Long hiatus, so let’s get this show on the road!

Dear reader:

It’s been a while since my last op-ed piece but that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been exciting and interesting developments going on in need of debate and examination. My intention in the beginning was to create a once a week op-ed piece that would explore diaspora, migration and identity politics happening everyday, whether it be in the Arts, Politics, Literature, etc.

But, life always presents bigger challenges and for this reason I have been MIA. However, since a new year has begun, there is always a chance to redress my absence and start with a clean slate.

Therefore, apologies for my prolonged absence. I hope that I’ll be able to spark thoughtful debate and insightful commentary in 2008.

Best wishes:

Sanaz

Please click on the image to find out more about the contribution of the Irish to the British construction industry.

Kosovoroma – New Website

A team of volunteers runs a new website http://kosovoroma.wordpress.com/ which is aimed to inform about the situation of Roma in Kosovo and Kosovo Roma in Diaspora.

Before the war, Kosovo was the home to 120,000 to 150,000 Roma. Kosovo Roma became the biggest “collateral damage” of the nationalist conflict between Kosovo Serbs and Albanians. Today, the community is disseminated and decimated between the few thousands who have remained in Kosovo and the majority which lives in diaspora, mostly in the region, but also in Western Europe and other countries.

By creating this website, the team wants to inform about a community which has largely fallen into oblivion and which is left behind when issues such as the Kosovo status are discussed. The website, which is updated daily, contains many information on the situation in Kosovo itself and on asylum issues. It also acts as a platform re-establishing contacts between community members and seeking a ground for common action.