A lot of people have bad experiences with us Roma

Eva BajgerovaRomany Adviser to the Regional GovernmentUsti nad Labem
A lot of people have bad experiences with us Roma.
A man started a store with machines in our neighborhood. Machines for sawing lumber and all that. He repaired the house, and had a new façade put on.
Romany kids were playing ball in front of the house, and as they were kicking all of a sudden there came a bump and the plaster was damaged.
The businessman came to me. "Mrs. Bajgerova, you should do something about the kids. Look, the renovation was so expensive, it cost hundreds of thousands, and now it’s being damaged by the kids.”
I said to him: “Mr.Kocka, have you ever thought of inviting them inside, showing them the beauty you have there?”
So he invited us in.
“I hope they won’t steal anything,” he said. But he welcomed us warmly and showed us everything, even switched all the lights on. The children’s parents came along too.
And the children could see all themachines. They could even touch them.
After a week or two , this man came to me and told me: “Thank you, Mrs. Bajgerova. The kids don’t play ball in front of my house anymore.”
This happened a year ago, and there still hasn’t been any more damage done by our kids.