SACCO AND VANZETTI

On 14 July, 1921, Italian born Anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were cnvicted, in Boston,  of murdering a shoe-company paymaster and his guard.

Actually, they had been accused of murder and convicted of Anarchism.

The common scapegoats at the time were working and poor people,  immigrants, Communists and Anarchists.
This was also the time of the Red Scare, the infamous Palmer raids against political radicals, and the rise of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI.

It's interesting how very little things seem to change.
Today's scapegoats in the U.S. are working and poor people, immigrants, Muslims, and political activists.

And the beat goes on......

The following is an interesting site for more information on Sacco and Vanzetti and the times.

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/saccov/saccov.htm

CZECH REPUBLIC

FROM ROMEA.CZ

http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2594

Police arrest suspects in attempted arson in Býchory, Czech Republic

Police have arrested four people suspected of throwing a flaming torch into a Romani home yesterday in Býchory, Kolín district. Soňa Budská, spokesperson for the Central Bohemian Regional Police, reported the arrests to the Czech Press Agency today. Those detained, who are between the ages of 20 and 25, are being prosecuted on suspicion of complicity in the crime of attempted grievous bodily harm. Policie officers are also investigating racial motivation for the attack.

Police arrested all four suspects on Monday afternoon. "Since morning the detectives have been performing other procedural tasks in this matter. They will be filing a motion to have the detainees remanded into custody," the spokesperson said.

She refused to say whether the suspects are members of extremist movements or to give any other details, given that the investigation is ongoing.

In the early morning hours of Monday a flaming torch was thrown into a Romani home in Býchory, Kolín district. No one suffered physical injury. Someone threw the wrapped stick, resembling a torch, into the living room. The victims managed to put out the fire.

After initiating their investigation, detectives determined that a group had marched through the village in the early morning hours shouting racist slogans, and that one man from that group then threw the flaming torch into the Romani people's apartment.

Should the suspects be charged and convicted of racially motivated attempted grievous bodily harm, they would face as much as 12 years in prison.

The most famous racially motivated attack against Romani people in recent years remains the April 2009 case in which four right-wing extremists threw three Molotov cocktails into a single-family house in Vítkov. During the subsequent blaze three people were injured.

An infant who was not yet two years old at the time suffered the most serious injuries.

In March the court sent the perpetrators to prison for sentences ranging from 20 to 22 years. Not quite one year after the Vítkov case, a similar attack on a Romani home was committed in the Bedřiška settlement of Ostrava.

However, in this case the court ruled that the motivation was not racism, but a dispute between neighbors. In March the court sent the juvenile perpetrator to prison for four years, while his mother was sent to prison for 7.5 years for having instructed him to commit reckless endangerment.

Czech Press Agency, translated by Gwendolyn Albert
ROMEA

CARAVAN SITES--ENGLAND

FROM SAFFRON WALDEN REPORTER

Uttlesford’s town and parishes on alert from fall out of Dale Farm gypsy camp eviction

http://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/news/uttlesford_s_town_and_parishes_on_alert_from_fall_out_of_dale_farm_gypsy_camp_eviction_1_959883#sharinganchor

PHOTO: www.evolve.humanrightstv.com

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
8.55 AM

TOWN and parish councils in Uttlesford have been put on alert to gypsies moving into the area from England’s largest traveller site.

Eviction papers have been served on almost 100 families living illegally at Dale Farm in Basildon. They have until the end of August to leave or Basildon Council will enter and dismantle the camp.
Now fears have been raised over a possible “invasion” of gypsy families from the camp into the district.

Speaking at Uttlesford District Council’s cabinet meeting last Thursday, Lib Dem leader Peter Wilcock asked: “What provision is being taken to any potential invasion from the decampment of the site in Basildon?

“No-one knows where these people will go and there needs to be a plan in place if they turn up in bulk.”

The Gypsy Council has said it is unlikely that Dale Farm residents, who set up camp 10 years ago, would leave “voluntarily” from the former scrapyard site before the end of the 28-day notice, and added that they could be physically moved by police in a multi-million pound clearance operation.
However, motions are in place in Uttlesford should the camp - which is about 50 miles away from Saffron Walden High Street - be cleared.
Council boss, chief executive John Mitchell said: “These families have 28 days’ notice to leave the site and whether they actually will or not, I don’t know.

“If it does happen I don’t think we would be looking at a mass incursion [into Uttlesford] but it could be small numbers looking to purchase land and then seeking to occupy it as their own land. That kind of transaction would be difficult to change.

“I have written to all our town and parish clerks to make them fully aware of what may happen and asked them to be on the lookout for land acquisitions.

“We are doing the most we possibly can at this moment.”

FROM UNION ROMANI

BERLUSCONI HAS LOST MILAN AND NAPLES
STATEMENT OF

        Juan de Dios Ramírez-Heredia

All racists will meet their Waterloo , and I believe that in this case the mentioned saying is very fitting. Especially in the case of Berlusconi, -just like all his fascist predecessors throughout the mid 20^th century- , he has finally met his own Waterloo . Milan and Naples have turned their back on him, despite his monumental efforts to discredit his opponents. The Italians living in those two very important cities have condemned his racist and xenophobic politics as well as the immoral and cocky style he has sported in recent years.

Berlusconi lost Milan , whilst he was visiting Romania , in order to meet with president Traian Basescu. What an irony, Silvio Berlusconi has lost Milan, his home town as well as the industrial and financial capital of Italy, whilst visiting the home country of many of the Gypsies he has so violently oppressed and deported for having committed the crime of our times: Being illegal. They are illegal, because driven by hunger, misery and prosecution they came to Milan in the hope of getting a break from their journey, and leading a better life.

Milan, governed by Berlusconi's right-wing party, did not let itself be misled and did not believe that the centre-left candidate for the mayor's office, Giuliano Pisapia, was going to hand his city over to Muslims and Gypsies.Just like in Naples where the centre-right candidate had lost to the centre-left candidate Luigi de Magistris.

