Roma in Czech Republic
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Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 09:35:13 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: Roma in Czech Republic
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Roma in Czech Republic
Copyright (c) 2001 Radio Prague (Vysilani do zahranici CRo)
News: 05.07.2001
By: Dita Asiedu
Ever less citizens consider themselves members of Roma community
The Czech Republic's Human Rights Commissioner, Jan Jarab has said
that he was surprised by the results of a public census, conducted a
few months ago which showed a significantly low number of people
considering themselves members of the Roma community. Compared to
figures from the last census in 1991, where 32 903 people said they
belonged to the Roma community, this year only 11 716 claimed to be
Romanies. Sociologists have attributed this new trend to growing
tension in Czech society, resulting from clashes between extreme
nationalists and minority groups. Mr. Jarab noted that there were no
official records held of the number of Roma in the Czech Republic, but
that some 150 000 people were estimated to be members of the Roma
community.
Radio Prague, Vinohradska 12, 120 99 Prague, the Czech Republic
tel (+4202) 2155 2971 , fax (+4202) 2155 2971
http://www.radio.cz/
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Short film on attacks on Roma aimed at increasing public awareness
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RADIO PRAGUE (July 3) - The Czech Republic's treatment of its
minority Roma population has frequently been criticised by human
rights organisations and the international community. Observers say
that attacks on Romanies often go unpunished and that the silent
majority seems reluctant to intervene when attacks occur. In a new
short film, a young Czech student at Columbia University's film
school depicts a train ride that turns nasty as two skinheads
gradually begin to taunt a young Roma couple in their carriage. But
as Nick Carey reports, this is one story with a happy ending.
"Trainwreck" is a 17-minute long film, directed by Michal Sedlacek
as part of his studies at Columbia University. In the film, three
young Czechs have just completed their military service, and head
for home by train. They find a compartment containing two young Roma,
a man and a woman. As day turns to night, two of the soldiers,
clearly skinheads, try to provoke and intimidate the couple,
culminating in one of them trying to rape the girl. At this point,
the third soldier, who originally shared their jokes, steps in and
forcibly prevents his companions from continuing their attack.
Michal Sedlacek has been living in the United States for some
years, and says that seeing how the Americans deal with racism
helped inspire him to make this film: "This kind of theme really
interests me, racial tensions, race relations. Not just in the
Czech Republic, but also in the United States. I had the
opportunity to compare how people deal with racial tensions over
there and here. Of course, I feel that the situation is totally
different in the United States to that in the Czech Republic. What
most upsets me is that the silent majority knows clearly what is
right and what is wrong in the United States, and I don't feel that
that is the case in the Czech Republic." The story itself is not
based on true events, but real attacks on the Roma in the Czech
Republic provided the background for the scenes depicted in
"Trainwreck": "It was an inspiration for me. I mean, it was a
totally made up story, it never happened, and I hope it never does.
However, I read in the papers, for instance, about an attack in
Vrchlabi, I believe, where a gypsy [Roma] girl was forced into a
river and she drowned. So, it was definitely inspired by real
events in the Czech Republic." Unlike many of the attacks that have
occurred in the Czech Republic in recent years, Trainwreck has a
happy ending, with the young soldier intervening to save the Roma.
Michal Sedlacek wants the film to serve as a moral tale, to show
Czech audiences the difference between right and wrong: "The film,
I feel, has to give some hope. And I hope that it gives hope, that
there are people willing to stand up against evil, who are willing
to do the right thing, and I think it is important to show what is
right." "Trainwreck" has already received offers from four small
film distributors in the United States, and Michal Sedlacek hopes
that it will be included in national anti-racism campaigns here.
There is a chance that one of the country's television stations will
pick up the film, but unfortunately due to it's length this is not
as easy as one would think. "Unfortunately, it's a short film, so I
don't think that we will see major distribution in movie theatres.
However, I understand that there is a chance that Czech Television
or some private channel here in the Czech Republic might be
interested. It's just seventeen minutes long, so it's not easy to
fit it into the structure of broadcast schedules, but I hope it
will happen."
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