How to be Karakachan in Bulgaria?

Author(s): Aleksey Kalyonski / Language(s): English

This text will focus on the identity of the Karakachans in Bulgaria – a former nomadic community forced to settle down at the end of the 50s and the beginning of the 60s of the last century. The Karakachans are Orthodox Christians and speak a specific Greek dialect. That, together with their former way of life and cultural tradition, makes them different from both Greeks and Bulgarians. This particular group gives a unique opportunity to outline the constant mental mapping and re-mapping carried out under specifi c national and transborder circumstances. The Karakachan case is, in a way, comparable to the “ethnic revivals” or “re appearances” of other small Balkan ethnic groups on the social, economic and political scene of the changing region1 Nowadays the small ethnic (local, ethno-confessional) groups (Karakachans, Gagauz, Gorani, Yuruks, Armenians and others) are not at the centre of the most severe Balkan confl icts. Some of them, the Vlachs/Aromanians, for example, have occasionally been in the focus of international contradictions; however, the gradual social integration, assimilation and emigration have reduced them in number and importance during and after the clashes of the “big” nationalisms. The very survival of some of the small Balkan ethnicities in the near decades is under question. Given the fact that both many of the Bulgarian Karakachans and quite a few authors share this view, the presentday situation proves to be much more complex and controversial. [...]

Faire apprivoiser l’autre : sur les campagnes contre l’homophobie en Pologne, France et Italie

Author(s): Joanna Ciesielska / Language(s): French Publication Year: 0

The objective of the article is to present as well as compare 21st century anti-homophobia campaigns in Poland, France, and Italy. The information found in the printed press was used as the research material. The author presents legal situations of the LGBT communities in the aforementioned countries and moves on to analyzing lexical and visual means used in the campaigns that attempt to persuade society that the ‘odd’ ones (mostly homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals) are deserving of respect and equal treatment. Materials that concerned different forms of legalization of single-sex relationships were not the subject of this analysis.

Kdo so "Jugoslovani" v Avstraliji do leta 1990

Author(s): Breda Čebulj-Sajko / Language(s): Slovenian Publication Year: 0

There are insufficient data about ethnic background of the Yugoslav emigration both in Australian and Yugoslav periodicals and literature. That is why this exposure presents an experiment about moving the "Yugoslavs" to Australia. Data about the Slovenians and the Serbs are cumulative with other data concerning other Yugoslav peoples. The most of emigrants from refugee camps got permanent visa for stay in the bigger towns and cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Some 16000 entry visas were confirmed from Yugoslavia until 1965. The most visas were issued in Yugoslavia compared to other European countries. So called chain migrations were intensive at that time. There are separate ethnic settlements in the states of Victoria and New Southern Wales. The biggest percent (62%) of employed women were among Yugoslavs. In the end of sixties, the biggest number of Yugoslav economic migration came to Australia. Until disintegration of Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavs were the biggest immigration group in Australia. In multicultural and ethnic diverse Australian community, new inhabitants differ a lot from previously inhabited people. Those differences are going to be bigger if minority cultures (in a wide sense of meaning) which can be recognised easily in every Australian town if they have nothing in common with the Anglo - Saxon culture of majority. Living together, with different ethnic background, was once directed to the ethnic policy of discrimination. Today, tolerance, pluralism and multi cultural policy are advocated. If we talk about two halves of the same society, about old and new Australians, we must not neglect the fact these new are very different among themselves.

