USA has expressed “major concern” regarding discrimination against Roma in Romania.
In its annual “Human Rights Report” about Romania issued recently, US Department of State says: “Roma faced persistent poverty and had poor access to government services, few employment opportunities, high rates of school attrition, inadequate health care, and pervasive discrimination.”
The US report talks about police brutality, pervasive societal discrimination, anti-Roma slogans and banners, destruction of houses and cars and setting a house on fire in Roma community in Sanmartin and Roma taking refuge in woods, setting fire to several stables belonging to Roma in Sancraieni, anti-Roma messages on a politician’s blog, denial of access or refusal of service to Roma in many public places including bars/clubs, repeated refusal of a doctor in Vartop village to treat Roma patients, likelihood of ethnic Roma to live below the poverty line five times as compared to majority population, large exclusion from administrative and legal system, 4.9 percent of Roma lacking birth certificate, lack of identity cards excluding many Roma from various programs, inadequate and ineffective government assistance to the Roma, etc.
Report also refers to non-completion of high school by 95 per cent Roma; 23 percent illiteracy among Roma; discrimination by teachers and other students against Romani students; reports of Romani children being placed in the back of classrooms and of teachers ignoring Romani students and of unimpeded bullying of Romani students by other schoolchildren; placing of Romani students in separate classrooms from other students or in separate schools; school segregation cases in Albeni, Corabia, Cugir, and Polovraci; refusal by a kindergarten teacher in Magheru to enrol the twins of a Romani woman for several years; etc.
It also mentions a report which said that approximately 60 percent of Roma lived segregated from the majority population in communities with substandard housing and without basic governmental services, such as schools, adequate health care, running water, electricity, and waste disposal. “Stereotypes and use of discriminatory language against Roma were widespread; journalists and even high ranking officials frequently made discriminatory statements”, it adds.
The Romani population was estimated at between 1.8 and 2.5 million in Romania by this report.
*Article provided by Rajan Zed. The version on this blog is edited, by me, for brevity and clarity.
Showing posts with label Roma Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roma Rights. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Antiziganism
I found the following post on the Amnesty International USA blog. I think it is a really helpful guide for anyone who wants to better understand the Roma plight. It was first posted in 2009, but it is still extremely relevant. Also, I think it is important to name a problem, for practical reasons (like, talking about it!) and for psychological reasons. To name a problem is to identify it, which is the first step to solving it. Antiziganism is a word that means hostility and prejudice directed toward the Romani people. You can find the original post here: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/tag/roma/
Perhaps the most oppressed people in history, Roma – commonly referred to as Gypsies – have been persecuted since they arrived in Europe in 1300 C.E.
The New York Times reports that institutionalized and societal prejudice against Roma is enflaming violence in Europe:
[...]
Prejudice against Roma — widely known as Gypsies and long among Europe’s most oppressed minority groups — has swelled into a wave of violence. Over the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed in Hungary, and Roma leaders have counted some 30 Molotov cocktail attacks against Roma homes, often accompanied by sprays of gunfire.
[...]
In addition to Mr. Koka’s death, there were the slayings of a Roma man and woman, who were shot after their house was set ablaze last November in Nagycsecs, a town about an hour’s drive from Tiszalok in northeastern Hungary. And in February, a Roma man and his 4-year-old son were gunned down as they tried to escape from their home, which was set on fire in Tatarszentgyorgy, a small town south of Budapest.
[...]
Experts on Roma issues describe an ever more aggressive atmosphere toward Roma in Hungary and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, led by extreme right-wing parties, whose leaders are playing on old stereotypes of Roma as petty criminals and drains on social welfare systems at a time of rising economic and political turmoil. As unemployment rises, officials and Roma experts fear the attacks will only intensify.
[...]
Persecution against Roma, as detailed in just one Amnesty International press release from yesterday, is nothing new. Neither is the unwillingness of authorities to stop the oppression. In the Czech republic, for instance:
[...]
Roma… continue to suffer discrimination at the hands of both public officials and private individuals, including in the areas of housing, education, health care and employment.
Not only do they face forced evictions, segregation in education and racially motivated violence, but they have been denied justice when seeking redress for the abuses against them.
[...]
The history of Roma persecution goes back hundreds of years ago. Throughout 16-18th century, Roma were hanged without trial in Europe. In 1921, nonetheless, Czechoslovakia shortly recognized Roma as “nationality.” In 1933, Hitler ordered sterilization of Roma. Later, up to half a million Roma were killed in the Holocaust. In just one act, 4,000 Roma were gassed and cremated in Auschwitz on August 2, 1944. Unlike the Jewish victims, Roma victims of the Holocaust are rarely researched or commemorated.
With some activism in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, Roma still face institutional and social discrimination in Europe. In Italy, the government fingerprints them. In 2008, bodies of two drowned Roma children were left at the beach while Italians and tourists vacationed a few feet away.
As late as 1998, the state of New Jersey in the US had anti-Roma laws. Popular American TV star Judge Judy has used the word “Gypsy” at least once as a synonym for a “thief” on her show after 2005. While Judge Judy’s remark can be explained perhaps by her lack of knowledge of Roma issues, the same cannot be said about influential people in countries with large Roma populations. In one such state, Romania, the president called a journalist “dirty Gypsy” in 2007.
While many Roma have historically assimilated (accepted, for example, Islam in the Middle East and Christianity in Europe), scores of them choose to keep their ancestral, migratory way of life despite hundreds of years of slavery, universal persecution and genocide. Others have established enclaves in different countries where they demand integration and respect. Roma supposedly left India as a result of foreign invasion to avoid persecution. Their common name “Gypsy” is a misconception that Roma originated in Egypt.
Many of the unassimilated Roma demand freedom of travel and not be regulated.
A unique case of stateless people, Roma do not demand independence or even political autonomy. The Roma persecution has brought about little outrage throughout the world. The problem, in this case, is definitely the lack of awareness.
In my home country Armenia, for instance, the word “Bosha” is an insult – while it used to be the ethnic name for the Roma who have either entirely assimilated or prefer to be called Lom. Their language, Lomavren, a unique mixture with medieval Armenian, has long vanished.
It is time that the world stand up against Antiziganism. Perhaps Amnesty International should adopt the cause of fighting Antiziganism as one of its main goals?
Perhaps the most oppressed people in history, Roma – commonly referred to as Gypsies – have been persecuted since they arrived in Europe in 1300 C.E.
The New York Times reports that institutionalized and societal prejudice against Roma is enflaming violence in Europe:
[...]
Prejudice against Roma — widely known as Gypsies and long among Europe’s most oppressed minority groups — has swelled into a wave of violence. Over the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed in Hungary, and Roma leaders have counted some 30 Molotov cocktail attacks against Roma homes, often accompanied by sprays of gunfire.
[...]
In addition to Mr. Koka’s death, there were the slayings of a Roma man and woman, who were shot after their house was set ablaze last November in Nagycsecs, a town about an hour’s drive from Tiszalok in northeastern Hungary. And in February, a Roma man and his 4-year-old son were gunned down as they tried to escape from their home, which was set on fire in Tatarszentgyorgy, a small town south of Budapest.
[...]
Experts on Roma issues describe an ever more aggressive atmosphere toward Roma in Hungary and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, led by extreme right-wing parties, whose leaders are playing on old stereotypes of Roma as petty criminals and drains on social welfare systems at a time of rising economic and political turmoil. As unemployment rises, officials and Roma experts fear the attacks will only intensify.