Italy’s right-wing democracy has voted against Berlusconi.

This conclusion is easily reached, and should get to those who use demagogy to monger the population's fears. Racist policies, especially in times of crisis, can be very worthwhile for extreme right-wing parties, but also for those parties, which are still being unmistakably democratic it can be tempting to fish in troubled waters.In Spain we know about that, and the last local elections, have proven it.Like Santiago Rusiñol said: "to deceive men one by one is a lot harder than deceiving them by the thousands". Deceiving the masses is an immoral technique, which many politicians have used in order to achieve illegitimate victories. After all, many dictators also reached power thanks to the vote of their fellow citizens.

But in the end reason will reign.The Milanese and Neapolitans have supported Berlusconi and his candidates for many years, but now they have said no. It has always been very difficult for the centre-left to succeed in Milan or Naples , but this time around it was different. The majority of Italians, who normally would have voted for the right-wing parties, have said “enough”. They did not believe that the opposition came along with the racist scarecrow of seeing their town being turned into the “Gypsy-Ville” Berlusconi had threaded the Milanese with so many times.

It is like a famous man said:“From time to time you can deceive the world, and some people even forever, but you could never deceive the entire world forever.”

Juan de Dios Ramírez-Heredia

UNION ROMANI
http://www.unionromani.org

CZECH REPUBLIC

FROM ROMEA.CZ


Racists are once again spreading rumors in the Czech language on the internet claiming that Romani people are somehow robbing the poor taxpayer.


The latest rumor spreading through social networks claims that by raising the amount it requires for down payments on electricity, the ČEZ corporation is unwillingly allegedly assisting Romani people, making it possible for them to request higher welfare payments and then cash in on refunds.


"Yet another way this state is giving money to the Gypsies! All it has to do is groundlessly raise the down payment required for energy. They take that paper to the social welfare office, where their benefits are increased - and at the end of the year they cash in the refund," some people writing on social networking sites are claiming.


The rumor has also taken the following form: "On Saturday I spoke with a woman who works at the customer service center and learned from her yuet another way this state is giving money to the Gypsies, this time with the aid of ČEZ. The Gypsy knows he uses CZK 2 000 worth of electricity a month. He goes to the ČEZ customer service center and requests his down payment be raised to CZK 4 000. He takes confirmation of this higher down payment to the social services department and requests support because he can't make such a high down payment. The welfare department goes ahead and pays his monthly support of CZK 4 000. No one monitors or verifies anything. Every month the Gypsy 'makes his down payment'.


At the end of the year, ČEZ does its accounting and determines the Gypsy has overpaid by CZK 48 000. The company refunds the money to the Gypsy and he gets to pick up a nice fat envelope at the post office!"


"Down payments on the supply of electricity are calculated according to a maximum amount established by a special formula established in collaboration with the Energy Regulation Authority (Energetický regulační úřad). The formula takes into account the amount of electricity used, the number of persons in the household, the price set by the supplier, and the average consumption of electricity in the Czech Republic during the previous year," explains Viktorie Plívová, spokesperson for the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry.


The software applications used to calculate the amount of aid in material distress to be awarded to particular applicants already count on their making these sorts of attempts. A reverse monitoring mechanism has been developed and the chances of successful welfare fraud are actually very small and unlikely. The rumors making the rounds on the internet were rebutted by the ministry's press spokesperson in a press release: "After calculating the down payments, the software application also calculates the refund, determines the actual monthly expenditure for energy, and calculates any eventual welfare overpayment. Any such overpayment can then be deducted from the ongoing benefits or from any others later awarded."
There are currently 2 500 versions of these rumors appearing online. Some of the versions list the welfare cheat as just "Mr Novák", but that evidently has no influence over readers' automatic preconceptions of his ethnic origin.

