gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Aug 2, 2008 15:04:26 GMT 1
Poland is a nationally homogeneous country as national and ethnic minorities constitute between 3-4% of the population. Polish national minorities are: German, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Jewish, Lithuanian, Armenian; ethnic minorities: Roma, Tatar, Lemkos and Karaim. In Pomorskie province there are also Kashubs.
The National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Languages Act was adopted by the Polish Parliament on January 6, 2005. This is the first legal document that gives a precise definition of national and ethnic minorities in Poland. This Act describes "national minorities" as those groups who identify themselves with an established country / nation i.e., Germans, Ukrainians, Jews, etc. It also defines "ethnic minorities" as those who do not have their own country - those who are state-less such as the Roma people. Other points of the legal definition are common for both types of minorities.
Article 35 of the Polish Constitution ensures that national and ethnic minorities retain freedom to practice their own traditions and customs, and to use their national language.
The only minority group with parliamentary representation are the Germans (two deputies in the Lower Chamber). Other communities have their representatives in local governments. In a few communes in various regions of the country, German and Lithuanian minorities obtained a status of "auxiliary languages" and public information is published both in Polish and German or Lithuanian.
Among the ethnic and national minorities, mainly the Roma are affected by social problems. An inter-institutional governmental program was set up in 2003 by a Decision of the Council of Ministers to address the issue of the Roma community in Poland. It established a common platform involving the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the Ministry of National Education and Sport as well as local authorities, NGOs and Roma associations. Its fundamental goal is to lead the Roma to full participation in public life and to address the divisions that exist between this group and the rest of society. Integrated action will be taken on different levels in the domains of education, employment, health, living conditions, and how the Roma function within the civic society.
Data from MSWiA and Compendium
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Post by Bonobo on Aug 3, 2008 19:13:32 GMT 1
Poland is a nationally homogeneous country as national and ethnic minorities constitute between 3-4% of the population. Polish national minorities are: German, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Jewish, Lithuanian, Armenian; ethnic minorities: Roma, Tatar, Lemkos and Karaim. In Pomorskie province there are also Kashubs. The WW2 totally altered the population structure of Poland. Before it the minorities had consitituted about 30% - 14% Ukrainian, 10% Jewish. The best visible example is bilingual road signs, boards and plaques in regions where minorities live. Polish and German boards  Polish Kashub road board  A grave plaque  German minority, as the biggest in Poland, has a permanent right to two deputies. Yes, the Roma, or more popular gypsy people, have a bad opinion in Poland. I know a few people whose neighbours are gypsies and the stories they told were strange, indeed. After a 1964 ban on Roma wandering all over the country (travelling from place to place is an important part of Roma culture), they still have problems with adapting to permanent settlement conditions, that is why they are treated as rather obnoxious neighbours. Besides, many Romas from Romania come to Poland to beg near churches or on the main streets. They also create the bad opinion about the Roma people. polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=polishblog&action=display&thread=283 |
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Post by Bonobo on Aug 7, 2008 9:13:38 GMT 1
Looking for Czech minority living in the centre of Poland, I found this site with minority statistics: www.mswia.gov.pl/portal/en/10/56/Characteristics_of_ethnic_and_national_minorities_in_Poland.htmlE.g., the biggest minority are Germans
Germans are a national minority. In nationwide census which was carried in the year 2002 declared Germans nationality 147 094 citizens of Poland. Representatives of German minority resident in the: opolskie province - 104 399 person, śląskie province - 30 531, dolnośląskie province - 1 792, warmińsko–mazurskie province - 4 311, pomorskie province - 2 016, zachodnio-pomorskie province - 1 014, wielkopolskie province - 820, kujawsko-pomorskie province - 636, lubuskie province - 513 mazowieckie province - 351, łódzkie province - 263.
In some municipalities of the opolskie province, the representatives of the German minority account for the majority of local population and they take most of the seats in local councils. German candidates ranked in the second place and this is why they now co-rule the province in the last local elections. The German minority is the only one that is represented in Polish parliament by its two deputies (Henryk Kroll and Helmut Paździor).
The German language schools account for the majority of all educational institutions intended for national minorities. General number of education institutions where the German language is taught in 325 with 37 005 pupils.
Most members of the German minority are Catholic and only some of them are Protestants (the Evangelical-Augsburg Church).and the smallest Karaites Karaites are the smallest ethnic minority in Poland. In nationwide census which was carried in the year 2002, declared Karait nationality 43 citizens of Poland. Karaites dispersed in Warsaw and its vicinity, the Gdańsk/Gdynia/Sopot agglomeration, Opole, Wrocław, Szczecin and Kraków.
