II Roma World Congress
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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 20:51:20 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: II Roma World Congress
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Roma World Congress <[email protected]>
II Roma World Congress
[Romanes/English]
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>From the moderator: The Romanes text is omitted.
Boris
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Dear all,
The past of the Roma people is long and, for most people, unknown.
Therefore, stereotypes are deeply embedded in Gadje´s (Non-Roma)
minds, a fact that makes Roma´s lives more difficult. During the last
century, after the abolition of the slavery, the Roma have tried to
organize themselves, appointing leaders in order to protect them,
setting up organizations, but the Second World War and the Nazi regime
destroyed everything that was built by then and the Roma were
forgotten. Step by step, and mainly in the last decade, they have
started to rebuild their leadership and their way of life has been
changed. Since the last Roma World Congress, which was held in 1937 in
Warsaw – Poland (when the last Roma leader, Mr. Kwieck, was chosen), a
lot of meetings on Roma issues organized by different Roma Ngo's have
followed.
Lately, European and International intergovernmental institutions have
started to be interested in Roma issues. They organize round tables
and even appoint Roma experts in order to better understand the issues
and make a difference.
Being supported by the Council of Europe, at the initiative of Finish
President Ms.Tarja Halonen and under the patronage of the Polish Prime
Minister Mr. Leszek Miller, the member organizations of the Roma World
Congress Committee are organizing the Second Roma World Congress,
which is going to be held from the 1st to 3rd of May in Lodz, Poland
(the location of the biggest Roma and Jewish ghetto during the
Holocaust) aiming to debate the most 'burning issues'. We are aware
that Roma are facing many problems, but we have chosen to discuss the
following topics:
¨ Roma representation in Europe
¨ Compensation for the Roma victims of the Holocaust (German
funds/Swiss banks/IBM)
¨ Roma refugees and migration
The aims of the Congress are to bring all the Roma activists together
in order to create
1) an European Roma Forum (representation at the European Bodies like
CoE, EP – the initiative being taken by the Finish President Ms. Tarja
Halonen);
2) a Foundation on the Holocaust compensations funds;
3) an Organisation on the Roma Refugees and Migrants issue.
The congress is going to be presided by Mr. Sergiusz Kwieck, one of
the survivors from Kwieck family.
The congress will start its work on the 13th of April and all the
interested persons will have, for the first time, the chance to
participate via Internet giving their own suggestions.
www.romaworldcongress.org
Also, the congress itself will be online.
The congress is organized without any financial support in order to
avoid the influence of any institution or government, therefore each
participant has to cover his costs.
The number of participants is unlimited, all the Roma interested
having the chance to attend in person or by internet. Please be aware
of the fact that your non-attendance will take away from you the
chance to be part of this process, therefore the Committee Member
Organizations are kindly inviting you to attend this congress.
Yours sincerely,
Sergiusz Kwieck
Secretariate:
Non EU-Memberstates
Pradzynskiego 125
93-466 Lodz, Poland
Tel/Fax: +48 42 2274500
Other
Simon von Utrecht Str. 85
20359 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 40 319 42 49
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