EveryOne Group is supporting the initiative of the Hindus who live in America but maintain close contacts with the religious authorities in India, who are asking the European Union to come to a decision and carry out concrete and effective policies that will stop the persecution of the Roma people, a phenomenon that has been underway in Europe for centuries and that lies at the root of an entire people’s plight and denial of human rights. Let us remember that the average life expectancy of the Roma people in the European Union has fallen to below 50, against 80 of other EU citizens and the infant mortality rate is 15 times superior to the European average. The persecution in Italy is so brutal it can be compared to the persecution that the Nazi Party carried out against minorities singled out by those in power. The persecution is being carried out through a terrifying and well-documented series of violent attacks, cases of arson and police-led camp clearances similar to pogroms. Added to these episodes are the countless cases of legal discrimination; political-press propaganda which is helping to spread racial hatred; the denial of socio-sanitary assistance and a total absence of programmes for professional and scholastic inclusion.
Hindus stress that the "tacit apartheid" of Roma people of Europe needs to be urgently attended to.
January 11, 2009
Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, says that Roma reportedly continue to suffer from human rights violations and brazen structural discrimination in Europe and everybody knows about it and admits it. "Paper drives" and "sweet talks" by European Union and countries of Europe in the past have apparently failed to bring them at par with rest of the population.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, argues that European Union jumps at every opportunity to teach morality lessons to the world but chooses to ignore its own backyard and forgets its own moral obligation to take care of its frequently maltreated Roma population, who reportedly live in apartheid like conditions.
How the European Union and countries of Europe can make tall claims of good governance in the world if their own Roma brothers/sisters reportedly continue to face deeply embedded institutional discrimination and social exclusion, Rajan Zed asks.
Roma reportedly regularly face racism, substandard education, hostility, social exclusion, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, unusually high unemployment rates, etc.
Hindus demand "media watchdog" to monitor media bias against European Roma
January 4, 2009
Hindus have demanded immediate setting-up of an independent "media watchdog" by European Union to monitor the frequent media discrimination and bias against Roma people in Europe, who reportedly face apartheid like conditions.
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, alleged that instead of highlighting their plight, media of Europe often strengthened the deeply embedded prejudice and social exclusion against Roma by recycling the stereotypes, thus leading the public to believe that they were some kind of sub-humans.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that this proposed "media watchdog" should see that media acted responsibly and ethically on Roma issues. Did the fairness ideals taught in journalism schools only apply to non-Roma population in Europe, he asked.
Rajan Zed further says that it is like an undeclared apartheid in Europe where Roma reportedly continue to face institutional discrimination and severe maltreatment and everybody admits it and knows about it except the media. Media has apparently failed in their moral obligation to bring the continual sufferings of Roma to the desired limelight.
Zed argues that on the other hand, real Roma issues appear to be non-subjects for the European media and there is apparently excessive under reporting or selective reporting. Media often dehumanizes them, treating them as social outcasts undeserving the same treatment and respect as due to other Europeans, and is many times hostile.
Moreover, media being powerful and capable of creating stereotypes in the minds of some audiences, European media persons should be retrained to handle Roma related issues, which should be dealt with very carefully. European Union should support Roma media and staff of media outlets should at least reflect the percentage of European Roma population, Rajan Zed stresses.
Zed suggests that media instead needs to help and highlight the plight of Roma, who reportedly regularly face racism, substandard education, hostility, social exclusion, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, unusually high unemployment rates, etc.
Rajan Zed points out that European media should work to end the centuries of severe discrimination and abuse of Roma and attempt at achieving their social inclusion. It is simply immoral to let this around ten million population of Europe continually suffer and face human rights violations. Media should show more responsibility in handling complex Roma issues. Their alarming condition is a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world.
It is moral obligation of European media to take care of its frequently maltreated population of Roma people who unfortunately reportedly continue to suffer from brazen structural discrimination, Zed adds.
Rajan Zed
Rajan Zed is a Hindu and Indo-American statesman who was invited to read historic first Hindu prayers to the Nevada Assembly[1] and the Nevada Senate,[2], as well as the United States Senate in Washington DC [3] – his prayer is transcribed on page S9069 of the Congressional Record. He also read the historic first Hindu prayers in the State Senates of California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington. [4] besides Arizona House of Representatives.
Zed is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, Spiritual Advisor to the National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families and Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association. He is Public Relations Officer of the Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada, which is raising money to build a Hindu temple in the Reno area.[5] Active in interfaith dialogue and as a chaplain in Nevada and California hospitals, Zed is a member of the Reno Police Chief Advisory Board and a member of Diversity Action Plan committee of Washoe County School District. He is on the Board of Directors of Northern Nevada International Center and Nevada World Trade Council.
He has been elected to the office of General Improvement District Trustee of Verdi TV District and is a Member of Citizens Advisory Committee of Regional Transportation Commission. He is Public Relations Officer of India Association of Northern Nevada. He has been on the Board of Directors of Washoe Library Foundation; in the Academic Senate of San Jose State University, California; on Editorial Board of Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett newspaper; and on the Board of Directors of California State Employees Credit Union of San Jose. He was on the health curriculum committee of Fremont Unified School District in California; was a member of the planning and budget committee ofUniversity of Nevada-Reno and was listed in Who’s Who in America, 2006. He also teaches at Truckee Meadows Community College.[6]
Zed has an MBA from University of Nevada-Reno; a Master of Science in Mass Communications from San Jose State University, California; and Bachelor of Journalism from Panjab University, India.
He has been awarded by various organizations. Zed has taken up various civil rights issues in the recent past. He has been bestowed with “World Interfaith Leader Award” by NAIIF for “demonstrated extraordinary world leadership, courage and capacity for inspiring in others the urge of interfaith dialogue and cordial relations between faith communities”. Zed was invited by President of European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering for a meeting to discuss Hindu issues and promote interfaith dialogue on December 10, 2008.
Mandali Mendrilla, an internationally distinguished Croatian fashion designer based in USA, has dedicated a line of her designer clothing to Zed because of “him constantly attempting to reach across lines of difference through prayer”.
Gruppo EveryOne
Tel: (+ 39) 334-8429527 (+ 39) 331-3585406
