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Current AffairsObservers sceptical “announced” Roma political party will gain traction
Reports surfaced on Tuesday that a number of representatives of the Czech
Roma community are considering founding a new party focussing on Roma
issues, including how to tackle long-standing social problems and ethnic
tension between communities. Those have grown especially in North Bohemia
in recent weeks. While some, like notable sociologist Ivan Gabal have
praised the project so far – he told a national Czech newspaper such a
party could “change the atmosphere in Czech politics and improve the
social climate”, many others are sceptical, saying like parties before
it, this one too is unlikely to succeed. More
Current AffairsReport suggests Czech Roma suffer more discrimination than any other minority in EU
It is well known that the Czech Republic’s Roma minority suffer from a
wide variety of social problems, including relatively high levels of
unemployment and low levels of educational attainment. Many say they are
frequently the victims of discrimination – a claim that has now been
borne out by a new European Union study. In fact, it found that Czech Roma
suffer more discrimination than any other ethnic minority in the whole of
the EU. More
Current AffairsCzech-Romany relations hit low point, says government report
A week after Ottawa brought back visas for Czech citizens over the large
numbers of Czech Romanies seeking asylum in Canada, the Czech government
put out a report on the state of Romany communities in the Czech Republic
for 2008. The report is bleak: Czech-Romany relations are bad, it says,
and
will be difficult to fix. More
SpecialWithout effective government action, future bleak for Czech Roma minority
The Romanies, or Roma, are the Czech Republic’s biggest minority. The
relations between Roma and the majority population have long been troubled
but recently took a turn for the worse. The community is outraged by the
rise in extremist and neo-Nazi movements. For the first time ever, Romany
NGOs are organizing a nationwide protest against extremism that will take
place on Sunday.
More
Current AffairsČunek in trouble again after suggesting Roma families perpetuate social exclusion
Controversial Christian Democrat leader Jiří Čunek is still angling for
a return to the cabinet, although Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek says
he’ll have to
iron out his differences with the Green Party first. Mr Čunek was forced
out over an alleged corruption scandal, but the Greens also find his views
on the Romany minority somewhat distasteful. So his latest remarks on
integration are unlikely to curry favour with the Green Party leadership,
although they may succeed in boosting his flagging approval ratings. More
One on OneGabriela Hrabanova - Czech-Romani education specialist with one foot in each world
Radio Prague reported recently on the alarming rise in the creation of Roma
ghettos, where up to a third of the country's 250,000 or so Romanies end
up, with no job and a bleak life ahead of them. One group trying to help
Roma out of the ghetto and enter mainstream Czech society is the Romani
student organisation Athinganoi. Rob Cameron spoke recently to Gabriela
Hrabanova, the group's 27-year-old director.
More
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