Equality

Britain’s Conservatives Pledge to Target Roma As Britain votes, traveling minorities fear a racist crackdown.

Plinth to replace vandalised Roma memorial A rose tree and plaque in Glasgow in memory of Roma victims of the N***s will be replaced with a granite plinth.

Roma Children Face Growing Segregation in Slovak Schools | Reporting Democracy Despite anti-discrimination laws, many Roma school children in Slovakia find themselves separated from their non-Roma peers, perpetuating a cycle of marginalisation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-50474054?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story

Abuse is affecting my studies, says Roma Traveller Lois Brookes-Jones is the first person in her family to go to university - but she says it's tough.

The Persecution of the Roma Is Often Left Out of the Holocaust Story. Victims’ Families Are Fighting to Change That A new exhibition in London centers their story

DWP urged to scrap 'crude and unrealistic' two-child limit on benefit payments Ministers must end the two-child cap on welfare payments which is having “serious and unintended consequences” on families, MPs have warned.

I'm Roma, and your Halloween Gypsy costume is more trick than treat | Opinion Gypsy costumes promise you look mysterious and sexy. Why would it matter we so-called "free-spirited Gypsies" survived centuries of slavery, were targeted in the Holocaust and are still victims of violence and scapegoating?

Lack of interpreters leaves Roma community struggling for justice Roma victims of crime are struggling to gain justice according to a prosecutor, the Evening Times reports. Advocate Depute Kath Harper said that securing interpreters for Roma speakers who have been trafficked has been difficult. After the conviction of four people for bringing vulnerable women from...

Brussels calls on Slovakia not to segregate Roma at schools Despite adopting measures to eliminate segregation, the EC considers the steps insufficient.

A travel article, with interesting observations....

On the trail of trumpets in a tiny Serbian village Every year, Guča in south Serbia swells with thousands of visitors who come to witness the battle of the brass bands.The 60-year-old festival has kept alive a fading tradition. Many of the trumpeters belong to the marginalised Roma or gypsy community

In Kosovo, Roma's recycling work is unsung, underpaid In Kosovo, Roma's recycling work is unsung, underpaid

Mark Watson has been awarded a MBE for Gypsy and Traveller community policing.....

Cheshire heroes honoured in Queen's Birthday Honours list 2019 The 2019 recipients in Queen's Birthday Honours List have been revealed

In the UK, the government announces a strategy to tackle inequalities faced by Gypsy, Traveller and Roma people. Good start, albeit late. Needs to be monitored by NGOs and communities so that the actions in the strategy actually happen.

New national strategy to tackle Gypsy, Roma and Traveller inequalities Communities Minister Lord Bourne launches a national strategy to tackle entrenched inequality and improve the lives of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

The Fundamental Rights Agency's report for 2019 highlights many inequalities and rights abuses affecting Roma

Rising inequalities and harassment as fundamental rights protection falters Many people across the EU risk being left behind, as growing intolerance and attacks on people’s fundamental rights continue to erode the considerable progress achieved to date, finds FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2019.

Romany dancing launches Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in Hackney | Eastlondonlines A Gypsy dance group performed last Saturday in Dalston Square to launch Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month, aimed at celebrating the culture of the largest ethnic minority community in Europe. Yagori, a Gypsy dance school based in London, performed a Romany dance with live musicians and traditi...

Pope Francis Apologizes to Roma for Mistreatment and Urges European Unity “If Europe does not look carefully to future challenges, Europe will dry up,” the pontiff warned on a trip to Romania.

How racial hatred is being incited in France using social media....

Blaming the victims: threats to the Roma in France - POLITHEOR Reports on child abductions spreading on social media lead to the attack of Roma communities in France in March 2019. Following these, the reports and rumours proved to be unfounded and the police and city authorities in Paris warned against sharing false information and inciting to violence.

Three Roma MEPs elected, two less than the last European Parliament.

[Ticker] Three Roma MEPs elected to European Parliament Three Roma have been elected members to the European Parliament, according to news server Romea.cz, two less than in the previous parliament. Romeo Franz of Germany and Livia Jaroka of Hungary were re-elected to their seats, while Peter Pollak managed to ...

In Italy...

Salvini is escalating war on Italy’s Roma community by deploying soldiers Sending troops to vulnerable camps is feeding anti-Roma sentiment and emboldening the far right.

