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there has been an unprecedented revival ongoing among Slovakia’s marginalised Roma (gypsie) population
Since the formation of an embryonic Roma church fellowship in Sabinov
the revival has gained momentum and spread to the unlikeliest of places
No one can take credit for starting it,” say Jim and Sherry Sabella
“Christ the King has gone into the highways and byways
and Tibor rejoice in God’s miracles in their communities and lives
the construction of a building for Sabinov Gypsy Church began
Miraculously they were granted government permission to begin
but many hurdles were faced in the process
related to discrimination of the Roma in Slovakian society
Today Sabinov Gypsy Church is known as the physical birthplace of a revival among the Roma in the neighborhood
and few education opportunities were rampant
Yet as the Lord began to pour out His presence through the church
the pattern has proven itself: Roma who come to Christ experience and consciously engage in dramatic life transformations
though humble and often in squalid settlements
Money is handled with wisdom and foresight
Young families seek higher living standards
Communities once characterized by chaos now become organized from the inside out
Rinaldo shares that in one transformed community
impoverished believers learned of a blind man living in a shack
They pooled their money to build the man and his family a new home
Marian says that Roma believers also give thithes faithfully
“Even those who are unemployed are still willing to give to God.”
These unprecedented occurrences have captured the attention of governments
and Tibor have had the opportunity to share with government officials the changes that have originated in their own community of Sabinov
they have even spoken with the national parliament
When asked what they are doing to bring about change and how those results can be replicated
Marian answers clearly: “You can offer the Roma any kind of help
but they will not change unless they have been changed in their hearts by Jesus Christ
Roma who are touched by the revival in Slovakia are now moving across Europe seeking better opportunities for their families
Hundreds of Roma churches being planted across Europe look routinely to Marian and his team for training and guidance
and so do mainstream European church leaders
and Austria come to Sabinov’s church leaders to learn how to reach the Roma in their own countries
“To see revival is hard work,” Marian says
“But we are seeing its fruit - and the blessings of God - and in that there is great joy
We do not wait for the broken to come to us
Pray this for us: We need more servants to come help us
Many villages are crying out to us for help in terrible situations
and we do not have enough people to send.”
the Romani Bible translation project in Slovakia has been very successful
with a complete New Testament and about 34% of the Old Testament translated
Roma Networks in Eastern Europe produced an inspiring video on God’s work among the Roma people
It shows how the global church can partner with the vibrant Roma communities in healthy and dynamic ways
When moving the inhabitants of a dilapidated block of flats downtown
the Sabinov authorities ignored the factual state and moved all Roma to a segregated
distant locality while non-Roma received replacement accommodation elsewhere
the Via Iuris civic association had its opinion confirmed: after the events of 2006
they indicated to the discrimination of Roma when relocating tenants of the municipal housing from downtown Sabinov (a town in eastern Slovakia) to the outskirts
a locality one kilometre away from the next developed area
were moved out regardless of whether they had previously paid rent or not
and whether they were deemed poorly adaptable
As a replacement for their homes that urgently needed repairs
they were also offered alternative accommodation in a different neighbourhood
which only deepened their exclusion and marginalisation
Non-Roma from the same block were moved to a different location
the Prešov Regional Court ruled that the town of Sabinov and the (now non-existent) Construction Ministry discriminated against Roma
The court assigned to each of the eight complainants a financial redress of €1,000
The Roma lived in several houses owned by the town council in the centre of Sabinov
they were all gradually moved out to lower standard flats in the Telek locality
which lies about one kilometre from the last dwellings
adding that Sabinov terminated the rental relation due to the necessary repairs of flats
As the town authorities were obliged to offer them adequate housing
with the help of the Construction Ministry’s subsidy
the Telek development was meant for “bad payers” and “inadaptable persons”; but still other documents suggest that they were marked as “Roma flats”
regardless of their payment discipline or way of life
when the last group of Roma to be moved out of the centre to Telek procured legal aid from the Prešov Regional Office of the Office of Government Proxy for Roma Communities and were offered flats outside of Telek
“The Prešov Regional Court identified with the verdict of the district court
which stated that despite the town declaring a social integration program for the Roma
the manner in which the Roma from Námestie Slobody (Freed Square) were moved out meant their segregation,” the NGO explains in its statement
The court found that the Construction Ministry acted in a discriminatory manner
Its duty was to analyse the application for a subsidy and thus prevent all possible consequences of the project
which would meet international commitments stemming from a ban on discrimination
“This is a verdict of a unprecedented importance that should for once considerably influence the rules for granting state subsidies
and secure the meeting of international commitments and domestic regulations for rendering accommodation so that no discrimination occurs,” Via Iuris' Kristína Babiaková
“The regional court…ruled that in 2005 the Transport and Construction Ministry should have scrutinised the subsidy project filed by the town of Sabinov more in detail
as already in the very process of filing the subsidy application the risk of segregation might have been identified,” ministry spokesperson
“The Transport and Construction Ministry fully respects the verdict of the Prešov Regional Court
and will fulfil all its obligations stemming from it.”
