Romania: The First Romani Mayor
A small town near Bucharest makes history as it elects the country's first Rom to do a hugely difficult job. BARBULESTI, Romania | The only paved road in Barbulesti, a town of about 6,000 some 50 kilometers north of Bucharest, cuts the mostly Romani village in two. Alongside it sits the pink town hall. Nearby, shoddy houses sit behind tumbledown fences. Beside the houses is a cluster of 59 temporary homes, each about the size of a railway carriage. Installed by the Romanian government after the floods in the fall of 2005, the homes have no sewer and water facilities. Water comes from a single well, and there is one crude toilet, with a piece of hanging cloth for a door, to serve every 10 of the temporary shelters. More on http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=225&NrSection=3&NrArticle=18818 Transitions Online
HIV: Legacy of Shame
Health workers in Romania say too little is done to help the Romani community cope with an HIV infection rate that may be far higher than statistics suggest.by Claudia Lauer, 3 July 2007 http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=225&NrSection=3&NrArticle=18814
Roma Social Networking Site Comes Up Against Multiple Language Barriers
Hungary's Roma (Gypsy) social networking site Zhoriben.net is causing major headaches for both users and developers because of a lack of Lovari words for everyday computing concepts. Lovari language teacher Ágoston Demeter told origo.hu that modern words are simply substituted with the word from the language spoken in the given country, such as Hungarian or Romanian. The computer mouse ("egér" in Hungarian), for example, doesn't have a name in Lovari, so the Hungarian was adapted to create a new word: "egéro". Unfortunately, this makes no sense to Croatian Roma. The developers of Zhoriben.net then tried to solve the problem by using the English equivalents of the words, but this did not go down with users from Hungary. To highlight the problem, one user goes by the handle "egyszotsemertek" ("idontunderstandasingleword"). The site's co-founder Csaba Báder said the aim of the site was to revitalize the Gypsy language, but this has proved more difficult than he imagined. Not only is there a lack of words, there are also several distinct Roma languages to contend with. Lovari is the most common, but it is only understood by 40% of Gypsies. Hungarian Roma who speak their own language include those originating from Germany (Sinti Gypsies), those who speak an Oltenian Romanian dialect (Bea Gypsies) and those who speak different dialects of Lovari (Oláh Gypsies).The third problem is the site's agreement with software company Virgo Systems not to operate a site in Hungarian - networking site iWiW holds exclusive rights to use Hungarian on the platform. In addition to Lovari, the site is available in Croatian, Slovenian, Czech, German, English and Romanian but not in Hungarian. The site was launched a month ago, and includes the Hundred-Member Gypsy Band (Száztagú Cigányzenekar), LL Junior and an increasing number of teens among its 347 members. Finally, we were able to find out that "Zhoriben" is Lovari for "contact" or "connection" and that andresomnarimo is Lovari for "log in". http://www.pestiside.hu/archives/roma_social_networking_site_comes_up_against_multiple=
Reading Room: Decade of Roma inclusion: two years on
The Decade of Roma Inclusion started in 2005. On June 11 this year, the first report on the results achieved by the nine participating countries was released. The Sofia Echo's YANA MOYSEEVA outlines the main conclusions. Nine Central and South East European countries have made progress in advancing Roma inclusion since the launch of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in 2005, according to the DecadeWatch monitoring report prepared by teams of Roma civil society leaders. Nonetheless, the main conclusion was that the countries participating in the Decade must move from sporadic measures based on pilot projects to integrated polices and programs. The Decade of Roma Inclusion is a pan-European initiative to foster the integration of the Roma in nine countries, and the primary vehicle for a European solution to the challenge of Roma exclusion. DecadeWatch is an initiative by a group of Roma activists and researchers formed to assess progress under the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, which was launched in February 2005. The monitoring group is supported by the Open Society Institute and the World Bank. This support included training and mentoring the research teams, as well as developing the methodology, providing editorial support and printing this series of reports. DecadeWatch assesses governments' actions on introducing measures on the four Decade priority areas of education, employment, health, and housing, as well as institutional arrangements and anti-discrimination legislation. More on http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/reading-room-decade-of-roma-inclusion-two-years-on/id_23455/catid_29
Italy protests to Romania about Roma influx
