Recent Romnews postings
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Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 22:28:23 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Recent Romnews postings
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Recent Romnews postings
Holocaust Victims Memorial was damaged
Magdeburg/Germany (Romnews Correspondent) 24.11.1998
Two days after ist unveiling, the memorial of the Roma and Sinti who
were murdered during the Nazi government was damaged. Unknown persons
stole a little ceramic plate with the name of a holocaust victim. Due
to the police one cannot exclude a politically motivated offence,
however, there are no further clues up to now.
The memorial, built of marble and highgrade steel is the first one of
ist kind in East Germany. Members of the parish of Magdeburg
cathedral had inscribed more than 50 ceramic plates with the names and
dates of birth and death of Roma and Sinti of Magdeburg.
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The atmosphere in the district Fechenheim has been strained for a
long time
Fechenheim/Germany (Romnews Correspondent) 27.11.1998
On October 18th a brand bomb was thrown into the house of a Roma
family. Up to now further particulars are unknown. The next day
Wolfgang Bodenstedt accused the people concerned of partial
responsibility. Since then many people dissociated themselves from the
CDU party leader. However, some people also backed him up.
The CDU district union pronounced the matter Bodenstedt as settled.
The politician said that he had been somewhat startled at the to-do of
his person. But he is relieved that the sorrows of the people have
become known. The Roma pester the people. The best thing would be if
they would move, he maintained his extreme attitude.
it was not for the first time that the CDU had meant "to speak for the
people". In summer Bernhard Pfender wrote a letter to the parties
complaining of the rapidly deteriorating development of the district.
Criminality, unemployment etc. frighten the people.
However, an increase of criminality cannot be confirmed by the police.
On the contrary, the cases of robbery in 1998 changed from 13 to 8
compared with the same period of last year.
When Pfender wrote his letter he had thought of the special playground
Bodenseestra�e, where up to 60 youths met every day. During the past 2
- 3 years some residents had complained of the noise of the mostly
foreign boys and girls.
Even some years before, when the percentage of foreigners in
Fechenheim was still under the 35 % of to-day, there had been problems
with German young people. Fender denies a parallel case. "The quality
of aggression" is different, he says.
In response to Pfenders letter, a district action group "start for a
political change" founded a discussion circle. They do not share
Pfenders opinion, but they have noticed a strained atmosphere in the
district that is in their opinion due to unemployment and poverty.
The "collapse of the industry" in Fechenheim is also being noticed
with great concern. Well known firms as Naxos and Diskus closed their
works in Fechenheim down. The Jade company that was purchased by
L'Oreal in 1996
closed down a year go. In the former works of Cassella, now Clariant,
significantly fewer people are working than in 1995 when the company
was overtaken by Hoechst.
Due to the loss of working places there came fewer customers also from
other places. At the same time the unemployment of the own people
increased and the purchasing power decreased. Out of 10.506 residents
between 15 and 65 years (the total population of Fechenheim is
16.000), 961 were unemployed by the end of June. 15,2 % of the
residents of Fechenheim-S�d were on social security in 1993. The
average of Frankfurt was then 9,3%.
Thomas Sittler, president of the working group of Fechenheim unions
has a different opinion as to the atmosphere in Fechenheim. At the New
Year's reception 1998 he demanded to no longer provoke the collapse
but to take the necessary change "as a chance".
Fechenheim has kept its village character due to the numerous clubs
where old people and children are taken care of. They all participate
in the "fisher festival" every year, when thousands of people roam
through the
"Langga�". Sittler criticized that the politicians prefer to argument
with contrahents instead of seeing to the welfare of the district.
As to the political parties of Fechenheim at all the SPD and CDU make
a gesture of refusal. The SPD who had two thirds of the votes in the
Sixties, has at present no promising candidate. Dieter Kunzler who
came into the CDU parliament after Petra Roth had become town mayor,
lost his mandate in 1997. Therefore, apart from the actual reason some
people appreciate that Fechenheim at last is in the centre of the
general interest of the town.
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