brf, hoax.cz, translated by Gwendolyn Albert ROMEA


http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2581#.Thh1JsbHi1Y.email

LUNIK IX

Slovakia: Luník IX housing estate as documented by Michelle Coomber and Dana Wilson Prague, 4.7.2011 19:11, (ROMEA) An interview with the filmmakers about talented children who can handle more than others. VIDEO Luník IX - trailer FROM ROMEA.CZ http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2575#.ThNBx5ajocI.email Q: Luník IX is your third film about the situation of Romani people in Central Europe. What brought you to this topic? A: The original idea was to document the story of how a nursery school at the Luník IX housing estate in Slovakia had great potential to change the lives of its pupils. From the wonderful works that hang everywhere along the walls of the nursery school it is obvious that these are unbelievably talented children, but they are living in an environment of deprivation, extremely high unemployment, and a lack of opportunity. We wanted to know whether the nursery school could help them fulfill their potential. The Luník IX neighborhood illustrates the segregation of the majority population from Romani people in Slovakia, but we were especially captivated by the very local form of that segregation: It's a mere six kilometers from the center of town, but many local people do not even know it exists. We wanted to make a film that would testify as to what it is like in this little-known place, to the difficulties the local children face, but to do it in such a way that viewers could feel close to them, that it's somehow familiar - to show all the joy and the obstacles that everyone forgets about their own school years, and to remind viewers that every single one of these children deserves a chance. Q: When did you first learn of the nursery school at Luník IX? A: I came to Košice in 2008 when I was doing research for our previous documentary film, "Trial of a Child Denied" [about Romani women subjected to forced sterilization - Editors]. During that visit I met Kristína Magdolenová of the Roma Press Agency, who suggested I stay a few weeks and visit some of the Romani communities in eastern Slovakia. During that visit she showed me the nursery school. It was one of her favorite places and she was very proud of it. Q: What was your first visit to the nursery school at Luník IX like? A: When she took me to Luník IX, I had no idea where I was going. She said it was a surprise. We parked close by and walked across the main yard, past the painted bars and through the heavy metal door into the nursery school. On the way to the classroom I walked past two rooms, with many painted portraits and little benches lining the children's cloakroom. The children all greeted us with a chorus of "Hello!" and stopped playing for a moment in order to welcome us. Before my guide led me through the hallway to the main staircase that connects the three blocs of the nursery school, we walked through a small labyrinth of rooms. As I walked down the hallway, barely lit by dim fluorescent lamps and thin strips of light from the cracks between the tin walls, I was surrounded by the exhibited work of the children and the international awards they had won – the four seasons done in painting, cotton and wool - and I could hear the hollow echoes of the games being played outside in the yard. The whole corridor resonated with those sounds. You definitely cannot convey something like that with photographs only. At that moment I clearly imagined the film. Q: People living at Luník IX are considered a very closed community, not trusting of outsiders. Your film includes some very private scenes from the lives of the protagonists. How did your crew succeed in gaining their trust? A: We filmed over a very long period of time so people could get used to us. In such a small, tight-knit community, where everyone talks to everyone else, it was key to maintain openness, trust and respect for everyone we came into contact with. Naturally, the nursery school made our access to the families much easier, they gave the parents a kind of "guarantee" about us - especially Eva Žigová, a local resident who works at the nursery school, which her grandchildren attend. She first visited the families we wanted to talk with and explained what we were doing. Not all of them said yes, but most enjoyed the filming. We heard about journalists who travel to Luník IX to film sensationalist things, who ask people to do stuff like throwing a television out of a window so they can show the neighborhood as chaotic and violent, but when people heard what our film was about and found out that we weren't interested in that angle, they were willing to open up to us and we could tell their stories. Q: Even though a nursery school is the center of interest in your film, it still manages to represent the most burning problems that Luník IX is encountering, without exaggerating the violent side of life, which the media most often concentrates on there. As documentary filmmakers attempting to follow the details, weren't you present for such situations of conflict? A: We knew we wanted to provide a balanced, sensitive portrait of the neighborhood, one which would not avoid its difficulties, but which would refrain from any clearly negative images, as I mentioned. Nevertheless, there was a need to mention their problems so the context in which the children live and the nursery school operates would be clear. At its core, this is a film about a nursery school and some of its pupils. Had we concentrated on the neighborhood itself, especially on its violent side, a completely different film would have resulted. Q: Thanks to the local nursery school the children have more hope of achieving a better education and developing their talent. However, in your film we can sense uncertainty about their actual future. Do you intend to follow the destinies of these children into the future? A: I think that would be a fabulous project. In Britain there is an excellent, very famous series of documentary films, "Up Series", focusing on the changing life destinies of a group of British children year after year, and this has been done in many forms around the world. However, right now we aren't planning such a project. We are both involved in projects in different parts of the world. Q: Which festivals have you entered the film Luník IX in? Where will we be able to see it next? A: We submitted it to DOK Leipzig and to Jihlava and we hope it will be screened at both. In the next few months there will be several other festivals, but those two are the most likely places it will be screened. VIDEO Luník IX - trailer Michal Kriz, translated by Gwendolyn Albert

JULY 7TH

With all the anti immigrant frevor in the U.S. and Europe, I thought it was important to recognize two important anniversaries in the history of the United States.  Ironic that they come so close to independence day.

On July 7 1846, the United States annexed California from Mexico.

On July 7 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.

Annexed is one of those polite and convenient words used to cover up dire policies and acts of imperialism, oppression, racism and genocide.

Should we fire off any more firecrackers ?

Morgan

DECADE OF ROMA INCLUSION

Commentary by Karel Holomek: The embarrassing end to the Czech presidency of the DecadeCzech Republic, 7.7.2011 11:35, (ROMEA)   At the end of June, the Czech Republic handed over the presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion to Macedonia. For those who are not completely in the picture: The Decade is a 10-year program during which governments solemnly pledged to achieve success in coexistence between Romani people and their majority-society citizens and to implement so-called Action Programs based on various programs for integrating Romani people into society. In other words: To raise up Romani people to a level comparable to that of other citizens in society while preserving their identity at the same time. We hasten to say that this is a task that is just as binding for Romani people themselves as it is for other citizens, aware as we are of the kinds of objections that are raised during discussions of this issue, which usually lack a basis in reality. This year the Decade entered the sixth year of its activity and is somehow just marching in place, to put it very cautiously and soberly. The actual state of affairs demands a stricter evaluation, but we all know what a difficult process this is and we will, therefore, be tolerant. This year's two-day meeting in June had a star-studded cast. Both Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas and Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, were personally present for the opening. Their presence did testify to the fact that they are not indifferent to the Roma integration program, which they made very clear by attending. This represents a slight step forward compared to last year, when no government actors were present during the handover of the presidency from Slovakia to the Czech Republic, save for the Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner, who at that time was still Michael Kocáb. Of course, it is another matter entirely whether these government actors are capable of creating the conditions for implementing these programs in their countries and governments, particularly in the broader political and societal context. That is the actual, determinative framework within which any minimally acceptable, real change in the situation of Romani people in European societies will occur. One other important personality turned up at this conference, the American financier of Hungarian origin, George Soros, who has long been a generous supporter of programs for raising up Romani people, among other things. In his speech, he left no doubt about how things are in reality. I am not the only one forced to take a critical stance toward the Decade and its inability, for the time being, to change anything for the better in relations between Romani people and the rest of society. This newspaper [aktualne.cz] published in its pages on 29 and 29 June a rather detailed description of critical opinions regarding the Decade and its toothlessness, even from someone in the highest of competencies who has been personally involved and invested more than USD 8 billion into it. The main criticism was of the enormous segregation of Romani pupils in the Czech schools. I don't have to emphasize that this segregation then transfers to society as a whole and is in and of itself the main cause of the high unemployment of Romani people. Prejudices and unwillingness to employ Romani people have their primary cause in this segregation. High unemployment is the main cause of Romani people's social decline and their continuing difficulties of various kinds. What is worse: This problem is not at all diagnosed in places of government or officialdom, nor has it been perceived by society as alarming. A few more interesting remarks to complete the picture: The entire Decade meeting essentially was concerned with the administrative agenda, comprised of reports on progress in the various Decade countries. Of course, these expressed more or less high-minded wishes that the Action Plan programs would be fulfilled without mentioning a word about the real situation of Romani people in their countries and the serious problems related to them. It was even possible to quote the rapporteurs doing their best to embellish the situation so they could stand up to comparison with the other countries. The rapporteurs were all government bureaucrats with certain loyalty to their countries and governments. The Romani people who regularly turn up at these meetings have become accustomed to this. What is characteristic is that the reports, which are extensive and exceed 100 pages, are written in English - so who is able to read them aside from the narrow circle of those concerned (to say nothing of Romani people in the field)? The presentation of the Czech Republic, made by a staff member from the Office of the Government, was no exception. Despite all of my objections, I must praise this rapporteur. His formulations captivated me, they were made with a sort of informality and occasionally with a kind of shame that from time to time he had to say something that conflicted with his loyalty as a high state official. For example, he said that most of society has been overtaken by populism, that NAPIV (the National Action Plan for Inclusive Education) could be better, and that one-third of Romani children are not completing elementary education. He labeled Romani people as lower middle class, raising them to a status which might actually have flattered them if it could have been taken at face value. However, in all fairness I must say that after six years of the Decade, a group of people has been created at an international forum who know one another, who are able to informally exchange both bad and good experiences, and to a certain extent are even able to generate international pressure on various countries to show at least some effort to meet the obligations their representatives solemnly signed and therefore can't just throw away. This is neither meaningless nor in vain! This is progress, albeit restricted within the borders of each country by the incompetence of their politicians and the level of the society concerned. Therefore I was not surprised when the participants, prior to the end of the meeting, received a proposal pleading for an extension of the Decade to 2020 (by five years) in order to fully achieve the Decade aims on integration strategies, as the highly technical phrasing for the fulfillment of these aims has it. Of course, I cannot help but express skepticism after all of these experiences and meetings - and what came of them! If the framework for implementing the aims of the Decade, which is set by the politicians and politics at the level of the larger society, doesn't change, then little will change, and we will not be recording significant progress by 2020 either. Written for blog.aktualne.cz Karel Holomek, translated by Gwendolyn Albert, http://www.lidovky.cz/vse-je-v-rukou-starosty-bydzova-dn9-/ln_noviny.asp?c=A110121_000052_ln_noviny_sko&klic=240919&mes=110121_0 ROMEA

