Deputies of three parliamentary subcommittees across the government coalition and the opposition unanimously adopted the definition of anti-Cycanism on Wednesday. “These are prejudices that prevail in society and influence what opportunities we give to children,” explains Lucie Fuková, the government representative for Roma minority affairs, in an interview. If not for her mother’s support, she herself would have ended up in a special school. “I wouldn’t be sitting here today as a government agent,” she says.
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Prague
7:00 a.m March 28, 2024
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“I experienced the period of the 90s of the last century, when I was attacked several times by right-wing extremists,” says Fuková | Photo: Rena Horvátová | Source: Czech Radio
Why does the Czech Republic need a definition of anti-Cycanism?
It has several levels. At the societal level, we must clearly name discriminatory behavior and say out loud that we will not tolerate it. There is a need to frame discrimination and admit that it exists in the Czech Republic and that the Roma face it in their daily lives.
Lucie Fuková
- Lucie Fuková was appointed the first government representative for Roma minority affairs in December 2022.
- He has experience in the non-profit and public sectors. She worked as a Roma advisor and guarantor of Roma inclusion at the Pardubice municipality.
- She completed an internship at the European Commission and then coordinated the European Year of Equal Opportunities under the Office of the Government in 2007.
- She worked as a consultant in the non-profit organization slovo 21.
- In 2013, she led the Green Party candidate in the parliamentary elections in the Pardubice region.
On the political-official level, it can be said that it is one of the tasks of the Roma integration strategy, where it is clearly stated that the Czech Republic should accept this definition. Then we are also bound by the International Organization IHRA, which is the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Czech Republic is a member and we are therefore obliged to accept the definition modeled after the IHRA.
Although House subcommittees have adopted the definition of anti-gypsyism, it will not be legally enforceable. So is it just a symbolic matter?
It is necessary to spread awareness that barriers in Czech society affect almost all Roma, including those who are no different from the majority. They too have problems getting good jobs and quality housing.
Their children are faced with anti-Roma attitudes in regular elementary schools, for example, that their classmates do not want to talk to them, that they curse at them. This applies not only to other students, but also to teachers.
The definition of anti-gypsyism should name and condemn all of this. Teachers in schools should be educated about the fact that Roma can also be influenced by their previous negative experience with authorities, state institutions and schools. Because precisely these prejudices, which exist both on the part of the Roma and on the part of the majority, clearly prevent the Roma from having a better position in society.
Prejudice results in Roma not having equal access to education and employment. They live on the fringes of society in excluded locations, are dependent on social benefits and are not afforded a dignified life. It is therefore necessary to create a policy that accentuates the existence of such discriminatory attitudes.
The Czech Republic has many laws that should support this policy, such as the school law on inclusion. The problem, however, is that the situation of the Roma has not improved much in many areas.
There are still 130 segregated schools in the Czech Republic. You often put the segregation of Roma pupils in the context of anti-Roma attitudes. Can you please elaborate on what effect prejudices have on the education of Roma pupils?
Eighteen years ago, the Czech Republic lost at the European Court of Human Rights, when eighteen Roma pupils turned against the state. It is a groundbreaking judgment, which is pointed out not only by Czech legislators, but also by international organizations.
Even so, there are still ethnically segregated schools in the Czech Republic. It is sometimes difficult for the Czech majority society to believe that discrimination against Roma also extends to schools, but what really still happens is that Roma children have a greater chance of being diagnosed with a mild mental disability than children from the majority and are then reassigned to special schools. It’s not that they are dumber or have brain damage.
Anti-Cycanism
Anti-Zikanism, i.e. discrimination against Roma is the expression and actions of individuals, strategies and practices of institutions that lead to marginalization or exclusion of Roma, devaluation of Roma culture and lifestyle, physical violence or expressions of hatred directed against Roma and other individuals and groups that are considered “gypsies” . For this reason, they are stigmatized, or they were the target of persecution during the Nazi era, and sometimes unfortunately even today.
