Culture Minister vows to help sea gypsies

PHUKET: The government has set up a national-level committee aimed at resolving land rights issues and other problems affecting Moken and other sea gypsy communities in the Andaman Coast region.

Minister of Culture Teera Slukpetch on Friday afternoon visited five sea gypsy villages: the Moken villages of Ban Lam Lah and Ban Hin Look Diaw in Mai Khao; the sea gypsy village on Koh Sireh in tambon Rassada; and the two sea gypsy villages in Rawai.

At all five villages land rights issues were among the problems raised, along with poverty and a loss of traditional culture and way of life.

In some cases, youths in the communities no longer know how to fish or speak the language of their ancestors, Mr Teera was told.

Despite some of the communities having been established over 100 years ago, most sea gypsies do not have title deeds to the land they inhabit.

In some cases the land is state property, but in other cases, most notably in Rawai, the land is claimed by private sector landholders with title deeds who want to evict them.

“The government has set up the national committee and appointed me as chairman. This committee will resolve the problems of sea gypsy and Moken communities in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong,” Mr Teera promised.

The government would be flexible in finding ways to resolve land rights issues on a case-by-case basis.

Communities inhabiting state land will be allowed to remain there, he said.

In cases where other parties claimed the land and had title deeds to prove it, the committee would conduct a study to see if the title deed was issued before or after the community was established.

A provincial committee on sea gypsy issues will also be set up in each province with the provincial governor chairing the panel, he added.

The Culture Ministry will also build “culture centers” in each village to help preserve their way of life and educate future generations. Phuket is set to receive 10.2 million baht to set up five centers in fiscal 2010.

These centers will be promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as a way of generating extra revenue for the communities.

Many other countries use local culture, including that of indigenous tribes, to promote tourism, he said.

The government is committed to establishing sustainable tourism that will benefit all sides, he added.

Sea gypsies is a general term used in English to refer to people commonly called chao ley (“sea people”) by Thais, though the government typically refers to them as khon thai mai (“new Thai people”) as part of its efforts to integrate them into mainstream Thai society.

Some sea gypsies in Phuket are part of the Moken (or Morgan) tribe of seafaring people, while others belong to the Ourak Lawoy tribe.

Roma (Gypsy) Lecture

Apr 1, 2009, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Location: Taylor Auditorium - Marsh Hall

This lecture will highlight various types of art (painting & music) of the Roma (Gypsies) in Europe.

The first half of this Lecture/Demonstration, Lorely French will give a brief overview of the Roma (Gypsies) in Central Europe and a brief introduction to Ceija Stojka's life and artworks that are being exhibited in the Cawein Gallery. Mark Ferguson, along with Stephanie Sánchez & Paul Brady, will talk briefly about the history of Gypsies in Spain and the music, flamenco, for which the Calé (Spanish Gypsies) are renowned. The LecDem on will take place on Wednesday, April 1st from 7pm to 8:30pm in Taylor Auditorium in Marsh Hall.

Posted by Mark Ferguson (mferguson@pacificu.edu) on Mar 24, 2009 at 10:44 AM

TĂRNĂ-ROM UNION INVITES GOVERNMENT TO PARTICIPATE MORE ACTIVELY IN SOLVING GYPSY CHILDREN’S EDUCATION PROBLEM

Chisinau. The Tărnă-Rom Union asks the Government and the Ministry of Education and Youth to participate more actively in solving the education problem of the Gypsy children.

Tărnă-Rom Chairman Marin Ala said at a News conference in Infotag on Tuesday that about 7 thousand Gypsy children live in Moldova and only 2.8 thousand of them attend school.

“Unfortunately, many Gypsies do not go to school because of their poverty. A monthly income of a Gypsy family does not exceed 400 lei. That is why, Gypsy children have nothing to put on and to eat. Under such conditions they cannot go to school”, Ala said.

In his words, another problem is the discrimination of Gypsy children, in the first place, by teachers, who place them separately and on last desks.

Ala recognized that there is the Moldovan Government’s decree concerning the Gypsy education, but there are no instruments for its implementation.

Everything looks very nice on paper, but in the real life there are no mechanisms, which would help Gypsy children to attend school and not to be subject to discrimination. We hope that the Government will hear us, assess the situation and work out a strategy, which will change the life of young Gypsies in Moldova for the better”, he said.

Balkan Beat Box is on top of the world

By Siddhartha Mitter
Globe Correspondent / March 27, 2009

The band's name is Balkan Beat Box. Its core membership is three Israelis who found their voice in New York subcultures and whose sound encompasses Arabic rap, Moroccan gnawa, mariachi, and dub in an electronically infused cocktail. And when the band hits the Paradise Wednesday, it'll be fresh from Mexico City, where it has a huge outdoor gig this weekend in the central plaza, the Zocalo, sharing a bill with Asian Dub Foundation, the London Indo-punk massive.

Orthodox, these guys are not. Not in their Jewishness, squarely anchored at the secular, pluralistic end of the spectrum, and even less so in their musical sensibility. But don't confuse Balkan Beat Box with one of those goofy world-fusion jam bands that peddle low-impact exotica to undiscerning ears. It may be a party band - its live shows are famously raucous - but its members have the spirit of researchers and activists.

The band's recent journeys have taken it to places like Tel Aviv, Mexico City, and Belgrade, cofounder Ori Kaplan says, recording with local musicians for its third album, due out later this year. In Serbia, Kaplan says, band members shared techniques and compositions with some of the country's Roma, or Gypsy, village bands.

"We were writing music for them and teaching them our compositions," Kaplan says. "It wasn't just taking a Gypsy brass band and adding an electronic beat. We had a real musical exchange with Gypsy culture."

Kaplan, who plays saxophone and woodwinds, is speaking on the phone from Vienna, where he is temporarily based while his fiancée, who is Bosnian, is there on a work assignment. The Austrian capital is more vibrant than its stodgy reputation suggests, he says: "Every week you find a band that's like your dream band." And he's enjoying easy access to Eastern Europe.

These items are related. Although his band's music extends far beyond the Balkan reference in its name, the intense mixing of European, Jewish, Muslim, and Roma cultures that has taken place in the region for centuries is probably the band's core feedstock. And these days in Europe, that mixing is more vibrant than ever, Kaplan says.

"There's a real cultural exchange," he says, pointing to the short driving distances among central European capitals. "In New York, it's more distance and nostalgia; people are re-creating themselves. Here, they bring it with them."

That said, it was New York's "urban urgency," as Kaplan calls it, that gave birth to Balkan Beat Box and fostered its early audience around vigorous club performances and two albums, one eponymous in 2005, and the other, "Nu-Med" (as in the new Mediterranean), in 2007.