[...]
Persecution against Roma, as detailed in just one Amnesty International press release from yesterday, is nothing new. Neither is the unwillingness of authorities to stop the oppression. In the Czech republic, for instance:
[...]
Roma… continue to suffer discrimination at the hands of both public officials and private individuals, including in the areas of housing, education, health care and employment.
Not only do they face forced evictions, segregation in education and racially motivated violence, but they have been denied justice when seeking redress for the abuses against them.
[...]
The history of Roma persecution goes back hundreds of years ago. Throughout 16-18th century, Roma were hanged without trial in Europe. In 1921, nonetheless, Czechoslovakia shortly recognized Roma as “nationality.” In 1933, Hitler ordered sterilization of Roma. Later, up to half a million Roma were killed in the Holocaust. In just one act, 4,000 Roma were gassed and cremated in Auschwitz on August 2, 1944. Unlike the Jewish victims, Roma victims of the Holocaust are rarely researched or commemorated.
With some activism in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, Roma still face institutional and social discrimination in Europe. In Italy, the government fingerprints them. In 2008, bodies of two drowned Roma children were left at the beach while Italians and tourists vacationed a few feet away.
As late as 1998, the state of New Jersey in the US had anti-Roma laws. Popular American TV star Judge Judy has used the word “Gypsy” at least once as a synonym for a “thief” on her show after 2005. While Judge Judy’s remark can be explained perhaps by her lack of knowledge of Roma issues, the same cannot be said about influential people in countries with large Roma populations. In one such state, Romania, the president called a journalist “dirty Gypsy” in 2007.
While many Roma have historically assimilated (accepted, for example, Islam in the Middle East and Christianity in Europe), scores of them choose to keep their ancestral, migratory way of life despite hundreds of years of slavery, universal persecution and genocide. Others have established enclaves in different countries where they demand integration and respect. Roma supposedly left India as a result of foreign invasion to avoid persecution. Their common name “Gypsy” is a misconception that Roma originated in Egypt.
Many of the unassimilated Roma demand freedom of travel and not be regulated.
A unique case of stateless people, Roma do not demand independence or even political autonomy. The Roma persecution has brought about little outrage throughout the world. The problem, in this case, is definitely the lack of awareness.
In my home country Armenia, for instance, the word “Bosha” is an insult – while it used to be the ethnic name for the Roma who have either entirely assimilated or prefer to be called Lom. Their language, Lomavren, a unique mixture with medieval Armenian, has long vanished.
It is time that the world stand up against Antiziganism. Perhaps Amnesty International should adopt the cause of fighting Antiziganism as one of its main goals?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Roma segregated by wall in Slovakia
Article from here: http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/slovakia-minorities.1mm
I was reading a similar article on the Sofia Echo, and I was horrified to see that people were posting racist bile about Roma at the end of an article that clearly shows unfair treatment of Roma and segregation. I am shocked and saddened-- prejudice and ignorance is rampant among people from neighbours to government officials. Please, whenever you see people posting racist nonsense about any group of people, feel free to correct them. It makes a difference! It educates other readers, and hopefully educates the writers.
(OSTROVANY) - Lucia Kucharova never cared much about the view from her window until its main feature became a wall separating her and more than 1,000 other Roma from the rest of their village.
The white concrete wall, built last month in Ostrovany, a village of 1,800 in eastern Slovakia, has locals as well as Roma and human-rights organisations fuming.
"It's discrimination, the mayor should have used the money to build houses for us instead," Kucharova, a 25-year-old Roma, told AFP.
The wall, which is 150 metres (yards) long and more than two metres high, cost 13,000 euros (19,300 dollars) to build and begins where the road ends in Ostrovany.
But Cyril Revak, the village mayor since 1991, is careful to avoid calling it a wall.
"The fence doesn't prevent the Roma from coming to the village," he said. "It just prevents them from entering private gardens and stealing. It wasn't just petty theft, especially in autumn.
"People don't grow vegetables in their gardens any more, there's no use -- everything gets stolen."
To get from the village to Kucharova's house on the other, rubbish-strewn side of the wall -- and the destitute world of some of the 27-member European Union's most impoverished citizens -- one has to splosh through mud along a slippery downhill path.
At the foot of the hill, Alena Kalejova sorts through the ubiquitous litter for butt-ends that she gratefully picks up from the muddy ground on a chilly, rainy day.
"The children have been stealing apples from the gardens but what can we do -- they are just children," admitted the 21-year-old Roma mother of one.
Apologetically, she adds: "Cigarettes are too expensive, we can hardly live on unemployment benefit at 150 euros a month."
Joblessness in this Roma community is almost 100 percent with most living on unemployment benefits and so-called activation work -- community service aimed at improving job skills.
"These days even the 'gadzos' have problems finding a job," concedes Lucia Kucharova, using the Roma word for "white people".
Her own education ended after nine years of school.
The wall dividing Ostrovany -- whose name can translate as "island village" -- has outraged human-rights and Roma associations.
"We have filed a suit with the prosecutor, we think the wall was built illegally and it discriminates against the Roma minority in Ostrovany," Alexander Patkolo, chairman of the Roma Initiative of Slovakia (RIS), told AFP.
Ostrovany is by no means the only island of Roma poverty in the country, which joined the European Union in 2004.
There are more than 600 Roma settlements in Slovakia where people live without electricity, sewage or running water, most located far from the relatively affluent capital Bratislava.
Behind the wall, in a shack of wood and corrugated iron, Lucia Kucharova's partner Martin proudly tells how he himself built their home, tensing his muscles to display a woman tattooed on his shoulder as he speaks.
"We are lucky to have a fridge, a stove and running water here," he said.
The young couple share a narrow bed with two daughters, while their youngest girl sleeps in her stroller.
Just a few kilometres from Ostrovany lies Slovakia's largest Roma settlement near the village of Jarovnice. Floods killed 58 people there in 1998.
A nation of 5.4 million, Slovakia is officially home to around 89,000 Roma, according to the 2001 national census.
But in reality, the Roma population is much higher.
"The actual number might be approximately 350,000 Roma," says Arne Mann, an ethnologist at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The EU's entire Roma population is estimated to be 11-12 million.
Mann blames communism for having pushed Roma further toward the margins of Slovak society.
"Before World War II, there was good cooperation between Roma and farmers. Roma used to help during the harvest or with the laundry," he said.
"But after the post-war collectivisation, their help wasn't needed any more and segregation began."
In a 2008 survey, 82 percent of Slovaks said they did not want to have a Roma neighbour.
"The segregation of the Roma can lead to similar problems as France had to cope with during nationwide riots in suburbs in late 2005," ethnologist Mann warns.
Rioting in France, the country's worst urban violence since the 1968 student revolts, was concentrated in deprived out-of-town housing estates largely populated by people of Arabic or African origin.
"It's a natural defence mechanism of people pushed to the fringes of society," Mann said.
I was reading a similar article on the Sofia Echo, and I was horrified to see that people were posting racist bile about Roma at the end of an article that clearly shows unfair treatment of Roma and segregation. I am shocked and saddened-- prejudice and ignorance is rampant among people from neighbours to government officials. Please, whenever you see people posting racist nonsense about any group of people, feel free to correct them. It makes a difference! It educates other readers, and hopefully educates the writers.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Expulsions of Roma carried out unlawfully
Press release - 146(2010)
European migration policies discriminate against Roma people
Strasbourg, 22.02.2010 – “European governments are not giving Roma migrants the same treatment as others who are in similar need of protection. Roma migrants are returned by force to places where they are at risk of human rights violations” said Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in his latest Viewpoint.
