ROMA ARE FREE PEOPLEZdenka SimovaNymburkAugust 2000 The following story was told to me by Mrs. Vejtrubova, an officer at the Social Affairs Department in the Nymburk City Hall . She was very kind and told me about experiences that she has had working there. “I met a very interesting man at a training session recently. […]
Stories & Responses
Even if a Rom were made of solid gold
Author: Pavel HorvathLocation: Kolin[transcribed by Jan Horvath Jr.]I’m eighteen, and I had this bad experience six month ago, when I went into a shop to buy some food. I walked into the shop and already when I took the shopping basket, I noticed the saleswoman looking me over. I picked out some stuff in the […]
Nothing can stand in the way
Author: Jan Horvath, Sr.Location: StudenkaIt all started about four years ago in Brno, where my family was living at the time. In those days I was working with documents in the Museum of Romany Culture. Someone came to see me and introduced himself as Adolf Vesely. He asked me if I could help him see […]
We can speak whatever language we like
Author: Martina HudeckovaLocation: BrnoOne day a friend of mine called Katka and her cousin took a tram to see their aunt. They were speaking Romany. An older man shouted at them to speak Czech. Katka reacted angrily: “It’s none of your business what language we speak. What makes you angry is that you don’t understand […]
We showed the whites that we were also human
Author: Jan Horváth, Sr.Location: StudenkaNot long ago our organization “Romano jilo” (Roma Heart) organized an event with the title “Traditional Romany Folklore and Music.” Whoever organizes similar actions and is active with Romany issues knows what that involves. But we fear nothing and we have demonstrated to the town leaders, to Madame Mayor and the […]
None of our guys would have done anything like that
Author: David FerkoLocation: Usti nad LabemChristine told me this story.“I went to a bank to withdraw some money. As I was waiting in line I was looking around, watching people.Suddenly a big ugly fat guy came up close to me and said, ‘Well, you really gave me some last night. It wasn’t bad.’I stood there […]
My heart flew out of my body and hovered
Author: David FerkoLocation: Usti nad LabemI’ll tell you something that happened to me. I was employed by a company that had a social gathering every year for the employees. We were invited for dinner to a restaurant. We had a great time, drank a little, and – , it was all very nice. It was around eleven […]
I told him that I know them
Author: Ivana Simikova, BrnoLocation: EastWest Institute – PragueI just successfully completed an international project.We had eight young Germans from Leipzig come to our Center in Brno. Four of them were Russian Germans, immigrants from Russia, and three – and the leader – were Germans. They met with our Romany kids and also with Czech students. We spent four days together. We […]
It’s only white people who steal here
Author: Tereza VrbovaLocation: PragueI heard this story from Jana Zavadilová, who sells suitcases and purses in a shop. She is a tidy, slim brunette in her forties. She looks very self-confident, has a high style of expression, and in my view is an ideal shop assistant. She told me this story in a café at […]
If they kick me with those boots, I would not survive
Author: Martina HudeckováLocation: BrnoThis is a story I collected from my mother. It is not a new one, but we remembered it by chance, so I thought it was not a bad idea to write it. My mother is five feet two inches tall. She is, as they say, in her best age. And she […]
Recent Comments