"They're a quintessential New York band," says Bill Bragin, director of public programming at Lincoln Center, who has watched the group emerge on the scene. "They're also a band of immigrants; each one is at a minimum bicultural."

Before forming Balkan Beat Box, Kaplan and drummer and electronics guru Tamir Muskat worked with pioneering neo-Gypsy performance ensemble Gogol Bordello in New York. The third core member, vocalist and all-around agitator Tomer Yosef, divides his time between New York and Tel Aviv.

"It was one of those eye-opening experiences being right in the middle of a golden era in New York," Kaplan says of the Gogol phase - referring to the rise of Eastern European sounds in hip circles, a trend partly fueled by the rise of a progressive Jewish aesthetic curious to hear these sounds in new settings.

"It's this somewhat new tendency in Jewish music that points to the idea of a Jewish identity, not in isolation, but in conversation with other traditions," Bragin says.

While New York is still their center of gravity, the band's members are now happily unmoored from its cultural compartments. Musically, they are introducing still more ingredients to the mix - particularly from Latin America, Kaplan says, with rhythms like Brazilian batucada on the upcoming record.

They're achieving more lyrical sophistication as well, Kaplan says, loosening the reliance on groove and putting more into the structure and emotional content of songs. "We dig deeper on this album," he says.

Most of all, they're hyper-conscious of the journey that animates not just their geographical movements but also their ideas.

"We don't want to be pigeonholed, and I feel like we have avoided that," Kaplan says. "We are lucky to have an audience that is loyal that way. We're kind of like a workshop, an art house."

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

NY Gypsy Festival 5th Anniversary Season Kick-off Party with Selim Sesler, "The Coltrane of the Clarinet"

Posted: 2009-03-25

Saturday, April 11 2009
10pm - 4am
New York Gypsy All-Stars with special guest Selim Sesler Romashka
Frank London

DJ Pepe and introducing DJs Wonderlust
Gypsy Dance by Kristina Melike
Visuals & Decor by Wonderlust
Palm reading by Mephuliaat

Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St, New York
$15 tickets at http://www.lepoissonrouge.com
18+ w/ID

Enter the wild, underground world of the Gypsies on April 11, 2009 when an all-star cast of performers, DJs, dancers and colorful characters gather to launch the 5th anniversary season of the NY Gypsy Festival. The 6-hour marathon will feature live bands and DJs in a circus-like atmosphere with dancers, palm readers and visuals at Le Poisson Rouge.Headlining the soiree is one of Turkey's top clarinet players, Selim Sesler, who played two packed shows at Joe’s Pub two years ago. Described as “The Coltrane of the Clarinet” by The Guardian, Sesler will join the mighty NY Gypsy All-Stars for a must-see clash of the clarinets, and high energy Balkan funk & jazz.

Also appearing are the 9-piece dance combo Romashka playing brassy Balkan beats & heart-twisting Russian tangos and heavyweight trumpeter Frank London, who brings his infectious energy and klezmer-brass sounds to the kick-off party. In their NY debut, Finnish duo Wonderlust are taking the Gypsy sound into club world by mixing music from both the west and east side of the Volga River. DJ Pepe rounds off the night with music from the Bosporus straight up the Danube River, right over the Hudson. West Village venue Le Poisson Rouge will morph into an Eastern gypsy town with visuals & decor by Wonderlust, palm reading by Mephulia and gypsy dances by the beautiful Kristina Melike - a feast not just for the ears but also for the eyes.

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Sarah Palin: Stop the Aerial Killing of Wolves

Governor Sarah Palin's administration has launched a terrible new assault on wolves in Alaska. In just a few days, 66 wolves were killed by aerial gunners with high-powered rifles.

I just sent a message to Governor Palin telling her to stop Alaska's unfounded aerial hunting program immediately, and end her bloody war on wolves. You can help, too! Please click on the link below, sign the petition, and help spread the word. Thanks!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/579425122

Council's hunt for gypsy pitches

25 March 2009

LANDOWNERS are being asked if they have any room for gypsy caravans.

North Somerset Council must find 36 long stay and 10 short stay grounds by 2011 and wants people to contact them if they have a potential site.

There are 42 residential pitches in six locations across the district, but the council says it will only be able to eject travellers from illegal sites if it has the extra capacity.

The unitary authority's planning chief Elfan Ap Rees said: "We have to provide these sites over the next two years - we have no choice.

"We are inviting land owners to suggest sites but only those that meet our strict criteria are likely to be considered and even those will be subject to planning approval and public consultation.

"However if there is a sensible site available we would welcome an early planning application which meets our local plan policy.

"Frivolous planning applications for traveller sites are likely be disregarded as unsuitable."

No sites have yet been proposed, but the council will have to take into account any green belt, Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation sites and proximity of services.

Travellers using the sites would have to pay rent.

Anyone with a potential site is asked to telephone the council's planning policy team on 01934 426177 or e-mail planning.policy@n-somerset.gov.uk

Gypsy Louise given traditional send off

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 09:30

HUNDREDS of mourners gave a "true Romany gypsy" a spectacular send off at the weekend.

Trucks and cars laden with flowers followed the horse-drawn hearse taking much-loved Louie Smith to her funeral on Saturday.

Roads on the route to Lingfield were closed to allow the cortege of nearly 300 mourners to pass.

They included Mrs Smith's seven children and more than 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The former caravan-dweller, of Packer Close, East Grinstead, died on March 11 aged 82 after a long battle with cancer.

"She was the kindest, gentlest, most trustworthy, hardest working, loving mum I could ever, ever have," her son Charlie told the Courier and Observer.

Born in Guildford, the daughter of well-known bare-knuckle prize fighter Frank Smith, Mrs Smith's family moved to the East Grinstead area when she was two and lived in a caravan in Felbridge.

Eventually, they were able to buy a bungalow but although it was the home of the rest of the family, Mrs Smith continued to live in the caravan at the rear.

Charlie said: "She was a true Romany gypsy.

"She made pegs, primrose baskets, wooden flowers and wicker baskets which she sold door to door."

She also caught the train from East Grinstead to Croydon where she sold baskets of lucky heather in the busy shopping streets.
"She always had to earn her bread before she could eat it," her son said.

Mrs Smith's husband, Albert, was a horse and scrap metal dealer.
When she died, the family followed the traditional gypsy rituals, Charlie said.

The caravan was burnt when she moved to East Grinstead and when she died, all her belongings were destroyed.

Four black-plumed horses and the hearse hired from Harrods took Mrs Smith from the chapel of rest at Queen Victoria Hospital to her home before the procession to the church of St Peter and St Paul at Lingfield.

The service was conducted by the Rev Michael Carter and the funeral arrangements were made by Alex Jones of Lingfield.