The Commissioner stresses that the EU Directives impact differently on Roma than on other EU citizens. “The protective provisions of the ‘Free Movement Directive’ are breached much more easily in respect of Roma than any other identifiable group. Expulsions of Roma have been carried out in contravention of EU law. In other cases destruction of Roma dwellings has been used as a method to persuade Roma to leave ‘voluntarily’”.
Commissioner Hammarberg underlines that pushing Roma families between countries is inhumane and it victimises in particular children – many of whom were born and grown up in the host countries before they were deported. Expulsions between EU countries have also failed in a great number of cases as the Roma have used their right as EU citizens to move within the European Union area.”
“States now spending considerable amounts to return Roma to their countries of origin, would make better use of this money by investing in measures to facilitate these persons’ social inclusion in their own societies” he said.
Article from the Council of Europe: here
Unfortunately this shunting around of Roma families is terribly common world-wide. Many Roma are forced into housing complexes that are actually ghettos with no running water, electricity, or plumbing. The governments are not the only force acting against Roma-- these Roma settlements are often targets for hate-crimes including bombings, shootings, and arson. It's insanity to just turf out an ethnic group who migrated from India in the 12th century. Human rights are not being upheld. We have the information and the news reports. What we don't yet have is change!
Activists implore Pope to uphold “Christian values” on Roma “apartheid” in Europe
Hindu and Jewish activists have portrayed His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as “un-Christian” for not strongly supporting the cause of the Roma who face “apartheid” conditions in Europe.
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement issued in Nevada today, said that the condition of the Roma had most of the signs of “apartheid” and that it was happening right under the Pope’s nose in Europe. Hindus & Jews had repeatedly appealed him in the past to openly embrace the Roma cause and come up with a White Paper on their plight but without any success.
Zed and Rabbi Freirich quoted from The Bible: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).” “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel (Psalm 147:2).” “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast (Jeremiah 30:17).” “Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth (Zephaniah 3:19).” “…let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer… (Isaiah 16:4).” “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness (First Epistle of John 2: 9).” “…Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another (Gospel According to John 13: 34).”
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Jonathan Freirich, argued that Jesus Christ clearly told the world to help the helpless, defenceless and downtrodden and love them, and He showed the way. The Pope, being the acclaimed representative of the Catholic God on earth, should raise his voice against continuous Roma maltreatment. The Pope should act like a shepherd for a shepherd-less flock of Roma, just as Jesus Himself said that He had sheep from other pastures. The Pope should recognize, acknowledge and affirm the Roma as children of God who deserved to be treated like all other people—as equals. As the Vicar of Christ, the Pope should offer the Roma protection, compassion, and love. In the case of the Roma, the Pope should act as God wanted him to act, as distinctly defined in The Bible.
Hindu statesman Zed and Jewish leader Freirich further quoted “Leviticus 19:33-34”: “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” As this commandment seemed to come directly from God, it should never be violated, especially not by the Pope, Zed and Freirich pointed out.
The Pope needed to re-study his scriptures, the Word of God, which was supposed to guide and direct him, and rise to the challenge of directing his followers to work to end the Roma “apartheid” in Europe. We were not asking much from the Pope, just suggesting to him that he be a true Christian, Rajan Zed and Rabbi Freirich said and added that it was a sin to silently watch about 15 million Roma suffer day after day for the last about 1200 years, and doing nothing about it.
According to Zed and Rabbi Freirich, the alarming condition of the Roma people was 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.
Zed and Freirich stressed that besides the absence of any serious efforts at their inclusion, the Roma were being used as “punching bags” and blamed for the social ills of Europe. European neglect was trapping the Roma in cycles of persecution and poverty. It was shocking, reprehensible, hazardous and immoral. Being the most powerful religious leader in the world, it was the Pope’s moral obligation to make efforts to stop the frequent human rights violations suffered by Roma. Hindu Zed and Jewish Freirich offered help to Pope, if asked, to support the Roma cause.
*Information provided by Rabbi Jonathan Freirich
It is important for people with political, social, and religious influence to use their power to help people, to create harmony, and to encourage tolerance and equality. It would be a wonderful thing if the Pope, or any other important political or religious leaders, took the plight of the Roma to heart and encouraged governments and people alike to give the Roma their rights. No matter your religion or culture, we all deserve our human rights.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A call for the European Union to officially declare Roma maltreatment as “apartheid”
And then resolve it.
** Information courtesy of Rabbi Joanthan Freirich
It makes sense to name a thing in order to understand it and treat it correctly. The mistreatment of Roma is rampant. If we are ever going to over come racism, we must be totally honest about what racism exists in order to educate people, and then to achieve equality. I agree that the data is in and the polls gave been taken. We know that it's bad. Let's admit it and do something to change it. I'm always saying to write to officials, email your senators. They listen, and they write back! Jeanne Shaheen of NH always writes back to me when I contact her about issues that I'm concerned about, and I know she's listening, and she often tells me what I could do next. Communication is the best. It gets things done!
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement issued in Nevada on 22 February 2010, said that condition of Roma in Europe had most of the signs of an “apartheid” and everybody involved was explicitly aware of it. No more think tanks, research, analysis, surveys, and polls were needed to measure the gravity of Roma societal exclusion, as it was starkly visible to the naked eye.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich, argued that most of much publicized fancy plans/programs launched by European Union and its various bodies, including “Decade of Roma Inclusion”, had failed to make a major dent to bring Roma at par with rest of the population. It was now time for Europe to come out of those cleverly coined terminology of Roma “projects/plans/programs” and “declaration/pledge/promise/initiative” photo-ops and do something “concrete and real” for Roma upliftment.
Rajan Zed and Jonathan Freirich urged various religious leaders and organizations of Europe to openly embrace and bless the Roma cause as religion told us to raise the voice for the helpless. It was a sin to watch the Roma suffer day after day for the last about 1200 years and not do anything about it.
Zed and Freirich 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 blatant 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 and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich further said that alarming condition of Roma people was 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 and Freirich stressed.
** Information courtesy of Rabbi Joanthan Freirich
It makes sense to name a thing in order to understand it and treat it correctly. The mistreatment of Roma is rampant. If we are ever going to over come racism, we must be totally honest about what racism exists in order to educate people, and then to achieve equality. I agree that the data is in and the polls gave been taken. We know that it's bad. Let's admit it and do something to change it. I'm always saying to write to officials, email your senators. They listen, and they write back! Jeanne Shaheen of NH always writes back to me when I contact her about issues that I'm concerned about, and I know she's listening, and she often tells me what I could do next. Communication is the best. It gets things done!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Roma families forced into metal cabins beside sewage in Romania
In central Romania over 100 Roma were forced to live in metal cabins behind sewage works after forcibly evicted from their homes, as reported by Amnesty International.
According to this report titled “Treated like waste”, which was posted on January 26 on Amnesty website, many of these included families with children. Report quotes Erszebet, who lives next to the sewage treatment plant with her husband and nine children, and who told Amnesty International what life was like in a metal cabin: “It is tight, when the whole family goes to sleep we don’t fit in. We cannot take a bath; we cannot clean ourselves. It is too small. We don’t want the older girls to take a bath in front of their father.”
