Category Archives: Czech Republic

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

A Historian on Lety

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Anna Míšková, a co-creator of the Lety exhibition, described the creation of the camp, life and death within it, and also talked about the pre-war position of the Roma in Czech society. She said that even before the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, there were proposals for the establishment of labour camps, there was often an effort to expel the Roma from the territory of the municipalities where they lived.

Well, nearly all Roma from Czechia died in the Holocaust.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Prague: Kali Sarah

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The first annual Kali Sara festival will take place in Prague on May 18, 2024 in the premises of PVA Letňany. The festival is inspired by the traditional meeting of Roma in the French village of Saintes Marie de la Mer and the feast of Saint Sarah, who for many is a symbol of Roma identity and faith.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Lety

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The memorial of the Genocide of the Roma in the camp of Lety, Czechia, will be open to the public on Sunday the 12th of May.

What is interesting in this article is that it states that ‘The participation of Czech gendarmes and camp commanders in the genocide of the Roma during the Second World War was denied throughout the forty years of communism. The taboo after the revolution was broken by historian Ctibor Nečas”

As a reminder, less than 40 Roma families from present Day Czechia survived the Holocaust.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Khamoro Festival

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From June 1st onward, the 26th edition of the Khamoro festival in Prague will bring nnbridled flamenco in a modern guise, energetic Olaš (Vlach) chapáš, Macedonian brass band, bravura gypsy jazz, but also film screenings and a gastronomic show.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia: Attack

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Czechia: Attack

A young Roma family from Svitavy was the victim of an attack by an older man who allegedly racially abused them and threatened them with death. He apparently even pointed an unloaded gun at the partner of a young Roma woman and pulled the trigger. The incident took place on Friday, May 3, around 6 p.m., when the woman and her friend stopped their car at a relative’s house. The police confirmed to the news website Romea.cz that they are investigating the case, but did not prove a racial motive for the attack even though he called them “black monkeys”.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Holocaust in Czechia

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A new book by the Historian Jiří Smlsal, relates how not only were the Czech Roma killed during the war, but their property was simply seized. No Roma were ever compensated for this.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Czechia: Attack and a Demonstration

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A video from last Monday showed a Ukrainian speaking man attacking a Rom in Kutná Hora, Czechia. Some other Ukrainians dragged him away.

Roma demonstrated in the town following the attack.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Mayor and Roma

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The deputy and mayor of Brno’s Černovice, Petra Quittová (STAN) made derogatory comments about a Roma family. Now many ask for her resignation. She still refuses.

She was answering questions in the municipal council on a house that is now inhabited by a Roma family. Quittová responded that the house was sold through a real estate agency, the sellers were a couple she knows personally. “They sold it to…, yes, to people, um, others, I don’t know how to say it now, simply to Roma, whom we got rid of, whom we got rid of a few years ago from Staré Černovice, who moved to Slavkov near Brno, and these people simply bought it from our people, whom I know, because they gave the highest bid,” said the mayor.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Amnesty on Czechia

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Amnesty criticised the Czech Republic for the discrimination faced by Ukrainians and for the school segregation for Roma. The latter has not improved over the last 20 years.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Lety

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Lety

Many articles in the Czech press about the inauguration of the Lety Memorial in presence of the Czech president Petr Pavel.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Roma Discrimination

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An editorial on discrimination of Roma in Czechia, but also on the comparison to other European states such as Germany and Spain. Conclusion is, well, while in other states discrimination does exist, at least it is being fought again. While in Czechia …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Romane Paramisja

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A new book of Romani Tales from the former Czechoslovakia originally recorded by Milena Hübschmannová, a well-known Romologue, was just published in Czechia. In contrast to older books of Roma tales that were extremely successful in Czechoslovakia in the 60s and 70s, these tales were not severely edited to make them more “palatable” to a non-Romani audience. This newer book present stories that are thus quite different. Raw, dishevelled, expressive; disorganized, full of digressions, the irregular structure sometimes makes readers dizzy.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Prague and Roma

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In March, the final conference of the “Together we are developing Roma civil society” project took place in the Svornost hotel in Prague. This project, which started in October 2021 and ends in April 2024, aimed to support the development of Roma civil society in Prague.

The RomPrague association, as an umbrella organization of other non-profit entities, established a platform on which, by setting up regular and systematic cooperation of Roma non-profit organizations, the foundations were laid for mutual exchange of information and discussion not only between representatives of these organizations, but also representatives of city districts, the City Hall of Prague and other entities whose touches on the integration of Roma.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Pre-kindergarten in Ostrava

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A class for Roma children recently opened in Ostrava. Its goal is to make it easier for them to start kindergarten. According to the Ostrava organization Vzájemne sožižití, up to a quarter of Roma children do not go to kindergartens. Therefore, in one of the local community centres, they started operating a product called Brouček, which children can go to before starting kindergarten.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

IHRA’s Definition of Antitziganism

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The Czech Senate, like the government, adopted the definition of anti-Roma racismn, i.e. so-called anti-Tziganism. However, when compared to the government’s proposal, the senate modified its version of the non-legally binding definition to be more in line with the English original, which was established in 2020 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Role Models

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Nikolas Petik, a successful Rom, is part of a program that goes into schools to tell the story of successful Roma to motivate younger Roma to study.

The event is intended to motivate children and their parents for personal development and education, and at the same time introduce the general public to inspiring Roma personalities who overcame a number of obstacles on their way to success. Lucie Fuková, the government commissioner for the affairs of the Roma minority and a native of Pardubice, will also be present.

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