EveryOne Group promotes a campaign to have neo-Nazi or racist movements declared illegal in the European Union.
By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
“We are convinced”, says EveryOne Group, “that it has become necessary to promote a campaign to have neo-Nazi or racist movements declared illegal in the European Union. Otherwise, the risk of irreparable damage to democracy will soon become a reality. These movements spread ideologies that contaminate the entire political system and obtain electoral consensus.
It is absurd that in the Europe of human rights it is possible to initiate campaigns based on ethnic hatred or the criminalization of minority groups. The referendum in Switzerland on minarets is a perfect example. In which country, in the present climate of xenophobia, would the majority vote “yes” in favour of a minority group’s rights? After minarets, we could find ourselves voting in referendums against marriages between people of the same sex; the practice of traditions; books on minority religions and culture; practices like circumcision; the Roma marriage; assistance for the poor and marginalized; Gay Pride demonstrations and marches for human rights etc. We are very close to dangerous forms of nationalism and persecution.
In Italy, the persecution of the Roma people and “clandestini” (illegal immigrants) leads every day to deaths and humanitarian crises - while the dignity and liberty of these minorities are reduced to nothing. The activists and the few non-racist politicians are intimidated by the institutions, while helping the marginalized has become a crime with these news laws in force, laws which have turned refugees and the Roma people into “criminals”.
EveryOne Group wants to ask the European Union to consider the discussion and approval of a document – a directive – against nationalism, intolerant ideologies, propaganda that goes against people’s inviolable rights (through the spread of ideologies, the approval of national and local laws, the use of referendums). What is more, it must be established, once and for all, that neo-Nazi and racist movements must be deemed illegal and criminal, and should be removed from democratic institutions. Therefore they are asking everyone to consider joining the in an appeal to the European institutions to approve a document that reasserts the non-negotiable value of human rights and the dignity of minority groups.
While the ideas and the ideals behind this appeal certainly are laudable this is, however, a slippery slope for, and here the most important consideration, decides which groups falls into the category.
It also could open the floodgates to other groups that could be seen as causing some kind of “hatred” or whatever to also fall foul and the same legislations could be turned against other groups as well.
In addition to that it could push such racist and neo-Nazi groups underground where they could cause more damage than when permitted to operate openly.
However, one see the way that a great number of countries, and especially the most powerful ones, in the European Union have remained fascist to the core, such as Italy and also Germany, though in the latter case not as overtly as in the case of the former.
But, it was obvious, and still is, that, for instance, the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (KPD) (Communist Party of Germany) was banned after 1945 and could only, later, re-emerge as the Deutsche Kommunistische Partey (DKP) (German Communist Party) while the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD), the successor, and no denial, basically, is made of this, of the NSDAP, the Nazi Party, could emerge immediately and still can carry on to this very day.
The likes of the Young Pioneers and the Free German Youth were declared unlawful, basically, after the “fall” of the wall and reunification of Germany, but the Nazis can carry on without much of a problem. I think that shows from where the wind blows.
Banning any political organization just drives activity underground and could cause more grief than good and must be considered very carefully, in my opinion.
© 2010
Remembering the Holocaust is key to fighting modern-day racism, OSCE Roma adviser said ahead of UN ceremony
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Remembering the Holocaust is key to fighting modern day manifestations of racism and intolerance, said the OSCE's senior Roma and Sinti adviser, attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York today.
Andrzej Mirga, the head of the Roma and Sinti Contact Point at the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), stressed the need to teach people about the Holocaust, including the long-neglected ordeal of the tens of thousands of Roma and Sinti who perished in Nazi concentration camps.
"I hope that the narratives of Roma and Sinti and their stories about suffering and persecution under the Nazi regime will be heard and will become part of the teaching on the history of the Holocaust, and thus make clear what should never happen again," said Mirga, who will speak at a ceremony to mark today's International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony was organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, which has partnered with ODIHR since the programme was established in 2006.
He said racist ideologies remain virulent in modern society: "Those who suffered during the Nazi era, including Roma and Sinti, cannot forget that racist ideologies were the root cause of their persecution at the time, and that is also why they feel particularly threatened today by extremist or neo-Nazi groups."
Holocaust remembrance and education on tolerance must be complemented by laws protecting the dignity and human rights of all people, as well as by the effective application of law enforcement tools to prevent or punish violent manifestations of racist and extremist ideologies, Mirga added.
OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promote remembrance of the Holocaust. At least 41 of the OSCE's 56 participating States commemorate the Holocaust with official events, according to a new survey published by ODIHR today. Thirty-three OSCE states have established official memorial days for Holocaust victims.
The OSCE has played a prominent role in developing responses to anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. ODIHR assists participating States in implementing their commitments to combat hate crimes and promote tolerance and non-discrimination.
The shame is that while the OSCE participating states, and I do assume that Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania and Hungary are also part of those, may have committed themselves to promote remembrance of the Holocaust may are running official and unofficial anti-Gypsy pogroms with Italy in the forefront of those.
What good is commemorating the Holocaust when nothing is being learned out of the lessons, and the hypocritical governments just put on an outward show. Not that Jews are anymore being attacked. Nowadays it is just the Gypsy, the Romani.
And, no one cares as to what happens to the Gypsy, bar a few Righteous Gadje.
Too much waffle and not enough action by the European Union and the United Nations. Then again how can the UN tell states to stop persecuting the Gypsy when the UN and its agencies are as guilty of killing the Romani People. In that instance by imprisoning them on lead polluted camps in Kosovo, for example.
They Gypsy is, was and always will be scapegoat until we, the Gypsy, fight back against it. The time is NOW!
© 2010
Remembering the Holocaust is key to fighting modern day manifestations of racism and intolerance, said the OSCE's senior Roma and Sinti adviser, attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York today.
Andrzej Mirga, the head of the Roma and Sinti Contact Point at the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), stressed the need to teach people about the Holocaust, including the long-neglected ordeal of the tens of thousands of Roma and Sinti who perished in Nazi concentration camps.
"I hope that the narratives of Roma and Sinti and their stories about suffering and persecution under the Nazi regime will be heard and will become part of the teaching on the history of the Holocaust, and thus make clear what should never happen again," said Mirga, who will speak at a ceremony to mark today's International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony was organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, which has partnered with ODIHR since the programme was established in 2006.
He said racist ideologies remain virulent in modern society: "Those who suffered during the Nazi era, including Roma and Sinti, cannot forget that racist ideologies were the root cause of their persecution at the time, and that is also why they feel particularly threatened today by extremist or neo-Nazi groups."
Holocaust remembrance and education on tolerance must be complemented by laws protecting the dignity and human rights of all people, as well as by the effective application of law enforcement tools to prevent or punish violent manifestations of racist and extremist ideologies, Mirga added.
OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promote remembrance of the Holocaust. At least 41 of the OSCE's 56 participating States commemorate the Holocaust with official events, according to a new survey published by ODIHR today. Thirty-three OSCE states have established official memorial days for Holocaust victims.
The OSCE has played a prominent role in developing responses to anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. ODIHR assists participating States in implementing their commitments to combat hate crimes and promote tolerance and non-discrimination.
The shame is that while the OSCE participating states, and I do assume that Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania and Hungary are also part of those, may have committed themselves to promote remembrance of the Holocaust may are running official and unofficial anti-Gypsy pogroms with Italy in the forefront of those.
What good is commemorating the Holocaust when nothing is being learned out of the lessons, and the hypocritical governments just put on an outward show. Not that Jews are anymore being attacked. Nowadays it is just the Gypsy, the Romani.
And, no one cares as to what happens to the Gypsy, bar a few Righteous Gadje.
Too much waffle and not enough action by the European Union and the United Nations. Then again how can the UN tell states to stop persecuting the Gypsy when the UN and its agencies are as guilty of killing the Romani People. In that instance by imprisoning them on lead polluted camps in Kosovo, for example.
They Gypsy is, was and always will be scapegoat until we, the Gypsy, fight back against it. The time is NOW!
© 2010
Announcing the Romani E Journal
Romani E Journal – A new journal on anti-Gypsyismby Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Recently a new e-journal, the Romani E Journal, has been launched and has published its first issue on “Experiencing Exclusion”.
This is an important subject, in my opinion, as the exclusion of the Gypsy People by the mainstream society from many aspects of ordinary life is a given fact but one often forgotten, especially as to Romani Exclusion in the countries of Western Europe.
Time and again we are being told about this or that factor of Gypsy Exclusion and Anti-Gypsyism in the former Com-Bloc countries, such as Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia, Romani, Bulgaria, but little, if anything, is said about Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Britain, etc.
While the practice of sending Gypsy children to “special schools” in the Czech Republic and also Hungary made and makes headlines in Romani and even non-Romani media, the fact that the same is happening in Germany, and other countries, is not even mentioned once.
Romani E Journal is dedicated to publishing articles on the different aspects and expressions of anti-Gypsyism and its Editor-in-chief is Gregor Dufunia Kwiek.
The website of Romani E Journal also contains audio visual materials, such as taped discussions and lectures, as well as a documentation archive with photos of various Romani events and texts related to the topic.
The aim of the documentation archive and journal is to provide teachers, students and scholars with accessible information on the Romani people.
Contributors should bear in mind that we seek contributions that will take a critical approach causing readers to be cautious about accepting information about Roma as a true representation both in media and literature.
The next and second issue will be published in April, and will focus on gender balance in Romani society. We welcome contributions related to this topic. Deadline for submissions is March 30th.
Romani E Journal welcomes and publishes contributions in English, Swedish and Romani.
Romani E Journal gratefully acknowledges the support of the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs for the development and maintenance of the website.
For more information, please visit our website www.romaniejournal.com
Table of contents of the first issue (Winter No 1/2009):
- Gregor Dufunia KWIEK: Unintentional Exclusion
- Robert BRISENSTAM: On Antiziganism and the Importance of Education
- Emilia DOMURAT: Utbildningsväsendet och romer i Sverige
- MC ROM: När drömmar krossas
- Gregor Dufunia KWIEK: Titles, words, declarations and their misinterpretation
- Elin STRAND: ”Dessa synnerligen otacksamma främlingar”-Vetenskaplig antiziganism i ljuset av två svenska 1700-talsavhandlingar
© 2010
Gypsy children segregated in schools Czech Republic
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Czech Republic is continuing to segregate Roma children into sub-standard schools for the mentally disabled, charged a report released recently by Amnesty International.
The 80-page report prepared by the London-based human rights group found that discrimination in the school system persists despite a 2007 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that the Czech Republic was sending Gypsy children to special remedial schools.
“What is needed is a very strong approach to discrimination,” said Fotis Filippou, the report’s author, adding that Amnesty was calling for a freeze in placements to schools for mental disabilities for the current school year while the system is reviewed.
According to the report, which studied four schools in the area around Ostrava, in the east of the country, Gypsy children are often sent to special schools, or sent to mainstream schools where they form the overwhelming bulk of the population, and the standards of education tend to be much lower than for Czech children. Many parents, often with little education themselves, are not equipped to keep their children in the mainstream system.