Rajan Zed, well-known Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement issued in Nevada on January 27th, 2010, said that it was shocking to see how inhumanely Romania and Europe were treating their Roma brothers-sisters who were there since about ninth century AD. It was clearly reprehensible, hazardous and immoral, and a blatant failure of Romania and Europe to meet the international obligations.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich urged the religious leaders of Romania to openly and strongly condemn this maltreatment of Roma as religions told us to raise the voice for the helpless. They stressed immediate end to forced evictions and guaranteed right to housing to Roma.
According to Amnesty, there are about 2.2 million Roma in Romania – making up about 10 per cent of the total population. As a result of widespread discrimination, both by public officials and society at large, 75 per cent of Roma live in poverty, as opposed to 24 per cent of Romanians and 20 per cent of ethnic Hungarians.
Entertainer Madonna was reportedly booed and jeered by thousands of fans in Romania in August last when she sympathized with Roma people and spoke against Roma discrimination during her concert in Bucharest.
Rajan Zed and Jonathan Freirich pointed out that alarming condition of Roma people, numbering around 15-million in Europe, was 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.
It was like an undeclared apartheid and it was almost total societal exclusion of Roma. The maltreatment of Roma was outside even the European Union norms. Roma issue should be one of the highest priorities of human rights agenda of Europe and world, Rajan Zed and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich argued.
--Article Courtesy of Rajan Zed
***
I think the article speaks for itself. Yikes. This horrific treatment of Roma must end now. Here is a video on the matter from the Amnesty website.
And here is the report from Amnesty: click here.
And click here for a great blog called Lolo Diklo: Rroma Against Racism. Definitely check it out. It has great information, photos, and videos. All in all, very informative.
According to this report titled “Treated like waste”, which was posted on January 26 on Amnesty website, many of these included families with children. Report quotes Erszebet, who lives next to the sewage treatment plant with her husband and nine children, and who told Amnesty International what life was like in a metal cabin: “It is tight, when the whole family goes to sleep we don’t fit in. We cannot take a bath; we cannot clean ourselves. It is too small. We don’t want the older girls to take a bath in front of their father.”
Rajan Zed, well-known Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement issued in Nevada on January 27th, 2010, said that it was shocking to see how inhumanely Romania and Europe were treating their Roma brothers-sisters who were there since about ninth century AD. It was clearly reprehensible, hazardous and immoral, and a blatant failure of Romania and Europe to meet the international obligations.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich urged the religious leaders of Romania to openly and strongly condemn this maltreatment of Roma as religions told us to raise the voice for the helpless. They stressed immediate end to forced evictions and guaranteed right to housing to Roma.
According to Amnesty, there are about 2.2 million Roma in Romania – making up about 10 per cent of the total population. As a result of widespread discrimination, both by public officials and society at large, 75 per cent of Roma live in poverty, as opposed to 24 per cent of Romanians and 20 per cent of ethnic Hungarians.
Entertainer Madonna was reportedly booed and jeered by thousands of fans in Romania in August last when she sympathized with Roma people and spoke against Roma discrimination during her concert in Bucharest.
Rajan Zed and Jonathan Freirich pointed out that alarming condition of Roma people, numbering around 15-million in Europe, was 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.
It was like an undeclared apartheid and it was almost total societal exclusion of Roma. The maltreatment of Roma was outside even the European Union norms. Roma issue should be one of the highest priorities of human rights agenda of Europe and world, Rajan Zed and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich argued.
--Article Courtesy of Rajan Zed
***
I think the article speaks for itself. Yikes. This horrific treatment of Roma must end now. Here is a video on the matter from the Amnesty website.
And here is the report from Amnesty: click here.
And click here for a great blog called Lolo Diklo: Rroma Against Racism. Definitely check it out. It has great information, photos, and videos. All in all, very informative.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Minorities in Sweden have a worse health status than the rest of the population
I received this article from Rajan Zed, and it suggests that minorities may be receiving a different quality of health care than the majority. I edited slightly for brevity.
***
“Most of the national minorities have a worse health status than the population as a whole”, according to a new survey by Swedish National Institute of Public Health, a state agency under Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on January 19th, 2010, said that it was distressing to note minorities’ health status from this survey, which was indicative that minorities in Sweden were treated differently than the rest of the population. It was the moral responsibility of the majority to take care of its minorities, Zed stressed.
This survey points out: “There are clear links between health status among the national minorities and like high unemployment, feelings of alienation, powerlessness and discrimination”. It talks about discrimination against male Jews; high unemployment, feelings of alienation, powerlessness and discrimination in case of Roma; Roma women experiencing lot of stress; high depression among Sami women; worse physical health of Swedish Finns; Tornedalers women felt discriminated against; etc.
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Sweden to have a strong political will to ensure minority inclusion and integration programs to immediately take off the ground providing them with better health and education avenues, higher economic opportunities, sources of empowerment and participation, etc.
Zed also urged Sweden to urgently improve the plight of its Roma populace, who reportedly lived in apartheid like conditions. Zed asked how Sweden, which prided itself for its human rights record, was tolerating such reportedly widespread prejudice against a segment of its own society. Maltreatment of Roma was a dark stain on the face of Sweden.
According to Swedish Government’s Human Rights Website, “The Roma still occupy a highly vulnerable position in Swedish society and are exposed to discrimination although this is prohibited by law. Generally speaking, many Roma encounter great difficulties in virtually all spheres of society. This applies to education, the labour market, housing and health care and to possibility of participating in the community on the same terms as the majority population.”
Located in Ostersund with Sarah Wamala as Director General, the Swedish National Institute of Public Health works to promote health and prevent ill health and injury, especially for population groups most vulnerable to health risks.
***
Stockholm News also has a report about the issue. The article goes through the minorities in question and explains what in particular the health problems are. It's worth a read! Check it out here. Not all immigrants/minorities were involved in the study, and this quote from SN explains the missing data:
***
“Most of the national minorities have a worse health status than the population as a whole”, according to a new survey by Swedish National Institute of Public Health, a state agency under Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on January 19th, 2010, said that it was distressing to note minorities’ health status from this survey, which was indicative that minorities in Sweden were treated differently than the rest of the population. It was the moral responsibility of the majority to take care of its minorities, Zed stressed.
This survey points out: “There are clear links between health status among the national minorities and like high unemployment, feelings of alienation, powerlessness and discrimination”. It talks about discrimination against male Jews; high unemployment, feelings of alienation, powerlessness and discrimination in case of Roma; Roma women experiencing lot of stress; high depression among Sami women; worse physical health of Swedish Finns; Tornedalers women felt discriminated against; etc.
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Sweden to have a strong political will to ensure minority inclusion and integration programs to immediately take off the ground providing them with better health and education avenues, higher economic opportunities, sources of empowerment and participation, etc.
Zed also urged Sweden to urgently improve the plight of its Roma populace, who reportedly lived in apartheid like conditions. Zed asked how Sweden, which prided itself for its human rights record, was tolerating such reportedly widespread prejudice against a segment of its own society. Maltreatment of Roma was a dark stain on the face of Sweden.
According to Swedish Government’s Human Rights Website, “The Roma still occupy a highly vulnerable position in Swedish society and are exposed to discrimination although this is prohibited by law. Generally speaking, many Roma encounter great difficulties in virtually all spheres of society. This applies to education, the labour market, housing and health care and to possibility of participating in the community on the same terms as the majority population.”