The Karaites are a people of Turkish extraction. Their forefathers came to Poland from the Crimea in the 13th century and settled in the Halicz-Volhynia Duchy (Łuck, Halicz, Lvov).
The Karaites lost their mother tongue and this is why it is not taught by any public school.
The Karaites stand out among other national minorities as they have their own distinct religion which stems from Judaism. |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 1, 2009 22:35:37 GMT 1
Unlike Poland, Lithuania has a problem with acknowledging its Polish minority. These guys still have to learn a lot.
Polish street names illegal in Lithuania
Polish Radio
30.01.2009
Lithuania's Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that street signs
with Polish language names placed next to the those with a
Lithuanian name of the street are in violation of the law.
Therefore, the court ordered the authorities of the Vilnius district
to remove the signs. The local self-government is now considering
appealing the verdict before the European Human Rights Tribunal in
Strasbourg.
Ethnic Poles constitute over 60 percent of the Vilnius region
population. For a long time they have been fighting for the right to
place Polish names in their native language. The problem arises from
certain inconsistency of the minority law in Lithuania, which allows
for non-Lithuanian names, with the law on the national language
excluding such possibility.
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Little Poland in Istanbul Polonezkoy
Sunday's Zaman, Turkey
5/24/09
There's probably nobody living in Ýstanbul who isn't familiar with Arnavutkoy ("Albanian Village"), the Bosporus suburb with the lovely wooden houses clustered around the main square that adorns the waterfront midway between Kuruçeþme and Bebek.
But behind Arnavutköy's name there lies a less familiar story of compulsory resettlement. In the 19th century Sultan Abdülmecid brought men from Albania to help pave the city streets in an early burst of enthusiasm for easing the life of pedestrians. The men were settled in what is now Arnavutköy, hence its name. Incidentally, it is also on account of their efforts that cobbled sidewalks are called "Arnavut kaldýrým [Albanian pavements]" in Turkish.
Arnavutköy's is not the only Ýstanbul place name that commemorates an immigrant population. The Belgrade Forest, for example, was named after the village of Belgrade where Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent resettled a group of men from what is now Serbia after capturing their home town of Belgrade in 1521. The men were given responsibility for maintaining the complex water system, with its many reservoirs and aqueducts, that supplied the city. Belgrade Village may be long gone now, but the forest name still commemorates their efforts.
The most interesting of the places named after resettled peoples is Polonezköy, the small village on the outskirts of Beykoz on the Asian side of the city where a group of Poles settled in 1842 after Prince Adam Czartoryski leased land from the city's Lazarite community to found an agricultural colony for men fleeing compulsory military service in the Russian army. Originally called Adampol after the prince, the village was at first little more than a dot on the map with just a handful of settlers, but as time passed political circumstances in Europe conspired to encourage more men to join them. In 1848 an uprising in Hungary was unsuccessful, and in 1863 so was another in Poland, both failures resulting in an influx of new colonists. The immigrant Poles made themselves useful in 1853 when they took the Turkish side in the Crimean War. To reward them, Sultan Abdülmecid I ceded the land to them in perpetuity.
What had once been Poland before being partitioned between Russia, Austria and Hungary regained its independence in 1918. Some of the settlers seem to have considered returning to their birthplaces, but most soon decided that their real home was now in Turkey. As so often, the new settlers clung to memories of the past, and built their houses from wood and stone in a style more typical of the Carpathian Mountains than of contemporary Ýstanbul. Most made their living as farmers or woodcutters; some also sold items made from the skin of wild boars. When Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to visit the new "Polonezköy [Polish Village]," he found a thriving settlement that was already starting to make a living out of tourism as word spread of its "otherness." Early visitors included Gustav Flaubert, Franz Liszt and Pierre Loti, who were all keen to see this piece of Central Europe transposed to the Ottoman Empire.
But nothing stays the same forever, and slowly Polonezköy started to shed its difference as the law forbidding non-Poles to buy land there was relaxed and Turks started to move in. Today out of a population of around 800 people, only about 50 still have Polish ancestry and even fewer still speak the language fluently. Nevertheless the village continues to attract the attention of eminent Poles; recent visitors have included ex-presidents Lech Walesa, who came in 1994, and Aleksander Kwesniewski, who visited in 1996 and again in 2000.