ENGLAND

FROM THE B.B.C.

6 July 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-14044132

Leigh Sinton gypsy pitches appeal rejected

An appeal over a planning application for 10 gypsy pitches in Worcestershire has been rejected.

An Appeal Inspector has upheld Malvern Hills District Council's decision to refuse permission for the development near Leigh Sinton.

A public consultation took place in May following the council's decision in February.

It has been decided that there was no need for the site and it would negatively impact on the landscape.

David Hughes from the council said: "Providing an appropriate number of pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in our development plan is critical but it is also key that these sites are developed in appropriate areas."
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IT'S THE 'APPROPRIATE AREAS' THAT I FIND INTERESTING IN THIS PIECE.
I wonder where 'appropriate' is.
It's not Dale Farm........
Morgan

PATRIOTISM

The following is a blog entry addressing patriotism.  I encourage everyone to visit this site.

Patriot Games: Be True to Your School | viewfromadyke

viewfromadyke.wordpress.com

There are times—like while I’m trying to remain nonchalant, sitting while everyone else rises during the national anthem that I always forget they’re going to play at even the most humble sports events—when thoughts about the meaning of patriotism force their way into my head. Love of the “fatherland”…

http://viewfromadyke.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/patriot-games-be-true-to-your-school/

EUROPEAN ROMANI WOMEN

Call for Proposals: Romani Women's Empowerment Grants

2011.07.05

Photo: Csaba Kocsis. This photo was an entry in the Chachipe photo contest (photo.romadecade.org) organized by the Open Society Foundations and OSA Archivum

The Open Society Roma Initiatives announce the 2011 call for proposals for the Romani Women’s Empowerment Grants initiative under the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015.

                                                                                     Romani Women’s Empowerment Grants

Call for Proposals

The Open Society Roma Initiatives announce a call for proposals for the Romani Women’s Empowerment Grants initiative under the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015. This initiative aims to promote gender equality both by empowering Romani women to take part in the decision making processes affecting their lives and by ensuring that the concerns of Romani women are addressed appropriately in political, policy and community domains. It seeks to give voice to Romani women’s concerns, stimulate active citizenship and build local leadership skills in an inclusive and equitable way.

The initiative is administered by the Open Society Roma Initiatives. For more information about the Roma Initiatives, see www.soros.org/initiatives/roma.

Who Can Apply?

The Romani Women’s Empowerment Grants initiative is open to applications from Roma and pro-Roma NGOs led by Romani women, or having Romani women in higher management positions, in countries participating in the Decade of Roma Inclusion: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.

What Types of Activities Are Supported?

The call is open to proposals which have one or more of the following objectives:

Increase Romani women’s participation in public life at the local, national and international levels. This includes increased visibility, representation in and influence on public institutions, as well as increased participation and visibility of Romani women in their wider and broader communities (e.g., in their local communities and municipal policy making, in the main domestic Roma movements, in mainstream women’s civil society organizations and coalitions, etc.)

Promote voter education and other forms of active citizenship among Romani women (e.g. by explaining through community-based action the importance and benefits of exercising their citizen’s rights, etc.)

Strengthen advocacy efforts to improve and/or change policies and practices on issues of concern to Romani women. This includes projects addressing local, national and international levels of decision-making as well as building alliances with mainstream women’s organizations
Involve men in promoting the principle of gender equality and address gender relations in Roma communities, and in Central and Eastern European and South East European societies

Facilitate the labor market inclusion of Romani women

Address the issue of early marriages

Strengthen Romani women’s leadership by creating opportunities for practicing leadership skills, gaining knowledge and increasing self-confidence by involving constituencies in an organized action

Combat human trafficking in particular by raising awareness among Roma communities and young Roma girls. Building alliances with mainstream women’s organizations is also encouraged.