ITALIA. Profilo del Paese. Rapporto del Centro Europeo per i Diritti deI Rom

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Italian

There are no precise figures on the current number of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) in Italy and the available data on their socio-economic situation are insufficient. Roma in Italy are not a homogeneous group, have different legal statuses as well as various levels of integration in Italian society. According to unofficial estimates there are about 110,000-180,000 Roma in Italy, Italian citizens and migrants (registered), and represent about 0.25% of the total population. Half of them are under 16 and only 0.3% are over 60 years old. These figures are greater if we take into account those Roma who do not have residency and are "illegally" or "irregularly" present in the country. Among the Roma in Italy there are stateless persons in fact from the former Yugoslavia, for which reliable data are lacking. It is estimated that around 70,000 Roma are Italian citizens who have been living in Italy for more than 600 years and are present throughout the country; about 90,000 are Roma who were not born in Italy or born in Italy from immigrant parents, mainly from Eastern Europe. Then there are Roma from the former Yugoslavia who have been living in Italy for over 40 years and have subsequently become Italian citizens. During the wars of the 1990s a new wave of Roma from the former Yugoslavia arrived in Italy to seek asylum; some asylum applications, but not all, were accepted. In the last ten years the Roma, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria, have migrated to an increasing number in Italy, especially after the abolition of the visa regime in 2002 and the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in January 2007.

Україна. Звіт Європейського центрУ З прав ромів профіль країни 2011-2012

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Ukrainian

TÜRKİYE. Avrupa Roman Hakları Merkezi Ra poru Ülke Profili 2011-2012

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Turkish

THIRSTING FOR JUSTICE. Europe’s Roma Denied Access to Clean Water and Sanitation

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

This unique report by the European Roma Rights Centre provides compelling evidence that, throughout several States and regions where safe water supply and sanitation services are available to almost every household, Roma populations are systemically disadvantaged in their access to these services. Evidences gathered from Albania to France reveal shocking disparities of the conditions endured by Roma as compared to the rest of the population. In this respect, the report’s conclusions highlight a concerning situation of widespread, deeply rooted social exclusion and ethnic discrimination regarding Roma’s access to these essential services.

THE FRAGILITY OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE. A Preliminary Account of Child Protection Practice with Romani and Traveller Children in England

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

To examine the concerns that have been listed more fully, the authors of this report have been commissioned by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) to carry out a preliminary study into the scale and nature of child protection practice with Romani and Traveller children in England. Specifically, the study aimed to: 1. Highlight the principal reasons for child protection involvement with Romani and Traveller children; 2. Map the placement type and legal status of Romani and Traveller children involved in child protection systems; 3. Examine the reasons for the placement of Romani and Traveller children in state care; 4. Explore how child protection professionals describe their work with Roma children; and, 5. Shed some light on the experiences of families who have experienced child protection involvement.The findings presented in this report reflect data that has been gathered in four separate ways. First, data was gathered through a series of Freedom of Information Requests to the Department of Education. Second, data was gathered from 137 questionnaires completed by child protection professionals working in England. Third, data was gathered from focus group interviews with 155 child protection professionals working in England. Finally, data was also gathered from two families who have experienced child protection involvement in family life.

Albanians as Majorities and Minorities: A Regional Dialogue

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The discussions summarized in this report took place on December 1 and 2, 2000, in the Vougliameni suburb of Athens, Greece, at a gathering of senior political leaders from Southeast Europe. The Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) convened the meeting, in an informal and neutral setting, to help these leaders in their mutual search for solutions to the bitter aftermath of ethnic strife and warfare that devastated parts of their region during the 1990s, and to encourage them to exchange ideas about how to prevent continuing interethnic rivalries from breaking out in renewed violence. Behind the prosaic title of the Athens discussions —“Albanians as Majorities and Minorities: A Regional Dialogue”— lie some of the most explosive issues of the day: the future of the status of Kosovo; relations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians in Kosovo and between Serbs and Albanians in Serbia proper; the survival of the Yugoslav Federation, the territorial integrity of Serbia and Macedonia; and the ebb and flow of influence between Albania and Albanians living outside its borders. The outcomes of these questions will affect the entire region, including even Greece and Italy and, indeed, the international community itself, for decades to come.

Na marginesie słów Xaviera Gralla: dlaczego kultura francuska jest „macochą” dla Bretończyków?

