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Poverty Reduced Unequally
BELGRADE - Snezana Stojanovic-Plavsic, president of the Parliamentary Committee on Poverty Reduction, says that poverty rates have dropped in Serbia, but not equally in all the regions.
2008-12-16
Demand for Soup Kitchens
NOVI SAD - Thirteen of Vojvodina's municipalities have soup kitchens preparing meals for a total of 4.200 beneficiaries every day.
2008-12-14
Serbs Return to Berkovo
BERKOVO - About 400 people have returned to Kosovo this year. The latest project is the one in Berkovo near Klina, municipality with the largest number of returnees.
2008-12-13
Sewer System for Roma Settlement
KURSUMLIJA - The UN Development Program has donated 10.000 Canadian dollars for the construction of a sewer system for the Roma settlement in Kursumlija.
2008-12-02
Victimized by Husbands, Neighbors, Authorities
BELGRADE - Physical violence, discrimination in education, low employment and lack of health care are the problems most Roma women in Serbia have to face on a daily basis.
2008-12-01
Child Beggars work for Big Bosses
NOVI SAD - Numerous Roma children literally jump car drivers, knock on car windows, even fistfight over who should get the money from drivers on the busiest crossroads in Novi Sad - near Futoska Market, near the Clinical Center, on Mihajlo Pupin Boulevard, outside the "Mercator" store and on the crossroad near the Sloboda Bridge.
2008-11-27
Humanitarian Crisis
NOVI PAZAR - Humanitarian situation in Novi Pazar is extremely difficult right now, warns Ljilja Kostic, secretary of the municipal Red Cross organization.
2008-11-25
Fire Destroys three Barracks in Roma Settlement
BELGRADE - Yesterday's fire in New Belgrade left fifteen people without roofs over their heads. Within an hour the fire scorched everything.
2008-11-21
Reconstruction of "Gazela" out of Gear
BELGRADE - The reconstruction of the Bridge will not start until the works in Savska Street, on the Pancevo Bridge and on the bypass are completed, the "Cardboard City" dislocated and the 2009 Universiade finished.
The numerous huts of the "Cardboard City" make it impossible for the craftsmen to approach the bridge columns.
2008-11-21
Families demand Permanent Solution
BELGRADE - Not even five days after the fire in Radoja Dakica Street in New Belgrade, the families whose homes were destroyed have no roof over head.
2008-11-21
Reconstruction of "Gazela" in Question
BELGRADE - According to the "Roads of Serbia" Public Utility, the failure to implement the action plan for dislocation of the unsanitary settlement under the "Gazela" Bridge has put into question the reconstruction of the Bridge and of the part of the E75 highway that passes through Belgrade. The city leaders had announced earlier that the construction of social housing in Ovca settlement, where the inhabitants should be dislocated from under the "Gazela" bridge, would start on October 15th. However, the plan hasn't been realized, as they say, because legal regulations must be followed.
2008-11-20
Fear of Cold next to Burnt Homes
BELGRADE - The Municipality and the Social Work Center of New Belgrade are making joint efforts to house the families whose homes in Radoja Dakica Street and everything they had was destroyed in a fire. The destroyed premises were registered as residential-office facility under the ownership of New Belgrade Municipality.
2008-11-20
Work for Persons with Disabilities
BELGRADE- Serbia has about 700.000 persons with disabilities with unemployment of 74,5 percent, i.e. only 21.000 persons with disabilities have jobs, say the relevant authorities.
2008-11-19
Serbia: Very bad Hygiene in Children
BELGRADE - Only half of the children in Serbia shower every day, and 40 percent don't brush their teeth at least once a day, shows a research conducted by the "Batut" Institute.
2008-11-18
Don't want Roma as Neighbors
BELGRADE - By dislocating the Roma settlement from under the Gazela Bridge to Ovca, the City of Belgrade is violating the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, said the representatives of the "Crisis HQ for Ovca's Defense" yesterday. They also spoke about the Romanian national minority in Ovca being jeopardized, but also about launching an initiative to deprive the City of Belgrade of the right to control the left bank of the Danube river.
2008-11-18
Avoid Roma, Can't stand "Newcomers"
NOVI SAD - Although proud of being regarded as tolerant, most Novi Sad residents only accept what is different until it "threatens" to enter their lives directly, shows a study conducted by the "Blic" newspaper. In this city, known for being multicultural, multiconfessional and open, tolerance still only exists in theory mostly, given that the first test, when a Roma family is to move to the neighborhood, when addiction patients need treatment or fellow citizens with disabilities need help, all the prejudices come to the surface. Sociologists claim that the system of education and upbringing full of stereotypes are the main cause.
2008-11-18
Suffocated to death Trying to Extinguish Fire
BELGRADE - Dilber Jasarspahic (age 57) was suffocated to death while trying to extinguish the fire that broke out at about noon yesterday in his house at 5 Radoja Dakica Street in New Belgrade. He was alone in the room, and his wife Jelica and their daughter-in-law and grandson were in a trailer outside.
2008-11-18
Conflict over House Reconstruction
PRISHTINA - Police prevented a group of about 40 Serbs from the village of Brdjane from approaching the house of Alija Kadriju in northern Mitrovica. Kadriju is trying to reconstruct his house.
2008-11-17
Fear of Losing Job
BELGRADE - Serbia is the world's second country in fear of losing job! Only workers in Cameron fear losing their jobs more than our workers. This is one of the results of the latest research conducted by the "Medium Gallop" Agency. The analysts of the Center for Free Elections and Democracy have come to the same conclusion.
2008-11-15
Solution underway of Status of the "Legally Invisible"
BELGRADE - The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights has announced that the solution is underway of the status of Serbian citizens who are not registered in birth records and thus deprived of basic human rights and freedoms.
2008-11-14
Serb Returnees back into Exile
MOSTAR (Bosnia Herzegovina) - Young, highly educated Serb returnees in Bacevice, the largest Serb village in Mostar municipality, are leaving again because of the deprivation of rights in employment, announced the Association for Serbs' Return to this village in the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina.
2008-11-14
Children get Books, but have to go to School
NIS - The parents and the Roma leaders will be held responsible if the children get books and don't go to school.
2008-11-14
Roma Distrust Police
BELGRADE - Affirmative measures, such as enrollment of Roma in the Police Academy, employment of Roma women in the police administration and appointing an ombudsman to act as a link between Roma and the police are just some of the suggestions of the Roma members of the Committee on Improvement of Relations between Roma and Police.
2008-11-13
Visas Fast and Easy
KOSOVO - The Pavics, Kostadinovics, Dimitrijevics and another 150 families have packed up and left the Morava Valley in Kosovo. Instead of seeking refuge a bit further to the north, along the Morava, Sava or Ibar rivers, they went all the way north - to Scandinavia! And all of them have left during the past 6 months.
2008-11-11
Djelic: Improvement of Status of Roma
NIS - The Vice President of the Serbian Government, Bozidar Djelic, says that ten times more funds than this year are planned in next year's budget, for the improvement of the status of the Roma in Serbia.
2008-11-11
Stevic: Distribution of Fuel Starts
ZVECAN (Kosovo) - Distribution of coal and heating oil has started for schools, institutions, for the socially vulnerable and for monasteries in Kosovo, says Zvonimir Stevic chief of the Coordination Center for Kosovo.
2008-11-11
Helping Blind Children
BELGRADE - Svetlana Vuckovic is the only full-time orientation and mobility instructor in Serbia helping visually impaired children, the "Politika" newspaper reports.
2008-11-10
More and more Serbs selling Properties in Kosovo
BELGRADE - Serbs are selling their properties to Albanians and leaving the Province. Serbs have sold to Albanians more than 90 percent of the land next to the road Prishtina-Urosevac (Ferizaj)!
2008-11-10
No Work for the Hearing and Visually Impaired
SREMSKA MITROVICA - Of the 600 persons with disabilities in Sremska Mitrovica, only about 15 have found work in the past 5 years, the local Employment Agency has announced. Although the Government subsidizes their employment, companies rarely hire persons with disabilities due to deeply rooted prejudices.
2008-11-08
One Salary insufficient to cover Standard Consumer Basket
BELGRADE - Only four towns in Serbia have average monthly salaries enough to cover the costs of a standard consumer basket, the Market Research Institute has announced.
2008-11-08
Flee Market on Sidewalk near Bajloni green Market
BELGRADE - Every day the sellers offer various things, mostly junk. - Inspectors won't leave them alone, but they keep coming back.
2008-11-07
Albanians want Serbian Passports
BELGRADE - Since the NATO troops arrived in Kosovo, about 250.000 have applied for Serbian documents and obtained them. Kosovo residents need Serbian passports primarily for business.
