Author: Tereza VrbovaLocation: PragueMy uncle Jan Vrba, a hardworking, well-traveled man in his early sixties, tells this story.“When I was a kid I didn’t know any Gypsies. I paid very little attention to that sort of travelling people. I had heard that they often put up their camp close to landfills outside our suburbs. And […]
Stories & Responses
No agreement on minority rights will turn fools into better people
Author: Honza CernyLocation: Usti nad LabemI went to Romania as a member of a Czech delegation to participate in a seminar on the protection of minorities. The seminar was organized under the auspices of the Romanian government and the EU and took place in Praedal, a beautiful Transylvanian town. Most of the fifty-odd participants were […]
It’s black and white
Author: Hana KozurikovaLocation: Libice nad CidlinouOne day when I was on my way home from a friend’s house I saw a pond by the side of the road and decided to take a dip. When I’d hit the grass to catch some sun, I saw a young couple trying to convince their little girl to […]
What a bunch of ungrateful shits
Author: Honza CernyLocation: Usti nad LabemMaticni Street in Usti nad Labem was the location of a wall which Czech residents built in 1999 between themselves and their Romany neighbors.The “tent-in” protest of Romany activists against the Maticni wall took place last fall. The weather was cold and rainy, and we offered the group shelter in […]
Are you surprised that some of us emigrate?
Author: Vera GynovaLocation: Kolin[transcribed by Jan Horvath, Jr.]Every young person wants to have fun: that’s natural. These days you have places to go, and you have your favorite disco. Of course if they don’t want to let you in because your skin is darker than theirs, that’s not so good. Probably every Rom, like me, […]
We’re trying to make the horse thirsty
Author: Tereza VrbováLocation: PragueLast week our friend Filip came to visit us, and we thought we could ask him to tell us a story. Filip is about thirty, quite handsome and an introvert – unless he grabs a drink. For several years he’s been living in a housing estate in Prague. There’s a Romany community there as […]
They have a dog too and know what it’s like
Author: Tereza Vrbová and Ludek ŠtastnýLocation: PragueWe heard this story in a pub from Bóda, a barfly, on Friday, June 30. Bóda seems to have no family name. He is between thirty and eighty, and looks like an unsuccessful imitator of Lou Reed who decided to drown his sorrows in beer. We don’t know whether […]
They seldom stop to think
Author: Martina HudeckováLocation: BrnoVery few people know about the Tour of Tolerance. At least, as a member, that’s how I see it.The week before Easter I went with the Tour to Havírov and Karviná in the Ostrava region, where the statistics say that there are the most racially motivated attacks. I didn’t know what to […]
For a moment, she was beautiful
Author: Eva Bajgerova/Ms. ZapasnikovaLocation: Usti nad LabemMs. Zapasnikova is about fifty, a simple woman but a great storyteller.She told me this story in my office, where she likes to come. She always tells me something new and interesting."I was about fifteen when some boys from our village were playing in a cafe in Rimavska Sobota. […]
Imagine a stretch of road eight kilometers long
Author: Jiri ValecekLocation: OstravaOne weekend my friend Kamil and I went to a dance in Holasovice. We had a good time as usual. We had a few beers, we chased babes and the time went quickly. So we missed our train and had to walk home: about twelve kilometers. And it was raining. We were […]
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