Today's Polonezköy still keeps itself to itself, and is that unusual thing in Turkey -- a village with no bus services. Lost amid the lovely deciduous woodlands that still ring this part of Ýstanbul, it retains the feel of a real village, unlike Arnavutköy, which is now just another, albeit pretty, suburb of greater Ýstanbul. The main street is still dotted with wooden houses, most of them pressed into the service of tourism as hotels or restaurants. Unfortunately, though, you only have to stray a little way away from the main road to find that the newcomers who have jumped on the tourism bandwagon have mainly turned their back on the Polish wood-and-stone eco-style in favor of the usual concrete-box buildings.
Polonezköy is a great place to come for a relaxing weekend break, with few must-see attractions to disturb your rest. The village church is worth a quick look, especially for a memorial to the poet Adam Mickiewicz, who was buried here in 1869. There is also a small wooden cottage, Zofia Rize Aný Evi, half-buried amid thick undergrowth, which opens on Sundays to give the curious a glimpse of how life would have been lived here in the 19th century. The more active can step out on a five-kilometer walking trail which zips around the village, but many will be happy just to frolic around their hotel swimming pool. Traditionally, a cherry festival is held here every June, although the economic crisis may result in its being cancelled this year.
The centerpiece of the village is one of those restaurants whose reputation precedes it. Leonardo's sits in extensive grounds with a sizeable outdoor pool. Popular with wedding parties, it's one of those increasingly rare places where pork still features on the menu. Also listed are a number of Polish dishes, some of them of doubtful authenticity. Polonaise-style Peking duck, anyone?
Best of the village hotels is probably the Polka Country Hotel, which was created out of an old farmhouse and then expanded down the hillside to include a restaurant with the air of a British pub and a small swimming pool. Rooms are unexceptional, but the rural ambience should more than compensate, especially if you come with a loved one or a group of friends.
If you don't want to stay in Polonezköy itself, there are a couple of hotels buried in the surrounding countryside which are also worth considering. Closest is the Village Park Country Resort, which has enormous and city-stylish rooms in extensive grounds which incorporate a stream and a K-9 dog training center where some of the dogs used to guard the metro are put through their paces. Alternatively, Saklýköy Country Hotel has gorgeous rooms set in even more extensive grounds, this time with riding facilities on site. Despite its relatively remote location, it has something of the feel of a British country-house hotel.
As a footnote to the story of the Poles in Ýstanbul, you might like to visit one other place, and that is a house in Tarlabaþý that was built on the site of the last home of Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855), the Romantic poet who arrived in Ýstanbul in 1854 at the start of the Crimean War hoping to rally Polish forces to fight against Russia. An inner-city suburb abutting trendy Ýstiklal Caddesi, poor, run-down Tarlabaþý could hardly be more different from Polonezköy. Here amid the crumbling houses and mountains of rubbish where some of the poorest of the poor now make their homes, Mickiewicz died during a cholera epidemic, and a symbolic tomb lurks in the basement of the building which is theoretically open as a museum. His remains have now been moved to Krakow in Poland.
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Post by Bonobo on May 29, 2009 19:09:25 GMT 1
Poles apart: Silesians realize themselves as a nation
RT
27 May, 2009
Silesia, a province in the south of Poland made up of a diverse cultural mix, has announced that it wants to be free of the state amidst the worsening economic crisis gripping the country.
Over the past 20 years, the European continent has seen many regions seeking autonomy, which Silesia is following suit.
Life in the largely industrial region in southern Poland is hard going. Since the global financial crisis hit Europe, many manufacturers have shut up shop, leaving entire neighborhoods in and around the regional capital Katowice in limbo.
Once Poland's proud industrial hub under Communism, Silesia has fallen into disarray since the nineties. Its coalmines and steel houses have long been neglected and many there agree the recent quest for autonomy is a result of a built-up frustration over the region's economic woes.
Read more
"There were times when we had our house in one state, Poland, but our toilet was across the border, in Germany. We used toilet paper as passports. But I feel neither German nor Polish, I am Silesian," says Frida Goodheart, resident of Gliwice, who has been living in the village of Gliwice for 80 years.
Over the course of history, Silesia has been ruled by Austria, Prussia, Bohemia and Germany, which has brought a diverse cultural blend Silesians are so proud of. However, much like in communist times, the leader of the autonomous movement of Silesia says there is no place for minorities in modern Poland.
Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; (Austrian) Silesia before the annexion by Prussia in 1740, outlined in cyan. Map showing post-1994 state borders (Picture from site wikipedia.org)
"Every aspect of Upper Silesian tradition was brutally erased by the school, by the authorities. Our natural resources were exploited by the state. We have a possibility, after so many years, to express our identity that is different from the Polish one and to fight for our economic rights," insists Jerzy Gorzelik, president of Silesian Autonomy Movement.