2008-11-07
Human Trafficking Suspect
NOVI PAZAR - Elvir Jasarevic (age 33) from Novi Pazar has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and illegal possession of weapons.
2008-11-07
About 3.000 Serbs Returned to Kosovo
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA (MITROVICA)- According to the UNCHR statistics, more than 7.000 internally displaced Serbs have returned to Kosovo, but the Coordination Center claims that some of the registered returnees do not really live in Kosovo.
2008-11-07
We didn't Request Pupil Census by Nationality
NOVI SAD - Pupil census by nationality in the "Svetozar Markovic Toza" Elementary School, which caused discontent among the parents, didn't have to be conducted at all, nor was it obligatory for the parents, claims the Provincial Secretariat for Education.
2008-11-06
One-Quarter without Salary
BELGRADE - In Serbia 726.465 people live without any salary, because this many people are registered as unemployed with the National Employment Agency. Among the unemployed, women are more numerous (55 percent) than men (45 percent) and the most numerous are girls up to 30 years of age. The average job search time is four years, and the average age of the unemployed is 39,5.
2008-11-06
Register Pupils by their Nationality
NOVI SAD - The parents of the pupils of the "Svetozar Markovic Toza" Elementary School were shocked when the principle told them that they have to make a written declaration of their children's nationality. He didn't offer any valid explanation, except that the request arrived from the Secretariat of Education of Vojvodina. Other schools in the city received the same request.
2008-11-05
Ljajic: Refugee Problem needs Solving
BELGRADE - The Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Rasim Ljajic, thinks that the refugee and IDP problem can either be solved through their local integration or return to native countries.
2008-11-05
Roma Children still Waiting for Textbooks
KURSUMLIJA - School children of Roma nationality in Kursumlija are still waiting for textbooks the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic promised them two months ago.
2008-11-05
Don't Want to Apply for Jobs
NOVI PAZAR - More than 20.000 residents of Novi Pazar are unemployed although many local companies have constantly open job vacancies. Most of the unemployed are unskilled, and company owners say that most of them don't want to accept every job. According to the local Employment Agency, unemployment is not so bad because many formally register as unemployed and work unregistered.
2008-11-05
Exodus - Mass Exile of Serbs
KOSOVO - Mass exile of Serbs in progress, 146 families have obtained immigration visas for Scandinavian countries in record time.
2008-11-03
Divac: 56 families Move In
MACVANSKI METKOVIC - Under the "You can Do It, Too" project of the Divac Humanitarian Organization, about 100 houses have been purchased for refugees and IDPs from collective centers.
2008-11-02
Serbia Recognizes UNMIK Diplomas
BELGRADE - The Government of Serbia has decided to recognize UNMIK stamped Prishtina University diplomas on the whole territory of Serbia.
2008-10-31
Albanian Flag torched in Cacak!
CACAK - On the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, unidentified persons torched the Albanian flag on the town square in Cacak, placed there together with the flags of another 11 Balkan countries to announce the "Library - Open Book of the Balkans" exposition of visual arts.
2008-10-30
Wheelchairs can't Enter Health care Centers, Post Offices...
KRUSEVAC - Of the 56 public buildings and institutions in Krusevac, wheelchairs can only enter 15. The Dental Office, the Retirement and Disability Fund and the Health Insurance Department, the Social Work Center, most schools, the Post Office, they all lack wheelchair ramps.
2008-10-30
Health Card for Everyone
BELGRADE - In the beginning of November, every household in Serbia will receive an information leaflet from the Republic Institute for Health Insurance (RZZO) on the right for all to health insurance.
2008-10-30
Family Beaten up in the Street
SUBOTICA - Ferenc Konja (age 50) and his sons Robert (21) and Atila (23) sustained slight injuries when a group of youths beat them up in the center of Subotica last weekend. They were on their way from Ferenc Konja's birthday party when they got into a conflict with a group of drunken youths near the "Neptune" cafe.
2008-10-30
Djelic about Roma Inclusion
KRAGUJEVAC - The Vice President of the Government, Bozidar Djelic, said in Kragujevac that 1,2 billion dinars are allotted from the State budget for 2009 for the improvement of the situation of the Roma.
2008-10-29
Persons with Disabilities in Difficult Situation
BELGRADE - One-quarter of persons with disabilities have never used public transport or went to a theater, cinema or a music concert. Every 2nd person with disabilities is discontent with his/her financial situation.
2008-10-28
Roma Party Accuses Police
RUMA - The Roma Party has condemned the incidents in the Romske Rupe settlement in Ruma and demands that the police investigate the conduct of its officers in this settlement.
2008-10-28
Living below Poverty Line
NOVI SAD - Half a million of Serbia's population live below poverty line, Jelena Markovic of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Team said at the conference on "Serbia's Treasures" in Novi Sad.
2008-10-28
Red Cross Appeal for Help
BELGRADE - The Red Cross of Serbia has called a meeting with its foreign partners. hoping to get their support for 20 of its programs which are at risk of cancellation due to the lack of funds.
2008-10-28
Roma outside Birth Records
BELGRADE - No free registration yet for Roma outside Vojvodina who are not registered in birth records.
2008-10-27
Square Meter at 500 euros!
BELGRADE - More than 300.000 refugees have integrated into Serbia's society in the last 15 years, but another 300.000 refugees and IDPs are waiting for a permanent solution to their problems. The most difficult to solve is housing, so through different projects, the Commission for Refugees has been trying to reduce the number of those living in the confined rooms of collective centers or in cheap rented accommodation. So far 2.905 apartments have been constructed for refugees and IDPs, 408 rural households purchased for them, 20 prefabricated houses have been set up, 2.850 packages with building materials have been distributed and 332 buildings constructed for protected housing. The realization of these projects continues at accelerated speed.
2008-10-26
Employment Project for Roma
SABAC - Under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the implementation has started in Sabac and Obrenovac of the "Professional Training for Unskilled Roma Youth"project.
2008-10-26
Smuggling People into the EU
BELGRADE - The employee of Subotica Police Department, Nebojsa Vojnic, has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling 18 Albanian and Macedonian citizens for 3.600 euros, the Interior Ministry has announced.
2008-10-25
Two Percent of Roma children in Preschool
BELGRADE - About 2 percent of Roma children in Serbia are enrolled in preschool, and less than 40 percent are included in elementary education, research shows.
2008-10-23
Children the Most Vulnerable
BELGRADE - According to the estimates of the relevant government agencies, half a million people in Serbia live in poverty, which is a considerable progress compared to one million in 2002.
2008-10-22
Three-year-old Boy Killed in Fire
SUBOTICA - Djezajin Berisa (age 29) lost his 3-year-old son Emram, who was killed in a fire that caught their hose in Subotica. The boy was alone in the house.
2008-10-22
World Bank criticizes Serbia
NIS - It is not transparent enough how the funds for improving the status of Roma community are being spent.
2008-10-22
Towns without Bookstores
BELGRADE - While the most important book fair in the region is about to open in Belgrade, statistics suggest that half a million of Serbia's adult population have never read a book.
2008-10-21
Charging in Euros for Serbian Certificates
NIS - The members of the Nis Police Department busted a group issuing false citizenship certificates to Kosovo residents. The members of the group were employees of the vital records offices and civil state departments in Nis and Svrljig. According to the "Vecernje novosti" sources, several suspect registrars of vital records are arrested, and they will stay in police custody for 48 hours.
2008-10-21
Fewer Employed, More Pensioners
BELGRADE - In the last seven years, the quantity of the unemployed in Serbia has dropped by about 30.000, but the quantity of the has also dropped - by about 300.000.
2008-10-20
Aid in Firewood for Serbs in Kosovo
BELGRADE - Serbs in Kosovo are worried about the coming winter and forecasts of freezing weather. The Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic announces distribution of firewood in the next ten days.
2008-10-20
Bad Situation for Rural Women
BELGRADE - Research into rural women's situation shows that two out of three rural women work seven days a week, spending more than eight hours in the field per day.
2008-10-19
Old and Defective Vehicles
BELGRADE - About 1,5 million vehicles are registered in Serbia, with an average age of about 15 years, and almost every 2nd is defective, report the "Vecernje novosti" daily newspaper.
2008-10-19
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
BELGRADE -- On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we know that more than 10 percent of Serbia's population live below the poverty line.
2008-10-18
Serbia in 7th place in Asylum Applications
BELGRADE - Serbia is in 7th place in the number of asylum seekers in the first six months of this year, UNHCR has announced.