Author(s): Grażyna Olszaniec / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The starting point is the title of the essay by Breton author Xavier Grall, entitled “French culture is our stepmother”. It serves as a basis for analysis concerning France’s language policy in relation to the Breton minority. The Author answers the questions of why the Bretons consider themselves as a distinct culture, as well as of why they feel harmed. In relation to the former problem, she points to the Celtic roots of contemporary Bretons, whereas in relation to the latter one, she looks for reasons in the policy of the French republic and little influence of the international law on the language policy of France. An optimistic element, on the other hand, is young Bretons’ growing interest in their own culture and language.

Kozacy — naród, etnos, stan społeczny? Problem tożsamości Kozaków z terytorium Federacji Rosyjskiej (XX–XXI wiek)

Author(s): Daria Ławrynow / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

This article is devoted to the question of Russian Cossacks’ identity in the 20th and 21st centuries. The 20th century was crucial in Russian history because of some historical events. For Cossacks it was a time of pivotal decisions. Cossacks were fighting against Bolsheviks, but many of them didn’t support the idea of having one and indivisible Russia. Some of them had aspirations to create independent Cossacks’ state — Cossackia. The main question was: ‘Who are we?’ Russian history provides various theories of the Cossacks’ origin: Slavic theory (“Cossacks come from Russian fugitives”), Mongol and Tatars Cossacks genealogy, Caucasian genealogy, Scythians, Sarmatians or other ancient Cossacks genealogy, Theory of Cossack’s independent Nation.

Inny/Obcy jako kategoria mistyfikacji. Galicja w optyce postkolonialnej

Author(s): Tomasz Nakoneczny / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The article is an attempt to look at the problem of colonialism of Galicia as a topic that has been masked by the myth of the region, which is too specific to describe it in terms of colonial dependency. This point of view is widespread also in postcolonial studies. The author of this article believes that the basis of this opinion is not literature, which is responsible for its strengthening, but the narratives of the former imperial Habsburg monarchy.

Być inaczej — być z innymi? Derrida, Nancy i pytanie o wspólnotę

Author(s): Michał Krzykawski / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The aim of this article is to discuss minorities in a broader context of community. Through a cross-reading of Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy, I endeavour to show in what way ontology or, to be more precise, the ontology of being-with, may bring a new perspective on the purely cultural concept of minority. Thus, instead of pondering on what being a minority or being in a minority means today, I rather try to say what if we all were meant to be with minorities, since being as such is always being with all different others (Nancy) and being with something/someone else which/who is (t)here.

Szlovákia lakosságának községsoros nemzetiségi és felekezeti összetétele az 1950. évi népszámlálás adatai alapján

Author(s): László Gyurgyík / Language(s): Hungarian

The monography examines the ethnic population data of the census 1950 in Czechoslovakia. Data sets for this census could not be analyzed previously because the data have only recently become available. Besides the data of the six nationalities of Slovakia (Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Germans), the ethnic data series contain data of other and unknown nationalities. In our book, we examine the nationality data by administrative units (regions, districts), the size of settlements, the proportion and number of nationalities living in settlements. We examine the changes of the aggregate data of the majority and minority nationalities, as well as the changes of each nationality separately. Based on the analyzed data, the patterns of the ethnic structure of the nationalities in Slovakia emerge at the time of the first census after World War II. Graphs and tables help the cognition of the settlement structure of each nationality in a more nuanced way.

Atributy sociálních kategorií: Kvalitativní studie

Author(s): Veronika Francová / Language(s): Czech Publication Year: 0

The aim of the study is understanding the content of stereotypes in ethnic groups inside the Czech society. The qualitative study which we present is a supplement to now running research of stereotypes in Czech society. At this point we used a questionnaire that provides participants’ representations about particular social cathegories through generating adjectives as the main traits to their prototypes. The qualitative study stands on the analysis of prototypes. The analyses concludes that both professional and ethnic categories produce data of the two commonly used dimensions: competence and warmth. Nevertheless, the variability of the descriptions shows methodological limitations of gathering data through presenting the two dimensions. Our approach reveals specific dimensions based mainly on acceptability and addaptability of the ethnic group, being responsible towards the society and self regulation/cultivation of its members. Using the descriptions enables us to understand the quantitative data better. It also shows the necessity to explore the actual psychological content of stereotypes and also to discuss the ways of realizing the research in intergroup relations.