”There is no real choice – they can send their children to a mainstream school where the children will be bullied and ostracized, the other option is to send them to a practical school where they will receive more support, be with their Romani peers, but receive a lower quality education,” said Mr Filippou.
The Czech education ministry has officially eliminated the remedial special schools, renaming them “practical elementary schools”, but they continue to function in much the same way as before under a new label. This week, the ministry indicated that parents will be better informed before their children are recommended for the remedial schools.
There are thought to be as many as 300,000 Gypsies in the Czech Republic, making up about 3 per cent of the country’s population. Historically the Roma have faced discrimination at work and at school – their unemployment numbers are much higher than for the general population, and 80 per cent of working-age gypsies have only a primary school education.
The position of Gypsy children in Czech schools is similar to the situation they face across much of central Europe.
“Romani children are pushed into an inferior system in Slovakia , and similar problems exist in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania – wherever there are large Romani minorities,” said Robert Kushen, managing director of the Budapest-based European Roma Rights Centre.
While, yet again, Amnesty, so nicely concentrates on one of the European Union member states in the East, in this case the Czech Republic, the “leading lights” in the EU with the very same practices.
In Germany, bar a few exception, it is common practices for Gypsy children to be, after the Einschulung (the induction into school), where they will be inducted initially into a “normal” elementary school, often afetr only being there for a few days, to be passed on, without the parents being allowed an appeal, to a Sonderschule, a Special School. The very same schools that once had the title of “schools for the educationally subnormal”.
This practice is common all over Germany, as well as other EU member states, some in the West and some in the East.
In Britain it used to be, and probably still is, that Gypsy children were placed at the back of the schoolroom and told to draw or play with toys, or such, often with the comments that they are too stupid to be taught anything worthwhile.
Again, Amnesty says nothing about those occurrences. Why not?
© 2010
The Czech Republic is continuing to segregate Roma children into sub-standard schools for the mentally disabled, charged a report released recently by Amnesty International.
The 80-page report prepared by the London-based human rights group found that discrimination in the school system persists despite a 2007 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that the Czech Republic was sending Gypsy children to special remedial schools.
“What is needed is a very strong approach to discrimination,” said Fotis Filippou, the report’s author, adding that Amnesty was calling for a freeze in placements to schools for mental disabilities for the current school year while the system is reviewed.
According to the report, which studied four schools in the area around Ostrava, in the east of the country, Gypsy children are often sent to special schools, or sent to mainstream schools where they form the overwhelming bulk of the population, and the standards of education tend to be much lower than for Czech children. Many parents, often with little education themselves, are not equipped to keep their children in the mainstream system.
”There is no real choice – they can send their children to a mainstream school where the children will be bullied and ostracized, the other option is to send them to a practical school where they will receive more support, be with their Romani peers, but receive a lower quality education,” said Mr Filippou.
The Czech education ministry has officially eliminated the remedial special schools, renaming them “practical elementary schools”, but they continue to function in much the same way as before under a new label. This week, the ministry indicated that parents will be better informed before their children are recommended for the remedial schools.
There are thought to be as many as 300,000 Gypsies in the Czech Republic, making up about 3 per cent of the country’s population. Historically the Roma have faced discrimination at work and at school – their unemployment numbers are much higher than for the general population, and 80 per cent of working-age gypsies have only a primary school education.
The position of Gypsy children in Czech schools is similar to the situation they face across much of central Europe.
“Romani children are pushed into an inferior system in Slovakia , and similar problems exist in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania – wherever there are large Romani minorities,” said Robert Kushen, managing director of the Budapest-based European Roma Rights Centre.
While, yet again, Amnesty, so nicely concentrates on one of the European Union member states in the East, in this case the Czech Republic, the “leading lights” in the EU with the very same practices.
In Germany, bar a few exception, it is common practices for Gypsy children to be, after the Einschulung (the induction into school), where they will be inducted initially into a “normal” elementary school, often afetr only being there for a few days, to be passed on, without the parents being allowed an appeal, to a Sonderschule, a Special School. The very same schools that once had the title of “schools for the educationally subnormal”.
This practice is common all over Germany, as well as other EU member states, some in the West and some in the East.
In Britain it used to be, and probably still is, that Gypsy children were placed at the back of the schoolroom and told to draw or play with toys, or such, often with the comments that they are too stupid to be taught anything worthwhile.
Again, Amnesty says nothing about those occurrences. Why not?
© 2010
New Amnesty Report Reveals Roma family in Romania forced to live in metal cabins behind sewage works
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
More than 100 Roma people – including families with children – are living in metal cabins next to a sewage works in Romania after they were forcibly evicted from their homes, according to a new Amnesty report launching today.
The report, Treated like waste: Roma homes destroyed and health at risk in Romania, tells how the Roma people were forcibly evicted by municipal authorities from a building in the centre of Miercurea Ciuc – the capital city of Harghita County in central Romania. Most were resettled by the authorities in metal cabins on the outskirts of the town, behind a sewage treatment plant.
Some decided to move to a nearby waste dump, rather than live next to the sewage plant.
Erszebet, who lives next to the sewage treatment plant with her husband and nine children, told Amnesty International what life is 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.”
The temporary metal cabins and shacks are close to the sewage treatment plant, falling within the 300-metre protection zone established by Romanian law to separate homes from potential toxic hazards. The failure to protect the right to health is another violation of Romania’s national and international obligations.
Ilana told Amnesty International: “The houses fill up with that smell. At night the children cover their faces with the pillows. We don’t want to eat when we feel the smell. I used to have another child who died when he was four months old. I don’t want to lose the rest of my children.”
The Romanian authorities must stop the forced eviction of Roma families and immediately relocate those living for years in hazardous conditions next to waste dumps, sewage treatment plants or industrial areas on the outskirts of cities, said Amnesty International. The organisation is calling on the government of Romania to reform its housing legislation to incorporate international human rights standards with particular attention to housing.
Halya Gowan, Amnesty International’s Europe Programme Director, said: “Across the country Roma families are being evicted from their homes against their will. When this happens, they don’t just lose their homes. They lose their possessions, their social contacts, their access to work and state services.
“This pattern of forced evictions, without adequate consultation, adequate notice or adequate alternative housing, perpetuates racial segregation and violates Romania’s international obligations.
“The ordeal of the Roma families has continued for six years. Now is the time for the local authorities to provide them with adequate housing close to services and facilities in a safe and healthy location.
“Something needs to happen now. An example must be set – forced evictions must be stopped and the right to housing must be guaranteed. And this can and should be done by the authorities of Miercurea Ciuc."
While it is good for Amnesty to do something as regards the Romani People being evicted and placed by the side of sewage works in Romania but things are hardly different in Britain.
Where do we find most official Gypsy Caravan Sites in the UK? They are on or next to Industrial Estates, as in the case of Earlsfield, where it is next to a cement works. Or next to sewage works, just as in Romania, or on old and methane leaking rubbish dumps, or other such locations that all have their own associated health hazards. No sign of Amnesty here though. Why not, I wonder?
The situation is not much better compared to Romania but, I guess, attacking western European Union governments is not as easy as the ones in the East.
© 2010
More than 100 Roma people – including families with children – are living in metal cabins next to a sewage works in Romania after they were forcibly evicted from their homes, according to a new Amnesty report launching today.
The report, Treated like waste: Roma homes destroyed and health at risk in Romania, tells how the Roma people were forcibly evicted by municipal authorities from a building in the centre of Miercurea Ciuc – the capital city of Harghita County in central Romania. Most were resettled by the authorities in metal cabins on the outskirts of the town, behind a sewage treatment plant.
Some decided to move to a nearby waste dump, rather than live next to the sewage plant.
Erszebet, who lives next to the sewage treatment plant with her husband and nine children, told Amnesty International what life is 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.”
The temporary metal cabins and shacks are close to the sewage treatment plant, falling within the 300-metre protection zone established by Romanian law to separate homes from potential toxic hazards. The failure to protect the right to health is another violation of Romania’s national and international obligations.
Ilana told Amnesty International: “The houses fill up with that smell. At night the children cover their faces with the pillows. We don’t want to eat when we feel the smell. I used to have another child who died when he was four months old. I don’t want to lose the rest of my children.”
The Romanian authorities must stop the forced eviction of Roma families and immediately relocate those living for years in hazardous conditions next to waste dumps, sewage treatment plants or industrial areas on the outskirts of cities, said Amnesty International. The organisation is calling on the government of Romania to reform its housing legislation to incorporate international human rights standards with particular attention to housing.
Halya Gowan, Amnesty International’s Europe Programme Director, said: “Across the country Roma families are being evicted from their homes against their will. When this happens, they don’t just lose their homes. They lose their possessions, their social contacts, their access to work and state services.
“This pattern of forced evictions, without adequate consultation, adequate notice or adequate alternative housing, perpetuates racial segregation and violates Romania’s international obligations.
“The ordeal of the Roma families has continued for six years. Now is the time for the local authorities to provide them with adequate housing close to services and facilities in a safe and healthy location.
“Something needs to happen now. An example must be set – forced evictions must be stopped and the right to housing must be guaranteed. And this can and should be done by the authorities of Miercurea Ciuc."
While it is good for Amnesty to do something as regards the Romani People being evicted and placed by the side of sewage works in Romania but things are hardly different in Britain.
Where do we find most official Gypsy Caravan Sites in the UK? They are on or next to Industrial Estates, as in the case of Earlsfield, where it is next to a cement works. Or next to sewage works, just as in Romania, or on old and methane leaking rubbish dumps, or other such locations that all have their own associated health hazards. No sign of Amnesty here though. Why not, I wonder?
The situation is not much better compared to Romania but, I guess, attacking western European Union governments is not as easy as the ones in the East.
© 2010
Kent's controversial Chief Constable set to become Chief Inspector of CPS
This is all we need!
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Chief Constable of the Kent Police, Michael Fuller, the first black chief constable, who has allowed, nay basically ordered, his officers to act unlawfully against peaceful environmental protesters is set to being offered, so it would appear, the job of next head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
This is the very chief constable who is facing questions over climate protest and it is amazing that if someone screws up gloriously in the position of a county's chief cop he gets offered the job of running the country's highest prosecution service. Like always in the civil service. Good G-d!
The Kent Constabulary, nowadays Kent Police, has always been somewhat of a rogue police force in this country, breaking the people left, right and center, and unwarranted searches of Gypsy Sites and Gypsy homes being just one of those manifestations.
So far any Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police who has come to the force having previously been the Chief Constable of the Kent Police has been “tainted” with this attitude.
When the freedom of peaceful protesters get trampled under foot as in Kent at the Kingsnorth Power Station, the G20 protest in 2008 and then now recently at the COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the same attitude was seen by police officers who seem to have taken tuition from cops from over here, then people must ask as to whether that is going to be the new European way of policing, all over the European Union, and Kent and other parts of the UK being a stalking horse and training ground.
It has become obvious that the Kent Police has stepped well out of line with policing the protest against the coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth and also by giving the security personnel of the power company police powers, basically, and the current Chief Constable of the Kent Police should be held accountable for those actions. The officers, after all, are acting on his orders. Instead, it would appear that he is going to be rewarded with the top job of the Crown Prosecution Service. How ironic!