In a region-wide census a few years ago almost 200,000 people stated their nationality as Silesian, but in a region of four million people some say that figure is too small to be a mandate for self government.
"The movement for autonomy is marginal. The concept of Silesian identity is anachronistic. The majority of people here are Poles, and just because we are living through tough times financially does not mean we should leave Poland," argues conservative politician Piotr Spyra.
The European court of human rights too has so far stopped short of recognizing Silesia as a nation, but it is yet to give its final decision. If in future Strasburg sides with Silesia, autonomy may not be far out of reach. This autonomy some believe will get Silesia back on its feet.
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Post by Bonobo on Jun 8, 2009 22:11:22 GMT 1
Poland's African candidate for the European parliamentEUbusiness.com
03 June 2009
(JELCZ LASKOWICE) - Fate and a fervent Roman Catholic mother led Patrick Kibangou to move to Poland from Congo-Brazzaville 29 years ago.
He became a Polish citizen and now is running for a seat in the European Parliament where he could become one of its few black deputies.
Kibangou lives in Jelcz-Laskowice, a town on the outskirts of Wroclaw in southwest Poland. His partner, a gynaecologist who is a naturalised Polish citizen of Nigerian origin, has her office in the den of their home.
"Most often we speak Polish amongst ourselves. When we're cross with each other we speak English, sometimes French," he chuckled.
Kibangou says he wants to give Poland more access to markets in Africa.
"What has motivated me is that I can help Poland find markets, its the promotion of Polish companies, Polish products and Polish culture in developing countries," he told AFP.
Helping Africa also counts, as the arrival of companies from the European Union's newer members, generally means lower prices and "alternatives for Africans."
"When there will be competition, there will be less blackmail" by Western groups installed in Africa, said Kibangou, who is running for Poland's Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), a communist party revamped as social democrats.
The 51-year-old engineer is focused on the kind of road infrastructures Poland built in Libya or Iraq prior to 1989 when it was still part of the communist bloc.
"Poles are good in everything", he said. Poland is a country "with intellectuals, people who have made world history, scientists like Marie Curie-Sklodowska and I think Poles are just as capable as the French and English to be in Africa."
Kibangou told of his departure from Congo-Brazzaville to Poland in 1980 and his decision to stay.
After finishing high school in Congo, he wanted to study in France or Germany, but in a dream he heard a voice "you will go to Poland."
"My mother who is a real believer, Catholic, fervently Catholic, told me 'It's the country of the Pope, you must go there'," he recalled with a smile, referring to the late Pope John Paul II.
After applications to study in Western Europe were rejected, he decided to go East to earn degrees at the technical university and economics academy in Wroclaw, southwest Poland.
Towards the end of the 1990s he was thinking seriously about going back to Congo, but after war erupted there he found himself without a passport and applied for Polish citizenship.
"I set a record -- in less than four months I had my citizenship and then I told myself I was Polish and there you go," he said.
There are few Africans in Poland, but Kibangou says it is not a racist country.
"No, Poles are not racist," he said. "There are marginal cases but that doesn't count. You also find it in France or England."
   
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Post by valpomike on Jun 9, 2009 0:36:35 GMT 1
Check out how bad a job, our black leader is doing. Think twice, before you vote for him, cause he is black. Unless, he is the best person for the job, which was not the case here.
Mike
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Post by locopolaco on Jun 9, 2009 5:43:12 GMT 1
Check out how bad a job, our black leader is doing. Think twice, before you vote for him, cause he is black. Unless, he is the best person for the job, which was not the case here. Mike obama was by far the best choice and he's doing a bang up job.  |
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Post by tufta on Jun 9, 2009 10:51:23 GMT 1
Interesting, thanks!
Unfortunately he has not chosen another party.
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Post by tufta on Jun 9, 2009 10:57:25 GMT 1
obama was by far the best choice and he's doing a bang up job. Loco, you are a sensible person. Please explain something to me. During the election campaign in USA I had a growing impression that Obama woulnd't have a chance to be elected, were he white. Or - that the white, open-minded, middle class thanks to which he won the election voted for him just beacuse he is not white. To prove something to themselves. Or - if exactly the same candidate, with the same views, intelligence, mindset appeared, but was white - he wouldn't have a chance to win the elections. Am I right or pobłądziłem? |
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Post by valpomike on Jun 9, 2009 16:38:13 GMT 1
If Obama is doing such a good job, what is he doing? Spend, spend and spend more. He has spent more in his short time in office, than both Bush and Clinton did in their full term.
My great grandchildren, when they are born, will have to pay for this.
Tufta, you are correct, he would not have got in, if he was white.
