cafebabel.com

Kirtimai: Lithuania's Roma on education and 'missing England'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:36:54 -0000

Less than 3, 000 Roma live in Lithuania. Representing 0.1% of the population, there are still enough Baltic 'gypsies' to serve as a scapegoat in a country feeling squeezed by the crisis. However, in one Lithuanian village, Romualda, Svetlana, Konstantin and Konsela are helping the community to lift its head

City planning in Budapest: making poverty invisible

('Monica Mircescu',) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:53:36 -0000

Since the new conservative majority came to power in Budapest in 2010, the local council's anti-poverty strategies include putting a ban on begging in public spaces and reversing an old tradition: the 'social' management of bulk refuse collection known as 'lomtalanitás'

Greece crisis: profiling rich, scot-free yacht-owners

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:45:00 -0000

The economic flavour of the Greek crisis tastes different for those on top - the shipowners, the yachting association bosses - than the diet prescribed for the masses. In Athens though, the latter rage against the state rather than the privileged classes. Lucky richies

Freeganism in Poland: 'horror' of taking food from bins

('JK',) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:00:00 -0000

Freeganism, a way of life for a small percentage of the world’s population, is above all an extremely anti-consumerist attitude calling for restraint. It openly expresses opposition to corporations that only want to enrich themselves because today the sale of goods in their pure form is disappearing

Racism and discrimination for Brussels migrant workers

('Monica Mircescu',) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:00:00 -0000

In the region of Brussels-Capital, discrimination in recruitment practices is a daily reality. At a time of economic stagnation, ethnic diversity is no longer a priority for businesses, which in turn makes integration in Belgium harder still

Melancholy in Berlin: views of three foreign writer residents

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:43:59 -0000

Very loosely, a 19-year-old Klaus Mann saw 1920s Berlin as 'seductive, gray, scabby, peeling, yet vibrant vitality, nervous, shimmering, phosphorescent, animated, full of tensions and promises.' Italian, Croatian and French writers Gianluca Falanga, Maksim Cristan and Maia Mazaurette give us their noughties take

Irish artists in Berlin, a city 'always and never in crisis'

('M\xc3\xa9abh Mc Mahon',) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:45:00 -0000

Whilst Irish artists like Paul Diamond and You're Only Massive become better known in Berlin, stages in Irish bars remain empty. With less people investing in upcoming Irish talent, the young generation will continue to migrate to artistic-friendly places like Berlin to follow their musical dream

To be or to be in Berlin: poor but (creatively) rich

('Camelia Ivanova',) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:22:59 -0000

Money and the crisis are not on the agenda for Berliners who can focus on different things, such as art. 'Being poor is not cool, but OK,' is the word on the street. It all looks very promising for someone from Bulgaria, the EU's officially poorest country, where a lack of money, unlike cheap glamour, can never be a virtue

Young African footballers thrive in Europe

('Nicola Potter',) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:30:00 -0000

There may be football academies and Fifa regulations aplenty in Europe, but talented African minors haven't always had the best experiences in the promised land

Stalin, rock music and bad weather: story behind suicides in Lithuania

('Kate Stansfield',) — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:58:28 -0000

The River Neris splits Vilnius down the middle: to the North lies the university, the stadium and terraces with views; to the south is the heart of the capital: cobbled, colourful, and impeccable. But a sinister notice hangs from one of its bridges, followed by a telephone number

In the red

Wed, 05 May 2010 13:22:00 -0000

In the economic crisis, why do Italians say they are 'in the green' when Brits are 'in the red?' Tour of European expressions for all those broke joes out there

Introducing Italian poet Vanni Santoni's 'precarious characters'

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:30:00 -0000

Initially, the Tuscan-born writer blogged a series of characters. The contemporary anti-heroes soon became literary figures, appearing in the book 'Personaggi precari' in 2007

Minimum European income to fight poverty?

('James Friscia',) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:35:47 -0000

Given persistent shortcomings of minimum wage policies, legislators and organisations instead debate the merits of ‘minimum income’ to combat poverty in Europe. But it remains to be seen whether the EU parliament will force continent-wide reforms

'Conciliabules': French women fight for European poverty via theatre

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:00:00 -0000

Marginalisation, precarity - in any case, women are 'poorer' than men. But the ladies from this French troupe use art, not negativity, in their official response to Europe's designated 'year of poverty and social exclusion'

Europe’s graduates: lecture halls to poverty lines

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:00:00 -0000

At best, many graduates find themselves facing a marathon of internships, and at worst a life under the poverty line. Unemployment in times of crisis brings social consequences too. The EU is reacting to prove that a degree is for life, and not just for christmas