These are prejudices that prevail in society and influence what opportunities we give children and what kind of start they will have in life.
You mentioned at the committee in the Chamber of Deputies that you have personal experience with the awarding of this diagnosis.
At preschool age, I was examined by a lady from a child psychology clinic. During the examination, Ferda showed me the ants. She asked me what I was seeing, so I said, yes, “married Ferda the ant from Lola Šátkoh”. It means: “Ferda the ant with the red scarf”.
After the examination, the lady from the counseling center told my mother that I couldn’t do anything and that I would go to a remedial class, from which I would almost 100% go to a special school and have no chance of getting into university. I would not be sitting here today as a government agent.
At the time, my mother defended me because I was describing Ferda the ant correctly, but I was using Romani words. I then entered a regular school and within a few months learned to distinguish between Czech and Romani.
I was the only Roma in the class. All my peers ended up in special schools, and if it weren’t for my mother’s support, I would have ended up there too. And that is the fate that befalls Roma children even today.
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Can you imagine that you get up in the morning, find yourself, go to work, and already on the bus they look at you strangely or constantly check whether you have a ticket. Then you go to buy rolls and they check you again to see if you are stealing. And so your day goes on.
It is daily bread for Roma families. The children do not feel well at school, the teacher sits on them and the classmates do not want to sit next to them. We should not be surprised that the Roma do not trust institutions, schools, the doctor, the police, when visiting the office and so on.
Has the definition of anti-gypsyism been accepted in other countries?
Yes, it was adopted in several countries, for example in Great Britain, and Matt Field, the British ambassador in Prague, supported its adoption in the Czech Republic. He wrote to Senate President Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) with a request that the Senate discuss the definition.
Great Britain has a really good track record in education. Their emphasis on promoting diversity helped many Czech Roma who moved to Britain. There are many Czech Roma who live in Great Britain, study at universities and have good jobs. They are much further along in this area than we are.
In addition to several embassies, we are also supported by the Federation of Jewish Communities, which realizes that it is important for this topic to enter political discourse, social events, the media and ordinary elementary schools, just as it did with the label anti-Semitism.
At the meeting of the parliamentary subcommittee, it was heard that although the definition of anti-gypsyism will not be legally binding, it may have an impact on the decisions of the courts. How?
The definition gives the court a specific framework and definition of what is wrong. Judges can then, for example, better assess the motives of the perpetrator of the crime and whether he may have had anti-Roma attitudes.
What about “Roma” versus “Gypsy”? Does the Roma community mind the label “gypsy”? In Germany, the union Feel Allianz Deutschland (one of the two German gypsy unions) supports the view that the name Roma is actually discriminatory, while it considers the term Gypsy to be neutral and correct as it includes all gypsy national groups.
There is a discussion about this. For me, the designation “Roma” also includes other sub-groups of Roma. Although I mostly use the term “Roma and Sinti”.
The word gypsy has its historical justification, and that is that the Atsingáns, the original designation of a group of people who looked a lot like Roma, although they were not Roma, moved in the territory of Greece in the 11th century.
When they traveled through Europe, it was said: “The Atsingani are coming”. In every language this word somehow took root. We use gypsy, gypsy, cigojne, gypsy and the like.
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It is a designation that has been recognized for a long time and has been used for centuries, however, as part of the Romani revival and the building of the Romani movement, the word Rom began to be used. Therefore, since 1971, there has been talk about the Roma language, the Roma flag, the Roma anthem and about the Roma.
In the Czech Republic, this term was introduced in 1989. For me, it is more politically correct. However, we Roma often use the term “gypsies” within our communities and family.
That definition of anti-gypsyism does not mean that no one is allowed to use the word gypsy, but rather that the word should not be used as a slur or with a pejorative connotation. I consider this unacceptable. Unlike the word “gypsy”, which is often used as a swear word, I have never heard anyone call someone “you Roma”.
Anna Košlerová
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