Mike
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Post by locopolaco on Jun 9, 2009 21:47:51 GMT 1
If Obama is doing such a good job, what is he doing? Spend, spend and spend more. He has spent more in his short time in office, than both Bush and Clinton did in their full term. My great grandchildren, when they are born, will have to pay for this. Tufta, you are correct, he would not have got in, if he was white. Mike he has to spend because of the previous imbecile. how else do you suggest this mess gets fixed? |
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Post by locopolaco on Jun 9, 2009 21:51:56 GMT 1
obama was by far the best choice and he's doing a bang up job. Loco, you are a sensible person. Please explain something to me. During the election campaign in USA I had a growing impression that Obama woulnd't have a chance to be elected, were he white. Or - that the white, open-minded, middle class thanks to which he won the election voted for him just beacuse he is not white. To prove something to themselves. Or - if exactly the same candidate, with the same views, intelligence, mindset appeared, but was white - he wouldn't have a chance to win the elections. Am I right or pobłądziłem? i can see how someone may think that but one of the reasons BO was elected was because US and the world sure couldn't afford the other two jokers.. personally, i really don't think BO's skin color has anything to do with any of this.. just look at the Republican party right now.. it's in complete shambles and the future sure doesn't look any better for them at this point. their "leaders: are Cheney, Limbaugh, Palin and Gingrich... they are so screwed it's not even funny. ... well, on second though.. it is..  |
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Post by valpomike on Jun 9, 2009 22:14:38 GMT 1
They the Repo. will be on top with the best for the job, again, soon. Watch and see.
And what a great guy Joe Biden is. Some kind of a nut, who used many other people words, and said they were his, and got caught.
Mike
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Post by tufta on Jun 10, 2009 13:57:20 GMT 1
well, on second though.. it is.. From my point of observation Palin WOULD be funny (and thus dangerous) as a vice-president, meaning PROBABLE president of the USA. I am not sure about McCain - he seemed quite reasonable to me from this long distance I obseve things in US. Well, it doesn't matter today- there's BO (we have one Bo as well Thanks fro responding! Mike, I didn't ask you, since I knew what your answer would be ;D |
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Post by valpomike on Jun 10, 2009 17:48:39 GMT 1
And yours is the way it is, since you are a die heart Demo. you can't see any other way.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Jun 16, 2009 19:03:38 GMT 1
Well, it doesn't matter today- there's BO (we have one Bo as well BO and Bo:  |
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Post by Bonobo on Jun 25, 2009 18:49:34 GMT 1
Podlasie gets Polish and Lithuanian signs
thenews.pl
23.06.2009
Signs with names of localities in the Punsk area of the Podlasie region, north east Poland, will now be in both the Polish and Lithuanian languages.
By the end of June, some thirty villages will have their road signs changed to comply with a local council decision, says Jan Wojczulis, deputy mayor of Punsk.
"We held consultations in 33 villages," he told Polish Radio. "There will be Polish and Lithuanian names in 30 of them, as the remaining 3 have an almost entirely Polish community."
The project has been financed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
The Podlasie province is one of the most diverse, culturally, of all of Poland`s regions, being inhabited by many different minorities over the years.
The Podlasie province used to be in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, though since the union with Poland in 1569 and the formation with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the province was transferred to the Polish Crown, only to be extinguished in 1795 during partition.
In the national census of 2002 there were 5.097 Lithuanians registered in the Podlasie province.
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Post by Bonobo on Jul 8, 2009 21:26:54 GMT 1
On the road: Centuries of Roma history
Roma women in Romania. There are striking similarities between the Roma and some groups from Northern India
Beginning a series on the modern-day plight of Roma Gypsies in Europe, by BBC Russian for the World Service, Delia Radu traces the ethnic group's nomadic history back to northern India.
"Who are these people?" asks the man behind the counter in the photo store in Southall, an area also known as London's Little India.
He is handing over my order: a hefty pile of colour photographs, of which a picture of two Roma women and their children (above) is the first.
"They look just like the Banjara in Rajasthan - that's where I come from," he says.
He points to a beautiful print on the wall, showing a glamorous group of female Banjara dancers.
The similarity is striking.
Historians agree that the Roma's origins lie in north-west India and that their journey towards Europe started between the 3rd and 7th Centuries AD - a massive migration prompted by timeless reasons: conflicts, instability and the seeking of a better life in big cities such as Tehran, Baghdad and, later on, Constantinople.
Some of these Indian immigrant workers were farmers, herdsmen, traders, mercenaries or book-keepers. Others were entertainers and musicians.
