La Cité des Roms (City of the Roma)
Diretor: Frédéric Castaignede, France 2008, 97 min.
A railway underpass on the edge of a Roma ghetto in the Bulgarian town of Sliven. In this documentary we observe the life of Elen, a schoolgirl, and the obstinate efforts of Angel to integrate the Roma community into the majority society. The film also presents the thoughts of a bar owner and her husband on life in the ghetto, and depicts the co-existence of two ethnic groups in a manner that is both calm and passionate. Bending the current system in such a way as to make it also friendly to groups hitherto regarded as 'unable to adapt' is reminiscent of the situation in today's Czech Republic. That includes the way politicians court popularity by listing 'dealing with the living standard of the Roma minority' in their election manifestos
Director: Milena Andonova, Bulgaria-Germany 2006, 111 min.
In her feature film debut, Milena Andonova tells the separate and tragic stories of three women. The story of the attractive and lively Dona, a Roma woman with three children to different fathers, is set in the 60s. In order to safeguard their future she moves in with a disabled man, with unforeseeable consequences. Ten years later, Lucrecia becomes pregnant and dreams of a life abroad with her new suitor. She mistakenly sees her pregnancy as an obstacle. Tana, the wife of a prosperous businessman, dreams of having a child. Her husband cannot live with the knowledge that it is his infertility that is preventing this, or with the sudden 'miracle' of her pregnancy.
Director: Michael Cory Davis, Bulgaria-United States 2004, 74 min.A film on child trafficking
“Svetlana’s Journey” retells the story of a 13-year-old girl who managed to escape from pimps’ captivity. After her mother dies and she has no other relatives, Svetlana goes to an orphanage. She is then adopted by a family whose main purpose is to sell her for 10 000 euro. Soon afterwards she is sold to a pimp family who torment her, manipulate and maltreat her until they make her a shell of a body used by gentlemen – customers. She is deprived of all her dignity, dreams and hop
Human Rights Documents on Refugees and Migrants: An Overview
Human Rights Conventions Overview
Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 1995
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965