2008-10-18
Serbian Documents Available in Kosovo
BELGRADE - It is estimated that more than 220.000 passports have been issued in Serbia for Kosovo's citizens since 1999, the "Politika" daily newspaper reports.
2008-10-18
Unregistered Labor Widely Used
BELGRADE - Between 200.000 and 300.000 people in Serbia are engaged in the "grey zone" economy, said for the "Vecernje novosti" daily newspaper Vladimir Ilic, director of the National Employment Agency
2008-10-18
Unregistered Labor Widely Used
BELGRADE - Between 200.000 and 300.000 people in Serbia are engaged in the "grey zone" economy, said for the "Vecernje novosti" daily newspaper Vladimir Ilic, director of the National Employment Agency.
2008-10-18
No Decrease in Bread Prices
BELGRADE - The residents of Cacak, Ivanjica and Gornji Milanovac buy the cheapest bread in Serbia at 19,99 dinars per loaf. Other bread manufacturers are not going to decrease their prices because, according to them, it would not be economically justified. Therefore, the current prices remain at 28 to 40 dinars per loaf.
2008-10-16
It is like Roma Children don't even Exist
BELGRADE - At a recent press conference held on the occasion of Children's Week, the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic said that about 155.000 children in Serbia live in extreme poverty, and as many are on the verge of poverty.
2008-10-14
No Roma Staff in State Administration
LESKOVAC - Osman Balic, Coordinator of the Decade of Roma Inclusion League, says that anti-Constitutional discrimination against Roma is practiced in Serbia's state administration, given that there are no Roma among its staff.
2008-10-14
Award for Project for Settlement in Ovca
BELGRADE - If the City persists in its intentions, and doesn't give in to pressures, like it was with the Novi Ribar settlement in New Belgrade, 130 families currently living under the "Gazela" bridge will be relocated to Ovca settlement in Palilula Municipality. The settlement will be named "Pred Ovcom" and will be constructed in accordance to a project designed by architects Vladimir Macura, Milorad Djuric and Zivojin Mitrovic, Coordinator of the Roma Center of Belgrade. Their design won a special "Holcim Award" for Europe because it doesn't just include housing, but also education, employment and social and health care.
2008-10-14
Ovca: Initiative against Roma Settlement
BELGRADE - Ovca residents threaten to physically stop the construction of the Roma settlement.
2008-10-08
Numerous Children Living in Poverty
BELGRADE - About 300.000 of Serbia's children live in poverty, and half of the Roma children are starving. This was announced on the occasion of Children's Week which is marked every year between the 6th and the 12th of October.
2008-10-06
On the Menu - Misery
BELGRADE - Of Serbia's 160 municipalities, only 58 have soup-kitchens, while the socially vulnerable in the rest of the country are left to their own devices.
2008-10-05
Some don't Want to, Others won't Let Them
BELGRADE - The Roma of the unsanitary settlement under the Gazela Bridge don't want to move to Ovcha, while the residents of this part of Belgrade don't even think about accepting new neighbors. The city administration discards the arguments of both sides.
2008-09-25
Roma Language Necessary in Schools
BELGRADE - Although about half a million Roma live in Serbia, not a single school in Belgrade or in central Serbia has optional classes in Roma language.
2008-09-24
Blackmailing Belgrade!
BELGRADE - Every day new families come to the Roma settlement under the Gazela Bridge and demand that apartments be provided for them as well.
2008-09-24
Ovca: Romanians Protesting over Roma
BELGRADE - The representatives of the Romanian community in Ovca have announced more massive protests over the announced relocation of Roma to this part of Belgrade.
2008-09-24
Preparations for Heating Season
BELGRADE -- The largest share of Serbian household budgets this winter will be for heating.
2008-09-22
Getting Rich on Kosovo Problems
BELGRADE -- Every month, 8.127 double salaries are paid to employees in Kosovo. This doesn't mean, however, that there are 8.127 employees because many of those who receive double salaries hold several jobs and get a double salary for each of those jobs. So some people get two, three or as many as four double salaries from the Republic of Serbia budget. For many of them, staying and working in Kosovo has become a lucrative business financed by Serbia's tax payers, bringing several hundred thousand dinars to their household budgets every month.
2008-09-21
Meat, Bread and Rice prices Increased the Most
BELGRADE - In the course of last year, the prices for some foodstuffs increased by almost 100 percent. The manufacturers justified it with the increased prices for raw materials and petrol. However, this year's harvest was good, the price for petrol has been falling, and the prices for food have stayed the same. Experts say that except for pork meat, no other prices are expected to rise, and that the lower prices for basic foodsutffs can be expected at the beginning of next year.
2008-09-19
Discriminated Against by the State
NIS - The coordinator of the League for Decade of Roma Inclusion in Serbia, Osman Balic, says that Serbia's administration practices discrimination against Roma which is a violation of the Constitution.
2008-09-18
Poverty Bringing together Albanians and Serbs
NOVO BRDO (Novo Berde) - Of about 15.000 inhabitants, mostly Serbs, who lived in Kosovo's poorest municipality until 1999, only about 2.500 have stayed. Most local Serbs and Albanians don't even think ethnic differences, because they both have the same problem - bare existence.
2008-09-17
Professors Giving their own Money for Destitute Students
KOSOVSKA KAMENICA - Poverty and being left to themselves have forced the staff of the schools in Kosovo to set up solidarity funds to help the most destitute students and their parents. The staff of the Technical School in Mala Kamenica are the first in Kosovo to start helping destitute students in this way.
2008-09-16
Old Age without a Dinar
BELGRADE - In Serbia, 385.000 persons over 65 live without any salary, pension or any other income.
2008-09-15
Pockets mostly Empty
ZRENJANIN - The local electric company has issued nearly 8.000 warnings to the households in Zrenjanin to either pay their debts or the company will sue them. It has been announced that Zrenjanin residents whose debts are measured in tens, even in hundreds of thousands of dinars, will be cut from power supplies soon.
2008-09-15
No Public Assistance if you have a TV Set
KURSUMLIJA - Many Roma families deported from Germany are now living on public assistance. One of the few to whom the Center for Social Work has denied public assistance for a period of 28 years is Sasa Petrovic, because when the social worker asked him how much money he had brought from Germany, he said the truth - 35.000 German marks.
2008-09-15
Schoolbooks for Roma Students
SABAC - The Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Rasim Ljajic, delivered schoolbooks for Roma children in the village of Drenovac in Macva (one of the regions in Vojvodina).
2008-09-13
Kosovo: No Jobs - No Return
PRISHTINA - One of Kosovo Ministers, Boban Stankovic, says that the biggest problem slowing down the return process is the lack of employment.
2008-09-12
Villages Disappearing in the Transition Period
BELGRADE - Serbia's villages have altogether 10.000 abandoned houses and 40.000 empty cow stables, and 260.000 bachelors who have turned 40.
2008-09-11
Loan for "Gazela" Finally
BELGRADE - The Parliament of Serbia ratified yesterday a 33 million euro loan which the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction had granted for the reconstruction of the Gazela Bridge. This means that one of the preconditions is finally met for the reconstruction of the most important bridge in Belgrade.
2008-09-10
Money Filling up Classrooms
BELGRADE - Serbia cannot be proud to say that she has a well educated nation. According to the Statistical Office, nearly half of Serbia's adults have no professional skills! Therefore, the Government has decided to improve the statistics and stimulate thos who have the least options to get education.
2008-09-10
Affirmation of Talented Roma
BELGRADE - Dropping out of school and lack of education are the key factors in the bad situation of the Roma population.
2008-09-09
Main Problem - Lack of Language Proficiency
BELGRADE - Roma children enroll in elementary school lacking language proficiency so they have problems in following the classes and therefore get transferred to special schools. Only 40 percent of Roma children complete elementary education, only 10 percent complete secondary school. The main problem is the bad education system, but also the lack of family support - this was stressed at yesterday's public debate on "Getting out of the Dark - Education and Reduction of Poverty" held in the Vracar Municipality.
2008-09-09
Old People Living in Poverty
BELGRADE - About 100.000 old people in Serbia have no income, the "Vecernje novosti" daily reports.
2008-09-08
"Brains" Still Leaving
BELGRADE - Serbia has no strategy for the return of emigrants yet, or for keeping qualified nationals from leaving, the "Politika" daily reports.
2008-09-08
Waiting for X-ray Therapy
KRAGUJEVAC - Patients of the Center for Oncology and Radiology in Kragujevac have to wait for x-ray therapy for two to three months.
2008-09-08
No one Wants to Hire Them
BELGRADE - Almost a million people with disabilities live in Serbia, and only 21 percent are employed, reports the "Danas" daily newspaper.
