The Porrajmos Education Society

“Big Fat Gypsy Weddings” TV show“damaging” to Gypsies

2012-02-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Press release from Rajan Zed, President of the Universal Society of Hinduism.

“Big Fat Gypsy Weddings” TV show“damaging” to Gypsies

New series of smash hit documentary “Big Fat Gypsy Weddings”is opening at Channel 4 of United Kingdom on February 14 and Hindu statesman Rajan Zed says that these actually harm the already maltreated European Gypsy (Roma) community.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, and who frequently takes up European Roma causes, argues that instead of tackling more serious issues facing Roma community, it appears to be laughing at them. It does not seem to be an accurate portrayal of Roma and instead it appears to be simply sensationalism, exaggeration and misrepresentation.

Rajan Zed pointed out that television was a powerful medium and it could have been used in a more positive and educative way voicing European Roma apartheid.

Zed stated that apartheid conditions faced by Roma people were a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, etc.

Rajan Zed noted that it was shocking to see how inhumanely Europe had been treating its about 15-million Roma brothers-sisters for such a long period.

Public service broadcaster Channel 4 calls this highly rated show “a window into the secretive, extravagant and surprising world of gypsies”. In USA, the show airs on specialty cable channel TLC.

Appalled Hindus want Slovakia billboards humiliating Gypsies removed

2012-02-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Press release issued by the Universal Society of Hinduism:

"How long are we going to lose on the gypsies? Let's change it!" - Slovak National Party advertising for the 2012 elections.

Appalled Hindus want Slovakia billboards humiliating Gypsies removed

Hindus are dismayed at upcoming parliamentary election billboards in Slovakia reportedly labeling Gypsies (Roma) as “parasites” and belittling them, and want their immediate removal.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that these racist and anti-Roma billboards should not be acceptable in 21^st century Europe which boasted of its human rights record.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that Roma maltreatment incidents had been reportedly frequently popping-up in Slovakia; like erection of a wall in Ostrovany to segregate Roma, attempts of turning Roma settlement in Veľká Lomnica into a tourist destination,reported continual segregation of Roma children in Slovakia schools, involuntary sterilization of Roma women in the past, etc.

Slovakia and Europe needed to improve the conditions of Roma who lived in medieval squalor in mud houses without running water, gas and sewage in 21^st century. Was this a part of the vision of post-Berlin Wall European Union, Rajan Zed asked.

Zed pointed out that it was shocking to see how inhumanely Europe was treating its about 15-million Roma brothers-sisters. It was clearly reprehensible, hazardous and immoral and a brazen failure of Europe to meet its international obligations. When it came to Roma, Europe frequently failed to implement its own laws distinctly mentioned in its own books.

Rajan Zed stated that apartheid conditions faced by Roma people were a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, etc.

Besides the absence of any serious efforts at their inclusion, Roma were being used as “punch bag” and blamed for the social ills of Europe and many politicians even exploited segregation to their political advantage. European neglect was trapping Roma in cycles of persecution and poverty. Roma issue should be one of the highest priorities of human rights agenda of Europe and world, thus reversing the history of persecution, Zed stressed.

Rajan Zed said that “Tatra Tiger”, one of the fastest growing economies and country of Juraj Jánošík; Slovakia should not continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma apartheid. It was moral obligation of Slovakia to take care of its most disadvantaged Roma population and stop human rights violations reportedly suffered by them. There are reportedly about 350,000 Roma in Slovakia. Ivan Gasparovic is President and Iveta Radicova is Prime Minister of Slovakia.

References to Roma people in Europe, who are believed to have their roots in the Indian subcontinent,reportedly went as far back as ninth century CE.

The Right of Education

2012-02-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

I've been watching the chatter on various Internet based Romani networks about the US's recent decision to participate in the Decade of Roma Inclusion as an observer state, signed on February 6.

There are those who feel this is a crucial step for the US, a step that recognizes the state of the Romanies in Europe and the need for their protection, education, and inclusion. There are also those who feel this is just another piece of paper, more ink on a page, that will go no where.

We have had our share of paper, that is certain. We've had more conferences, symposiums, meetings, summits, round tables, discussion groups, and think tanks than can possibly do any good. And now we have the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Several meetings that scribbled a lot of words on paper and countries started to sign it.

And, alas, I feel that is where the good part ended.

Those countries signed on have been some of the worst violators of our human rights in recent years. If the Decade has done any good, it has brought to light the obscenities in Europe. It has not stopped them.

I feel it is time for us, the Romani people, to take a stand for ourselves. It is time for us to mobilize, to act in our own best interests, and to deal with these issues. But what are the issues and what are their priorities? I feel there is but one key issue that will help a man with his other problems.

Education. Education is power. It is that simple. Without it, you are at the mercy of the educated and they can dictate your life to you. They can stamp you with an identity, create their own version of your history, and force you and your children into a cycle of poverty. But what subjects do you really need to know? This is a question faced by educators around the world. A basic education should be the ability to read, to perform basic mathematics, and to know your rights. If you can read and do the math, you can work. If you know your human rights, you can protect yourself. You can defend yourself.

Why should we bother to learn about our human rights? Because these rights are recognized by the same countries who violate them and the UN and other signing nations have a duty to make sure these are enforced. These rights are valid because everyone is born to them. They are not earned, as some politicians would have us think. They are not given to one 'race' and denied to another as the Nazis would have us think. They belong to everyone.

The history of human rights can be traced back a few hundred years to the abolitionists. They began a true movement against the disgusting practice of the slave trade. The first step for them was to recognize the suffering of their fellow human beings and then they had to take the step to ensure change. It wasn't easy.

Think on this a moment. Who were the owners of the slaves? In some countries, where Romanies were slaves, it was the crown and the church who owned slaves. The people in the highest realms of power in both the temporal and spiritual world. In the United States, it was the wealthy plantation owners, the leaders of industry, that owned the slaves. They were the economic captains who needed cheap labor to make their money. The same in Britain. Abolitionists were fighting an uphill battle against the powers that be.

They began a campaign that started small. They wrote essays and pamphlets and gave speeches and sermons to sway public opinion. When the people, the average citizen, started to understand the principle that freedom is a right to be given to everyone, then the ball started rolling and there was no way to stop it. Laws forbidding the trade of slaves were passed, though this did not end slavery altogether. We know that in the States, it took a war to end slavery, though slavery was NOT the only reason why we went to war with our fellow citizens.

When slavery was abolished, several things happened all at once. The freed slave discovered that, while he was no longer a slave, he had few, if any rights. He also became a second-class citizen, subjected to hatred and violence. Racism and segregation replaced slavery and blacks in the United States still fight to this day to be called equals.

Something else came out of the Abolitionist movement: women's rights. Many women had fought the good fight to free the slaves and realized they were little better off than the newly freed slave. Women began to fight for the right to vote, to have status in the courts against abusive husbands, and to have the right to own property, among other demands. Women's rights have come along way, but, just like the black man, women have a long road ahead.

World War I began, the War to End all Wars. If only. In this war, mankind found new ways to kill the enemy, ways that were far more grotesque than ever before. We managed to create a whole new world of nightmares, of ways to suffer and die, forcing medicine to make up the balance. Advances in medicine grew from the violence of a new way of warfare. But from this, there came a desire to protect the rights of the soldier. Activists discovered that for every 1,000 horses, there were 4 veterinarians, yet only 1 doctor for the same number of soldiers. From this, came the rights of the soldier and the Red Cross.

We know that the peace between WWI and WWII was more of a ceasefire. The Nazis had to put the blame somewhere, so they pointed to the Jew and the Gypsy for bringing foreign blood to Europe, blamed the Jews for the economic conditions, and taught their children to hate. We know the results. The Holocaust. Over 6 million Jews and about 1-2 million Romanies died side by side in the gas chambers for the crime of being born.

The atrocities committed by the Nazis set the stage for the creation of the UN in hopes that differences between countries could be solved by more peaceful debate. And the UN created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect the citizens of the world in our vow of "Never Again." These rights became subject to law through ratification by the signing countries.

So what are they? This has been taken directly from the UN. Please note the emphasis are mine.

PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Consider these carefully. Have you noticed that these are not being taken into consideration by all countries? The Czech Republic is a perfect example. Not only are they breaking multiple articles when it comes to the Romani people, but it is the Czech Republic who is on the committee for writing human rights policy for the UN!

All Romanies need to know their rights and how to exercise them. We, as world citizens, must help those who cannot help themselves. We must find a way to create educational programs that can assist Romanies in all countries to defend their rights.

It can be done. Like the first activists, we have to take that step from just thinking that something is unjust and act upon it. Find a way to help. Be a part of our own solution.

United States of America Joins the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015

2012-02-06T06:41:00.001-08:00

Press Release

United States of America Joins the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015

Budapest, February 6, 2012: The Decade of Roma Inclusion Secretariat Foundation congratulates the Government of the United States for its decision to join the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 Initiative as an observer.

Announcing the decision in Sofia, Bulgaria, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “For too long, Roma citizens have been marginalized and isolated, prevented from contributing their talents and participating in their societies. This is a critical matter of human rights, and it affects millions of men, women, and children across the continent.” The U.S. move highlighted the international community’s interest in Roma inclusion and gave new impetus to the political commitment of the European countries to improve the socio-economic status of the Roma.

The Decade of Roma Inclusion is a unique forum that brings together governments, international organizations and civil society to address exclusion of Romani communities. Seven years into the initiative, it is time for intensifying cooperation and synergies between Decade partners and transforming the commitment into results.

We urge the Western European countries to join the initiative and jointly reinforce the core mission of the Decade of Roma Inclusion: to eliminate discrimination and close the unacceptable gaps between Roma and the rest of society!

The Decade Secretariat warmly welcomes the United States of America into the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 family.

Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005 -2015 is an international initiative of 12 European governments: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Spain. Slovenia has an observer status. Partners of the initiative are the non-governmental organization from mentioned countries and following international and intergovernmental organizations: World Bank, the Open Society Institute (OSI), the Roma Education Fund (REF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ODHIR), the European Roma Information Office (ERIO), the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), European Network Against Racism (ENAR), the World Health Organization (WHO).

The initiative was launched on February 2, 2005 in Sofia – Bulgaria.

Service for the Victims of O Baro Porrajmos

2012-01-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

Service for the Victims of O Baro Porrajmos

by Ciuin Ferrin on Sunday, January 29, 2012

Last night The People's Church in Cedar Rapids held a wonderful candle lighting ceremony for Rromani victims of the Holocaust. I wanted to share with you some of the beauty we shared.

Reverend Tom Capo opened with a call to join us. Here is his text.

"Good evening and welcome to People's Church Unitarian Universalist. I an the Reverend Tom Capo, minister here at People's. Last week I heard about the Romani people. I held certain misconceptions and prejudices that I was not even completely aware of. Much of what I knew of the Romani people was based on movies or television shows- broad strokes about a people I really knew little about. Generalizations that painted a picture of a people who stole and cheated anyone they could and put curses on others. But as we all know, prejudices and oppressions are based on these generalizations. I did not know that the United Nations had excluded the Romani people from the annual Holocaust Memorial services. I did not know how many Romani were killed during the Holocaust. I did not know that the Romani people were being oppressed throughout Europe. I did not know that some Romani in the United States were afraid to embrace and express their Romani heritage because they would be oppressed here or their business would lose customers if they expressed their heritage. I did not know, but now I do. I am awakened to this injustice, and I feel a need to support this community and to open this church to a remembrance for this people. I have learned that there are some Romani people believe that when they die, their soul will remain alive so long as they are remembered. As we worship tonight, let us keep the souls of the Romani people who suffered during the Holocaust and who are suffering throughout the world in our thoughts and prayers. Let us remember them."

This statement from Els de Groen, President of the World Artist Initiative Khetanes, was read aloud.

"Imagine a world with plenty of jobs, proper housing, health care, clean water, and proper nutrition for every human being. It would be a world without discrimination; a world where human diversity would be a source of inspiration for arts and education; a world where mankind would appreciate one another for their beauty and uniqueness as we do flora and fauna of the world.Now, take a look around our world: unemployment, homelessness, disease, and hunger. It's a world of booms and slumps, and of wealth and suffering. In this world, human variety is not perceived as richness but as a threat or potential for corruption.

Seventy years ago, Hitler's racial doctrines convinced people that once Jews and Roma were removed from existence, the Third Reich would be a paradise for the Aryan race. Approximately 6 million Jews and 1-3 million Roma perished in the darkest period in Europe's history. Though over seven decades have passed, survivors of the Holocaust must be shocked at how many of today's social attitudes parallel with those of the 1930s.Once again, in the face of many ills plaguing the world, the human race is resorting to populism, calling for scapegoats. Once more, Europe leads the way in this modern day witch hunt, and once more, the Romani people are being victimized. Fingerprinted and registered like common criminals, murdered in arson attacks, collectively deported, and defamed by the social media, the Romani people once again face the crimes they endured in the Holocaust and the situation worsens with each passing day.

Using our imagination and intellect is not a luxury only to be engaged in during times of prosperity, but more so as an absolute necessity in times of recession. We must use our ability to reason to keep racism from spreading. After all, history does not repeat itself. It is us that repeats history. We are once more allowing the senseless deaths of the Nazi victims, and only the sense to be had is in the words "Never Again". "Never Again" should these crimes be endured by the human race. Use your imagination! Imagine that we are capable of creating a world that exposes the fairy tale lies of racial superiority. This one act of mental power won't alone create the ideal, prosperous world, but it will be a far better one and the best memorial for millions murdered in the Porrajmos and the Shoah."

This was the call to meditation and prayer.

"Let us join together in prayer or meditation.
Spirit of love, God of many names, be with us and honor the Romani people.
A human life is sacred.
It is sacred in its livingand it is sacred in its dying.We grieve at the loss of so many Romani people; people who lost their lives for no other reason than the culture they were born in and that they cherished in their hearts. We also grieve for those Romani people who are oppressed; oppressed for no other reason than the culture they were born in and that they cherish in their hearts. We will remember those who have passed on, but we know in our hearts there is more that needs to be done for those alive today. We must reach out with our hands to help those in need, we must let them know that they are not alone, and there are those of us who will walk with them, who see them as people who deserve the universal human rights that all people deserve, who see them not as caricatures or as objects, or as the "Other", but as real people, with feelings of love, and hope, and sorrow, just like we have, with the same human frailties and pain that we all carry.They are no different than us, but they need us because there are some people in this world who treat them as the "Other" - to be shunned and banished and oppressed. Let is remember that nothing can take the place of outstretched hands of human sympathy and understanding, the spoken and silent assurance given by friends - let us remember we have all walked the way of sorrow, of pain, of hopelessness in times past and felt loss. Let us assure them that when they find themselves feeling sorrow or loss, pain or oppression, that they do not walk alone."

And Dr. Ian Hancock sent these words to be read as the votive candles, placed on the circle of our flag, were being lit.

"For us in the United States, the horror of the Holocaust resonates so harshly in our memory because of the enormity of the loss of life it caused, because it occurred in the West and because it happened in living memory. Hitler's attempt to create his Master Race and to dominate all the lands around him, involved both military action and genocide. The two populations targeted for annihilation following the directive of the Final Solution were the Jews and the Roma, both people's losing between a half and three-quarters of their respective populations in Nazi-occupied Europe. We commemorate those tragic losses each year in ceremonies such as the one we are attending today. But we must also be fiercely aware that unless we continue to remember and examine such genocides, history can repeat itself. There have been other genocides since 1945. The Romani people have been subjected to the very same treatment in post Holocaust Europe that Hitler imposed upon them in his Third Reich: there have been forced arrests and incarcerations; there have been sterilizations, there have been neo-Nazi murders, all recorded in this the twenty-first century.We must be ever vigilant, ever alert to the early warning signs of another impending genocide. God bless the memories of those lost in the past, and God protect those who are being targeted in the present time."

O Porrajmos Education Society would like to thank the People's Church for their kindness and generosity in this beautiful ceremony, a ceremony the UN was unwilling to give us.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

2012-01-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

In 1935,Hitler issued the Nuremburg Laws, declaring both Jew and Gypsy were ineligiblecitizens in the Reich because of impure bloodlines. Himmler organized the deathcamps and killing squads and Jews and Gypsies died side by side in the gaschambers. 6 million Jews and 3 to 5million Gypsies were murdered due to race. The atrocities the Russiansdiscovered at Auschwitz laid the foundation for the definition of genocideadopted by the UN in 1948.

Since then, Holocaustscholars have forgotten about the Rromanies, known as “Gypsies,” allowinghistory to repeat itself. European politicians blame them for a poor economy andcrime. In the Czech Republic, Rromani children aren’t allowed to attend publicschools and over 90,000 Rromani women have been sterilized since 1980. Italyfingerprinted and photographed the Rromani in 2008. Neo-Nazis in Hungary,Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy murder Rromani with near impunity. Germany,France, and Italy deport the Rromani, and England practices illegal evictions.

In Octoberof 2011, Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Right for the Council ofEurope declared “The importance of teaching about Roma history cannot beoveremphasized. [r]aising awareness of the Roma genocide and building …memorial sites are the least states could do to honor Roma victims.”

The UNdeclared January 27 ‘International Holocaust Remembrance Day’ to “[c]ondemn ‘withoutreserve’ all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment orviolence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religiousbelief, whenever they occur." Yet Rromanies will not be allowed toparticipate in the UN’s ceremony.

Rromaniesaren’t usually allowed inside the gates of Auschwitz for their ceremonieseither. The Rromani have been told their participation would “dishonor thememory of the true victims.”

TheHolocaust didn’t happen in a bubble. Please remember all victims on January 27and reject intolerance.

In response to a call to action

2012-01-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

We at O Porrajmos Education Society do agree with the principle called upon by activists to create a universal platform assembled by a united leadership of Rromani. We would support such a venture, though the logistics would be a nightmare.

It would require an international conference with delegates from every nation and organization. These delegates would need to determine the issues we face and create an action plan to tackle each one.

Sounds simple. It isn't.

Every country in Europe is dealing with a variety of issues. These issues, ranging from poverty to murder, must be considered with respect to their relevance in each country they exist in, not just as a universal problem. Each country has different laws, different avenues of redress. Yes, there are the courts of the EU, but not every case can/will/should be determined there. Some issues need a more immediate course of action than a law suit and we've seen just how European governments respect their own high court system. Consider the current status of D.H. and Others v the Czech Republic.

Each issue must be recognized and tactically mapped to determine a course of action. What issues are the most important?

The issues
First issue:
Most human rights organizations see any issue of life and death as a top priority. I know, it's obvious, but you may be surprised who would argue the point. Based on this, the main issue in my mind would be the attacks and lack of attention by law enforcement of these attacks as seen across Eastern Europe.

We know the causes for these crimes. We know that skin heads and neo-Nazis are running amok in their unbridled hatred and frustration, blaming Rromani for their lot in life. These people are usually poor themselves, uneducated as well, with little hope of getting and keeping a job. Rather than face the truth of their situation, they must find a scapegoat. Blame the guy who got the job, who applied for the job, who wants the job, who needs the job.

These people feel that opposition to an issue such as poverty or other social ills is to eliminate the obstacle. Reasonable, rational people understand that this is stupidity unleashed, but we must face the fact that the racists, the skin heads, and the neo-Nazis aren't going anywhere. They will continue to use their rage to encourage others to unite with them. We've seen this in history, very recent history, and we can't ignore it. When the neo-Nazis are involved, we have no choice but to learn from history and stop them now.

How?

A task force. Created through dedication and education, to take every case of violence and death and push the issues through the courts. Other duties of this task force would be to educate Rromani citizens of their rights, both human and civil, and teach them how to act upon them, how to exercise them, and how to use them to defend themselves.

In order to be effective, this task force would need to establish itself with strong NGOs such as Amnesty International as well as local, national, and international governments. Learn their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses so they can work together to create a safer world for our people.

A part of this task force would also need to work with local educators to create a curriculum dedicated to instructing outsiders on the real people called Rromani. They need to understand our ways so they can see that the problems they blame us for will not go away if we do.

Second issue:
Education.

Many would disagree with me here. Yes, poverty is a large problem and is critical, but I state that without education there will be little if any opportunities for advancement for any Rromani. Our children are born into poverty and will continue the cycle if not given the opportunity to advance and the doorway to such advancement is education. We must get our children into schools and given them the tools they need to succeed. A short term solution is jobs for Rromani now, but a long term solution starts with our children.

I believe our young people have lost hope. I believe they are turning to violence because they see no way out and they are frustrated. Drug addiction, alcoholism, and crime will only add to the problem. We have to show these kids that there is a way out and it is education. When our children succeed, so then shall we.

How?
Another task force, this one of educators. We need to create the curriculum that will help our children. A nation cannot move forward if it has no idea where it has been. We need to teach our children our history and allow them to claim their heritage. From there, it is all academic. Mathematics, reading, social studies, civics, and a practicum for finding a job.

Third issue:
Poverty

We need to help our people find a way out, not a hand out. Yeah, cliche, but it is very true. And I wish I had a solution here. I really don't. Funding that has been designated for the Rromani has been pocketed by gadji. Money for schools has gone to giving teachers raises.

It may be possible to create yet another watchdog group to demand an accounting of the money and where it goes and then make those figures public. Perhaps if the public sees where their money is really going, it may force a change in the system and get rid of a few corrupt officials.

Fourth issue:
And this is where I know I am going to be criticized. Persecution, discrimination, and other acts fall below this line. I hate the very idea of clustering the rest together, but I feel it is necessary. The reason being that everything else must be reviewed and categorized. Often we may discover that a problem may be solved from one of the above mentioned groups.

Finally, we must declare war on the media. The irresponsible 'news' reports that blame 'those dirty Gypsies' for everything. I find it hard to believe that only the 'Gypsies' commit crimes. I read a news story while doing research for this blog that stated a Gypsy robed and raped a woman.

I am not condoning the criminal act in any way, and if anyone believes I am, then you don't know me. When you know me, you can judge me. But let us take a careful look at the words used just in the title of the article.

The man's race was used to identify him. This often doesn't happen in States with a white man. If a white man commits a crime, he is often just referred to as 'A man'. The press will more likely state his name and age and then describe the crime. But when a black man, a Rom, or any other man of another race commits a crime, his race is usually brought up, if not in the title then in the text.

Also, when it comes to the description of the crimes, most reporters will use active voice rather than passive. Again, when you report a crime in a paper, you must, as a responsible journalist, report all crime as equal. If you are going to use active voice, do so for all crime, and not just the ones that will cause a sensation. Sensational journalism is often little more than racist reporting.

The media needs to be called out for their approaches. We need to establish a rapport with the press with liaisons who can help reporters keep to the facts and steer away from racist language. We need to support those Romani news agencies that exist and help them advance. We also need, though education, to create and support the future Rromani journalists.

In summary, I support a global network of leaders who would step forward and determine the issues and solutions to our problems and who could find a way to implement those solutions. Such leaders must be dedicated and also be supported by our people 100%. If we want the world to take us seriously, we must declare the world to be our country and stand up for our rights.

The Decade of Roma Inclusion

2012-01-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

One of my tasks here at OPES is to keep watch on the Decade of Inclusion. I have written in the past that I have not been impressed with the countries that signed on and their lack of progress. The twelve countries currently taking part in the Decade are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain. Slovenia has observer status. Each developed a national Decade Action Plan that specifies the goals and indicators in the priority areas.

As we approach January 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I will be reviewing the participating countries and you can decide for yourself if real progress, if any, has been achieved.

The following article is from Romedia Foundation and I found it to be very interesting. Please check out their site at http://romediafoundation.wordpress.com/. They are an excellent source for information.

C

Under Surveillance: The Roma in Hungary 2012

Posted on January 12, 2012

Police in Hungary have now been formally instructed by the Chief of National Police to pay specific attention to minorities in their work, referring to what some have called ‘ethnic criminality’. The National Police were issued the instructions on December 30.

The special rules for “working in a multicultural environment” refer to officers handling immigration issues with the advice being issued by National Police Chief, Joseph Hatala.
The developments have received a mixed response from police officers and criminologists. Some believe that the new law will actually help the police to identify criminals while others have criticized the measure, claiming that it will only deepen the already existing prejudice within the force.

The main role of the police’s minority liaison division in dealing with minorities is to forge relationships with different cultural communities, youth organizations, refugee organizations as well as realigning minority leaders of social organizations.

Ultimately, the information gathered in the process is shared with the National Bureau of Investigation, the Alert Police Department, the Airport Police Directorate and regular police officers.
Furthermore, the instructions allow the chief of police to use the minority liaison to investigate any crime in which he thinks a minority group may have been involved. The assumption of innocence is put to one side.

