FUTURE FOR WWW.KHETANES.ORG ?

[Stoimen]

Dear all,

On 25 May 2016, I have sent a message to all 1100 Khetanes members (see below).

Who wants to continue our website in the years to come?

Khetanes has been started in 2010, almost 6 years ago. The butterfly logo has been designed by artists from the EvertyOne Group in Italy, who supported us from the very beginning!

Stoimen Vassilev, Roma filmmaker in New York, is willing to continue the website.

But... he needs assistants!

Who wants to help him running our site?

Please, turn to him in person

[e-mail]

Or send a message to

[e-mail]

You can also post your comments in this blog! Many thanks in advance!

23 June 2016, letters by Els and Stoimen   Dear members of Khetanes, By the end of this year, 2016, I (Els) will stop my activities as webmaster and creator of www.khetanes.org, after 6 years of hard work. Stoimen Vassilev, Rom, filmmaker and cameraman, director and owner of Forever Video Productions in New Jersey and Avant-Garde Production in New York, is willing to take over. But he can only do so, if other members support him. Khetanes is a NING site and costs 240 Dollar per year. Also the domain name needs to be prolonged in 2017! The domain name could be again www.khetanes.org, but the site could also be renamed. Moreover, Stoimen needs your help in editing the site, in collecting photos and paintings or posting blogs and comments. I (Els) will help Stoimen in the beginning, by giving him access to all files and photos and by explaining how the website works. Soon, however, it must be clear who is going to cooperate and to share the work with him. It is not possible to run the website alone. Therefore, if no one offers assistance to Stoimen, Khetanes will stop to exist by the end of this year, 2016. Please, see the text below, published by Stoimen, in which he introduces himself. He is already website administrator. In case you want to help him continuing the site, then write to him directly, [e-mail],  cc to [e-mail] Many thanks in advance! Els -----------------------------------------------------------------   Hello to all members of Khetanes,   I am very proud to be chosen for this great chance to continue the unconditional and hard work Els de Groen has put into this networking and social media website, which is important for Roma.   In taking this position, I have the responsibility to try: To unite not only Roma, but also non-Roma, who are all willing to work together to break stereotypes of Romani people. To help Roma to show who we really are, and to help those non-Roma who don't know us to understand that we are equal -- in other words, that we are regular people on this planet, just like every other group or nation.    On behalf of all Roma and non-Roma members of "Khetanes," I am very thankful to Els for creating and working on this website for 6 years of her life.  She has given opportunities to both new and established artists to show their work and to connect with all "Khetanes" members. I am looking  forward to working with members, and they can contact me at: [e-mail], if have any questions, concerns, or ideas.                                                            Stoimen Vassilev   25 May 2016,  Letter by Els Dear all, I feel very sorry to pass you the following message: mainly for reasons of health, I have decided to stop my activities for the website of www.khetanes.org For more than 20 years, I have been a human rights activist supporting the Romani cause. It goes without saying that I will continue fighting against Romaphobia and all other expressions of xenophobia and racism. But the work on Khetanes is a load too heavy on the shoulders of only one person. When we started, in 2010, there was a lot of enthusiasm. I want to thank all volunteers who contributed with texts and translations, designs and other activities. At various occasions, Khetanes has been successful, but our work has never been sponsored, we have never been granted funds in spite of our lobby and serious applications. Besides working on an often fulltime basis, I also paid for the cost: travelling, accommodation, notary and the interactive site. Time, however, was my biggest contribution.  I did my utmost to make the site more attractive and to engage more people. Thus, we started the book reviews. No less than 8 people were ready write reviews, but - so far - only a few authors sent us a copy of one of their books. Without books no reviews. The film reviews also stopped and so did other activities. Khetanes can only survive if a team of people is willing to share the work. Those who are interested to take over the site, are kindly requested to send a mail to [e-mail], before September 2016. The yearly contribution is 240 Dollar. If we find enough people interested, the site may continue with the name of another creator, dealing directly with the provider (NING). I won’t let my successor(s) down. I will be happy to support him/her with files, administration matters, posters, sign up manuals and more. All crucial information under the tabs and subtabs has been saved and stored. If no one is interested, I will inform NING (at the latest in September 2016) that Khetanes will stop by the end of this year. I would feel very sad after all the energy invested and the high level of representation reached, but under the circumstances I think it would be better. Kind regards, Els   -------------------------   Chers amis, Je suis désolée de devoir vous informer que – surtout pour des raisons de santé – je me suis décidée d’arrêter mes activités au site de www.khetanes.org Depuis plus de 20 années, j’ai défendu les droits de l’homme des Rroms. Il va sans dire que je continue de lutter contre la Romaphobie et toutes les autres expressions de xénophobie et de racisme. Mais le travail pour Khetanes demande trop d’une seule personne. Au début, en 2010, il y avait toute une équipe et on était bien enthousiaste. Je remercie beaucoup tous ceux qui ont contribué en écrivant des textes, en traduisant, en concevant logos et projets, en faisant mille choses utiles. A plusieurs reprises Khetanes a eu du succès, mais nos efforts n’ont jamais été sponsorisés. On nous a jamais accordé une subvention, malgré notre lobby et nos applications sérieuses. Outre que j’ai souvent travaillé à plein-temps, j’ai aussi payé les frais : frais de déplacement et de séjour, notaire ainsi que la contribution du site interactif. Mais mon temps était en effet ma plus grande contribution. J’ai fait de mon mieux pour rendre le site plus attrayant et pour engager plus de membres. Ainsi on a commencé de publier les critiques littéraires. Un nombre de 8 personnes était prêt à écrire des critiques, mais jusqu’ici seulement quelques auteurs nous ont envoyé un exemplaire représentatif pour leur oeuvre. Sans livres pas de critiques. Aussi les critiques de cinéma ont arrêté, tout comme d'autres rubriques intéressantes. Khetanes ne peut survivre que si une équipe de membres s’occupent du travail, en partageant les tâches. Ceux qui s’intéressent à continuer le site sont cordialement invités de me contacter avant septembre 2016 : [e-mail] La contribution annuelle est 240 Dollar. A condition qu’il y ait un nombre suffisant de membres intéressés, le site pourra continuer au nom d’un autre créateur, en contact direct avec NING, le fournisseur qui réside en Californie. Je ne laisse pas tomber mes successeur(s). C’est avec plaisir que je le/la/les supporte avec des archives, administration, affiches, manuels d’inscription et plus. Toute l’information cruciale que l’on trouve en cliquant les boutons (tabs et subtabs) a été gardée et mémorisée. S’il n’y a pas de successeurs, je vais informer NING, le fournisseur, (au plus tard en septembre 2016) que Khetanes se termine en décembre 2016. Je serais bien triste, après l’énergie consacrée et vu le grand nombre de personnes représentées, mais étant donné les circonstances c’est le meilleur choix. Cordialement, Els