Roma Virtual Network - On-line Bulletin - 16 April 2012

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ROMA VIRTUAL NETWORK

On-Line Bulletin 16/04/2012

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

Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015: http://www.facebook.com/RomaDecade

World Artists Initiative "Khetanes": http://www.khetanes.com

Eurovision 2012 - Vote for Sofi: http://www.facebook.com/sofieurovision

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

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European Roma to attend Holocaust Day in Israel

Warsaw, 12/04/2012 - A delegation of European Roma will for the first time attend Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel next week, the Association of the Roma in Poland said Thursday.

"It's a very important gesture proving that Israeli authorities understand the similarity between the sad fates of the Roma and the Jews, and that they want to support Roma communities worldwide," the association's leader Roman Kwiatkowski told Polish media. The delegation will include Roma and Sinti representatives from Poland, as well as the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia, an aide to Kwiatkowski told AFP.

Read more on http://alturl.com/cnbgx

Open Society Foundations Blog: The Roma are Coming: Ed Kashi on the Misuse of Photography

By Will Cohen, communications officer with the Open Society Justice Initiative

13/04/2012 - Last week, the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche established a new low in media coverage of European Roma. Alarmed by a supposed rise in crime in the country, Die Weltwoche opted to anchor its cover spread with a photo of a young Roma boy holding a gun, the nose of the barrel aimed at the reader. The headline, in German, warns Switzerland: "The Roma are Coming."

The cover spread, which is stark and shocking for its racism, has drawn an appropriately swift and angry response. The cover also represents a pretty flagrant editorial abuse of documentary photography. There's nothing to tell readers that the image actually dates from 2008 and has not even a distant connection to any development in Switzerland. The photograph, taken by the Italian photojournalist Livio Mancini, was originally part of a photo reportage done about a Roma community in Kosovo. Mancini photographed children playing in a local dump. The gun is actually a toy. Shorn of context, though, the once documentary photograph is deployed as propaganda.

Integration of Roma stalled by EU financial climate, study finds

A report on the conditions faced by the Roma population across six EU countries has found that the current financial climate across the EU is having direct and indirect impacts on the integration and life chances of Roma; who are the largest ethnic minority in Europe.

Partnered in the UK by the University of Salford and comprising teams in Greece, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, the Roma SOURCE project has so far found wide-ranging effects of austerity on the living standards of the 10 million Roma across the continent. In the interim report, published to coincide with International Roma Day (Sunday 8 April), the researchers found that across Europe, Roma had lower levels of health and education than the general population and that during tougher economic times prejudice against them was on the rise.

Specifically, the report notes that: “Disadvantages faced by Roma in the paid labour market are unlikely to improve dramatically in the near future given the significant and rising unemployment levels that are a feature of the ongoing financial crisis that is impacting on many European nations.

Terre des hommes - International Roma Day: The situation seen by our delegates in Eastern Europe

Roma communities still represents the first minority in Europe. Considered to be stateless, they are victims of discrimination in all countries where they live, including in Switzerland. Their most basic rights are denied. Out of schools, children are reduced to begging in the streets and are at a higher risk of being enrolled in criminal networks. Many parents migrate with or without their children. In Romania, for example, the Government conducts a census of these “children left behind” which are estimated to be about 350,000 in Romania. The children of these workers are sometimes abandoned or sent to placement centers and become targets for criminal networks and the sexual exploitation trade.

08/04/2012 - In Romania, Albania, Kosovo and now in Moldova, Terre des hommes supports children from marginalized communities so they can live decently now and it advocates with governments for their recognition and future. Activities are implemented to raise awareness in Roma communities about children’s rights and needs. Micro-projects are developed and followed-up in families, remedial classes are organized, psychosocial activities and summer camps bring together children from different communities. With this integrated approach, at a community and national level, Terre des hommes aims to foster the social inclusion of Roma children and their families in a sustainable way.

