DIRITTI E CULTURA DI ROM E SINTI

ROMA VIRTUAL NETWORK

On-Line Bulletin 22/08/2011

World Artists Initiative "Khetanes": http://artists-for-roma-net.ning.com

Roma News on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roma-Virtual-Network/121255...

On-line Calendar of Roma Events: http://www.my.calendars.net/Roma_Network

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Romania: Roma Urged to Declare Ethnicity in Census

Roma in Romania are being urged to overcome their fear of persecution and declare their ethnicity at the forthcoming census.

Bucharest, 19/08/2011 - Official figures suggest that there are just over 500,000 Roma in Romania, but many believe the figure is close to double this, affecting the amount of money allocated to this discrimated against community.

“Many people of Roma origin do not declare their ethnicity due to the widespread prejudice they face,” says Marian Mandache from Roma association  Romani Criss. “They are afraid of marginalisation and discrimination, while others – especially old ones – are still afraid of deportation, as it happened during the WWII."

Romani Criss launched on Thursday a campaign aimed at encouraging Roma people to assume their own identity at the census this autumn. The campaign includes the distribution of leaflets, debates and public meetings in areas where Roma are the majority community, and videos which are to be broadcast by the country's main television stations. Jean de la Craiova, the most popular Roma singer, has lent his support to the campaign by appearing in the adverts.

Read more on http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/roma-encouraged-t...

PressTV - Roma facing "modern-day genocide" in Europe

Exactly one year after France expelled thousand of Roma back to Bulgaria and Romania, Press TV came to this much symbolic street called “New life” to see if anything's changed.

Sofia, 19/08/2011 - Georgiev, a Gypsy himself, says he's sick and tired of politicians who intentionally keep Roma in ghettos to absorb EU funds, use money for other purposes, and eventually blame failed integration on Roma's alleged laziness and criminal behavior. To set an example, he's established a foundation in this Roma neighborhood in Sofia, and is now hosting a Roma summer school. This teacher tells us that if everyone leaves prejudice aside, they will see there's absolutely no difference between Bulgarian and Roma kids. Moreover, while Bulgarian kids are enjoying a long summer break, this Roma girl tells us she prefers the classroom to the playground.

Read more on http://www.presstv.com/detail/194743.html

Roma from Brno call on Czech PM to support the creation of dignified jobs

Brno, 19/08/2011 - In response to the events of 1 May 2011 in Brno, when a neo-Nazi march and a blockade of that march were held, Romani residents have mobilized and organized an open letter and petition that has been signed by 779 people, both Roma and non-Roma, in less than two months. On 18 August 2011, the Romani residents of Brno mailed the signed petitions and the letter to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Nečas, who is also chair of the Czech Government Inter-Ministerial Commission for Roma Community Affairs.

In their letter and petition, the Romani residents mention the hypocritical approach and lack of action taken by bureaucrats and political representatives at both local and state level with respect to the economic and social position of Romani people. They are demanding the Prime Minister meet five specific demands in practice that are related to their right to a dignified, secure life.

Read more on http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detai...

Czech town of Karviná wants to demolish former ghetto ASAP

Karviná , 16/08/2011 - The Karviná town hall wants to demolish the former Vagónka ghetto on the outskirts of town as soon as possible. Scrap-metal collectors have started dismantling the houses there and the municipal police are unable to maintain order. The settlement, which was primarily inhabited by Romani people, was evicted this year by the town hall because it had become an embarrassing place of great disorder. The Czech Press Agency reports that Šárka Swiderová, spokesperson for the Karviná town hall, made the announcement about the demolition today.

The town hall decided this year to evict the residents of the Vagónka settlement when they allegedly began destroying even the homes that had been repaired. The town had invested millions of Czech crowns into reconstructing the neighborhood several years ago. Instead of a housing settlement, an industrial zone for small and medium enterprises will now be built there. "We already moved most of the families into other apartments. Two families have remained and we are still looking for apartments for them. They pay their rent on time and have leases, so they are entitled to an apartment of a similar standard," Swiderová said.