Respond to the particular needs and concerns of Romani women refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)

Financial Allocation

The Open Society Roma Initiatives will provide up to 10,000 USD per project.

Each applicant may submit one proposal under this call for proposals.

To Apply
If you believe that your project is in line with one or more objective of this call for proposals, you are invited to submit a concept paper of up to 2 pages long. The concept paper should include the following:

a short paragraph about your organization
statement about the problem your project would address
the target group of your project (including age; location; gender; socio-economic status and the size of the project’s constituency). Please define if the constituency of the project is the Romani women individuals whose needs are addressed by the project, or Roma communities who will benefit from the activities of Romani women empowered by the project
a brief summary of the main objectives
the main activities of the project
the proposed duration of the project

After submission of the concept paper, applicants may be invited to submit a full proposal. The full application form will be provided to applicants whose concept paper was selected for further development. Please note that an invitation to submit a full proposal does not mean that your project has been approved for funding.

The Open Society Roma Initiatives and their Advisory Group on Romani Women’s Empowerment will make every effort to review the concept paper within four weeks.

Applications in English should be sent by e-mail to roma@osi.hu by August 8, 2011.

Eligibility

 

The evaluation of proposals will take into account criteria such as the expected impact and sustainability of the proposed project and the innovative approach it brings to issues of Romani women’s empowerment.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Roma Initiatives will monitor and evaluate the activity of grantees through field visits, progress reports and final reports.

Please contact us at roma@osi.hu for further information.

NORFOLK ENGLAND

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/event_celebrates_norfolk_s_travelling_community_1_952733#sharinganchor

Event celebrates Norfolk’s Travelling community

Monday, July 4, 2011
6.30 PM

With the sounds of Romany music filling the air, traditional crafts on display and a colourful Travellers’ wagon parked outside, County Hall in Norwich became the venue for a celebration of Norfolk’s Travelling community.

The Roads to Success event today looked at the Travelling community’s history, recognised ongoing projects and achievements, and showed how members of one of Norfolk’s largest ethnic minorities live today.

Kath Amis, one of the service delivery managers for the Traveller Education Service (TES) at Norfolk County Council and who helped to organise the day, said: “It was a chance for invited guests to meet some of the members of the Travelling community and to share in the successes of the Travelling community throughout Norfolk.”

People could look round a traditional open lot wagon which Felix Russell, 45, and some of his family still live in today along with four modern-day Travellers’ trailers.

PHOTO  Mr Russell, currently based at Billingford, near Bawdeswell, restores s traditional Travellers’ wagons, and he said it was important keep the tradition alive.

Other Travellers flying the flag for crafts that go back generations were Alan and Sally Harwood, 63 and 39, and currently based in Letheringsett. Between them they make hand-carved wooden flowers, Gypsy clothes pegs, beautifully painted woodwork, paper flowers and elaborate knitted clothing.

Mrs Harwood said: “The event was absolutely brilliant. It covered every aspect of the travelling community and our way of life and the options available to people. It also helps to break down barriers between the Travelling community and other people. We want to talk to people about our way of life, and I hope to see more events like this.”

Tuckswood Community Primary School pupils performed Romany music alongside local musicians, and there were displays about Traveller heritage and initiatives being run within the Travelling community today. These included work with Traveller children under five, work by TES in schools, and opportunities for young Travellers to gain qualifications including one in site management to help them learn skills to run Traveller sites.

Gloria Buckley, who runs Roundwell Park and Saddlebow Traveller sites, said: “The event was really wonderful. I think we should do events like this more often. How many people are aware of what is going on in the Gypsy and Traveller community? Events like this help people become more aware.”
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While I support events such as this, it is somehow ironic occuring at the same time as the evictions at Dale Farm.  The beat goes on..........
Morgan

DALE FARM UPDATE

ROM VIRTUAL NETWORK

PHOTO dailymail.co.uk

Dale Farm eviction notice served - Camp Constant to be set up from Saturday, 27 August 2011

Activity Days at Dale Farm, starting on Saturday, July 9th, at 1 pm.

Today, some 90 families at Dale Farm, the UK's largest Traveller community, were hand-delivered a final notice of eviction giving families until midnight on August 31 to abandon their homes, or face their entire community being bulldozed. The central government and Basildon Council have set aside over £18m for the eviction battle that could last three weeks. It will be the biggest clearance of its kind involving the ploughing up of 54 separate plots created on a former scrap-yard purchased by the Travellers ten years ago.

Dale Farm is only a 30 minute train ride from London, and hundreds of people have pledged to join residents in nonviolent resistance to the destruction of Dale Farm. The residents of Dale Farm have encouraged their supporters to establish a base at Dale Farm, Camp Constant, to resist this eviction and house human rights monitors.

Join us on Saturday August 27th and beyond, starting with a weekend of Traveller history & celebration together with practical eviction resistance training. There will also be training for legal observers and human rights monitors, and a bit of a party on Saturday night. Sleeping space is available in caravans or you can bring a tent. The eviction could go ahead right after midnight on August 31st, so we will be staying at Dale Farm before then in preparation. 

Spend the night at Dale Farm and Alerts - Urgent call for Support
After the August 31st, an eviction could happen at any time, and we might not know when. We'll need people to be on standbye to come up to Dale Farm in the event of an eviction.  

We also need people to spend the night at Dale Farm to provide around the clock support to the community and resistance to the eviction. We are looking for groups and individuals to pledge to stay overnight.