Desperate Roma families, many of them from Romania, a new European Union member, sleep under elevated roads that ring Rome, in suburban woods, and in a cistern along the Appian Way, Britain's "Guardian" reported on June 26. The monthly influx has risen to 1,000 a month, prompting Italy's politicians to suggest controversial actions. Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni flew to Bucharest to urge the government to discourage its citizens from leaving for Italy. He has also announced the construction of four huge new camps in the suburbs of Rome. "We need to contain the flow from Romania and part of that involves working with child welfare groups to improve conditions and convince parents to stay put," a Rome town hall official was quoted as saying. There are now around 7,000 Romanian Roma in the Italian capital, with only 1,500 living in council-run facilities. The rest are in shacks or in the open. Their presence has generated a succession of confrontations in Italy. An angry mob in Ascoli Piceno, near the Adriatic coast, torched a camp in April after a drunk-driving Roma youth killed four teenagers on a narrow road. Livio Galos, an official from Romania's interior ministry who works with the Italian police, said some Roma arrivals were involved in petty theft, although he played down hysterical headlines about a wave of criminals taking Italy by storm. "Thanks to the Romanian education system a few have become expert credit card cloners, but the stories about circus acrobats becoming daredevil burglars is pure myth," he said. Massimo Converso, a spokesman for Italian Roma group Opera Nomadi, said there is an alternative to the planned camps, which Veltroni's opponents have likened to prison camps. "We want to live in houses," he said. "So we are pushing the Italian government to hand over disused public buildings like stations and maintenance buildings along highways." UCSJ
Public out to show concern at Gypsy site recommendations
By Will Green, http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news?articleid=3002530 Around 20 members of the public turned out at a meeting of council chiefs to show their concern about plans for extra Gypsy sites in Dacorum. Dacorum Borough Council's cabinet was deciding its response to recommendations for up to 15 additional caravan pitches in the borough. The East of England Regional Assembly - as part of its wider housebuilding plans - has given two options of either 13 or 15 extra pitches for Dacorum, which is roughly the equivalent of one site. The cabinet has backed the lower number but it will not be until later this year, possibly November, that actual sites will be selected and then consulted upon. Councillors also questioned the basis for the regional assembly's assumptions about the level of need for more Gypsy sites. Planning chief Ian Reay told the cabinet: "The actual sites will be consulted on later this year, perhaps next year. "Our response is quite concerned about the lack of an evidential basis for these recommendations. "There are sites over the region which are not fully occupied. We have one which isn't fully occupied. "We could argue those vacant pitches account for the extra pitches we have to provide." Environment chief Bert Chapman went further. "If we have voids which are not used we should make sure that's towards this new allocation," he said. "If we have voids that should be taken into consideration." A total of 1,220 extra pitches are recommended for the entire Eastern region by the assembly and a public consultation is currently under way. A public outcry followed the publication of a separate report which highlighted 30 potential plots in the borough that were suitable for Gypsy sites. Of these the most suitable were Featherbed Lane, Holtsmere End Lane and Green Lane in Hemel Hempstead, Swing Gate Lane in Berkhamsted, Icknield Way in Tring and Bovingdon Airfield.
The EU focuses on ethnic minorities in the Western Balkans
The EU agency which supports education and training in countries surrounding the EU (ETF) is implementing a new project. How to improve the lot of ethnic minorities is an obvious topic for debate in the Western Balkans, a region which has been ravaged by a series of bloody conflicts between different ethnic groups over the past decade. Policy makers and experts from seven countries of the Western Balkans came to Turin to do just that recently. They came to meet representatives of the European Union and other international organisations to discuss how the Western Balkans can become a more socially inclusive place, especially for ethnic minorities, through education, training and better employment opportunities. The meeting was organised by the ETF on 31 May - 1 June 2007 and marks the launch of a new three-year ETF project on this vital topic. Grouped in country teams and thematic groups, the 30 participants discussed how education can promote socially cohesive societies after the divisive events of the last ten years, how to improve the skills of socio-economically weak ethnic groups and how to boost the educational attainments of young people from ethnic minorities. They agreed that the lack of equal opportunities for accessing education is both a cause and a result of social exclusion. Across the region, Roma people in particular suffer from a disproportionately high incidence of exclusion. Roma children are more likely than others to drop out of school early, while Roma adults are less likely to benefit from adult education or access to funds for supporting entrepreneurship. The participants noted that the region is host to numerous initiatives aiming to promote the social inclusion of minorities, mainly supported by international donors. However sustainability remains a key issue as these projects are all too often not tied to long term national policies for inclusion or support from EU pre-accession funds. The response from national governments tends to be sporadic and piecemeal, with the amount being achieved seriously lagging behind the commitments on paper. If policies are to be effective they must tackle the causes of social exclusion by moves to reduce poverty and enhance the employability of minorities. Finally, the recent history of the Western Balkans means that the situation of its ethnic minorities has wider implications for the rest of society. Systemic solutions to social exclusion can also help promote better relations between different ethnic groups. However attention must be paid to providing quality education and equal opportunities for all to avoid feeding social divisions. ETF Agency
Report: Italy has army of child beggars
ROME, July 6 (UPI) -- There are nearly 50,000 children begging in the streets in Italy, most of them under 12 and foreign-born Roma, a report released Friday said.