© 2010
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Chief Constable of the Kent Police, Michael Fuller, the first black chief constable, who has allowed, nay basically ordered, his officers to act unlawfully against peaceful environmental protesters is set to being offered, so it would appear, the job of next head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
This is the very chief constable who is facing questions over climate protest and it is amazing that if someone screws up gloriously in the position of a county's chief cop he gets offered the job of running the country's highest prosecution service. Like always in the civil service. Good G-d!
The Kent Constabulary, nowadays Kent Police, has always been somewhat of a rogue police force in this country, breaking the people left, right and center, and unwarranted searches of Gypsy Sites and Gypsy homes being just one of those manifestations.
So far any Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police who has come to the force having previously been the Chief Constable of the Kent Police has been “tainted” with this attitude.
When the freedom of peaceful protesters get trampled under foot as in Kent at the Kingsnorth Power Station, the G20 protest in 2008 and then now recently at the COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the same attitude was seen by police officers who seem to have taken tuition from cops from over here, then people must ask as to whether that is going to be the new European way of policing, all over the European Union, and Kent and other parts of the UK being a stalking horse and training ground.
It has become obvious that the Kent Police has stepped well out of line with policing the protest against the coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth and also by giving the security personnel of the power company police powers, basically, and the current Chief Constable of the Kent Police should be held accountable for those actions. The officers, after all, are acting on his orders. Instead, it would appear that he is going to be rewarded with the top job of the Crown Prosecution Service. How ironic!
© 2010
Hindus want Europe to end Romani apartheid in “2010 Year for Combating Social Exclusion”
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Hindus want European Union (EU) to focus on ending the apartheid suffered by the Romani People during its self-declared “2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion”.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was a good opportunity for EU to show responsibility and prove that it was really serious in its social equality and combating poverty pledges by delivering some concrete results by bringing the Romani into the mainstream.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that before “2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion” turned out to be an empty slogan and just another paper plan; EU should wholeheartedly work to end the centuries of apartheid faced by its Romani People, who reportedly began migration to Europe as early as ninth century AD.
Rajan Zed pointed out that despite various high-flown “Roma Inclusion” projects launched in the past in Europe, the Romani People reportedly regularly faced racism, substandard education, hostility, social exclusion, 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 argued that although almost everybody in Europe agreed that the Romani People faced deeply embedded institutional discrimination and social exclusion, but almost no solid steps had come out to improve their condition despite lot of “sweet talk” and “paper-pushing”. It was simply immoral to let this around 15 million population of Europe continually suffer and face human rights violations. Their alarming condition was a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world.
Although “Combating poverty and social exclusion ranks among the main objectives of the European Union and its Member States”, but the Rom continue to suffer in Europe. Rajan Zed urged European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Spanish Presidency of the EU lead by Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to show effective implementation, firm commitment and strong political will to improve the plight of Europe's Romani-Gypsy. It is moral obligation of Europe to take care of its frequently maltreated Romani People.
© 2010
<>
Hindus want European Union (EU) to focus on ending the apartheid suffered by the Romani People during its self-declared “2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion”.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was a good opportunity for EU to show responsibility and prove that it was really serious in its social equality and combating poverty pledges by delivering some concrete results by bringing the Romani into the mainstream.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that before “2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion” turned out to be an empty slogan and just another paper plan; EU should wholeheartedly work to end the centuries of apartheid faced by its Romani People, who reportedly began migration to Europe as early as ninth century AD.
Rajan Zed pointed out that despite various high-flown “Roma Inclusion” projects launched in the past in Europe, the Romani People reportedly regularly faced racism, substandard education, hostility, social exclusion, 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 argued that although almost everybody in Europe agreed that the Romani People faced deeply embedded institutional discrimination and social exclusion, but almost no solid steps had come out to improve their condition despite lot of “sweet talk” and “paper-pushing”. It was simply immoral to let this around 15 million population of Europe continually suffer and face human rights violations. Their alarming condition was a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world.
Although “Combating poverty and social exclusion ranks among the main objectives of the European Union and its Member States”, but the Rom continue to suffer in Europe. Rajan Zed urged European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Spanish Presidency of the EU lead by Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to show effective implementation, firm commitment and strong political will to improve the plight of Europe's Romani-Gypsy. It is moral obligation of Europe to take care of its frequently maltreated Romani People.
© 2010
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The European Commission and You
After 5 years of working in the European Parliament I came to the conclusion that the situation of Roma in Europe remains unacceptable and can even be described with the Dutch word Apartheid.
Unfortunately a former Member of European Parliament (MEP) does not carry much weight. For this reason, in September 2009, I made a proposal to President Barroso.
As there were several delays in the forming of the new Commission, it was only in December 2009, after having sent another letter, that I received a reply. My proposal had been given to the external intermediary, engaged by the Commission to deal with possible future officials. Which means that there is a chance.
The proposal to the European Commission (EC) is that they hire me as an adviser who is linking the EC to local Roma intellectuals and vice versa. I have stressed the need of a meeting with the Commissioners for Social Affairs, Education and Human Rights. I reminded Mr José Manuel Barroso of his own spontaneous statement in 2006, when he said that the complexity of Roma issues demanded a taskforce within the Commission. Actually this is the beginning of a Roma strategy.
I ended my letter to President Barroso saying that my task would be a temporary one. After all, if I do a proper job, Roma will take over.
Inclusion and participation are crucial. Though the already existing networks should be reinforced and expanded, no one can deny the fact that there is an increasing number of young and educated Roma who deserve chances now. They are the trailblazers for a future Roma unit and a comprehensive approach of all issues by the EC.
In my letter to the EC I also gave some examples of Roma participation, financially supported by my MEP's office between 2004 and 2009, like the Roma Advisory Groups in Macedonia, who advise the national government in which way funds should be spent, after having consulted local communities. No one can work for Roma without them. The keyword is cooperation.
Els de Groen
Member of European Parliament 2004-2009
Write to els.degroen@inter.nl.net
Gypsy People in Italy in Peril
Everyone Group issues SOS to the European Union and the United Nations
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Everyone Group and others are launching a desperate SOS: an appeal to the European Union and the United Nations to intervene and save the Romani people in Italy from ethnic persecution.
Milan, January 2010: The Milanese authorities have bulldozed 80 makeshift shelters, home to a community of Romani families, and totally destroyed their blankets, warm winter clothes, stoves for heating and essential medicines. The forced eviction took place in Via Sant'Arialdo - near the Chiaravalle Abbey – in a racist and cruel Milan that the author of this report, (who was born in Milan) fails to recognise as the chief town he has admired for decades for its spirit of solidarity and open-mindedness. About 150 citizens of Romani origin, including children, pregnant women and sick people (many of them with cancer, heart problems, and handicaps) were thrown out onto the street and forced to set off on a tragic march to nowhere.
“It felt as though we had returned to the Hitler years,” commented a woman who lives in the area and who has often helped these families in difficulty. “Fortunately – after noticing the municipal police patrols driving up and down – many of the families left the settlement before the clearance began in order to avoid being charged for squatting and suffering the humiliation of the ethnic profiling that other families have been subjected to. However, their homes, makeshift shelters made from wood, plastic and cardboard, no longer exist”.
Ninety-five Romanian Roma were charged with illegally occupying a plot of land and are undergoing mass expulsion as the authorities have ordered them to leave the city: a reminder of the way the Gyosy were forced to leave centuries ago and during the pre-Holocaust years.
The January 21st pogrom (what else do we call the destruction in mid-winter of 80 makeshift homes, shelter to hundreds of human beings living in extreme poverty and bad health?) and mass expulsion (what else do we call the unlawful forced eviction of innocent families from the city they have lived in for years without the offer of any social aid or alternative lodgings?) is the umpteenth violation of human rights that has taken place in Italy. 150 vulnerable people in poor health are now wandering around in search of a new shelter in an attempt to prevent themselves dying of hunger, cold, infections and racial violence.
The police operation was carried out on the order of the local authorities, and was initiated by the deputy mayor, Riccardo De Corato, a politician who is responsible for numerous other measures of persecution against the Romani people and unfortunate immigrants.
The operation called for the deployment of 102 police officers from the local police force.
De Corato has expressed his satisfaction at this deliberately-induced humanitarian crisis, and has announced yet another camp clearance in Milan, in Via Vaiano Valle - the site of more makeshift huts where other marginalized, discriminated against and desperate families live. But the list is long: over the last two years more than 7,000 people from the Romani ethnic group have been forcibly evicted from their settlements in Milan without the offer of alternative housing.
Unfortunately, both the administration of the Mayor, Letizia Moratti, and the centre-left opposition are driven by intolerant and anti-Gypsy sentiments. As a result the tragic police operations are taking place with the blessing of all the political parties, government associations and local authority consultants. At the same time, the activists who are attempting with non-violent means to stop the brutal evictions are being intimated and threatened by the same institutions.
After learning of the terrible sanitary and social consequences of the police operation, EveryOne Group (which has lost all contact with the Roma left homeless during the Sant'Arialdo eviction) is today presenting a complete report on this tragic episode to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the International Criminal Court of the Hague. These operations are pushing Europe back to the days of the racial laws and ethnic persecution. EveryOne Group is appealing for urgent intervention, something more effective than a resolution or a letter of warning which have no legal bearing, and which the Italian institutions in the past have already shown to ignore and even mock. EveryOne Group, together with the committee against intolerance, “Sa Phrala”; the association for human culture, “Watching the Sky”; and the 586 anti-racist organizations that make up the “United” network are sending out a dramatic and desperate SOS to the international authorities, asking them to help the persecuted Roma people, who are being wiped out and expelled in mass from Milan and Italy.
We have to act immediately, because over the last two years the Roma community has fallen from 180,000 units to only 40,000 human beings.
This number includes the Italian Roma and those who fled from the former Yugoslavia, who are being profiled, rounded up into authentic ghettoes with round-the-clock surveillance and specially-created ethnic laws. We are talking about human beings who are being hunted out; subjected to brutality and racial violence; excluded from employment and integration programs and left in appalling sanitary and social conditions.
This appeal has been sent to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the International Criminal Court of the Hague. It has also been circulated to Romanii Human Rights organizations and others.
The outcome and response will show, and I am not holding my breath to any response, at least not of one of action against the Italian authorities, how much value is placed on the lives and conditions of the Romani-Gypsy in Italy, and elsewhere in the European Union, by the European Union bodies and international bodies such as the United Nations.
From all what has gone before it is a foregone conclusion that, aside from maybe, if we are lucky, a statement by the Council of Europe and others, none of which will be binding to the Italian authorities, nothing is going to happen.
Gypsies are not on the agenda proper and never will be. I fact, the way it appears to me we are on the removal agenda, the “needing to be gotten rid off” agenda.
Europe of the early twenty-first century looks more like Europe of seventy years ago than even. The specter of Black Legions is haunting the countries of the European Union once again, with Italy presently in the lead, and others following just a little behind.
When the Gypsy Union and the IRG warned years ago that the writing was on the wall as to what the European Union was going to be up to as far as the Romani-Gypsy is concerned everyone laughed and claimed that the EU was the best thing ever for the Romani. I think we are being shown who was right now, unfortunately.
