"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 AuschwitzMita Castle-KanerovaInternational Migration OrganizationPragueWe are running a program focused on voluntary returns to the Czech Republic by Roms who have emigrated […]
Being a Citizen
And we want to get into Europe?
Author: Jan Horváth, Sr.Location: StudenkaOn April 23 a Romany boy was walking down a street in the little town of Bílovec, not far from Ostrava. A police car stopped, the policemen slapped and kicked the boy, and threw him into the car. Only when they got to the police station did they explain why he […]
But why should the others be denied entry?
Author: Iveta DirdováLocation: Brno[recorded by Katka Holubová]I’m Romany, twenty-eight years old, and I have two daughters. I also run a group of dancers called Red Rose. A year ago this summer my grandmother registered us at Drom, the Romany cultural center. They were interested in starting a folk dancing group, and because I’m interested in […]
Why people try to make decisions about other people’s lives
Author: Lucie ConkováLocation: Usti nad LabemThough we have the same last name, I am not related to the Conkova in this story.I work in Predlice, a neighborhood in which the population is ninety-eight per cent Romany. When you go there, you are struck by the legacy of the past Communist regime. But recently things have […]
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 […]
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 […]
She paid no attention to us
Author: Emile KondasovaLocation: Usti Nad LabemI went to the welfare bureau with my pregnant daughter and her smallchildren. A woman there treated us very badly: she paid no attention to us.I needed to file papers for a housing allowance, and my daughter wanted to take care of her maternity support and child allowances. When it […]
As a Rom I represented my country
Author: Katerina HolubovaLocation: BrnoThis is a story about me. It all began in 1991 when I was attending an elementary school in Brno, and we got invitations to enroll in a course on self-defense.I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to know how to defend myself – and I was curious too. So I went to the […]
Welcome, Mr. Bishop!
Author: Zuzana Gaborova/Jan OrackoLocation: BrnoI taped this story with my grandfather.Grandpa is seventy-five. He was born in Holmunica, a beautiful village near Tatry in Slovakia. He lived there until his fifties, when he moved with his family to Brno in search of a job and a better life.Grandma was also home when I went to […]
There is hidden discrimination
Author: Rudolf ZajdaLocation: BrnoJan is married with two children, and is presently employed as a Romany Adviser to the County office of Chomutov."I began to be active in Romany issues right after the 1989 revolution. My experience is that Roms are not proud enough of being Roms. During the past regime we could not point […]
Recent Comments