The European Fundamental Rights Agency prepared the report as part of a campaign against the exploitation of children, the news agency Ansa reported. The Roma, also known as Gypsies, are descended from a Hindi-speaking group that moved into the Middle East hundreds of years ago and then spread throughout Europe. The report said most of the child beggars in Italy are from Albania, Morocco, Romania and the former Yugoslavia. Italian procedures call for young children found living on the streets to be placed in temporary shelters. If their families cannot be traced, they are supposed to be adopted or placed in permanent homes and given an education. In practice, most foreign-born children escape from temporary shelters within two days.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/07/06/report_italy_has_army_of_child_beggars/4704/
BiH to create Roma Information Centre
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)
A major grant has been awarded by the US Department of State to create a Roma Information Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This represents a significant step forward in advocacy and human rights for this needy minority group. 'Winning this grant is a successful conclusion to two years' hard work, with support from WVUS,' said Claudia Bade, Programs Director for World Vision BiH. 'Finally we have a unique instrument by which the Roma can progress and promote themselves. It will raise their status with the rest of the population and make it more desirable to partner with them. The Roma community is very grateful because they know we are their greatest supporters and will invite their full participation.' The Roma Information Center will be established and owned by the Roma Council, a legal body. It will collect positive stories, promote cultural traditions and events, and provide information about the Roma strategy and how people can participate. The Center will open a web page, devise a business plan, publish a newsletter and feed stories to the public media. Roma have traditionally had weaker government representation in BiH than elsewhere in the region, making the Information Center particularly necessary. This will help the country participate in the European Decade for Roma Inclusion, which fosters development and monitoring in four key areas of education, employment, housing and health. Albert Panèiæ, who has been leading many of World Vision's ongoing projects in BiH, says, 'We understand the practicalities of working together with the Roma and can be flexible and creative. We are allies and advisors, supporting their efforts as equal partners in one process. 'We are not telling them what to do but listening to what matters to them, so they can find solutions for their problems. The most important thing is helping community groups achieve the same voice and contributing to their solidarity.' 'Now we've got a fully rounded, multi-sector program with the Roma,' said Sue Birchmore, National Director for WV BiH. 'It is a virtual Area Development Program but for a people group scattered all over the country. This is vital for the Roma because they are so marginalised and rarely get a positive mention in the media.' In Visoko, Bosnia, Roma Association leader Osman Halilovic commented, 'Everyone will be involved in the Roma Information Center. It will educate people of all ages and we will get sto posto - 100 percent value.'
New book: National minority standards - A compilation of OSCE and Council of Europe texts
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, guided by the same values and with similar goals and sharing similar challenges, have co-operated to produce this compilation of texts addressing national minority issues. The vigorous endeavours of the OSCE and the Council of Europe to achieve a new peaceful European order after 1989 have resulted also in developing new instruments and strengthening their engagement in national minority issues, although this was not always enough to prevent wars and interethnic conflicts. The aim of this book is to highlight the standards developed for national minorities and to make them known to everyone, including civil society and the authorities directly concerned. Council of Europe Publishing http://book.coe.int/sysmodules/RBS_page/admin/redirect.php?id=36&lang=EN&produit_aliasid=2203
Scholarship for Roma
The Hungarian police provides scholarships for young Roma. This year, they sign the contract with six of them, since 2000, they have signed 37 contracts. There are police high schools in country, who finishes it can become a policeman. Yearly 2-3 Roma get into these high schools. Signing the contract does not necessary mean that they have to become policemen. But, of course, it makes it easier. It is not known, how many of them becomes finally a policeman, since it is not allowed to do such registrations. Those who sign this contract receive some financial support from the police, and they can apply for stipends and for additional benefits after the first year, if their average is above 3.5 (in Hungary, 1 is the failing grade, 5 is the best). Besides this, the government organizes free camps and courses. There are 40 places yearly, and 70 per cent of the participants apply successfully to the police high schools or to the College of Police Officers. Source: http://www.romnet.hu/
New RMUSP Scholarship Programs
RMUSP has recently announced two new programs: Roma Supplementary Grant Scholarship and RMUSP Interregional Program, which offer more mobility of eligible applicants within the RMUSP Program country region as well as the rest of the world. All information about eligibility criteria, applying and selection, as well as application materials (in English only as the appliication package should be filled in English) is available at our web site: http://ref.rmusp.org/ The deadline for submittiung the applications is September 17, 2007, so we would appreciate if you could spread the word to all potentially interested students as soon as possible.
Front Line's Grant Program
As you may know Front Line has a small grants program with the specific purpose of strengthening the protection of human rights defenders at risk. Grants are given to organisations working for human rights as well as to individual human rights defenders at risk and are for amounts up to a maximum of ?6,000. The grants we give can include but are not limited to: physically securing the office or home of a human rights defender/organisation, IT and communication equipment, medical treatment and legal costs. We welcome applications from LGBT rights defenders. Front Line can give an emergency grant where the life of a human rights defender is at immediate risk. Our emergency 24 hour phone no: +353 1 2100489 . Applicants must give details of specific risks they are facing as a direct result of their human rights work and how the proposed grant would make a difference to their security. Human rights defenders in contact with Front Line for the first time should give names and contact details of two referees who would be well-known in the human rights community in their country or internationally. Guidelines on submitting an application can be found on our website at http://www.erionet.org/www.frontlinedefenders.org or by contacting Tara Madden, Front Line Grants Officer by email mailto:grants@frontlinedefenders.org