COUNTRIES OF ROMA DECADE

Tensions rise over Roma resettlements in Serbia

Protests against the arrival of Roma families in the Belgrade suburb of Resnik turned violent this week, highlighting the ongoing controversy over the resettlement of Roma in Serbia.

13/04/2012 - The resettlement of 20 Roma families in the Belgrade suburb of Resnik is continuing to spark protests there, as the city proceeds with plans to demolish several informal, illegal Roma settlements in New Belgrade and rehouse residents throughout several suburbs. Twelve police officers were injured in Resnik during a protest on April 8th, International Roma Day. Police officers were attacked with bottles and rocks. Two residents of Resnik were also reportedly injured. On Thursday (April 12th), the public prosecutor's office announced it would investigate the actions of 14 people suspected of spreading racial intolerance that allegedly led to the attacks.

Paramilitaries On Trial For Murdering 22 Roma

Belgrade’s Special Court has held a preliminary hearing in the trial of Serbian former paramilitaries charged with war crimes against Roma in July 1992, reports Marija Rastic.

According to the indictment, the leader of the group, Simo Bogdanovic, also known as Sima Chetnik, and seven other members of the paramilitary unit Arkan’s Tigers, committed war crimes against 23 Roma civilians in the villages near the town of Zvornik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in July 1992. The Serbian Prosecution Office for War Crimes filed charges against Simo Bogdanovic, Damir Bogdanovic, Zoran Stojanovic, Tomislav Gavric, Djordje Sevic and Zoran Alic in April 2010, while Zoran Djurdjevic and Dragana Djekic were accused in December 2011.

The position of Roma people in Bosnia and Herzegovina

14/04/2012 - In Europe, Roma people-an ethnic group with origins from northern India-- makes about 5 percent of the total population, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, around a hundred thousand of Roma people live. They live in hard conditions and have minimum rights.

Roma people have their own day, International Roma Day which is celebrated around the world in order to draw public attention and stress out the importance of inclusion of Roma children into the education system and in general the inclusion of Roma in social, political and economic life of the community. In Europe today there are about 10 million members of the Roma community. In all countries of the Western Balkans Roma people are still one of the most vulnerable social groups who are systematically being discriminated against. They are denied of their basic rights and have been living in poverty and social exclusion.

EU Assistance to Roma population in BiH

11/04/2012 - On the occasion of International Roma Day - 8th April, CARE International and partners have organised a press conference on 5 April 2012 in the conference hall of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. This activity was held within the framework of a project funded by the European Union "Support for the implementation of national action plans for Roma inclusion".

Its aim was to inform the public about the status of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina and concrete support provided through this project and that is planed to be provided to the Roma population. On the same day, Roma associations in Tuzla, Sarajevo and Bijeljina organised a street action in these cities to inform the BiH citizens about the problems of the Roma population and possible solutions.

Romani people are the Czech Republic's least-liked minority group, relations toward them are deteriorating

Prague, 14/04/2012 - Romani people comprise the national minority in the Czech Republic that is liked the least. Of Czech men and women over the age of 15, 78 % dislike Romani people, with only 7 % saying they like them. The relationship of Czech society toward Romani people deteriorated even further during the past year. Ethnic Slovaks, however, continue to be the most-liked minority. These are the results of a March survey of a total of 1 053 respondents on attitudes toward the country's 16 national minorities, conducted by the Center for Public Opinion Research (Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínní - CVVM) and provided to the Czech Press Agency.

One year ago, 12 % of Czechs surveyed said they liked Romani people and 74 % said they did not. This March, only 7 % of people over 15 said they like Romani people, while 78 % said they dislike them. A total of 41 % of respondents said they greatly dislike Romani people, who were the least-favored of any national minority, ranked at 5.69 on a scale of 1 to 7.

