Island) in Prague. Singers Monika Bagárová, Jan Bendig, Elis and
Markéta Konvičková performed at the kick-off event, followed by DJ Gadjo.cz.
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Slovak President Kiska visits anti-extremist event and Romani settlement on the same day

28.5.2017 12:12 "The failure to resolve Romani issues means it's smooth sailing for extremism, and that is the worst thing that can happen," Slovak President Andrej Kiska said according to news server aktuálně.atlas.sk during a visit to Spišské Podhradí on 22 May where, besides meeting with the town leadership, he also met with staffers of the education center Nano Nagle, which aids Romani children, and visited a Romani settlement in Roškovce. "Modern Slovakia is almost 25 years old and during that time we have not done enough about Romani issues."  full story

"Truth Matters": Media Education Weeks begin in the Czech schools

26.5.2017 7:24 On Monday, 22 May, an educational action by the People in Need - One World in the Schools organization (Člověk v tísni – Jeden svět na školách) called "Media Education Weeks 2017" is beginning with the motto "Truth Matters". The weeks will last until 30 June and are focused on Czech elementary and secondary schools.  full story

Czech Republic: Project gets Non-Roma to visit Roma in their homes

24.5.2017 6:33 Residents in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic are inviting their neighbors far and near into their homes for coffee. Thanks to a project called "Come to our place for coffee!" run by nonprofit organizations and the Regional Authority, families with different customs, origins and roots are visiting each other's homes, primarily Non-Romani and Romani ones.  full story

videoSlovakia: Attorney for abused boys says acquittal of police officers was illegal

20.5.2017 10:48 Vanda Durbáková, an attorney working with the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Slovakia, considers the recent acquittal of the police officers who abused Romani boys at a police station and were captured on film doing so to be illegal. "The District Court has just reiterated its decision of February 2015," the attorney said.  full story

"Rom'n'roll" band Terne Čhave performing TOMORROW in Prague

19.4.2017 8:07 After releasing the successful album Bo me som Rom ("Because I am a Rom"), two years ago in the spring, the band Terne Čhave are now preparing another brand new record. This new material will feature interesting gues performers, led by top British saxophone player Gilad Atsmon.  full story

Czech Republic: Ignác Zima, co-founder of the Union of Gypsies-Roma, has passed away

18.4.2017 7:55 On Wednesday, 6 April 2017, Ignác Zima, a co-founder of the Union of Gypsies-Roma in Czechoslovakia (Svaz Cikánů-Romů) and an educator, passed away. The Museum of Romani Culture confirmed the information to news server Romea.cz on 7 April 2017.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani street musician shines in "Pianist of the Year" competition

17.4.2017 11:32 Robert Ferenc, the talented young pianist about whom we wrote in the October issue of Romano voďi, has come in fourth place in the "Pianist of the Year" competition in the Czech Republic. The 24-year-old musician from Liberec performs almost daily at the Masaryk train station in Prague.  full story

Czech publishing company producing objects with portraits of dictators and Nazis because they sell

13.4.2017 12:57 The online retail outlet for the "Naše vojsko" ("Our Troops") publishing house in the Czech Republic began selling mugs and t-shirts with Adolf Hitler's portrait on them in February. At the beginning of April their catalog began to offer t-shirts with images of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reichsprotektor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who was assassinated in Prague.  full story

videoVIDEO: Discussion of International Romani Day at the European Parliament

8.4.2017 10:44 A discussion marking International Romani Day took place at the European Parliament yesterday. "This day is a particular opportunity to recall that we are a union of values in the European Union, and we need to look at events all around the world, it's important to us what happens with minorities around the world and others who may happen to think differently, and it's important to define those values clearly," the moderator began the session.
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American and Canadian embassies in Prague display Romani flag for International Romani Day

8.4.2017 8:02 The Ambassador of Canada to the Czech Republic, Barbara Richardson, put up the Romani flag yesterday afternoon at the embassy. "On April 8, International Romani Day is celebrated all around the world. Ambassador Richardson supports this international day and is happy to display the Romani flag here at the Embassy! International Romani Day celebrates Romani culture and raises awareness of the economic and social issues facing Romani people. There are approximately 250,000-300,000 Roma in the Czech Republic. Canada recognizes the importance of promoting understanding between Roma and non-Roma people and Roma integration in the Czech Republic. For Canada, inclusion and diversity are part of our fabric and a source of openness, acceptance, progress and prosperity," the embassy's Facebook profile reads.  full story

Prague 14 to begin April with the Cultural Encounters festival (Setkání kultur)

1.4.2017 18:27 The Prague 14 Municipal Department will come to life during the first week of April with its Cultural Encounters festival (Setkání kultur). On Thursday, 6 April, in the Plechárna recreation center at 18:30, the chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic, Čeněk Růžička, will hold a discussion on the topic of Czech-Roma coexistence.  full story

First issue of Romano voďi magazine features Romani author Oksana Marafioti on the life of Roma in Georgia

29.3.2017 10:56 Whether we like it or not, since time immemorial stories have wielded great power over our lives. They can be legends, myths, or the narratives of political regimes and religions.  full story

Czech association of local residents wants to clean up and revive the Předlice ghetto

15.3.2017 7:57 "We are a group of people, non-Roma and Roma, who can no longer watch the situation in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem, where most of us live. We do not want
Předlice to continue to be considered the worst neighborhood in the Czech Republic, to persist as a ghetto. We want to put Předlice back on its feet, solve its problems, and activate its inhabitants," reads the manifesto of the AMARE Předlice association, which was created at the beginning of this year.  full story

Are dogs being abused in Romani settlements in Slovakia? Romea.cz asks the authorities and experts

9.3.2017 14:06 A group called the Animal Rights Association (Sdružení za práva zvířat) in Bratislava, Slovakia, recently posted information to the Facebook profile of its "Czechoslovak Spay-and-Neuter Program" about its activity in Romani settlements there. The association is doing its best to aid dogs who, as they have documented through photographs, are frequently to be found in an underfed state in those localities.  full story