ARTS OF TOLERANCEWorkshops, Performances and Discussions organized by the Stories Exchange Project 18-19 September 2000TerezinCzech RepublicUnidentified Questioner Was the religious life very strong here in Terezin?Helga Weissova-HoskovaWell, the Jewish people who came here were on all different levels as far as religion is concerned. There were Orthodox people, and there were secular Jews. In Bohemia […]
John Erwin
The door is open
Monika HorakovaMember, Czech Parliamentspeaking atStories Exchange Project 2000: Workshop IEastWest InstitutePrague6 December 1999I think that Roms are participating as much as they can right now. There are more than a hundred citizen associations, and two Romany political parties. But there are two questions: how much support is there for Romany activities? how can Roms solve […]
It’s a good thing to be a gypsy
Author: Katka HolubovaLocation: BrnoThis happened to Marta when she was ten. She was in the fifth grade.They were learning a poem by Karel Jaromir Erben. Marta was very sensitiveabout one verse: "Let the Gypsies finally be quiet.”Marta was ashamed to say that.When she recited the poem in class, the teacher had to correct her for […]
I wanted to be a Gypsy boy
Katerina SidonovaPragueWhen I was a little girl, my father used to come to my room every night as I was about to go to sleep and tell me a bedtime story. He told me stories about Janosik, a robber from Slovak mountains who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. He told me […]
Slavery was like what happened in Terezin, and we’re still wrestling with its legacy
"New Roles for Roma in an Integrated Europe?”Session III, ARTS OF TOLERANCEDiscussions, Workshops and Performances organized by the Stories Exchange Project in Terezin, formerly a Nazi concentration camp from which Jews were sent to AuschwitzJohn ShattuckU.S. Ambassador to the Czech RepublicWe should remember where we are right now: we’re in Terezin. And this is the […]
I’d like to be a stewardess on Czech Airlines
John ErwinDirector, The Stories Exchange ProjectNew York "Well – I think… Really, I think I’d like to be a stewardess on Czech Airlines.”It’s 1993, and Irina is standing in the center of her grandmother’s kitchen in Prague: tall, slender, tentative. About sixteen. She smiles, then tosses her head – as if to free it from wanting what she too […]
The number of educated Roma is increasing
Monika HorakovaMember of the Czech Parliamentin conversation withJohn W. ErwinDirector, The Stories Exchange ProjectCzech Ministry of Foreign AffairsPrague1 December 2000Jack ErwinWhat kind of school did you go to in Brno, Monika? Monika HorakovaI studied psychology at the Philosophical Faculty.Jack ErwinI was thinking about when you were younger, but – what was your experience at university?Monika HorakovaIt was […]
Don’t close up!
ARTS OF TOLERANCE Workshops, Performances and Discussions organized by the Stories Exchange Project Terezin Czech Republic 18 and 19 September 2000 Eva Bajgerova Romany Advisor Regional Government Office Usti nad Labem I think the worst thing that can happen to Roms is to close up. There’s one thing that I’m happy about: that young people are willing to communicate – not only […]
Now I can’t get rid of him
Author: David Ferko, Usti nad LabemLocation: Stories Exchange Project Workshop #4EastWest InstitutePragueI never used to get along with my father. We had conflicts over money, and we were always getting into arguments.But when this project started I went to my father and asked him if he could tell me a story. He said to me, […]
She didn’t give a damn about education
Author: David SvarcLocation: BerounI.17 March 2000It’s raining. I watch the drops slide down the window. Anna is crying. I see tears running down her cheeks. It’s Friday afternoon and she is restless, waiting for visitors to fill her apartment with noise and laughter. Soon she will get to see her children again. It’s been quite […]
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