Located in Ostersund with Sarah Wamala as Director General, the Swedish National Institute of Public Health works to promote health and prevent ill health and injury, especially for population groups most vulnerable to health risks.
***
Stockholm News also has a report about the issue. The article goes through the minorities in question and explains what in particular the health problems are. It's worth a read! Check it out here. Not all immigrants/minorities were involved in the study, and this quote from SN explains the missing data:
Around 500 000 people in Sweden identify themselves as belonging to a national minority. The absolutely largest group is the Finnish minority or "the Sweden-finns" as they are called. There are about 450 000 Sweden-finns in Sweden.
This means that there are many immigrants in Sweden who are not included in this study. In 2007, 1.23 million were born abroad. Since today it is at least the same number we can conclude that there are 700 - 750 000 immigrants who are not seen as minorities. The reason is that they are not defined as minorities in the strict sense, but immigrants.
An end to segregation in Czech schools in sight
Good news! I have it from a source in the Czech republic that the Roma segregation issue is being resolved due to the flood of emails protesting the unfair treatment of Roma children in schools. The articles just haven't appeared in English yet.
Here is what my source sent me:
It is so nice to see that hard work really does pay off! It makes me warm and happy knowing that things are changing. My grandmother is Roma, and she grew up in a war torn Germany. She had to hide her ethnicity in order to save her life. Her horror stories have never left my mind, and they have shaped my life. She taught me to love all people, to be proud of who I am, and to speak up when there is injustice. People spoke up about this issue, and things really happened. The world is made up of many things, but all problems caused by people can be fixed by people too. It's important to remember that.
Here is what my source sent me:
Amnesty International campaigns for equal access to education has attracted the attention of almost 6 thousand visitors www.zmenimeto.cz. More than 2 thousand of emails requesting for Nahal, Li, Francis and millions of other children equal access to education, went to Ministers and Minister of Education of Afghanistan, China and the Czech Republic.
In the near future we will send ministers and Secretary of the eight thousand letters, which, thanks to high school students have signed the inhabitants of thirteen cities CR. The campaign also promoted several major figures, including former President Vaclav Havel.... See more
Major achievement of the campaign is that it responded to the Minister of Education Miroslava Kopicová. Sent to participants in the call letter acknowledged that the chances of education of Roma and non-Romani children are effectively balanced. Presented the results of research, under which the primary schools in so-called practical (former special schools) 27% of all Roma children, while only 2% of non-Roma.
Improve access to education for Roma children, Amnesty International will seek in 2010. In Afghanistan, we will support in particular activist for the rights of Georgia's women in China have posvítíme on working conditions in factories. Learn more at www.amnesty.cz.
It is so nice to see that hard work really does pay off! It makes me warm and happy knowing that things are changing. My grandmother is Roma, and she grew up in a war torn Germany. She had to hide her ethnicity in order to save her life. Her horror stories have never left my mind, and they have shaped my life. She taught me to love all people, to be proud of who I am, and to speak up when there is injustice. People spoke up about this issue, and things really happened. The world is made up of many things, but all problems caused by people can be fixed by people too. It's important to remember that.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Roma kids segregated in Czech schools
I'm quite behind on my blogging. In my defence, I've been spending all my time either volunteering at Barnardos, or constructing scholarship essays (which takes a lot of time!!). But this is very, very important. The article, is again, courtesy of Rajan Zed, my ever faithful informant and activist. And as always, I've condensed the article slightly.
***
Shock at the reported continual and systematic segregation of Roma children in Czech Republic schools, resulting in their receiving inferior quality education.
According to a recently published Amnesty International report titled “Discrimination in education of Roma persists in the Czech Republic”, “Romani children are regularly segregated in schools and classes for pupils with ‘mild mental disabilities’, where they receive an inferior education based on a limited curriculum”.
Statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) January 14th, 2010, said that it was unbelievable that in Europe in 2010 segregation was still continuing. It was simply immoral and unacceptable and European Union should immediately act to end this discriminatory practice and ensure equality in education.
Zed further remarked that Czech Republic should “wholeheartedly” back inclusion of Roma children and work on improving their educational attainments. At least, Roma children should be accorded equal opportunities and avenues of full participation in Czech life.
Talking about Roma children, the Amnesty report also points about “teachers’ prejudice” and “limited expectations”. In some places, Romani children make up more than 80 percent of the classes intended for pupils with ‘mild mental disabilities’. There are also Roma-only schools which often offer a lower quality education.
Zed argued that Roma people in Czech Republic reportedly faced violent attacks, stereotyping, racism, prejudice, growing gap between Roma and other Czechs, fear, beatings, poor quality housing, systemic employment and overall discrimination, persecution, throwing of Molotov cocktails, social exclusion, marginalization; refused service at restaurants, stores, discos, etc.; municipalities/towns failing to support them; and the state being unwilling or unable to offer protection.
Zed stressed that the country of Franz Kafka, Antonin Dvorak, Jaroslav Hasek, Karlovy Vary, and rich cultural heritage should not continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma apartheid.
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 AD. Amnesty International, headquartered in London and launched in 1961, is a global movement of 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Claudio Cordone is interim Secretary General.
***
The full Amnesty report can be found here. At the end of this post there is a link to "Support the Appeal" by sending a pre-worded letter to support the appeal to Minister of Education of the Czech Republic, Her Excellence Miroslava Kopicová, to end the education system's discrimination against Romani children. Please do this! You just have to sign it and send it with love. It's one of those precious things that takes a moment but makes a difference.
I quote a small section of the report:
Amnesty International has called on the Czech authorities to:
* Freeze all placements of children into practical schools and classes for pupils with "mild mental disabilities" for the school year 2010/11, pending a review of the need for such a curriculum and schools;
* Enforce in law the desegregation of education and adopt a comprehensive plan with clear yearly targets to eliminate school segregation of Romani children;
* Ensure that additional support is immediately made available for children who need it in order to effectively participate in and develop to their fullest potential within the integrated mainstream elementary school.
It's shocking that race segregation is still an issue. But this will change if enough people care, and make it known that they care.
***
Shock at the reported continual and systematic segregation of Roma children in Czech Republic schools, resulting in their receiving inferior quality education.
According to a recently published Amnesty International report titled “Discrimination in education of Roma persists in the Czech Republic”, “Romani children are regularly segregated in schools and classes for pupils with ‘mild mental disabilities’, where they receive an inferior education based on a limited curriculum”.
Statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) January 14th, 2010, said that it was unbelievable that in Europe in 2010 segregation was still continuing. It was simply immoral and unacceptable and European Union should immediately act to end this discriminatory practice and ensure equality in education.
Zed further remarked that Czech Republic should “wholeheartedly” back inclusion of Roma children and work on improving their educational attainments. At least, Roma children should be accorded equal opportunities and avenues of full participation in Czech life.
Talking about Roma children, the Amnesty report also points about “teachers’ prejudice” and “limited expectations”. In some places, Romani children make up more than 80 percent of the classes intended for pupils with ‘mild mental disabilities’. There are also Roma-only schools which often offer a lower quality education.
Zed argued that Roma people in Czech Republic reportedly faced violent attacks, stereotyping, racism, prejudice, growing gap between Roma and other Czechs, fear, beatings, poor quality housing, systemic employment and overall discrimination, persecution, throwing of Molotov cocktails, social exclusion, marginalization; refused service at restaurants, stores, discos, etc.; municipalities/towns failing to support them; and the state being unwilling or unable to offer protection.