Prejudiced police

Law enforcement and investigative bodies have been under pressure to reduce feelings of prejudice within the National Police. A decade ago, there was great controversy at the national Police Academy where an investigation found that its students were widely anti-Roma.
Research carried out by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in 2007-2008 found that “Roma people are three times more likely to be stopped by police than non-Roma persons”.

Police activity against Roma communities in Hungary has come under international scrutiny

The police and Hungarian state in general, were under serious pressure when in April 2010 Amnesty International issued a report “highlighting the shortcomings of the Hungarian criminal justice system in identifying and addressing hate crimes, in particular racist violence that mostly affects Roma people in Hungary.”

In October 2011, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg expressed concern about police behavior against Roma communities.
The Commissioner stated: “Patterns of discrimination and ill-treatment by police towards Roma are widely reported. Roma have been subjected to police violence in detention facilities and public spaces, such as Roma settlements during police raids. When investigations have been carried out, they frequently appear to have been biased or discriminatory.”
Suspicions of racism among the police intensified further when an internal police internet forum was found to contain officers exchanging derogatory opinions on the Roma. However, similar discoveries have been made across Hungarian society, not only within the police, leading to a growing sense of unease and alienation among Hungarian Roma.

Police protecting a Roma community in Hejoszalonta, Hungary 2010

The head of the police had aimed to address these issues and tried several ways to tackle this widespread prejudice. He announced a record number of Romani officers, and encouraged police officer candidates among Roma children entering secondary schools. In addition to this, cooperation agreements with Roma minority self-governments, and a special rapporteur on the Roma were ready to be launched.

However, such measures were not warmly welcomed within the police force as leaders continually stressed that social issues could not be solved by police alone.

One police officer, wishing to remain anonymous, claimed that as a district agent with a good relationship with local residents, he could not understand the purpose minorities being given special attention and found the new regulations to be vaguely worded.

Results will take time

The new instructions were paved with good intentions according to National Institute of Criminology Fellow, Finszter Geza. The scholar insisted that it was a necessary means to encourage cooperation from minorities and bring them closer to the police.

“This type of instruction in Hungary has not yet been undertaken, even though in almost all European countries with multi-cultural societies, there are such solutions” – said Finszter.

He cited Holland as an example where, he explained, there are lots of immigrants from a variety of cultures, so each police officer is obliged to partake in an educational program in which the officer becomes acquainted with an ethnic group’s traditions and habits.

Finszter continued, and outlined that the solution to the problem was clearly handed down to every police service by the Declaration of Human Rights.

“Every police organization will answer to a centralized bureaucratic element, so the problem is more complicated. A professional attitude and cultural change is required, these things do not happen immediately, but over many years.” stressed Finszter, who hopes that the chief provision will have a positive impact on the police.

However the criminologist also found it important to note that the instructions had an introductory section, attempting to explain the need for the new measures. “Thus the statement is a bit of a self-criticism as well. For example, the prejudice reported among the police must exist for this to be made clear. “

Nothing new

Further anonymous officers claimed that the instructions do not say anything new. ”It would be nice to know why the command was issued. Last spring we were already provided instructions on how to be a police officer and to keep in touch with the minorities’ – he said. They said the objective is not new, because the police’s role was still to prevent crime above anything else.

The impact of the latest police guidelines will be seen in the coming months. However, from the outset, in a country which is no stranger to ethnic or racial tension, paying specific attention to minorities may be sending the wrong message to the Hungarian people.

Many will take this as an assumption of criminality within Roma communities, and particularly volatile sections of society may take this as justification for persecution. It certainly won’t discourage the extremist right wing groups and their paramilitary wings in their anti-Roma activities.
Having said that, in an article of January 10, the extreme right media portal kuruc.info has actually criticized the instructions for which the title read “Pintér (Minister of Interior) protects Gypsy criminals again: “special attention” has to be paid to them from now on”.

Roma integration:Only 15 states have submitted national strategies

2012-01-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us via the Roma Virtual Network and is printed with permission by Europolitics and was written by Sophie Petitjean. We wish to thank Europolitics for allowing us to use this article. Roma integration is an important issue and we are glad for the coverage it has been receiving. For other interesting news of Europe, please go to http://www.europolitics.info/

EUROPOLITICS

Roma integration

Only 15 states have submitted national strategies

By Sophie Petitjean | Tuesday 10 January 2012

Only 15 of the 27 member states submitted their Roma integration strategies to the European Commission by the deadline of 31 December 2011. France, Romania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Slovakia, Poland and Malta are the only states that kept their commitment of 23-24 June 2011, when the European Council approved the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies.

Proposed in April 2011, the framework is meant to improve Roma integration through a specific agenda and clear guidelines. It calls on member states to facilitate Roma access to education, employment, health care, housing and basic related services, and also insists on better use of EU funds. More concretely, it asks member states, taking into account their respective differences, to develop a global strategy for Roma integration (either a completely new strategy or an improved existing strategy) before 31 December 2011.

As of 9 January 2012, 12 member states had not yet submitted their contribution. "The Commission hopes to receive the missing national strategies as soon as possible. It is essential that all states respect their commitment. Only by working together will we make progress on Roma integration," said the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding. The Commission, which plans to continue its calls for action, has no way of putting pressure on member states.

Museum explores Nazi persecution of Gypsies during Holocaust

2012-01-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

This article is used with permission from Stars and Stripes © 2012 Stars and Stripes. If you wish to reuse this article please contact Stars and Stripes at permission@stripes.osd.mil before doing so. To read the entire article written by Stars and Stripes writer Nancy Montgomery and to read other interesting pieces, please follow the link http://www.stripes.com/news/heidelberg-germany-museum-explores-nazi-persecution-of-gypsies-during-holocaust-1.164975

Heidelberg, Germany: Museum explores Nazi persecution of Gypsies during Holocaust

ByNancy Montgomery

Stars and Stripes

Published: January 2, 2012

Anneliese Franz smiles for the camera as she stands on Heidelberg’s Philosopher’s Way, the castle ruins visible behind her. She’s a young woman with dark hair wearing a pretty dress, and although it’s 1944, she has somehow not been rounded up by the Nazis and murdered.

Franz was a Sinti — a Zigeuner, or Gypsy, according to the Germans. That made her, like the Roma Gypsies of eastern Europe — and 6 million Jews — part of the “alien strain” the Nazis rooted out, dispossessed, deported and killed during the Third Reich.

The photo of Franz is one of many portraits at a unique Heidelberg museum: the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma.

“It’s the only exhibition about the Sinti and the Roma and the Holocaust in Europe and the whole world,” said Joschi Rose, a center employee.

The center opened in 1997, 15 years after the German government formally acknowledged the genocide against the Sinti and Roma, the preferred name of the ethnic group that originated in India, came to Europe about 1,000 years ago, and is still subject to discrimination and derogatory stereotypes.

The Nazi genocide of the Roma and Sinti is less well-known than the Holocaust, in part because the Roma and Sinti were more marginalized than Jews before the Nazis came to power because of greater levels of poverty and illiteracy and less organization by Roma and Sinti communities, historians say. In fact, because of the number of Sinti and Roma living before the Holocaust isn’t clear — many of them were nomadic — neither is their death toll.

Both had been stigmatized and persecuted for centuries.

“But there were many ways they lived together normally (with Germans),” Rose said. “Before 1933, Sinti and Roma were more integrated into the community.”

Historians estimate 500,000 were exterminated as part of the Nazis’ attempted annihilation of entire peoples they deemed subhuman. The center describes how it happened, through documents and photographs from the Nazis juxtaposed with family photographs of the murdered and some of their personal histories.

Visitors to the center can see an image of Johann Trollmann, a young Sinti boxer who was stripped of his light-heavyweight title by the Nazis in 1933 after winning a fight. Trollmann avoided earlier deportations by being sterilized — the same way that Franz escaped death. She was sterilized at the University of Heidelberg.

Trollmann, though, was eventually sent to a concentration camp, where he was beaten to death.
Roma and Sinti were all identified, measured and recorded with the help of the doctors at the Research Center for Racial Hygiene, established in 1936. According to the center, “24 details on the head alone” were measured in the pseudoscientific pursuit of classifying people.
One of the most haunting images is of four young Roma girls, starved into near skeletons, who were part of Joseph Mengele’s unspeakable twin experiments at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps.
In fact, historians say, Roma and Sinti suffered disproportionately in the experiments carried out by Nazi doctors and anthropologists.

“Mengele once had a family of eight murdered so that their different colored eyes could be sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology in Berlin-Dahlem,” says the voice on the tour headset.

DIRECTIONS
The Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma is located in Heidelberg’s old town at Bremeneckgasse 2, Heidelberg 69117. The closest parking is a multistory parking garage P12, Kornmarkt/Schloss.

TIMES
The center is open 9:30 a.m.- 7:45 p.m. Tuesday; 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 11 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekends. Closed Mondays.

COSTS
Admission is free.

FOOD
There are plenty of restaurants with a variety of price ranges just a couple of blocks away on the city’s main pedestrian street.

INFORMATION
Call 06221-981102 or visit sintiundroma.de. Interpretive headsets in English are available at no charge. If planned in advance, a tour guided by a historian is also available at no charge.

January 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day. A time to act.

2012-01-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

We are fast approaching January 27, which is the day the General Assembly of the United Nations declared to be International Day of Commemoration to honour the victims of the Holocaust. They also urged their member states to develop educational programs to "instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again." January 27 was selected as the date since it is the date the Russians liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the death camps, where they found only one survivor of Romani descent. The Assembly stated

"Rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, the 191-member Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution condemning “without reserve” all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur."

So the question must be asked, why has the United Nations refused the Romani nation to participate in the ceremonies this year? Last year we were included, but, as of this writing, this year we are not. If the UN found it a worthy effort to spend two days in 2005 debating the issue of establishing a memorial date and went so far as to ask every member state to commemorate the day, then why include a minority who has the most to lose from being excluded from the services? Is it because there is a question as to the murder of the Romani people in the Holocaust?

Even the expert scholars, survivors themselves, state that the Romani people were indeed victims of the Holocaust. In a letter written to Elie Wiesel and dated December 14th, 1984, Simon Wiesenthal stated

“The Gypsies had been murdered in a proportion similar to the Jews: about 80% of them in the area of the countries which were occupied by the Nazis.”

Even Germany finally admitted to the world that the Romani nation was selected as a race for extermination, as evidenced by former German president Roman Herzog stated in 1997,

"The genocide of the Sinti and Roma was carried out from the same motive of racial mania, with the same premeditation, with the same wish for the systematic and total extermination as the genocide of the Jews."

One would think that such statements, made years in advance of the creation of the day of remembrance would be admission enough, but it seems it isn't.

So we look to the statement made by the Assembly itself, piece by piece. The first section reads:

"Rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part..."

Is not silence just as deafening as the cries of millions? By their silence and by their unwillingness to to include the Romani nation in their ceremony and allowing a Romani to speak, they add to the misguided belief that the Romani people were not victims of the Holocaust. Rejection by omission is just as bad as flat denial, which the UN rejects.

"...the 191-member Assembly adopted by consensus ..."

191 members of the Assembly agreed to this, and yet, who among them is asking for full inclusion of the Romani people, people who were affected in many of these countries? These members must look to the histories of their own countries and see what side they were on, what actions their government took, and, in the glaring light of the present, act accordingly.

"...a resolution condemning “without reserve” all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief..."

Read it again. "Without reserve" all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief (emphasis mine). This section here means we are included. Or should be included, by their own admission!

And finally,

"...whenever they occur."

They already have occurred and they are currently occurring while the UN does what? Remains silent.

So in our fight for human rights and our dealings with the UN, who do go to? There is a United Nations Human Rights Council. What nation has been designated with such an honor? The Czech Republic.

"[T]he Czech Republic was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2011 -2014. The Czech Republic thus has the honor to become one of the 47 member states of the main UN body responsible for creating and implementing UN policies in the field of protection and promotion of human rights in various part of the world." (emphasis mine)

Seriously? According to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe, over 90,000 Romani women were sterilized in the Czech Republic since 1980. Romani children are still be segregated from the public school system even after the Court of Human Rights ordered the Czech Republic to de-segregate in 2007.

I bring this up because there is a direct link to the Holocaust and our fight for justice in Europe. When the Third Reich fell to the Allies and the atrocities committed by the German State were revealed to the world, the anti-Semitic laws were immediately abolished. Not so in the case of the anti-Gypsy laws. It was still illegal to be a Gypsy until 1953. No one was educated about the murders of the Romani people because few survivors wanted to talk about what they experienced and the deaths of loved ones and family members. Now, the world is blissfully ignorant of the Romani inclusion in the Holocaust and the hate and persecution that resulted in O Baro Porrajmos continues to this day and we face a genocide once again.

We must demand the UN include us and, if they refuse, we must make it clear in cities around the world that we, as a nation, were set for extermination and that we can see it happening again and that we will not allow it.

Organize something within your community. A meal with a candle lighting ceremony, a wreath presentation to a river, or volunteer to speak at a school. The point is, do something. Record that event through pictures or video. Let people see what we stand for because if we don't speak for ourselves, who will?

Europe’s Squandered Minority

2012-01-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us with permission from Project Syndicate. Please follow the link below for the rest of this article.

Europe’s Squandered Minority

By Zeljko Jovanovic

2011-12-30

Europe’s Squandered Minority

BUDAPEST – Today, millions of Europeans are afraid and frustrated as they face unemployment, loss of savings and pensions, radically reduced social benefits, and other economic hardships. Their fears are warranted, because the current financial crisis is undermining the very union that was established to heal Europe’s wounds at the end of World War II.

But, in the midst of the general suffering, one group – the Roma – has been ignored. Europe’s largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority, with a population equal to that of Greece, millions of Roma are trapped in extreme poverty and ignorance, compounded by widespread discrimination. Indeed, the 2009 European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey found that Roma experience more severe discrimination than any other ethnic-minority group in Europe.

Hard times provoke aggressive, vindictive, and intolerant attitudes, and Roma have become scapegoats in this economic crisis. In fact, Roma-bashing is helping far-right political parties to mobilize and nationalist leaders to win votes. Even some mainstream political parties have resorted to using anti-Roma rhetoric that would have been inconceivable a decade ago. But the Roma have refrained from reciprocating the sometimes lethal violence inflicted on them.

For the rest of the article, please go to http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/jovanovic1/English

Time for new beginnings

2011-12-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

This is the last post for 2011. That is so amazing to me. 2011 has been a momentous year.
O Porrajmos Education Society was born this year with a mission to "serve as historians on the Rromani (“Gypsy”)nation, as a reliable resource on the current state of Rromani affairs, and asan advocate for the future prosperity of all Rromani. We seek to educatechildren and adults on these marginalized peoples, and work to be an activeforce for Rromani rights worldwide".

We took many steps this year, ones I was anticipating would be very difficult. We faced these obsticles as team and made headway that surprised even me, the optimist of the group.

O Porrajmos Education Society

We set our charter on January 17, 2011 and then established some long and short term goals. Our goals for this year were based on three categories: education outside of the Society, creating a usable archive for researchers and students, and fundraising for events and educational materials. Two of these goals, the archive as well as fundraising, are long term goals and will never be complete. The other, education, was to begin immediately and within that goal we determined the steps we would need to take.

Plan and create a museum display that was portable and flexible.
Establish ourselves within the local school system as a credible organization.
Seek out public family events were we could educate through entertainment.

With the museum display, our first task was to decide what would be the most important information the public needed to know. After several lengthy brainstorming sessions, we came to the conclusion that we must explain Rromani history in order to educate people of current events. We then had to design and create a museum display that could convey this information in a unique and entertaining manner. Studies have shown that the average American will walk away from an display in a museum within 17 seconds unless he/sh is engaged with it. We had to create something that would grab the people's attention and hold them, allowing them to be educated without realizing it. We needed a structure that could be easily dismantled, support the text and photos visually, and be adaptable to changing the text as needed. Our answer for the shape was a traditional "Gypsy" wagon. The wagon would allow us for sides to use and each side would be a different subject. The front of the wagon would have the title "Where We're Going," one long side titled "Who We Are,", the rear panel titled "Where We've Been," and the final side titled "Where We Are." This last section was for current events and the text panels here would be changed out depending on recent developments in Europe.

The 'topper'

The design would be interesting to Americans and draw them in. But how do you tear it apart for storage? Using a simple slot and grove design, we were able to create a box that would sit on top of another smaller support box. Where the windows of the wagon were to go, we would have photo panels with text panels below. The panels would stay in place using Velcro tabs, allowing them to be removed and even changed at will. We built small doors into both ends of the wagon allowing for a portable CD player to sit inside, adding the dimension of sound through music.

The base

When the plans were drawn out, we set out to find sponsors. The Wright Touch Bake Shoppe and Rapids Reproduction, both of Cedar Rapids, signed on without hesitation. Rapids Reproduction printed the text and photo panels and The Wright Touch Bake Shoppe gave us the funding to purchase the materials. Kevin Notestine volunteered to build it, so construction began in late March.

During construction, the Society was approached by The Iowa Summer of the Arts Campaign to present at an event called 'The Global Village.' Children would be given 'passports' with every country participating that day. Countries had to come up with a craft or activity for the children to do in order to get a stamp in their passport. We decided this would be the perfect opportunity to debut the wagon. Our new deadline for its completion was June 17 for delivery to the Global Village on the 18th.

Weather conditions made construction slow and we had a team of volunteers painting via flashlight past midnight the night of the 17th. We prayed everything would be dry that morning and prepared to drive 30 miles to Iowa City with a display that had never been assembled before. This was an act of faith. The following morning the paint was dry so we loaded up and headed to Iowa City.

At the Global Village, June 18, 2011

It took longer to assemble than we'd planned, but we did get it set up and spent the day talking with families. We had coloring sheets of the Rromani flag for the little ones and parents seemed fascinated with the wagon. Our efforts were successful.

Throughout the summer, requests came in about the wagon. Since its debut in June, it has been shown at seven events over the summer and early fall. The wagon has always been a work in progress and has a much more finished presentation than you see to the left. Currently the wagon is awaiting some touch up paint and a few repairs.

We are currently working on our goal of getting ourselves established in the local and now surrounding school districts. We've been sending information to the various districts in the area and now have two classes set up for this spring term and are expecting to book more in January.

Our third goal, to look for family events as venues for education, has also been successful. The wagon has been very popular and I have spoken at 3 different public venues, ones in which I was very surprised to be asked to participate. We are currently creating a mailing as well as an email newsletter to create more interest in speaking engagements, both in public venues as well as clubs and schools.

Next year looks bright. Between January and March I will be speaking to two local genealogical societies in the spring and will also be speaking at Beyond Rubies, a women's conference held annually at Kirkwood Community College here in Cedar Rapids. We have other opportunities we are working on and hopefully negotiations will continue in a positive manner.

We should also be able to apply for tax exempt status in 2012, which will make fundraising much easier.

We look forward to 2012 and anticipate it as a time for growth with opportunities to make a difference in the world. I am reminded this holiday season of a song by TSO. "If you want to arrange it/ this world, you can change it/ by helping a neighbor/or even a stranger/you know who needs help/you need only just ask." Together, we can change the world. I pray for your continued support thoughout the new year and that you will have a Happy New Year, Baxtalo Nevo Bersh, but baxt thaj sastipe!

Baxt,
Ciuin
Oleg
Ron
Debbie

Czech hospital, Romany woman agree on compensation

2011-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us from The Czech News Agency via the Roma Virtual Network. Statistics from the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe states that since 1980, over 90,000 Romani women have been sterilized in the Czech Republic. This number, while obscene, makes a very bold statement about the conditions the Romani within the Czech Republic face and also about the attitudes regarding the Romani by Czech citizens. Many Romni fear to seek redress from the government and very few step forward. The process is grueling and painful and few women want to step into the public spotlight. We applaud Iveta Cervenakova for her courage and rejoice with her that this issue has been resolved to her favor. Perhaps more women now will seek redress and the policy can be seen for what it is: racist, shameful, and regressive.

Skupina: Aktuální zpravodajství

Titulek:       Czech hospital, Romany woman agreeon compensation
Datum vydání:  20.12.2011
Čas vydání:    15:41
Klíčová slova: Czech; court; hospital;compensation; sterilisation
ID:            T201112200621101
Servis:        col
Priorita:      4
Kategorie:     eng

Czechhospital, Romany woman agree on compensation

Olomouc/Ostrava,North Moravia, Dec 20 (CTK) - Czech Romany woman Iveta Cervenakova has reachedagreement with the Municipal Hospital in Ostrava on compensation for unwantedsterilisation she underwent in 1997, spokesman for the hospital Jiri Maler toldCTK today.

Courts weredealing with Cervenakova's case for many years.

Both sidesagreed not to disclose the level of compensation, but it is probably half amillion crowns that the regional court formerly awarded to Cervenakova.

Cervenakovaunderwent sterilisation on July 9, 1997. She claimed she was not properlyinformed about the treatment and its consequences.

She said sheonly signed agreement with a Caesarean on the operating table when she wasbeing delivered of her second child. The first was also born by a Caesareansection.

Cervenakovalearnt that she cannot have any more children only seven years later when shewanted to have another child.

Courts weredealing with the case several years. The case eventually ended at the SupremeCourt that decided in the middle of the year that the High Court in Olomouc didnot look into whether the statute of limitation may be at variance with goodmorals.

This is notthe only case in the Czech Republic. The issue of Romany sterilisations hasbeen discussed in the country since the autumn 2000 when the European RomaRights Centre mentioned the suspicion of forced sterilisation of Romany women.

EuropeanRomany activists said involuntary sterilisations were also carried out inBulgaria, Hungary and Romany, but they claimed that the biggest number was inthe Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

($1=19.399crowns)

ms/dr/kva

April 8, 2012

2011-12-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

This post comes to us via ERIO's Weekly E-news update. OPES encourages you to consider now how you will celebrate 8 April, 2012. Consider organizing something within your community, organization, or school.

"8 April" Roma Nation Day Protests Against Anti-Gypsy Racism

FORTY YEARS after the lst World Romani Congress anti-Gypsy racism across Europe is at its worst. Not far from the London location of that historic gathering riot police armed with stun-guns recently stormed the barricades of the Dale Farm estate.

That violent assault failed to break up the community and a hundred families continue to cling on to the land they own. Dale Farm is being gradulaly re-established through claims for illegal property damage, fresh planning appeals and a high court case which could force Basildon District Council to provide for those made homeless by their pitiless but unsuccessful 20 million euro ethnic-cleansing operation.

The London Congress proclaimed the opening date 8 April to be Roma Nation Day.

Over past decades it has been celebrated by several thousands of event in sixty countries, including India. They have been both festive and demonstrative. Occasionally they have gone off message by adopting such titles as International Roma Day and even, in the l980s, Cigandan.

Most notable include that attended by President Kostunica of Yugoslavia at the junction of the Sava and Danube, when Roma victims of the fascist genocide were

remembered. Big demonstrations have been seen over the years in Sibiu, Belgrade, Skopje, Prague and Budapest, and in German and Italian towns following forced deporations and destruction of camps.

Attempts to link up the celebrations around the world under the theme of River Ceremonies brough about gatherings beside the Rhein, Adige, Ghaghar, Garonne, Vardar, Volga,Thames and a dozen other major rivers.

There was too the 8 April Wave of Light commencing with the lighting of a candle by the Dalai Lama, visited by Prof. Ian Hancock. Another year the Millennium of the Exodus from India was remembered when veteran of the lst Congress Juan Ramirez reminded us: "We have to fight even harder today against injustice and racism."

Because of the worsening situation - further murders in Hungary, relentless deportations by Germany and France, and brutal evictions in the UK, Italy and Serbia - the need for united action and protest has become ever more urgent.

Roma children segregation in hospitals – contested in Romania for the first time

2011-12-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

This press release comes to us via the Roma Virtual Network.

PRESS RELEASE

Roma children segregation in hospitals – contested in Romania for the first time

Today, Romani CRISS and ECPI – Euroregional Center for Public Initiatives filed a complaint to the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD) regarding the differentiate treatment applied to Roma children in Emergency Clinical Hospital “Marie Sklodowska Curie” in Bucharest. It regards segregation of Roma children from the majority children by placing them in separate wards. It’s for the first time when information about this type of practice in Romanian hospitals could have resulted in a complaint towards authorities.

“This year we conducted field research in several hospitals in the capital. We collected information that there are segregated wards with Roma children in “Marie Curie” hospital. Illness does not discriminate based on ethnicity. Denigration and exclusion of little patients just because they are Roma only brings more sufferance and dissatisfaction” declared Oana Mihalache, from Romani CRISS.

