Jai Bhim Network

Financial Times writes about the life of Roma people in Eastern Europe. The article begins with Terike, a Gypsy Buddhist lady from Sajókaza. The last sentences bring us to Sajókaza, to the High School of Jai Bhim Budddhist Network, the headmaster Tibor Derdák assesses the effectiveness of EU support.

Source:

Authors: James Fontanella-Khan and Kester Eddy

Antipathy towards Europe’s most ostracised minority chimes with a debate that threatens the principle of free movement

Sitting in her small house with three grandchildren and a dog at her feet, Terike Major struggles to think of improvements to her life in the 10 years since she became an EU citizen. The 51-year-old Roma, who lives in a slum on the edge of the village of Sajokaza in northeastern Hungary, says conditions have barely changed.

Unemployed and widowed, she scavenges through waste bins for scrap metal to sell to supplement her monthly €85 social security payment – a tenth of the average salary. “The state uncles [politicians] on the TV and radio say things are getting better. I don’t think so. At least, we don’t feel it here,” she says.

Her experience reflects the failures over many years towards the Roma, raising questions about the willingness and ability of Europe to integrate one of its most disadvantaged groups.

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Lieber Bernhard,

Ich habe gestern mit Tibor gesprochen. Ich kann dir das Gespräch dann erzählen. Er hat mir versprochen, dass er dir per facebook schreibt.

Er hat mich gebeten, einige Emails weiterzuleiten. Die folgende Pressemitteilung haben sie vor einer Woche geschrieben:

Pressemitteilung des Präsidenten der Roma Selbstverwaltung und der Dzsaj Bhim Buddhistische Gemeinde In der letzten Zeit interessiert man sich vermehrt für die Partizipation der Roma, die in Barackensiedlungen leben, an den internationalen Enwicklungsgelder.

Nach unserer Erfahrung liegt der Grund dieses Interesses darin, dass die westliche öffentliche Meinung und die Organisationen, die sich mit internationalen Entwicklungen beschäftigen wichtig finden, dass die osteuropäische gesellschaftlichen Beziehungen demokratisiert werden, dass die Vertreter der ausgegrenzten Schichten in die Entscheidungsprozessen einbezogen werden.

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THE DHARMA REVOLUTION AND THE NEW SOCIETY
Dharmachari Subhuti

Based on talks given in October 2010 at Padmaloka Retreat Centre in England

The Dharma can be revolutionary – indeed, the Dharma is revolutionary, when it truly is the Dharma. When the Dharma is genuinely understood and practised on a wide enough scale, there will be a significant change for the better in society.

This is not merely theory: we have solid evidence that it can be true. In 1956, the great Indian statesman and Buddhist leader, Dr. Ambedkar, precipitated a social revolution in India on the basis of the Dharma, affecting the lives of millions of ‘Dalits’, people who were formerly considered untouchable by their fellow Hindus. When large numbers of these people converted to Buddhism, they gained a new confidence in themselves and began to take their rightful place in society. The effects of this revolution are evident in statistics showing the much greater improvement in social and economic status of those who became Buddhists compared with similar castes in which very few conversions took place.[1] This gives us an important illustration of what Dharma revolution means.

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