Tamil Nadu’s gypsies demand right to vote

March 25th, 2009 - 3:34 pm ICT by IANS

Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), March 25 (IANS) Over 100 tribals of Tamil Nadu’s Narikkorava (gypsy) community held a demonstration here Wednesday, demanding the right to vote, police said.

“This near illiterate gypsy tribe could not cast their votes so far due to their nomadic character, though they were issued ration cards 10 years ago. We are assuring them all help this time,” a police official said after persuading the tribals to give up their protest.

“We have a history going back thousands of years and are as much citizens of this nation as others. Yet, we have been marginalised, termed untouchables and (have) never voted. Now we want to assert our rights,” a spokesman of the group, Domba Raja, told IANS.

The state’s Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta said the poll panel will look into the community’s grievances.

“We are particular that nobody should be denied the right to vote and will take immediate action if representations from this group reaches us directly or the district administration,” Gupta told IANS on phone from Chennai.

The tribe’s origins are traced to European Roma gypsies and to several others from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa, according to accounts published by Edgar Thurston in 1909.

According to the police, most members of the tribe live in Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala. They used to be trappers and hunters, but hunting has now been banned. One of their traditional handicarfts is the making of bead garlands.

Chaos warning over gypsy sites

chris.havergal@cambridge-news.co.uk

SNAIL-PACED bureaucracy could plunge gypsy and traveller policy in South Cambridgeshire into chaos, furious planners fear.

Hold-ups in producing a flagship strategy to identify new pitches in the district have sparked concerns travellers might have to be accommodated in the already overstretched affordable housing stock - and that sites with temporary permission will end up getting permanent consent.

Numerous sites in the area could be affected, particularly in Willingham, Cottenham, Histon and Impington.

Work on the strategy - known as the gypsy and traveller development plan document - got under way in 2006 but it is now not expected to be completed until 2011.

Consultants were employed to develop the project but were fired after less than two years because their work was not up to scratch.

It is now being produced in-house at South Cambridgeshire District Council, but members are angry about the delay.

At a meeting of the planning committee, councillors said traveller sites given temporary consent on the understanding the strategy would be ready when their permission came up for renewal might have to be given permanent approval.

And the meeting heard new developments in the Cambridge area such as Trumpington Meadows had no pitches allocated to them, when the strategy might have changed this.

It was suggested traveller families could be homed in affordable housing - but the council already has 4,000 families on its waiting list.

Cllr Sebastian Kindersley, the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said waiting five years for the strategy was "simply unacceptable".

He said: "We are missing opportunities because of this. There has been no mention of it in all our growth areas where we were expecting allocations for the gypsy and traveller community."

Cllr Kindersley said developers would have to accept the need to accommodate traveller sites in their developments.

Cllr Pippa Corney said temporary permissions were already coming up for renewal in her Willingham ward.

She said: "We have got temporary consents coming up next year and the year after and I am concerned about what we are going to do with them."

Cllr Nick Wright, the council's planning chief, told members he did not think other authorities were faring any better in producing the strategy.

Cllr David Bard, its new communities boss, added: "There are reasons why this seems to take an inordinate length of time but I can assure you it is high on our agenda and we are pushing it forward as fast as we can."

Gypsy and traveller site plan in Winterbourne is refused

9:20am Monday 23rd March 2009

By Liza-Jane Gillespie

PLANNING bosses have refused an application for a gypsy and traveller site in Winterbourne.

An application had been made for the stationing of one mobile home and one touring caravan on land at Giddyend, off High Lane.

However, having deferred the decision from a meeting in January so as to allow a site visit, members of South Gloucestershire Council’s development control committee refused the application at a meeting last week.

Planning officer Helen O’Connor said: "It would be departure from normal green belt policy. This application is inappropriate development in the green belt and the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate the special circumstances that would outweigh the harm on the green belt."

The application is believed to have been made because of overcrowding at a neighbouring gypsy site owned by the same family.

The planning committee was also told that despite a shortage of gypsy and traveller sites in South Gloucestershire this site was not put forward as part of the recent Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document.

The planning committee refused the application because of highways concerns, which included increased traffic along Swan Lane, the unsuitable junction from High Lane onto Swan Lane and the detrimental effect it would have on safety of pedestrians and horse riders.

The committee also said the application was an inappropriate development and harmful to the green belt and that the applicant had failed to demonstrate special circumstances.

Racist Leaflets Inspire Hatred for Minority

A story sent to me from September 30, 2005

By Irina Titova
Staff Writer

Human rights experts are worried by rising racist trends after leaflets calling for violence against Roma were circulated in the city of Pskov, 280 kilometers south of St. Petersburg, in September.

“We are calling for Russia to be cleaned up! No To Gypsy Drug Barons! Save Your Children!” read the leaflets posted at the city’s bus stops, the St. Petersburg branch of non-governmental human rights group Memorial reported Wednesday.

The leaflets accused the Roma of drug trafficking and compared them to spiders.

“Pskov residents! The most terrible disease of our times — drug addiction — is spreading in our city. Taking advantage of the authorities’ negligence, gypsy families have organized the unrestricted and widespread sale of drugs in Pskov. Every day, more and more of our children get become captives of drugs,” one of the leaflets read.

The leaflets were signed by a movement calling itself Free Russia, which called for Pskov residents to provide lists of names and addresses of Roma living in the city.

The leaflets also stated that police statistics cite Roma as being Russia’s “most active drug traders.”

The leaflets have alarmed Pskov Roma, who are afraid to go out, fearing they could be attacked, said Olga Abramenko, coordinator of the Northwest Center For Social and Juridical Defense of Roma at St. Petersburg’s Memorial, on Wednesday.

“The leaflets were absolutely racist, nationalist and aggressive. And it is not true that according to police statistics Roma are the main drug traders [in Russia],” Abramenko said.

The distribution of leaflets took place not long after the kidnapping and murder of a Roma man, Vladimir Berezovsky, on Aug. 30, leading to fears that the two events are linked.

A few days after the murder, another local Roma man, Alexander Mikhailov, was beaten up after attackers questioned him about his ethnicity.

The Pskov city prosecution has opened criminal investigations into both the murder and the attack, but neither have been solved, Abramenko said.

Abramenko also said Memorial could not be sure if the nationalist group Free Russia exists in reality.

Boris Pustyntsev, co-head of St. Petersburg’s human rights Citizen Watch said that some Roma do to turn to crime as they are unable to find lawful employment due to discrimination. He stressed, however, that not only gypsies are dealing in drugs.

“When someone has no other way to make money, he often gets involved in crime. That’s not just the case with Roma — it also happens with Russians and people of other ethnicities,” Pustyntsev said.