2008-09-08
Roma: Maternal Language in Schools
BELGRADE - The chairman of the Committee on Education and Official Use of Roma Language, Ibraim Osmani, demands that Roma language be introduced in schools.
2008-09-08
Inclusion in Education Comes Second
BELGRADE - The "Inclusive Movement" NGO demands a new law on schoolbooks, in order to make literature accessible for persons with disabilities.
2008-09-07
Roof over Head after Nine Years
KRALJEVO - After spending nine years in a small room of a collective center in Mataruska Banja, Biljana, Milorad and Dejan Djordjevic from Kacanik near Urosevac have their own home again. It is not the home they were building with love and care in Kosovo for years, it is a house in Vrba near Kraljevo that the Djordjevic family has bought thanks to a joint project of the "Divac" Foundation and a number of governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
2008-09-06
200 Euros for Fourth Child
JAGODINA - The Djordjevic family from Jagodina is the 7th family in the municipality who will be receive 200 euros a month from the Town of Jagodina for their 4th child until its 18th birthday. The family lives in the Roma settlement in Jagodina, in relatively good conditions.
2008-09-04
Cvetkovic: Improve Situation for Roma
BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister says that one of Serbia's priorities during her presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion is the design of a European Roma policy.
2008-09-04
Protests Unfair and Racist
BELGRADE - The protests of Ovca residents over the announced settling of 130 Roma families from the Gazela settlement in their neighborhood, are unfair and even racist against Roma, said Zivojin Mitrovic for the "Danas" newspaper, president of the Coordination Center for Roma Inclusion. He says that such a reaction by local population is unjust, and emphasizes that more than 600 other families have settled in Ovca in the previous years and there have been no protests by the locals.
2008-09-03
Finally in Their own Apartments
KRALJEVO - Refugees from Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina have moved into 71 apartments in Beranovac near Kraljevo. The project was financed by the Italian Government and the local self-government. The beneficiaries will live in the so-called "protected conditions".
2008-09-03
Incident in Decani
DECANI (Decan) - Zoran Barovic, president of Decani Municipality, says that ten Serbs, members of the Working Group for Return, have been assaulted in Decani today.
2008-09-03
OSCE about Settlement under Gazela Bridge
BELGRADE - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Hans Ola Urstad, supports the relocation of the Roma families from the unsanitary settlement under the Gazela Bridge.
2008-09-01
Legalization of Roma Settlements in Smederevo
SMEDEREVO - The Roma Decade League offers assistance to municipalities, to Smederevo among others, in improving and legalizing the Roma settlements on their territories.
2008-08-28
Awarded by Municipality
TRSTENIK - The Association ofr Democratization of Roma Education, together with the Regional Office of the National Council of Roma National Minority, has been working on reducing poverty and improving education of Roma children at all levels. Significant results are already achieved through health care, education, culture and public works projects.
2008-08-28
Belgrade Residents without Residence
BELGRADE - Believe it or not, one of the city's most carefully guarded secrets until recently was the location for the construction of apartments for Roma. It was impossible to get any of the city officials to reveal the location to which the Roma will move from under the Gazela Bridge and more than a hundred other unsanitary settlements in Serbia's capital. The explanation was utterly bizarre: in order not to disturb the public!
2008-08-27
300.000 Residents of Roma Settlements
BELGRADE, NOVI SAD - In Serbia there are about 600 Roma settlements, one-third of which can be legalized as soon as the urbanization documentation is made.
2008-08-26
Nis: Apartments for IDPs
NIS - Fourteen IDP families from Kosovo and five local socially vulnerable families have received the keys to 19 apartments in Nis.
2008-08-26
War Tourism
SARAJEVO, BELGRADE - The so-called "war tourism" is developing in Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia, where tours are organized, mostly for rich foreigners, of the sites of crime and destruction.
2008-08-26
Decision on Moving Stays
Belgrade -- Despite the protests of local residents, the city authorities stick to their decision to move Roma families from the Gazela settlement to Ovca.
2008-08-25
Romanians Choosing Neighbors
Ovca residents stress that they will not give up their plan to stop the new families from settling in their neighborhood, especially the Roma families of the "Cardboard City".
2008-08-23
On Social Margin, Barely Getting By
After the incident in the local police station, the municipal coordinator for Roma issues claims that the police beating of the two Roma was not ethnically motivated, but on the other hand, he warns of the big problems of Roma, primarily in education.
2008-08-18
Hooligans Assaulting and Threatening the Weak
The beneficiaries of the social apartments in the Kamendin settlement have no peace and quiet since they moved in five months ago. Every night hooligans threaten to throw them out because they are not adequate for living there. The police chase them away all the time, but they keep coming back persistent in their plan to force the Roma and the people with special needs to leave.
2008-08-14
Hooligans Assaulting and Threatening the Weak
The beneficiaries of the social apartments in the Kamendin settlement have no peace and quiet since they moved in five months ago. Every night hooligans threaten to throw them out because they are not adequate for living there. The police chase them away all the time, but they keep coming back persistent in their plan to force the Roma and the people with special needs to leave.
2008-08-14
Serbs from Morava Valley in Kosovo Leaving for Scandinavia and Luxembourg
Petar Aksic, president of Gnjilane municipality, warns that more and more Serb families are leaving the villages in the Morava Valley for Luxembourg and the Scandinavian countries.
2008-08-13
Internal Ministry about Beaten-Up Roma
BELGRADE -- According to the Internal Ministry, police are investigating the circumstances of the recent beating of two Roma.
2008-08-13
Sarajevo Ethnically Clean
FEDERATION OF BOSNIIA HERZEGOVINA - On the territory of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina, 527 Serb settlements have disappeared from the map because none of their pre-war inhabitants have returned from exile, the Association for Return to the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina has announced.
2008-08-12
Condemnation
ZRENJANIN - After the threats they wrote on numerous residential and office buildings in Zrenjanin, unknown persons painted graffiti with nationalistic and messages of hatred on the houses of the Muslim Roma from Kosovo.
2008-08-12
They are not Really Going to Throw People out into the Street ?
KRALJEVO - They are mostly old people, who must be provided with some other accommodation - the local Commission for Refugees and IDPs in Kraljevo warns. These facilities house 68 refugees and 95 IDPs.
2008-08-08
OSCE: Protect Children in Kosovo
PRISTINA/PRISHTINA - The OSCE Mission to Kosovo and the Ter des Homes NGO have launched a campaign against child trafficking and street begging in Kosovo.
2008-08-08
OSCE: Protect Children in Kosovo
Pristina/Prishtina - The OSCE Mission to Kosovo and the Ter des Homes NGO have launched a campaign against child trafficking and street begging in Kosovo.
2008-08-08
No Assistance for the Stateless
POZAREVAC - Sabajeta Avdija from Pozarevac has been stateless for 40 years, so she is not entitled to government assistance and cannot visit her daughter who is in hospital in Belgrade.
2008-08-04
Poverty as the Biggest Barrier
BELGRADE - Apart from Roma children, children with disabilities also have problems with regular class attendance.
2008-07-29
Don't Even Go to School
ABOUT 60 percent of children with developmental disorders in Serbia are not included in the school system, shows a research conducted by NGOs dealing with the problem. Also, about 70 percent of persons with disabilities live on the verge of poverty.
2008-07-22
Poverty Reduced in Serbia
BELGRADE - Serbia's objective set in 2002, to cut poverty by half by 2010, was achieved at the end of last year.
2008-07-22
We are Citizens of Belgrade, Too
BELGRADE - Thirteen Roma families from 7 Bokeljska Street started a peaceful protest this morning, because they were expecting the machinery to arrive later today to demolish their settlement. The location is the property of the "Adok" company who plans to set up a residential and office complex there, but the construction cannot start because the tenants of the Roma settlement refuse to leave.
2008-07-21
Unwanted Return to Homeland
KIKINDA - Under the Readmission Agreement between the European Union and Serbia signed on 18th September 2007, up to 50.000 people have returned to our country so far, and it is estimated that another 100.000 of our citizens will have to leave Western European countries and return to Serbia. Milan Budimir, representative of the Serbian Democratic Forum which, in cooperation with another two NGOs (one of them from Greece), is realizing a reintegration project for returnees from Western Europe, says that they are facing numerous problems on a daily basis.
2008-07-20
100.000 Homeless Waiting for Social Housing
BELGRADE - The construction of the first apartments for the socially vulnerable will be completed by the end of 2009. The rent will not be more than 70 euros a month, and the apartments cannot be purchased. Their construction will not cost more than 325 euros per square meter. The state will take a loan of 30 to 40 million euros to finance the project. Massive interest from people in urban areas.
