'The New Gypsies' Opens at Fashion Space Gallery London College of Fashion

Fashion Space Gallery at London College of Fashion is proud to announce its new exhibition: The New Gypsies by Iain McKell, running until Saturday 28 May 2011.

Iain McKell is a London based photographer who is widely known for his work around youth subculture. He worked as a ‘tourist-on-the-beach-with-a-monkey’ photographer in Dorset from the age of 19, and then moved to London to hang out as well as to document the punk and new-wave ‘Blitz Kids’ scenes. He photographed Madonna for her first magazine cover in 1982 and has worked extensively for music, fashion and style magazines including i-D, The Face, L’Uomo Vogue and Italian Vogue.

This new exhibition depicts ‘The New Gypsies’ a group of people seeking an alternative to western capitalist society by living in simplicity, at close contact with nature and moving from place to place in horse-drawn caravans. They are punks in the landscape, born out of the counterculture of the 60s and 70s, as well as the rave culture of the 90s. This extraordinary body of work immerses us in this colorful and wonderful world, drawing our attention to the beauty and depth of The New Gypsies as individuals and as part of a community offering us an opportunity to consider the possibilities of a different way of life and future.

The launch of The New Gypsies coincides with the release of the book of the same title, published by Prestel. The book will be available for sale at the Fashion Space Gallery at the opening celebration on the night of 19th April. The photographer will be available to sign copies.

The exhibition has been guest curated for the Fashion Space Gallery by Bruno Ceshcell a visiting lecturer in Photography at the University of Westminster, and a writer and curator.

Germany sends refugees back to Kosovo

A decade after the armed conflict in Kosovo, Germany plans to repatriate thousands of refugees from the region, most of them of Roma origin. Critics have labeled the project “monstrous”.

There are an estimated 14,000 refugees from Kosovo in Germany, and 10,000 of them are Roma. The legal status of many of them has not been regulated.

An agreement between Berlin and Pristina is to outline a major repatriation program for them, reports this week German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The reason for the move is that the situation in the disputed region has become more stable, German officials say.

The Interior Ministry plans to process 2,500 repatriation cases yearly and pledged to maintain “a reasonable ethnical composition” among them.
In addition, Germany will pay 750 euro (about $1,100) to each returning person and cover their travel expenditures. It also promised to help repatriates to find accommodation and jobs in Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Ulla Jelpke from the Left Party in Germany’s Parliament labeled the project “monstrous”, arguing that deported Roma will face “absolute poverty” and “daily alienation” from the Albanian majority in Kosovo.
Roma human rights group Chachipe has condemned the repatriation program, saying the German government is overly optimistic when describing the situation in Kosovo.

“The Roma have been driven out from Kosovo, and in ten years, the international community has been unable to create the conditions for their safe return. Their interests have been sacrificed and abandoned in an attempt to pacify the antagonisms between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs. Now, they are requested to return in order to make it possible for the international community to say that Kosovo has become a multi-ethnic country, which deserves to be an independent state,” the group said.

http://rt.com/news/czech-roma-women-sterilization/

Czech Roma still seeking justice for communist sterilizations

A campaign is gathering steam in the Czech Republic for Roma women persecuted under the country's former communist regime, as an investigation has confirmed they were subjected to systematic sterilization.

Despite an apology from the government, the possibility of compensation for the victims remains remote.

The typical sterilization scenario was as follows: a Roma woman would come into hospital for childbirth and, as she suffered in labour, an unknown document would be put in front of her to sign. When the woman recovered after giving birth, she was told she had agreed to be sterilized, and could have no more children – a common story repeated by Roma women all over the Czech Republic.

Elena Gorolova was just 21 and had given birth to her second child when she was sterilized. Like many, she was initially ashamed to speak out about what happened for years before becoming a campaigner.

“I felt like I wasn't a proper woman anymore. My sense of self was destroyed. I believe we deserve justice,” she explained to RT.

A hospital in the country where a lot of these sterilizations took place still exists. In fact, some of the doctors responsible still work here. The hospital refused to talk to journalists about what happened there in years past.

Condolences, but no compensation

An ombudsman's report has discovered that sterilization was systematic during the Czech Republic's Communist period. Its aim was to “control” the socially-excluded and economically-disadvantaged Roma population, where big families are traditional.

Over eighty cases have been investigated so far: the most recent was in 2003. The real number of victims may be significantly higher.

The government has apologized for the actions, but has not agreed to widespread compensation for the women.

“When these women apply to the court, it usually decides in their favor, and the hospitals have to apologize, but when it comes to financial compensation, the court decides to rule against them, because the time limit has passed,” says Czeslaw Walek, Human Rights Department Deputy.

Any further rectification is likely to be complicated by persistently negative social attitudes towards the Roma.

For example, a big anti-gypsy demonstration was held by the radical Workers' Party last year.

“The government shouldn't say sorry for this. We don't know if these sterilizations really happened, or how widespread they were,” believes Tomas Vandas, leader of the Delnicka Strana Party, adding, “If there was anything wrong, it should have been addressed through the courts at the time.”

After the initial burst of publicity, the issue has been neglected by most Czech politicians and the media alike.

Whatever measures are agreed to rehabilitate those who both suffered under the regime and were betrayed by doctors, it is of little comfort to those who have borne the brunt of totalitarian eugenics.

Gypsies are 'Europe's most hated'

Gypsies are the most hated minority in Europe despite centuries of persecution and the Holocaust, it has been claimed.

Up to half-a-million were killed by the Nazis - but their plight is often forgotten and they remain "demonised".

The comments were made by Dr James Smith of the National Holocaust Centre, in U.K

'Hysteria'

Dr Smith said: "If we don't learn from the past, we run the risk of repeating its mistakes in the future.

"Sixty years ago, after centuries of persecution, Europe's gypsies faced extermination under the Nazis, simply because of who they were.

"Up to half a million were killed. Yet even after the Holocaust, gypsies remain perhaps the most hated minority in Europe.

"When hysteria is whipped up against a minority by politicians and the media, people get hurt and they are getting hurt, right now."

Student research shows: Roma stereotypes not born out by reality. Results to be presented at public event.

Attitudes held by the public about the Roma community are likely to improve if communities have more contact with one other, according to research carried out by several groups of 3 students as part of the Year 3 module on ‘Romani Linguistics’. The research investigated Romani families who have emigrated to Manchester in recent years, and attitudes among local residents of non- Romani origin and public service employees. The results will be presented at a special event at the University, which is expected to attract key staff from Manchester City Council, local services and voluntary sector agencies. The findings of the survey in East Manchester also found that suspicion toward the Roma is based on pre-conceptions and second-hand reports rather than on direct encounters with the Romani community. Yaron Matras teaches the module and supervised the students’ research. He said: “These results add to the body of evidence that communication barriers are the root of many problems between the Roma and non Roma communities. Though the overwhelming majority of local respondents were found to hold negative attitudes, they admitted that those attitudes were formed mainly on the basis of media reports and hearsay rather than personal encounters.” Research carried out by Matras and his team earlier this year  looked at the Romani community in the same area of South Gorton. The team concluded that many Romani left their home town in South Eastern Romania to escape poverty, social exclusion and discrimination as ‘Gypsies’. However, many found it hard to make a living in the UK. The team recommended that outreach workers of Romani background be recruited to serve as ‘role models’ for the younger generation

The event will take place on Thursday, 10 June, at 5pm in the main Lecture Theatre, Samuel Alexander Building (Humanities), on the University’s Oxford Road campus. Further information: Romani Project phone (0161) 881 3636, <romani@manchester.ac.uk>