Help Save Polar Bears

Polar bears are dying and will soon be wiped out entirely if we don't take immediate action to curb global warming. One of George W. Bush's 11th-hour decisions greatly weakened protections for the polar bear and other species under the Endangered Species Act by issuing regulations reducing protections for the polar bear and exempting greenhouse gas emissions -- the number-one threat to the bear -- from regulation.

Congress, however, has passed special legislation granting President Barack Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar 60 days to revoke the damaging Bush regulations with the stroke of a pen.

Please sign the petition at www.savethepolarbear.org and pass it on to a friend today.

With your help, we'll reach our goal to get 50,000 signatures and convince Interior Secretary Salazar to revoke the Bush regulations before the May 9, 2009 deadline.

Horse-slaughter bill gallops through state Senate

By MIKE DENNISON
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA - The bill to encourage construction of a horse-slaughtering plant in Montana won endorsement from the state Senate Thursday, putting it one step away from the governor's desk for signature into law.

The Senate endorsed House Bill 418 on a 27-23 vote, setting up a final vote today before the measure advances to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who hasn't taken a position on it.

HB418 expressly allows private horse-slaughter plants to be built in Montana and offers them legal protections from those who might challenge a plant's license.

Supporters have said a slaughter plant not only would bring needed investment and jobs to Montana, but also would provide a place for people to dispose of unwanted horses, which most Montanans consider livestock.

(MORE)

Barnet councillor Brian Coleman condemned for 'stay away gypsies' comments on BBC show

7:20am Monday 23rd March 2009

By Kevin Bradford

A Barnet councillor attracted controversy yesterday after claiming gypsies should “stay put in Ireland”.

The often outspoken Greater London Authority member for Barnet and Camden, Brian Coleman, condemned the traveller community during a debate on the BBC’s Politics Show about the potential for increased gypsy sites across London boroughs.

It came as the Greater London Authority prepares to discuss the results of the London boroughs’ gypsy and traveller accommodation needs assessment 2008, which suggests 553 new permanent pitches are required across the capital in the next five years.

Proposals could see up to 13 sites built in the borough, and managed by Barnet Council, to match the increased demand.

But speaking on the Sunday morning show, Mr Coleman said he would not welcome “one single site” in the borough, and claimed they would not be accommodating communities that had been in the UK for decades, but instead a group of people “who offer to Tarmac your drive”.

He said: “Successive councils in Barnet, Labour-controlled and Conservative, have examined the borough thoroughly and found no suitable sites.

“I do not know any councillor of any mainstream political party who would support traveller sites in their ward.

“We’re not talking traditional gypsies here, we’re not talking about this romantic vision of gypsies in attractive caravans, we’re talking about the itinerant Irish traveller community who come over and want to resurface people's drives and repair their roofs.

“This is a commuter who comes over from Ireland looking for work that should frankly stay put in Ireland.”


Father Joe Browne, chairman of the Irish traveller movement, who was also on the panel, said there is a shortage of legal sites in London which impacts negatively on gypsy groups, and went on to condemn Mr Coleman’s comments.

“I’m shocked Brian would take that attitude,” he said.

“It’s simply unacceptable to say they should stay where they are.”

Andrew Slaughter, Labour MP for Ealing Action and Shepherds Bush, responded on the show by branding Mr Coleman “loudmouthed” and saying the comments were “inflammatory and quite disgraceful”.

He said: “[The comments] would be completely unacceptable when talking about any other ethnic minority.”

Potential gypsy sites cut from 26 to 12

Published Date: 16 March 2009

Anxious members of the public turned out for a meeting on Thursday (March 13) to hear the results of a consultation on gypsy and travellers sites.

The crowd, of around 25 people, listened as the planning committee agreed with Dacorum Borough Council staff to shave 12 areas from the list.

The decision, if agreed by Cabinet, will leave only the following as possible sites: Grovehill West, PolADVERTISEMENTehanger Lane, Featherbed Lane, Fields End Lane and Long Chaulden in Hemel Hempstead, Swing Gate Lane and Sandpit Green in Berkhamsted, Dunsley Farm and Icknield Way in Tring, The Ridings in Markyate, plus Green Lane and the airfield in Bovingdon.

The committee also suggested that avoiding land within the green belt should be made a priority.

Councillor Alan Anderson: "This is a very difficult subject and one that Dacorum has not traditionally had to deal with.

"There are a number of issues to consider but can we request that green belt land is avoided as much as possible?"

But planning senior manager Richard Blackburn told the committee that building on green belt land was viable where there was a need to do so.

He added: "The way people have responded to this consultation suggests they would like to see the sites far away from settled areas.

"By not using any green belt land the sites would be even closer to settled parts of the borough."

More than 1,800 people put their concerns into writing when possible spots for gypsy and traveller sites were announced last year as part of
a wider consultation on housing.

The plans, which would bump pitches in Dacorum up from 36 to 59 by 2031, aim to meet government targets for more homes and traveller sites.

Most letters opposing the proposals cited the loss of green belt land, as well as social issues such as integration.

Around 150 responses were excluded from the report because they were deemed racist under The Race Relations Act 1976.

The issue will be discussed by Cabinet on March 31.

Bowd land IS gypsy home target

16 March 2009

LAND at the Bowd on "The gateway to Sidmouth" HAS been targeted to home travellers and gypsies- and its owner has "expressed a positive interest" in the prospect.

The Government has ordered East Devon District Council (EDDC) to find an additional nine pitches by 2011 and the Herald reported last month how land off the A3052 is one of four sites in the region that was earmarked to fulfil the quota.

EDDC planners discussed the matter in private this week and a spokesman said:

"Land owners of identified sites were contacted to seek their views on the potential use of their land. One land owner, in respect of land at the Bowd in Sidmouth, expressed a positive interest in making his site available for future use by gypsies and/or travellers."

Development control committee members agreed on Tuesday that the council "should" now embark a full public consultation exercise on this specific site.

Members also agreed to:

- invite the public, land owners and any other interested parties to suggest potential sites, and:

- continue discussions with land-owners of potential sites; and:

- hold further discussions with the County Gypsy Liaison Officer and gypsies and - travellers themselves on gypsy and traveller needs and sites; the joint think tank meeting again to consider any additional sites that might be suitable.

Hundreds expected for gypsy king funeral

Published Date: 17 March 2009

Many hundreds of relatives and friends were today attending one of Wigan's biggest gypsy funerals.

'King of the travellers' John Doran, 69, who latterly lived in a distinctive cottage off Scot Lane, lost a brave battle against liver and stomach cancer.

The father of six surviving children, as well as eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, was also a popular member of the settled community with his own chair at his local, the Bowling Green at Newtown.

Many will be swelling the ranks for the Requiem Mass at St Edward's RC Church at noon today.