One would have hoped that this was a thing of the distant past and never ever to rear its ugly head again but by the mid- to late 1990s it was becoming clear what was happening, at least clear to those that could see it. Now, only the blind will deny that the EU is aiming to ethnically cleanse the Gypsy from its books.
© 2010
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Everyone Group and others are launching a desperate SOS: an appeal to the European Union and the United Nations to intervene and save the Romani people in Italy from ethnic persecution.
Milan, January 2010: The Milanese authorities have bulldozed 80 makeshift shelters, home to a community of Romani families, and totally destroyed their blankets, warm winter clothes, stoves for heating and essential medicines. The forced eviction took place in Via Sant'Arialdo - near the Chiaravalle Abbey – in a racist and cruel Milan that the author of this report, (who was born in Milan) fails to recognise as the chief town he has admired for decades for its spirit of solidarity and open-mindedness. About 150 citizens of Romani origin, including children, pregnant women and sick people (many of them with cancer, heart problems, and handicaps) were thrown out onto the street and forced to set off on a tragic march to nowhere.
“It felt as though we had returned to the Hitler years,” commented a woman who lives in the area and who has often helped these families in difficulty. “Fortunately – after noticing the municipal police patrols driving up and down – many of the families left the settlement before the clearance began in order to avoid being charged for squatting and suffering the humiliation of the ethnic profiling that other families have been subjected to. However, their homes, makeshift shelters made from wood, plastic and cardboard, no longer exist”.
Ninety-five Romanian Roma were charged with illegally occupying a plot of land and are undergoing mass expulsion as the authorities have ordered them to leave the city: a reminder of the way the Gyosy were forced to leave centuries ago and during the pre-Holocaust years.
The January 21st pogrom (what else do we call the destruction in mid-winter of 80 makeshift homes, shelter to hundreds of human beings living in extreme poverty and bad health?) and mass expulsion (what else do we call the unlawful forced eviction of innocent families from the city they have lived in for years without the offer of any social aid or alternative lodgings?) is the umpteenth violation of human rights that has taken place in Italy. 150 vulnerable people in poor health are now wandering around in search of a new shelter in an attempt to prevent themselves dying of hunger, cold, infections and racial violence.
The police operation was carried out on the order of the local authorities, and was initiated by the deputy mayor, Riccardo De Corato, a politician who is responsible for numerous other measures of persecution against the Romani people and unfortunate immigrants.
The operation called for the deployment of 102 police officers from the local police force.
De Corato has expressed his satisfaction at this deliberately-induced humanitarian crisis, and has announced yet another camp clearance in Milan, in Via Vaiano Valle - the site of more makeshift huts where other marginalized, discriminated against and desperate families live. But the list is long: over the last two years more than 7,000 people from the Romani ethnic group have been forcibly evicted from their settlements in Milan without the offer of alternative housing.
Unfortunately, both the administration of the Mayor, Letizia Moratti, and the centre-left opposition are driven by intolerant and anti-Gypsy sentiments. As a result the tragic police operations are taking place with the blessing of all the political parties, government associations and local authority consultants. At the same time, the activists who are attempting with non-violent means to stop the brutal evictions are being intimated and threatened by the same institutions.
After learning of the terrible sanitary and social consequences of the police operation, EveryOne Group (which has lost all contact with the Roma left homeless during the Sant'Arialdo eviction) is today presenting a complete report on this tragic episode to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the International Criminal Court of the Hague. These operations are pushing Europe back to the days of the racial laws and ethnic persecution. EveryOne Group is appealing for urgent intervention, something more effective than a resolution or a letter of warning which have no legal bearing, and which the Italian institutions in the past have already shown to ignore and even mock. EveryOne Group, together with the committee against intolerance, “Sa Phrala”; the association for human culture, “Watching the Sky”; and the 586 anti-racist organizations that make up the “United” network are sending out a dramatic and desperate SOS to the international authorities, asking them to help the persecuted Roma people, who are being wiped out and expelled in mass from Milan and Italy.
We have to act immediately, because over the last two years the Roma community has fallen from 180,000 units to only 40,000 human beings.
This number includes the Italian Roma and those who fled from the former Yugoslavia, who are being profiled, rounded up into authentic ghettoes with round-the-clock surveillance and specially-created ethnic laws. We are talking about human beings who are being hunted out; subjected to brutality and racial violence; excluded from employment and integration programs and left in appalling sanitary and social conditions.
This appeal has been sent to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the International Criminal Court of the Hague. It has also been circulated to Romanii Human Rights organizations and others.
The outcome and response will show, and I am not holding my breath to any response, at least not of one of action against the Italian authorities, how much value is placed on the lives and conditions of the Romani-Gypsy in Italy, and elsewhere in the European Union, by the European Union bodies and international bodies such as the United Nations.
From all what has gone before it is a foregone conclusion that, aside from maybe, if we are lucky, a statement by the Council of Europe and others, none of which will be binding to the Italian authorities, nothing is going to happen.
Gypsies are not on the agenda proper and never will be. I fact, the way it appears to me we are on the removal agenda, the “needing to be gotten rid off” agenda.
Europe of the early twenty-first century looks more like Europe of seventy years ago than even. The specter of Black Legions is haunting the countries of the European Union once again, with Italy presently in the lead, and others following just a little behind.
When the Gypsy Union and the IRG warned years ago that the writing was on the wall as to what the European Union was going to be up to as far as the Romani-Gypsy is concerned everyone laughed and claimed that the EU was the best thing ever for the Romani. I think we are being shown who was right now, unfortunately.
One would have hoped that this was a thing of the distant past and never ever to rear its ugly head again but by the mid- to late 1990s it was becoming clear what was happening, at least clear to those that could see it. Now, only the blind will deny that the EU is aiming to ethnically cleanse the Gypsy from its books.
© 2010
Antiziganism in Italy. An appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner and the European Commission for urgent intervention.
The conditions of apartheid and the persecution the of Roma people in Italy has become intolerable. In the meantime the City of Rome is planning a series of “Roma-ghettoes”.
by EveryOne Group
Rome, January, 2010. In spite of official intervention from the European Commission, the European Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the major humanitarian organizations, the phenomenon of antiziganism in Italy has degenerated into a serious persecution and a denial of the Roma and Sinti people's fundamental human rights. There are many serious reasons for this:
the Italian Government, made up for the most part of ministers who for many years have been known for their intolerant ideologies (some of whom belong to the Northern League Party), have obtained approval from Parliament of many discriminatory and anti-constitutional laws which are contrary to the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Human Rights - such as Law 94/2009 that introduces “the crime of illegal entry”;
Over the last few years Italian politics, which is supposedly “democratic”, has distanced itself from anti-racist ideals and solidarity and is now being guided on a national and local level by politicians (bar a few exceptions) inspired by intolerant ideologies based on a false concept of security, and anti-immigrant sentiments.
on government orders, the local institutions have begun authentic “ethnic cleansing” operations against the Roma people and “illegal” immigrants, all done with the collaboration of the police force. As well as encouraging local people to act as informers, they are constantly persecuting unwelcome ethnic groups and bulldozing makeshift squatter settlements. These camp clearances have been undertaken with a huge deployment of police officers and vehicles. Bulldozers are being used to destroy their shelters and meagre possessions. These actions are followed by the issuing of formal expulsion decrees or intimidatory behaviour that “persuades” them to leave. These actions are justified as being “area reclamation” operations for reasons of safety and combating urban decay;
as a consequence of these actions, the homeless communities find themselves out on the street without alternative lodgings and humanitarian aid, or the chance of finding shelter (sometimes the authorities offer solutions that mean the families are separated: women and children are offered temporary shelter, while fathers, husbands and older brothers are forced to set off with nowhere to go and no offer of any social or medical assistance).
the principal organs of information in Italy have become political tools, and over the last few years have put forward theories that contribute to creating sentiments of prejudice, suspicion, racial hatred (particularly towards the Roma people and “illegal immigrants”). They do it by spreading discriminatory lies, selecting and blowing crimes committed by Roma citizens and foreigners out of proportion, while at the same time omitting or playing down news of the numerous episodes of racism or violence towards immigrants;
many Roma citizens have died as a result of the racial policies underway; the lack of protection from the freezing winter temperatures and wet weather; sickness and dramatic conditions of health and hygiene. Many have been injured or have lost their lives in acts of violence and raids carried out by neo-Nazi and neo-Fascist groups. The Roma people's average life-span has now fallen to below 40 as a result of the persecution they are being subjected to, but these are tragedies the authorities and media are careful to conceal;
except for rare exceptions, neither the national nor local Italian institutions have undertaken any kind of efficient integration programme, or any programmes promoting tolerance, (if only in word) and have even, whenever possible, discouraged private initiatives of this kind;
often backed by intolerant movements such as Forza Nuova, Azione Giovani, La Destra and the Lega Nord party, the authorities have promoted or encouraged violent measures against the Roma people and “clandestini”. They use an intimidatory strategy with human rights activists, which becomes even more worrying and threatening when we are talking about representatives from the Roma, Sinti and immigrant communities;
after years of racist and xenophobic propaganda founded on anti-integration and anti-immigrant sentiments, the majority of Italian adults and young people are convinced that the Roma people are hardened criminals, rapists, child kidnappers, asocials, enemies of civilization. A similar attitude is developing towards black Italian citizens and foreigners. At the same time the TV channels, newspapers and politicians are playing their own part in the spread of racism and xenophobia.
In a climate of fierce hostility and intimidation, EveryOne Group is denouncing the plans for further projects of apartheid and persecution, projects that are already underway in Milan and Northern Italy, and about to be initiated in Rome. This is done through regional and local laws or through the Prefect's Office, and are laws which fly in the face of all the EU directives and International Law. It has got to the point that intolerant and racist movements are now dictating the law inside the institutions.
In spite of the protests and recommendations from human rights organizations, and in spite of the serious preoccupation expressed by the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Rome authorities have decided to bring back ghettoes, modelled on those the Nazis set up in Poland on the threshold of the Holocaust.
Before carrying out this programme (which is reserved for the Roma people who cannot be expelled from the country) the Roman authorities have undertaken a horrifying series of camp clearances without the offer of social assistance to the homeless families (especially those from Romania) who had taken refuge in the major cities for reasons of poverty. Abandoned buildings, groups of makeshift shelters and tents in which hundreds of children and women (some pregnant), the terminally ill and the elderly live, have been cleared and bulldozed. Clearances have taken place both in summer and in winter. This has had terrible humanitarian consequences, and it has all taken place among the general indifference of the public. Most of the homeless Roma have been forced to flee Italy and take refuge in Romania, Spain, France and Greece. It has resulted in a mass expulsion, and apart from mild criticism, the European Union has done nothing to put a stop to these actions. The Roma who were unable to leave the country now live hidden away like mice, the victims of racism, institutional intolerance and hardship.
