Commemorating the Nazis' Sinti and Roma victims
The Porajmos - the genocide of the Sinti and Roma during the Holocaust - has been commemorated in Europe on 2 August since 2015. Members of the minority, which had been a target of discrimination for centuries, were systematically hunted down, imprisoned and killed by the National Socialists and their helpers from 1935 onwards. The exact number of victims is still a subject of controversy. Europe's press focuses on the persistent problem of antiziganism.
Once a year is not enough
A day of remembrance is not enough, says Romanian MEP Marius Tudor in Adevărul:
“Many people, especially political leaders, become friends of the Roma, are showing empathy, love and a caring attitude towards this community. An absolutely impressive stance. But it would be wonderful if we also had so many friends all the rest of the year, because racism and the poverty in which the majority of the communities live cannot be combated in one day. Words are not the same as actions, and it is the political leaders who can change things.”
Police violence against Roma: EU remains silent
On June 19, the 46-year-old Roma Stanislav Tomaš died during a brutal police operation in the Czech Republic. Delo criticises the fact that unlike in the case of George Floyd, most EU politicians have said nothing about his death:
“There are probably many reasons for their silence, but its consequences are dangerous for the Roma and harmful for the EU. In the member states it's hard to believe that the EU's anti-racism policy can change anything when EU leaders remain silent even in such extreme cases. To say nothing of the lack of policies that could stop police brutality, which is the most obvious and common manifestation of racism. ... Europe's leaders are undermining the credibility of the EU, both at home and abroad.”
An appeal to look and listen
Writer Ursula Krechel calls for more tolerance and less indifference in Die Presse:
“The formation of the blocs in Europe and the Cold War were also convenient barriers for closing one's eyes to the scope of the disaster on the entire European continent. As Germany went through the bitter stages of discrimination, criminalisation, forced sterilisation, deportation and murder with terrible consequences, Roma in the countries of South Eastern Europe didn't stand a chance: genocide without preconditions raged across the region. This European Day of Remembrance opens our eyes - to the devastation. At the same time, it is an appeal to listen to the new prejudices, restrictions, disrespect and hatred.”