An exporter who made a living salvaging lorry engines and transmissions for sale abroad, Mr Doran ordered the funeral be a celebration of his great love of life and family.

As a result, there will be no traditional black on show.

He will be taken to church in a white carriage pulled by seven magnificent white horses, while the mourners, including his widow Violet, will be carried in seven silver-coloured limousines.

Originally from Roscommon in the Irish Republic, Mr Doran was the son of legendary 'Champion Piper of Ireland' Felix Doran. And some of his music is due to be played by brother-in-law John Rooney during the proceedings.

Mr Doran was also a much respected greyhound man, whose dogs won races organised by travellers all over the country.

There are potentially so many mourners coming from Ireland and Scotland for the funeral that residents have been asked by police to park their cars as close to the kerb as possible along the route in an attempt to keep it as clear as possible.

He will be buried in St Helens Cemetery, near to his late baby daughter's grave.

The full article contains 292 words and appears in Wigan Evening Post newspaper.

Collection of Romany Gypsy wagons to be auctioned

One of the largest exhibitions of Romany Gypsy wagons in the country, held at Paultons Park in the New Forest, Hampshire, is being auctioned. The collection was put together by the museum's owners in the early 80s to preserve and remember the New Forest Romany culture. However, due to a steady decline of visitors to the exhibition, the items will go under the hammer at Paultons Park on Wednesday.

SEE PICTURES

Romanian gypsy children become engaged aged six and four

A six-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl have become engaged to be married after a gypsy ceremony.

Victor Caldararu's grandfather and great uncle arranged the union with Maria Caldararu in the Sibiu region of Transylvania, Romania.

The children are Caldarari gypsies, who regularly become engaged and married while very young.

Every Caldarari has the surname Caldararu which means tin or coppersmith. Male Caldarari make their money from forging buckets, kettles, pots and boilers for distilling alcohol while the women are stay at home and look after the children.

While the tradition of childhood engagements is not illegal, it is mostly frowned upon in mainstream Romanian society.

The engagement ensures Victor and Maria remain in the Caldarari community and thousands of pounds exchanged hands between the families to confirm the deal.

Victor's great uncle Traian Caldararu, 47, said: "The arrangement and the celebration resemble a wedding.

"The difference is that we don't have a priest to bless the alliance. We spent 10,000 Lei (£2,286) for the event and all the Caldarari gypsies were present. They will marry by law as soon as Maria turns 16."

Once marriage arrangements are made it is very difficult for children to break the deal and choose another partner.

If a child decides to marry someone else then his or her family must pay back three times the dowry, accounting for inflation and banking interest rates.

"This outcome is very rare," said Traian, who mediates many marriages in the community. "Children are required to marry by their family. It is not really a child's choice."

Victor's family coughed up 50,000 Lei (£11,429) for Maria's hand, so if he changes his mind he'll financially cripple his father, Victor Caldarau, 26.

A split would also be considered a great dishonour for Maria who would have severe difficulty finding a new husband and could risk being outcast completely.

Traian said: "In our community girls are not disobeying. We don't let them out of the house and we don't let them go to school after fourth grade, they might get stolen away from us.

"We make sure that we give kids away to one of our lot, just like any other parent would do."

Victor and Maria have been raised together in the community and while they appear to enjoy playing together they're too young to understand their commitments.

Traian said: "The children didn't even know what was going on at the engagement ceremony. They thought it was just a usual party in the courtyard. Later they will be told and they will marry at 16 and 18-years-old."

In the Caldarari marriages are sometimes arranged before the child is even born.

Traian said: "My niece got engaged before the age of six to our friend's unborn child. Now the boy is 12 and our girl is 18. When the boy turns 16 he will marry her according to the deal."

Romania has the largest proportion of Gypsy people in the world. It's estimated that two million people or 5-10% of the population are Roma.

Romania joined the EU in 2007 but many gypsy customs are outside of EU regulations working on hundreds of years of tradition and ritual.

Times change even at the Gypsy bride market

Europe Features
By Elena Lalova Mar 12, 2009, 2:07 GMT

Mogila, Bulgaria - When a Roma from a southern Bulgarian clan is looking for a bride, he goes to the traditional gathering which his folk stage in Stara Zagora each year in late winter or early spring - though as of recently some brides want to dance more than to marry.

Gypsy families from the clan have for centuries presented their daughters for marriage at the so-called bride market in Mogila, a village 220 kilometres south-east of Sofia, on the first Saturday after Easter fasting begins.

Some 2,000 from far and near - from Bulgaria's second-largest city Plovidiv, from Yambol and Sliven - made the pilgrimage again last Saturday to eye would-be-brides in seductive dresses and plastic flowers in their hair.

'I came with my daughter, my friends with their son. They are to meet and fall in love,' Kalina, arriving from Kapitan Andreevo on the Turkish border, says without any beating around the bush.

A pretty bride does not come cheap - a family of a good-looking young woman would not give her away for marriage without compensation running into the 'thousands of euros,' a woman getting off a train at the nearby station says knowingly.

The festival, on a field in Mogila next to the cattle-and-poultry market, starts with an explosion of Oriental music streaming from speakers mounted on a centrally-parked car.

A 17-year-old girl in a bright-green dress and a 21-year-old trader from Haskovo jump on the roof of their Lada and start dancing, celebrating and announcing that they married 10 days before. As on cue, others send their daughters to dance on cars.

Soon many 17- and 18-year old girls are showing off their belly- dancing skills as entire families, many with small children in tow, mill about.

But not all dancers - as two sisters from Plovdiv, dressed in dark green and maroon gowns and with heavy golden necklaces - are in Mogila to find a husband. One of them, 18-year-old Darinka, says she is 'still too young.'

'Times have changed,' Kalina laments. Around 50, with a face deeply furrowed by hard life, she wears a long braid and a colourful headscarf - the traditional signs of a married woman.

When she was introduced to her husband at the same place many years ago, she was neither asked nor offered a chance to give an opinion about her own maturity for marriage.

The Roma who gathered in Mogila belong to one of the largest Christian-Orthodox clans, traditionally working as pewter craftsmen throughout southern Bulgaria.

'Before, the girls in our clan were wed at 15. Our young would meet here, because they were not going out to cafes and clubs,' says Mariyka, 76.

'We want to keep the tradition, despite all this novelty,' she says, cursing and pointing to a flashy mobile phone hanging around the neck of a young man and rows of gleaming, expensive cars lining the field.

No identity crisis for Romany Gypsies

Posted on Monday, March 09 @ 07:37:03 CDT by editor

A ROMANY Gypsy association in Didim has launched a new drive to recruit members from within its 1,000-strong community and promote their culture to the wider public.