The two nongovernmental organisations request NCCD to ascertain and sanction the fact of discrimination, under its severe form of segregation. “Although the Romanian law expressly bans and sanctions ethnic discrimination, the enforcement of the law is delayed when it comes to the health system. That is why we believe that the Ministry of Health and local public authorities under whom the hospitals are placed should verify whether the hospitals’ internal regulations stipulate banning of ethnic segregation and if such provisions are put into practice” added Iustina Ionescu, ECPI lawyer.

The Romanian reality often showed us that patients rights’ violations take place and remain unnoticed and uncorrected because the relations within the medical system are relations of power where the patient is in a vulnerable position. A fundamental principle of the basis of exerting the right to health is that of non-discrimination, including in terms of ethnic appurtenance. That is why Romani CRISS and ECPI wrote the Human right local monitors’ Guide in the field of discrimination in accessing health care services for Roma people[1]. With the help of this guide, the two organisations will intensify the monitoring and reporting activity upon discrimination acts that take place in accessing the right to health-care for Roma people and not only.

For further information please contact: Oana Mihalache (Romani CRISS), oana@romanicriss.org, +40 768 061 428 and Iustina Ionescu (ECPI), iionescu@ecpi.ro, + 40 754 306 13.
____________________

2011-12-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

We at O Porrajmos Education Society would like to wish you and yours a very blessed holiday, no matter what holiday you celebrate. May God give you joy in the season and may He bring us peace in the new year.

Baxtale,
Ciuin
Ron
Debbie
Oleg

The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Kids

2011-12-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us via the Roma Virtual Network, and we thank the author, Ky Krauthamer, for allowing us to repost it. This is from the December 16 eddition of the Transitions Online editors' blog site (http://eastofcenter.tol.org/). We have been following this issue closely and feel Mr. Krauthamer deals with some very interesting points.

The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Kids

By Ky Krauthamer + December 16th, 2011

Around the Bloc, TOL’s daily news aggregator, reported yesterday on research in Britain that should demolish any lingering doubts over the hypocrisy of the Czech Republic’s segregated education policy.

I don’t know if the Czech human-rights ombudsman read the British report, but it’s interesting that at about the same time, his office said it had begun a research project to

“overturn or confirm the criticism of the Czech Republic for the high number of Romani pupils in schools meant for the education of the disabled.”

As we and many others have pointed out time and again, the Czechs, along with Slovakia, Hungary, and to a lesser degree other countries in the region, have for years followed a totally indefensible practice of steering Romani children to “special schools” for the educationally backward. Roma are massively overrepresented in these schools compared to “white” children (two examples of many: 20 percent of Polish Romani children are in special schools; 35 percent of children in the equivalent Czech schools are Roma; see below).

Educators claim that Romani children need special attention for any number of reasons. Their family circumstances have not prepared them for learning, they are less likely to attend nursery school than other children, they may not speak the majority’s language well when they start school, etc. There is some merit to these arguments, but the fact is that educators have not shown that special schools do a better job than mainstream schools at overcoming these obstacles, and far worse, educators and the general public collude in perpetrating a system that is designed – from all appearances – not to help these children succeed in a white-dominated society but rather to keep them out of sight.

So cheers rang out in 2005 when the Czech government announced the end of the special schools, shamed by the barrage of criticism from the foreign media, EU, Amnesty International and others. Cheers were heard again in 2007 when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Czech Republic had violated the rights of several Romani young people by assigning them to special schools. The court sided with the plaintiffs’ argument that Czech authorities had thereby discriminated against them by denying the right to education.

What happened then was, depending on your point of view, an exercise either in blatant cynicism or craven fear. The Czech elites might have taken courage from the example of the United States, where dedicated educators and citizens helped dismantle segregated education following the Supreme Court’s milestone Brown ruling which ended segregated schools. Instead, they took a cowardly course, knowing the furious reaction from white parents should more than a token Roma or two be admitted to their children’s schools. So they simply replaced the word “special” in school names with the word “practical.”

The irony here is that “practically,” nothing has changed for the children that attend these schools. This was brought out in a report last year by the Czech Schools Inspectorate. The agency said that in the 2009-10 school year, 15,894 children were attending the former special schools and of these, 10,842, or 68 percent, were considered to have mild mental disability (lehkým mentálním postižením). Of those, Romani children comprised fully 35 percent, and up to half in some regions. (The report does not say how the “Romani” children were identified. Presumably, on the basis of their appearance, since ethnic labels for individuals are not supposed to be used by state agencies. As the ombudsman’s office says, when its representatives do research in schools, they “will note the number of pupils who look like Roma and would thus be treated as Roma by the majority.”)
The school inspectorate boasted that the “traditional very high level of education for pupils categorized as having mild mental disability was preserved in the former special schools.”
However, these schools focus

“solely on high quality special care; as a rule they do not support the possibility of integrating pupils into mainstream education.”

After all the criticism, the multiple pieces of evidence of what amounts to a conspiracy to deny this country’s most deprived people of anything beyond the most basic education, little has changed. The situation today is probably hardly better than in 1999, when the European Roma Rights Center issued a comprehensive report on the special schools. That report pointed out an “essential double-speak” about the schools. On the one hand, they are “legally defined as established to cater to the needs of mentally handicapped children. On the other hand, numerous educators and the [Education] Ministry itself regards [sic] them as appropriate for the education of Roma. The effect of this dissonance in the two conceptions of the institution itself is that Romani children are branded as intellectually deficient by dint of their placement in remedial special schools, and are educated as if they were mentally handicapped.”

The ERRC went on to say, “A child who has passed successfully through remedial special school has extremely limited opportunities in secondary education.” Those opportunities were generally limited to vocational schools offering training in low-paying trades. University education was virtually impossible then for graduates of special schools and is probably just as far out of reach for the youngsters leaving the practical schools today.

It will be very interesting to see what the ombudsman reports.

UN HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE EVENT NEGLECTS FATE OF ROMA

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us via the Roma Virtual Network. It appeared on The Roma Buzz Monitor, located at http://www.romabuzzmonitor.net/2011/12/roma-must-be-included-in-un-holocaust-event/. Yet again, the UN ignores us, making a statement in their silence. We ask, as does Grattan Puxon, that you stand up on April 8 and claim history, claim your rights, and protest the world's indifference.

UN HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE EVENT NEGLECTS FATE OF ROMA

11/12/2011 – As announced by the UN it looks like the next international Holocaust Remembrance event will once again neglect to fully recognize the fate of the Romani people at the hands of Europe’s NAZI and fascists rulers.

This is particularly regretable at a time when intolerance against the 10 million Roma in Europe has reached a dangerous level. Roma are once more being beaten and murdered by neo-fascists on a daily basis, while entire camps and settlements suffer official clearances in the name of public order.

Among the most recent outrages occurred in the UK, where Prime Minister David Cameron gave his personal support to the eviction of some one hundred Romani and Traveller families from their own land at Dale Farm and other parts of the Basildon district in Essex.

Over the barricades at Dale Farm, stormed by British riot police firing 50,000 volt Taser stun guns, flew the flag of the United Nations – because the UN was protesting against this act of ethnic-cleansing.

Under Hitler’s New Order in Europe more than 500,000 “Gypsies” were exterminated on racial grounds, a large proportion of them children.

This was surely price enough to pay for a secure and honoured place to be assumed of right in the name of Romani victims and survivors in any Holocaust event

promoted by the world organization.

On Roma Nation Day, 8 April 2012, members of Romani associations around the globe will be holding rallies and demonstrations against the rise of “anti-Gypsy” racism, drawing attention to those who must now pay the price for wide-spread ignorance, prejudice and hatred through their exclusion and marginalisation on the outskirts of cities and town in 60 countries.

We request that the United Nations ensure that Roma representatives are invited to the Holocaust Remembrance on 27 January and that reporting reflect that participation.

We ask, moreover, that all stand up with us on Roma Nation Day 2012 to demonstrate opposition to racism of every kind.

Grattan Puxon

co-author

Gypsies Under the Swastika

former general secretary

International Romani Union.

Breakfast on the Bus

2011-12-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us from The Open Society via The Roma Virtual Network. I've had the opportunity to hear the authors of this article, Gwendolyn Albert and Jack Greenberg, speak at the Inaugural Romani Studies Conference at Berkeley in November. Please follow this link for more articles and information from The Open Society. http://blog.soros.org/2011/12/breakfast-on-the-bus/

Breakfast on the Bus

December 5, 2011 | by Jack Greenberg and Gwendolyn Albert

Not more than a two-hour drive from Budapest’s elegant pedestrian downtown, you wouldn’t really notice that something is out of kilter. The provincial towns have new, bright renovated centers, neat cobbled public areas and are imbued with a cozy neighborliness. Apparently, the post-communist transition is complete and everyone has prosperity and freedom of choice.

Not so.

Travel a little further to the periphery, scratch a little deeper into the social fabric of Hungary, and stop for a moment, and you will soon find the peripheral neighborhoods that would evoke comparisons with the most heartbreaking locations of the Civil Rights era: improvised housing totally inappropriate for a harsh temperate climate, far too many dirty, underfed, and illiterate children, nearly total unemployment for anyone of working age and a deep reliance on what few social benefits suffice to keep a family at or below the poverty line, muddy streets that better resemble a bayou than a public road, and perhaps the best building in the neighborhood, a windswept school, what could be a beacon of stability, progress, and a real future or another marker of segregation and utter despair. But who are these people, hardly any different in appearance from anyone else and avoided like lepers, pushed to the margins, denied services, and treated as subhuman?

Ring any bells?

They are Roma, one of Europe’s most diverse and largest ethnic group estimated to be nearly twelve million strong, people without a state, a parliament, or a clear voice—and a convenient political threat by populist hatemongers in Europe in need of easy political points to hide their own incompetence and mismanagement. Long ignored, far too frequently blamed for every social trauma imaginable, they have been doomed to the margins with no remedy in sight despite a huge philanthropic mobilization and the decisions of Europe’s most authoritative courts.
But take a breath, peep inside the local Roma school and see what you find.

Will it be a heartwarming exception or a broad policy of integration? Mixed rows of Roma and Hungarian children working diligently and attentive, an array of school supplies for each, a teacher and a Roma teaching assistant carefully attending to each child’s needs, helping them surmount the daily obstacles to their education and implant in them the beginnings of the knowledge, perspectives and skills that will allow them to advance equally towards the educational milestones ahead?
Or will it be the chilling status quo, what the Roma have come to expect as typical? A hostile, uncommunicative teacher insisting that her hungry, cold, 100-percent Roma class only fill in the color between the lines, hardly bothering to assign in-class tasks that would require any mental agility from the pupils, much less daring to suggest any homework, the teacher capable of little more than another groan at the thought of another hopeless day diluting the curriculum to make her job simpler?

Naturally, with Hungarian public opinion hardened by a hostile, homogenous domestic media and politics held hostage by revisionist public attitudes towards diversity and modernity, it’s a stalemate between the status quo and the exception: while the state gives lip service to the directives and decisions coming down from the European Union, very little is done, and what’s done is done cautiously with the expected methods of a resistant bureaucracy: decision-making delays, new rounds of studies, more conferences, and ill-willed vacillation on commitments until a new election cycle, when any progress is flushed down the toilet to cater to misconceived majority interests.
Meanwhile, in Hungary’s nearly 1,600 impoverished or marginal Roma settlements scattered around its glorious towns and villages, many local schools doggedly hang on to the old segregation model buttressed by the hollowed out reform vocabulary of decentralization and choice, municipalities repeatedly separating students and classes for fear of earning the electoral ire of the majority—unless forced by the expense of an impending court case or the rare charismatic mayor to change their curriculum and enrollment procedures.

Working in step with a few NGOs to end the worst cases of segregation and inconceivable gaps in Roma children’s education, the Roma Education Fund provides educational programs, incentives, and scholarships to Roma children to attend school and achieve in the classroom. For the youngest and most at risk, these interventions may be morning and midday meals, regular doctor’s visits, basic literacy, and numeracy. For students further in their educational careers, the Roma Education Fund sponsors after-school centers and tutoring tied to academic achievement, and in the most intransigent cases the Fund may even resort to what was the most radical action of the American Civil Rights era with mostly positive implications for generations to come, the decision that catapulted the race and education issue from the TV in the living room to the neat suburban districts nearest you: busing.
But set aside the scenes of hysterical white parents in America in 1971 chaining themselves to school buses ordered to transport their precious white children to black schools. This will never happen in Hungary, such is stigma associated with Roma, and any politician who openly accepts such an option will soon find himself/herself without a job before too long, penalized by an irrational majority explicitly/passively supporting Roma children’s segregation from white schools.

Bus some exceptions have been created by ambitious young mayors, like in the unpronounceable named Hodmezovasarhely or Szeged, where desegregation started right after local elections, Roma-only schools were closed down, school busing is paid by the city, and the Roma Education Fund's mentors are working with the Roma pupils in the afternoons. These actions have been singled out in the best practice catalog of the European Union for a third time and visitors are coming yearly wondering if it is really possible.

Yet, just because you can’t integrate Roma all at once does not mean you should do nothing.
Within the northeastern town of Nyiregyhaza’s municipal limits, two locations host its poorest Roma residents, the Guszev and Keleti settlements, both dispersed far from the town center and isolated from any white neighborhoods or schools. Here, a number of attempts have been made to ensure that the children living in these poor areas are provided with quality education and opportunities for advancement. Over the last four years, a legal campaign by Chance for Children Foundation has forced the local government in Nyiregyhaza to shut down the segregated primary school in this neighborhood and open the doors of Nyiregyhaza’s supposedly off-limits majority schools to Roma pupils.

But how do young children living in a neighborhood untouched by Nyiregyhaza’s public transport services (unlike the majority of white students) get to downtown schools in which they are now suddenly enrolled? What hazards await them on their commute by foot during the few hours of light of eastern Hungary’s notoriously bitter winter? Will any of them show up?

Rather than waiting for a new set of indicators on attendance and achievement for these pupils, the Roma Education Fund, backed by the local Roma community, refused to accept that they were being given access to education (integration) but nothing else other than a mandatory, legislated discount for school-age children on public transport. A solution was negotiated in which the municipality agreed to pay for the driver, fuel, and maintenance, and a grant was cobbled together to purchase to two buses in order to collect pupils each day from Guszev and Keleti, deliver them to their new schools and bring them home each afternoon. Nearly everyone reported better results and seemed to relish the chance to mingle and integrate: Roma children acquired new perspectives and knowledge outside their isolated neighborhoods, Roma parents often accompanied their children on the bus and joined programs to boost their own and their children’s literacy and numeracy and Hungarian-language skills, teachers genuinely welcomed Roma pupils into their classes and schools, and a seemingly receptive majority was glad to see progress, even if the pupils might not have been as well groomed as their classmates and were entitled to breakfast and lunch.

But this cautious cooperation has ceased in the past year due to alleged financial pressures in the municipality and been conveniently matched by a new attempt to reopen Nyiregyhaza’s segregated Roma schools. The buses have been abandoned in a municipal garage and the students from Guszev and Keleti have been left to wind their way to school and back along Nyiregyhaza’s threatening winter roads.

For every bit of progress, two bits of revisionism.

That’s why we fight and that’s why we started.

French Roma policy violates European Social Charter

2011-12-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us from the Strasbourg Observers via European Roma Information Office. This interesting article and others may be found at http://strasbourgobservers.com/ and we are grateful to the author, Laurens Lavrysen, for giving us permission to reprint it here in its entirety.

French Roma policy violates European Social Charter

December 6, 2011

by Laurens Lavrysen

In a decision of 28 June (COHRE v. France, no. 63/2010), which was only recently made public, the European Committee of Social Rights has found the French zero tolerance policy towards East European Roma living in illegal camps to be in violation of the European Social Charter. The case, which was lodged by the NGO Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), concerns the eviction and expulsion measures announced by French president Sarkozy in the summer of 2010. Hundreds of illegal camps were dismantled and thousands of Roma were expelled to Romania and Bulgaria. Most expulsions took place on a “voluntary” basis, in exchange for the payment of 300 euro per adult and 100 euro per child.

Decision
The Committee first considered the complaint under Art. E (the principle of non-discrimination) in conjunction with Art. 31, § 2 of the European Social Charter. The latter provision concerns the right to housing and particularly requires states to “take measures designed to prevent and reduce homelessness with a view to its gradual elimination.” According to the Committee’s case-law the illegal occupation of a site or dwelling may justify the eviction of illegal occupants. The Committee however requires that the criteria of illegal occupation must not be unduly wide; that the eviction takes place in accordance with the applicable rules of procedure; that these rules are sufficiently protective of the rights of the persons concerned; and that the eviction is carried out in conditions that respect the dignity of the persons concerned. The authorities must moreover take steps to rehouse or financially assist these persons.

The Committee considered that France had failed to demonstrate that the forced evictions were carried out in conditions that respected their dignity, or that the Roma were offered alternative accommodation. Furthermore these evictions took place against a background of ethnic discrimination, Roma stigmatisation and constraint, in the form of the threat of immediate expulsion from France. The Committee attached considerable weight to the fact that a particular ethnic group was explicitly singled out. Therefore the Committee ruled that the evictions constituted a clear and direct discrimination, in violation of Art. E in conjunction with Art. 31, § 2 of the Charter.
The Committee then proceeded to examine the complaint under Art. E in conjunction with Art. 19, § 8 of the Charter (the protection of migrant workers against expulsion). The Committee constructs this provision in harmony with Art. 4 Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR, the prohibition of collective expulsion. In line with the case-law of the ECtHR, Art. 19, § 8 thus prohibits

“any measure compelling aliens, as a group, to leave a country, except where such a measure is taken on the basis of a reasonable and objective examination of the particular case of each individual alien of the group (…). That does not mean, however, that where the latter condition is satisfied the background to the execution of the expulsion orders plays no further role in determining whether there has been compliance with Article 4 of Protocol No. 4.” (ECtHR, 5 February 2002, no. 51564/99, Čonka v. Belgium)

According to the Committee, the use of standard forms or orders to leave the territory with identical content suggested that France did not take the individual circumstances of the persons concerned into account. The Committee further considered that “in practice these so-called ‘voluntary’ returns are disguised forms of forced collective expulsions.” This resulted from the fact that these returns were “accepted” subject to the constraint of forced eviction and the real threat of expulsion from France. The involuntary nature was further demonstrated by the willingness to accepts such low payments, which revealed a

“situation of destitution or extreme uncertainty (…) in which the absence of economic freedom poses a threat to the effective enjoyment of their political freedom to come and go as they choose.”

As the expulsions took place against a background of ethnic discrimination, the Committee found a violation of Art. E in conjunction with Art. 19, § 8 of the Charter.

European Court of Human Rights
The decision of the European Committee of Social Rights clearly shows that authorities should refrain from Romaphobia and that a policy singling out Roma is incompatible with the respect for human rights. The decision might also be a source of inspiration for the Committee’s big brother, the ECtHR.

First of all, the Committee directly goes to the heart of the issue: ethnic discrimination. The evictions and expulsions did not happen “by coincidence”, the persons concerned were exactly evicted and expelled because they were Roma. The ECtHR on its turn tends to avoid as much as possible getting into a discrimination analysis if it can decide a case on the basis of the linked substantive rights. In this respect, see for example Lourdes’ and Alexandra’s recent comments on the case of V.C. v. Slovakia. Interestingly, the Committee also takes into account the background of Roma stigmatization, especially because the French authorities had contributed to the creation of such a hostile climate. This can be relevant for the case of Aksu v. Turkey, which is currently pending before the Grand Chamber, in which the Court has to rule on the question whether stigmatization of Roma in two government-funded publications constitutes discrimination in the sense of Art. 14 ECHR. On this case, see Alexandra’s blogs here, here and here.

Secondly, the Committee has interpreted the prohibition of collective expulsion in a broad sense. Generally the guarantees of Art. 4 Protocol 4 are considered to apply only to “forced” expulsions. This seems to be confirmed by the Court’s definition of a collective expulsion: “any measure compelling aliens, as a group, to leave a country (…).” The Committee has however correctly held that a return should not be easily considered to be “voluntary”. When returns result from an explicit policy targeting a particular group – which of course is inherently at odds with the principle of non-discrimination – and involve a certain element of restraint (either socio-economic or by threatening with coercive measures), Art. 4 Protocol 4 preliminarily requires a reasonable and objective examination of the particular case of each individual. The Court should follow suit when further developing its case-law under Art. 4 Protocol 4.

Everyone has to care

2011-12-09T07:54:00.001-08:00

Last night I was presenting to a group of college students about the Romani people in the Holocaust, in current events, and then highlighted the issue of D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic.

For background information, D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic is the case in which eighteen Romani students took the Czech Republic before the European Court of Human Rights regarding the segregation of Romani children in the public school system and won. The Court ruled the Czech government, whose former president, Vaclav Havel once stated that the Romani people would be the litmus test of Europe, must de-segregate.

That decision was handed down was four years ago and Romani students are still being segregated in the school system in the Czech Republic.

In my presentation last night, I discussed the fact that the Romani people remain a footnote in history, especially when it comes to the Holocaust. As I continued on with my talk about segregation in school, a student asked why anyone in the United States should care about a matter occurring a continent away.

It is easy to get disheartened by such questions, especially coming from an ROTC student sitting in a human rights advocacy class.

I explained to him that this issue is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states:

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

We then discussed why human rights violations touch everyone, not just the people directly involved. Those who are in a situation to assist those who are victims, should.

The Czech Republic is a country with numerous human rights violations against the Romani people and the government and the police force do nothing. Romanies living in the Czech Republic have to worry about neo-Nazi violence, their children being able to attend school, poverty, joblessness due to discrimination, and recently the government admitted its 'regret' that 90,000 Romani women were forcibly sterilized between 1980 and 2009.

We are not talking about a barbaric dictatorship where the people live in fear of being sent to concentration camps. We are talking about a civilized, democratic country that has a high standard of living, with a literacy rate of over 90%, and a stable government. When a country like this is allowed to ignore a decision by the European Court of Human Rights then people need to get concerned.

Such refusal to adhere to a court's decision opens the door for other countries to do the same. It weakens the power of the court system, therefore allowing a minority to experience conditions that the European Union, of which the Czech Republic is a member, has declared unacceptable for admission.

We, as members of the human race, are indeed the watch dogs of the world. When a corrupt government ignores the suffering of its own people, then we, as a global community, have the right, and even an obligation, to stand up and do something.

Are the Romani people under the threat of genocide? I believe so.

I keep this statement on my desk to remind me of what can happen when good men do nothing.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.
~~Martin Niemöller

Czech Republic: Romani personalities condemn the term "inadaptables"

2011-12-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

This article comes to us from romea.cz via The Roma Virtual Network. For more information or to view this article and more, please visit http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2995. Our thanks to Mr. Zdenek Rysavy and romea.cz for permission to reprint this article.

Czech Republic: Romani personalities condemn the term "inadaptables" Prague, 2.12.2011 16:42, (ROMEA)

Karel Holomek, chair of the Romani Association of Moravia (Společenství Romů na Moravě), member of the Executive Committee of the Statewide Romani Association of the Czech Republic (Celostátní asociace Romů ČR)

Romani personalities contacted by news server Romea.cz do not like the fact that the Czech media use the expression "inadaptables" to refer to socially excluded people. The main reason is that the media and public officials actually use the expression to refer to members of the Romani minority, often in such a way as to conceal their xenophobic relationship towards the members of this minority.

A discussion of the concept of "inadaptables" was recently launched by Anna Šabatová and Petr Uhl, human rights defenders who were dissidents during communism. They have complained to the Czech Council of Radio and Television Broadcasting (Rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání - RRTV) about Czech television stations using the expression. RRTV has claimed that the use of this term does not "explicitly" break the law, but did pass the complaint on to the Czech Television board of directors and to the Association of Television Organizations (Asociace televizních organizací - ATO) with a request for their perspective on the issue.

Michal Heldenburg, head of Czech Television's legal department, wrote a response to the complaint that has now become a scandal. Milan Uhde, chair of the board of directors of the public television broadcaster, has issued a public statement calling Heldenburg's letter "monstrous". In the letter, Heldenburg makes several generalizations and construes democratic society as a kind of majority rule that takes no account of minorities. With respect to the word "inadaptables", he wrote the following:

"Essentially, anyone who does not obey the laws of the land, who does not behave according to the generally recognized rules, can be labeled that way; it can be any minority incapable of or unwilling to assimilate into the majority society. There is nothing racist about it. Human society functions in such a way that minorities assimilate into the majority. Anyone who doesn't understand this is an inadaptable, irrespective of ethnic origin or skin color."

The head of the Czech Television legal department then proceeded to make irrelevant arguments using a peculiar "legal" vocabulary, writing: "Gypsies work at Czech Television. One of them is even a news anchor. Isn't that a concrete example of breaking down such stereotypes?" (For our previous reporting on this issue, see http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2990).