Cuts threaten international Roma festival

Khamoro will receive half as much funding from government as last year

11/04/2012 - One of the world's biggest Roma festivals, held annually in Prague, is under threat as a result of government budget cuts, and private donors are thus far unwilling to fill the gap. The organizers of the 14th Khamoro festival, due to begin at the end of May, said they may have to cancel elements of the renowned cultural event as they struggle for funds. As part of continued government austerity measures, funding from the Culture Ministry for the festival has been cut by more than 50 percent, from about 1.3 million Kč last year to 600,000 Kč for 2012. The festival has also received slightly less money from City Hall than in 2011.

"Amaro-Drom" Albania: National Conference - International Day of Roma

On the occasion of 8th April 2012, Union for Development and Integration of Roma Minority in Albania “AMARO-DROM” organized the National Conference “Integration of Roma Minority in Albanian Society and Preservation of its Cultural Identity” with the support of Roma Education Fund and Terre des Hommes Foundation, Albania.

This activity was organized in the presence of the Minister of Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MLSAEO), Mr. Spiro Ksera; Vice Minister of Ministry of Education and Science (MES), Mrs. Nora Malaj; Vice Minister of Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports (MTCYS), Mr. Abaz Hado; Vice Minister of Ministry of Internal Affairs (MI), Mr. Ferdinand Pone; partners and donors that support “Amaro-Drom” projects and activities, representatives of public and non-public institutions of social services, representatives of civil society sector, Roma community members and other interested people on Roma issue.

Slovenia: Roma Civil Society Holds First Congress

Ljubljana, 12/04/2012 - The first congress of the Roma civil society was held at the National Council on Thursday discussing the situation of the Roma community and ways to give it a greater say in public affairs. Participants signed a declaration to establish a new movement for a better future for the Roma.

Link: http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1746825

OTHER COUNTRIES

International Romani Day: unity of Roma and optimization of activity of the state for joint problems’ solving

09/04/2012 - In connection with celebration of the International Romani Day on April 8, 2012, the Roma Women Fund “Chirikli”, the union of Roma public organization “Roma Council of Ukraine” and the representative office of the International Organization for Migration in Ukraine address to Roma of Ukraine with the holiday greetings.

The number of Gipsy community in Ukraine, according to the data of the census, is about 48 thousand persons, however, according to the information of Roma non-governmental organizations, there are from 200 to 400 of them. The largest places of compact living of Roma in Ukraine are situated in Zakarpattia and in Odessa oblast. Social and economic condition of Roma in Ukraine is considerably worse in comparison with other citizens of the country. The problems of Roma in Ukraine are caused by the complex of social and economic reasons: their educational level remains the lowest, which causes the high level of unemployment (more than 54% of Roma have no job), only 3.5% of Roma obtain pensions. There is currently no state programme in Ukraine directed at improvement of lives of Roma, and at the same time, separate bodies of local authorities try to pay attention to Roma range of problems.

UK: Gipsy families get advice from new Coventry project

13/04/2012 - A PROJECT run by volunteers aims to help members of the Romany community settle into Coventry life. The Coventry Roma Project gathered at the Broad Street Meeting Hall in Foleshill this week to give Romany gipsy families information on utilities, energy saving and benefits. In the last two months the project has helped 300 people with a range of problems including housing or legal issues, health and financial advice.

Basildon Council defies EU plea with new Dale Farm eviction plans

12/04/2012 - Displaced Dale Farm Travellers face a new round of evictions by Basildon Council. Following forcible eviction from their own land in October 2011, the 83 homeless families – including 100 children – have moved onto the private road leading to their former home and onto the adjoining Crays Hill site. Basildon Council issued new enforcement notices to the families last month, which have now expired, opening the way for a further eviction in the near future.

This directly contravenes the public letter from Thomas Hammarberg, EU Commissioner for Human Rights, in February this year, in which he urged Eric Pickles, Minister for Communities and Local Government, “to ensure that an end be put to violations of the right to adequate housing of Travellers in Basildon”. He called the eviction in October “highly regrettable”.