Read more on http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detai...

Five Roma nationality have got a chance to work in Bosnia and Herzegovina state institutions　

18/08/2011 - Five young and educated people of Roma nationality have got a chance to work in B&H state institutions. They are going to be employed as coordinators for Roma issues in the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla and Banja Luka until 2012.

This project is financed by the European Union, with 500,000 Marks singled for its realization. Even though this was a chance for employment of young and educated Roma people, only 30 applications were submitted. Roma people are the largest minority with the largest figures of unemployment and uneducated people in BiH.

Link: http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=116281

Macedonia has 'no legal basis' for Roma travel bans

09/08/2011 - Nearly 800 people, predominantly Roma, have been sent home by Macedonian border authorities.

It sounds like a bad joke. A Macedonian family of five is on its way from its home town to Belgrade to attend the wedding of a close relative. Their car is packed with traditional wedding dresses and gifts for the young couple. Yet, at the Tabanovce border crossing, when a Macedonian border guard picks up their passports, he claims that they want to go to Surcin, the Belgrade airport, and board a plane to the European Union.

The guard alleges that they are false asylum seekers, like those that have been getting Macedonia into trouble with the EU. The family denies it. After all, they have left two school children behind so of course they will return to Macedonia after the wedding. But their protestations are to no avail as the border guard stamps their passports to signify a travel ban. The family is sent back home.

Read more on http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/715/macedonia-has-no-legal-basis-for-roma-travel-bans

FRANÇAIS

Roumanie: Entre tradition, éducation et émancipation : le parcours de Letitia Mark, militante Rom

Letitia Mark se bat pour l’intégration des Roms dans l’Ouest de la Roumanie. Issue elle-même de cette minorité, elle dirige le centre ONG FEMROM à Timişoara (ville de l’Ouest de la Roumanie), fondé il y a environ soixante ans. Un projet de taille dans un pays, où nombre de préjugés persistent à l´égard des deux millions de femmes Roms qui y résident.

16/08/11 - Entourée d´une quarantaine d´enfants, Letitia Mark demande: « Que signifie la roue dans notre drapeau ? » Samuel, âgé de 13 ans, sait la réponse: la roue symbolise le voyage, le bleu représente le ciel et le vert l´herbe. Mark, que les enfants appellent affectueusement « Doamna Leti », veut que ces enfants soient respectueux à l´égard de leur identité, d´eux-mêmes et du monde. Et aussi qu´ils soient ordonnés. Pas un seul morceau de papier n´a le droit de joncher le sol de la salle commune.

Lisez plus dessus http://www.cafebabel.fr/article/38334/tradition-education-emancipation-letitia-mark-rom.html

Roms: "En France, les poubelles sont plus riches"

Un an après le fameux discours de Nicolas Sarkozy, la situation des Roms en France reste précaire et complexe. Exemple au squat de Thiers-Benauge, le plus grand de Bordeaux.

19/08/2011 - Dans le squat de Thiers-Benauge, le plus grand de Bordeaux, sur la rive droite, on cherche Krazimir, Rom bulgare. « Un parcours typique » pour les habitants des squats bordelais, explique Fanny, une bénévole de l'association Procom, qui milite pour les droits des Roms. Elle jure qu'elle l'a vu ici, il y a une dizaine de jours. Il avait été évacué du squat de Villenave-d'Ornon. Ne sachant où aller, il a débarqué là avec sa famille. Il a construit une cabane de bois et de cartons dans le hangar désaffecté de l'ancienne gare, propriété de la CUB. Auparavant, Krazimir était à Floirac. Un immense bidonville insalubre, démantelé il y a un peu plus d'un an.