As for the “historical” Roma, who came to Italy over a decade ago to flee the humanitarian tragedies and persecution underway in the former Yugoslavia, the institutions have planned – the way they did in Nazi Germany – the displacement of these communities into authentic ghettoes. In order to justify this programme, the authorities and media have undertaken in recent years an antiziganist campaign which has depicted the Roma families in camps such as the Casilino 900 camp as a gang of criminals, incapable of integration and committed to dangerous and polluting activities - like the recycling of copper from cables with the consequent production of toxic smoke.
However, these desperate activities carried out for survival, activities that take place wherever the Roma people are forced to live on the margins of society, could easily have been avoided if there had been even a basic professional integration programme for the heads of the families and the creation of businesses and crafts activities inside the community. These activities would have allowed the families to leave the camp and find lodgings in proper housing, just like everyone else. A project of this kind proved successful in Hungary decades ago with efficient government programmes. Over the last four years, the Comune di Roma has invested over 45 million Euros in ethnic cleansing operations and reclamation of the areas the camps were built on: public funding spent without any criterion on the wave of racial hatred. With a third of that sum EveryOne Group or another association with the relevant experience could have provided a permanent solution to these people's need for integration. Today we would have had a perfect integration of the Roma community in the capital, with a return in terms of civility and international image. But instead Rome has chosen to get tough and yield to that loathing that comes from the stomach and clouds the noble mind that distinguishes men of human rights and evolved societies. As a result, in 2010, if civil society is unable to stop this wave of antiziganist madness, the city will imprison about three thousand people from the Roma ethnic group (including more than 1000 children) inside six or seven ghetto-camps located near existing official or squatter settlements. The project will require an investment of over 20 million Euros - more funds that could have solved the tragedy of the segregation of the Roma community in Rome in a civilized fashion. Before being interned in the new settlements, the families will pass through “transit camps” (as the authorities themselves call them) including, more than likely, the famous prison for immigrants at Ponte Galeria in Rome, the Centre of Identification and Expulsion, already the theatre of terrible violence and abuse towards the most vulnerable members of society. Naturally, to prevent epidemics and harsh criticism from the international community, the camps will be fitted out with running water and electricity; medical assistance and the chance to cultivate Roma traditions and customs. These are the characteristics of the new settlements in Rome according to information already supplied by the authorities:
camps reserved exclusively for people from the Roma ethnic group, a fenced-in enclosure to be watched over around the clock by police officers and security guards;
Roma citizens in possession of resident permits will be allowed access, as well as EU citizens in possession of ID cards and all those who are able to prove they have been present on Italian soil for at least ten years. The others will be left homeless, without any humanitarian aid and forced to leave the country;
the whole area will be equipped with surveillance cameras and police will patrol the area outside the camp.
“control committees” will be appointed, consisting of administrators of condominium blocks and Italian citizens residing in the area around the camps;
each internee (including minors) will be issued with a special permit with photograph and personal details, to be shown at the entrance to the camp. This operation has already begun, with the collaboration of “humanitarian” government or pro-government organizations;
an obligation to observe (besides the laws of the Italian Republic and local authorities) a special law called a “sociality pact” or “internal disciplinary pact” - a law specially created for the Roma community which is to be decided on by the local authorities and the “control committee” as the Prefect Giuseppe Pecoraro, (Special Commissioner for the Roma People) calls it: “A residents' rule where each administrator can decide on the hours and duties to be observed”;
anyone disobeying these rules will be punished. Though these punishments have yet to be defined, it will probably entail expulsion from the camp without any alternative lodgings or assistance;
in spite of these conditions that offend the dignity and fundamental human rights of these human beings, the Roma families will be made to pay for electricity, gas and water. Only the neediest families will be granted three months to pay their bills, the others will immediately be expelled from the camp (called an expulsion with “just cause”). It is impossible not to associate this rule with the one that forced the Jews during the Holocaust to pay their own fare to the concentration camps in the cattle-trains.
The Roma will only be allowed to live in the ghetto-camp for a period of two years: “because the assistance offered cannot become permanent” explains the Rome prefect of police. If implemented (and unfortunately the project is already underway) this “final solution” will mean the end to any hope of serious integration for the Roma, because the families - children included - will live under constant police surveillance, the parents branded as “asocials”. Their chances of finding dignified employment will be next to nothing, while the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads to pay their bills will force them to resort to any form of compromise to scrape together the money necessary to avoid being kicked out of the camp and left homeless with their women, children and sick relatives. The children will be subject to serious discrimination from their peers at school and will be excluded from integrating through participation in after-school youth activities.
The families will live in conditions of total apartheid, having to obey rules that are different from the democratic rules other citizens are obliged to adhere to, and who answer to a justice that is no longer “equal for everybody”.
The ghetto-camp will turn the social reality of the Roma people upside-down, people who for decades have been the victims of segregation, racism, injustice and violence and who would be entitled to housing and compensation from the Italian state if there were any equality. Instead, institutions that are no longer democratic, no longer civil, have transformed the Roman people into “criminals” in violation of the laws laid down in the Italian Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
With this document, EveryOne Group and the anti-racist network are asking the European Commission, the European Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to issue a formal and urgent protest to the Italian Government against this latest project of persecution against the Roma people in Italy. At the same time EveryOne Group is urging the International Criminal Court of the Hague (which has already taken up and registered a complaint against the Italian institutions for “crimes against humanity” for the measures taken against the Roma camps in the capital) to speed up the process and permit hundreds of persecuted human beings to finally obtain justice and compensation (at least materially) for the great loss of life and hardship they have suffered for many years.
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The professional Gypsyologists are at it again
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
On Friday, January 29, 2010 a “Roma Tomorrow” event takes place at the University of Texas, run by Prof Ian Hancock (who does happen to be Romani), with the rest, aside from the musicians, all being Gadje Gypsyologists, who make a good living on the back of the poor Gypsy.
Bringing academics all the way from Europe to the UT for such an event defies all logic and is all just, yet again, in aid of self-perpetuation of those Gypsy “experts”; the Gypsy Industry, as the late Tom Odley used to call them, and rightly so.
While it is indeed important that the Romani, the Gypsy, be represented at the Holocaust Memorial and that the Romani martyrs of the Holocaust are not forgotten, gatherings of academics bring us nothing; nothing whatsoever.
Neither does it benefit us if some people start screaming blue murder at every slight insult. We should by now be used to it and also to the fact that such things are happening.
While it is racism and discrimination for media and police to, for instance, again and again make a point of the possible ethnicity of a perpetrator by saying “Gypsy origin”, “Roma origin”, or, as in Germany, “a Sinti and Roma” (duh?), and should not happen it does and all screaming and jumping up and down won't do a thing.
There is only one way of combating this and that is that our People learn to be proud of what they are and show that they are Gypsy and work in professions, etc., and that our People get away from some of their ways of “making a living”, for instance.
Denying that certain things are done by members of our Race and claiming even that it is all a figment of the imagination of the media help no one. They, in fact, will make matters worse.
But, instead of trying to work for real change the Gypsyologists and others of their ilk only try to score political points and there are a number of people that could be mentioned but I will refrain from doing so.
However, as long as we claim that there is no trafficking of children for sordid things, no organized crime, no this or that, happening when all the evidence shows that this is so then we only appear as even worse liars to the outside world.
Our “leaders” and academics – and could the Gadje ones please go home and find another hobby – should concentrate on turning the tide for our People and emancipating them in a real way. All those studies on language and such do not help one little bit.
I rest my case...
© 2010
On Friday, January 29, 2010 a “Roma Tomorrow” event takes place at the University of Texas, run by Prof Ian Hancock (who does happen to be Romani), with the rest, aside from the musicians, all being Gadje Gypsyologists, who make a good living on the back of the poor Gypsy.
Bringing academics all the way from Europe to the UT for such an event defies all logic and is all just, yet again, in aid of self-perpetuation of those Gypsy “experts”; the Gypsy Industry, as the late Tom Odley used to call them, and rightly so.
While it is indeed important that the Romani, the Gypsy, be represented at the Holocaust Memorial and that the Romani martyrs of the Holocaust are not forgotten, gatherings of academics bring us nothing; nothing whatsoever.
Neither does it benefit us if some people start screaming blue murder at every slight insult. We should by now be used to it and also to the fact that such things are happening.
While it is racism and discrimination for media and police to, for instance, again and again make a point of the possible ethnicity of a perpetrator by saying “Gypsy origin”, “Roma origin”, or, as in Germany, “a Sinti and Roma” (duh?), and should not happen it does and all screaming and jumping up and down won't do a thing.
There is only one way of combating this and that is that our People learn to be proud of what they are and show that they are Gypsy and work in professions, etc., and that our People get away from some of their ways of “making a living”, for instance.
Denying that certain things are done by members of our Race and claiming even that it is all a figment of the imagination of the media help no one. They, in fact, will make matters worse.
But, instead of trying to work for real change the Gypsyologists and others of their ilk only try to score political points and there are a number of people that could be mentioned but I will refrain from doing so.
However, as long as we claim that there is no trafficking of children for sordid things, no organized crime, no this or that, happening when all the evidence shows that this is so then we only appear as even worse liars to the outside world.
Our “leaders” and academics – and could the Gadje ones please go home and find another hobby – should concentrate on turning the tide for our People and emancipating them in a real way. All those studies on language and such do not help one little bit.
I rest my case...
© 2010
Police: No evidence gypsies behind recent burglaries
Source: Wilmette-Life
The Wilmette Police Department stated it has no evidence that a rash of December burglaries are the work of gypsies, despite claims in an e-mail circulated to residents.
The police suspect that the same group of criminals may have committed four residential burglaries in December on the west side of Wilmette, but there is no evidence that the burglars are from Eastern Europe, nor that they are gypsies, as the e-mail reports, said Wilmette Police Chief Brian King.
King is aware of the e-mail because it was forwarded to the police department earlier in January and several residents called asking about the rumor.
© 2010
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The Wilmette Police Department stated it has no evidence that a rash of December burglaries are the work of gypsies, despite claims in an e-mail circulated to residents.
The police suspect that the same group of criminals may have committed four residential burglaries in December on the west side of Wilmette, but there is no evidence that the burglars are from Eastern Europe, nor that they are gypsies, as the e-mail reports, said Wilmette Police Chief Brian King.
King is aware of the e-mail because it was forwarded to the police department earlier in January and several residents called asking about the rumor.
© 2010
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Marína of the Zabbaleen - DVD movie review
Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)Marína of the Zabbaleen is a cinematic documentary feature that premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival to all sold-out screenings and impressive audience engagement.
Director Engi Wassef, an alumna of the Tribeca All Access program, became the youngest female director ever with a feature in the festival.
The festival’s Artistic Director, Peter Scarlet, personally introduced Marína at several screenings and was quoted as calling it "one of my favorite films of the festival." Among its other accolades, the film won a Muhr Award at the 2008 Dubai International Film Festival.
In addition to the film’s engaging story and Marína's big dreams (she aspires to be a doctor), the film portrays the resourceful Zabbaleen, a Coptic Christian community of recyclers whose entrepreneurial waste management system produces the highest rate of recycling in the world. Their model has inspired systems in Los Angeles and other major cities worldwide.
It is believed by some, including myself, and even some experts in the field, that the Zabbaleen are, in fact Gypsy in origin, of the Romani or Domari (both related groups though some claim different), and therefore the film should also be of interest to some of the Romani-Gypsy community.