They settled in the Middle East, calling themselves Dom, a word meaning "man".
To this day they retain their name and speak a language related to Sanskrit.
Large numbers moved into Europe, where the D, which was anyway pronounced with the tongue curled up, became an R, giving the word Rom. Today's European Roma (the plural of Rom) are their descendants.
'Untouchables'
Maybe because they were carrying customs and memories connected to their Hindu gods, the Roma were regarded as heathens in Byzantium and were assimilated into a heretic sect: "the Untouchables" or Atsingani. This designation is the root of the words used for "Gypsy" in most European languages, such as the French "Tzigane" and the German "Zigeuner".
By the 14th Century, journeying further into Europe, perhaps fleeing the Turks or perhaps the plague, the Atsingani were to be found in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece.
Roma workman. Roma have worked as coppersmiths possibly since the "Persian period"
They worked on the land or as craftsmen but in two Romanian principalities, Wallachia and Moldova, they were pushed into slavery and feature prominently in property deeds.
About a century later the Roma fled towards Ukraine and Russia.
Some presented themselves as pilgrims or penitents, and like any such group wandering throughout Europe during that era they were given aid or shelter.
This welcoming attitude changed dramatically around the year 1500.
Historians believe this might have happened because the numbers of the immigrants grew bigger, but they also were seen as spies for the Turks, and consequently hunted and killed by decree.
This led to what some historians dub "the first Roma genocide" - a period of fierce repression.
There were hangings and expulsions in England; branding and the shaving of heads in France; severing of the left ear of Roma women in Moravia, and of the right one in Bohemia.
Following these expulsions and killings, large groups of Roma travelled back East, towards Poland, which was more tolerant.
Russia was also a place where the Roma were treated less heavy-handedly, notably being allowed to retain nomadic or semi-nomadic ways of living, as long as they paid the annual taxes - the "obrok".
Children removed
In contrast, the policy of the West, especially during the Age of Enlightenment was to "civilise" the Roma through brutal forced assimilation.
The repression included: 24 strokes of the cane for the use of the "Gypsy language"; forbidding Roma to marry among themselves; restricting the numbers of Roma musicians; taking away children as young as four years old from their parents and distributing them among the neighbouring towns, "at least every two years".
Roma children - probably at Rivesaltes camp in France during WWII (pic: US Holocaust Memorial Museum). Roma like these were among the first Holocaust victims (pic: US Holocaust Memorial Museum)
In some cases these policies did force Roma to become assimilated. But many took to the road again.
The persecutions culminated in the Holocaust, or Porajmos - "the Devouring" - as it is called in Romany.
The Roma found themselves among the first victims of Nazi policies.
They were sent to die in the gas vans of Chelmno, and were subjected to gruesome experiments in the extermination camps.
Up to 500,000 Roma are believed to have been killed under fascist rule.
Poverty-stricken
Yet post-war European governments on both sides of the Iron Curtain denied the Roma Holocaust survivors any recognition or aid.
In the communist bloc some managed to reach the modest living standards of the era, most often at the price of giving up their language and identity, while the majority of Roma continued to lead poverty stricken lives on the margins of society.
In many cases there were special policies towards Roma, including coerced sterilisation (Czechoslovakia) or forcing them to change their names and hiding their dwellings behind concrete walls (Bulgaria).
The demise of the communist regimes in 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe was followed by an upsurge of anti-Roma violence in almost every country.
Today, six million out of the estimated 10 million European Roma live in Central and Eastern Europe.
Up to two million are to be found in Romania, whose established Roma slave markets horrified Western travellers until as late as the 19th Century.
Decades of communism and the recent admission of Eastern countries into the EU seem to have made little difference to their history of exclusion and poverty.
Most Roma families live in small shacks with no electricity or running water, and international institutions calculate that Roma poverty rates are up to 10 times higher than those of the majority population where they live, while their lifespan is 10 or 15 years lower. |
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Post by Bonobo on Jul 15, 2009 21:32:57 GMT 1
A gypsy man returned from Britain with a virus of the new flu. He went to hospital but when they wanted to keep him, he refused and went home. He was planning to go to an annual Gypsy Culture Festival and it seemed he was determined to do it. There is no law in Poland which forces people to stay in hospital against their will in case of the new flu. Fortunately, the gypsy tribe`s leaders, wise men, ordered the man and his family to stay home. As much as gypsies refuse to obey non-gypsy people`s orders, they still follow their own leaders` decrees. The whole case shows how difficult it is for gypsies to adapt to certain obvious rules of modern society. They still seem independent nomads who have their own lifestyle and principles. www.tvn24.pl/-1,1609855,0,1,rodzina-chorego-roma-rozp8230-im-leb,wiadomosc.html |
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 31, 2010 14:05:19 GMT 1
Government increases funding for minorities
29.12.2010 13:50
The Interior Ministry has allocated 15 million zloty (about 3.77 m euro) to national and ethnic minorities in Poland, one million zlotys more than last year.