Zed stressed that the country of Franz Kafka, Antonin Dvorak, Jaroslav Hasek, Karlovy Vary, and rich cultural heritage should not continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma apartheid.
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 AD. Amnesty International, headquartered in London and launched in 1961, is a global movement of 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Claudio Cordone is interim Secretary General.
***
The full Amnesty report can be found here. At the end of this post there is a link to "Support the Appeal" by sending a pre-worded letter to support the appeal to Minister of Education of the Czech Republic, Her Excellence Miroslava Kopicová, to end the education system's discrimination against Romani children. Please do this! You just have to sign it and send it with love. It's one of those precious things that takes a moment but makes a difference.
I quote a small section of the report:
The placement in practical schools and classes for pupils with "mild mental disabilities" is based on the results of assessments that fail to factor in cultural and linguistic differences of Romani children and may be compounded by the prejudice of staff conducting them.
Amnesty International has called on the Czech authorities to:
* Freeze all placements of children into practical schools and classes for pupils with "mild mental disabilities" for the school year 2010/11, pending a review of the need for such a curriculum and schools;
* Enforce in law the desegregation of education and adopt a comprehensive plan with clear yearly targets to eliminate school segregation of Romani children;
* Ensure that additional support is immediately made available for children who need it in order to effectively participate in and develop to their fullest potential within the integrated mainstream elementary school.
It's shocking that race segregation is still an issue. But this will change if enough people care, and make it known that they care.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
EU Court of Human Rights Rules Rules Bosnia-Herzegovina's Consitution Discriminatory Toward Roma and Jews
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg (France) reportedly ruled on Tuesday that Bosnia’s constitution discriminated against Roma and Jews because it prohibited them to run for parliament or presidency.
The Hindu community has also urged Bosnia-Herzegovina to urgently modify its constitution to reflect that all its citizens are treated equally. Acclaimed Hindu statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on the 23rd of December, said that it was moral duty of Europe (which prided itself for its human rights record) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (a country of age-old cultures and fabulous mountain vistas) to take care of their minorities who had participated together with the majority in continent building. Europeans should leave the ethnicities behind and build a better Europe working together, Zed added.
Structuring European and world societies on the principles of pluralism would be a step in the right direction, Rajan Zed also argued.
According to an ECHR press release: The Bosnian Constitution, in its Preamble, makes a distinction between two categories of citizens: the so-called “constituent peoples” (Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and “others” (Jews, Roma and other national minorities together with those who do not declare affiliation with any ethnic group). The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly (the second chamber) and the Presidency are composed only of persons belonging to the three constituent peoples.
Tuesday’s judgment was given by the Grand Chamber of 17 judges, with Jean-Paul Costa (France) as President. ECHR, an international court to deal with violations of civil and political rights established in 1959, has delivered more than 10, 000 judgements.
*Article courtesy of Rajan Zed
I understand that Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans in general has recently been through much dividing and reassembling. The ethnic and political conflicts in much of the Balkans is still electric. For those of you interested in the history of the area, refer to Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West and Balkan Ghosts by Robert D. Kaplan, probably the 2 best books on the region and truly well-written to boot. I think it is wonderful that the problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitution have been brought to light, and hopefully this will spark political change, which in turn may begin to heal the enormous and dangerous rift between the different ethnic groups in the region. These people have been through so much, and embracing each other as fellow people in peace and goodwill can only help.
The Hindu community has also urged Bosnia-Herzegovina to urgently modify its constitution to reflect that all its citizens are treated equally. Acclaimed Hindu statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on the 23rd of December, said that it was moral duty of Europe (which prided itself for its human rights record) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (a country of age-old cultures and fabulous mountain vistas) to take care of their minorities who had participated together with the majority in continent building. Europeans should leave the ethnicities behind and build a better Europe working together, Zed added.
Structuring European and world societies on the principles of pluralism would be a step in the right direction, Rajan Zed also argued.
According to an ECHR press release: The Bosnian Constitution, in its Preamble, makes a distinction between two categories of citizens: the so-called “constituent peoples” (Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs) and “others” (Jews, Roma and other national minorities together with those who do not declare affiliation with any ethnic group). The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly (the second chamber) and the Presidency are composed only of persons belonging to the three constituent peoples.
Tuesday’s judgment was given by the Grand Chamber of 17 judges, with Jean-Paul Costa (France) as President. ECHR, an international court to deal with violations of civil and political rights established in 1959, has delivered more than 10, 000 judgements.
*Article courtesy of Rajan Zed
I understand that Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans in general has recently been through much dividing and reassembling. The ethnic and political conflicts in much of the Balkans is still electric. For those of you interested in the history of the area, refer to Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West and Balkan Ghosts by Robert D. Kaplan, probably the 2 best books on the region and truly well-written to boot. I think it is wonderful that the problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitution have been brought to light, and hopefully this will spark political change, which in turn may begin to heal the enormous and dangerous rift between the different ethnic groups in the region. These people have been through so much, and embracing each other as fellow people in peace and goodwill can only help.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hindus helping Roma
Hindus ask new Sofia mayor to urgently improve Roma plight
Hindus have strongly urged newly elected mayor of Sofia (Bulgaria) Yordanka Fandakova to improve the plight of Roma people residing in Sofia, who are reportedly facing apartheid like conditions.
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that mayor Fandakova should make Roma upliftment her first priority as their maltreatment was a dark stain on the face of Sofia and Bulgaria.
Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that it was simply immoral to continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma plight, who reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc.
Commissioner for Human Rights of Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, who recently concluded a three-day visit to Sofia, visited a Roma settlement in the Republika district of Sofia where he assessed the living conditions as inhumane. “No one should live in these conditions in today’s Europe” he declared.
Capital and largest city of Bulgaria, Sofia is the second oldest city in Europe whose roots can be traced back to about 7000 years. Lonely Planet has described Sofia as "city waking up after decades of slumber".
Hindus have strongly urged newly elected mayor of Sofia (Bulgaria) Yordanka Fandakova to improve the plight of Roma people residing in Sofia, who are reportedly facing apartheid like conditions.
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that mayor Fandakova should make Roma upliftment her first priority as their maltreatment was a dark stain on the face of Sofia and Bulgaria.
Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that it was simply immoral to continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma plight, who reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc.
Commissioner for Human Rights of Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, who recently concluded a three-day visit to Sofia, visited a Roma settlement in the Republika district of Sofia where he assessed the living conditions as inhumane. “No one should live in these conditions in today’s Europe” he declared.
Capital and largest city of Bulgaria, Sofia is the second oldest city in Europe whose roots can be traced back to about 7000 years. Lonely Planet has described Sofia as "city waking up after decades of slumber".
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Hungarian Hospital Makes Efforts to Honor Roma Traditions
Some more good news on the Roma Rights front, a hospital in Gyongyos has reportedly set up a special room for Roma patients and their visitors to practice their cultural rituals.
This makes me very happy. The more gestures of tolerance extended by people and institutions, the more assimilated the Roma people will feel. It will also remind others that the Roma people have an important place in society. We are all kin. Keep the love flowing. Read the full article from The Budapest Times, "Hindus laud Hungary hospital for attempt to honor Roma traditions." I summarize:
Acclaimed Hindu statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA), November 10th, 2009, described this gesture as a “step in the right direction” and urged other hospitals of Hungary also to make similar accommodations to speed-up the integration of Roma.