Some of the living conditions of the Zabbaleen are also mirrored in those of the Roma recyclers in the former Warsaw Pack countries, such as the former Yugoslavia and Romani, for instance.
The release of Marína is also timely. As reported in The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere in May 2009, in reaction to the recent swine flu outbreak, the Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of all of the country’s pigs – the vast majority of which were raised by the Coptic Christian Zabbaleen and used integrally in the first phase of the recycling process.
For almost a century, the Zabbaleen had raised pigs to consume the thousands of tons of organic waste generated daily by Cairo’s residents. The ramifications of the pig cull are far-reaching, both devastating the livelihood of this minority community and imperiling Cairo’s entire system of waste management. Cairo is the largest producer of waste on the African continent.
Yet, the reasons for the pig cull are based at least as much in Egypt’s religious and political context, as on scientific reasoning. In fact the H1N1 Swine Flu came just like a gift from the g-ds to the Egyptian government and using the flu as a pretext they went and had the pigs of the Zabbaleen destroyed thereby all but wiping out their way of life and making a living and the most effective waste collection, recycling and garbage disposal service about.
The pigs, and no doubt even the Zabbaleen, have been a thorn in the flesh of the Egyptian government and the government of the city of Cairo for some time; the pigs because of the Muslim fundamentalists having a problem with them and the Zabbaleen and their garbage collection and recycling because of foreign money being able to come in if spent on “proper” waste collection, that is to say by multi-nationals who are already waiting in the wings.
The problem with the way those “proper” waste collection services work, however, and some of them are already operating in the Cairo areas, is that their garbage trucks compact everything thereby making recycling of the waste impossible.
The Zabbaleen provide a service to the city of Cairo, the country of Egypt and the Planet, as their way of waste recycling does not require holes in the ground for landfill operations. All recyclables are recycled and organic waste goes into the pigs; or at least it did until the recent government actions.
Torch Films, the producer of the DVD, will allocate 10% of gross retail sales revenues of the film to help the community survive its current dislocation and again reach sustainability. Their unique network of partners, which includes influential green organizations such as Net Impact, is collectively helping us in that effort.
With inspiration from the Zabbaleen’s thorough recycling system, distribution of the film will set the global standard for an environmentally and socially responsible independent motion picture release, serving as a benchmark for green film distribution.
Mindful that Marína comes from a family of paper sorters, the film's marketing campaign has been completely paperless, to date. Digital marketing and distribution processes are integral to the release. Theatrical distribution will utilize vanguard digital cinema technology, and innovative DVD distribution will reduce the carbon footprint of the process by more than 50%, on a per unit basis, from that of standard industry practice.
Torch Films is utilizing the greenest DVD technology available, the Flex DVD created by CD Digital Card, which uses 50% less polycarbonate plastic material than traditional DVDs, emits 50% less CO2 in manufacturing, and eliminates the necessity of non-biodegradable bonder.
Marína of the Zabbaleen is the first feature film to utilize this DVD technology. 100% soy-based inks will be used for all printing, and DVD packaging will be constructed from 95% recycled and 100% recyclable materials.
Torch Films is a global feature film financing, production, and distribution company founded in 2008, and is one of the few companies, and the only film company, selected for Mayor Bloomberg’s new entrepreneurship incubator initiative for New York City.
Marina of the Zabbaleen is a beautiful made documentary that could be, I hope, an inspiration so some of the Gypsy communities to rethink the way they operate in the waste management field and, with some additions, such operations could become the model for many around the world.
In my opinion, this is a film that should be seen by as may as possible in order to understand the way some waste is dealt with and it may also give some food for thought as to the way we produce waste, often needlessly.
© 2009
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Gypsies told: 'No room for you in our city'
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Portsmouth City Council is refusing to provide plots for Gypsies and Travelers in the city.
Council leaders claim that there is no space to allocate areas for traveling camps.
The South East England Regional Assembly, the region's planning body, said Portsmouth should find space for 13 or 14 pitches for Gypsies and traveling show people. Councilors, however, wrote back to the assembly refusing to comply with this order.
Now they have agreed a Gypsy and Traveler strategy which says: 'The city council is concerned that any regional allocation of caravan pitches to Portsmouth will not be deliverable.'
Liberal-Democrat council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: 'This reinforces our message to the regional development agency that we will continue to fight this.
'We are continuing with our view that there is no demand for the sites in Portsmouth and no space for them either.'
The regional assembly came up with the number of pitches each area in the south east should provide after a lengthy consultation.
Fareham and Havant have to provide nine each, Gosport five, East Hampshire 18 and Winchester 37.
The figures have been sent to the government for approval, and an examination in public is expected to take place before they are agreed, but ministers could say Portsmouth has to provide the sites.
Portsmouth council leaders hope they can strike a deal with a neighboring authority to take on its share of pitches instead.
But Fareham is already in talks with Winchester to take its share on, while Gosport and East Hampshire have so far protested against the pitches they have already been allocated.
Tory leader Councilor Steve Wemyss said the city council was taking a risk by refusing to find sites.
'I agree that there is no space in the city,' he said. 'But the law says we have to provide suitable sites, otherwise we could end up with more illegal encampments.
'If they fail to provide sites it could be a problem when it comes to seeking injunctions to move travelers on when they do arrive.
'It's easy for the administration to say we don't have space, but it does feel like they are sticking their heads in the sand.'
Councillor Vernon-Jackson said the council would continue to work with neighboring authorities.
Regardless of the fact that there are many Gypsies and traveling people in Hampshire and also in and around Portsmouth. Mostly found encamped illegally, and despite the order from the regional assembly the Portsmouth city fathers are basically saying that Gypsies and Travelers are not welcome in their town.
The claim by councilors is that there is no space in the city of Portsmouth for less than 15 pitches. That, I am afraid to say, is a laughable excuse. Sure there are areas available, such as some of the old Navy facilities, where some of those pitches, if not indeed all, could be accommodated.
The truth is, though, that Portsmouth's city authorities are simply saying that they just do not want to provide spaces for Gypsies and Travelers. It is as simple and straightforward as that.
Shame on you, Portsmouth.
© 2009
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Portsmouth City Council is refusing to provide plots for Gypsies and Travelers in the city.
Council leaders claim that there is no space to allocate areas for traveling camps.
The South East England Regional Assembly, the region's planning body, said Portsmouth should find space for 13 or 14 pitches for Gypsies and traveling show people. Councilors, however, wrote back to the assembly refusing to comply with this order.
Now they have agreed a Gypsy and Traveler strategy which says: 'The city council is concerned that any regional allocation of caravan pitches to Portsmouth will not be deliverable.'
Liberal-Democrat council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: 'This reinforces our message to the regional development agency that we will continue to fight this.
'We are continuing with our view that there is no demand for the sites in Portsmouth and no space for them either.'
The regional assembly came up with the number of pitches each area in the south east should provide after a lengthy consultation.
Fareham and Havant have to provide nine each, Gosport five, East Hampshire 18 and Winchester 37.
The figures have been sent to the government for approval, and an examination in public is expected to take place before they are agreed, but ministers could say Portsmouth has to provide the sites.
Portsmouth council leaders hope they can strike a deal with a neighboring authority to take on its share of pitches instead.
But Fareham is already in talks with Winchester to take its share on, while Gosport and East Hampshire have so far protested against the pitches they have already been allocated.
Tory leader Councilor Steve Wemyss said the city council was taking a risk by refusing to find sites.
'I agree that there is no space in the city,' he said. 'But the law says we have to provide suitable sites, otherwise we could end up with more illegal encampments.
'If they fail to provide sites it could be a problem when it comes to seeking injunctions to move travelers on when they do arrive.
'It's easy for the administration to say we don't have space, but it does feel like they are sticking their heads in the sand.'
Councillor Vernon-Jackson said the council would continue to work with neighboring authorities.
Regardless of the fact that there are many Gypsies and traveling people in Hampshire and also in and around Portsmouth. Mostly found encamped illegally, and despite the order from the regional assembly the Portsmouth city fathers are basically saying that Gypsies and Travelers are not welcome in their town.
The claim by councilors is that there is no space in the city of Portsmouth for less than 15 pitches. That, I am afraid to say, is a laughable excuse. Sure there are areas available, such as some of the old Navy facilities, where some of those pitches, if not indeed all, could be accommodated.
The truth is, though, that Portsmouth's city authorities are simply saying that they just do not want to provide spaces for Gypsies and Travelers. It is as simple and straightforward as that.
Shame on you, Portsmouth.
© 2009
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Toddler punched by muggers
Were the perpetrators Roma?
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
London, November 2009: On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, shortly before 5pm, muggers punched a two-year-old girl in the head as they demanded money from her mother, Scotland Yard revealed.
The 23-year-old victim was shopping with her daughter in Wembley, north-west London, when two young women tried to rob her.
The attackers, thought to be in their teens, became aggressive when the victim did not let go of her bag, and hit the mother on the arm before punching the toddler in the head.
None of the victim's belongings were taken, Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Detective Inspector Rebecca Reeves said. But DI Reeves also said that although the victim and her daughter did not have any visible injuries, this was a frightening experience for them.
A CCTV image of the two alleged attackers has been released after the attempted robbery in the hope that someone will recognize the perpetrators.
While both the women are described by the police from the CCTV images to be of Mediterranean appearance, with long dark brown curly hair and aged 14 to 18, I will say, despite the fact that I will be gather flack for sure with this, they do appear to be young Roma females from the Balkan region, probably, going by the way they are dressed and by looks. Alternatively they could be Albanians.
One was around 5ft and was wearing a white jacket, black mini-skirt, tiger stripe leggings, black flat shoes and was carrying a large black fake leather bag.
The second wore a black jacket, blue denim "skinny" jeans, black Ugg-style boots and had a large brown fake leather bag with gold details.
Those further description, as above, leads me further to believe that this crime has been committed by members of the Eastern European Roma community that are in London, often as “tourists”, from the new member states of the EU, such as Romania, Bulgaria, and also those from the Balkans that are now in Italy, who, all three grous, unfortunately, have a way of life, and the Irish judge recently was right with this, that sees begging with menace and also robbery as something acceptable.
We, the Romani People from Britain and elsewhere in Europe who have a different way, must make it clear to those Roma that that is no way to behave and that crimes like that will not be permitted by the Romani community at large.
Police urged anyone with information on the attack to call the incident room on 07917 067 281 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Any of the community who knows anything about this please contact the police. Let us show the Gadje that we do not condone such activities. Also, maybe our own justice system needs to go into action here and do something about it.
© 2009
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by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
London, November 2009: On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, shortly before 5pm, muggers punched a two-year-old girl in the head as they demanded money from her mother, Scotland Yard revealed.
The 23-year-old victim was shopping with her daughter in Wembley, north-west London, when two young women tried to rob her.
The attackers, thought to be in their teens, became aggressive when the victim did not let go of her bag, and hit the mother on the arm before punching the toddler in the head.
None of the victim's belongings were taken, Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Detective Inspector Rebecca Reeves said. But DI Reeves also said that although the victim and her daughter did not have any visible injuries, this was a frightening experience for them.