Good article for European Election day.......

No voice, no future? Roma ignored as Europe goes to polls Europe’s 10 million Roma badly underrepresented at a time when populist forces are trying to villify communities

Online book that looks at how structural racism has an effect on Roma across Europe

Book: Dimensions of Antigypsyism in Europe - European Network Against Racism A new book ‘Dimensions of Antigypsyism in Europe', published by the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) and the Central Council of German Sinti

Notre Dame: Let's tell a new story about Esmeralda and "the Gypsies" | Opinion As a Roma woman I can't help but think of the role that Notre Dame has played in the stereotypes about "Gypsies."

As the world watches the devastating fire in Paris, did you know that one of the two main characters in Victor Hugo's novel 'Notre Dame de Paris', Esmeralda, was a young Roma girl, with a very kind heart? Hugo wrote the book to save the cathedral, which had fallen into neglect.

'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' Tops Amazon France Bestseller List Victor Hugo's classic novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" is the bestselling book on Amazon France as of Tuesday afternoon following the cathedral's devastating fire on Monday.

Very good opinion piece by Sherrie Smith on Gypsy Roma and Travellers in the UK, starts at 24 minutes into the Guardian's podcast, after the piece about Israel. Gate Hertfordshire uk

King Bibi: can anyone beat Benjamin Netanyahu? After a series of damaging corruption allegations against the PM, could Israelis decide it’s time for a change? Plus: Sherrie Smith on the discrimination faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

Report on Roma and hate crime in UK...

Roma_Hate_Crime_Report_April_19.pdf

Great short video by friends at Roma Support Group...

Just because of who I am No one should be discriminated just because of who s/he is. Give a fair chance to everyone and be proud of whom you are. Change starts with you!

Nice to read and watch some positive developments...

[WATCH] Open Society and the Future of the Roma Movement For decades, the Open Society Foundations have proudly supported Europe’s Roma communities in their struggle for equal opportunity, recognition, and democratic participation.

Ten facts about Roma people on International Roma Day....

Roma people: 10 ways Europe's biggest minority faces discrimination LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The Roma migrated to Europe from India in ...

Hungarian Roma designer fights stereotypes with fashion

If you live in Kent...

International Roma Day - Concert Celebrate International Roma Day in Gravesend.

In advance of International Roma Day on 8 April....

European states must demonstrate resolve for lasting and concrete change for Roma people Commissioner for Human Rights Strasbourg 4 April 2019 ...

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have been 'comprehensively failed', say MPs A report into inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people finds significant problems including acute discrimination.

Vera Bila: Czech singer known as the ‘Ella Fitzgerald of Romani music’ The musician’s immense charm and powerful voice set her on the road to being a global star before falling back into poverty

Roma theatre in Romania

From Cultural Appropriation to Self-Representation A History of Roma Theatre in Romania |By Mihaela Drăgan. Mihaela Dragan looks at the way Roma are and have been portrayed in theatre in Romania and how Romani artists are working to reclaim their stories.

Harvard researchers shine light on Roma children in Serbia Madga Matache is the head of the Roma Program at the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University (Harvard FXB), where she is shedding light on the lives of Romani children and teens who continue to face racism and discrimination in and out of the classroom.

Turkey’s Roma demand equality | Ahval For centuries, Turkey’s Roma population sat at the bottom of the country's social food-chain, shunned and ignored, denied basic rights, and seen by police as potential criminals.

As It Was: Roma, Also Known as Gypsies, Reach Oregon in 1890s Oregon has a substantial population of Roma people, mostly in the Willamette Valley and around Portland. The Roma, also known as Gypsies, trace back to

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2018/11/ukraine-roma-repression-181122060839144.html

Ukraine: Roma Repression Investigating why a marginalised community has increasingly become a blatant target of prejudice and hatred.

Amnesty's report shows mass discrimination in Sweden against rough sleeping/homeless Roma....

Sweden: Homeless Roma and other EU migrants face widespread discrimination and dangerous conditions Thousands of homeless and destitute EU migrants, mostly of Roma origin, are living in desperate and dangerous situations across Sweden while the country’s authorities deliberately deny them access to the most basic services

‘A time bomb’: how social tensions are rising in a corner of northern England Roma and British Pakistani communities are increasingly divided over problems of crime, litter and antisocial behaviour