Romani people

Slovak court convicts Romani victims of police raid for making allegedly false accusations of brutality

21.6.2018 9:49 Five years ago a controversial police raid was conducted in a Romani locality of eastern Slovakia. Six Romani people were subsequently indicted for allegedly giving false testimony about the raid.  full story

Irena Biháriová: Comprehending the matrix of a Romani settlement in Slovakia is not easy

8.5.2018 16:27 Before I visit a Romani settlement, I always tell myself that being confronted by the poverty cannot startle me anymore. I have seen so much over the years that it will be possible for me to maintain my professional distance.
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Czech historian reminds public that cruel abuse was perpetrated at concentration camp for Roma in Moravia

20.2.2018 6:44 Michal Schuster, an historian with the Terezín Initiative Institute in Prague, has described the operations of the former concentration camp at Hodonín u Kunštátu in Moravia in an interview for the Brno edition of news server iDNES.cz. Given the recent remarks made by Czech politicians Tomio Okamura and Miroslav Rozner casting doubt on the camps, Schuster said he believes the public is not able to draw accurate comparisons when it comes to Holocaust victims who are Romani.

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Czech Police officer explains why he donated to Romani Scholarships

18.2.2018 10:44 One day a few months ago I saw a hate campaign online by some Czech citizens against a primary school in Teplice. Then I found out that other Czech citizens had organized a collection for the children of that school and to support Romani students.

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March against Roma Holocaust denial and for removing vice-chair of Czech lower house THIS THURSDAY IN BRNO

13.2.2018 20:11 On Thursday, 15 February there will be a march against denial of the Romani Holocaust and in favor of honoring the memories of its victims. "It is absolutely unacceptable to us that representatives of the SPD party of Tomio Okamura are denying the Holocaust of the Roma. Their statements are not just brutally harsh toward the victims and their families, but are also inappropriate behavior by the representatives of the state," the organizers of the march have posted to social networks.  full story

Director of Terezín Initiative Institute says Czech schools don't teach enough about Romani people

10.12.2017 16:08 Tereza Štěpková, director of the Terezín Initiative Institute, told the Czech News Agency on 8 December that not enough is being taught in the Czech schools about Romani people. Neglected subjects include both Romani culture and history.

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Czech senators want Constitutional Court to address housing benefit legislation

9.12.2017 20:42 Twenty Czech Senators are turning to the Constitutional Court regarding the disbursal of housing benefits. They have sent the court a motion for abolishing part of the law on aid to those in material distress according to which local councils can declare so-called "areas with increased incidence of undesirable phenomena" on their territories.  full story

Czech principal expresses gratitude for solidarity shown after online racist death threats

23.11.2017 13:50 The principal of the school in Teplice that was targeted by xenophobes with hateful online attacks at the beginning of November tells news server Romea.cz that she has been surprised by the enormous wave of solidarity that has replaced that of hatred. ROMEA and other organizations, including many public figures, have decided to join the Roma Scholarship Program campaign, which this school year will be supporting 86 students from all over the Czech Republic.  full story

videoCzech ombudswoman supports fundraising campaign for school whose first-graders were racially abused online

22.11.2017 14:05 ROMEA, other organizations in the Czech Republic and many public figures have decided to respond to the current wave of hatred and racism that is spreading throughout the country. They are joining the Romani Scholarship Program campaign supporting 86 students from all over the Czech Republic this school year.  full story

Czech Republic: "Middle class" Roma share photos on Facebook of themselves casting ballots in lower house election

23.10.2017 7:30 Photographs of Romani people casting votes during this year's elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic flooded Facebook on Friday and Saturday. Some photographs were shared publicly, others just with friends, and those posting urged other Romani people to go to the polls.  full story

Iveta Bílková: Romani people must vote - it is a citizen's most basic right

6.10.2017 9:05 The elections for the Czech lower house are coming up. The Chamber of Deputies is where decisions are made about how the republic should run, the direction the state should head in, and mainly, where the citizens of this state are headed, including minorities.  full story

Monika Mihaličková: Why it's important that we Roma support each other

9.9.2017 17:21 We Roma have generosity in our blood. It is a component of our culture.  full story

videoRomani psychology student who is a ROMEA scholarship winner featured on Czech Television

8.9.2017 9:30 "Our parents never went to college, but I was told I would go to college by them at home from an early age," Roman Koky, a Romani student of psychology, says in a reportage produced by the "168 Hours" program on public broadcaster Czech Television. Along with his brother Michal, who is studying pharmacy, Roman Koky has attended a recent "Baruvas" ("We Are Growing") meeting of Romani high school and college scholarship recipients.
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Czech Government "takes note" of Report on the State of the Romani Minority for 2016

28.7.2017 10:19 The Czech Government at the beginning of this week discussed and took note of the "Report on the State of the Romani Minority for 2016", which assesses the development of the situation for Romani people in the Czech Republic and the success of state measures to support Romani integration. Documents entitled "Information about the Fulfillment of the Roma Integration Strategy to 2020" and "Information about the Fulfillment of Government Decrees" on the integration of the Romani minority and the active approach of the state administration to implementing measures adopted by related Government decrees as of 31 December 2016 were part of the review.  full story

Head of Czech development aid organization notices situation in Romani ghettos all but unchanged

28.7.2017 9:21 "Always, naturally, somebody can be found who doesn't care for this part of our work. Even in that aspect, however, the situation is changing. Previously the absolute majority of people had a simplified reaction: 'Why, for God's sake, are you aiding the gypsies? It would be better to go to Africa to aid the black people.' Today most people comprehend that this is a problem that must be solved," said Šimon Pánek, a former student leader of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution who is director of the People in Need development organization in an interview for news server Deník.cz marking its 25th anniversary.  full story

US media cover alleged problems between Romani immigrants and locals, many say prejudice is to blame

25.7.2017 8:14 The attention of national media in the United States has been drawn by the immigration of roughly 40 Romani asylum-seekers, originally from Romania, into a small town of 7 000 near Pittsburgh, PA called California. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that the newcomers moved there through the federal Immigration Program.  full story

USA: Petition to rename the "Gypsy" series warns of dangerous stereotypes

25.7.2017 5:49 "'Gypsy' is a racist slur against Romani people who have suffered from slavery and genocide and who have been targeted by the Nazis in World War II. [...] By keeping the name Netflix is normalizing the usage of a racist slur," reads an online petition that currently has more than 1 900 signatures.  full story

Tomáš Ščuka: Unwritten social rules make racism against the Romani minority socially acceptable

4.6.2017 12:40 As we all well know, the written laws of any country legislate the generally binding rules for behavior in society and are enforceable. There are also unwritten laws, or legal customs, and they are also determined by the rules of behavior through which a society governs itself.  full story

Czech Republic: Family of Romani man shot dead in Chomutov doesn't want demonstrations

3.6.2017 9:23 The editors at news server Romea.cz have received an open letter addressed to the media from the relatives of the 34-year-old Romani man who was shot dead one week ago in Chomutov and are publishing it in full at the request of the family. The tragic event happened there on Jirkovská Street.  full story

Czech-French film features young Romani actor in lead role

1.6.2017 7:53 A new Czech-French film from director and screenwriter Petr Václav, "Skokan" ("The Jumper"), tells a story of the search for happiness. Its theatrical premiere will be 8 June.  full story