Screening of the documentary film Unprocessed, followed by panel discussion
Central European University, Quellenstraße 51, Vienna, Room D-002
Please register by 13 March at https://forms.office.com/e/kuHx7sCWv3
In 2008-2009 a series of racist murders were committed in Hungary targeting Romani persons in ten locations, killing six persons, including a four-year-old child. A group of four persons were convicted for the murders, all of whom were affiliated with extreme right and skinhead groups.
On the night of February 4 to 5, 1995, four Romani persons attempted to remove a plaque bearing the inscription “Roma, go back to India” near the Oberwart Romani settlement in Eastern Austria where a bomb had exploded and killed everyone. The assassination was part of a series of attacks targeting prominent members of minorities. One person was arrested and convicted who during his trial shouted far right slogans.
Unprocessed (2022) by film director Máté Fuchs is a documentary about the memory of the Roma killings of 2008-2009. The film is inspired by the theater group "Romano Teatro" and the rehearsals and performance of their play commemorating the hate crimes, titled 'The Smile of Hate'. The documentary features the play’s creators, as well as sociologists, journalists and artists who are looking for an answer on how Hungarian society can cope with such events. The 72-minutes-long film is screened in Hungarian with English subtitles.
The screening is followed by discussion with Máté Fuchs, Aladár Horváth (Roma Parliament; Civil Rights Movement), Manuela Horvath (Oberwart City Council; Romapastoral Service in the Diocese of Eisenstadtr), Angéla Kóczé (Central European University) and with Hungarian-Romani-German interpreter Petra Éva Verebics.
The discussion will address – amongst others – the following questions:
- What are the roots and manifestations of anti-Romani racism in Hungary and Austria?
- How have the police and justice handled the murders?
- How could survivors, the relatives of victims, and Romani communities cope with the trauma?
- How have media, civil society, and the political elite reacted?
- How could we prevent racist murders in Austria, Hungary, and beyond?
Reception to follow