On Wednesday we commemorated the International Roma Day. The day began to be celebrated on 8 April, 1971 in London. According to various estimates, between 7-14 million Roma currently live in Europe. "In addition to expressing solidarity for the Roma, this day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about their history and culture among the majority population," said historian and ethnography expert Zuzana Kumanová. Civil activist Ingrid Košová in this regard notes that in current Slovak society Roma face deep stigmatisation aided by the political scene and also by extremist manifestations. She thinks that in the case of the so-called 'Roma issue' emotions and false promises should give way to professional and constructive discussion. "And this day is an opportunity for the majority of society to see the issues from the Roma point of view," added Košová.
Roma people deserve a chance to be hired as well as our trust. If they are granted this, they will repay it, becoming equally good employees as others, stated President Andrej Kiska on Wednesday during his visit to a Poprad-based (Prešov region) plastic and rubber products maker. Kiska went on to say that the main reason why companies are reluctant to employ Roma is that they have a great deal of prejudice against the community. On the International Roma Day Kiska also went to the village of Batizovce and then Spišský Hrhov (Prešov region). This village is known for its exemplary approach to the Roma community, trying to work with the local Roma community, providing them with work opportunities in a municipality-run company and paying special attention to pre-school children. President Kiska went on to say that in order to help resolve the problems ailing Roma communities authorities should first and foremost focus on educating the youngest children at pre-school age and abandon all our prejudices towards the community.
Kiska didn't only praise positive achievements, but also broached the recent controversy concerning the police approach towards Roma communities. "I'm a little surprised that after the police operation in Moldava nad Bodvou, which was in June 2013, the police still don't have cameras or other devices to record their operations. I suppose that the fact that they still don't have them causes suspicion and contributes to a lack of clarity," said Kiska, calling on the Interior Ministry to take respective measures as soon as possible.