Karel Holomek, chair of the Romani Association of Moravia (Společenství Romů na Moravě), who is a member of the Executive Committee of the recently-established Statewide Romani Association of the Czech Republic (Celostátní asociace Romů ČR), commented on the scandal as follows: "I unequivocally stand by the opinion expressed by Anna Šabatová and Petr Uhl. For my part, I would only add that this term conceals an unacceptable generalization. Both I and many other people who are upright citizens have been labeled with this term. The expression automatically makes the listener think of Romani people. That is what is horrible! Naturally, the head of the legal department of Czech Television is incapable of sensing this, which is why he is so ignorantly confident that he is right. The expression 'adaptable' could be used as well and it would be far more correct, because that term describes someone who adjusts to conditions - but the very expression itself involves a stigma!"

Romani author Irena Eliášová commented as follows: "There are many things, expressions, that I don't like. The term 'inadaptables', in my view, is the same as saying 'bad' or 'not normal', it refers to someone who does not know how to assimilate. When we Romani people are thus labeled (and that happens constantly), it is offensive! Whenever some Romani individuals commit criminal activity, it is then associated with all of us - but when discussing Romani people who live normally, are other terms used? Are those people labeled in the media by any expression other than 'inadaptables'? No other term is used, this is a term that refers to all Romani people without distinction. I have many other questions on this issue: Does the media label as 'inadaptable' those in government who are directly enriching themselves through suspicious methods while others are living on the edge of poverty? What about a pedophile who takes the life of a child, or a son who murders his own parents? Even those people can simultaneously be considered 'patriots', Czechs who claim the Romani people are 'inadaptables'. I could give many such examples. In the media, of course, such persons are not labeled 'inadaptable' because they are Czech, not Romani. Generally speaking and simply put: Get your own house in order..."

Čeněk Růžička, chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Romani Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu), who is also a member of the preparatory committee for a new Romani political party, said: "I support the complaint made by Anna Šabatová and Petr Uhl. Michal Heldenburg's statement offended me as a Romani person. Some of the editors at Czech Television know very well that the majority society links the expression 'inadaptables' with Romani people. It is a devious way of condoning the xenophobic view of Romani people. The excuse that a Romani person works at Czech Television does not withstand scrutiny. It is more than obvious that at the time that Romani person was hired there, it was because Czech Television was politically tasked with doing so. If only more Romani people were employed here."

František Kostlán, translated by Gwendolyn Albert

Honor December 7th today.

2011-12-06T22:43:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, December 7 at approximately 6am, the Japanese attack force of six carriers with 423 planes, is about to attack. The first attack wave of 183 Japanese planes takes off from the carriers located 230 miles north of Oahu and heads for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

At 7:02 a.m., two Army radio operators detect the Japanese air attack approaching and contact a junior officer who disregards their reports, thinking they are American B-17 planes which are expected in from the U.S. west coast.

At 7:15 a.m., a second attack wave of 167 planes takes off from the Japanese carriers and heads for Pearl Harbor. The planes arrive at Pearl Harbor at 7:53am and commit a savage attack against an unprepared and, at the time, undeclared, enemy. The air raid lasts until 9:45 a.m. Eight battleships are damaged, and five sunk. Three light cruisers, three destroyers and three smaller vessels are lost along with 188 aircraft. The Japanese lose only 27 planes and five midget submarines.

2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians killed, and another 1,178 wounded. Those 1,104 men stationed on the USS Arizona were killed after a 1,760-pound air bomb penetrated the forward magazine.

Today, the Arizona is at the bottom of the harbor, but she is spanned by a memorial that draws over a million visitors every year. And once a year, on December 7th, those who survived that horrible day return to pay their respects to their fallen friends.

Every year that gathering gets smaller and smaller. According to the Veteran's Administration, we are loosing our World War II Veterans at 740 per day. There will come a time in the very near future when there will be no survivors left to speak out, to stand on the memorial, and to teach the next generation.

The events of this day, 70 years ago, still affect us today. Hate and genocide are still with us. Consider this day carefully and talk to those you meet about it. Explain the significance of this day to your children. Lite a candle. Buy a wreath for your door. By claiming these remembrance days and celebrating them with solemn tradition, we affirm that we will indeed be watchful of our fellow man and that we will not stand by and let hate and insanity rule the world again.

And to our veterans. . . I say a very grateful and heartfelt thank you and God bless you.

One Europe, two different ways of educating Roma children

2011-12-06T17:23:00.001-08:00

This article comes to us from Roma Buzz Monitor via The Roma Virtual Network. For more information and excellent articles, please go to http://www.romabuzzmonitor.net/. More information about Equality, see the information at the bottom of the article. Our thanks to Alan Anstead for allowing us to re-print this article.

One Europe, two different ways of educating Roma children

28 November 2011

In the Czech Republic, Slovakia and some other new EU Member States, Roma ethnic group children are disproportionately placed in special schools for the mentally disabled or in de facto segregated schools. When these same children migrate to the United Kingdom with their parents, they are educated in mainstream schools. Equality, in cooperation with the Roma Education Fund, carried out research to find out what impact mainstream schooling had on Roma children who had previously been streamed into special or de facto segregated schools. The findings of this pilot research, ‘From Segregation to Inclusion’, show that Roma pupils in the United Kingdom quickly catch up with their non-Roma peers to gain an attainment level which is average or just below average.

Between March and September 2011, Equality carried out research among Roma of Czech and Slovak nationality who had migrated with their families to Leicester, Chatham, Rotherham, Wolverhampton, Southend-on-Sea, Peterborough, London and Derby in the United Kingdom. It was found that 85% of the pupils interviewed had been previously placed in a special school, de facto segregated school or predominantly Roma kindergarten in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This despite the European Court of Human Rights finding in 2007 in the case of D.H. and others versus the Czech Republic that ‘the disproportionate assignment of Roma children to special schools without an objective and reasonable justification amounted to unlawful indirect discrimination in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights’.

For years some education practitioners in Eastern European countries have argued that segregated or special education is in the best interests of Roma children. Equality’s research on the impact of mainstream education shows this to be untrue: the average attainment of Roma pupils in numeracy, literacy and science was average or just below average. The research also found that the more the Roma pupils were integrated within classes and schools, the fewer community cohesion problems existed both in and out of school. This contrasts sharply with the view of the majority of Roma students that they had experienced racist bullying and verbal abuse by non-Roma peers, as well as discriminatory treatment by teachers, at Czech and Slovak schools.

All of the Roma parents interviewed valued the absence of discrimination and racism in the school system in the UK. All of them believed their children’s chances to succeed later on in life were much better in a mainstream school. One parent, originally from the Czech Republic, said “I was sent to special school. Now I can see that we were not given the same chances as non-Roma children and I want better for my kids who are bright”.

Judit Szira, Director of the Roma Education Fund, said “We have clear evidence that closing the gap in education outcomes of Roma students and guaranteeing their place in the labour market is achievable – if supported by a broad consensus of government and society, as well as the Roma themselves”.

Alan Anstead, Chief Executive of Equality, said “This pilot research will hopefully kickstart the search for a better, more fairer way of educating Roma children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as provide a resource for schools in the UK who want to learn from other schools in how to best help Roma pupils who enroll.”

Notes for editors

The report ‘From Segregation to Inclusion: Roma pupils in the United Kingdom’ can be downloaded at: http://equality.uk.com/Education.html

For more information contact Alan Anstead at Equality: email alan@equality.uk.com, telephone 01787 371504 or mobile 07704 616909.

Equality is a registered charity that works to uphold and secure the rights of ethnic minority groups in Britain and Europe. It primarily helps Roma who migrated to the UK from the new EU Member States. Equality empowers them to resolve employment, housing, education, healthcare and social welfare issues. It helps by building dialogue, understanding and cooperation between Roma communities, local authorities and service providers. Website: equality.uk.com

The Roma Education Fund was created in the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in 2005. Its mission and ultimate goal is to close the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma. In order to achieve this goal, the organisation supports policies and programmes that ensure quality education for Roma, including the desegregation of education systems. Website: http://www.romaeducationfund.hu

70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

2011-12-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

At 6:05am on Dec 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy attacked the U.S. Pacific Fllet stationed at Pearl Harbor located just west of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The Japanese used aircraft and midget submarines. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto launched the first assault at 7:51am, with a volley of 183 airplanes from 6 Japanese carriers striking the outlying ships, military installations, and airfields controlled by the military on Ford Island.

We lost lost 9 ships, and had 21 severely damaged ships. The obscinity of the attack is revealed in the death toll which reached 2,350, including 68 civilians. In addition, 1,178 non-casualties were injured. Out of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were crew of the USS Arizona.

We've all heard the words spoken by President Roosevelt on December 8.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan... No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will through their righteous might win through to absolute victory... With confidence in our armed forces-with the unbounded determination of our people-we will gain the inevitable triumph-so help us God. I, therefore, ask that the Congress declare that since the dastardly and unprovoked attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."

Consider how Hitler felt. Some people feel he should have been angry that the Japanese brought the United States into the war, but his speech to the Reichstag on December 11 gives us a clear picture of his thoughts.

"A threatening [political] opposition was gathering over the head of this man [Roosevelt]. He guessed that the only salvation for him lay in diverting public attention from home to foreign policy... He was strengthened in this by the Jews around him... The full diabolical meanness of Jewry rallied around this man and he stretched out his hands. Thus began the increasing efforts of the American President to create conflicts... For years this man harbored one desire -- that a conflict should break out somewhere in the world... The fact that the Japanese Government, which has been negotiating for years with this man, has at last become tired of being mocked by him in such an unworthy way, fills us all, the German people, and all other decent people in the world, with deep satisfaction... As a consequence of the further extension of President Roosevelt's policy, which is aimed at unrestricted world domination and dictatorship, the U.S.A. together with England have not hesitated from using any means to dispute the rights of the German, Italian and Japanese nations to the basis of their natural existence ... in these historic times, the existence or non-existence of the nations, is being decided perhaps forever."

Wednesday, December 7, is the date that will live in infamy. This is a day that not only changed America, but the world as well. Our navy rallied and became a force to be reckoned with. American soldiers brought hope to war-weary soldiers from other nations who had been fighting for so long.

As the war caved in around Hitler, U.S. forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, on April 11, 1945, a few days after the Nazis began evacuating the camp. On the day of liberation, an underground prisoner resistance organization seized control of Buchenwald to prevent atrocities by the retreating camp guards. American forces liberated more than 20,000 prisoners at Buchenwald. They also liberated Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, and Mauthausen.

Remember December 7th and those brave souls who fight and died for our freedom and the lives of strangers.

Still No Answer for Forcibly Sterilised Romani Women in the Czech Republic

2011-12-03T09:47:00.001-08:00

This is a critical issue that the Czech Republic would love to sweep under the rug. The more we voice our outrage, the better chance we have of not only getting the practice stopped, but of getting these women the help they need. Education is critical in such matters. This article comes to us from the ERRC.

Still No Answer for Forcibly Sterilised Romani Women in the Czech Republic

22 November 2011

Ostrava, Brno, Budapest, 22 November 2011: Two years after the Czech Government under Prime Minister Fischer expressed regret for individual sterilisations of Romani women, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Life Together, the League for Human Rights and The Group of Women Harmed by Forced Sterilisation remain deeply concerned that no effective steps have been taken to provide the victims with adequate redress for irreparable injuries.

No official government follow-up has ever ascertained the extent of the problem or offered to support those affected. Current legislation in the Czech Republic prevents the majority of victims of coercive/forced sterilisation from bringing claims due to statutory limitation regulations.

“I was sterilised against my will. I was asked to sign a paper but nobody explained what it was. Only later did I realise that I cannot have children. They took my ability to have children away,” said Elena Gorolova, a member of the Group of Women Harmed by Forced Sterilization.

“It’s unacceptable that this practice, which was state-sanctioned, has never been addressed by the government. Thousands of Romani women who were unlawfully sterilised cannot access any remedy at all,” said Dezideriu Gergely, Executive Director of the ERRC.

“The recent favourable Czech Supreme Court verdict concerning the sterilisation of a Romani woman does not bring any real changes for the possibility of other Romani women to bring claims, as that verdict was very specific and no general analogies can be drawn from it. Therefore, it’s still very difficult for other Romani women to obtain redress through the courts,” Kateřina Červená, lawyer of the League of Human Rights, said.

In other European states where sterilisations of Romani women occurred, measures have been taken to perform outreach to victims and compensate them. In Sweden in the late 1990s, the government established an independent commission to investigate the scope of the problem of coercively sterilised women and subsequently set up a compensation mechanism for victims.

The organisations call on the relevant Czech authorities to urgently take the necessary steps to establish an independent commission to collect information on the numbers of sterilised Romani women in both the former Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic. This data should form the basis of a compensation mechanism.

“There is a responsibility for the government to ensure that the Romani women who have been unlawfully deprived of their reproductive ability obtain effective remedy. The damage done to these women is irreparable. As miserable a remedy as it may be, the bare minimum would be to give them financial compensation and a study of the long-term bodily and psychological effects of sterilisation,” Kumar Vishwanathan, Director of Life Together, stated.

At present, two cases brought by coercively/forcibly sterilised Romani women are pending against the Czech Republic before the European Court of Human Rights.

Recently, the European Court held Slovakia in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights for the unlawful sterilisation of a Romani woman there under circumstances overwhelmingly similar to those of many women in the Czech Republic who have suffered these abuses.
For more information, please contact:

Sinan Gökcen
Media and Communications Officer
European Roma Rights Centre
sinan.gokcen@errc.org
+36.30.500.1324
Elena Gorolová,
Co-ordinator
Group of Women Harmed by Forced Sterilization
elena.gorolova@seznam.cz
+420 775 761 194 (only Czech)
Kateřina Červená
Lawyer
League of Human Rights
kcervena@llp.cz
+420 777 701 621
Kumar Vishwanathan
Director
Life Together
vzajemne.souziti@tiscali.cz
+420 777 70 191

Results of Roma inclusion programme fail to impress

2011-12-01T20:25:00.001-08:00

This articles comes to us from the Southeast European Times via the Roma Virtual Network and ERIO News.

Results of Roma inclusion programme fail to impress

26/11/2011

Nearly seven years later, a campaign aimed at improving the lives of Roma has failed to bring about significant change.

By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times - 26/11/11

Stilyan Stoyanov, a Bulgarian national of mixed Roma and Arabic origin, is sceptical of Roma leaders associated with the programme. [Nikolay Dimitrov/SETimes]

Back in February 2005, eight Central and East European nations launched an ambitious ten-year initiative to improve the status of Roma.

"The Roma inclusion programme was a very good initiative. However, it didn't work in any of the participating countries," Ilona Tomova, senior research associate at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, told SETimes on November 17th.

Bulgaria, which according to the national population census conducted earlier this year is home to close to 321,000 ethnic Roma, was among the eight countries that pledged to work for the minority's inclusion nearly seven years ago. The others were Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

An author of numerous publications on the Roma issue, Tomova believes that one reason why the initiative has produced few meaningful results in Bulgaria is that none of the governments have felt ownership of it since 2005. All projects implemented under the programme have been funded by international organisations, according to her.

The World Bank has been one of the principal sponsors of the initiative, along with the Open Society Institute. In May, the Bank and the Bulgarian government held a workshop to identify both Roma inclusion challenges and good practices.

"The main messages that came out from the working groups are that there are a number of challenges, but also a number of good practice examples in each particular subject, and that some of the existing issues should be addressed through shared responsibility, joint efforts of different stakeholders and in their partnership," the Bank said in a concluding statement.

Ordinary Roma have a different explanation for why the initiative has not resulted in significant change. They point a finger at their own leaders, who are actively involved in the programme.
"Currently, only people who can easily be manipulated are invited to participate in initiatives under the programme," Stilyan Stoyanov, a 25-year-old Bulgarian national of mixed Roma and Arabic origin, told SETimes in an interview last month. "To be successful, it should be implemented by people committed to helping the community, i.e., by Roma, who want to work effectively and are not after the money they would get for doing a job under the dictation of Roma political leaders."
"Those are gangsters," his landlady, Sonya, cut in. A Roma woman in her 50s, she feels that politicians from her community are pursuing only their own interests.

The employment rate among working age Roma stands at just over 50%, according to official data. One of the key reasons is insufficient education and qualifications. Many Roma children don't go to school, and Sonya blames their parents.

"They are illiterate and they just don't care," she said, noting with pride that her daughters "are educated" and that her grand-daughters "are intelligent".

Despite his very difficult childhood in orphanages, Stoyanov not only finished school, but is due to complete his academic studies within months.

Aside from that, he is a landscape painter with an interest in kitchen interior design. He grew up forced to use his wits. As a ninth-grader, for example, he felt tooth pain one day. Seeking help from the principal, he was told that the orphanage had no money to pay for a visit to the dentist.
After several sleepless nights, Stoyanov took one of his paintings to the dentist to see if he could barter it to "pay" for the treatment he needed. Five paintings later, he received basic dental care.
When representatives of the Bulgarian branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church arrived at the Strazhitsa orphanage to deliver food donations in 2000, he told them of his experience. About a month later, he was placed with a foster family in Sofia and enrolled at one of the arts' schools there.
A year after completing his education in fine arts and pottery in 2006, he was admitted into the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" to study social work.

His biggest dream is a home of his own, a wife and children, as well as a job.

He also hopes to have his first art exhibition, but feels many of the people who could help seem prejudiced to members of the Roma ethnic group.

As for that Roma inclusion programme, Stoyanov said he would get involved if invited.
"No one has ever asked me to take part in any such initiative. They are not interested in inviting people like me, who would tell them the truth," he said.

He also noted that it is important for the Bulgarian media to tone down anti-Roma rhetoric and for only those truly committed to the objectives of the programme to be involved in it.

Change through Fashion

2011-12-01T06:50:00.001-08:00

This articles comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network. So often we focus on what is wrong with this world, what goes wrong in life, then it is easy to overlook the positive aspects. We must celebrate the victories as well, and celebrate them loudly for all the world to see. Erika Varga has turned her passion into a statement, celebrating beauty, color, and culture. Brava, Erika!

Romani Design – See with Your Heart!

2011.11.25

Photo: Endre Holecz, FashionTime.hu. Erika Varga (front) and her sister Heléna at the "See with Your Heart!" show.

FashionTime’s Krisztina Székely reports on the Romani Design fashion show at Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts on November 5, 2011.
This article and the accompanying photos have been published with the kind permission of FashionTime.

The meeting of cultures, the struggle against prejudice and for acceptance, imaginative and colorful clothing—this is what awaited us at the Museum of Fine Arts.

You go to a fashion show knowing ahead of time exactly how the evening will be: dresses on the catwalk, models parading one after the other, pulsating music, high heels and a mostly positive visual experience, then a quick exchange of views among colleagues and the door is already closing behind us. You go to a fashion show not expecting anything beyond beautiful clothing; the eye is happy with the things it has seen, but the experience, the effects and memory of them wear off hours later or perhaps the next day. A Romani Design show, however, is not like any other—in this case, the soul hungers as well as the eye, the conscience might even speak up, and for days, for weeks an outfit or a pattern—and, of course, “the Issue”—will come to mind.

Fashion has already been used for all sorts of purposes. We have sought out and evaluated “re-buttoned” young talents [ed.: This is a reference to a state-sponsored Hungarian fashion competition.]; we have called attention to the struggle against AIDS, just like we have roused you to the fight against global warming. Fashion is a sphere that we can use for important, pressing and valued causes, as well as the adoration of beautiful clothing. Fashion is a battlefield.

Erika Varga, the mind behind Romani Design, is struggling for a noble cause: apart from dazzling the public and the industry alike with new ideas, she is struggling to decrease or eliminate the giant chasm that has separated Roma and non-Roma for decades. We won’t now try to examine the reasons or possible solutions to the problem; we are simply writing about the impressions and feelings that struck our heart at the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday evening.

Watch a video of the "See with Your Heart" fashion show.

But perhaps the root of the problem lies in the fear of the unknown, a fear that Romani Design is trying to dispel by opening a door through which anyone can enter, calmly and without doubt, to become acquainted with this relatively alien culture. To be sure, the arts themselves provide the easiest and most beautiful way for us to become acquainted, for cultures to present themselves and introduce one another. Through her clothing, Erika Varga records and presents the motifs of Roma folk art in such a way that anyone would wear them proudly, on any day of the week. As we stroll in the city, every piece in the 2011/2012 collection seems conceivable in our mind’s eye.

Apart from the motifs of Roma culture, the clothing follows a young and trendy line: apart from several basic colors (black, cold, beige, black-and-red), Erika was inspired to emphasize the culture’s truly typical rose motif along with ribbons, which hung from virtually every garment to remind us of the traditional braiding of ribbons into a Roma woman’s hair. The 40 pieces presented were in perfect harmony, whether they were eveningwear, cocktail dresses or simple, everyday outfits. Erika Varga also reformulated the long-tiresome baggy Turkish pants in such a way that we’d like to get a pair for ourselves right away—and the same goes for the little jacket paired with a sleeveless jumpsuit of rose-patterned lace.

As before, the jewelry was designed by Heléna Varga, and every single piece was unique and harmonized to the utmost with the presented clothing.

It added to the orgy of colors and feelings that upon entering the lobby we were greeted by music played by young Roma. And later, as well, we heard authentic Roma music from Heléna Varga and alumni of the Snétberger Musical Talent Center.

Again we found proof that through fashion it is wonderfully possible to reduce prejudice, that it is possible to start a trend toward acceptance and openness through a few incredibly beautiful dresses. Finally, we can only quote ourselves: fashion is the common language through which the values and viewpoints of the majority and minority cultures can successfully approach one another. So let’s approach each other fashionably!

By Krisztina Székely, FashionTime.hu

Photographs: Endre Holecz

Translated from the Hungarian by Andy Haupert

Source: http://www.fashiontime.hu/divatbemutatok/20111107_romani_design_sziveddel_lass/

Could we get real action or will paper prevail?

2011-11-21T08:52:00.001-08:00

These articles come to us from the Roma Virtual Network.

Roma strategy: MEPs call for real action

MEPs urge Member States to tackle discrimination of Roma people ©MaxPPP

MEPs criticized the European Commission for not going far enough to combat discrimination against Roma people and urged member states to prepare their national Roma strategies by the end of 2011 in a debate on 16 November in Strasbourg.

In view of recent anti-Roma incidents in several EU countries, MEPs voiced concerns that the Commission is not doing enough to address the issue.

Talking about the EU's Roma strategy, Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou promised that it will not remain an empty paper and will complement existing EU legislation on anti-discrimination.

Speaking on behalf of the Council, Elzbieta Radziszewska, Poland's Secretary of State for Equality, called it a shame that many of Europe's 10 million Roma people live in extreme poverty and isolation. "The Council will provide political support for member states to prepare their national strategies," she said.

"Adopting a Roma strategy is just the beginning," said Hungarian Christian Democrat Lívia Járóka, who drafted an EP report the subject earlier this year. "Complex programmes will be needed to achieve results."

Romanian Liberal Renate Weber urged the Commission to enforce fundamental rights and considers the expulsion of Roma from several member states as unacceptable, while Italian EFD member Mara Bizzotto was critical of the Roma strategy, calling it hypocritical. She wondered why the EU spends money on inclusion if the Roma population has no intention of integrating into the societies in which they live.

Italian EPP member Roberta Angelilli focused on the situation of Roma minors and cited a survey which said only 40% of Roma children attend primary school and 10% receive secondary education. The EU average for primary school attendance is 97%.

Austrian Socialist Hannes Swoboda complained that there is a lack of exact information on national strategies and on how EU funds are used to improve the lives of the Roma community.

The Commission adopted an EU Roma strategy in April 2011, which focuses on improving access to housing, education, jobs and healthcare.

EU countries have until the end of 2011 to submit strategies setting out how they want to achieve these goals.

Ms Vassiliou said that after the Commission has evaluated the national strategies, it will report to the EP on its findings early 2012.

______________________
Another article from the European Voice

Time to get robust on racism

By Bernard Rorke - 18.11.2011 / 12:00 CET

Strategies to bring the Roma in from the margins of society cannot succeed without resolute action to combat such racism and discrimination.

The December deadline for member states to deliver their national Roma integration strategies is looming. The stakes are high, and time is short for governments to deliver on the Commission's request for targeted national strategies in health, housing, education, and employment to address the exclusion and discrimination faced by the Roma – Europe's youngest, largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority with a population similar to that of Greece.

When the European Council endorsed the EU Framework for Roma this June, Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, called it “a huge step forward for millions of Roma around Europe” and a strong signal from the EU that “the exclusion of the Roma is not compatible with our societal values and our economic model”.