The town of Sabinov commented that it respects the effective verdict of the regional court
but the town’s lawyer Lukáš Janig opined for TASR that it had not behaved at variance with the principle of equal treatment and that it had not discriminated
“The ethnic origin was no criterion for the moving out,” Janiga explained
“All tenants regardless of their national or ethnic origin were 'moved out' due to the disastrous technical condition of the original flats
and this was inevitable for the sake of the protection of their lives
as well as to preserve the material substance of the flats
moving them to better conditions.” The lawyer opined that the new rental flats in Telek have substantially improved the quality of living of each of the complainants
why non-Roma were treated in a different way and with a different result
He summed up that the town opines that the principle of equal treatment in rendering goods and services regarding access to accommodation has not been violated by the town of Sabinov
The 50th anniversary of the first and so far only Slovak movie to win an Academy Award in 1966 (and also 1967)
was ceremonially screened on April 18 – exactly the day when it got an Oscar 50 years ago – in the Bratislava Mladosť Cinema
The tragicomic story of a typically Slovak World War II confrontation of courage
greediness and compassion was followed by a documentary The Stop on Main Street (Odchod na Korze
2013) which follows the traces the original movie has left in the small eastern-Slovak town Sabinov
hatred and anti-Semitism is still alive and so it is important to keep remembering the events of the second world war. Zakuťanský added that his family
such as his great-grandmother and mother
and the sister of his grandma designed the costumes
Klos and Kadár started to collaborate in 1950s
and their first film was a conforming agitprop movie The Kidnapping (Únos
about the kidnapping of a whole airplane from communist Czechoslovakia to the former Federal German Republic
Their other movies include Music from Mars (Hudba z Marsu); There
at the Terminal Stop (Tam an konečné); Three Wishes (Tŕi přání); Death Is Called Engelchen (Smrt si říká Engelchen
also known as Because We Don't Forget or For We Too Do Not Forgive); The Defendant (Obžalovaný); and their last common movie
Desire Called Anada (Touha zvaná Anada)
After the Soviet-led communist armies of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia
Kadár emigrated to the USA where he continued to shoot films until his death (1979)
Klos also did some more movies in Czechoslovakia
The original story was written by Ladislav Grosman. 
The film was notable also for the acting skills of Polish Ida Kaminska (who was curiously nominated for the Oscar for Best Female Actress in a Leading Role one year later
The plot revolves around the Jewish owner of a sewing-material shop
widowed Rozalie Lautmann and a Slovak petty entrepreneur
whose brother-in-law is a member of the then elite fascist grouping
the shop.This was possible thanks to laws during the war-time Slovak State that sent Jews to camps and let Slovaks take over their property
Brtko gradually comes to like the confused old lady
who takes him for her employee and when the order comes to send all local Jews to extermination camps
When the film was screened within the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in 1966 (awarded for the Best Foreign Language Film
with Kadár and Klos placing 3rd as directors)
Króner successfully delivered a speech that had been transcribed in English phonetically for him
Although the historical events which initiated the novel and the film are not very flattening
the town of Sabinov commemorates the film-making time warmly
and has organised photos and an inscription put on a façade of a corner house on the main square
There is also a commemorative room which exhibits various items stemming from the shooting of the film
A structure very close to the house where The Shop on Main Street was filmed is being renovated and prepared for visitors
1,040 people were taken to concentration camps from our town
mostly of Jewish origin,” Molčan said
Others could not live longer to make their dreams come true
These are sad facts that should not be forgotten.”
the Nová Scéna theatre is running a musical – an American version – based on the story of Grosman and on the movie.