Zed reports that in Hungary, despite various government initiatives, Roma continuously suffer blatant discrimination, shanty town living, an atmosphere of hostility, huge unemployment rate, lower life expectancy, prejudice, significantly higher school dropout rate, racism, bias and stereotyping, school segregation, social exclusion, mistrust, human rights violations, etc. According to an estimate, less than 1% of Roma obtained higher education degrees.
These injustices are unfortunately true in many other countries including Romania and Italy. The Roma population in Hungary is estimated to be at 1 million, which makes Hungary home to the largest Roma minority in the world. The Roma people have been living in Hungary since the 14th century.
This makes me very happy. The more gestures of tolerance extended by people and institutions, the more assimilated the Roma people will feel. It will also remind others that the Roma people have an important place in society. We are all kin. Keep the love flowing. Read the full article from The Budapest Times, "Hindus laud Hungary hospital for attempt to honor Roma traditions." I summarize:
Acclaimed Hindu statesman and president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA), November 10th, 2009, described this gesture as a “step in the right direction” and urged other hospitals of Hungary also to make similar accommodations to speed-up the integration of Roma.
This hospital in eastern Hungary was reportedly the scene of a cultural misunderstanding in 2002 when about a dozen Roma and police officials were injured in the conflict over the mourning behavior of Roma over the death of a relative. Roma have reportedly certain traditions linked to birth and death and they expressed their emotions differently than other Hungarians. This hospital is also reportedly considering having Roma liaison officers.
Zed reports that in Hungary, despite various government initiatives, Roma continuously suffer blatant discrimination, shanty town living, an atmosphere of hostility, huge unemployment rate, lower life expectancy, prejudice, significantly higher school dropout rate, racism, bias and stereotyping, school segregation, social exclusion, mistrust, human rights violations, etc. According to an estimate, less than 1% of Roma obtained higher education degrees.
These injustices are unfortunately true in many other countries including Romania and Italy. The Roma population in Hungary is estimated to be at 1 million, which makes Hungary home to the largest Roma minority in the world. The Roma people have been living in Hungary since the 14th century.
Zed stressed that it was moral obligation of Europe to take care of its largest minority Roma population and stop human rights violations suffered by them, who numbered around 15 million and lived in apartheid like conditions. There seemed to be no coherent and effective policy to assimilate them into the society. Their alarming condition was a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Madonna raises $16,600 for Roma (Gypsy) children
That's right, Madonna is making me proud again. Thanks to Rajan Zed, Nevada Statesman, for emailing this information to me. I have edited slightly for brevity, but I quote,
I think this is a wonderful step in the right direction. I do truly hope that Madonna takes up the cause of Roma Rights, because the Roma people have been ignored for too long. Education is an enormous problem; I find that most people I talk to don't realize that Roma are an ethnic group with a culture and a need for rights and protection. Madonna, with all her fame and influence, would be the perfect spokesperson because of her ability to reach so many people through her music, charity, and personality. She has a good heart, and I hope she realizes not only the importance of this issue, but also the emergency. I also love to hear that other influential people, like Rajan Zed, are speaking on behalf of the Roma people and are urging others to support their rights. Unfortunately, the world is not safe yet for Roma, but I think with education, change, and love, this will change. If you can't open your wallets to the cause then open your mouths. Keep talking about this issue, keep reminding people that Roma discrimination is a crime that is being committed over and over again every day, all over the world, and that there are things we can do (like writing to government officials and the UN, and supporting roma rights organizations, etc.) to give the Roma people fair treatment and equal rights!
Madonna donated one of her favorite specially made pair of autographed designer skyscraper gold heels Christian Dior shoes to a charity supporting education of Roma children, which was auctioned off at the fifth annual Ovidiu Rom Halloween Charity Ball held in Bucharest, Romania. One of the golden heels was reportedly marked with kisses and a heart by her while the other was autographed "Love Madonna". Oscar nominated Hollywood star Ethan Hawke (Training Day) reportedly spoke at the Ball.
A gold chain donated by Oscar winner actress Vanessa Redgrave (Mary, Queen of Scots) was auctioned off at about $8, 300. Money thus collected will be used to buy clothes and schoolbooks for Roma children, according to reports.
Welcoming Madonna for supporting Roma people, Hindus have urged her to “wholeheartedly” undertake Roma cause and do substantially more than just donating a used pair of shoes for the Roma charity.
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Madonna, who was principally against Roma discrimination and who was the highest earning musician of the world making around $110 million in a 12-month period, should do more for the Roma people, who were facing apartheid conditions.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that being one of the world’s most powerful celebrities, Madonna would be very effective in focusing public opinion world over on apartheid of 15-million Roma people of Europe. Many Hollywood and other entertainment bigwigs had successfully worked against South Africa’s apartheid in the past.
Rajan Zed argued that Madonna had promoted humanitarian causes world over and Roma would be the next worthwhile cause for her to undertake. If she wanted his services in regard to Roma cause, he was willing to support her. Madonna should not stay apathetic and silent spectator when fellow Roma brothers/sisters were reportedly facing blatant injustice and discrimination in Europe, he said and added that Roma had reportedly recently faced heightened discrimination in Hungary, Romania, Italy, etc.
The alarming condition of Roma people is a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly face 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., Hindu statesman pointed out.
Rajan Zed further said that references to Roma people in Europe reportedly went as far back as ninth century AD. How many more centuries Roma had to reside in Europe to prove that they were “real and equal” Europeans like any other, he asked.
Madonna was reportedly booed and jeered at her Bucharest concert in August by thousands of fans when she sympathized with Roma people. Cheers reportedly gave way to jeers, when Madonna paused midway before a sell-out crowd of about 60,000 in Bucharest during her song La Isla Bonita in her about two-hour concert, part of her worldwide "Sticky and Sweet" tour, and touched on the plight of Roma people, showing the deeply entrenched prejudice against Roma in Europe.
Roma are believed to have their roots in the Indian subcontinent.
I think this is a wonderful step in the right direction. I do truly hope that Madonna takes up the cause of Roma Rights, because the Roma people have been ignored for too long. Education is an enormous problem; I find that most people I talk to don't realize that Roma are an ethnic group with a culture and a need for rights and protection. Madonna, with all her fame and influence, would be the perfect spokesperson because of her ability to reach so many people through her music, charity, and personality. She has a good heart, and I hope she realizes not only the importance of this issue, but also the emergency. I also love to hear that other influential people, like Rajan Zed, are speaking on behalf of the Roma people and are urging others to support their rights. Unfortunately, the world is not safe yet for Roma, but I think with education, change, and love, this will change. If you can't open your wallets to the cause then open your mouths. Keep talking about this issue, keep reminding people that Roma discrimination is a crime that is being committed over and over again every day, all over the world, and that there are things we can do (like writing to government officials and the UN, and supporting roma rights organizations, etc.) to give the Roma people fair treatment and equal rights!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Irish Judge Makes Racist Statements Against Roma
Outrage fills me as I write this. The ridiculously one-sided and poorly informed Independent published this article Roma raise children to steal-- judge. The title, which should be in scare quotes and is stated as though this ridiculous claim is fact, tells a shameful story. Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin made this outrageous statement after sentencing a 16 year old mother to 7 days in jail and a 200 euro fine for stealing clothes and children's shoes. The girl was brought over by her partner, 5 years older than her, when she was 13. She had her child at 15. The Health Service Executive had conducted welfare assessments into the girl's situation, but did not deem that any action was necessary despite the glaringly obvious fact that she is a victim of statutory rape.