2008-07-19
Damaging Misinformation regarding Roma Returnees from the EU
CUPRIJA - The announcement of the construction of a large Roma settlement on the grounds of the former Sugar Factory has caused a big fuss in Cuprija that hasn't died down yet, and even a petition is launched for the local parliament to annul the Decision on legalization of Roma settlements on the territory of Cuprija municipality.
2008-07-10
Boys Kidnapped to Beg?
Eight-year-old twins Ivica and Nino Sain disappeared on Monday morning from the courtyard of their family house in Dositejeva Street. They were last seen playing in the courtyard at about 10 o'clock that morning. After looking all over the city, the parents reported their disappearance. The boys also disappeared a year ago, when the police found them in Belgrade a week after the missing person report was filed.
2008-07-09
Returnees under Readmission Agreement Particularly Vulnerable
To increase funds for education, employment and self-employment, to take more interest in the problems of Roma, to increase the number of Roma staff in institutions at all levels of government and to establish a coordinated dialogue between all the relevant actors - these are some of the measures to improve Romas' social integration, suggested by an expert group at a Round Table on Roma Inclusion held in Novi Sad and organized by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
2008-07-03
Only 0,6 percent Roma among Secondary School Students
BELGRADE - Enrollment of children in secondary schools is under way in Serbia, and the proportion of Roma students is very low, just a little above 0,6 percent.
2008-07-02
"Cardboard City" - the Only Home for Now
BELGRADE - It is still uncertain when the dislocation will start of the settlement under the Gazela Bridge, given that the construction of the social housing for the Roma families hasn't started yet. As the Coordination Center for Roma Inclusion staff have told us, the project is still at a stage of obtaining the necessary documentation from the City Planning Secretariat.
2008-07-02
Two Million Free Meals per Year
BELGRADE - The Old People's Daycare Center at 14 Solunska Street in Dorcol municipality in Belgrade. It is about 8.30 in the morning and some thirty senior citizens with small plastic buckets in their hands are waiting for their free cooked meal. - Our pensions are low, so we eat here - they say.
Among them, there are families of up to seven members with public assistance of a couple of thousand dinars as the only source of income.
Some complain of ill health, others have children who are disabled, but they all have something in common - hunger.
2008-07-01
Roma and Other Children in Separate Classes
APATIN - After a number of parents' meetings, petitions and threats of protest, the faculty of the "Zarko Zrenjanin" Elementary School gave up the intended desegregation of Roma pupils in six grades of elementary school, and adopted a compromise solution to form mixed groups only in grades 1 and 5.
2008-06-30
Device Broken, Patients in Panic
NIS - The Oncology Clinic in Nis has been forced to cancel radiotherapy for nearly 200 cancer patients who are now in panic because they don't know when their therapy will continue. The "Siemens" experts in charge of servicing the radiotherapy devices, say they might finish fixing one of the three devices of the Clinic today or tomorrow.
2008-06-12
Boy Killed in House Fire
ZRENJANIN - In the Roma settlement of Dudara near the Begej river, 12-year-old Devljan Ametovski lost his life when his uncle Sebastijan Ametovski's house caught fire. His uncle's 15-year-old son Bajat got severe life-threatening burns and was immediately admitted to the Emergency Center in Novi Sad.
2008-06-11
Threaten to Jump Off
VALJEVO - Nikola Marinkovic (age 43) together with his wife and their five children will soon be left without temporary accommodation in Vuka Karadzica Street, because the abandoned house where they have lived for five years is scheduled for demolition. Nikola Marinkovic protested yesterday outside the Town Hall and threatened to take his children's and his own life by jumping off the Town Hall building.
2008-06-11
Only 15 percent of Disabled Persons Employed
BELGRADE - A lot has been done to make life easier for persons with disabilities, but only 15 percent of them have jobs.
2008-06-09
Soup Kitchen about to Close
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - The Soup Kitchen in Kosovska Mitrovica could close down due to lack of funds.
2008-06-09
Giving Up In Advance
BELGRADE - According to recent opinion polls, the most numerous among economically inactive population are middle-aged people between 35 and 44 years old.
2008-06-09
Garbage Both in Town and Along Nisava River
NIS - There is no need to go far from the nicely cleaned up center of Nis to come across an illegal garbage dump. Only a couple of minutes' walk from the central city square, there is a concrete bridge (near the Greek Consulate) with all sorts of garbage underneath.
2008-06-09
Skinheads Attack Festival Participants
ZRENJANIN, NIS - A group of neo-Nazis attacked the participants of the Anti-fascist Festival in Zrenjanin. No one was injured.
2008-06-07
Ejupi Sentenced for Attack on Bus
PRISTINA - Fljorim Ejupi is sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for placing explosive under a bus near Podujevo in February 2001, when 11 Serbs were killed and 10 were injured.
2008-06-06
Three Returnees Left Decane
BELGRADE - Three Serb returnees have left Decane because of the lack of safety, Kosovo news media reported quoting UNMIK sources.
2008-06-06
Living Standards in Nis on Verge of Poverty
NIS - The records of the Statistical Office show that the living standards in Nis have drastically declined since the beginning of this year. Nis is in 17th place in Serbia when it comes to average monthly salary, which in this city is 28.051 dinars. Most citizens of Nis say that poverty is knocking on their doors, because they can hardly manage to buy bare necessities and have to renounce lots of things.
2008-06-05
Children also Invisible
For two years now Behara has been trying to obtain at least one personal document containing her name. She was born in Kosovo in 1977, but she was never registered in the birth record. She has eight children, none of whom are registered in the birth record either. The Center for Social Work has forwarded Behara's request to the Ministry of Labor. No decision has been made yet. A legal procedure has been initiated to determine maternity and paternity for the children, one hearing has been held and - nothing has happened yet.
2008-06-05
Invisible to State and Law
They are hard to count, they have no street addresses or social security numbers. It is estimated that as many as 30.000 citizens of Serbia live without personal ID cards. Many of them don't have a single personal document, it is unknown where they were born, or where or how they live. Others have been registered in birth records, but they have forgotten where or in which birth records, or whether the birth records were in Kosovo and got displaced together with the people. Or if maybe the registry books have been burnt...
2008-06-04
OSCE: Difficult Situation for Minorities
VIENNA, WASHINGTON - The situation for minorities in Kosovo, especially for Roma and some Serb enclaves, is still difficult, assessed OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek.
2008-06-04
High Demand for Sedatives
BELGRADE - Pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in Serbia make an annual turnover of almost 30 million euros on sedatives and antideppresants.
2008-06-02
Expensive Health Care for the Poor
Serbia is among Europe's countries with the highest percentage of population over 60 years old. Experts warn that the old age of the nation is a major burden in poviding health care services.
2008-06-02
Start Breaking Law at 11 Years Old
Juvenile delinquency is on constant increase in Belgrade. Only in 2007, about 4.700 criminal acts committed by persons under 18 were reported, which is 8,5 percent more than the previous year. Still, an even more alarming fact is that the age limit of juvenile delinquents is getting lower - more and more children start breaking the law severely at the age as early as 11.
2008-06-02
Mothers and Daughters Work the Streets Together
KRAGUJEVAC - About twenty prostitutes work the streets of Kragujevac every day. According to police records, some of them are infected with AIDS and hepatitis. They mostly operate between the "Jezero" Sports Hall and the "Metro" and charge between 1.500 and 2.000 dinars for their services.
2008-06-02
Men Solicited for Labor, Women for Prostitution
BELGRADE - Last year there were more men than women among trafficking victims in Serbia, according to the records of the Internal Ministry of Serbia, and several criminal gangs have been discovered soliciting people, mostly men, for labor exploitation.
2008-06-02
Soup Kitchen in Difficulties
NOVI PAZAR - The Soup Kitchen in Novi Pazar, where 800 of the poorest citizens get a free daily meal, doesn't have the financial means to increase the number of beneficiaries, despite a waiting list with several hundred names.
2008-06-02
Expensive in the Capital
The costs of living in the Serbian capital have increased significantly in the previous months, so the salary of the average Belgrade family is now insufficient even for the consumer basket!
2008-06-01
Four Thousand Aid Packages for the Roma
NOVI SAD - At the initiative of the Office for Roma Inclusion of Vojvodina, the government of the Province has provided 4.000 packages with food and hygienic products for the Roma in Backi Petrovac, Srbobran, Macvanska Mitrovica, Obrez, Kac and Novi Sad.
2008-05-31
Roma the Most Numerous among the Uneducated
BELGRADE - According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, 71 percent of Serbia's poorest citizens lack or only have elementary education. The most numerous among them are Roma.
