Student helps children in Romania

Posted: Monday, Feb 19, 2007 - 11:31:32 am CST
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer

One Beloit woman was so touched by the children of Romania, she has visited them five times.

Melany Williams, the daughter of Stephen and Joyce Williams, enjoys traveling to Romania to share her faith and warm scarves with the impoverished children.

A Beloit College sophomore studying education and international relations, Williams first traveled to Romania at age 17 for a short-term mission trip. She was supposed to go to South Korea, but the trip was canceled because of the SARS outbreak.

“It was kind of a fluke,” Williams said. “I got there (to Romania) and fell in love with the country that I had hardly heard of before.”

During the first trip she traveled with Word of Life, an international Christian organization. Once in Romania, she spent her time in orphanages, doing evangelism on the streets and joining in drama and choir performances.

“It was something that took me out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed it,” Williams said.

Although it took a while to warm up Romanians, the people were hospitable. When she got to know them better, they opened their hearts and took her in.

“They aren't as open as Americans on the first meeting, but once you have a connection, they are very warm and loving people and very committed to family, friends and relationships,” Williams said.

What really struck her was the many children in orphanages and on the streets.

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Flamenco dancer is appointed Roma's ambassador to the EU

By Graham Keeley in Barcelona
Published: 09 February 2007

In the stuffy confines of the European Parliament, he cut an unlikely figure. A strutting peacock of a man, Joaquin Cortes is normally to be found stripped to the waist, dancing Flamenco in front of thousands of mostly female devotees.

This is the dancer who almost single-handedly used his talent - not to mention his looks - to make Spain's most famous art form a must-see among the fashionable classes. But, though more used to hearing excited female fans shouting guapo (handsome), the one-time model for Giorgio Armani now wants to use his fame for a very different end.

Roma by birth, Cortes has become the new European Union ambassador for his people, in an effort to end decades of discrimination and xenophobia.

Dressed in more sober attire than normal, the dancer recently addressed MEPs in Brussels. "The main reason for my presence here is that I am of Roma origin and I understand that this institution is known as the champion of human rights in the EU," he said.

"I am one of the rare European Roma to whom fortune has been kind, as I am able to proudly assert my identity without fear of being persecuted, humiliated or being made a scapegoat." He added: "We all have to fight for the integration of the Roma nation, and hope that in the near future a new generation will live a better life."

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Gypsy authority urging hate speech law

Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's National Gypsy Authority (OCO) on Thursday urged parliament to renew its attempts to pass legislation against hate speech, the authority's chairman Orban Kolompar told reporters.

There has been an increased number of verbal attacks against the Roma minority in recent months, said Kolompar. Legislation is therefore needed to class hate speech as a crime, he insisted.

Early last year, the Constitutional Court nullified a law against hate speech adopted by Parliament, finding it unconstitutional. The rejected law would have expanded the scope of punishable acts, by inserting the phrase "incitement to hatred" to replace "instigation" in the Penal Code.

Kolompar argued that it was not enough to say that "the majority of people reject statements inciting hatred". Legal means are also needed against people, groups, organisations or parties that made openly offensive, racist remarks, he said.

OCO calls on the main opposition Fidesz party and allied Roma organisation Lungo Drom to distance themselves from extreme right organisations, such as Jobbik, which made provocative statements last week suggesting a high ratio of criminal activities committed by members of the Roma community, OCO Spokesman Janos Bogdan, Jr. said.

Gypsy children being bullied

Aled Blake
Published: 02 February 2007

http://www.tes.co.uk:80/2335778

Gypsy children have alleged shocking incidents of racist bullying in Welsh schools in a survey for charity Save The Children.

Face-to-face interviews were held with young pupils from the minority group about their experiences in mainstream education.

Name-calling was said to be the biggest form of abuse, with “Irish freaks”, “tramps” and “gippo” being hurled most frequently.

But it was also revealed that bullying has led to violent reactions from some Traveller children, who claim telling teachers is no help.

One six-year-old girl said she had been constantly called “dirty gypsy” during playtime.

Karen Crockett, from the Welsh office of Save The Children, said: “Without exception, every group we questioned had experienced racism and bullying at schools.”

Ann Crowley, senior policy adviser for the charity in Wales, said in her report for 2006/7 that bullying and lack of guidance for teachers, as well as cash, was impeding the progress of young children from traveller families.

She hit out at the Assembly government for not telling schools and local education authorities of progress at a national level.

But, although the government says the alleged bullying is unacceptable, it claims nearly £2 million has already been provided for the education of Gypsy/ Traveller children in 2006/7 alone.

It has also set up a Gypsy and Traveller unit, with partner organisations working to ensure families from the minority groups have more say in issues affecting them. Teachers, particularly in Welsh primary schools, were praised for their work with Gypsy children by chief inspector Susan Lewis in her annual report for 2004-5.

But tracking the educational performance of these children traditionally has been difficult because few LEAs keep records.

There were 1,415 Traveller children in Welsh schools in 2005-6, with a third located in Cardiff.

Gypsy king: 'The EU offers new hope for the Roma'

Sibiu, Romania , 4.2.2007, 10:10, (Babel International)

Florin Cioaba, 'Roma King,' wants to unify the fragmented ethnic gypsy tribes and represent them politically.

There are around 12 million Roma living in Europe today. Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU brings them more power and a voice in Brussels. Florin Cioaba, who lives in Sibiu, believes that the EU represents an immense opportunity for his people.

How did you inherit the title of 'International King of the Roma?'

The Cioaba family has been at the head of the Roma for several generations. It was my father, Ion Cioaba, who tried to integrate the Roma into society on a national and international level in the 1960s. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Roma wanted a king to represent them and fight for their rights. My father went from being called 'Bulibasha', which means head of a tribe in Romani, to 'king'. Following his death in 1997, I inherited the title.

What could change for your people with Romania’s accession to the EU?

The EU has been changing the fate of the Roma in Europe since 2000, when the European Roma and Traveller’s Forum was started. This is a sort of ‘mini parliament’ that I belong to, as Vice President of the Romani Union. I see the EU as a new path and a new future.

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Shoeboxes full of love reach children in need

Hampshire News
By Vicky O'Hare

NUMB is the only word I can use to describe the harrowing sights I saw when I arrived at a gypsy camp in Podgorica - the capital of Montenegro.

I had been invited over to the eastern European country, along with Gazette photographer Sarah Gaunt, to find out exactly where the gift-filled shoeboxes collected by the Rotary Shoebox Appeal actually end up.

The three Rotary clubs in Basingstoke - Basingstoke, Basingstoke Deane and Basingstoke Loddon - worked together to collect more than 700 gift-filled boxes from schools, businesses and Gazette readers in the run-up to Christmas.

There was a delay in transporting the boxes, which were meant to arrive in time for Christmas, due to reasons beyond Rotary International's control - but last Friday was when they finally reached the needy children they were intended for.

Members of The Rotary Club of Ulcinj-Uqin, who were looking after us while we were in Montenegro, had explained a little about what to expect from the visit to the gypsy camp - which has been there since 1999.

But nothing prepared me for what I experienced that day.

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Katmai Bears Caught in the Crossfire

Brown bears living in and near Katmai National Park & Preserveare threatened by overzealous hunting regulations adopted by thestate of Alaska.

I wrote a letter for NPCA to deliver to the Alaska Board of Game meeting in March asking that these bears beprotected. I hope you will take a minute to do the same.

These bears are some of the most photographed in the world--but all that could change with continued over-harvesting.

Take action today! http://ga1.org/campaign/katmai_bear?rk=p7M1DF11XzhsW