If you can be on eviction alert, or spend a night at Dale Farm, please sign up here:
https://smsalerts.tachanka.org/dalefarm

Weekend Activity Days

On July 9th and beyon, we will be building defences to resist the eviction, as well as supporting the community and setting up Camp Constant.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://dalefarm.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_124229427082

A GYPSY LIFE FOR ME

 

FROM THE BEDFORDSHIRE NEWS

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News/Singing-traveller-misses-out-in-gypsy-talent-show-01072011.htm

PHOTO : CHRISTOPHER PREECE/TRAVELLERSTIMES.ORG.UK

SINGING TRAVELLER MISSES OUT IN GYPSY TALENT SHOW

Jake Bowers

A gypsy singer narrowly missed out on the chance to feature in the final of a new talent show for travellers.

Ruth Butcher, 69, who lives on the ‘Cartwheel’ caravan site in Sandy, travelled down to London on June 19 for one of five regional heats of Travellers got Talent, which is due to be aired on Sky in November as part of a series – A Gypsy Life For Me.

Mrs Butcher sang Play to Me Gypsy but wasn’t put through to the final which takes place on August 20.
Her husband Walter said: “She’s been singing since she was about eight. It’s part of our culture and something we enjoy doing.”

Romany journalist and broadcaster Jake Bowers, 39, the organiser of the contest, said it had been going for around three years now but not on this scale.

He previously presented Rokker Radio on BBC Three Counties – a weekend programme for the travelling community in the East and is the editor of Travellers Times.

The father-of-three said: “It’s our opportunity to say this is something positive and realistic, especially after My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding which upset the community.”

A Gypsy Life For Me will begin on Sky Bio on November 17.

EUGENE HUTZ GOGOL BORDELLO

This is a wonderful clip of Eugene (Gogol Bordello) in an independent recording studio in New York City.

It is also a powerful, strong and proud political statement.

My favorite line is:

"One thing about them Gypsies, they never bored nobody!"

Enjoy

http://youtu.be/EJlPG8lsYY0

FINLAND

INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ADULT EDUCATION WEBLOG

PHOTO FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG

Gypsies in Finland


Romani is what the ‘Gypsies’ call themselves in every country in which they are found, but Gypsies is an English word derived from the slurred Egyptian, referring to where the English thought the Romani must have originated. And as might be guessed from their inaccurate English name, the Romani are seldom well understood or liked by their neighbours.

The Romani have lived in Finland since the sixteenth century, some 400 years, but they are still treated as outsiders by the ‘white’ Finnish majority.

The Romani originated as a distinct group in what is now northern India. They have spent centuries wandering, and can be found in many parts of Asia and Europe, particularly south-eastern Europe. Many still speak the Romani language, which is distinct from any European language.

The Romani have been able to retain a powerful, separate identity from many of their host cultures.

They have occasionally been the object of extremely harsh persecution, and in some areas of Central Europe they were almost exterminated by the Nazis during World War

Most Romani prefer to dress in their traditional clothing. Men wear dark suits, while women wear hoop-skirts with aprons and ruffles. Most Romani have dark hair and olive complexions, and the denigrating term for the Romani, mustalaisia, derives from musta or black. Finland’s best-known ethnic group, the indigenous Samis or Lapps, number only around 2,500. In contrast, the Romani population is probably somewhere between 6,500 and 10,000.

Finland is not generally well known as a country with widespread racism, but discrimination against the Romani has only recently been made illegal. As the targets of governmental efforts to ‘integrate’ them into the larger population and culture, they have endured extreme measures, including the forced removal of Romani children from their homes for placement in state-run children’s homes. This practice only ended in 1970.

Not until 1992 were Finland’s citizens guaranteed equal protection under the law or the right to their own culture. The Romani in Finland tend to have lower literacy rates, less education and economic resources, and higher levels of poverty than white Finns; many depend on state-funded welfare.

A director of a charitable organisation for the Romani stated, ‘Most Finns say that the mustalaisia are lazy, that they don’t want to work, and that they are not able to perform ordinary jobs. They say they’re dishonest and irresponsible’. Heikki Lampela, who is only part Romani, faces this attitude directly and often: ‘In restaurants where I had never been before, people told me, “Get out of here. We don’t like Gypsies”... People in Finland hate Gypsies. They don’t want Gypsies to come into society because they don’t like them. And Gypsies have their own society. The Finnish lifestyle and the Gypsy lifestyle are like day and night’.

Recent legislation has made overt, formal racism less common, and many Romani hope that these changes will result in the material improvement of their lives. But many Romani also have their doubts about any economic or social improvement. As Lampela says, ‘If we’re talking about a dog, does it matter what pedigree it is? People use their eyes here, they don’t use their brains. They don’t ask how you feel inside’. S.

SOURCE WENDY SLOANE

ROMANIA

FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/172915/20110701/roma-romania-gypsies-wall-arizona-mccain-bucharest.htm

PHOTO (Reuters) - A Roma man blows a torch as he works on a silver ring at a traditional products fair during the celebration of International Roma Day in Bucharest April 8, 2011.

Friday, July 1, 2011 11:27 AM EDT


Gypsies Face Ghettoization in Romania

In Arizona, politicians are trying to build a wall on the Mexican border to keep people out. Across the Atlantic, in an industrial city in Romania, a wall is being built to keep people in.

The local government of the city of Baia Mare in northern Romania is trying to erect a concrete wall in front of a Roma (Gypsy) neighborhood. The wall would separate the community from a main road, and human rights groups are saying that it is a government instituted attempt to "ghettoize" an ethnic community.

"Such initiatives belong to the Nazi era," the Center for Legal Resources said in an open letter to Biai Mare mayor Catalin Chereches.

"The idea to separate a community with severe social problems... amounts to institutionalized racism."

The Roma, also known as the Romani or Gypsies, form an ethnic group widely dispersed across Europe. Traditionally a traveling community with its roots traced to India, the Romani peoples are oft subject to extreme, institutionalized persecution.

Facing de facto discrimination in most European countries, the Gypsy community is economically troubled and many Romani live in slums, shanty-towns or in substandard housing. In the past, these communities have been subject to forced eviction and displacement.

