Gipsy Kings sing for homes

Many European gypsies face discrimination, say charities

The popular music group, the Gipsy Kings, are giving a concert in Bosnia to boost a housing fund for the republic's gypsy population.

The French singers, who fuse flamenco, pop and folk sounds, stepped in after the housing fund became threatened by bureaucratic delays.

The event is taking place in the capital, Sarajevo, and is expected to draw a big audience from the group's worldwide following.

The Bosnian gypsies who will benefit from the concert were promised money from an Italian charity, Nuova Frontiera, to help them build their own houses.

Desperately

They currently live on open land in Sarajevo. The money was due to fund a development of 30 homes.

But the charity's offer was conditional on the work starting by the beginning of August.

With the deadline approaching, the project has been hit by repeated delays in getting planning permission from the local authorities.

That could jeopardise the whole project, and the gypsies now face losing the funds they desperately need.

The Italian charity, which is backing the concert, says Bosnian gypsies are frequently the victims of discrimination.

The funds originally came from the European Commission.