2008-05-29
Double for the Vulnerable
The number of destitute families in Serbia has dropped by one-half in the last five years, but social benefits have - doubled! Experts "blame" this on the economic growth in recent years, and on more efficient investments into social care programs.
Therefore, today we have fewer families living at Government's expense, but the proportion of those among them living below the poverty line has increased compared to previous years.
2008-05-29
The Settlement on Hospital Grounds Stays until Further Notice
The municipal and city authorities are helpless when it comes to the unsanitary settlement in Zvecanska Street. According to them, the problem is much deeper than just an ordinary illegal construction, so about 200 people living on the grounds of the Center for Burns and Plastic Surgery, will only be dislocated at the same time the settlement under the Gazela Bridge is dislocated.
2008-05-28
Mothers-to-be Pay 1.000 Euros for Medical Tests
Although an addition to the family is regarded as a shock to the household budget, the pregnancy is no small expense either because just the costs for examinations, tests and vitamins amount to at least 50.000 dinars. If there is just a single reason for concern and more frequent examinations, such as for pregnant women over 30 years old, additional analyses are needed adding 30.000 dinars to the above sum. The more the risks, the higher amount of money is necessary. Of course, high-risk and artificial pregnancies are not included here because in such cases, the costs for tests and analyses amount to thousands of euros.
2008-05-28
Destitute 6,6 Percent of Serbia's Population
BELGRADE - Last year's poverty rate in Serbia dropped by half compared to the year 2002, but about 490.000 people still live below the poverty line, with monthly income of 8.883 dinars, says Dragan Vukmirovic, director of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.
2008-05-28
Half a Million Poor
The poverty rate in Serbia dropped by half since 2002, but half a million people still live below the existential minimum, with less than 8.883 dinars a month. The 2002 statistics suggested that 14 percent of the population were poor, and five years later, their number dropped to 6,6 percent. Unemployment has decreased, but it is still the highest in the region. Compared to the average 7 percent unemployment rate in in the neighboring countries, in Serbia 18,8 percent of the population capable of work are out of work.
2008-05-28
One-Time Cash Aid for Mothers
KIKINDA, SUBOTICA, ZRENJANIN - For two years now, every first-born child in Zrenjanin gets 30.000 dinars from the Vojvodina Government and another 10.000 dinars from the mayor. It is the same in Kikinda, The Subotica Municipality has no concrete cash assistance for new mothers, but the municipal service enable them to get benefits from the Province and the Republic.
2008-05-28
Overtaken by Small Towns
With the average net salary in April of 28.051 dinars, Nis is still in a rather low position on the scale of Serbia's towns and municipalities. The average salary in Belgrade, for example, is higher by more than 11.000 dinars, in Novi Sad by 10.000 dinars, in Kragujevac by 3.000 dinars... The average salary in Nis is lower than the national average by about 3.000 dinars.
2008-05-28
Accelerated Preparations for Elementary School
More than 160 Roma children from unsanitary settlements in Belgrade are attending preparation classes for elementary school. The preschool program normally lasts six months, but these children will complete it in four months so they can be ready in September to start the first grade of elementary school.
2008-05-27
Every Seventh Lacks Elementary Education
Every seventh Nis resident over 15 years old is illiterate according to the European standards, because he has incomplete elementary education. If we add to the 28.446 Nis residents with incomplete elementary school, the army of 40.464 of those who only have elementary education, no wonder the experts say that even the "illiterate" Milos Obrenovic, Serbia's first modern ruler, who set up schools wherever he could in 19th century, would have been ashamed of such devastating figures.
2008-05-27
Beating for Returnee
DECANE - A UCK veteran from Decane beat up Serb returnee Bozidar Tomic before the eyes of the whole town.
2008-05-23
Soup Kitchens Become too Small
Serbian Orthodox Bishop Artemije appeals to all good people to help the poorest population in Kosovo whose only daily food is free meals from the soup-kitchens. The soup kitchens in the municipalities of Novo Brdo (Novo Berde), Kosovska Kamenica and Vitina (Viti) have a total of about 900 beneficiaries, but the number people in need is much larger. The food is distributed in extremely difficult conditions, in only two vehciles which take the meals to distribution points in a radius of 100 km.
2008-05-22
Entire Salary Spent on Food
The average household in Serbia spends 40 percent of its "consumer basket" budget on food and beverages. Where we are in comparison to the rest of the world is not hard to determine, if we know that the developed countries spend 10-20 percent on food and beverages. Once we allot money for food and beverages, we have to also pay for housing expenses, electricity, water, transportation. Given that the average net salary in Serbia is 32.562 dinars, it is not hard to work out that there is nothing left for any other necessities.
2008-05-21
Sold Kosovo Serbs' Properties Using False Documents
The investigating judge of the County Court in Kragujevac has launched an investigation against 11 members of an organized criminal gang, among them four policemen, suspected of selling internally displaced Serbs' properties without their knowledge, using deceit, forged documents and corruption.
2008-05-18
30 Points Extra for Roma Students
Roma students who complete elementary school, will get 30 points extra on secondary school admissions tests if they pass, which is part of a campaign for stimulation of education for Roma students, a joint project of the Ministry of Education and the National Council of Roma National Minority.
2008-05-16
3,5 Percent of Serbia's Population Illiterate
Of about 7,5 million inhabitants of Serbia proper, more than 1,2 million lack elementary education, and 3,5 percent are totally illiterate, according to the new edition of the "Biznis i finansije" magazine.
2008-05-14
Project of Civil Registration of Roma
SABAC - Sabac, with a local Roma community numbering 10.000, is the first among 20 towns in Serbia to start the implementation of a project of Roma social inclusion and realization of basic rights. About 5.000 Roma children in Serbia are not registered in the birth records.
2008-05-14
Charges for Smuggling Albanians
Subotica - Criminal charges have been filed against Radisav V. (age 53) from Leskovac, on suspicion of people smuggling.
2008-05-13
55 Percent of Income for Basic Necessities
The average family of three in Serbia spends more than 40 percent of the household income on food and beverages, which points to low living standards of the citizens, says Sasa Djogovic, associate of the Market Research Institute (IZIT).
2008-05-12
Notes from the Round Table on "Respect for Human Rights as Precondition for Survival and Return of Kosovo Serb and non-Albanian Coummunities"
The UNIJA, Union of IDPs Associations (www.unijakm.org. email: unijakm@eunet.yu), organized on Monday 12th May, a round table on "Respect for Human Rights as Precondition for Survival and Return of Kosovo Serb and non-Albanian Communities" which was held in the building of the Red Cross of Serbia in Belgrade.
2008-05-12
Gorani Living in Poverty and Fear
GORA - About ten thousand Gorani live in the very south of Kosovo, next to the Albanian and Macedonian borders. As years go by, the traditional Saint George celebration is losing its glamour. Young Gorani are forced to leave Gora in search of a better life, because the livestock breeding, the unsecured borders to Albania and Macedonia, the Kosovo institutions and the persistence of older Gorani to stay connected with Belgrade do not offer any future.
2008-05-10
350 Daily Meals for the Most Vulnerable
Medvedja - The soup-kitchen has opened again in the underdeveloped, ethnically mixed municipality of Medvedja in the South of Serbia. Every day 350 meals will be prepared. The program is financially supported by the governments of Serbia, Norway, Austria and Sweden, by the Red Cross of Serbia and the local self-government.
2008-05-09
Legal Aid for Roma
BELGRADE - Several thousand Roma in Serbia lack personal documents that enable the realization of basic human rights. Therefore, the "Register Yourself in Birth Records" project has been launched.
2008-05-07
How to Stop Outflux of Educated People
Belgrade - The results of a survey conducted by the "Marketing Workshop" of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade suggest that as many as 78 percent of the students of Belgrade University would leave Serbia immediately after graduation if they had a chance.
2008-05-05
New Patients Keep Coming
Bela Palanka - Hepatitis A epidemic was declared in Bela Palanka last March but new cases are still being registered. The settlement of Murica, with the majority Roma population, had the largest number of hepatitis patients last year because it lacks sanitation system.
2008-05-05
Campaign of Gorani
Belgrade - The representatives of the Gorani Civic Initiative organized "Say Proudly You are Gorani" campaign in Knez Mihajlova Street in Belgrade.
2008-05-04
Nowhere to Get Treatment for Depression and Anxiety
In Serbia we face a constant increase in anxiety, depression, panic disorders, mental crises. Of a thousand of random sample respondents, about 60 percent have problems with depression, anxiety, panic disorders and no one to turn to for help - shows a recent opinion poll conducted by the "Faktor Plus" Marketing Agency.