On ne trouve pas Krazimir. L'endroit est immense. Une vraie ville dans la ville. Avec ses quartiers. D'abord, des bâtiments. Vétustes. Dans une semi-pénombre, des dizaines de familles s'entassent sur plusieurs étages. Chaque pièce ou couloir est occupé, inégalement amé- nagé. Les odeurs de cuisine mêlées à l'humidité imprègnent les murs. « Quand vous partez, vous êtes sûrs de ne pas retrouver votre place », explique Jivka, une femme d'un certain âge. Dans sa famille, il y a 12 personnes. Ils occupent deux pièces. Les vêtements des enfants, elle les trouve dans les poubelles.

Lisez plus dessus http://www.sudouest.fr/2011/08/19/en-france-les-poubel-le...

10 Kosovars de Clermont-Ferrand libérés du centre de rétention de Lesquin

18/08/2011 - Interpellée à Clermont-Ferrand mais placé en détention au centre de rétention de Lesquin, une famille de Kosovars a été remise en liberté au nom du respect des délais de recours devant les instances européennes.

C'est une famille complète de Kosovars qui comparaissait vendredi devant le tribunal administratif de Lille. Le père et la mère, un grand-père et une grand-mère, 4 enfants. Tous les enfants ont de moins de 10 ans. Il s'agit d'une famille venue de Clermont-Ferrand qui a été arrêtée à 7 h 45 du matin alors que les enfants, scolarisés, s'apprêtaient à partir en colonie de vacances. L'escorte de gendarmerie les a convoyés jusqu'à Lille peut-être parce que le centre de rétention de Lesquin peut recevoir des familles complètes.

Lisez plus dessus http://www.nordeclair.fr/Actualite/2011/08/18/une-famille...

OTHER COUNTRIES

Dale Farm: Geneva Mission Warns of Eviction Deaths

For some residents forced eviction next month could be a death-sentence, representatives from Dale Farm will tell the UN in Geneva.

17/08/2011 - Flying out on Sunday, president of the Gypsy Council Richard Sheridan says this is a last bid to get the UK to comply with UN requests to call off what would be the biggest clearance operation against an ethnic minority in modern Britain. UN agencies have twice requested that the UK Government, which is funding the mass eviction, instead find a peaceful resolution. In its latest move, the UN Human Rights Commission has placed the UK under an Earning Warning Procedure notice stating that forced removal may breach human rights.

“The UN will be placing specific focus on Dale Farm while we are in Geneva,” commented Matthew Brindley, of the Irish Travellers Movement, which is mounting the mission. “We’ll be feeding in the latest evidence, including the chronic health condition of several residents.”

Read more on http://www.romabuzzmonitor.net/dale-farm-geneva-mission-w...

Turkey: Food Aid Maden For Yahya Kemal Neighbourhood By Kağıthane Municipality

Istanbul, 18/08/2011 - Kağıthane municipality made food aid to residents of Yahya Kemal neighbourhood. Beside residents of Yahya Kemal neighbourhood of Kağıthane district who mostly subsist on scrap and paper collecting, ex-residents of the neighbourhood who left their houses after eviction were also benefited from the food aid of Kağıthane municipality.

Read more on http://www.cingeneyiz.org/foa.html

Helsingin Sanomat: New analogies – Roma beggars and trash

13/08/2011 - Again I had to close my eyes, because I couldn’t bear the sight of what I was seeing. “Roma and trash to be sent away fromKalasatama”, the headline in a free-distribution newspaper declared. “City uses skip to speed up departure of beggars”, was another headline that hit me in the face. Don’t these editors and journalists think at all? For decades, the media in Finland has not had anything to say about Finnish Roma unless a crime has been involved. “Roma = crime” the headlines proclaim. Now it seems that Roma equals trash – waste.