EU must help Roma

10/04/2012 - Romania promised Finland last week that it would send a contact official to Helsinki to help the police identify criminal Roma. The move comes after the number of Roma begging on Finland's streets began to rise again with the beginning of spring. The Romanian government should focus on helping the marginalised Roma in its own country instead, writes the liberal daily Savon Sanomat: "It's wrong to hold the beggars responsible for the crimes. … There is no sign of a solution to the begging problem. … The Roma who used to go to Spain are now coming to Finland, among other countries. Things can't go on like this. The European Union has the key to the problem in its hands. It has the money and the know-how to help the marginalised Roma. If the EU does nothing confrontations may break out in member countries between the foreign beggars and other citizens. No one gains from this. The EU should put the Roma problem on its summit agenda as soon as possible."

Full article in Finnish: http://www.savonsanomat.fi/mielipide/artikkelit/eun-lopetettava-hyssyttely-romaniasia-ratkaistava-heti/1184697

Swiss travellers 'suffer due to Roma reputation'

Hostile attitudes towards Roma people in Switzerland are making life difficult for the Jenische people, an entirely separate travelling ethnic group with a long history in the country, community leaders say.

13/04/2012 - Jenische leaders say the Roma’s reputation for begging, thievery, and prostitution is worsening the image of the Jenische, and is resulting in a changing of attitudes towards the Jenische people. “We often get abused," said Daniel Huber, president of the ‘Radgenossenschaft der Landstrasse’, the association that looks out for the rights of the Jenische people, travellers who have lived in Europe for centuries. "It is often the case for example that on the open road, we in Switzerland get called ‘dirty gypsies’.”

Turkey – Urban renewal, but who is going to profit?

There is not much left of the Roma district of Sulukule, which used to be so colourful. For years, thousands of Roma from all over the world lived in this historic settlement in the Turkish capital of Istanbul. Because of urban renewal they were forced to leave Sulukule.

Watch video on http://www.slumstories.org (7:52 min.)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Conference on "From segregation to integration - the role of culture in Roma inclusion" - 18 April 2012 - Charlemagne, Brussels

On 18 April, the Commission will organise a conference discussing the substantial role that arts and culture may play in Roma inclusion. In fact, they may act as a bridge between Roma and the majority society, challenging stereotypes and prejudice. As recognized by most of the recently adopted national strategies for Roma integration, arts and culture have a substantial role to play in Roma inclusion. Material deprivation is the most visible component of social exclusion, but actions in support of inclusion may risk not being successful if only material deprivation is dealt with.

In fact, such initiatives may be jeopardised when the intended beneficiaries live a situation of exclusion from the majority society's culture - which may critically undermine the motivation to change; and when prejudice and stereotypes affect social and cultural identities and the desire to belong.

16th Annual California Herdeljezi Roma Festival - California, USA - 4-5 May 2012

A benefit for Voice of Roma Cultural and Educational Programs, and Humanitarian Aid for the Roma of Kosovo

Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, 2012, in Sebastopol, California.

Voice of Roma presents the 16th Annual Herdeljezi Roma Festival, a traditional Romani (Gypsy) neighborhood celebration announcing the end of the cold indoor season and the beginning of the warmer season.

IRAF - International Romani Art Festival - 7 to 10 June 2012

Bucharest will host in June 7 to 10 the next edition of one of the largest and most complex cultural events in the world.

Maintaining standards of excellence that has used the public festival, the 6th edition of IRAF first headliner of the event announced that none other than Lulo Reinhardt, a master of acoustic guitar in a jazz exceptionally project, which are honorable musical heritage of the famous Django Reinhardt, whose descendant is the artist.

Link: http://www.guide2romania.info/events/283/IRAF---International-Romani-Art-Festival/07-Jun-2012---10-Jun-2012

OPPORTUNITIES

REF has reopened RMUSP and LHP for the next academic cycle

Scholarship schemes open for 2012/2013

The Roma Education Fund (REF) would like to announce that it is accepting online applications for two of its four main scholarship schemes for the next academic cycle 2012-2013. The deadline for applications is April 30, 2012.