Judge Ni Chonduin made this obscene generalization: "That seems to be the culture, that is the way the families function, unfortunately, to go about to steal," said regarding the girl's circumstances. She also said it seemed that the children were "raised" to steal.
"It is a different culture, it does not go with our ways and our shops are being robbed blind," she said.
What a complete OUTRAGE! This clearly racist woman should be removed from her post. How DARE she accuse an entire culture and ethnicity of raising their children to steal based on the case of one desperate young mother who was clearly trying to provide for her child! And saying these untrue, provocative remarks during a time of depression about an ethnic group that is already regularly discriminated against world-wide is not only disgusting and irresponsible, but also outright dangerous.
Thankfully, I'm not the only irate person. These quotations were taken from the far more responsible newspaper The Herald, Anger as judge says Roma children are raised to steal.
Pavee Point, which runs a Roma programme, expressed disappointment."It is not part of Roma culture or any culture that I know of to raise children to steal," a spokeswoman said."The vast majority of Roma parents would be horrified with that suggestion. It's not helpful for anybody in authority to make comments that only serve to stereotype and scapegoat an already marginalised community. I'm sure there are some members of every community who are not raising their children correctly and are engaged in deviant behaviour, but that doesn't mean the whole community is."
The Immigrant Council of Ireland said the judge's remarks were "inappropriate and unfair", while Pavee Point Travellers Centre said they further "scapegoated" the Roma community.
Thaindian News reports:
Speak out, my humanitarian friends! Demand Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin's removal!! Make some noise! Remind people that Roma rights are worth supporting! The future of humanitarianism is in all of our hands! This judge has made a racist statement that shows that she is no judge at all. Lies about the Roma people stop now!
Judge Ni Chonduin made this obscene generalization: "That seems to be the culture, that is the way the families function, unfortunately, to go about to steal," said regarding the girl's circumstances. She also said it seemed that the children were "raised" to steal.
"It is a different culture, it does not go with our ways and our shops are being robbed blind," she said.
What a complete OUTRAGE! This clearly racist woman should be removed from her post. How DARE she accuse an entire culture and ethnicity of raising their children to steal based on the case of one desperate young mother who was clearly trying to provide for her child! And saying these untrue, provocative remarks during a time of depression about an ethnic group that is already regularly discriminated against world-wide is not only disgusting and irresponsible, but also outright dangerous.
Thankfully, I'm not the only irate person. These quotations were taken from the far more responsible newspaper The Herald, Anger as judge says Roma children are raised to steal.
Pavee Point, which runs a Roma programme, expressed disappointment."It is not part of Roma culture or any culture that I know of to raise children to steal," a spokeswoman said."The vast majority of Roma parents would be horrified with that suggestion. It's not helpful for anybody in authority to make comments that only serve to stereotype and scapegoat an already marginalised community. I'm sure there are some members of every community who are not raising their children correctly and are engaged in deviant behaviour, but that doesn't mean the whole community is."
The Immigrant Council of Ireland said the judge's remarks were "inappropriate and unfair", while Pavee Point Travellers Centre said they further "scapegoated" the Roma community.
Thaindian News reports:
Hindus have asked for resignation of the Ireland judge who reportedly accused Roma community of raising their children to steal.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was simply not acceptable from an honorable judge to blame the whole ethnic group of about 15-million people for a wild allegation like this one.
Dealing with a case of Roma teenager at the Dublin Children’s Court on Wednesday, Judge Aingeal Ní Chonduin reportedly accused the Roma community of raising their children to steal saying they were responsible for “our shops being robbed blind”.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that this did not reflect well with one of the world’s most beautiful countries of James Joyce and William Butler Yeats and known world over for its warmth and welcome. They also urged leadership of Ireland’s majority Roman Catholic and other religious establishments and religious leaders to come out openly against this accusation as religions told us to help the helpless.
Few months back, Roma residents in the nearby Northern Ireland were reportedly terrified and forced to flee their homes due to repeated racist violence.
This was happening in the middle of Europe, which claimed to be the torchbearer for the entire world regarding human rights. Was this the way in which the civilized societies functioned in Europe, asked Rajan Zed.
-Sampurn Media
Speak out, my humanitarian friends! Demand Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin's removal!! Make some noise! Remind people that Roma rights are worth supporting! The future of humanitarianism is in all of our hands! This judge has made a racist statement that shows that she is no judge at all. Lies about the Roma people stop now!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Roma Children Drowned before an Apathetic Public
The Picture that Shames Italy EPA
I have read and re-read this story of the two Roma (Gypsy) girls drowned on a beach in Naples, Italy and the beach-goers continuing to sunbathe beside their corpses as if the dead children were nothing but seashells. This is a news story from July 2008, but it is just as pertinent this year. It is truly gruesome, but unfortunately, it does not surprise me. Racism has no boundaries, which is why it must be conquered by love. We are all people.
To be balanced, I have two news sources, The Independent "The Picture that Shames Italy," and EveryOne (a human rights organization) "Two Children of the Ethnic Group Roma Drown in Naples." Both are excellent articles covering the terrifying incident, but EveryOne has done some more digging, finding the story that the girls went into the water of their own volition a little hard to swallow.
Two girls Cristina, aged 14, and Violetta, aged 14, were selling trinkets on the beach with their two cousins, aged 13 and 11, and drowned in the rough tide. The Independent credits their drowning to their exhaustion and the temptation of the cool sea during the hot day, but EveryOne points out how unusual it would be for these girls to decide to go for a swim while they were working and when the Roma culture takes modesty very seriously. However, the most disturbing element of this tragedy is that the beach goers continued to enjoy the sun and such beside the washed up, lifeless bodies of these children as if they were not there at all. Peter Popham of The Independent writes, "The indifference was taken as shocking proof that many Italians no longer have human feelings for the Roma, even though the communities have lived side by side for generations."
"This was the other terrible thing," says Mr Esposito, "besides the fact of the girls drowning: the normality. The way people continued to sunbathe, for three hours, just metres away from the bodies. They could have gone to a different beach. It's not possible that you can watch two young people die then carry on as if nothing happened. It showed a terrible lack of sensitivity and respect."
Popham describes the Italians' relationship with the Roma people, "Roma have been living in Italy for seven centuries and the country is home to about 150,000, who live mainly in squalid conditions in one of around 700 encampments on the outskirts of major cities such as Rome, Milan and Naples. They amount to less than 0.3 per cent of the population, one of the lowest proportions in Europe. But their poverty and resistance to integration have made them far more conspicuous than other communities. And the influx of thousands more migrants from Romania in the past year has confirmed the view of many Italians that the Gypsies and their eyesore camps are the source of all their problems. The ethnic group is often blamed for petty theft and burglaries. According to a recent newspaper survey, more than two thirds of Italians want Gypsies expelled, 'whether they hold Italian passports or not.'"
Roberto Malini writing for EveryOne concludes his article, "'The Roma people are just a scourge,' say the politicians, the authorities, the journalists. The tragedy that took place on Torregaveta beach is not worthy of shedding a tear for, not worthy of wasting a prayer on.
On the sand lie two starfish."
Check out groups like EveryOne and Roma Rights and see what you can do. There are frequently efforts to contact government officials in countries like Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy (really most countries to be perfectly frank) that have serious human rights issues concerning the Roma people who are too long mythic scapegoats and targets of violence.
Love all people.
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