ETNIKAI IDENTITÁS ÉS KULTURÁLIS REPREZENTÁCIÓ INTERKULTURÁLIS KONTEXTUSBAN

Author(s): Imola Andrea Manea (Magyari) / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

The concept of identity is familiar for everyone: in common talk, literature, and in the course of social interactions, we can find multiple interpretation opportunities. The framing of our identity is not a result of speculation but it is such a socialization process where – in the course of social interactions, experiencing the others’ behaviour and reactions – we build our ego, we form our identity. The components of our identity are the totality of knowledge aggregation, which have historical and cultural-historical dimensions. For that very reason, the culture in every identity element is a decisive and fundamental factor. In intercultural relations, the minorities have continuous connections with other members of the society what at the same time supposes the majority’s value and norm system acquirement. Hence, the minority societies have to correspond to various social roles, hereby enlarging their identity with new elements.

Integration of National Minorities in Georgia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

National minorities make up a substantial portion of the entire population of Georgia. However, the level of their participation in social and political life is limited. From the legal perspective, the Georgian legislation and the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities ensure the equality of opportunities for national minorities. Nevertheless, the quality of minority participation in political decision-making still remains a great challenge. // This policy paper provides recommendations for the political parties and the Government of Georgia on how to increase the level of political participation of national minorities through the electoral system; pointing to the need for the establishment of regional offices of political parties; and recommending the government to offer additional incentives to political parties to promote the national minority participation. // Book has been published by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and by OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities,

End of Story? Remnants of Kurdistan's Jews in the 21st Century

Author(s): Thomas Schmidinger / Language(s): English

For more than 2,600 years, Jews lived in the region now mainly inhabited by Kurds and for the past several centuries referred to as Kurdistan. Over time, many of these Jewish communities had developed strong cultural similarities with their Kurdish and Christian neighbours and, in addition to their own dialects of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic, also spoke Kurdish and, depending on the region, Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Almost all of these communities were crushed in the Middle East conflict in the course of the 20th century. Based on extensive fieldwork this book documents what material culture remains of these communities in the 21st century and what discourses have developed in the various parts of Kurdistan about this part of the region's historical heritage. It focusses on Iraqi Kurdistan, where most of the Jewish communities existed, but also includes the remains of the communities in the Iranian, Syrian and Turkish part of Kurdistan.

COERCIVE AND CRUEL. A REPORT BY THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE Sterilisation and its Consequences for Romani Women in the Czech Republic (1966-2016)

Author(s): Michaela Stejskalová,Elena Gorolová,Marek Szilvási / Language(s): English

This report examines the practice of coercive involuntary sterilisations in the Czech Republic as experienced by Romani women against their will or without free and informed consent. Along with a review of the institutional, legal and policy context within which these sterilisations took place, the main focus of the report is on the personal experiences of sterilised Romani women. These were obtained through individual interviews and focus groups with 22 involuntarily sterilised women.

The Impact of Legislation and Policies on School segregation of Romani children. A Study of Anti-Discrimination Law and Government Measures to Eliminate Segregation in Education in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

Author(s): Vera Egenberger,Claude Cahn / Language(s): English

The study builds on previous ERRC research in the five countries which documented existing patterns of segregated education and explored the impact of legislative and policy frameworks on school segregation of Roma. The documentation collected in previous years was updated to include policy developments, especially in the period 2003-2006, as well as recent field research findings based on testimonies of Romani parents, children, teachers and educational administration authorities at central and local levels of government. The study also uses ERRC legal databases.