2008-05-04
Problems with Education in Serbia
BELGRADE - The official statistics show that 20 percent of rural children and one-half of Roma children in Serbia never enroll in elementary school.
2008-04-29
Council of Europe: Hostility Toward Minorities
Paris - There is an atmosphere of hostility toward national and ethnic minorities in Serbia at the moment, claims the report by the Council of Europe's Commission Against Racism and Intolerance.
2008-04-29
Cacak: Conflict over Christening of Roma
CACAK - The candidates of the "For Cacak" Citizens Group running for local elections christened two Roma at the local livestock market in Cacak. The authorities in charge of Roma issues reacted sharply.
2008-04-28
Half a Million Poor in Serbia
BELGRADE - Opinion polls indicate that about 500.000 people in Serbia live below the poverty line - according to the Vice Premier's Team for Implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
2008-04-28
After Graffiti, Molotov Cocktail
SUBOTICA - First chauvinistic graffiti were painted and now a Molotov cocktail has been thrown on the house of Zijad Kujovic in Subotica.
2008-04-25
Visit to Gazelle Settlement
All the inhabitants of the camp are nervous and dissatisfied. They were told they would move in March, then in April, and now they don't believe any more that it will happen at all.
2008-04-21
Everything Gone Bankrupt
BELA PALANKA - The municipality of Bela Palanka has been at the bottom of Serbia's wage scale for a year now. The average salary in March was 10.654 dinars. The economy is almost nonexistent in this town in the South of Serbia, because nearly all the companies have gone bankrupt, and hundreds of workers have become jobless.
2008-04-18
"Making Up" the Streets Before Guests Arrive
The fist thing the passengers on a train from Vienna see in Belgrade is the "Cardboard City" under the Gazelle bridge. Those who arrive via Pancevo Road first meet with a neglected river bank and an industrial zone. At first glance, Belgrade looks like a metropolis, but only if seen from the air. This is how the "Eurosong" will find it in May, only cleaned up and made up, as much as it will be possible.
2008-04-18
500 Abortions Per Day
In Serbia, more than 500 women per day and 150.000-200.000 women per year get an abortion, the "Politika" daily newspaper reports.
2008-04-18
Ombudsman: Unacceptable Graffiti
Subotica - The Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia, Sasa Jankovic, said during his visit to Zijad Kujovic, on whose house a graffiti of hatred had been painted, that similar acts were unacceptable.
2008-04-18
2.300 Dinars for Personal ID Card
New personal ID cards are available in police stations in Belgrade and starting on 21st April, they will also be available in the rest of Serbia.
2008-04-17
Decrease in Number of University Degree Holders
Belgrade -- Nearly half of Serbia's population only has elementary education, and when it comes to university education, Serbia is among the worst in Europe.
2008-04-17
2.300 Dinars for Personal ID Card
New personal ID cards are available in police stations in Belgrade and starting on 21st April, they will also be available in the rest of Serbia.
2008-04-17
Alcohol and Drugs - the Biggest Problems
Pedagogues, psychologists and teachers all agree that peer violence, drug abuse and alcoholism are the main problems in Belgrade schools.
2008-04-17
How Much Education Costs in Serbia
Belgrade -- Although elementary education in Serbia is free, an average family has to pay lots of money for education.
2008-04-15
High Demand for Sedatives
Belgrade -- Stress is one of the biggest problems in modern day modern society. People who lack energy to struggle with stress, try to find salvation in sedatives.
2008-04-14
Note from IDP Working Group
The UNHCR office in Belgrade organized a meeting of the IDP Working Group on 13th April 2008, to discuss the current situation of the return process to Kosovo.
2008-04-14
Administrative Fees Eat Up Child Allowance
Documents required for child allowance application are fee free - according to the law, and also according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues. However, it is different in practice.
2008-04-13
Buying Food per Gram and per Piece
NIŠ - It is common in general stores in Niš for customers to ask for 100 grams of cheese or meat, or for one tomato! Buying food in kilograms is a distant past for many residents of Niš, and living per gram has been everyday reality even for people who have jobs, because the average salary in Nis is 25.882 dinars per month, and also for pensioners, given that the average pension in Serbia is 16.160 dinars.
2008-04-11
Obtaining Passports by Trick
Last year, as many as 15.400 Serbian citizens applied for foreign passports looking for protection from political persecution. This many applications put our country in fourth place in number of asylum seekers.
2008-04-10
Minorities: How to Gather 10.000 Signatures?
Belgrade -- The political parties of national minorities are surprised by the decision of the Constitutional Court, that they each need 10.000 signatures in order to participate in the parliamentary elections.
2008-04-10
Moving Refugees Out
BOR - About a hundred Serbs and Roma from Kosovo have to move out of the collective center housed in the "Srbija" Hotel in Bor.
2008-04-09
Serbian Citizens Among the Most Numerous Asylum Seekers
In the first three months of this year, Serbian citizens filed the second largest number of asylum applications in Germany, the German Ministry of Internal Affairs announced today.
2008-04-08
In Search of Better Life
Prijepolje - Both young and old people in Prijepolje dream of leaving their home town.
2008-04-08
International Roma Day
Belgrade -- Today is the International Roma Day, established in order to draw public attention to the difficult situation of this community.
2008-04-08
Kuršumlija: Increasing Poverty
Kuršumlija -- The number of people in Kuršumlija municipality living below the poverty line has significantly increased.
2008-04-06
Back To Life in Cemetery
Nis - The family of Blagica Karadza in Nis, who used to live in a chapel in a Roma cemetery for more than 20 years, may have to go back to there.
2008-04-06
Nightly Struggle with Rats
About two hundred Kosovo Roma are living in the so-called "tent settlement" next to the town garbage dump. They have a hard time struggling with diseases and poverty, and by night, their biggest problem is rats.
2008-04-04
One-third of Serbia's Employed Population Work Unregistered
To have a job is a privilege today, which gives the employers the possibility to blackmail their employees. The most vulnerable are young people with secondary education. Working unregistered is a form of modern slavery.
2008-04-03
Barracks on Fire Again
In a big fire that broke out yesterday at around 13.20 in the unsanitary settlement under the Gazelle bridge, five barracks were totally destroyed together with several piles of recyclable materials. Luckily, nobody was injured and the firemen managed to stop the fire from spreading any furher.
2008-04-02
500.000 People in Serbia Live in Poverty
Most of them lack elementary education, they are capable of work but jobless. – Every third resident of South-East Serbia lives in poverty, Belgrade has the lowest poverty rate
2008-04-01
Bathing Babies in the Sink Because They Have no Tubs
Zvornik (Republika Srpska) - Around 850 babies are born every year in the Maternity Ward in Zvornik, the only maternity ward in the region of Birac. Srebrnica and Vlasenica had maternity wards before the war, but now the women from these settlements, and from Milic, Sekovic, Osmaci i Bratunac, come to Zvornik to give birth.
2008-03-31
Loaf of Bread - 38 dinars
Belgrade -- The price for a loaf of bread called "Sava", which is produced by the Belgrade Baking Industry and the "Klas" company, is higher by 15 percent as of today.
2008-03-31
Demand for Construction Workers and Bakers
More than 9.000 people have found jobs through the National Employment Agency this year. However, it is relatively few, considering that another 114.502 unemployed citizens are still registered with the Agency.
2008-03-30
Two Salaries Not Enough to Cover Living Costs
"Blic“ survey: Consumer basket in the first three months of 2008
2008-03-28
No One Wants Returnees
The local parliaments of Knjazevac and Zajecar at war - neither wants a reintegration center for returnees on its territory.
2008-03-26
Joint Initiative of Hemofarm and UNCHR
Belgrade -- The Hemofarm Foundation and UNHCR have signed an agreement on joint humanitarian initiative to provide houses for seven refugee families.
2008-03-26
Three Generations Living Together
KRAGUJEVAC - According to statistics, three or more generations live under the same roof in 35.000 of the 45.000 households in Kragujevac. Young people rarely choose to start living independently, primarily because they can't afford to buy or rent an apartment on their own, and because they are out of work.
2008-03-26
150 Roma Settlements in Belgrade
The Roma are Serbia's most numerous national minority with an estimated 800.000 members. Their favelas - improvised settlements - are a result of the disintegration of former Yugoslavia, the consequent disorder in the country and the wars, says Rajko ?uric, president of the Union of the Roma. In a few days, the keys to 174 social apartments will be handed to the Roma, and another 1.000 apartments will be completed soon.