As the European economic model takes an unprecedented battering, the consensus around ‘societal values' is looking badly bruised in a climate of rising intolerance, increasing intimidation and sometimes deadly violence against Roma in countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Anti-Gypsyism has become a vote-catcher for far-right parties, and anti-Roma prejudice remains largely unchecked by the political mainstream across many member states of the EU.

Prejudice unchecked will derail progress

Social exclusion is not just ethically repugnant; it is also economic folly. The Commission found that a lack of capacity to absorb EU funds for Roma integration is compounded by weak inclusion strategies and bottlenecks at the national, regional, and local levels. The Commission has pledged to “surmount capacity issues” and work with member states “to address new needs, simplify delivery, and speed up the implementation of priorities”. This would mark a welcome departure for countries with dismal absorption capacity, such as Bulgaria and Romania where the percentage of new entrants to the labour market of Roma origin is estimated at 23% and 21% respectively.

The vast majority of working-age Roma lack sufficient education to participate successfully in the labour market. According to the World Bank, the result is that European countries lose billions of euros in productivity and in fiscal contributions to the governments. In terms of inclusive, growth bridging the education gap is ‘the economically smart choice to make'.

Smart choices seem thin on the ground this week, a week that marks the fourth anniversary of a European Court of Human Rights ruling against the Czech Republic that declared that segregating Roma children into ‘special schools' is unlawful and discriminatory. Four years on, there has been little change, segregation persists, and tens of thousands of Roma children in EU member states continue to be shunted into segregated schools in defiance of the court's ruling.

Social inclusion strategies cannot succeed without resolute action to combat such racism and discrimination. Put simply, prejudice unchecked will derail progress. The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to link social inclusion priorities to a clear set of objectives that included protection of citizens against discrimination in all fields of life; promotion of social dialogue between Roma and non-Roma to combat racism and xenophobia; and for the Commission, as guardian of the treaties, to ensure full implementation of legislation and appropriate sanctions against racially motivated crimes. The linkage somehow got lost along the way between first and final drafts, but was reaffirmed in the Council conclusions in June, which invited the Commission to pursue rigorous monitoring to combat discrimination based on ethnic origin.

The Commission is entirely correct in its insistence that the primary responsibility for safeguarding the rights, well-being, and security of citizens lies with national governments. However, if the EU Framework for Roma is to live up to its billing as ‘10 years to make a difference', then the Commission must do everything within its remit and competences to take up the Council's invitation to get robust on racism. It should signal to member states that nothing less than zero tolerance will suffice when it comes to anti-Gypsyism and all forms of discrimination against Roma.
Bernard Rorke is the director of research and international advocacy at Open Society Roma Initiatives.

Where are we in the Decade?

2011-11-18T14:18:00.001-08:00

The Decade of Roma Inclusion was launched in 2005, founded by a plethora or organizations interested in improving the situation of the Romanies in a dozen countries in Europe. Co-sponsors of the Decade are the World Bank, the Open Society Institute, the United Nations Development Program, the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Roma Information Office, the European Roma and Travellers Forum, the European Roma Rights Centre and the Roma Education Fund. In 2008, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–HABITAT), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also became partners in the Decade. The countries who pledged themelseves in the Decade are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Spain.

It is now 2011. We are beyond the halfway point on the calendar, but I am not so sure we have reached the half-way point to any sort of Roma inclusion. I've seen many committees, summits, conferences, and meetings, all closing with a statement of re-commitment or a list of new goals, or even a declaration against anti-Romani policies. I've seen an equal number of human rights violations by the very countries who dedicated themselves to oppose poverty and descrimination.

Albania requested admission into the European Union in April, 2009. According to the EU's own webpage,http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/enlargement_process/accession_process/how_does_a_country_join_the_eu/negotiations_croatia_turkey/index_en.htm

"In order to ensure progress in the negotiations, the candidate countries will also need to make progress on the ground in meeting the requirements for membership, most importantly the Copenhagen criteria:

the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities"

There are other criteria, but we are only concerned with point one. Has Albania guarenteed the human rights of the Romanies living within her borders? We've heard of forced evictions, homelessness, and poverty. The 2010 report from Human Rights Watch wasn't very encouraging. Can Albania get their act together by 2015? Doubt it. Will they be voted in to the EU? We will have to wait and see.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have Romani populations that are in constant fear and many are homeless. Anti-Romani sentiment is still quite prevalent. Threats, beatings, and discrimination are constantly on the minds of Romanies.

Bulgaria. Riots, descrimination, persecution, murder. Need I say more?

Croatia still has problems with violence against Romani, though improvements have been made in the educational system. Back in 2010, there were reports of segregation in the classrooms, but it appears the policy has been/is changing. Human Rights Watch did give Croatia a warning in 2010, so this is also a wait and see situation.

The Czech Republic and Hungary. See Bugaria and add neo-Nazis.

Macedonia and Montenegro still have many social and cultural issues with the Romani that must be dealt with and progress is slow. While Macedonia is currently experiencing national problems, the answer is not to ignore nor allow social groups to blame Romanies for conditions withing communities. When countries are having difficulties, it is more important than ever that they ensure the rights of everyone living within its borders, including minorities.

Romania is dealing with migration and expulsion issues with its Romani population. France began deporting Romanies back to Romania, then went so far as to threaten Romania with blocks in the EU if the Romanian government doesn't keep the Romanies in Romania. Also of interest is Romania's 'name bill' they attempted to pass in 2010 stating that the Romani would not be able to call themselves Romanies while in Romania. Shall we consider the history? Romania became Romania in 1862. We have been calling ourselves Romanies for centuries. Perhaps, in the true spirit of inclusion, we should be charging them royalties for the use of OUR name.

Serbia also has its extreme issues. Romanies there face poverty and discrimination. With tensions high, even Romani children have been targets of abuse and injury. The Romanies who left during the war and have been forced to return are having difficulties getting identity cards which in turn means they have little to no access to safe housing , health care, employment, and welfare services. Human Rights Watch is currently involved here, but progress promises to be very slow.

Slovakia and the Czech Republic tend to have similar policies when it comes to the Romani people. Racist attacks against the Romanies occur frequently yet the government, despite being a member state of the EU, does little to protect Romani citizens. The mandate of the EU, as stated above, dictates that its members have already shown their ability to protect minorities before their admittance to the EU and that minorities remain safe while living in the member state.

Spain needs to work on helping the Romanies with housing and education. Racism against Romanies in Spain is still quite prevalent, and therefore should be addressed as an issue as a long standing member state of the EU.

This list is critical and by no means exhaustive. It is not meant to be an in depth summary. The idea behind this is to simply take a quick glance over the issue of the Decade of Inclusion to see how counties who joined are handling their commitments.

This list is also not meant to be critical of The Decade of Roma Inclusion. The Decade is an important step towards achieving equality and education between the Romani community and the rest of the world.

Governments must deal severely with hate crimes. Violent crimes against minorities, not just Romanies, should be investigated quickly and addressed with all due justice. Racists often believe their actions promote their counties and prevent minorities and foreigners from getting jobs and supporting themselves, leaving jobs to true citizens.

The media must also be exhorted to run equal opportunities for positive Romani interest stories. If the media only covers the hate and violence, they will only promote hate and violence. We are not suggesting censorship, but a call to responsible journalism.

Governments must consider adding an educational program to the school systems, educating youth on the history and current issues of the Romani. When children see only hate in the media, hate at home, it is all they will learn. Educational programming will allow a new generation to advance towards equality.

Romanies must be included in decisions made for the Romani people. Nothing for us Without Us is a slogan used by Disabled Persons Organizations and should teach everyone something very important. No legislation about any group should be created without the input and support of the group it affects. Romanies must become more involved in the politics of the countries in which they live, as is their right stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Without input, Romanies will continue to suffer under anti-Romani policies.

Education is the key.

Press release from European Roma and Travellers Forum

2011-11-17T07:22:00.001-08:00

ERTF reported to the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee on growing anti-Gypsyism in Bulgaria

Paris, 16 November 2011: Today the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) presented to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) it’s preliminary findings from the visit in Bulgaria which was organised to a take stock of the wave of anti-Gypsyism resurging at the end of September as well as to assess recent steps taken by the government to improve the situation of Roma in Bulgaria.

ERTF said that the situation of Roma in Bulgaria is worsening from the perspective of human rights protection and social inclusion. The events in Katounitsa and the migration trend of Roma abroad are symptoms of the State’s failure to take responsibility for all its citizens and provide for a climate where Roma can enjoy and fully exercise their rights.

Despite Bulgaria’ legal obligations and political commitments, Roma have continued to live in isolation and deprivation, while being victims of racist attacks and rhetoric by both state and non-state parties. There is a growing fear among the Roma in Bulgaria that the State cannot protect them and that the solution is to flee the country.

Roma have very little knowledge about the existing mechanisms to fight discrimination and they are widely afraid to complain against discrimination or violence against them to the police or other complaints mechanisms because of possible retribution. The ERTF President, Mr Rudko Kawczynski declared that: “We all agree that what happened around Katounitsa case and the response of the Bulgarian government or lack of it are unacceptable! However, without minimising the events, Roma in Bulgaria have been living in a constant isolation and intolerance by the State and their fellow citizens, subject to every day dehumanisation and assault to their dignity as human beings. And that is unacceptable too! Bulgaria has to start taking responsibility for all its citizens, and Roma are part of Bulgaria!”

The ERTF demands the Council of Europe Member States to forcibly condemn anti-Gypsyism, prevent collective criminalisation, introduce guarantee to combat discrimination and segregation and take steps to significantly improve the situation of Roma in their countries.

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) took note of the ERTF’s preliminary findings and decided to put again on its agenda the situation of Roma in Bulgaria once the ERTF Final Report from this mission is published.

* * *

The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), which has a partnership agreement with the Council of Europe and a special status with this institution, is Europe’s largest and most inclusive Roma and Traveller organisation. It brings together Europe’s main international Roma--‐NGOs and more than 1,500 national Roma and Traveller organisations from most of the Council of Europe member states.

For more information please contact the ERTF Secretariat at:

Telephone: +33 3 90 21 53 50

Email: info@ertf.org

Inuagural Romani Studies Conference, Berkeley

2011-11-15T09:36:00.001-08:00

Last week I had the honor of attending the Inaugural Romani Studies Conference at Berkeley University. I will admit I was concerned about such a conference at Berkeley due to the Occupy Berkeley movement along with the staged walkout, but my fears were unfounded.

The panel of experts was impressive and fascinating. Speakers, among others, included Petra Gelbart of New York University, Jack Greenberg, Professor of Law, Columbia University; Jaromir Cekota, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; Carol Silverman, Professor of Folklore and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oregon; Gwendolyn Albert, Independent Consultant, Council of Europe’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, The European Roma Rights Centre and the Open Society Institute Public Health Program; and the key note speaker was Dr. Ian Hancock, Director, The Romani Archives and Documentation Center, University of Texas-Austin.

The atmosphere in the room was electric. Thursday's presentations lasted from 9am to 6pm, so there were many Berkeley students in and out all day long, as well as students who took a day off from classes to attend. Some students were Romanies, while others were non-Romani with an interest in some of the topics presented.

Julia M. White of the University of Rochester gave an enlightening yet disturbing presentation titled "We Have a Lot of Papers, Really Nice Papers", covering the educational policies, laws, their implementation, and equal opportunities for the Romanies in Slovakia. She explained the mindset of the government in regards to the minorities in Slovakia in comparison with the public policies in place for funding for Romani children. The upsetting portion of the presentation was a statement made to Ms. White by a education official and their idea of the funding for Romanies, that funding "[isn't] exactly, it's only a suggestion." She then went on to explain that funds were often used to give teachers raises, rather than help Romani children in the classroom.

In her explanation of placement of Romani children in 'backwards classrooms', 60% of Romani children are sent to specialized schools, placed there either by their social disadvantages, such as only one parent working or the fact that the national language isn't used in the home, or they are placed by diagnostic tests. Such tests are designed to segregate race and ethnicity. There is little chance for re-evaluation and once a child is placed in the segregated school, the parents are often blamed for allowing the child to be placed in the program in the first place.

Jaromir Cekota of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, spoke about the educational attainment and employment of young Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. His office is studying the educational levels and opportunities of Romanies and comparing this data to non-Romanies of the same age range. He states that the Romanies are falling behind in both education and employment. He stated that when communism fell, it was the Romani workers who were laid off first due to national animosities. Few people will hire Romanies, meaning more Romanies are on welfare, meaning the public sees Romanies as lazy and using the welfare system. This circular reasoning only increases animosity towards Romanies and adds to the problem.

Mr. Cekota pointed out that for every Romani who graduates high school, he saves the government 100,000 in welfare payments, yet the government does not want to plan for the long-term, nor does any politician want to be seen as "Gypsy-friendly" since that is political suicide. Slovakia could solve some of her problems if the government re-segregated the schools.

Jack Greenberg, Columbia Law and assistant to Thurgood Marshal in Brown v the Board of Education, gave a lecture on the segregation of schools in the Czech Republic in relation to the EU's ruling in D.H. and Others v the Czech Republic. He gave a list of four practical actions that could be implemented that must be taken:
1. Europe needs information. Without data, the stereotypes rule.
2. Re-segregation must be implemented immediately
3. Private litigation should be encouraged
4. Romanies must make it clear that we will not tolerate discrimination

Gwendolyn Albert, an independent consultant for the Council of Europe's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, presented the most difficult topic of all, the forced sterilization of Romani women in the Czech Republic. She described the methods used, including the threat of removing children from the home; using doctors and social workers to tell women that pregnancy in their families has been difficult, therefore they should be sterilized to save their lives until they are strong enough to carry a child, only to be told later that the process is not reversible; or offering them money or labor saving devices such as washing machines if they will have the procedure. These women are always promised the procedure is reversible, but of course it is not.

Finally, Dr. Hanock spoke of Romani origins and identity. He explained how important it is that a people know and understand their own history, else others will create it for them. Our history is our own and must be claimed, just as we must claim our own identities, rather than allow the politicians and the media to dictate to the masses who and what we are.

The following day there was a round table discussion that included the topic of advancing Romani Studies at universities everywhere. Other topics included linguistics, education, and identity.

That evening there was a dance and music celebration with the Balkan band Edessa with vocalist Carol Silverman and dancers Stefka Kamburova, Jessiah Rose Zure, and Sani Rifati of Voice of Roma.

In all, Dr. Hancock is right. We must unite and claim our past and our identities. We must take a stand against intolerance and demand, as one, our rights. We must show the world we are ready as a people to take our proper place on the world stage.

This conference was a boon to the field of Romani Studies and I hope it will continue as an annual event.

DH and others v the Czech Republic

2011-11-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

This article comes to us from the European Roma Rights Center. While it is true that the Czech Republic has multiple human rights violations against the Roma, it is time for them to take action. If they continue to refuse, then the EU and other member states should take action. We find it interesting that other member states, who are under the same obligations as the Czech Republic, have not forced the issue against the Czechs.

Czech Republic: Four Years After Landmark Judgment, Urgent Action Needed to Stop Illegal Segregation of Romani Children into Special Education

14 November 2011

Budapest, New York, 14 November 2011: The Council of Europe must take action now to stop continuing illegal discrimination against Romani school children in the Czech Republic, two leading rights groups said today.

The European Roma Rights Centre and the Open Society Justice Initiative note that four years have now gone by since a landmark judgment found that Romani children were being disproportionately channeled into “special schools” where they, along with children with disabilities, were segregated from other students and taught to a limited curriculum. The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 13 November 2007 that this practice violated the children’s right to education and to be free from discrimination.

Today, the Czech education system remains broken, even though the European Court had told the Czech government to fix the problem and redress the effects of discrimination.

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers – the body charged with making sure European Court judgments are respected – must ramp up the pressure on the Czech government to deliver changes on the ground, according to the European Roma Rights Centre and the Open Society Justice Initiative.

“With every year that passes – and this is number four – another group of Romani children are being shunted towards dead end futures,” James Goldston, the Justice Initiative’s Executive Director said. “All children deserve a decent chance in life and in Czech Republic they are not getting it.”

No evidence exists that anything has changed for Romani children since the D.H. and others v Czech Republic judgment, according to an ERRC and Justice Initiative report issued this week. The only official data on the number of Romani children in special education, published in 2010, showed that in some parts of the country, Romani children were still 27 times more likely to be herded into segregated “practical schools” - the same levels as when the case was first taken to the European Court in 1999. Czech government proposals for reform remain unfunded. Implementation of inclusive education plans has effectively stalled. Last week, the Czech Minister of Education proclaimed his support for the discriminatory system of special education.

“It is unacceptable that segregation is still the norm in Czech education,” said Dezideriu Gergely, Executive Director of the ERRC. “The Czech government should adopt effective measures to explicitly mandate desegregation for all children languishing in segregated classes.”

The two groups urged the Committee of Ministers to visit the Czech Republic to see for itself how little has changed on the ground for Romani children. It also asked that the Committee demand fresh statistics from the Czech government to confirm the extent to which Romani children, along with other marginalized groups, are still being channeled into separate schools with substandard curriculum. The Committee should also ask for detailed information on how inclusive education measures are being funded and implemented.

For more information contact:
Sinan Gökçen
RRC Media and Communications Officer
sinan.gokcen@errc.org
+36.30.500.1324

Jonathan Birchall
Senior Communications Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative
jbirchall@justiceinitiative.org
+1-212-548-0958

2011-11-13T10:52:00.001-08:00

This article comes to us from the New York Times. While it is uncertain what a new government will be like for the Romani, this event is a wonderful thing.

Berlusconi Steps Down, and Italy Pulses With Change
Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A man holds a fake copy of Time magazine called "Fail" featuring Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned as Italy's prime minister on Saturday.

ROME — With his country swept up in Europe’s debt crisis and his once-mighty political capital spent, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Saturday, punctuating a tumultuous week and ending an era in Italian politics. His exit, a sudden fall after months of political stalemate, paves the way for a new government of technocrats led by Mario Monti, a former member of the European Commission. Mr. Monti is likely to be installed in the next few days, following the apparent consent of key blocs of Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition.

His resignation came just days after the fall of Prime Minister George A. Papandreou in Greece. Both men were swept away amid a larger crisis that has threatened the entire European Union, in which roiling financial markets have upended traditional democratic processes. Though it was met by cheering crowds in Rome, the end of Mr. Berlusconi’s 17-year chapter in Italian politics, characterized by his defiance and fortitude, sets off a jarring political transition.

“This is the most dramatic moment of our recent history,” Ferruccio de Bortoli, the editor of the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, said Saturday. After borrowing rates on Italian bonds soared last week to levels that have required other euro zone countries to seek bailouts, Mr. Berlusconi pledged to step down after the Italian Parliament approved austerity measures sought by the European Union. The lower house gave their final approval to some of the measures on Saturday afternoon, and two hours later, he officially submitted his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano.

An impromptu orchestra and choir gathered outside the presidential palace, where Mr. Berlusconi resigned, playing the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “Messiah.” Hundreds of spectators gathered outside, shouting “buffoon” and “go home” to a polarizing leader once loved by many, making Mr. Berlusconi the very embodiment of the Italian saying that the tenor is applauded until he is booed off stage. Some in the crowd were popping bottles of champagne. And cars and mopeds in downtown Rome waved Italian flags and honked their horns in celebration, as they do when the national soccer team wins. Fulvia Roscini, 47, a nurse, had brought her 8-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter outside the prime minister’s office on Saturday evening. “We came here because I wanted my kids to see this,” she said, “to see that another country is possible and is already here.”

As he left his residence on Saturday before resigning, Mr. Berlusconi waved to crowds of supporters, but he left the presidential palace through a secondary exit, to avoid the crowds. Mr. Berlusconi did not speak publicly after resigning. But the ANSA news agency quoted him telling aides that the jeering “is something that deeply saddens me.”

In a statement, Mr. Napolitano, who as head of state will oversee the transition, said he would hold consultations with party leaders to nominate a new prime minister on Sunday. In this case, the discussions will likely be a formality. For days, Mr. Monti, 68, a well-respected economist with close ties to European Union officials, has been identified as the front-runner. Mr. Monti met on Saturday with Mr. Berlusconi and earlier in the day with Mario Draghi, the recently installed president of the European Central Bank, reinforcing the notion that financial and European institutions supported Mr. Monti’s appointment.

The mandate of the next government will be to push through measures to help reduce Italy’s $2.6 trillion public debt and increase growth to keep the country competitive. The austerity measures approved by lawmakers include selling state assets and increasing the retirement age to 67 from 65 by 2026. They would also decrease the power of professional guilds, privatize municipal services and offer tax breaks to companies that hire young workers. Key political parties, with the exception of the Northern League, an important member of Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition, have said they will support Mr. Monti.

But the wrangling over crucial details is not over. Italy’s political parties are fighting to maintain their positions in future political constellations and to ensure their re-electability after passing unpopular measures demanded by tough economic times. Some members of Mr. Berlusconi’s coalition want early elections to form a new government with a new mandate. But the main opposition party and other lawmakers, fearing that elections would lead to an unsustainable period of market turmoil, support a transitional government. The prospect of early elections diminished on Saturday, however, when Mr. Berlusconi’s party said in a statement that it would support a Monti government. But they added that they awaited the “names of the cabinet members, the program of the new government and the timing of the mandate.”

The events in Greece and Italy this month raised concerns across the Italian political spectrum about the growing power of financial markets to shake governments. In Italy and elsewhere, a dysfunctional political class has been “impotent” in the face of market dynamics and their impact on people’s lives, the commentator Luigi La Spina wrote Saturday in the Turin daily newspaper La Stampa. The atmosphere in downtown Rome on Saturday evening was one of celebration mixed with uncertainty. “I know that the crisis won’t be over just because he leaves, and I’m a bit concerned about what will happen with the markets, but I know that this country will be better without him,” said Isabella La Monica, a retiree, who was waiting in front of the prime minister’s residence. “Things can’t get any worse.”

Gaia Pianigiani contributed reporting.

Latest on Dale Farm

2011-11-05T17:01:00.001-07:00

This article is from the Guardian, printed 3 November, 2011. Please go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/03/dale-farm-struggle for further coverage.

Dale Farm residents struggle on after neighbours' eviction. The conditions are horrendous but the mood is good humoured after a court order protected three pitches at unauthorised site

Written by Patrick Barkham guardian.co.uk, Thursday 3 November 2011 11.42 EDT

On an island of gravel surrounded by a sea of mud, Michelle Sheridan closes her caravan door against the stench of raw sewage and makes a cup of tea.

The kettle takes a long time to boil using power from a noisy diesel generator, which runs all day and night. The caravan shudders as the bulldozers smash through a plot next door.

Two weeks after riot police stormed the Traveller site in Essex, sisters Michelle and Nora Sheridan, their seven children and their mother, Mary Flynn, are still going about their daily lives encircled by chaos and bailiffs.

Despite the eviction of more than 80 families, the Sheridans and two other families remain and have a legal right to live on Dale Farm after a court order protected three pitches on the unauthorised site.

Basildon council is obliged under this court order to maintain services but the families say their water is contaminated and the council-supplied generators that provide electricity have blown up their washing machines and dryers. With all the mud, the Sheridans' clothes, sheets and rugs need regular washing: Michelle's last laundry bill was £107.

Clothes are drying on a broken fence. Sewage from a septic tank accidentally broken by bailiffs leaks across the rubbish-strewn soil.

"The people who are still here are the ones that desperately need to be here," said Michelle. "We've just watched our chalet being squashed. We lived there for 10 years and had so many memories. But the children are back at school and we're trying to keep it as normal as possible for them."

The council pledged to return Dale Farm to green fields at the end of the £18m eviction. But the former scrapyard has not been a green field in living memory, and it looks a distant prospect.

Almost all the chalets have been cleared away but dilapidated fences still wobble between empty plots. Contractors are instructed to dig down on each plot until they reach the soil but they only seem to have exposed a contaminated mess of subsoil, rubble and rubbish. Fragments of plastic toys that once belonged to children on the site are ground into the dirt.

Despite the horrendous conditions, the mood is good humoured. The protesters and the police have departed and the remaining Travellers say they have never met such nice bailiffs. The contractors are polite.

The tension rises, however, when council officials visit to discuss when the Sheridans will leave their pitch.

The family has agreed to move temporarily on to a neighbouring plot to allow the council to dig out the hardcore on their pitch. Then they can return – to mud, because the council says the gravel they want to put down is, in planning terms, hardcore.

"Once they get us out they are going to make the pitch uninhabitable," said Michelle.