A ministry spokeswoman told PAP news agency that the money will be used to finance projects aimed at preserving and cultivating the national and cultural identity of the country’s nine national and four ethnic minorities.
Organizations grouping ethnic Belarusians in Poland will receive almost 2.3 million zlotys, the Ukrainian and German minority will get 2.15 million zlotys each. One million zlotys will go to the Lemkos. Lithuanians, Czechs, the Karaims, Russians, Slovaks, the Roma people and Jewish organizations will also be given financial support.
Over one million zlotys has been earmarked for the Kashubians to help them promote the use of their language, which is a regional language here.
Minorities account for about one percent of Poland’s population of over 38 million.
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Post by Bonobo on Mar 8, 2011 0:01:41 GMT 1
Belarus court scrutinizes Polish Card
28.02.2011 13:08
A court in Minsk is looking at the legality of the so-called Karta Polaka (Polish Card) which has been cited on state Belarusian television as “a joker in international games.”
The card was initially launched by Poland's Foreign Ministry in September 2007. It is applicable to people of Polish descent living in former Soviet republics, yet who are unable to obtain dual citizenship. It provides the applicant with certain privileges in Poland, such as securing visas and work permits.
Belarus, which was not consulted before the card 's initial approval in the Polish parliament, reacted with distaste to the development, saying that it could “seriously destabilize relations between the two nations, increase tension in Belarusian society, and breed mistrust between Belarusian citizens of different nationalities.”
Now, following recent tension with Poland in the wake of the crackdown against dissidents in the December election, Belarus has challenged the card once more.
As it remains, the Association of Poles in Belarus has yet to secure official recognition by Lukashenko's government, and the Polish card was cited on state television as “dividing Belarusian Poles into good and bad according to their loyalties to Warsaw.”
Belarusian officials claim that the card promotes Poles that are “convenient” for Warsaw.
According to the televised programme, the forthcoming legal decision concerning the card “could become an argument in dialogue with neighbours, or a cause to turn towards international structures.”  www.thenews.pl/eu/artykul150255_belarus-court-scrutinizes-polish-card.html
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 8, 2011 22:54:03 GMT 1
A new report published by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party has come under fire from politicians for what they see as slurs against the Silesian minority in southern Poland.
Report by John Beauchamp
The Law and Justice document, “A Report on the State of the Republic”, has angered many for stating that “being a Silesian is simply a way to cut ties with [Polish identity] and indeed could be a way to camouflage German [identity].”
The declaration was made on Saturday by the head of Law and Justice, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who said that while his party accepts Silesian and Cashubian regional identities as being essentially Polish, the type of Silesian identity that is proposed by the Silesian Autonomy Movement (RAS) is “a camouflaged German alternative.”
The statement has prompted mixed reactions from politicians across the spectrum, especially with the launch of the National Census, which is set to record ethnic minorities of people living in Poland.
“I am quite surprised why Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who has stated many times that he is well acquainted with Polish history, especially during the last century, in this instance has gone for a Bismarckian interpretation of being Silesian,” presidential advisor Tomasz Nalecz, possibly alluding to the Prussian chancellor’s efforts of Germanification in Silesian lands.
Additionally, Stanislaw Zelichowski from the junior coalition partner, the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) underlines that Silesians have always showed their unity with Poland.
“Let us find what joins people in Poland together, and not what separates us, there has has been so much bloodshed for Polishness and for every centimetre of Polish land, as well as in Silesia during the uprisings in defence of Poland, not Germany,” Zelichowski told Polish Radio.
Respect
However, Jacek Kurski from Law and Justice has defended the words of Jaroslaw Kaczynski by saying that “Law and Justice will not provoke tensions between itself, Silesians, Cashubians, who we treat as Poles, and who have their differing ethnicity, their culture, language, which needs to be fostered and respected.”
“However the often scandalous words of Mr Gorzelik, the leader of the Silesian Autonomous Movement, are contemptuous towards Poland. This is our objection,” Kurski added.
Furthermore, Marek Jurek, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Polish Right, has appealed to Silesians to declare Polish nationality on the census.
“I think that we should all appeal to Silesians to confirm their membership of the Polish nation, it is of great value,” Jurek said, adding that “I hope that there will be a large proportion of such people, as I admire Silesia and its culture. It is important that the region stated loud and clear that it identifies with Poland.”