Last year, the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca evicted 56 Romani families from their homes in the city center without giving them sufficient advanced notice. Similar events happen across central Europe. Last month Roma were relocated in the Czech Republic, and in April three Gypsy communities were evicted outside of Rome.

"When the authorities evict Romani communities against their will, without adequate consultation, notice or alternative housing, they are violating international treaties that the government of Romania has signed up to. This also applies to the resettlement of Romani communities to inadequate and segregated housing, " Barbora Cernusakova, Amnesty International's Researcher on Romania, said in a statement last week.

Mayor Chereches is denying that the construction of the six-foot high wall is motivated by any ethnic or racial considerations.

"It's only aimed at protecting our citizens against car crashes," Chereches told Reuters. "It's made of coated concrete instead of wood to stop people using it to make a fire."

Although the latest census reported that there were 500,000 Gypsies in Romania, some estimates put the number five times higher.

The per capita Roma population in Romania is among the highest on the continent.

JANET SUTHERLAND

FROM FREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY/VOICE OF RADICAL FEMINISM

http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/1647

Janet Sutherland, 1933-2011

June 2011

Janet Sutherland, born in Bellingham, Wash., on Oct. 12, 1933, was a lifelong working-class partisan and a valued Freedom Socialist Party comrade for 33 years. She died in Seattle on May 9.

A high school English teacher for four decades, she was revered by many students long after graduation. A core staffer of the early Freedom Socialist, she helped put the FS on a foundation of high-quality political journalism, continuing to volunteer over the years.

Sutherland was openhanded with time, money, and use of the home she shared with her longtime partner, attorney Val Carlson. Janet contributed long hours on two landmark FSP court victories: founder Clara Fraser’s sex and political ideology discrimination case against Seattle City Light and the Freeway Hall Case, which upheld the privacy rights of minority political organizations. She was renowned for her brevity and wit in meetings.

A passionate feminist, Sutherland served on Seattle Radical Women’s executive committee for a number of years. She taught classes and mentored younger comrades in the art of clear, concise writing. She penned innumerable statements, letters to the editor, and press releases until weeks before her death.

Janet will be missed for her generosity and talents and for the calmness and humor that made hard times bearable and good times better.

----------------------------------------
I had the honor and privilege of working with Janet several times.  She was an wonderful woman, and an indefatigable ally.
Morgan

DECADE OF ROMA INCLUSION

FROM NATIONAL ROMA CENTRUM


http://www.nationalromacentrum.org/

DECADE INCLUSION: DO NOT LET IT BE ILLUSION

PRESS RELEASE

Kumanovo, 01/07/2011 -

National Roma Centrum on the occasion of Macedonian Decade Presidency which officially begun on July 1 2011 and will last until June 30, 2012 is strongly supporting the commitments of the Macedonian Government seriously and decisively to continue improvement of ethnic Roma community in Macedonia.

NRC is calling upon the Government to make visible steps in housing, employment, education, health issues regarding Roma having in mind that Roma still lack personal documents creating obstacles in exercising their rights. Many initiatives were raised and formally supported, but still we have clear gap in between, although Decade is a political obligation to reduce poverty, exclusion and discrimination against Roma. NRC is urging the Government to involve state and civil stakeholders in undertaking joint actions and sharing experience toward common goal – inclusion and participation of Roma.

Decade inclusion do not let it be illusion – stated Asmet Elezovski, National Roma Centrum President. NRC is calling for joint actions and implementation in anticipated goals for visible and sustainable improvement.

Growing attention toward Roma community should not be base for further prejudices and discrimination, having in mind that Roma targeted policies have aim to improve the quality of life of our citizens. All human and other resources involved in Decade should bear in mind one clear vision –decades of exclusion cannot vanish in a minute, but can be last minute call to make difference.

The main objectives of the Decade relate to
1.:accelerating the progress towards an improved wellbeing through the inclusion of the Roma in the decision-making processes, and

2. monitoring the progress in a transparent and measurable way. Thus all stakeholders involved in the Decade and having responsibility in front of the Roma community are here to ensure visible progress not only in the name of the Decade, but of Roma people as well.

Link:
http://www.romabuzzmonitor.net/national-roma-centrum-decade-inclusion-do-not-let-it-be-illusion/

FILM BY GYPSY CHILDREN

I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO VISIT THIS FILM.  IT'S WONDERFUL.
MORGAN
----------------------------------------------------
Cardiff Gypsy children's film about travelling life

FROM BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-13915481

PHOTO FROM  TELEGRAPH.CO.UK


Gypsy and Traveller children in Cardiff have made a film about their community's traditional ways with funding from BBC Children in Need.

The youngsters from the Shirenewton site worked with the Romani Cultural and Arts Company and animation firm Cinetig, providing drawings to illustrate Laurel Price's memories of travelling life.

Gypsy Ways is being shown at the Riverfront Arts Centre in Newport on Thursday as part of an event celebrating Gypsy Roma and Traveller History Month 2011.

Film shown here courtesy of the Romani Cultural and Arts Company.

.http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/uk-wales-13915481

REMEMBRANCE IN CROATIA

Tadic: We remember so it would not be repeated

FROM EMG.RS

http://us.mg1.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=9tfi1rsne8bri

26. June 2011.

SOURCE- TANJUG

The village of Jadovno, western Croatia, marked the 70th anniversary of war crimes against Serbs, Jews and Roma in World War Two, and Serbian President Boris Tadic said the memory of those crimes promoted peace in the region, not conflict and divisions.

The village of Jadovno, western Croatia, marked the 70th anniversary of war crimes against Serbs, Jews and Roma in World War Two, and Serbian President Boris Tadic said the memory of those crimes promoted peace in the region, not conflict and divisions.

Tadic stated he was honoured to pay his respects to the victims for the first time as Serbian President. The crimes committed here should never be forgotten, he added.