Scholarships are provided for one academic year and are not automatically awarded for the subsequent academic year. However, students can apply for renewal based on successful completion of the prior academic year. Scholarship schemes support Roma students pursuing studies obtaining Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate degree. REF’s Scholarship Program offers merit-based open competition academic scholarships for all countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion (except Spain), as well as for Moldova, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Last year, REF granted 1,497 scholarships out of 2,451 total applications.

To apply, please see: http://www.romaeducationfund.hu/how-apply-scholarship

To watch last year’s first gala for Hungarian Roma scholarship recipients, see: http://www.romaeducationfund.hu/videos/new-roma-elite-rising

Call for Applications: 2012 OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Programme

The Minorities Fellowship Programme (MFP) was launched by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2005.

Through the MFP, the OHCHR aims to give persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities an opportunity to gain knowledge on the UN system and mechanisms dealing with international human rights in general and minority rights in particular. The MFP is intended to assist organizations and communities in protecting and promoting the rights of minorities the fellows belong to.

The Fellows are based at the OHCHR Geneva, Switzerland. The MFP is interactive and consists of briefings on several topics (e.g. the UN system, OHCHR work, human rights mechanisms and instruments), fellows also undertake individual and group assignments. At the end of the MFP, the fellows should have a general knowledge of the United Nations system, international human rights instruments and mechanisms in general and those relevant to minorities in particular and be capable of further training their communities/organizations.

The call for applications for the 2012 OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Programme - English linguistic component - has just been published. Deadline for applications is 30 April 2012.

The call for applications is available online at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Minorities/2012ApplicationForm_en.doc

Call for Nominations for 2012 Dr. Erhard Busek - SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South, Eastern and Central Europe

Vienna, 30/03/2012 - The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), calls for nominations for the 2012 Dr. Erhard Busek - SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South, Eastern and Central Europe. Eligible to be nominated are journalists, editors, media executives, media experts, writers or journalism trainers in South East Europe, who have contributed to promoting better understanding in the region and have worked towards ending minority-related problems, ethnic divisions, racism, xenophobia, gender discrimination, homophobia, etc. The winner will be awarded 3,000 Euros.

The award is sponsored by Dr. Erhard Busek, former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Jean Monet Professor ad personam, President of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, Coordinator of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), and Former Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

The deadline for applications is 31 May 2012. All material must arrive at the SEEMO office by 31 May 2012.

FUNDING

MLDI’s Funding and Support for NGOs

03/04/2012 - The Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI), the UK-based organization which supports initiatives to enhance the legal knowledge, skills and effectiveness of those working in the field has announced a funding opportunity to support NGOs around the world. NGOs working for legal assistance or litigation activities which safeguard or advance media freedom can submit proposals for funding support.

MLDI is working to elp build a strong global legal defence network for independent media and it is makes grants to support organizations and projects delivering legal support to journalists. Currently MLDI funds a small number of organizations based in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Central Europe, Africa and Central and South America. The aim is to expand this network and achieve better local-level access to legal assistance for independent media outlets, journalists and bloggers who lack the financial means to access legal support at commercial rates.

For more information, visit this link: http://www.mediadefence.org/page/funding-and-support-ngos

United Nations Voluntary Fund 2013 Call for Applications

05/04/2012 - The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery is now open to accepting proposals under its 2013 Call for Applications. The Fund provides grants of up to $15,000 for projects aiming to provide humanitarian, legal and financial assistance to individuals whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of contemporary forms of slavery.

Contemporary forms of slavery include, inter alia, chattel slavery, serfdom, forced labour, debt bondage, the worst forms of child labour including children in armed conflict, forced and early marriage, sale of wives, widow inheritance, trafficking in persons, sexual slavery, sale of children.

The deadline to submit applications is 31 May 2012.

For more information, visit this link: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/Pages/SlaveryFundMain.aspx

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

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

Contact RVN via rom...@zahav.net.il or +972-54-7878797.

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

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/roma.virtual.network

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

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