The Association, launched last September, has already recruited 60 members, but some within their community are against publicly declaring their cultural identity, because of perceived injustices from the wider public.

Association chairman Metin Çakır said he understood their reaction as many had encountered difficulties at work, school and on the streets for declaring their Romany Gypsy heritage.

As part of the association’s initiative to appeal to Romanys and the public, members held an event on February 28 with folk dance shows.

With an estimated 1,000 gypsies living in and around Didim, there are 221 gypsy associations in Turkey – with a staggering 167 in the Aegean Region. İzmir alone has 18 associations and two federations.

Mr Çakır said that they were trying to explain the importance of being organised to the gypsy community in Didim, but were still facing difficulties from within.

While most of the members are young, including non-gypsy members, some of the elders within the Romany community have railed against the association.

Mr Çakır said: “Unfortunately some of the gypsies are timid in declaring their identity. Yet, when attended the federation meeting in İzmir, they witnessed the interest of the authorities from the European Union.

“They are interested in the gypsies perpetuating their cultural identity in Turkey, in their educational and life standards. The EU offers grants to some of the gypsies studying at the university.

“We are now trying to have the high school students to benefit from these scholarships as well. If we can unite in Didim, we can then benefit from these rights.”

Pope urges Romans to "welcome" immigrants

Richard Owen in Rome

Pope Benedict condemned "discrimination" at a council meeting with the mayor of Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI today condemned "intolerance and discrimination" and urged residents of Rome to be more welcoming towards foreign immigrants during an historic visit to the Campidoglio, the Rome city hall on Capitol Hill.

Pope Benedict - only the third pontiff to attend a Rome city council meeting, after Paul VI and John Paul II - greeted a crowd of well-wishers, including a group of Roma gypsy children holding up a "No to Racism" banner, gathered on the Campidoglio piazza in front of the office of Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome.

Since gaining office in elections nearly a year ago which marked a shift to the Right both nationally and locally Mr Alemanno, a former neo-Fascist youth leader, has cracked down on crime and illegal immigration, dismantling illegal gypsy camps in the grimmer Rome suburbs. A series of rapes in the capital has been blamed on immigrants - above all Romanians - and has led to a series of vigilante attacks on targets ranging from vagrants to Romanian-owned businesses.

The perceived crime wave by immigrants has also given rise to "neighbourhood watch" patrols by residents, some authorised by the local authorities but others mounted autonomously by right wing groups. Addressing a special session of the city council in the Julius Caesar council chamber the Pope - whose titles include Bishop of Rome - said Rome had always been "a welcoming city, especially over the past centuries".

Growing immigration however had made it a "multi-ethnic and multi-religious metropolis where sometimes integration is difficult and complex". He added: "Rome will find the force to ensure that everyone respects the rules of civil co-existence and to reject every form of intolerance and discrimination". It would do this if it relied on "its ancient roots, based on Christian faith" as well as the "rule of law," he said.

The pontiff did not refer directly to recent incidents such as an attack by 20 masked men who beat up four Romanians at a kebab restaurant near a suburban park where a 14-old girl was raped, allegedly by two Romanians. Police say DNA tests have yet to prove that two Romanian men arrested for the rape were involved in it.

Instead Pope Benedict referred to "episodes of violence deplored by all which manifest a deeper unease." He said that "our city, like the rest of Italy and humanity as a whole" was facing "unprecedented cultural, social and economic challenges". Rome was increasingly populated by "people who come from other nations and belong to different cultures and religious traditions".

Mr Alemanno said the city planned to establish a centre for teenagers from troubled backgrounds which would be named after Pope Benedict in honour of his visit and as a sign of the council's "commitment to integration".

The German-born Pope, who before being elected pontiff lived for two decades in the Borgo, the medieval quarter adjoining St Peter's, as the Vatican's head of doctrine, said he had become "a little bit Roman" himself.

The last visit by a pontiff to the Campidoglio was that of John Paul II in 1998. Relations between the Vatican and the city of Rome have been complex ever since the end of papal rule and the formation of a united Italy in 1870. Relations between Italy and the Holy See were formally settled by the Lateran Pact of 1929, which defined relations between the two sovereign states. However some secular-minded and even anti-clerical residents continue to resent the influence of the Vatican in Italian affairs.

On the market: Teenage Gypsy girls glam up for annual bride sale

By Caroline Graham
Last updated at 8:58 AM on 10th March 2009

Dressed in their finest clothes and gold jewellery, thousands of teenage Roma girls were paraded around by their parents this weekend - at an open-air brides market.

Wearing lots of make-up, the teenagers came to the traditional annual market in Bulgaria, hoping to find a husband - and preferably one willing to pay a large amount of money for his future spouse.

'We take our daughters to this gathering so they could get acquainted with boys, for we do not allow our children to go to discos,' explains Elena from Kapitan Andreevo.

At the market in the village of Mogila near Stara Zagora, the price of a beautiful young woman is said to be several thousand levs/euros.

Younger siblings came along too to play and eat sweets while one newly-wed couple bellydanced on top of an old car to show their happiness at finding a match.

Several wannabe-brides joined in, showing their eagerness to be married.

The event takes place on the first Saturday after the start of the orthodox Easter fast - the Day of Saint Todor, or Horse Easter.

This year the gathering attracted some 2,000 people who came from all over southern Bulgaria including Plovdiv, Pasardzhik, Sliven and Jambol.

Gypsies face eviction from 'green belt' site

Adam Derbyshire
March 04, 2009

A GYPSY family who have settled on ‘green belt’ in Denton are facing eviction.

Dean Price, 32, and his brother Thomas set up camp at the former builder’s yard in Watson Street and transformed it into a des res for their families.

The brothers, both Romany gypsies, live in caravans with their wives Sheila and Colette and 10 children aged from one to 17.

Far from the stereotypical ‘gypsy camp’, the site is surrounded by a new brick wall, decorated with hanging baskets and topped with black railings. Ornate gates and CCTV guard the entrance and a gravel drive sweeps into camp.

Speaking to the Advertiser last year, Thomas, 40, said: "It was an eyesore when we arrived. The lane was a magnet for drunken youths, joyriders and flytippers. But we’ve tidied it up and there’s no trouble here now."

Dean added: "I want to give our kids something we never had, a settled school life.

"We bought this site for our family alone, no one else will come here."

They applied for retrospective permission to stay in the green belt, but their application was turned down on Wednesday (4 March) .

Solicitors for the family argued that because it was formerly a builder’s yard, green belt rules should not apply.

A government circular was introduced in 2006 because there had been a failure to deliver adequate sites for gypsies and travellers over the past 10 years.

But planning chiefs told councillors to refuse the application, arguing that "harm" done to the green belt outweighs the "special circumstances" of the proposal.