Hidden racism, the unquestioned point of view of officials, and the familiar, unchecked clichés of Roma beggars build an increasingly robust space for racism, pillar by pillar, and story by story. In a survey of journalism students these young do-gooders stated almost unanimously that uncovering wrongdoing and fighting injustice were reasons why they went into their chosen profession. Once at work they do not seem to be interested in any deeper story than whether or not the Roma left Kalasatama, or if they came back, and to wonder what will be seen the following week.

Read more on http://www.hs.fi/english/article/COMMENTARY+New+analogies+%E2%80%93+Roma+beggars+and+trash/1135268588083

CULTURE

Roma Educational Association “Harangos” and Romani-Art group invite Roma artists for common open air workshops

21/08/2011 - Project Romani Art - International Dialogue aims to create a space for Roma artists to work together, get to know each other and exchange experiences in the field of art but also on more personal ground from perspective of Roma artist origin. We would like for this initiative to continue in the future and lead to strengthening the cooperation between members of the Romani Art Group and other international artists of Roma origin.

The activities in the project include a joint open air, workshops with local community, exchange of ideas and insights of the Roma artists in open debates on art, identity and individuality as an artist, and situation of Roma community in Europe. An important element is the common origin – Roma - and whether the artists identify with their culture - Does their work include national identity, or is it indifferent to them and they focus solely on their own, personal expression of themselves?

Read more on http://www.romabuzzmonitor.net/roma-educational-associati...

Montreal World Film Festival 2011: A People Uncounted retraces Roma Roots

Montreal, 16/08/2011 - Roma – or Gypsies, as they are often called – aren’t usually the first people who come to mind when one thinks of victims of the Holocaust. But it is impossible to overlook them after viewing Aaron Yeger’s profoundly moving documentary debut A People Uncounted. The Holocaust already had personal significance for the 28-year-old Toronto director, who is Jewish and counts Holocaust survivors on his father’s side of the family. Yeger jumped at the opportunity to tell another side of this dark moment in history.

“It was a very good way to learn more about racism and genocide in general,” he said, in a phone interview on Monday. “Also, there’s certainly a kinship of sorts between these two cultures, because of our shared path in Europe.”

More than 500,000 Roma were killed during the Holocaust, a small but significant number compared to the 6 million Jews who perished. “Our ashes mingled in the ovens,” states a Romani proverb cited in the film. That’s but a glimpse of the sobering and often heart-wrenching observations, facts and fictions about the Roma presented in A People Uncounted. Balance was key, as Yeger and his team endeavoured to present the devastating personal accounts and piles of information gathered while leaving viewers a little breathing room.

Read more onhttp://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Montreal+World+Film+F...

UK: West Wales Celebration of Romani Culture - September 30th and October 1st 2011

A two day celebration of Romani and Traveller people and their culture taking place in west Wales on September 30th and October 1st 2011.

Read more on http://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profiles/blogs/west-wales-celebration-of-romani-culture

OPPORTUNITIES

Roma Virtual Network (RVN) is a public grass-roots initiative whose activity is closely connected with such international organizations as European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), International Romani Union (IRU) and the European Roma Information Office (ERIO). It is aimed to provide the international Romani community and friendly non-Roma organizations and individuals with useful information on Roma issues in variety of languages via the Internet. Since July 1999 the activity of RVN actively helps facilitate the cooperation and exchange of information within Roma organizations and individuals, between Roma and non-Roma organizations and individuals and also between Roma civil society and official institutions. It relates with the variety of Roma-related political, cultural, economic and social issues on local and international levels. It is aimed to support the improvement of the Roma situation in Europe and other regions of the world. 

Roma Virtual Network (RVN) is officially recognized and registered as public organization (No. 580478410) according to the decision of Certification Organizations Registry within the Israeli Ministry of Justice. 

Contact RVN via romale@... or +972-54-7878797. 

On-line Calendar of Romani Events: http://www.my.calendars.net/Roma_Network

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roma-Virtual-Network/121255...

LinkedIn: http://hu.linkedin.com/in/romavirtualnetwork    grazie