From the DW:
“Germany vows more inclusion
for Sinti, Roma during EU presidency”
Germany's Europe Minister Michael
Roth has said Germany has a duty to "stand up for the fate of the Sinti
and Roma." Around 500,000 Sinti and Roma were killed by the Nazi regime
during WWII. Improving the lives of
Europe's Sinti and Roma people will be one of Germany's "central
topics" during its European Union presidency, Germany's Europe Minister
Michael Roth said in an interview with French news agency AFP. Nearly 10 years
ago, the European Union Commission presented an initial strategy to better
integrate the approximately 6 million Sinti and Roma living in the EU. "Unfortunately,
the situation of the Sinti and Roma has hardly improved," Roth said,
adding: "There is still a lack of access to education, housing, health
care, well-paid work and social participation." Roth warned Sinti and Roma
"continue to suffer from exclusion, discrimination and oppression"
throughout the bloc, adding that the German Presidency of the Council of the EU
in autumn would present a new strategy for improving integration with the
minority group alongside the Commission. The Roma are continental Europe's
largest ethnic minority, with a population estimated to be between 10-12
million. According to the minister, the
EU's credibility is "measured, above all, by how it treats
minorities," and that for this reason, the topic "remains a litmus test
of our rights and community of values."
REMEMBERING NAZI GENOCIDE OF
SINTI AND ROMA: Many German Sinti
fought for Germany not only in the First World War but also in the Wehrmacht
from 1939 on. In 1941 the German high command ordered all "Gypsies and
Gypsy half-breeds" to be dismissed from active military service for
"racial-political reasons." Alfons Lampert and his wife Elsa were then
deported to Auschwitz, where they were killed.
'Germany must set a good
example': For historical reasons
alone, said Roth, Germany has a duty to stand up for the fate of the Sinti and
Roma. "Germany bears a special responsibility that is based on our own
tragic history," he said. "Around 500,000 Sinti and Roma have fallen
victim to Nazi terror." It is for this reason that Roth said the EU is in
need of a better culture of remembrance. "The systematic extermination of
the Roma and their importance as Europe's largest ethnic minority must be given
much more attention in our schools." Roth said, adding: "Germany must
set a good example in the EU." The minister demanded more visibility for
Sinti and Roma in society. “What we lack so far are visible Roma role models in
the media, science, economy, culture and above all in politics," Roth
said. This would be "important in order to achieve an even stronger Roma
self-awareness."
^ It has been 75 years since the
end of the Porjamos (the Gypsy Genocide by the Germans) and the Germans are now
just starting to tackle helping the Gypsies in Germany and around Europe. By
the way: the term “Gypsy” in the English Language and in the US does not have
the same derogatory meaning as it does throughout Europe – probably because we
never killed the during World War 2 and do not discriminate against them well
into the Present-day. The Germans are finally saying they are going to do what
they should have done 75 years ago (or even 65, 55, 45, 35, 25, 15 or 5 years
ago.) Let’s see if they are all talk or will actually do something to better the
Gypsies throughout the EU. ^
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-vows-more-inclusion-for-sinti-roma-during-eu-presidency/a-54493344
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