"Tens of thousands were killed here just because they had their own identity, name, belief and faith. No one should ever forget that. Innocent victims deserve our remembrance," Tadic remarked.

He pointed out that political ideas that lead to suffering came alive again in recent history.

"I am aware of this suffering, but not only by the Serbs, but by Croats and other people as well," he underscored, adding it was important to stop that once and for all.

The president stated that he promoted a policy of remembrance that would not cause a conflict between Serbia and Croatia, but would allow them to live in peace and tolerance and condemn war crimes.

"To live like that, the way the French and Germans live nowadays, we need a lasting peace and an understanding of our common history. Serbia and Croatia have a special kind of responsibility to victims and a special role to play in Europe," he commented.

He also noted that he was there to honour the anti-fascist efforts by former Croatian president Stjepan Mesic and his successor Ivo Josipovic, adding that he supported anti-fascism in Croatia.

The commemoration was attended by head of the Croatian parliament committee for EU integration Vesna Pusic, Culture Minister Jasen Mesic, Serb National Council (SNV) President Milorad Pupovac and Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Uzelac.

President of the association of anti-fascist veterans and anti-fascists of Croatia Ratko Maricic and Secretary of the Mačabi World Union Macabi Carasso were also there.

The Croatian president did not ačept the invitation by the SNV to attend the event.

The Serbian president's mother, Nevenka Tadic, was also there to pay her respects, since her father, Strahinja Kicanovic, was one of the victims of the Jadovno concentration camp.

More than 40,000 people, 38,000 of whom were Serbs, were killed in the camp between May and August 1941.

The camp was established by the authorities of the nazi puppet state called the Independent State of Croatia soon after they ašumed power in 1941. The Italian army shut down the camp late August the same year.

Jadovno was the largest World War Two concentration camp in Croatia along with Jasenovac.

The memorial centre which was built some ten years after the war was demolished in early 90s

CZECH REPUBLIC

FROM ROMEA.CZ

Czech MEP Březina supports Romani residents in Přerov gathering against neo-Nazi march


Přerov, 26.6.2011 08:52, (ROMEA)

http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2568

About 150 neo-Nazis marched through Přerov yesterday, supervised by 700 police officers. Their march route passed by a place where several hundred Romani people had gathered to counter-protest. Police riot units succeeded in preventing the neo-Nazis from attacking the Romani residents, who laughed at the neo-Nazi march and shouted "good-bye, good-bye" to them as they passed. With the exception of minor scuffles between the neo-Nazis and police officers, the police cordon managed to prevent serious incidents from occurring.

Participants in the right-wing extremist event, which was convened by the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS), ended their march at around 15:30 at náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square), from which they had departed about an hour and a half previously. They started to disperse once the rally was over, and life in the town began to return to normal. "Promoters of the Workers' Party are gradually leaving Přerov, either by train or in personal vehicles," police spokesperson Michaela Sedláčková told the Czech Press Agency after the event was over.

Romani residents gathered at noon in a courtyard on Husova street not far from the train station. They had an excellent time playing music, barbecuing food, and giving speeches at a podium.

According to Richard Kořínek of the People in Need organization, the event was intended to express disagreement with the right-wing extremists' march in a peaceful way. The Archbishop of Olomouc, Jan Graubner, also attended to support the Romani residents. "It is impossible to approve of the extremists' actions. This illustrates the problems in this society as well as the fact that we have neglected solving them," Graubner told the Czech Press Agency.

"I believe that tolerance is the best way to respond to the DSSS march this afternoon. The Nazis will yell on the square for a while that they have the solution, but those are just empty words. The solution is equal access to education and working in a united way," Martin Šimáček, director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, said from the podium in Husova street. He also sent greetings from Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Monika Šimůnková, who supported the entire event.

Jarmila Balážová, chair of the ROMEA association, sent the following greeting to the gathering: "I am very glad that your town decided to organize a happening against this event by [DSSS chair] Tomáš Vandas, his promoters, and neo-Nazism in order to express your disagreement with extremist actions and opinions. We can't just sit at home, withdrawing in fear. Thanks once again for deciding to hold - like Ústí nad Labem, Nový Bydžov, Krupka and Brno - a civil, non-violent protest."

Clergyman František Lízna, Czech MEP Jan Březina, and Jozef Baláž, a member of the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission for Romani Community Affairs, also attended the event to show support for the Romani residents of Přerov.

When the DSSS march passed through Husova street, Romani people left the courtyard to watch them, laughing and whistling at them. Some neo-Nazis wanted to rush at them, but police officers prevented that.

According to Sedláčková, police did not have to detain anyone. However, the neo-Nazis were armed. "We confiscated (during personal searches of the extremists) one firearm, for which the owner was licensed, two collapsible nightsticks, three smaller knives, some rods and one set of brass knuckles on a man who was pretending to be a journalist," she said. DSSS chair Tomáš Vandas criticized the thorough personal searches of all people heading to náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square), calling them harassment. However, police rejected those claims given the need for security at the event.

Vandas himself was disappointed by the low turnout of his followers at the gathering. According to our correspondent, he complained off-mic that too few people had attended.

The DSSS event completely paralyzed the center of Přerov and the outlying areas. Police riot units were on the streets from late morning, as were mounted police. A police helicopter circled over the town. Transportation was halted, the streets along the march route were fenced off with police tape, and local residents could not access them. Shops in the neighborhood of the train station were shut and boarded up their display windows.

Two years ago in April the streets of Přerov were transformed into a battlefield when about 700 neo-Nazis attempted to break through police cordons when their event was officially over. Pieces of benching, firecrackers, paving stones and smoke bombs flew through the air near the bus station.

The DSSS is the successor to the Workers' Party, which was dissolved by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court last year. The court found the party's ideology, program and symbols included chauvinistic and xenophobic elements, a racist subtext, and was linked to national socialism, the ideology connected to Adolf Hitler.

ROMEA, Czech Press Agency, translated by Gwendolyn Albert

ROMEA