A story and responses to it in Terezin, the former Nazi transport camp in the Czech Republic, during the opening session of ARTS OF TOLERANCE: a review of options for the Stories Exchange Project, 18-19 September 2000Zuzana PodmelovaLecturer, Jewish Museum, PragueTerezin servivorMy life was the standard life of a Jewish person in the Czech lands. […]
John Erwin
Pregnant women are sacred
Lucie HrdlickováPragueSeptember 2000In pregnancy a Romany woman has to cope with various restrictions. According to Romany tradition, pregnant women should not watch horror movies or wild-life programs. The Roma believe that if the woman´s attention were attracted by a monkey and she spent a long time gazing at it, her child would be ugly. At […]
I started to record everything
Author: Lucie ConkováLocation: Usti nad LabemMs. Kondásová has had a lot of bad luck lately and nobody seems to want to help her. I was there when the last thing that she tells about happened. I was listening and boiling with anger."My neighbor Ms. Prosková bought my apartment. She bought it without me realizing it […]
How lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing
Ronan LefkowitzViolinist, Boston Symphony Orchestra [during "Arts of Tolerance” a series of workshops, performances and discussions organized by the Stories Exchange Project, 18-19 September 2000]TerezinCzech RepublicRonan LefkowitzEven before I heard all the details, I imagined exactly what they’re talking about here: the concept of sharing under great hardship, the life lessons that they learned. Zuzana […]
Roms can be helped only by people from abroad
David FerkoUsti nad Labem I think that Roms in the Czech Republic can be helped only by people from abroad, by people in other countries who are interested in Romany issues.In the past the Czech state—the Communist state – didn’t care whether you’re Romany or not. Whereas now it’s difficult for Roms to join a wider community […]
I told him not to lie to my face
Author: Jan Horvath, Jr.Location: KolinTomás Slanina is twenty-two and lives in Kolín."I’m a graduate of hotel school, and one day I decided to go look for a job. I called about ten restaurants. Only two of them were looking for new employees, but both said that they would take me immediately. So I shaved, dressed […]
I’m not a merchant: I’m a student!
Hana KozurikováBýchory11 July 2000In order to finish my third year at the School of Social Work in Prague, I had to work as an intern. The student social worker was supposed to accomplish two things: to learn a lot, and to perform a community service she could be proud of. I had always wanted to […]
He’ll tell you all about the benefits
Author: Eva BajgerovaLocation: Usti nad LabemOne Sunday afternoon I was taking the international fast train from Ustí nad Labem to Brno. I slept the whole way to Kolín, where a group of three young people with backpacks got on and sat right behind me. They were talking very loudly, so I couldn’t help listening.They were […]
Even though our house had been destroyed
Author: Verka Dudi Kot’oLocation: OstravaMy Romany father told me this story. He is now sixty-two."I was born in Slovakia: in Snina, in Humenné county. I had nine sisters and brothers, and I was the second youngest. We lived in a house my father built. I have very bad memories of the War. When I was […]
Mother, why did you abandon me?
David FerkoÚstí nad LabemJune 2000This is what my father told me one day about himself. "I will tell you the story of one boy who had it very bad. His parents were poor, and they lived in a hovel in Slovakia. It was cold there, everything was damp, and the beds stank. He was often […]
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