In Italy, divorced men are down and out

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:00:00 -0000

Divorce is often the cause of financial meltdown, which can plunge ex-partners on the outskirts of society and into destitution. Often, he ends up poorer than her. ‘Single dads’ groups say that it’s a very Italian situation unequalled in the rest of the European Union

Europe makes 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion

('Alison Frank',) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:15:00 -0000

When the 'Lisbon strategy' was launched in March 2000, EU member state leaders said that they wanted to take decisive steps towards eliminating poverty. Ten years later, during the worst economic crisis since 1929, the EU has named 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion. It’s about time, too

Paris suburbs: cliche piled upon cliche

('James Friscia',) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:17:48 -0000

It's a common European stereotype to define the French suburbs by their one-time violent rioting. But those events took place five years ago. On a visit to the 'banlieue' of Paris today we meet three residents who tell their story - a father-of-three, a social worker and a budding regional election hopeful

Haiti earthquake survivors land in Paris

('Sofia Verzbolovskis',) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:06:59 -0000

The first wave of survivors from Port au Prince landed at Paris Orly airport on 18 January, while hundreds of other flights are expected over the next few days. The earthquake that has destroyed Haiti’s capital has exacerbated the already appalling economic and political conditions that have marked the island over the past years - from the riotous overthrow of president Aristide in 2004 to the collapse of the government, lack of healthcare, string of hurricanes, and the enduring, rampant poverty

‘Vovis' versus ‘gorrillas’: tackling precarity in Seville

('Kate Stansfield',) — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:23:00 -0000

They’ll find you parking spots for a little loose change. This form of begging in disguise allows the poorest members of society to make themselves a few hundred euros a month. Despite its large-scale growth in the Andalusian capital, the phenomenon is becoming a headache for the authorities

Fair trade with Germany's 'Sukuma initiative'

('Aatish Pattni',) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0000

What do mobile phones have to do with the war in Congo? Why do we, when thinking about coffee, think Starbucks before Colombia? The Germany-based Sukuma initiative is campaigning at an EU level to enforce targets for developing countries, as set out by theUN

Doha, Qatar: the north-south solidarity harvest in India

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:14:12 -0000

From 29 November to 2 December, UN member states discuss development aid in these times of financial crisis. There is also a crisis in international solidarity: in India, a quarter of a million live in poverty

Photos: 111 000 Russians in Estonia

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Beyond the historic gates of the old town, around the commercial centres, behind the motorways - the Russian-speaking minority mill on with life in the district of Lasnamaï in Tallinn. Photo feature

Microcredit: European utopia ?

('Matthew Pagett',) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0000

Over the past several years in Europe, a growing number of key players and initiatives have been trying to use microprojects to re-establish people who are excluded from the financial system. Analysis

Las Tres Mil: The last oasis of nomadic life

('Ed Saunders',) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:01:41 -0000

Overworked, underpaid in a French call centre

('Martyn Hawkins',) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Too many young Europeans are forced to work in bad conditions to finance their studies in France. Why a young Italian quit

Paris: squats in Europe's second most expensive city

('Alison Matthews',) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0000

Amidst an explosion of rental prices, the Macaq organisation squats unoccupied buildings to bring the lack of student housing into the public eye

Italy's pasta prices soar to 14%

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Frozen incomes and an inflation rate above the European average - purchasing power is at a breaking point in a country where poverty particularly affects the younger population

Photos: living on the street in Paris

('Natalia Sosin',) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The homeless and immigrants - those select few that Parisians would perhaps rather not see, at least at Christmas time. Neither indifference nor presidential words will make this 'problem' disappear

Paris suburbs: 'place of exile'

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

'Banlieue' is the colloquial reversal of 'lieu du ban', literally, 'place of exile'. In the French suburbs, out of work labourers are holed up in prison-style buildings, along with their children, to whom they pass on their despair

Homeless in Paris

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

High rents, fierce competition - just a couple of difficulties that 100, 000 people in Paris face when looking for accommodation

A capital that can’t grow up

('Kate Martin',) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Last May, the German daily newspaper Tagesspeigel warned that in Berlin one child in three lives off 'Hartz IV' (government aid). This is a new high for Germany and is more than twice the national average. Is it an avatar of reunification?

The 1, 000 Euros a month club

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Europe’s youth follow the cog: university, a first job, building a future. But Seville’s brood of ‘1000-Euro-a-month-ers’ are finding even that hard

Newsha Tavakolian, Iran's inside story

('Kate Stansfield',) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:48:00 -0000

At the inauguration of Perpignan's 19th festival ‘Visa pour l'image’, the Iranian photojournalist focuses on the situation of women in the Middle East

Lidl cracks the whip

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0000

Lidl supermarkets are a familiar sight in malls around Europe, popular among students and cash-strapped families. But according to the German services employees’ union, ver.di, Lidl supervisors repress their workers and enforce 45-hour work weeks.