2008-03-24
Briefly about National Council of Roma National Minority
- basic information about the National Council of Roma National Minority of the Republic of Serbia
2008-03-21
Gave Their Property to the State in Exchange for Care
TOPOLA - The siblings Radisa (age 61) and Radenka (age 55) Pavlovic, who were found dead in their small dilapidated house in Belosavci near Topola on Monday afternoon, were unable to look after themselves. Therefore, six weeks ago the Center for Social Work in Topola started a procedure to declare Radisa incapable of work.
2008-03-21
Siblings Died of Hunger
TOPOLA - Two days ago, the decaying bodies were found or Radisa Pavlovic (age 61) and his sister Radenka (age 55) in their old family house in the village of Belosavci near Topola. The front door was locked from the inside, and the preliminary results of the investigation indicate that they were dead for about a month.
2008-03-20
Sombor: New Invitations to Boycott
Sombor -- This morning, Sombor residents found fliers in their mail boxes inviting them to boycott bakeries owned by Albanians.
2008-03-20
It is Not Far from Europe to Garbage Container
Robert is standing stiff in the same clothes he was wearing on his last day in Rhein, Germany. Until three months ago, he lived in his town of birth, in an apartment granted to his family for use by the Government. They lived on public assistance of 1.200 euros a month. When they arrived at Belgrade Airport, his mother was given emergency cash aid of 3.000 dinars with the words: "From now on, you are on your own". Now they go through garbage containers.
2008-03-20
Numerous Citizens Seeking Asylum
Belgrade -- According to the latest UNCHR study, Serbia is among the top five countries of origin of asylum seekers.
2008-03-19
50.000 Enjoy, 800.000 Live, the Rest - Barely Survive
Among Serbia's population capable of work, the most numerous are the poor - around 2,5 million.
2008-03-18
Prices Going Up Faster than Salaries
According to the Ministry of Trade, purchasing power in Serbia in January was much lower than in December 2007.
2008-03-18
Waiting Wearing Nerves Thin
If you want to get an ultra sound of your heart, our next available appointment is in July, said the nurse to the patient Dragan Preradovic at the "Zvezdara" Clinical-Hospital Center in Belgrade.
2008-03-14
UNICEF: Children Struck by Poverty
Belgrade -- Around 300.000 children in Serbia are struck by poverty, said Judita Reichenberg, UNICEF Area Representative in Serbia.
2008-03-14
Certificates Will Not Have Limited Valid
According to the draft law on family records, certified copies of vital records will not have limited validity.
2008-03-14
Note from a Visit to Stari Batnjik Roma in Novi Pazar
On behalf of the Swedish Committee for Refugees from former Yugoslavia, I visited the new camp of Roma IDPs in Blazevo to see if their living conditions had improved compared to the camp in the center of Novi Pazar.
2008-03-13
Food in Serbia More Expensive than in the EU
Belgrade - Increasing number of food products which are more expensive in Serbia than in the EU countries.
2008-03-12
Exploited by Their Families
As soon as it gets warmer outside, you can see children in the streets begging or washing windows on cars. Most of them are under fourteen years old and belong to the Roma population. They are brought to Nis from the surrounding settlements, mostly from Aleksinac and from the village of Prcilovica. Experts say that street children are "invisible" to the state because they are outside the system, they don't go to school and they don't have health cards.
2008-03-11
"Gazela" Bridge Torn Down by Politics
With the dismissal of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the reconstruction of the most important Belgrade bridge also fell through. The reparation of the "Gazela" was urgent six years ago, but it will have to wait until a new Parliament is elected. The "Putevi Srbije" Public Utility warns that the reconstruction could be a year late!
2008-03-11
Personal Documents and Employment - Major Problems
According to a survey among returnees from Western Europe, most of whom are Roma, the biggest problems these people have to face are discrimination and impossibility to continue their education and to find employment.
2008-03-08
Note on Round Table on "Local Reintegration of Returnees under Readmission Agreement"
Group 484 organized a round table on "Local Reintegration of Returnees under Readmission Agreement" in Belgrade on 7th March. Group 484 invited, among others, the representatives of nongovernmental organizations, of the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues, the Human and Minority Right Agency, the National Council of the Roma National Minority, the Secretariat for Social and Children's Welfare, the Center for Social Work of Belgrade, who talked about the problems facing returnees in Serbia, about possible solutions, about their projects for returnees, etc.
2008-03-07
Living Without Personal ID Card
The Roma returned by western European countries back to Serbia lack minimum living standards such as access to education and health care.
2008-03-07
Trade Unions: Protest on 1st May
Belgrade -- More than 800.000 people in Serbia are registered as unemployed. Half of them are young people who have never been employed.
2008-03-04
At Returnees' Service
Interview with Frode Mauring, UN Resident Coordinator in Kosovo.
- Regardless of their status, IDPs do not lose their right to return. I think that the political maturity on all parts is on a much higher level now than it was in 1999 and IDPs can decide on their own whether they want to return. We all know that most Serbs do not regard independence as a good solution, but it still shouldn't slow them down and keep them from returning to their homes in Kosovo - said Frode Mauring, when asked about the real possibilities for retun after Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.
- The UN Development Program hasn't been affected by this change because we have the so-called universal mandate, which gives us a position of complete impartiality in the matter of the status of Kosovo. There are also other factors which are key in people's decision whether to stay in Kosovo or whether to leave - Mr Mauring said at the beginning of the interview.
2008-03-01
"Suite” Next to Sewage Channel for 50 Euros
BELGRADE - Roma rent their cardboard "houses" by a sewage channel to their fellow Roma for 50 euros a month.
2008-02-29
One-Third of Serbia's Children Struck by Poverty
One-third of Serbia's children are struck by poverty in one way or another - this was said at today's presentation of the "Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Serbia". Marija Petrovic of the Children's Rights Center said that 150.000 children in Serbia are living below the poverty line, and as many are in a danger of falling below the poverty line.
2008-02-28
Most Disabled Persons on Verge of Poverty
The unemployment rate among persons with disabilities in Serbia is 80 percent and most of them are living on the verge of poverty - says Mirjana Pentelic, secretary of the Association of Companies Providing Professional Training and Employment for Disabled Persons.
2008-02-27
Rural Population - Vulnerable Category
Belgrade -- The number of destitute people in Serbia dropped by half in the period between 2002 and 2007, said the Vice President of the Serbian Government Bozidar Djelic.
2008-02-26
Invisible Fellow Citizens
Every day more than 200.000 IDPs hosted in Serbia proper have to face huge problems which could only be solved with the help from the state.
2008-02-24
Better Situation for Roma
Belgrade - Cooperation between the city administration and the National Council of Roma National Minority.
2008-02-22
State Doesn't Care Enough
Group 484 and the "Reintegration" Returnees Association organized a two-day conference on "Roma Children and School" in Novi Pazar.
2008-02-21
Living on Daily Wages and Handouts
LESKOVAC - Only every second family in Leskovac has regular income, and every fifth lives in extreme poverty. The number of families with a single steady income would be much lower if it wasn't for the pensioners helping their young and fit-for-work offspring. For example, in the settlement of Strkovo, with five streets and around 60 homes, only three households have one or two members who are employed. But the settlement has around 30 pensioners.
2008-02-13
Ten Papers for One Child Allowance
Parents who apply for parent or child allowance must arm themselves with patience and gather a pile of papers, especially for child allowance.
2008-02-13
500 Citizens of Krusevac Waiting for Compensation for Assistance and Care by Third Person
KRUSEVAC - Around 500 citizens of Kruševac have been waiting for more than a year and a half for decisions on their applications for increased compensation for assistance and care by a third person. One of them, Dusan Tosovic, submitted his application on 13th September 2006 and hasn't received any decision yet. Tosovic has been receiving this form of assistance since 1978, for his son suffering from cerebral paralysis.
2008-02-13
Aid for Stari Batnjik Roma in Novi Pazar
The Swedish Committee for Refugees from former Yugoslavia delivered aid in hygienic packages, washing powder, flour, sugar and cooking oil for Roma IDPs of the improvised camp in the center of Novi Pazar.
2008-02-12
Batnjikromerna
Människor i Sverige tror för det mesta - om de tror något alls i flyktingfrågan - att alla internflyktingar i Serbien får hjälp med tak över huvudet, mat i magen och värme. Efter 3 års kontinuerlig kontakt med 150 etniskt utrensade kosovoromer som lever som internflyktingar i Serbien vet vi att det inte är så.
2008-01-04
Living by Begging
The semi-hyperboloid chimneys with smoke constantly coming out mean that we have arrived at Obilic. We are headed to Stari Obilic, to visit the returnees - Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians.
2008-01-01
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