The road through Dale Farm is to be removed, so the Sheridans will not be able to tow their caravans on and off their pitch. Instead, the council will provide a walkway to enable the ambulance service to gain wheelchair access for 72-year-old Flynn, who has osteoporosis and suffers chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that has left her with a lung capacity "barely compatible with life", according to court medical evidence.

Candy Sheridan, a former councillor who is representing the families, said their presence on Dale Farm was an embarrassment for the council and accused it of "low-level intimidation" to get rid of them.

"Basildon council wanted total site clearance. They are telling me they will abide by the court order. They are also saying the plots will be uninhabitable. The two things don't marry up. I want the families to live in peace on their lawful sites," she said.

Tony Ball, leader of the council, denied that its attitude was to remove the last Dale Farm Travellers from the borough at any cost. He said the families had been offered bricks and mortar accommodation.

"My personal view is why would they want to stay in the middle of what is still a building site?" he said. "I'm satisfied that what we've done is the right thing to do and I'm heartened by the progress we've made, which has been substantial."

The Sheridans say they will leave if the council approves a meticulously planned new application for a 12-pitch site nearby, which will be considered at an appeal hearing later this month.

"The best thing would be to give us permission for a new site nearby so we can care for the sick and our children can go to [the local] school," said Michelle.

But Ball cast doubt on the likelihood of the new site being approved, saying it had already been turned down on environmental and conservation grounds. "There was also an objection from Natural England, so as far as the council is concerned that land isn't suitable for any development either," he said.

"I keep saying to Basildon council, you are going to end up with the best Gypsy site in the world," said Candy Sheridan of the Travellers' revised application, which includes a nature reserve for newts. "Every time I say it their faces drop."

UN expert applauds Roma women confronting discrimination

2011-11-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

This article comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network.

UN expert applauds Roma women confronting discrimination

25 October 2011

The United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák, today welcomed the 3rd International Conference on Roma Women held during 23-25 October 2011 in Granada, Spain.

"Roma women must recognize and confront the challenges and barriers that exist even within their communities, and many of you are doing so and courageously confronting discrimination wherever it exists. As fellow Roma women leaders and rights advocates I applaud your efforts.” said the Independent Expert.

In her statement to the conference, Ms Izsák, emphasized that women belonging to minorities in every region of the world frequently experience unique challenges and multiple or intersectional discrimination emanating from their status as members of minorities and as women or girls. “Roma women often struggle within their communities to advocate for their rights, which can easily be suppressed or forgotten as a result of prioritizing the general concerns of the Roma”, she stated.

The Independent Expert called the attention of participants to the forthcoming UN Forum on Minority Issues which will be organized in Geneva on 29 to 30 November 2011 and will focus on “Guaranteeing the rights of minority women”.

The Forum will have an emphasis placed on the rights and opportunities for minority women to access quality education, to take part effectively in economic life and access labour markets, and to participate fully in social, cultural and political life. The Independent Expert invited a representative of the Roma women’s conference to the Forum to report on the outcomes of their meeting and asked participants to take part in shaping the recommendations of the UN Minority Forum.

Rita Izsák recalled the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, adopted under the Hungarian EU Presidency, which clearly states, that special attention should be paid to the interests and difficulties of Roma women and girls, who face the risk of multiple discrimination, and thus a gender perspective needs to be applied in all policies and actions for advancing Roma inclusion. The number of Roma in Europe is estimated to be over 10 million and constitutes the largest ethnic minority in the continent.

"There are many challenges ahead and I hope that Roma women will take an active role in shaping their countries’ Roma strategies and will successfully incorporate into them Roma women’s perspectives.” said the Independent Expert.

The organizers of the 3rd International Conference on Roma Women are the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Instituto de Cultura Gitana of the Ministry of Culture, the Spanish Government and the International Roma Women’s Network.

_____

Rita Izsák was appointed as Independent Expert on minority issues by the Human Rights Council in June 2011. As Independent Expert, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Izsák has a decade of minority rights activism and has worked before in various capacities with NGOs, at the UN, OSCE and the Hungarian government, where she coordinated the creation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/IExpert/Pages/IEminorityissuesIndex.aspx

For inquiries and media requests, please contact Graham Fox (Tel: +41 22 917 9640 email: gfox@ohchr.org or write to minorityissues@ohchr.org

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The Romani Holocaust and Contemporary Challenges: Tackling Discrimination and Human Rights Abuse of Roma

2011-10-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

The following article comes from the Roma Virtual network and touches the key subject and area of interest to O Porrajmos Education Society. We firmly believe that without a strong understanding of Rromani history, the world and the Rromani , will never be able to move forward towards equal human rights for the Roma. We are a people who have had our own history handed to us by other countries. We are dictated to in classroom textbooks, even if those textbooks do so by excluding us. Failure to educate students on the truth is an open invitation for error. Students will believe the racists, the deniers, or the other uneducated individuals they see in the media. If we want to stop the racists we must take a lesson and begin, as Hitler did, with the youth. We must take control of what is taught and in order to do that, we must claim our history, learn it, and teach it. We must demand that our legacy is taught in schools around the world, not as a footnote, but in an equal setting, side by side with any other nation. We must demand the nations recognize us in memorials as victims so that future generations will have a better understanding of our suffering and our fight for our basic human rights.

Council of Europe: Commissioner of Human Rights
Chisinau 20-21 October 2011

CommDH/Speech(2011)13
English only

The Romani Holocaust and Contemporary Challenges: Tackling Discrimination and Human Rights Abuse of Roma
Intervention by Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Thomas Hammarberg

There is a red thread running through the history of Roma people, the deeply-rooted anti-Gypsyism to which they are still overwhelmingly subjected and the discrimination and marginalisation which characterises their position across Europe today.

If we want to promote the inclusion of Roma in society, we cannot work on the surface; we must dig deeper and address all the different aspects that have concurred, and still concur, to make of the biggest minority in Europe also the most discriminated against and excluded. Roma history is one crucial point at which to pick up the thread.

The importance of teaching about Roma history cannot be overemphasised. Teaching about Roma history, raising awareness of the Roma genocide during the Second World War, and building and maintaining memorial sites are the least states could do to honour Roma victims.

After decades of denial or neglect, these initiatives also powerfully symbolise society’s acknowledgment of the human dignity of the Roma. This is central to combating anti-Gypsyism, which feeds precisely on denial of equal human dignity (or carelessness towards equal human dignity) for this part of Europe’s population.

In my review of the areas on which I believe Europe and its countries must concentrate their efforts towards Roma inclusion, anti-Gypsyism is therefore a natural stepping stone.

Anti-Gypsyism

Anti-Gypsyism is perhaps the most powerful mechanism of Roma exclusion. No programme aimed at improving the situation of the Roma populations, be at international, national or local level, can be successful without resolute action to combat anti-Gypsyism. There are several key actors that should be involved when working against anti-Gypsyism:

First, politicians and public opinion leaders. Racist or stigmatising anti-Roma rhetoric has been on the rise. This has included generalisations about criminal behaviour, with well known examples from France, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In some cases, these words were understood as encouraging violent action against the Roma, such as mob violence and pogroms. Anti-Roma speech, including during electoral campaigns, must stop. It should be strongly condemned in all cases and punished when it breaks laws against incitement to hatred. This is not the case at present, as witnessed during my May 2011 visit to Milan, where posters all around the city warned against the risk of the city turning into a “Gypsytown”. Political parties should adopt self-regulatory measures to exclude racist language.

Second, action must be intensified against extremist groups. These groups have been very active in galvanising segments of the public against Roma. Recent events in Hungary, Czech Republic (North Bohemia) and Bulgaria show that this is a real threat. Members of these extremist groups have been found to be at the origin of a number of hate crimes targeting Roma -- some of an exceptional cruelty -- for instance in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Third, anti-Gypsy stereotypes also continue to be spread and perpetuated in several media across Europe. A number of journals and broadcast media have been only reporting on Roma in the context of social problems and crime. Reporters and editors should not be megaphones for particular interests. However, they can contribute to a fairer society through genuine professionalism, which can be achieved through better self-regulation and ethical journalism.

Fourth, we need to act directly on the general population to eradicate anti-Gypsyism. As mentioned above, this must be done through teaching of Roma history and culture. I have repeatedly called on Governments throughout Europe to translate the Council of Europe Factsheets on Roma History in their national languages in order to use and disseminate them as widely as possible in their national contexts, including schools.

Racist violence

In many countries, Roma are vulnerable to racist violence directed against their persons and property. These attacks have sometimes resulted in serious injuries and death. This violence has been prevalent in post-1989 Europe, with a notable increase of serious cases in recent years. The spate of attacks in Hungary, Italy and Czech Republic registered in the last three years are witnesses to this.

It is not only members of organised fascist or neo-Nazi groups who are behind these attacks. In some instances, non-Roma communities have engaged more or less spontaneously in vigilante violence against Roma. In other cases, the attackers were individuals motivated simply by racist hatred without any apparent political ideology.

Member states should ensure that the police thoroughly investigate racist offences, including by fully taking the racist motivation of criminal acts into account. They should also establish mechanisms for systematic monitoring of racist, including anti-Roma, incidents.

Treatment of Roma by law enforcement authorities

Patterns of discrimination and ill-treatment by police towards Roma are widely reported. Roma have been subjected to police violence in detention facilities and public spaces, such as Roma settlements during police raids. When investigations have been carried out, they frequently appear to have been biased or discriminatory. It is imperative (and an obligation highlighted by the Strasbourg Court) for the authorities to investigate effectively the possible racist motives in these situations. The establishment of independent police complaints mechanisms can help, among other things, to restore Roma trust in law enforcement authorities.

Roma have also been subjected to ethnic profiling, including during “stop-and-search” operations and in the context of their movement across international borders. Laws should explicitly prohibit racial profiling and establish a reasonable suspicion standard in police operations. The police must receive training in these issues.

Steps to establish trust between Roma communities and the police should be undertaken, such as the recruitment of Roma in the police or the recruitment and training of Roma mediators to liaise with the police.

Treatment of Roma by judicial authorities

A subject area not sufficiently researched is discrimination of Roma in the administration of justice. In a number of countries, Roma appear to be discriminated for instance in decisions to remand into custody, rates of prosecution and sentencing.

Some of the problems facing Roma in the field of criminal justice include: a lack of adequate representation when facing charges; an absence of respect towards Roma as witnesses; and deficiencies in interpretation services. The principle of the presumption of innocence is not always respected when Roma individuals are put on trial.

It is important that steps are taken to prevent racial discrimination against accused Roma persons who are subject to judicial proceedings so that these persons receive a fair trial.

Education

Discrimination and segregation in education is one of the factors with the most devastating long-term consequences for Roma. Because of governments’ failure to tackle this problem with sufficient resolve, generations of children in Europe continue to be relegated today to a future of second-class citizens.

Roma children can face difficulties when they try to enroll in schools; they are also often over-represented among those who do not attend regularly and drop out of school. More needs to be done to reverse this trend, with particular priority to be given to pre-school education.

In a number of countries, Roma children are disproportionately represented in schools for children with intellectual disabilities. They can also be sent to mainstream schools which are Roma-only, or to Roma only classes in mixed schools. In all cases, they receive sub-standard education.

The Strasbourg Court has addressed all these aspects in three important judgments (against Greece, for non enrolment; against Croatia, for separate classes; and against the Czech Republic, for education in schools for children with intellectual disabilities). These judgments now need to be fully implemented. The standards they set are binding on all states, which should make sure that their practices concerning education of Roma children are in conformity with these judgments.

Housing

The situation of many Roma with respect to the right to housing is characterised by: sub-standard material conditions; segregation; forced evictions; and homelessness. Discrimination plays a crucial role in determining all of these situations.

Residential segregation of Roma is evident in many countries. Some mayors have made efforts to ensure that Roma remain in certain delimited areas. They have used public funds to establish segregated housing provision. Spatial segregation has been in some cases reinforced by the construction of walls around Roma neighbourhoods. These destructive measures must stop.

Many Roma continue to live in sub-standard conditions in most of European countries, without heat, running water or sewage. I have repeatedly drawn the attention to the situation of Roma in a series of localities in and around Mitrovicë/Mitrovica in Kosovo^*, who have been, over the period of more than ten years, subjected to housing conditions in very toxic environments. The right of Roma to live in adequate housing in accordance with international legal standards needs to be guaranteed. All public utilities, including water, electricity, collection of waste and maintenance of access roads need to be provided to Roma, including in settlements.

Roma are also manifestly affected by lack of adequate recognition of tenure throughout the Council of Europe space. This situation directly leads to forced eviction. In some countries, forced evictions have increased in the last years, often targeting the same migrant Roma families, including children, repeatedly over short periods of time. This is the situation that was reported to me in Milan by a number of Romanian Roma families – they were moved often in the early hours of the morning; they often lost their property; and their children had to stop going to school. The authorities must respect the agreed standards on forced evictions. These require: genuine consultation with those affected; reasonable notice; access to legal remedies; compensation; and most importantly, alternative housing. Evictions must also not render individuals homeless.

Employment

Despite positive efforts in some countries, levels of unemployment among Roma are invariably at levels significantly higher than among non-Roma throughout Europe. Under-education and endemic discrimination are the main challenges affecting the inclusion of Roma in the labour market.

Measures to address Roma unemployment must include both assistance to victims of discrimination in claiming their rights and positive measures targeting Roma specifically. During my visit to Madrid last April, I have had an opportunity to learn about Spain’s ACCEDER Programme on access to employment for Roma, which has been noted as an example of good practice. The programme has promoted strong partnerships at local, regional and national levels and has reportedly benefited tens of thousands of Roma. This includes almost 40,000 employment contracts concluded.

Special attention should be paid to Roma women who suffer from double discrimination, as Roma and as women. This should include efforts to improve their socio-economic status and to ensure their access to education and health as preconditions for employment.

Health

Throughout Europe, the average life span of the Roma is shorter than that of non-Roma. Roma infant mortality rates are also higher. Among the causes for this are a lack of funds to pay for insurance or treatment; a lack of identification documents; and a lack of means of transportation from remote areas to healthcare facilities.

Healthcare providers also reportedly discriminate against Roma, including in the provision of emergency services. Some hospitals regularly segregate Roma patients from non-Roma patients, especially in maternity wards. In some countries, Roma have been excluded from healthcare schemes, as they cannot afford to pay health insurance contributions or are not formally employed or registered in employment agencies.

Geographically accessible and affordable healthcare should be provided to Roma without discrimination. Efforts should be made by member states in the field of preventive care and awareness-raising campaigns regarding Roma, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health of Roma women.

Statelessness

Tens of thousands of Roma live in Europe without an effective nationality. Lacking birth certificates, identity cards, passports and other documents, they are often denied basic rights such as education, healthcare, social assistance and the right to vote.

The problem exists in many countries in Europe, but it is particularly acute in the Western Balkans. In recent years, the UNHCR has run programmes in the Western Balkans to help Roma accessing personal documents. The European Union has also started similar projects.

However, what is really needed is meaningful interest on the part of authorities to tackle and resolve the issues. Without state-level commitments to ameliorate conditions so that currently excluded persons can have access to documents, for example via “amnesties” for persons with no birth certificates, there is little indication that these projects can have a major impact.

Migration and free movement

Roma have repeatedly been treated differently from non-Roma in the exercise of freedom of movement within European Union, to which they are entitled as EU citizens. The expulsions of Romanian Roma from France over the Summer 2010 have rightly received considerable international attention, but these practices are carried out in other countries, too, including Italy. Efforts to expel EU citizens in contravention of EU law, as well as other discriminatory measures aimed at hindering access to territory, should be stopped. The resources being used by EU member states to repatriate Roma who are EU citizens would be better spent facilitating their social inclusion.

Even when at risk of serious human rights violations, Roma face discrimination in accessing international protection on an equal footing with others. In some countries, Roma asylum seekers have been provided with forms of temporary protection which do not confer residence status or any progressive accrual of rights. The repeated provision of extremely short-term “tolerated” status has effectively prevented tens of thousands of third-country national Roma from integrating into host societies. Roma asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons should be treated the same way as non-Roma.

Many European countries have undertaken the practice of expelling Roma from their territory, including to Kosovo, despite the fact that Kosovo is at present unable to provide conditions for the sustainable reintegration of these returnees. I have repeatedly warned member states of the Council of Europe against forcibly returning Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians to Kosovo. Member states must also respect the agreed procedural safeguards applicable to forced return and respect the prohibition of the collective expulsion of aliens.

Sterilisation

In some countries, forced sterilisation of women, targeting especially Roma women, was a practice followed during Communist times. After the fall of communism, these practices became unlawful, but some health professionals have continued the practice in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with cases also having been documented in Hungary.

In November 2009, the Czech Ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, stated that as many as 90,000 women may have been sterilised on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia since the beginning of the 1980s.

The states concerned must acknowledge and apologise for these practices: this has been done only in the Czech Republic in November 2009.

They should also make effective remedies available to victims to obtain reparation and compensation. However, this is not the case in any of the countries mentioned. According to information available, only two Roma women (one in the Czech Republic and one in Hungary), have been able to obtain compensation so far for having been unlawfully sterilised.

Legislation must clearly define a requirement of free, prior and informed consent with regard to sterilisations, and be accompanied by implementing guidelines. There is progress to be made in this area, too, for instance in Slovakia.

Judicial and administrative sanctions must also be upheld against those persons liable for sterilising women without their full and informed consent.

Placement of children in institutional care

Roma children are often heavily over-represented among the children placed in out-of-family care, including institutional and foster care.

In a report published by the ERRC in June 2011, the percentages of Roma children in the institutions visited were 82,5% in Slovakia; 65,9% in Hungary; 63% in Bulgaria; 40,6 in Hungary and 10,4 in Italy.

These children are often placed in institutional care solely on grounds relating to the poor housing conditions or financial situation of their families. However, this practice contravenes international standards and must stop. Institutional placement of a child should remain the exception and should have as the primary objective the best interest of the child.

Roma and trafficking

Reports indicate that trafficking in persons in Europe affects Roma disproportionately – particularly but not only, Roma women and children. Roma are trafficked for various purposes including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, illegal adoption and begging.

The vulnerability of Roma must be acknowledged in national policies regarding trafficking in human beings, without any stigmatisation. Protection measures should include training of law enforcement officials and awareness-raising campaigns targeting Roma communities, in particular in segregated and socially excluded communities.

* * * * * * *

Conclusions

As we have seen, the factors that result in the seriously sub-standard human rights situation of many Roma in Europe are numerous and interconnected. As a result, an effective government’s response can only take the form of systematic human rights work, which addresses all aspects in a manner that is both comprehensive and long-term.

Such systematic work can be based on the following guidelines:

European states should adopt comprehensive and adequately resourced strategies to improve the situation of Roma. These strategies should recognise the complementarity of inclusion and anti-discrimination. In particular, they should make clear that the responsibility for Roma inclusion rests to a considerable extent on the majority population. As a result, Roma inclusion measures should include both measures targeted at the Roma population (in particular positive measures) and measures targeted at the majority population (notably to reduce anti-Gypsyism and discrimination). It is important that reasonable progress is made on all areas mentioned earlier at the same time, and that no area is neglected.

National strategies should put a strong emphasis on the importance of local authorities’ involvement in Roma inclusion. The Summit of Mayors on Roma held in Strasbourg on 22 September has inaugurated an alliance of cities and regions for Roma inclusion – this is an initiative that will hopefully bring useful results.

An effective legal and institutional framework to counter discrimination and anti-Gypsyism is paramount. This includes in particular, effective anti-discrimination legislation and independent and adequately resourced national equality bodies that can assist with the implementation of this legislation. Extensive guidance is available on these aspects and governments should make the most of it. The legal framework must be completed through ratification of Protocol No. 12 to ECHR (which provides for a general prohibition of discrimination) and effective provisions against hate speech. The case law of the ECtHR regarding cases of discrimination against Roma – for instance, on segregated schooling and on anti-Roma violence – should be fully executed and more actively disseminated.

Participation of Roma must be ensured. They must be key partners in the designing, implementation and monitoring of policies regarding them at local and national level. In co-operation with them, the most appropriate ways of collecting quality, long-term data disaggregated by ethnicity must be devised. Without this data – and without a fair use of it by public authorities respecting data protection systems - it is virtually impossible to assess the effectiveness of measures taken for Roma inclusion or progress achieved. Therefore, securing durable advances becomes all the more difficult.

It should be ensured that the best possible use is made at national level of funding opportunities available, notably EU funds. This include securing a satisfactory absorption capacity, but also monitoring that the funds are actually used for the purposes for which they were allocated.

^*Throughout this text, all reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Posts for the week of October 25-30

2011-10-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Due to a death in the family, there will be no posts this week. Please check back with us on Monday, October 31.

Baxt,
Ciuin

Racism and Halloween

2011-10-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

This article was sent to me by a friend and I wanted to share it. I did NOT write this article. The blog address may be found here. I am republishing it here to spread the word. I think the STARS program mentioned within is an excellent program and I think the author, Melissa, did a fantastic job on the article. Please visit the website and look at their other articles. http://lissawriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/racism-think/

“We’re a culture, not a costume.” STARS, a student org at Ohio University

Posted by Melissa on October 23, 2011 · Comments Off

These incredible posters were created by the student organization at Ohio University called Students Teaching Against Racism (STARS). Amazingly, these posters became popular over Tumblr on their president’s blog site (here). Their mission is “to educate and facilitate discussion about racism and to promote racial harmony and to create a safe, non-threatening environment to allow participants to feel comfortable to express their feelings.”
Here’s a statement about the posters from the organization:
Any questions about the posters can be sent to OHIOUSTARS@gmail.com. We are so proud of all the support but it’s overwhelming; we have less than 10 members in our group. We ask that you do not personally email any of the exec’s or message their personal Tumblrs. Thank you guys so much for the love! The purpose was to educate and create dialogue and it did. We have a meeting with a lawyer on Monday so we can protect our posters, and the posters will be all over Ohio University’s campus this week! Again, thanks for the support and have a happy Halloween!
— Executive Board of STARS from Ohio University

Thanks STARS for sending out this important, truthful message.
These posters act as a public service announcement for colored communities. It’s about respect, human dignity, and the acceptance of other cultures (these posters simply ask people to think before they choose their Halloween costume). Although some Halloween costumes aren’t as racist as the blackface minstrel shows back in the day, they harken to similar prejudices. What these costumes have in common is that they make caricatures out of cultures, and that is simply not okay.
Here’s a brief update:
1.) I had to disable comments for this blog post since there are some rude, racist people out there.
And 2.) Interestingly, I received over 3,000 views on this blog post alone.
I had no idea I would get this many views on my blog because I wanted to share an important message created by STARS. I’ve been thinking all night why this message was such a firecracker, and I think I may have an answer. On HIMYM, Barney jokingly said that Halloween was the day where women could bring out their inner sluts. All jokes aside, Halloween is also the day where people can bring out their inner whatever, and their inner racism is an unfortunate thing that comes out on Halloween. I’ve received a lot of racist and hateful comments on my blog post because of these important posters. Some people say the posters are trivial, petty, contrived, and stupid. Another person said, “Fuck you . . . grown up asshole.” I can only assume they meant, “grow up asshole,” but the Freudian slip is a little too funny. These messages are for grown ups who care when people cross the line between costumes that are similar to blackface minstrel shows and costumes that are just for fun. Another person brought up the scenario of a sad Caucasian person holding up a picture of a cowboy. There’s a difference between cowboy costumes and, say, slutty geisha costumes. Cowboys are viewed reverently in American society while geishas are viewed as the Japanese high-class version of prostitutes, which isn’t necessarily correct. When people let these images slide, there’s a perpetual and incorrect prejudice that becomes permeated in American society. It is simply not okay for people to compartmentalize colored communities. This is why I wanted to share these posters on my blog; they have something important to say that strikes a difficult string in people. What amazes me more about these posters is the kind of negative responses I received from people. These posters only send out a message of, “It’s not okay to compartmentalize my culture,” and people respond with hate and anger. I don’t know why so much people responded that way, but I realize now when imperative messages about human dignity and respect get out, people get angry.
Again, I feel the need to reiterate the statement that these posters are not created by me but were designed by the student organization STARS. I did not make these posters; I only wanted to share them. The email of the organization who created these posters is found above.

Statement of Intensification of Romaphobia in Europe

2011-10-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

This article comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network.

STATEMENT OF MOSCOW BUREAU FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABOUT INTENSIFICATION OF GYPSY-PHOBIA IN EUROPE (Russia)

17/10/2011- Under conditions of general crisis of multiculturalism in the countries of Western Europe, growth of anti-migrant moods is more and more increasing, and popularity of right-wing parties that use restriction of migration and sometimes proscription of migrants as their slogan, is growing. Historically hostile attitude among prevailing ethnic population of countries of Central and Eastern Europe was mostly caused, except Jews, by Gypsies. To a great extent unsuccessful policy of acculturation of migrants and immigrants in European countries reflected entirely upon fate of Gypsies too. But no serious tasks for acculturation and integration of Gypsies into the society were set. As a result, Gypsies remained one of mostly discriminated and unprotected social groups of population in Europe. At the same time, forming the biggest minority in Europe (about 12 mln. people), Gypsies are up to 10% of population in some countries.