Seven unsigned objections were submitted from residents in Hyde Road, and Denton MP Andrew Gwynne and his wife, Councillor Alison Gwynne, also objected.

Mr Gwynne submitted an aerial photograph showing the site covered by extensive vegetation in 2003, while his wife said a residential planning application was refused in 1997 so granting permission now would set an ‘alarming precedent’.

Mr Gwynne claimd ‘gypsies’ are classed the same as ‘travelling showmen’ for which there are already three sites in Denton.

Review: Los Farruco at Royce Hall

6:30 PM, March 4, 2009

Raw and riveting, Los Farruco -- the famed Seville-based Gypsy flamenco family descended from legendary dancer El Farruco (Antonio Montoya Flores), who died in 1997 -- came to Royce Hall on Tuesday night and all but shredded the stage. The patriarch’s lusty daughter La Farruca is a study in stealthy abandon. Her son, Farruco (right), matinee-idol-ready at 21, enthralls with his pounding feet. Then there’s La Faraona, also an El Farruco daughter, and her son, Barullo, who at 19 is the baby -- and bullish to boot.

It must also be said that the clan’s latest superstar (and El Farruco’s oldest grandson), 26-year-old El Farruquito, was, alas, not dancing. Credited with conceiving and directing the show, this performer who’s dazzled audiences since childhood recently served time in a Spanish prison for a hit-and-run killing.

But what would flamenco be without a little drama? Not to worry. Los Farruco, backed by two extraordinary guitarists and four scorching singers, offered more drama than a telenovela in a nearly two-hour intermissionless performance that throbbed with heart, soul and filigreed footwork. From the opening “Alegrías” to the final “Jaleos,” the hotblooded dynasty turned Royce into an intimate tablao.

The cousins, ramrod straight and moving in unison, immediately captivated. Tossing off a jump here, a whipping turn there, they were soon joined by La Farruca, whose rapid stomping accelerated to seismic proportions. Dipping, swirling and swaying, she radiated majesty, her curling fingers irresistible.

In his solo, “Seguiriya,” Barullo skittered about, accenting his machine-gun tapping with fist-pumping and ending with a flourish of dizzying spins.

If anatomy is destiny, La Faraona, with her barrel-shaped body, is fated to be the family’s plus-size clown. Thrusting her chest out and hopping in jagged spurts, she performed a “Bulerias” as a duel with the statuesque singer Mara Rey. Unfortunately, despite beguiling wrist-flicking, La Faraona lost.

Flamboyant, haughty and decidedly swoon-worthy, Farruco let it rip in “Soleá,” proffering an astonishing array of beats. Even when he was tapping unaccompanied with one foot, the sound filled the hall like a monster percussionist’s. Moving as if possessed, shaking his long hair free from its ponytail, Farruco became a quivering, ecstatic pillar of rhythmic marvels. But his drum-rolling footwork proved only a prelude to his tearing across the floor like a bullet train.

In her solo, “Romance,” La Farruca, a slave to passion and pain, did a slow burn before scooting and sashaying as if her life depended on it. Her artistry was matched throughout by the musicians: Guitarists El Tuto and Antonio Rey provided electrifying licks in addition to backup, and the mournful wailings of El Rubio de Pruna, Antonio Zúñiga and Pedro el Granaíno cut to the bone.

In this era of high-tech everything, it’s comforting to know that a handful of performers can still transport an audience to an emotional wonderland where awe and joy -- and fabulous hair -- abound.

-- Victoria Looseleaf

Traveller women give modern touches to Carmen

Reworked version of Bizet's opera of unrequited love and jealousy gets one-off performance at Royal Albert Hall

Ahmad Ali guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 March 2009 11.41 GMT

A modern version of Carmen written by Traveller women will be staged at the Royal Albert Hall today.

The one-off production will be performed in the Elgar Room by a cast of leading TV and stage actors. It is a collaboration between the Traveller Women's Group, based in Ealing, west London, and students from the Purcell School of Music in Hertfordshire.

Why Didn't I Tell You How Much I Loved You?, like the original that inspired it, is the story of an ill-fated Gypsy woman who falls in love with the wrong man. In the new version, however, Carmen has been replaced by Chantelle, an English Gypsy who falls in love with an Irish Traveller called Paddy.

"When we first heard about the offer we thought they were having a laugh," said Margaret, 40, one of the 16 writers involved in the project. She said she and the others were "delighted" to take part.

The women worked with playwright Darren Rapier and poet Ian McMillan in a series of workshops to realise their own interpretation, using Bizet's narrative as a starting point. They drew upon experiences of racism, and wrote about health issues affecting their communities, such as heavy smoking and difficulty accessing healthcare.

The tale focuses on internal differences within the Traveller population and undermines the misconception that Travellers are a homogenous group. According to Margaret: "Everyone thinks Irish and English Travellers are the same but there are differences in what girls are allowed to do." She added: "We are devout Catholics. Faith is central to our culture."

The story is set in London but much of the action takes place at the annual Appleby horse fair in Cumbria - one of the largest of its kind and an important cultural event in the Traveller calender. "The original happens in a tobacco factory," said Samantha, another of the writers. "We thought: 'Where would it take place for a Traveller?' We decided on Appleby as Irish dancing, horse dealing and everything in our culture are on display there," she added.

The project is a part of the Royal Albert Hall's training and participation programme, and follows on from the success of last year's Tosca project, in which ex-offenders from Enfield in north London rewrote the opera, setting it on a housing estate.

Alastair Tallon, head of learning and participation, said a key objective is to create interaction between groups that would not normally be in contact - in this case, Travellers and music students. Tallon, whose job is to diversify visitors to the Royal Albert Hall, said all the women involved in the project would come to see the production. He added: "Enjoying opera is not just about musical appreciation. It appeals to the human condition. We wanted to know how people relate to its themes."

Life with the Romanian gypsies for retired Hedingham teacher

Published Date: 03 March 2009

AFTER a long and demanding career teaching children from Romany and gypsy communities across Essex, you would expect Margaret Biddulph to take it easy once she retired.

But after a few months it was clear a comfortable life of coffee mornings in Castle Hedingham was not for her and she made a decision that would radically alter her life.

The grandmother put her house up for rent, packed a suitcase and jetted off to a far corner of Romania.

Mrs Biddulph, a 64-year-old divorcee, said: "I made lots of inquiries and found out about a gypsy community in Romania. In January, 2005, I decided to pack up and go. It was a just case of jumping into the unknown.

"It was quite a culture shock. Romania is a very poor country and the community I work with, who live on the edge of a village called Tileagd, experience tremendous prejudice and have become a convenient scapegoat for many of the problems blighting the country."

