To perceive the insides of words

Rokycany, Czech RepublicFebruary 24, 1996
Ondrej GinaDirector for the Czech Republic, Romani National Congress;formerly, member of the Czechoslovak Federal Parliament
What we were to express in the Stories Exchange Project was feelings: what it means to be starving. We were supposed to play how hungry we were. We were supposed to express it. That was a new experience.
We started to perceive the insides of words.
When we were collecting the stories, I went to talk to my father and started to ask about different things and in a completely different way. I wasn’t only a passive listener, with him telling a story and me listening. I kept asking about concrete things, and I wanted to know more. And so what he went through during his childhood, I understand much better now.
And it was being taped, so I can give it to my son, and he can give it to someone else. What happened to human beings, their life experiences, started to be transmitted. That’s important.
We feel now that we can look into ourpast and understand it better – and then we can speak about it better, and use it in a discussion. We can show that our problem of co-existence with Czechs – the reasons are far back in the past.
Evaluation Interview
THE STORIES EXCHANGE PROJECT(Phase One: 1994-97)