As it was noted in report of special group of European Council for 2010, none of other ethnic groups suffer so much from prejudices and discrimination like Gypsies. There is no European country that would be able to boast of adequate attitude towards Gypsies; it is towards Gypsies that breach of so-called “European values” is manifested most brightly. Racism (“anti-Gypsism”) is completely developed towards Gypsies, they are considered to be “genetically inclined to crimes”. They often become victims of aggressive attacks and insults. According to Annual report of Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) of European Community for 2010, 18% of interrogated Gypsies noted that they were objects of racial incidents at least once a year. 73% of Gypsies considering themselves victims of attacks and threats connect them with immigrant and ethnic aspect. 54% of Gypsies spoke about insults motivated by race or religion towards them. 60% of Gypsies called representatives of ethnic majority their offenders. Special concern of experts was caused by the fact that 6% of Gypsies named Policemen and other officials as their offenders – i.e. those who should defend the law in multiethnic European countries.

Gypsies are subject to serious discrimination in public-social sphere. Level of unemployment among Gypsies reaches 80-90%. 38% of Gypsies pointed to discrimination during employment during recent 12 months, and 10% of Gypsies stated that they felt discrimination in the sphere of education once at least during recent years. In some countries, in particular in Spain, marriages committed basing upon Gypsy traditions are not recognized, and Gypsies are deprived of subsequent social and pensionary payments. They are sharply restricted in social-political life of their countries and practically do not participate in election. As a result, Gypsies keep aloof from others even more, and are even more involved into criminal activity and have less and less chances for their integration. Number of interethnic conflicts with participation of Gypsies grows. Thus, during recent two years the most serious skirmishes with participation of Gypsies were marked both in separate regions and on state level.

In July-August 2010 mass deportation of Gypsies from France was executed. The president Nicolas Sarkozy ordered to close 300 Gypsy stands and other camps of illegal migrants (i.e. those who had no citizenship of one of European Community countries and stayed in France illegally) around the whole territory of the country and to deport them. Such order was given after serious skirmishes between Gypsies and Police took place in one of the cities in Loire valley that started after the Policeman shot a young Gypsy. Totally 979 Gypsies were deported. 828 of them left voluntarily after getting 300 Euro each from Paris and 100 Euro per child.

On August 29 the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination condemned expulsion of Gypsies from France and called upon Paris for stopping deportation. The committee consisting of 18 experts on human rights noted in its appeal published in Geneva that the Gypsies should be integrated but not deported. According to the committee members, some French politicians recently permitted themselves racist statements, and this causes special concern. European parliament on its plenary meeting on September 9 stated its profound concern about measures of French authorities and other participating countries of European Community towards Gypsies. It was noted in the resolution adopted in situation of sharp discussion by 337 votes against 245 with 51 abstentions that collective expulsions break European laws as they are based upon race discrimination.

Biggest disturbances took place in Bulgaria during recent days. Murder of 19-year-old Bulgarian became a cause for disturbances: this murder quickly got ethnic interpretation and provoked mass disorders among people set against Gypsy minority. Series of Gypsy slaughters took place in 14 biggest Bulgarian cities. Totally more than two thousand people armed with cold weapon and truncheons went out to the streets. It was just due to efforts of Police that mass death of people was prevented. And again the disturbances that took place are explained by a number of factors: both by impunity of criminality among Gypsy population (probably with corruption constituent on the part of authorities) and use of anti-Gypsy rhetoric on the part of political figures. According to observers, mass disturbances were most likely coordinated: in particular, information about actions of demonstrators was disseminated in social networks. Besides, untrue rumors were actively disseminated on the Internet about skirmishes of Bulgarians with Gypsies, with the purpose of provoking the population to slaughters of Gypsy quarters. Numerous facts of breaches of rights of Gypsies, of interethnic conflicts with participation of Gypsies are marked in Romania, Czechia, Hungary, and Georgia.

Director of Moscow bureau for human rights Alexander Brod: “The problem of Gypsies also remains completely unsolved in Russian Federation. Information about interethnic conflicts with participation of Gypsies, about murders of Gypsies including little children is presented very often in criminal reports. Gypsy houses are often set on fire. Operation of law-enforcers “Gypsy band” is of discriminatory character. In February 2009 Kaliningrad Gypsy woman got a rejection for purchase of a kibitka at the expense of “maternal capital”. In June 2010 Gypsy band of 49 persons was sent from Kuzbass to Uzbekistan where the Gypsies resided up to the present. In June 47 Gypsies were expelled from Saratov region. Discrimination of Gypsies in the sphere of education takes place: there are schools where classes exist separately for Russians and separately for Gypsies: even “Russian” and “Gypsy” New Year parties are held. Anti-Gypsy statements that incite ethnic hostility towards this ethnic group are periodically heard on the radio and on TV. As a result, Gypsy-phobia in the country grows among other xenophobias. Combat against Gypsy-phobia should undoubtedly be executed in the framework of general combat against manifestations of aggressive nationalism and within acculturation of ethnic minorities. But special social-historical fate of Gypsies, specificity of their mentality nevertheless require particular attention and development of specific measures for their integration”.

Such measures were provided in resolution of special group of European Council in 2010 and include several items:
à) Operative response to all kinds of breaches of human rights concerning Gypsies including deportations of Gypsies to the countries where they may be exposed to tortures and inhumane treatment;
b) rejection of segregation of Gypsies in the schools;
c) provision of access of Gypsies to the labor market, possibility to get loans, and to secure employment of Gypsies to administrative bodies;
d) provision of social adaptation of Gypsies;
e) conducting of annual monitoring on adaptation of Gypsies;
f) to strengthen Gypsy civil society, help the Gypsies to become active citizens, support their franchise, introduce corresponding educational programs.

These desires should be supplemented with demand of steady observance of the law: both criminal activity among Gypsies and illegal measures, discrimination towards Gypsies should be toughly suppressed.

Dina Gottliebova Babbitt and the Failure of Auschwitz

2011-10-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

The more research I do into the watercolor paintings by Dina Gottliebova Babbitt, the more I am astonished at man's capacity for cruelty, his total disregard for the well-being of his fellow man, and his eagerness to ignore the truth, to remain blind to reality due to bias and race, two useless ideologies.

I wish I were talking about Nazi Germany and the beginnings of Auschwitz when Mengele was free to carry out his pseudoscientific experiments and the gas chambers were functioning , but I am not. I am referring to current events in our time, events occurring daily.

Dinah Gottliebova was a 19 year-old Jewish Czech art student in Prague when she and her mother were arrested and later sent to Auschwitz. Dinah had always been interested in art and while at Auschwitz, she was asked to paint murals on walls to help calm frightened children. She painted characters from the last movie she had seen before her arrest, the figures of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

The mural got the attention of SS Captain Dr. Josef Mengele who needed an artist to help him with his work. He called for Dinah and ordered her to paint portraits of subjects who were to be sent to the gas chambers. He wanted the color of their skin to be represented and he found the new science of color photography lacked the ability to capture the subtle tones. Color film was in its infancy and was very unreliable. The primary colors tended to be too bright, making it impossible to capture true colors and images Dr. Mengele needed for his research.

He ordered Dinah to paint and she agreed if he would spare her and her mother. He agreed and Dinah set up shop. She also painted portraits for other officers, usually from photographs they brought to her. One day she was asked to paint the portraits of seven Roma who were to be sent to gas chambers. Dinah complied.

Auschwitz was liberated and Dinah and her mother went to Paris where she met an American artist, Art Babbitt. Coincidentally, Art had worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and the couple fell in love and were married. They lived in California where Dinah Gottliebova, now Dina Babbitt, worked for various art studios with her husband.

In 1973, she was contacted by Auschwitz and told they had found the watercolors of the seven Roma victims. Dina flew to Poland to collect her work, but was told by Auschwitz curators that they believed the art was too important to be separated from the collection and they intended to keep it. Devastated, Dina returned home and began a lawsuit that would go all the way to Congress.

In 2002, Congress declared the watercolors were the rightful property of Dina Babbitt and asked the Secretary of State and the President to work with the Polish government to convince Auschwitz t return the watercolors to Dina. Dina passed away in 2009 and as of this writing, Auschwitz-Birkenau still has the watercolors which are not, to the best of our knowledge, on public display. Dina's heirs continue her fight to have the watercolors returned to her.

Enter the Deniers. These racists follow the same principles as the Nazis and would love to see the Jews, Rromani, and other 'lower forms of life' destroyed, yet they deny the Holocaust ever happened. It was once thought that if Holocaust scholars gave any attention to the Deniers, that their ideas would eventually fall by the wayside. It was also believed that arguing with them gave credence to their arguments, but thank goodness Holocaust institutions no longer believe this is the case. Deniers have increased in number as they spread their hate and stupidity to the younger generations.

The Deniers claim that this case is yet another piece of evidence that the Holocaust never happened. You will need to hold on tight for this leap of logic because it gets very bumpy.

Deniers claim three points against this story. Let's take a closer look at them.

1. Children were not allowed at Auschwitz. Why was the Snow White mural necessary if children were not permitted to live at Auschwitz?

Answer: Children were often used in Mengele's experiments. He often used twins or Rromani children in his experiments. Children were easily managed and placated and were just as easily disposed of. Children as young as 12 and 13 were put to work alongside adults in forced labor brigades as well, sometimes needed because of their small size for tunneling work. Not every child was disposed of the moment they arrived at Auschwitz. Reading Mengele's work proves this. Also, when their was a "Gypsy" family camp at Auschwitz, families were allowed to remain together since the Rromani often fought to keep their children. The SS knew they were outmanned at Auschwitz and could not afford a riot. To keep the peace, they kept Rromani families together.

2. Mengele claimed color photography could not capture the colors he needed. Color photography should have been better than watercolors.

Answer: Color film, even Kodachrome, was not an exact science. Certain colors dominated the resulting picture while other colors were washed out. If Mengele were after specific colors and hues, color film would not have benefited him.

3. If the Holocaust did happen, as Auschwitz supposedly claims, then its survivors should be treated with respect. If Dina Babbitt was the creator of the watercolors, shouldn't Auschwitz show her the respect she deserves and return them to her? How can seven portraits be so important to the collection?

Answer: While I disagree with Auschwitz's claim on the portraits, I can understand their logic. From a historical context, everything at the Museum is critical to represent and educate visitors on the daily life in the camp. Also, the Museum has (I hope) spent a lot of money to ensure the paintings are protected and preserved, money that would be wasted if the paintings were to fall apart at the hands of a lesser experienced institution. I will point out here that it was Dina's wish that the paintings go on display at an American museum, so I would assume such a museum would have the necessary funding and resources to protect and preserve the watercolors. In short, the museum views these as artifacts, needed for educational use. If they were on display, I might have more sympathy for their argument.

While I fully support the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum as an institution for preserving not only the truth and history of the Holocaust, but the memory of those who were murdered there, I feel their handling of this case is sad and unreasonable.

Other Holocaust museums, including the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum, have used replicas and recreations in their collections to maximize the experience and education of every visitor to their museums. Visitors understand that there are few objects remaining from the Holocaust and therefore they would be understanding and mindful if copies were used.

Auschwitz could easily return the paintings to their rightful owner and use replicas in place of the real ones. There is no need to victimize Dina a second time. Auschwitz, above all other institutions, should be more in tune to the needs and emotions of the survivors. I hope that Auschwitz will realize the damage they are doing and allow the paintings to be returned to the Babbitt family.

A request from the Roma Virtual Network

2011-10-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Throughout Europe, both Eastern and Western, the Rromani face persecution, racism, violence, and even death on a daily basis. Not long ago I interviewed a Rromani band from Hungary touring the US and I asked them about the violence and if they had experienced anything first hand. One said his neighbor's home had been set aflame though the family made it out alive. He wanted to stay in the States, to bring his family here for their safety, but he knew it was impossible. The others talked about beatings in the streets, threats from strangers, and the constant, nagging fear of being caught alone in the streets.

In order to stop violence, to put an end to the persecution, the acts and threats must be documented. Research and information gathering are a must to provide as much detailed and accurate information to the press, NGOs, government agencies, the EU and UN, and anyone else who will listen.

The Roma Virtual Network is calling for data on anti-Roma sentiment in Europe. They are asking for all possible data such as links to articles, descriptions of violence or other negative acts, photos and stories regarding anti-Roma demonstrations, meetings, speeches, expressions, and conflicts around Europe.

If you have anything that would help them gather this important information or any questions about the request, please contact them at crisismaproma@gmail.com .

Thank you.

Dale Farm Eviction: A Peaceful Close?

2011-10-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

These were the headlines in the past 24 hours covering the Dale Farm eviction

Police make 34 arrests after violent clashes
5 supporters mount roof top of building in protest
Travellers: "there is no more to be done"

and then:
Dale Farm eviction comes to a peaceful close.

Here are there own reports:

The use of Taser is at the crux of a debate in today's papers about the level of police force used.

The Guardian describes a protester "writhing on the floor" due to the Taser, and says the "force and efficiency of police left many in shock."

Similarly, the Independent's front page picture reads "Dale Farm burns - but police fight fire with fire". Inside, they quote the law reform group Justice, who "expressed concern at the use of the weapons".

The Times , meanwhile, says Dale Farm's end was "swift, clinical and violent". It says the use of Tasers prompts accusations of a breach of guidelines, which say "electric shocks should not be used as crowd control". But its leading article is also quick to credit Essex Police for "minimising conflict".

09.43 The police have confirmed that a Taser was used on one man yesterday by officers "who were faced with a serious level of violence". After the Taser was used, "the man disappeared in to the crowd".

(emphasis mine)

Please note the difference in what the witness reported about the use of the taser and what the police said.

And what is to happen to these people after the eviction?

Much of the debate around the Dale Farm eviction hinges on the issue of post-eviction housing. Basildon Council claims it has gone to extensive lengths to find council accommodation for the travellers, while the travellers say these offers have been risible.

The Independent are running a piece about Michelle Fox , who has four children and has lived at Dale Farm for 10 years. She says the best offer she received was not of accommodation in a house, but in a hostel.

We know from reports yesterday that buildings were broken into by police, buildings that were protected under court order. We know that people were injured, that police used weapons, and yet....the Dale Farm eviction came to "a peaceful close." Good for you, England. Citizens may sleep peacefully tonight knowing their government used millions of tax dollars to evict and leave homeless almost 400 people.

Dale Farm Emergency Injunction

2011-10-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

This comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network. Please pass this on to anyone you know who could get word out.

Dale Farm emergency injunction sought in response to ‘unlawful’ police operation

Posted onOctober 19, 2011 by dalefarmsupport

For comment and interview
07040900905
07583761462
Dale Farm supporters are pursuing emergency injunction to stop the eviction as police brutality and illegal destruction of property traumatise residents.
Despite Basildon Council’s claims, human rights observers have reported that the police are conducting a brutal, dangerous and unlawful eviction.
Mary Sheridan, a Dale Farm resident who has taken her children off site and is staying in a relative’s lawful plot, said:
“The only premeditated violence has come from the police- they knew exactly what they were doing when they started beating and tazering people. This is not how a community should be treated by its own Council. It’s illegal for us to travel, but illegal for us to settle down here. We’re getting hit by the police but we’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Instances of police violence reported by trained human rights observers and witnesses include:
- Witnesses report the use of tasers by police from the beginning of the eviction
- Police forced entry onto the site by using sledgehammers to break down a wall of a fully legal plot on the edge of the site. This is not only in violation of court order and constitutes criminal damage, but it is also highly dangerous. Vulnerable and elderly residents had stayed on that plot expecting to be safe as it is protected through court decisions, and were highly traumatised as police sledgehammered through the wall. At least two women residents sustained head injuries.
- Batons have been used on supporters and residents from the beginning of the eviction
- Severe injuries of residents and protesters have been witnessed by human rights observers and the press. One woman sustained such serious injuries from police that she had to be admitted to hospital.
- The plot of a resident who needs a breathing machine to survive has had it’s electricity cut.

Natalie Fox, a spokesperson for Dale Farm Solidarity supporter group, said,
“Far from being the dignified eviction that Basildon Council is claiming, this is set to be one of the most brutal evictions on record. The Council know that there are elderly and vulnerable people on site, as well as children, but they have gone in with a full frontal and brutal approach which is already resulting in injuries. The world is watching. “
Follow @letdalefarmlive for live updates.
Link: http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/dale-farm-emergency-injunction-sought-in-response-to-unlawful-police-operation/

Dina Babbitt's paintings at Auschwitz

2011-10-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

In doing further research into the case of Dina Babbitt, the artist who created the 7 watercolors of Rromani prisoners doomed to the gas chambers, I discovered a bizarre twist to the story. I'm sure others researchers have found this as well, but I was unaware of the attitude this case invoked in Holocaust deniers.

To give some background on the case, Dina Babbitt and her mother were prisoners at Auschwitz. When Mengele discovered she was an artist, he had her paint watercolors of 7 Rromani who were to be sent to the gas chambers. She kept them alive as long as she could, but when their portraits were finished, they were sent to their deaths. In 1973, Dina discovered the paintings still existed and she decided she wanted them back. Auschwitz refused, stating it would give precedent for other survivors to claim their property. A lawsuit began and in 2002 the Congress of the United States declared Dina Babbitt to be the rightful owners and implored the government of Poland to encourage Auschwitz-Birkenau to return the paintings. As of this writing, the paintings remain out of public view at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Dina Babbitt passed away in 2009 and her heirs continue her fight.

The paintings have had an awkward existence in Auschwitz. Many people believe the paintings should be kept at the museum in Jewish section, as the artist was Jewish. Others believe they should be kept in a "Gypsy" section of the museum, since that is the subject of the artwork and there is little surviving materials on the Rromani at Auschwitz.

Add the twist of the Holocaust deniers. They claim that the fact that Dina Babbitt wants her paintings back and Auschwitz's refusal is proof the Holocaust never happened. Their logic, flawed as usual, is still unsettling. They state that if the Holocaust did indeed happen, as Auschwitz claims, then Holocaust survivors should be respected and their wishes granted, since they are the witnesses to such an important event. Auschwitz's denial to hand over the paintings is proof, to them, that Auschwitz doesn't respect survivors, therefore it never happened.

Deniers also claim that Mengele would not have used paints to match a skin tone, he would have used photography. This aspect I can speak to. Mengele wanted the watercolors because he wanted their skin tones matched, something color photography may not have been able to do. A third generation photographer told me that back in the early 40's, certain colors were very difficult to capture. It is possible that Mengele didn't trust photography to get it right. Paints can be adjusted, but film colors couldn't. Sorry, skeptics, but Photoshop didn't exist back then.

This debate has been going on since 1973. A Holocaust survivor continued to be brutalized by Auschwitz long after the Nazis vacated the place. Auschwitz doesn't even have the paintings on display. Duplicates could be hung after the originals were returned to the family. It is high time they did the right thing after so many wrong things happened there and returned the paintings.

Roma Integration

2011-10-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

This article comes to us through the Roma Virtual Network from The Open Society blog which work to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people and to promote human rights, justice, and accountability. This blog aims to bring that work a little closer by giving our experts and grantees a platform to reflect on their issues, sharpen their thinking, and engage in a conversation on how to advance open society values around the globe. You can find them at http://www.soros.org/.

What Lies Ahead for the EU Framework on Roma Integration?

October 13, 2011 | by Bernard Rorke

When the European Council endorsed the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 [pdf] on June 24, Commissioner Vivien Reding declared:

Today's agreement is a huge step forward for millions of Roma around Europe. The EU is sending a strong signal: the exclusion of the Roma is not compatible with our societal values and our economic model.

A giant step for EU officials maybe, but a giant step for mankind, a huge step forward for millions of Roma? There is much to be done to live up to the hyperbole, because the challenge facing the European Framework is stark. For how do we define “societal values” in the face of the electoral successes of hate-mongering, far-right political parties across Europe, and the increasingly strident—if incoherent—denunciations of multiculturalism emanating from the mainstream right?
And what’s inclusive about “our economic model” in a Union where so many of the constituent member states remain in thrall to the orthodoxies of neoliberalism? There is a very real prospect that the Europe of 2020 could comprise increasingly closed societies and illiberal democracies where inequality and poverty thrive unabated, and Roma and other visible minorities continue to be denigrated and humiliated as scapegoats and pariahs.

However the Framework hints at another possibility: a viable prospect of forward-looking and fully inclusive societies that foster a sense of common belonging, cohesion, and mutual respect among all citizens regardless of their ethnicity. For this reason, and whatever the caveats, the Framework is to be welcomed by all who are committed to deepening democracy.

The anti-Roma riots and conflagrations across Bulgaria serve as a grim reminder that across Europe, anti-Gypsyism is so deeply ingrained—prejudice and intolerance towards Roma is so pervasive—that national integration strategies cannot succeed without resolute and unequivocal action to combat racism and discrimination. Put simply, prejudice unchecked will derail progress. On March 8, a resolution of the European Parliament called on the European Commission to link social inclusion priorities to a clear set of objectives that included protection of citizens against discrimination in all fields of life; promotion of social dialogue between Roma and non-Roma to combat racism and xenophobia; and for the Commission, as guardian of the treaties, to ensure full implementation of relevant legislation and appropriate sanctions against racially motivated crimes.

The Commission is entirely correct in its insistence that the primary responsibility for safeguarding the rights, well-being, and security of citizens lies with national governments. However, if the Framework is to live up to its billing as “10 years to make a difference,” then the Commission must do everything within its remit and competences to take up the Council’s invitation and signal to member states and candidate countries that nothing less than a zero-tolerance approach will suffice when it comes to anti-Gypsyism and all forms of discrimination against Roma.

The Framework priorities are identical to those of the Roma Decade, in that EU member states are urged to set targets, allocate adequate funding, define concrete action plans, and develop monitoring systems to measure progress.

The family resemblances between the Decade and the Framework are such that there are valuable lessons to be learned that can save a lot of time. Five years into the Framework we don’t want to be talking about the implementation gaps, the lack of realistic targets in the priority areas, inadequate budgets, or the lack of coordination across line ministries with regards to the National Roma Integration Strategies. Five years into the Framework we don’t want to be sitting in conferences and workshops bemoaning the lack of reliable disaggregated data, or pondering what to do about the bottlenecks and obstacles to making the most of EU funds for Roma inclusion. Five years into the Framework we don’t want to be facing a situation where the living conditions of millions of Roma living in acute deprivation has actually worsened, and anti-Roma prejudice is still gaining ground. Because as we lurch into the second half of the Decade, that’s where we are right now.

This is not to downplay the Decade’s achievements which have provided working templates of what needs to be done to achieve integration, equity, social cohesion, and combat discrimination and prejudice. At the last International Steering Committee Meeting in Prague, at the close of the Czech Presidency, Decade governments fully endorsed the EU Framework and pledged to bring all the convening power, experience, and knowledge gained since the launch of the Decade, to ensure that the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies meets its primary stated objective: to put an end to the exclusion of Roma.

There is a wealth of experience and good practice that has been generated since the launch of the Decade that needs to be harnessed to best effect and scaled up. Between now and 2020, one definite lesson learned is that there is a need for the Commission to put in place a coordinating mechanism proportionate to the tasks that lie ahead; a coordinating mechanism that can sustain the necessary momentum to ensure that this EU Framework will, to use the Commission’s catchphrase, “make a difference by 2020.”

The danger is that we could witness a familiar pattern of diminishing political will, resulting in weak and uneven implementation, with hopes for a better future for Roma once again raised and then duly dashed. And this would posit a real danger for the future, because the present situation is simply unsustainable.

It is a matter of regret to note that soon after the Prague meeting, and the Decade pledge to support the Framework, the Czech government was the first to decline the Commission’s request to submit a national Roma integration strategy. The government stated that it:

has a well-developed national coordination mechanism relating to the Romany agency. It is neither desirable nor useful to create new tasks for ministries, especially at the time of budget austerity.

Quite apart from the almost weekly incidents of violent extremist mobs descending upon Roma settlements, there is much to indicate that the “well-developed” mechanism for Roma integration has broken down.

The resignation in May of more than 50 education experts tasked with designing a plan for inclusive education, and the ongoing protests from political parties and civil society groups concerning the role of Ladislav Bátora within the Education Ministry, suggests that there is neither consensus nor progress on the key priority of equal access to quality education for Roma.