Mrs Biddulph, a committed Christian and member of the Sible Hedingham Baptist Church, now spends her days teaching people to read and write in their own unique language and how to live a more sustainable life through small business ventures.

"We have set up a craft programme where I buy hemp and linen for the women to stitch and embroider into bags and cushion covers," she said.

On her infrequent trips back to England she attempts to find outlets prepared to sell the products, with the proceeds being sent back directly to the community.

"It is hard for them to get jobs as the perception is they are nothing more than thieves. It's unfortunate but they have often been left with no choice but to steal to survive.

"Whatever time I have left working there my goal is to break this cycle through the craft project and education," she added.

Giving up her home and spending most of the year in a small house in Romania has resulted in an unusual lifestyle for a retiree.

She said: "It's quite strange really. When I come home I end up living out of a suitcase in spare rooms of various friends before flying back again.

"It means I keep my possessions to a minimum as well. I guess I've taken on a bit of a gypsy existence myself."

The programme Mrs Biddulph is working on is supported by the Smiles Foundation, a Christian organisation attempting to change lives in poorer countries.

The charity has already built a church and school in the village, which is open to both Romanians and gypsies in an attempt to bring the communities together.

She is appealing for any shops, museums, or tourist venues to step forward and start stocking the bags and cushion covers so the next phase of the project can go-ahead.

"I will happily meet or talk to anyone who is prepared to support this vital work.

"This is such a worthwhile project and will make a massive difference enabling the community to stand on their own feet and move forward," she added.

Anyone who wants to find out more about the Smiles Foundation should go to www.thesmilesfoundation.org

For more information on the products made by the gypsy community or to inquire about stocking the goods email m.rainbird@btinternet.com.

Hungary's Roma bury victims in emotional funeral

Tue Mar 3, 2009 12:08pm EST

By Marton Dunai

TATARSZENTGYORGY, Hungary (Reuters) - Thousands, mostly Roma, joined the funeral procession Tuesday of a young boy and his father who were shot dead last week in the latest in a series of attacks on Roma in Hungary.

A crowd of about 5,000, which also included politicians from parliamentary parties and civil rights activists, gathered around the graves of the two victims in the village of Tatarszentgyorgy, 65 km (40 miles) southeast of Budapest.

Black-clad mourners wept and when the coffin was lowered into the grave in the small hillside cemetery, the world-famous 100-member Gypsy Symphony Orchestra started to play.

"We seek the forgiveness of the mourning family and...our Gypsy brethren whom for 500 years we have owed an embrace," Hungarian Methodist pastor Gabor Ivanyi, who is not Roma, said in a speech. "We are deeply moved and ashamed people."

The killings last Monday were the latest in a series of more than a dozen attacks on Roma in Hungary in which 7 people have died over the past year.

Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom said Saturday economic crisis had created an urgent need for Hungary and other east European countries to show more understanding for Roma.

It was not known whether the attack was racially motivated and police have so far failed to track down the perpetrators, but Roma community leaders said it bore similarities to other attacks on Roma in other parts of the country.

The boy, who police say was 5 years old, and his father Robert Csorba were shot dead as they were trying to escape their house, which had been set on fire. Two other children were injured in the blaze.

The Roma community is Hungary's largest minority making up 5 to 7 percent of the population of 10 million.

PROTECTION

There is a growing resentment against the Roma, also known as gypsies, as the economic crisis deepens and jobs are lost. The Roma often remain on the margins, lacking jobs and proper education and living in deep poverty. Critics say they take advantage of the welfare state.

The strengthening of the far-right over the past two years, which fights what it says is a rise in "Roma crime," has also contributed to a rise in antagonism, activists say.

The village of Tatarszentgyorgy, which has about 1,900 residents, has been shocked by the attack.

"We still cannot comprehend what happened and this sentiment rules in the entire village," a Roma couple said.

Peter Ignacz, 50, who arrived from Szolnok in the east of Hungary with around 30 members of his family and is also of Roma origin, says Roma do not get any protection and are afraid.

"This (attack) is totally outrageous, and to be honest, Roma people are afraid," he said.

(Reporting by Marton Dunai, Writing by Krisztina Than)

Gypsy vaccination scheme starts

By Guy Dinmore in Rome

Published: March 2 2009 01:32 Last updated: March 2 2009 01:32

Italy’s Red Cross has launched its biggest vaccination programme since the second world war, with the goal of immunising several thousand gypsy children living in camps around Rome.

The operation began at Casilino 900, a camp on the eastern outskirts of the capital that is believed to be one of the largest gypsy settlements in Europe. Some two dozen doctors were among 200 Red Cross volunteers that included clowns to provide entertainment in one of the big tents erected for the exercise.

(MORE)

Plymouth warned not to rush Gypsy site plan

Sunday, March 01, 2009, 20:08

PLYMOUTH City Council should not rush into building permanent Gypsy and Traveller sites in Plymouth, MP Gary Streeter told a packed meeting in Plympton.

The council is obliged by the Government to provide pitches for an extra 55 caravans and is considering land at Coypool, on the edge of Plympton, as well as sites at Coombe Farm, St Budeaux, and Efford Warren.

Mr Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, told a crowd of hundreds at Hele's School on Friday night: "My approach will be to encourage the council to play it long, because it is likely that this policy will disappear after the next General Election. I hope the next Government will not insist on this because feelings are running high in Westminster."
The meeting was told that the land at Coypool was owned by the Adams family trust and Cundy Farms, and that there had been no negotiations over buying it.

Patrick Nicholson, one of the three Conservative councillors for Plympton St Mary who called the meeting, said compulsory purchase was possible but the council could "get bogged down for years" in any attempt.

David Rowland, a travelling showman with Rowlands Fun Fairs, said: "I believe that the three sites they have picked are not suitable at all."
He said a site needed to be close to education and public transport.

Lesley Jones, a Woodford Infants School teacher, wanted to know where the children of Travelling families who stayed at Coypool would be educated.

"We are full and we have a waiting list," she said.

Sandra George of Lynwood Avenue in Woodford, near the proposed Coypool site, said the land did not fit the Government's criteria because some of it was greenfield land, it was steeply sloping, and it was too close to homes to allow adequate screening. She said more of the site was woodland. "Are they going to chop that down?"

David James, a Conservative councillor for Plympton St Mary, said there had been no consideration of putting sites at Sherford new town and at the new developments in the north of the city. His fellow Plympton councillor Samantha Leaves said that by putting Gypsy sites on new developments, people buying houses there would know what they were getting.

Mr Nicholson called on all residents to participate in the consultation process the council is about to launch.

"We need to use the process to our advantage and maximise Plympton's voice," Mr Nicholson said.

"This is a consultation exercise. No decision has been taken."