Roma youth are meeting this week in a small village, Bánk, in northern Hungary
to discuss and formulate plans for better cooperation between the two
communities in Europe.
The project, called Volunticipate, is taking place
alongside a larger event called the Bankito Festival, and is being organized by
a number of groups, including Marom, a Jewish cultural organization in Europe,
the Haver Informal Jewish Educational Public Benefit Foundation and a number of
Roma advocacy groups.
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The Bankito Festival itself is a music and cultural
extravaganza organized by a number of Jewish and non-Jewish NGOs, which is
expected to attract hundreds of people from Hungary and further
afield.
“There is a high level of intolerance and a lack of critical
thinking in Hungary at the moment,” says Haver CEO Mircea Cernov. “The roots of
this come from the schools and is deeply rooted throughout society. What we are
trying to do is address the lack of debate on these issues.
“Radical
voices are getting stronger in Hungary in the last few years,” Cernov
says.
“There are concrete signs and cases of discrimination against
people in the Roma community and the strengthening of hard anti-Semitic
narratives.”
The Volunticipate program, which began Monday and lasts
until Sunday, will focus on training seminars for the participants in NGO and
project management, budgeting and fund-raising and volunteer recruitment. The
aim, according to Marom, is for the representatives of the various Jewish and
Roma groups to share their experiences of the common issues and challenges that
both communities face, and to facilitate better organizational
development.
Roma in Europe have long faced discrimination and
persecution and continue to face structural discrimination and marginalization
according to the ternYpe International Roma Youth Network, another of
Volunticipate’s organizers.
The European Roma Rights Center says that in
the past three years, nine Roma have been killed and dozens have been wounded in
racially motivated attacks involving shootings, firebombs, stabbings and
beatings.
“I think it’s clear around Europe that the far-right is getting
stronger and its narrative and rhetoric is very popular among certain groups in
Europe,” Cernov said. “NGOs and the non-profit sector are doing a great job but
the political elites and opinion makers really need to develop some empathy
toward these issues. The attitudes of the majority will only change when these
people really engage with the problems.”
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