In a damning public letter announcing their resignation, the 50 experts stated that the stalling of reforms means that “the Czech Republic is violating its obligations flowing from international treaties and from the European Court for Human Rights judgment,” and that “‘inclusive education’ now amounts to nothing more than mere rhetoric intended to calm the international community.” The sociologist Ivan Gabal stated that “we currently have 16,000 Roma pupils in the ‘special schools,’ and last year less than 50 of them managed to return to mainstream schools—in other words a minuscule number. This shows that the current state of affairs is not in order.”

The Czech Republic is in something of a crisis, anti-Roma hate speech by politicians is ever more common, hate crime is on the rise, the neo-Nazis are on the march. And to cap it all, in a time of austerity, there is the real danger, according to the former Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek, that hundreds of billions of crowns from the EU financing prospects for 2007–2013 that could go for regional development “won't even be touched.”

It is to be hoped that the Czech opt-out is an aberration and that EU member states with significant Roma populations will follow the example set by the Hungarian government and meet the submission deadline. The strategy outlined by the Hungarian government is rich in analytical detail and ambitious in scope. This strategy lays down a sound basis for discussion, consultation, and participation. It is to be hoped that the enthusiasm and commitment shown by State-Secretary Balogh, will be shared across key line ministries, especially the ministry of education.
“Nothing about us without us” was the catch-call at the launch of the Decade, with the assertion that Roma participation “will make or break” the Decade. The reality is that the lack of substantive Roma participation is at the heart of the shortcomings of the Decade so far.

The time has passed when Roma can simply be viewed as an undifferentiated, passive, and dependent population. The Commission has a vital role to play to promote substantive Roma participation in this process and to strongly encourage member states to embrace the idea that active citizenship is fundamental to social inclusion, and include all of the citizenry regardless of their ethnicity. Roma communities and representatives must be accorded the opportunity for participation in shaping the policies and initiatives that directly impact their lives.

From the side of the municipalities, partnerships with community-based civil society organizations are vital to close the evergreen implementation gap. Civil society organizations have garnered much by way of sound practice and lessons learned. From the side of the NGOs, to transform project-based knowledge into sustainable change, partnerships with municipalities are essential.

There has been little evidence to date of coherent, complex, and comprehensive policy interventions to simultaneously combat poverty; provide access to health services and quality education; and resolve housing and infrastructure issues. Such approaches require the ingredients of political will, partnership, resolve, know-how, and knowledge. It is to be hoped that the Framework can provide the necessary glue to hold these ingredients together.

Dale Farm eviction and a request for help

2011-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Please consider your reactions. People need help keeping their homes from an unjust eviction.

COME DOWN TO DALE FARM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The Court of Appeal has just rejected the residents' right to a judicial review, which means that Basildon Council will be able to come on to conduct an eviction from now onwards.

We need supporters to come down as soon as possible to help resist this eviction. We need people to come willing to engage in civil disobedience as well as support residents and activists in resisting the eviction through non-arrestable roles. It may seem like a scary thing to do, but coming down to Dale Farm is one of the most important things we can do for the community here, and to protest the injustice that even the United Nations and Amnesty International have unreservedly condemned. This is a historic moment of resistance - let's do something.

The residents have nowhere to go. They are united in resisting the eviction, and we have been working with them to develop plans and strategies. Travellers in the UK are at the receiving end of state violence. The way the Dale Farm community is being treated is a form of ethnic cleansing which criminalizes a people and a culture, and it is vital that we come together in solidarity to resist it. We are ready to resist the eviction, and we need more people to join us and the residents as soon as you can come down. Bring a sleeping bag, food and resistance paraphernalia. (For a full list of things to bring, how to get here - only 30 min from London- and other important info, see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/activity/ or call 07583621312).

In addition to getting supporters down to Dale Farm, we still need a lot of funds to cover the work we have been doing so far. Please donate at: http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/donate/

Urgent from Amnesty International

2011-10-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Posted by request of Amnesty International.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA ADVISORY

17 October 2011

Amnesty International petitions Serbian Deputy Prime Minister

On 19 October 2011, an Amnesty International delegation is handing over to the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, thousands of petitions against forced evictions of Roma communities in Serbia.

The petitions call on the Serbian government to adopt a law against forced evictions and to regulate the process of evictions.

“Forced evictions in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia make people move from one settlement to another depriving them of proper roof over their heads, the jobs they may be holding at the moment, the schools their children go to,” said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme Director.

Amnesty International members from Japan and Korea in the east to Netherlands and Spain in the west collected signatures and photos in streets of events such as the EXIT Festival in Novi Sad bringing into the spotlight the discrimination and other human rights violations the Roma community is facing in Serbia.

Amnesty International is extremely concerned at the rising number of forced evictions in the country, affecting the lives of thousands of people. Currently there ate around 100 informal settlements in Belgrade and 500 elsewhere in Serbia.

“Forced evictions are in breach of the right to adequate housing. They affect the most vulnerable in the society, mainly the Roma community – those who have been driven by poverty to live in informal settlements in Belgrade and who have no other housing options,” Nicola Duckworth said.

What: Nicola Duckworth informs journalists about meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Djelic in charge of European integration and Chair of the Council for Improvement of the Status of Roma Population.

When: 19 October 2011, 1100 local time (0900 GMT)
Where: Regional Centre for Minorities in Belgrade Dobracina 17

Rromani education issues in the Czech Republic

2011-10-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

This article comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network.

In our opinion, this is a continuation of words by the Czech government. When we see some action on the part of the government in response to their disregard for the basic human rights of the Roma, then we will be excited.

PM: Education is key to better social situation of Roma

ČTK |

13 October 2011

Prague, Oct 12 (CTK) - Full inclusion of Czech Romani children into education activities is a key point on the road towards an improvement of the social situation of the Roma in the country, Prime Minister Petr Necas told journalists after the cabinet Wednesday discussed a report on the state of the Romani population.

The Czech Republic has been criticised over a high portion of Romani children placed in special schools for pupils with slight mental disabilities.

Necas said the government wants to increase Romanies' chances of getting a job and present positive examples of inclusion of the Roma into majority society.

"There are positive examples, too, and they need to be pointed to," Necas said.

Necas said the cabinet dealt with the 2010 report on the Roma very thoroughly. The government report states that a big part of the Roma live in social exclusion and children's chances of a better life are small. It considers inclusive education of the Roma to be the best and economically most advantageous method of leading Romani families out of social exclusion and poverty.According to the report, the first half of 2010 was promising in this field, but all positive changes were stopped by the end of the year, even in spite of strong calls by Czech experts and important international institutions.

The report says there was no progress in Romanies' employment and that Romanies held only a marginal position in the labour market, citing the economic crisis and overall higher unemployment in the country among the causes.

The report deals with bad living and health conditions of Romanies.

It says Romanies live in cheap, low-quality housing facilities and that they are victims of discrimination and unfair practices by housing owners and real estate offices. Romanies often suffer from chronic diseases, they neglect prevention and have an unhealthy life style. They are also often the target of segregation.

Social problems such as unemployment, housing uncertainty and a low educational level concentrate in socially underprivileged Romany localities as a result of municipalities' directed policy or spontaneous migration, the report says.

Although the report only focuses on the events and phenomena of 2010, it discusses circumstances that may lead to tension between majority society and Romanies.

The Sluknov area, a rather poor and remote part of northern Bohemia near the borders with Germany and Poland, has been recently hit by unrest.

Repeated protests were held, with both locals and extremists participating, in reaction to cases of Romany violence and increased immigration of Romanies to the area. The government had to send a riot police unit to the area.

The latest museum visit

2011-10-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

OPES staff were very busy this weekend. The Wagon Display, along side an old fashioned tent, went on display at the Cedar County Historical Society in Iowa on Saturday. The Wagon was fitted with two new text panels explaining the history of the Rromani in Iowa, including one panel on how the Rromani were often vilified in the newspapers. The tent is a replica of tents that could have been used by Rromani in America and is furnished with items from 1890-1915.

Educational Director Ciuin Ferrin spent the day cooking for 75 people over a fire pit, taking the opportunity to talk to guests not only about Rromani in Iowa but around the world. Most visitors were surprised to learn Rromani currently live in the United States and that to be "Gypsy" was not a choice, that someone cannot wake up in the morning and decide they are now Rromani.

The standard thought among most guests was that one chose to be "Gypsy" and that "Gypsies" were people who didn't want to settle down, to work, or to take on normal responsibilities any other citizen would have to take on. Most were eager to learn the truth about the Rromani, and not just in Iowa, but around the world. A few asked what could be done and how they could help. Some even donated financially.

It was a successful and rewarding day and we hope eyes were opened to the condition of the Rromani not only locally, but world wide.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas on the Roma

2011-10-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

This article comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network. We do have to ask if this is fair. Are other minorities subjected to such measures? By creating a 'complex' system, does it benefit the Rromani or the government? Is this a forced assimilation? Is this not a unique form of slavery?

Czech PM: We solve Roma issue not forgetting that Czech citizens have both rights and obligations
04 October 2011 14:24 FOCUS News Agency

Prague. “We want to solve the Roma issue in the Czech Republic through integration and avoid the social exclusion,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas at e joint press conference with Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov in Prague, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed.
“We want to apply a complex system of measures, which to allow the Roma society get education but also to act in a way that will make people realise that apart from the rights they also have some obligations. For instance, the social benefits could be bind to children’s going to school. It is up to the Roma parents whether their kids will go to school or not,” Petr Nečas remarked.
“We want a system that will allow the Roma people integrate at the labour market. As of next year the social benefits will be paid only if the people perform community service; if they do not perform certain amount of community service, then they will not receive social benefits,” the Czech prime minister said.
“We aim at full integration at the labour market; the issue about their [Roma people’s] accommodation should be solved too, because they live in communities, ghettos and etc. We do not examine the issue as ethnic or racial, but as a social one. Apart from the rights, being citizens of the Czech Republic, we have also obligations,” Petr Nečas said.

An update on the Wagon Display

2011-10-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Wagon Display has been very busy the past two months. Its latest adventure took it to the Rromani concert hosted by the International Academy for Russian Music, Arts, and Culture. Saturday, October 8th, the Wagon went on display during a concert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Attendees enjoyed the music from the wagon and the information given.

We are creating two more panels for the history section, relating the Rromani to the State of Iowa to help locals understand the need for further education about the Rromani in the US. The two panels are being printed free of charge by one of the wagon's sponsors, Rapids Reproduction. We are grateful for their help.

The Wagon is in need of some repair, however. It has been shown four times in four weeks and has some chips and marks along its hinges. We need to repaint two sides and replace one section of molding and then clear treat the entire wagon to prevent further damage.

Once our application for a 501(c)3 status is approved, we plan t raise funds to recreate the Wagon using gator board, a sturdy material that will allow the wagon to be moved without extensive damage.

Thank you for your interest in our project.

OSCE human rights conference

2011-10-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

This story comes to us from the Roma Virtual Network. See the link below if you are interested.

Discrimination and negative discourse against Roma and Sinti must stop, say participants at OSCE human rights conference

Governments in OSCE participating States urgently need to tackle persistent discrimination and negative public and political discourse targeting Roma and Sinti. They are unfortunately frequent targets of prejudiced portrayals by politicians and public officials, said participants at the OSCE's annual human rights conference in Warsaw on 5 October.

“We observe an increasing number of reported incidents involving populist politicians who scapegoat Roma and Sinti in their public speeches to gain electoral support,” said ODIHR First Deputy Director Douglas Wake. “These developments have the potential to erupt into open conflicts.”

A joint statement by 30 Roma activists from across Europe warned that, in many instances, negative stereotypes of Roma are supported by the media.

“Very often we witness hateful, populist rhetoric that caters to anti-Gypsy public opinion being used not only by extremist parties, but by mainstream ones,” the statement said.

Jeroen Schokkenbroek, the Council of Europe Secretary General’s Special Representative for Roma Issues said that hostile and provocative public discourse concerning Roma and Sinti deepens inter-ethnic tensions and perpetuate prejudices.

Referring to instances of incitement to hatred against Roma, he said that “quick and decisive action is needed not only to bring culprits to justice but also to avoid escalation.”

Participants underlined the need to fully implement the OSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti in continuing work to close the economic and social gaps between Roma and Sinti, on the one hand, and wider societies in the countries in which they live, on the other hand.
http://www.osce.org/odihr/83627

News on Bulgaria, Human Rights

2011-10-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

We have a few news items today. All of these come to us via the Roma Virtual Network.

2011. September 29.
Roma should participate in creating national inclusion strategies
EPP Group MEP Lívia Járóka met activists of the European Roma Youth Conference in Strasbourg. On the occasion Járóka emphasized the responsibility of the new generation Roma leadership as well as urged the involvement of Roma civil society into the preparation of national inclusion strategies.

Hungarian MEP Lívia Járóka along with Andrey Kovatchev and Mariya Nedelcheva Bulgarian members of the European Parliament met activists of the Roma Youth Conference, a civil association supported by the Council of Europe. Járóka, the Rapporteur of the European Roma Strategy urged Roma NGOs to provide their suggestions to the European governments with regards national inclusion strategies that Member States are due to submit until the end of the year. "Without properly gathered and analysed statistical data disaggregated by ethnicity, it would be impossible to evaluate, monitor and update the programmes" - she highlighted. She also spoke about the empowerment of civil society and enhancing Roma participation in public life, noting that the basic prerequisite was to put forward credible and highly educated Roma leaders who work for the overall benefit of their communities and put community building and social mission in the forefront.

The day before, members of the Roma Youth Conference submitted a petition to the EP which expresses their concerns about the current rise of extremism, racism and anti-gypsyism in several European countries. Járóka set Hungary as an example where authorities managed to keep up the law and order in all the villages affected by the march of extremist groups and the parliament immediately passed a modification of the Penal Code according to which such behaviour can be punished up to three years in prison, thus eversince, this phenomena has stopped.

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Europe May Have Found A Common Enemy In Gypsy Travelers
Nick Jardine Sep. 28, 2011, 11:38 AM 839 9

Last year, the French government drew in controversy when it decided to deport several dozen Roma gypsies back to Romania despite the travelers' rights to move freely within the EU.

The move drew condemnation from Amnesty International and was branded by many as a despicable xenophobic act.

However, one curious element was that the Romanian president, Traian Basescu understood France's actions.

In fact, he even offered to help.

It signaled something; the Roma, and traveling gypsies in general, were becoming a common European enemy.

Fast forward to today. The New York Times has just reported that anti-Roma riots are spreading across Bulgaria. In response to the killing of a man by a minibus whose driver is linked to a Roma crime boss, rioting has spread to 20 cities nationwide.

Police are guarding the entrances to Roma villages and the Bulgarian government has issued orders to arrest anyone seen inciting racial hatred. Over 125 people were arrested during the weekend.

But, this is not an isolated incident of action against the Roma or travelers.

Far-right supporters have been embarking upon their own tirade against the Roma in the Czech Republic for several weeks. Spiegel Online reports that neo-Nazi's recently marched to the northern district of Šluknovský výbžek in Bohemia to confront the Roma. Bloody riots followed. Molotov cocktails were thrown at Roma homes, some of which were housing small children.

Not that the Roma were completely blameless. Spiegel also reported an uptake in crime during August following the Roma's arrival in the region. The publication also recalled an incident when a bar was robbed by machete wielding travelers.

Other recent episodes include the rounding up of Roma seen this week in France. The French government said once again that it would consider deporting those who could not demonstrate they had a means of supporting themselves.

Even in the UK, the recent action taken against the residents of Dale Farm (who are Irish, not Roma) appears to be part of a European-wide campaign to deal with a continent-spanning problem.

But, none of this is new, it just happens to be a time of mass action against the Roma and travelers.

Spiegel Online published a column today noting the lack of plans governments have in place for dealing with tensions emerging from a Roma presence. The lack of a consolidated plan means the problem of ghettoized Roma communities, surviving off a lifestyle where petty theft and crime plays a large part, continues to remain rife.

What it leads to? The acceptance of mainstream discrimination against the travelers, ultimately allowing citizens to take matters in to their own hands.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/europe-gypsies-bulgaria-2011-9#ixzz1ZjK1Lkos

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From Amnesty International:
Bulgaria: authorities must urgently act to stop the escalation of violence targeting the Roma community

Amnesty International urges Bulgarian authorities to effectively tackle the escalation of violence which is resulting in racially-motivated attacks against the Roma community in the country.

Following the killing of an ethnic Bulgarian youth, Angel Petrov, who was hit by a minibus driven by an ethnic Roma, Simeon Iosifov, on 23 September, protests sparked off in Katunitza (Plovdiv district). The driver was arrested the following day and an investigation is currently underway.

On 24 September further protests with a more prominent anti-Roma character were staged; three houses belonging to a Roma local leader, Kiril Rashkov, were set alight. Football fan club members from Plovdiv joined the protests, slogans inciting hatred and violence against Roma and Turks were shouted. Law enforcement forces reportedly did not stop the protesters from entering the village of Katunitza, nor were the arson attacks on properties prevented. However, no one was injured on that day and the families living in the properties attacked were evacuated by law enforcement forces.

On 25, 26 and 27 September rallies were organised in other cities by local groups, football fan clubs and Neo-Nazi groups, supported by far-right and nationalist parties such as ATAKA and VMRO. Roma neighbourhoods and Roma citizens were threatened or actually violently attacked. Figures on the overall number of injured are not available. However, Roma are reportedly afraid to leave their homes in some areas due to panic about the widespread insecurity. Around 400 people were arrested for taking part into the attacks. Some of them have been already fined for hooliganism.

Bulgarian authorities have the obligation under international human rights law to ensure the security and the physical integrity of everyone, without any discrimination. They have to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and provide redress for racially motivated crimes by private individuals or groups. Amnesty International is monitoring the situation and urges the Bulgarian authorities to put in place all the necessary measures to stop racially-motivated attacks against Roma and to duly investigate the racial motivation in attacks against Roma neighbourhoods and individuals. Allegations that law enforcement officers made no attempt to prevent the violence on 24 September should also be subject to a full and effective investigation, with the results made public and anyone found responsible brought to justice.

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Saturday, 01 October 2011 22:29 .SOFIA, Oct 1, 2011 (AFP) - Hundreds of Bulgarian nationalists staged a large anti-Roma rally Saturday as political leaders and security chiefs sought to douse tensions after a week of nationwide demonstrations and sporadic violence.
The demonstrators, numbering close to 2,000 according to AFP estimates, marched through central Sofia carrying the national flag and chanted nationalist and anti-Roma slogans. Around 15 people were arrested.

Several hundred supporters of the far-right Ataka party gathered in front of the presidential palace in T-shirts that read “I don't want to live in a Gypsy state” and with a banner saying “Gypsy criminality is a danger to the state.”Party leader Volen Siderov, who is running for president on October 23, called for the death penalty to be brought back, for Roma “ghettos to be dismantled” and for the formation of militias.

The protest came as the prime minister and president, Boyko Borisov and Georgy Parvanov, convened a meeting of the national security council to discuss ways of reducing tensions.
Parvanov after the talks called on the media and politicians to “put an end to the language of hatred pushed to the extreme” and vowed that the government would probe the finances of people who lived “a life of luxury.”The latest unrest was originally sparked by the killing a week ago of a youth hit by a van driven by relatives of “King Kiro”, a Roma clan boss in the southern village of Katunitsa.

After locals and people from the surrounding area went on the rampage on Sunday, rallies with anti-minority and even Nazi slogans have taken place across the southern European country on a nightly basis.

Police have this week briefly detained several hundred nationalist demonstrators, many armed with knives and batons, who chanted racist slogans and tried to infiltrate Roma areas, notably in Varna in the east.

Planned peaceful “Roma Pride” marches this weekend were called off for fear of violence, although young Roma and non-Roma on Saturday handed out flowers to passers-by to express their desire for closer integration.

Bulgaria's 700,000-strong Roma minority, nine percent of the population, lives mostly in depressed areas with even higher rates of poverty and unemployment and lower levels of education than the national average.

Public frustration against corruption, a yawning gap between rich and poor and the weakness of the justice system, has helped to turn people against them, as well as against Bulgaria's Turkish minority, experts say.

What hasn't helped is that many figures like “King Kiro” throughout the ex-communist country are seen by many people as being outside the law.

A hoped-for improvement since Hungary joined the European Union in 2007 in tackling corruption and improving the lot of the country's Roma minority has not materialised.
“Tolerance isn't taught at school, nor at home,” said Krassimir Kanev from rights group the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, saying people in the EU's poorest country “are easily manipulated. Those behind the social unrest are young people frustrated by the lack of opportunities resorting to aggression and nationalism as somewhere to belong,” analyst Antonina Jeliazkova told the Capital weekly.

The outbreak of tensions amid campaigning for presidential and local elections on October 23.
Several organisations including Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Amnesty International have called for the Bulgarian government to take urgent action.
The disturbances “underline the urgency of combating racially-motivated extremism and making progress with the integration of Europe's Roma populations,” the OSCE said.

Patriarch Maxim, head the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, on Friday appealed to Bulgarians “to not let anger drag them into violence.”

The Porrajmos Education Society

“Big Fat Gypsy Weddings” TV show“damaging” to Gypsies

Appalled Hindus want Slovakia billboards humiliating Gypsies removed

The Right of Education

PREAMBLE

Article 2.

Article 3.

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Article 15.

Article 16.

Article 17.

Article 18.

Article 19.

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Article 21.

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Article 24.

Article 25.

Article 26.

Article 27.

Article 28.

Article 29.

Article 30.

United States of America Joins the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015

Press Release

United States of America Joins the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015

Service for the Victims of O Baro Porrajmos

Holocaust Remembrance Day

In response to a call to action

The Decade of Roma Inclusion

Under Surveillance: The Roma in Hungary 2012

Roma integration:Only 15 states have submitted national strategies

Roma integration

Only 15 states have submitted national strategies

Museum explores Nazi persecution of Gypsies during Holocaust

Heidelberg, Germany: Museum explores Nazi persecution of Gypsies during Holocaust

DIRECTIONSThe Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma is located in Heidelberg’s old town at Bremeneckgasse 2, Heidelberg 69117. The closest parking is a multistory parking garage P12, Kornmarkt/Schloss.

TIMESThe center is open 9:30 a.m.- 7:45 p.m. Tuesday; 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 11 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekends. Closed Mondays.

COSTSAdmission is free.

FOODThere are plenty of restaurants with a variety of price ranges just a couple of blocks away on the city’s main pedestrian street.

INFORMATIONCall 06221-981102 or visit sintiundroma.de. Interpretive headsets in English are available at no charge. If planned in advance, a tour guided by a historian is also available at no charge.

January 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day. A time to act.

Europe’s Squandered Minority

This article comes to us with permission from Project Syndicate. Please follow the link below for the rest of this article.

Europe’s Squandered Minority

2011-12-30

Time for new beginnings

Czech hospital, Romany woman agree on compensation

April 8, 2012

Roma children segregation in hospitals – contested in Romania for the first time

The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Kids

The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Kids

UN HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE EVENT NEGLECTS FATE OF ROMA

Breakfast on the Bus

Breakfast on the Bus

French Roma policy violates European Social Charter

This article comes to us from the Strasbourg Observers via European Roma Information Office. This interesting article and others may be found at http://strasbourgobservers.com/ and we are grateful to the author, Laurens Lavrysen, for giving us permission to reprint it here in its entirety.

French Roma policy violates European Social Charter

Everyone has to care

Article 26.

Czech Republic: Romani personalities condemn the term "inadaptables"

Honor December 7th today.

On Sunday, December 7 at approximately 6am, the Japanese attack force of six carriers with 423 planes, is about to attack. The first attack wave of 183 Japanese planes takes off from the carriers located 230 miles north of Oahu and heads for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

One Europe, two different ways of educating Roma children

70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Still No Answer for Forcibly Sterilised Romani Women in the Czech Republic

Still No Answer for Forcibly Sterilised Romani Women in the Czech Republic

Results of Roma inclusion programme fail to impress

This articles comes to us from the Southeast European Times via the Roma Virtual Network and ERIO News.

DIRECTIONS
The Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma is located in Heidelberg’s old town at Bremeneckgasse 2, Heidelberg 69117. The closest parking is a multistory parking garage P12, Kornmarkt/Schloss.

TIMES
The center is open 9:30 a.m.- 7:45 p.m. Tuesday; 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 11 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekends. Closed Mondays.

COSTS
Admission is free.

FOOD
There are plenty of restaurants with a variety of price ranges just a couple of blocks away on the city’s main pedestrian street.

INFORMATION
Call 06221-981102 or visit sintiundroma.de. Interpretive headsets in English are available at no charge. If planned in advance, a tour guided by a historian is also available at no charge.