Author: Jan HorvathLocation: Stories Exchange Project Workshop #1EastWest InstitutePragueMy son Romanek is six.When we lived in Brno, Romanek attended a kindergarten. So we wanted to find one for him when we recently moved to Studenka near Ostrava. He’s used to being with other children. The rest of our kids go to school, and he has […]
Stories & Responses
Using stories is the best way to educate people
Monika HorakovaMember of the Czech Parliamentin conversation withJohn W. ErwinDirector, The Stories Exchange ProjectCzech Ministry of Foreign AffairsPrague1 December 2000Jack ErwinWhat good is it, do you think, to do this: to get stories from Roma and Czechs about each other, about their experience of each other? Does that accomplish anything?Monika HorakovaFor sure. I think that […]
They forced me into the car and took me to the police station
This story was told and discussed in Terezin, the former Nazi transport camp in the Czech Republic, during the opening session of a Stories Exchange Project workshop, ARTS OF TOLERANCE.18 September 2000John ErwinDirector, The Stories Exchange ProjectWhat happened in Terezin during World War II continues to happen today throughout Europe and throughout the world – sometimes in […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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