A CCTV image of the two alleged attackers has been released after the attempted robbery in the hope that someone will recognize the perpetrators.
While both the women are described by the police from the CCTV images to be of Mediterranean appearance, with long dark brown curly hair and aged 14 to 18, I will say, despite the fact that I will be gather flack for sure with this, they do appear to be young Roma females from the Balkan region, probably, going by the way they are dressed and by looks. Alternatively they could be Albanians.
One was around 5ft and was wearing a white jacket, black mini-skirt, tiger stripe leggings, black flat shoes and was carrying a large black fake leather bag.
The second wore a black jacket, blue denim "skinny" jeans, black Ugg-style boots and had a large brown fake leather bag with gold details.
Those further description, as above, leads me further to believe that this crime has been committed by members of the Eastern European Roma community that are in London, often as “tourists”, from the new member states of the EU, such as Romania, Bulgaria, and also those from the Balkans that are now in Italy, who, all three grous, unfortunately, have a way of life, and the Irish judge recently was right with this, that sees begging with menace and also robbery as something acceptable.
We, the Romani People from Britain and elsewhere in Europe who have a different way, must make it clear to those Roma that that is no way to behave and that crimes like that will not be permitted by the Romani community at large.
Police urged anyone with information on the attack to call the incident room on 07917 067 281 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Any of the community who knows anything about this please contact the police. Let us show the Gadje that we do not condone such activities. Also, maybe our own justice system needs to go into action here and do something about it.
© 2009
<>
Who owns your children?
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
“What a silly question” many readers, and especially those who are parents, are going to think right now, and, like most people, they will regards that they, the parents, “own” their children.
I know, everyone thinks that, basically, the parents “own” their children but this, in the governments’ eyes, is not the case, regardless of what they may say otherwise.
However, according to the way the government(s) and powers-that-be see it it is they, the powers-that-be, who own your children, dearest readers, regardless of what they, the powers-that-be may say and claim to the contrary.
You may think me crazy but the fact is that the powers-that-be definitely do think that they own your children, everyone’s children, and the fact and truth of the matter is that they not just think thus; they do own your children in the way the laws have been framed.
You, their parents, are only permitted to look after them (as long as you do the job of caring for them according to the decrees of the governments.) feed them, clothe them, send the to government brainwashing institutions, called schools, and such, using, obviously, in the main your own money to do that all. All so you can call them “your children”.
However, if and when they state sees fit to come and take them from you because the powers that be have decreed that your upbringing is against the rules, they will surely do so.
If you happen to, as done under many of the social systems that are operative in many countries you receive monies from the state “for” your children, called in Britain “child benefit” and in Germany, for example, Kindergeld (children money), this becomes even more obvious and the state very quickly also interferes in how you raise your offspring.
And you still think that you “own” your children and have any rights to teach them the way you want them to be taught and all that. Think again.
© 2009
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“What a silly question” many readers, and especially those who are parents, are going to think right now, and, like most people, they will regards that they, the parents, “own” their children.
I know, everyone thinks that, basically, the parents “own” their children but this, in the governments’ eyes, is not the case, regardless of what they may say otherwise.
However, according to the way the government(s) and powers-that-be see it it is they, the powers-that-be, who own your children, dearest readers, regardless of what they, the powers-that-be may say and claim to the contrary.
You may think me crazy but the fact is that the powers-that-be definitely do think that they own your children, everyone’s children, and the fact and truth of the matter is that they not just think thus; they do own your children in the way the laws have been framed.
You, their parents, are only permitted to look after them (as long as you do the job of caring for them according to the decrees of the governments.) feed them, clothe them, send the to government brainwashing institutions, called schools, and such, using, obviously, in the main your own money to do that all. All so you can call them “your children”.
However, if and when they state sees fit to come and take them from you because the powers that be have decreed that your upbringing is against the rules, they will surely do so.
If you happen to, as done under many of the social systems that are operative in many countries you receive monies from the state “for” your children, called in Britain “child benefit” and in Germany, for example, Kindergeld (children money), this becomes even more obvious and the state very quickly also interferes in how you raise your offspring.
And you still think that you “own” your children and have any rights to teach them the way you want them to be taught and all that. Think again.
© 2009
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It's not Monopoly Money, Prime Minister
It is not monopoly money, Gordon, and it is NOT yours to give away
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Hard on the heels of throwing taxpayer money away at the banks, which then did not do as they were requested in return for the money, the current British Labor government – or should I better call it “regime” - has now given away more of the British taxpayers' money.
This time it has been given to the European Union (EU) and official figures show that our share of the EU budget is to soar by almost 60 per cent to £6.4billion.
According to a Treasury document that was very quietly and almost secretly released by the Government some weeks ago the nett effect of the concessions is that every household in Britain will have to cough up another £92 per year, making our overall contribution equivalent to £257 per household.
I wonder how many British subjects understand the benefits of membership of the Union
Would you vote to become a member of an association with a membership fee this size without checking out the benefits of membership? Would you call the Euro and the Common Agricultural Policy membership benefits – we do not partake of one and the other is "a hole in my pocket".
The EU contributions rebate was won in 1984 by Margaret Thatcher to compensate the UK for the massive costs of the Common Agricultural Policy, which benefits Britain much less than other countries because of its relatively small farming sector. British contributions will continue to rise as the impact of the government concessions increases in coming years.
The latest increase is the largest year-on-year rise since 2003. The loss of the rebate makes Britain the second highest contributing member of the EU behind Germany.
Not that this is very surprising from the clique around Gordon Brown that they have now, in the name of the British people, basically given away the EU contributions rebate won by the now Lady Thatcher, in the same way that they refuse to let the British people have a say as to whether or not we do want to be part of the Lisbon Treaty.
We have just seen the farce that the EU is claiming to be democratic but when a referendum result does not suit them they basically tell the government concerned where the people have rejected something to keep voting till the desired result is achieved, as just now in Eire.
How can anyone believe that unelected entity situated in Brussels and Strasbourg stands for liberty and democracy. It does not, that much is becoming more and more evident.
Despite their big talk Gypsy People in Hungary, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia, and other countries in the European Union are being persecuted, often by government decree, as in the case of Italy, with the EU bodies standing by. Ethnic cleansing by proxy, methinks.
We have nothing to hope for from the EU but everything to fear, namely and especially our personal freedoms, despite assurances to the contrary, and if the recent new laws in Germany are anything to go by then all one can say is “welcome to the Fourth Reich”, courtesy of the EU.
The only way for Britain, and other countries of Europe, to go if the people value their freedoms is to stay out of the EU or, if they are in, to get out, and that presto.
© 2009
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by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Hard on the heels of throwing taxpayer money away at the banks, which then did not do as they were requested in return for the money, the current British Labor government – or should I better call it “regime” - has now given away more of the British taxpayers' money.
This time it has been given to the European Union (EU) and official figures show that our share of the EU budget is to soar by almost 60 per cent to £6.4billion.
According to a Treasury document that was very quietly and almost secretly released by the Government some weeks ago the nett effect of the concessions is that every household in Britain will have to cough up another £92 per year, making our overall contribution equivalent to £257 per household.
I wonder how many British subjects understand the benefits of membership of the Union
Would you vote to become a member of an association with a membership fee this size without checking out the benefits of membership? Would you call the Euro and the Common Agricultural Policy membership benefits – we do not partake of one and the other is "a hole in my pocket".
The EU contributions rebate was won in 1984 by Margaret Thatcher to compensate the UK for the massive costs of the Common Agricultural Policy, which benefits Britain much less than other countries because of its relatively small farming sector. British contributions will continue to rise as the impact of the government concessions increases in coming years.
The latest increase is the largest year-on-year rise since 2003. The loss of the rebate makes Britain the second highest contributing member of the EU behind Germany.
Not that this is very surprising from the clique around Gordon Brown that they have now, in the name of the British people, basically given away the EU contributions rebate won by the now Lady Thatcher, in the same way that they refuse to let the British people have a say as to whether or not we do want to be part of the Lisbon Treaty.
We have just seen the farce that the EU is claiming to be democratic but when a referendum result does not suit them they basically tell the government concerned where the people have rejected something to keep voting till the desired result is achieved, as just now in Eire.
How can anyone believe that unelected entity situated in Brussels and Strasbourg stands for liberty and democracy. It does not, that much is becoming more and more evident.
Despite their big talk Gypsy People in Hungary, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia, and other countries in the European Union are being persecuted, often by government decree, as in the case of Italy, with the EU bodies standing by. Ethnic cleansing by proxy, methinks.
We have nothing to hope for from the EU but everything to fear, namely and especially our personal freedoms, despite assurances to the contrary, and if the recent new laws in Germany are anything to go by then all one can say is “welcome to the Fourth Reich”, courtesy of the EU.
The only way for Britain, and other countries of Europe, to go if the people value their freedoms is to stay out of the EU or, if they are in, to get out, and that presto.
© 2009
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The Gypsy and the Environment
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The true Gypsy, o Tatcho Rom, he who relied on Nature for his livelihood in one way or the other, has always taken care of the environment, of Mother Earth.
This, unfortunately, is not true with many of those that are about today and that are perceived by people in general as Gypsy and who are thrown into one pot with the old Romani, the true Gypsy.
Many that are today referred too as “Gypsy” should never been given that “title” as it is not theirs for they have no link to the Rom, the Romani, the true Gypsy; the one with his roots in Ariyania. But I digressed.
The Romani, the Gypsy, has always treated the environment as a source for food and raw materials from which to fashion his home and his livelihood, whether that was for the making of baskets, pegs, wooden flowers, hurdles, or whatever else.
Most cultures that live from and depend upon Nature that surrounds them for food, shelter and material from which make goods for use and sale did used to have a much better take on environmental things than town folks did.
In recent years, even among the true Gypsy, the Romani, the understanding of and concern for the environment seems to have gone a little out of the window. This, however, is a rather recent phenomenon and to a degree being due to the fact that other itinerants, who are often referred to as Gypsy but are not, and who never had the same regard for Mother Nature as the Rom, and who fly tip rubbish and who also, otherwise, act against the environment. Not that that is an excuse and I am no0t offering it up as one either.
The truth is that there was a time when the Gypsy was real green, for let's face it: who were the first recyclers, well before recycling was even known as such a term. They were the Gypsy.
The Gypsy used what others threw away to make goods for trade and use, such as peg knives made from knives that the Gohja, the non-Gypsy, have thrown away for whatever reason.
They made other goods from what they could take from Nature, such as clothes pegs , tent pegs, baskets, wooden flowers, etc.
In most cases it was also the Gypsy, settled even, who was the so-called “Rag & Bone Man” who would come calling from door-to-door for scrap metal, old rags, bones, etc. From much of the good scrap iron and steel thus collected goods were made and even from tin cans. Many of those goods then found their way into use and especially as wares onto country markets and/or sold door-to-door.
The Rom thus became the first scrap metal dealers and salvage consultants. Gypsies were the first real recyclers and prevented many a still useful item ending up on the rubbish tips.