With the start of the National Census in Poland, questions regarding regional identities have arisen, especially in Silesia, a region known for being proud of its heritage.
While the Silesian Autonomy Movement wants the region to be independent of the rest of the country, Jaroslaw Juszkiewicz from Polish Radio in the Silesian capital of Katowice told thenews.pl that the movement is not a threat, and “they don’t want autonomy like [the Canadian province of] Quebec,” but rather securing rights “to use their language [and] symbols.”
Juszkiewicz added that the National Census includes two questions on nationality, which will give respondents the option to declare an additional “association” with a nationality.
Meanwhile, head of the Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has announced that he explain his comments about ethnic minorities when he visits Silesia and the Cashubian region in the north of Poland.COMMENTS:
Felix D.
04/04/2011 17:35:10
Sadly I have to say Kaczynski got this right, we can never be too vigilant when it comes to traitors and enemies of Poland in our midst. Anyone who wishes to split from Poland is a criminal and traitor, we have over indulged these neo-nazis remnants from the past instead of hammering them out of existence. Removing these people can only be considered pest control
McDunderheed
04/04/2011 20:57:04
"we can never be too vigilant when it comes to traitors and enemies of Poland in our midst..."
Sorry, but is this satire, or did I mess something? Do you honestly think that the biggest danger to Poles is the fantasy enemy within? Fact is - Kaczynski is trying to strangthen his electoral base - maybe 25% tops - coming up an election. So he will push nationalist button, Smolensk button, etc...he knows he won;t win...he just doesn't want to get massacred. Sad.
Mark
04/04/2011 21:11:13
"Doh !!!!" ...I love this Homer Simpson approach to Politics you have with the Law & Justice party...as a European I think its so funny ...
Adam
04/04/2011 23:22:29
Felix: Again, the imagined traitors. The paranoia. The self-righteous hatred of anything which is different. If Kaczynski thinks that the path to prosperity and security is running around and calling huge swaths of the population wannabe Germans, then he is completely out of touch with reality, let alone the 21st century. What an intellectually bankrupt party! They have nothing concrete to propose for Poland besides witchhunts.
Fran
04/04/2011 23:59:18
Oh for heaven's sake. Poland, UK, France, Germany etc we are ALL in the EU we are all partners and Allies.
Poles who talk about "traitors in our midst" etc are living in the past and are a disgrace to modern Poland!
Leszek
05/04/2011 00:34:49
I get it - to be from Silesia is different to being from Poland. The two are mutually exclusive. Wow. Does that work for any region of Poland or just ones that had had a long history of being part of another country. Indeed, would it not work for the whole of pOland, seeing that Poland didn't exist for 123 years? That means that, if you come from any part of partitioned Poland, you cannot be Polish. Thanks for explaining it, Jaro.
Tom
05/04/2011 01:42:11
Kaczynski raises anti-German jingoism up the flagpole every chance he gets. About 30% of Poles buy into his hocum.
@ Felix D. - Neo-Nazis? Get your facts straight. It was Kaczynski who shared power with the League of Polish Families and their fascist All-Polish Youth auxiliary.
SW
05/04/2011 14:34:41
dear oh dear what next you are jewish so you cannot be Polish, or your Dad is English so you aren't Polish. How about we throw out the real traitors who embarrass and do Poland no good at all Pis Felix D and all the other idiots
Felix D.
05/04/2011 20:57:21
You can be conscious of your ethnicity, proud of your culture and diligent in keeping your language and traditions alive all in the context of being a good Pole. But when a group prepares a charade to conceal their real intentions under the cloak of defending Silesian identity, we have something altogether different. The aims of the RAS are to dissolve the Polish state, as it currently exists, reverse the outcome of WW2 and ultimately ethnically cleanse the area of the Polish language, culture and population
rolnik_jaś
05/04/2011 23:15:48
@ Felix D - if you read and listen to the audio clips in the report, I don't think that RAS is any of those things you mention. But I'm open minded - if you present me with a link or two where this is written I'll gladly take a look. Aren't the Silesians a bit like the Welsh? I mean come on, they're not really such a threat... www.thenews.pl/national/artykul152664_kaczynski-accused-of-slurring-silesian-minority.htmlI am Silesian lh3.googleusercontent.com/_yaPT8e7mpnc/TZD4LiZE6rI/AAAAAAAAIHU/0pINGt3mJbE/s640/narodowosc_slaska_logo_gorny.jpg  I am Kashubian  Yes, we are Germans.   Autonomy for Silesia 
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