They also were the repairers of time gone by, mending pots and pans, umbrellas, and even large industrial boilers. They were the ones that went and sharpened knives and scissors, and all kinds of other cutting tools, providing a service that country- and town folk wanted and needed.
The Churimengro, the knife man, made their cutting tools usable again and the “rag & bone man” took away the unwanted pieces of this and that, often, as said, to repair and resell even, or to just resell for the metal or whatever lese to be salvaged from it.
Many a Rom clearing people's clutter for them and bringing the stuff to the rubbish tip that really had not further use anywhere would leave the tip with more then he came there; salvaging usable goods from there and keeping them out of the waste stream. Many a times I would go with my uncles to the tip to dump the things that really could not be recycled and the guys at the tip would comment that we were leaving with more than we had actually brought.
Wastefulness of the Gohja is nothing new, to be very honest, but in recent years it has gotten worse, I am sure.
Without the often despised Gyppo the landfills of old would have been much fuller than they ended up being and reusable items would have just been left to rot.
Nowadays this has all become commercial and the ordinary Gypsy can no longer follow any such trade without this or that license and pickers at the dumps are all licensed and pay fees for the privilege of going through other people's rubbish in order to recycle the good things, and many a good thing does end up on the dumps.
The economic downturn that we all have ended up in at the beginning of 2009 may turn, I hope, the tables once again and make it possible for the Gypsy to follow such green jobs once again, including even, I should hope the making of clothes pegs, tent pegs, baskets, etc.
© 2009
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Gypsy group angered by Huddersfield University lecture
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A row has broken out over Huddersfield University’s choice of speaker on Gypsies and Travelers.
Hughie Smith, president of The Gypsy Council, said the university has caused a “great deal of unrest” in the Romany community, including Huddersfield’s large population of settled gypsies, after it invited Jake Bowers to be a guest speaker.
Jake Bowers, who edits Travelers Times Online, contributes to The Guardian and presented a BBC radio program for the traveling community, which has ceased, so we understand, operating.
Mr. Bowers is due to lecture students in the School of Human and Health Sciences on ‘Britishness, Roma, Gypsies and Travellers’ as part of their studies on citizenship on October 22.
But the invitation has angered The Gypsy Council, a group formed in 1973, who say they are the only authentic Gypsy organization in the UK and do not acknowledge Mr. Bowers as one of their own.
Mr. Smith said extensive research among the Gypsy and traveler community nationwide had failed to produce any evidence that Mr Bowers had any Romany heritage and that he was purely a member of the relatively unknown National Romany Rights Association.
A spokeswoman for The University of Huddersfield said they were aware of Mr Smith’s concerns but said the lecture would still go ahead.
The problem, it has to be said, with The Gypsy Council and Hughie Smith is that they think they are the only ones that should be allowed to represent the Gypsy community in Britain and secondly it is bad blood because it was not they, or better Hughie Smith, that were asked to do the lecture.
It might be a good idea if Mr. Smith would get glasses if he cannot find any Romani connections as regards to Jake Bowers. Any tatcho Rom would recognize Mr. Bowers as one of the People; it definitely is not difficult.
What this shows, yet again, is that there is no unity amongst the Romanichals even in this small country of ours; so how does anyone expect unity to be possible amongst the wider Gypsy community. It shows how much clannishness and jealousy there is.
It is strange that The Gypsy Council and Mr. Smith never had a problem with Jake Bowers when Jake had him on the shows at the BBC Rokker Radio but suddenly...
Anyone who cannot see what this issue is all about will need to have their sense and not just their eyes examined.
Where the choice of speaker by the Huddersfield University can have caused “a 'great deal of unrest' in the Romani community, including Huddersfield’s large population of settled Gypsies”, is entirely beyond the comprehension of this writer for the majority of Gypsies in this country, the great majority of the Romani community, could hardly care less who gives the talk, of that we can all be assured.
This is yet another illusion of grandeur by Mr. Smith in the same way that his claim that The Gypsy Council is the only true representative of the Gypsies in the UK is also rather null and void as most of the Romani People here have no interest in that organization and its self-centered attitude, especially of its Fuehrer.
This is as much a void claim as that of some of the Roma groups that they are the only true Rom.
Is it not time that we learned to work together, at least the Sinti-based groups, such as the Romanichals, the Manush, and others?
© 2009
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A row has broken out over Huddersfield University’s choice of speaker on Gypsies and Travelers.
Hughie Smith, president of The Gypsy Council, said the university has caused a “great deal of unrest” in the Romany community, including Huddersfield’s large population of settled gypsies, after it invited Jake Bowers to be a guest speaker.
Jake Bowers, who edits Travelers Times Online, contributes to The Guardian and presented a BBC radio program for the traveling community, which has ceased, so we understand, operating.
Mr. Bowers is due to lecture students in the School of Human and Health Sciences on ‘Britishness, Roma, Gypsies and Travellers’ as part of their studies on citizenship on October 22.
But the invitation has angered The Gypsy Council, a group formed in 1973, who say they are the only authentic Gypsy organization in the UK and do not acknowledge Mr. Bowers as one of their own.
Mr. Smith said extensive research among the Gypsy and traveler community nationwide had failed to produce any evidence that Mr Bowers had any Romany heritage and that he was purely a member of the relatively unknown National Romany Rights Association.
A spokeswoman for The University of Huddersfield said they were aware of Mr Smith’s concerns but said the lecture would still go ahead.
The problem, it has to be said, with The Gypsy Council and Hughie Smith is that they think they are the only ones that should be allowed to represent the Gypsy community in Britain and secondly it is bad blood because it was not they, or better Hughie Smith, that were asked to do the lecture.
It might be a good idea if Mr. Smith would get glasses if he cannot find any Romani connections as regards to Jake Bowers. Any tatcho Rom would recognize Mr. Bowers as one of the People; it definitely is not difficult.
What this shows, yet again, is that there is no unity amongst the Romanichals even in this small country of ours; so how does anyone expect unity to be possible amongst the wider Gypsy community. It shows how much clannishness and jealousy there is.
It is strange that The Gypsy Council and Mr. Smith never had a problem with Jake Bowers when Jake had him on the shows at the BBC Rokker Radio but suddenly...
Anyone who cannot see what this issue is all about will need to have their sense and not just their eyes examined.
Where the choice of speaker by the Huddersfield University can have caused “a 'great deal of unrest' in the Romani community, including Huddersfield’s large population of settled Gypsies”, is entirely beyond the comprehension of this writer for the majority of Gypsies in this country, the great majority of the Romani community, could hardly care less who gives the talk, of that we can all be assured.
This is yet another illusion of grandeur by Mr. Smith in the same way that his claim that The Gypsy Council is the only true representative of the Gypsies in the UK is also rather null and void as most of the Romani People here have no interest in that organization and its self-centered attitude, especially of its Fuehrer.
This is as much a void claim as that of some of the Roma groups that they are the only true Rom.
Is it not time that we learned to work together, at least the Sinti-based groups, such as the Romanichals, the Manush, and others?
© 2009
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BBC Program “This World” - “Child Thieves”
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
While this program has come under attack, some rather severe, from several quarters, especially from academics in the field of Romani Studies in the West, including Romani People amongst them, and also some Romani activists, it is time that we, the Rom, the Romani People, firstly admitted to ourselves and amongst ourselves that this problem exists and then admitted it also to the outside world; and secondly that we, as a People, did something about stopping this practice.
We have out own system of justice but maybe we have to get an international version of this sorted out and then proceed against those criminal elements amongst our People at speed.
As long, however, that we are in total denial of this, publicly and as a people then it will continue and programs of this nature will be broadcast.
Why suppress the truth, as some of the “leaders” seem to wish to do? If we do that we, that is to say those that try to do so, are as guilty as those who perpetrate those things.
This is the same with the issue of Gypsy children being trafficked for this purpose and other more sordid things even and the sale of children by some Roma groups from Eastern Europe to others simply for gain. The same comments are made as to that not being the case and it all having been made up by the media in racist attempts to smear the name of the Romani People.
The fact is that all of this is happening and that some groups are even proud of doing what they are doing, whether it is living of begging and stealing and such or the sale of children for this or that purpose.
The cases in the UK that have been uncovered where Gypsy boys and girls, some as young as four and five, had been trafficked by Rom from Eastern Europe to places such as Glasgow for sordid exploitation and the rings that were smashed by the police are then, I should assume, also made up by the authorities; if one would go with the logic of those “leaders”.
Many of the “leaders”, it would appear, have no interest in accepting the truth and in actually doing anything against those activities. Instead they are employing the “Ostrich Syndrome” and try to claim that this is not happening.
One can but wonder why this denial in the face of the facts?
We must not try to shoot the messenger just because he carries a truth that is somewhat unpalatable to us and we do not like the taste of it. Instead we must try to discover more and then try to put a stop to it.
We must accept the truth of this and not just because the Fagins that were in the documentary openly admitted it and I also personally have experience with Rom from the former Yugoslavia whose children were proud to go out pickpocketing and stealing from shops and parents of those kids who were proud of what they stole.
It happens. So let's face it! And then, deal with it! But do not shoot the messenger.
© 2009
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While this program has come under attack, some rather severe, from several quarters, especially from academics in the field of Romani Studies in the West, including Romani People amongst them, and also some Romani activists, it is time that we, the Rom, the Romani People, firstly admitted to ourselves and amongst ourselves that this problem exists and then admitted it also to the outside world; and secondly that we, as a People, did something about stopping this practice.
We have out own system of justice but maybe we have to get an international version of this sorted out and then proceed against those criminal elements amongst our People at speed.
As long, however, that we are in total denial of this, publicly and as a people then it will continue and programs of this nature will be broadcast.
Why suppress the truth, as some of the “leaders” seem to wish to do? If we do that we, that is to say those that try to do so, are as guilty as those who perpetrate those things.
This is the same with the issue of Gypsy children being trafficked for this purpose and other more sordid things even and the sale of children by some Roma groups from Eastern Europe to others simply for gain. The same comments are made as to that not being the case and it all having been made up by the media in racist attempts to smear the name of the Romani People.
The fact is that all of this is happening and that some groups are even proud of doing what they are doing, whether it is living of begging and stealing and such or the sale of children for this or that purpose.
The cases in the UK that have been uncovered where Gypsy boys and girls, some as young as four and five, had been trafficked by Rom from Eastern Europe to places such as Glasgow for sordid exploitation and the rings that were smashed by the police are then, I should assume, also made up by the authorities; if one would go with the logic of those “leaders”.
Many of the “leaders”, it would appear, have no interest in accepting the truth and in actually doing anything against those activities. Instead they are employing the “Ostrich Syndrome” and try to claim that this is not happening.
One can but wonder why this denial in the face of the facts?
We must not try to shoot the messenger just because he carries a truth that is somewhat unpalatable to us and we do not like the taste of it. Instead we must try to discover more and then try to put a stop to it.
We must accept the truth of this and not just because the Fagins that were in the documentary openly admitted it and I also personally have experience with Rom from the former Yugoslavia whose children were proud to go out pickpocketing and stealing from shops and parents of those kids who were proud of what they stole.
It happens. So let's face it! And then, deal with it! But do not shoot the messenger.
© 2009
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