Page 2 of cover
Help in the Case of Lost Residence - Takeaway of Children
Interview with Marta Pompová, Romany consultant for Sokolov, is a good example of a Romany advisor supporting the institution employing her, that is the city council. Instead of defending justified interests of the Romany citizens exposed to discrimination both by institutions and by private businessmen she publicly identifies Romany people as liars and deceivers unable to save and overspending instead. This in her opinion is the main reason why they are at risk of loss of residence. Although she has herself purchased a three-roomed flat of category I from the town of Sokolov she did nothing to give the Romany families the same possibility. She denies the conviction of other Romany organisations (Romany Civic Association of Karlovy Vary) that Romany residence in Sokolov is a social time bomb. The lady advisor is very much valued by the city officials, as we have personally found out.

Romany are Lazy, University Maintains
Miroslav Barták, Professor at the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague, claims racial intolerance at his lectures on agro-ecology and inspires hatred not only against Romany but also against all other handicapped social groups. “Even if you hired a thousand Gypsies, it will be no good, they will not work anyway.” “What is the difference between a sick human long-term tied to bed and a pig in a shed? None.” In the opinion of the professor the social level of both is the same and their rights should be the same too. A number of students do not agree with him and a student representative has addressed our editorial office. The university management, however, takes a buck passing approach to the opinions of Professor Barták, unwilling to take the necessary steps. In the opinion of certain legal experts the professor has not implement the facts of criminal offence of inspiring racial hatred.
By Pavel Vokatý

Mayor Asks Us for Help - Mayor Wants to File Petition against Us
We take an example of two cities, Kutná Hora and Jaroměř, to demonstrate two different approaches of municipal councils to the Romany community. While Kutná Hora has addressed us with a request for help in solving problems related to its Romany inhabitants, the mayor of Jaroměř threats with a petition against us for our article on “Slap to Government Policy of Romany Integration“ and the note on the cover “How to Steal a House” published in the September issue of Amaro gendalos. There we questioned the method adopted by the city for the purpose of depriving a Romany family of a house owned by them and situated in the central city square.

Page 1
What They Think of Us
Acceptable Hatred
Information taken over from British press and concerning manifestations of hatred of British citizens against Romany community, especially its part living in Britain for centuries. We use an example of citizens of a small town of Firle in Sussex who made an imitation of a residential trailer, added the label “Gypsies” and set the trailer on fire. The article points out the fact that while manifestations of intolerance of British citizens against members of other minority nations, such as Pakistanis or Jews, are unacceptable, manifestations of hatred against Romany people are acceptable, even on the top political management level. A good example is the former Minister of the Interior, Mr. Jack Straw. “They believe to be absolutely acceptable to cause chaos, to steal, rob cars, cause trouble, including poo-pooing in the entrance doors of companies.” The article suggests that the hatred against nomadic Romany population in fact means: “I envy people whose instinct tells them to move freely and not to let grey existence in a single place limit them.”
By Štěpán Kotrba

Education - Cure for Unemployment
We take the example of Austria to point out to the fact that advanced Western European countries lack most workforce in the areas of unqualified or little qualified jobs. The head of the labour office of České Budějovice (the area from which many Czech inhabitants leave for Austria for work) confirms this. A similar situation is developing in the Czech Republic too. “In the Czech Republic, like in Austria, people willing to work with their hands are fewer and fewer every year,” Director Loukota says. These facts are questioned by the widespread cliché that lack of qualification is the main reason for high unemployment among the Romany community. The government and international institution supported educational programmes of work with computers, accounting, rudiments of business, namely government support for Romany secondary school students, will probably miss the target of reduction of unemployment.
By Marek Kerles

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Commentary
Ash from Crematorium is Easy to Disperse
Full wording of the article here
By Jakub Polák

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Moving About
The article is based on the idea of a children game in which the players mutually change their positions at a signal and as there is one position less one player falls out after each round. Our external collaborator, Romany advisor at Nymburk, talks with Deputy Mayor of the town. She would like to know his opinion on practices of the nearby Pardubice, criticised in her report published in the last issue of Amaro gendalos under the title “They Are Crazy in Pardubice“. The author would like to make sure that the self-government of her town will not apply the same measures of exclusion of the socially weakest from honest residence. She is worried about the plans of the city that might result in the poorest to lose their residence. She is also worried about the fact that families used to living together will be dispersed and that new apartments will be too expensive for them. “For some time I have dealt with consideration whether the Romany community should live together or separated and surrounded and affected by the Czech mentality.” AT the end of the interview the author accepts with a certain amount of sceptic the information of the Deputy Mayor that Nymburk is not going to build barrack-like dormitories like Pardubice.
By Hana Kožuriková

Page 4
Commentary
Nice or Nasty towards Your Nazi
Full wording of the article here
By Petr Záras
Page 5

Report
Romany Usury
Transcription of a programme of public TV channel ČT 2 on usury practices of the British company Provident Financial, focusing in the Czech Republic and other post-communist countries on provision of the so called quick loans to socially weak groups, especially Romany people, for whom standard bank products are inaccessible. The programme also included appearance of our colleague, lawyer JUDr. Jana Chalupová. The criticism of Provident, launched in the August issue of Amaro gendalos, is further supported by the former employee of the company Marta Slivková, who left the company for the reason of disproval with its usury practices. The legal opinion that activities of Provident Financial represent facts of criminal offence of usury is shared by leading economists and politicians. Jan Mádek, economist and Social Democratic deputy, says: “This is not OK, this is nothing else by usury.” Bad conscience of Provident is supported by the failed attempt of editors of Czech Television to speak with the company representatives. The company cancelled an agreed meeting and called armed guards against the editors.

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Dialogue
Dialogue with Deaf
Response to the article of one of the leading Czech journalists, Jaroslav Jírů, on “Assimilation or Ghetto“, published by the Právo daily. Jaroslav Jírů point out problems with ethnic minorities in western countries, especially France and Germany, warning that even in the Czech Republic there are more and more Muslim and black families, let alone the larges minorities - Vietnamese and Ukrainians. Jírů says that there are two or three foreign children in each class of a larger school, coming to the conclusion that multicultural development, especially after EU accession, cannot be diverted and that the Czech society is not yet ready for the development. Our chief editor responds to that with a reflection called “False Dilemma and Lost Chances“, stating with regret that the more enlightened part of Czech journalists and general public do not perceive the Romany community as ethnic minority and are not even willing to consider equal rights of the Romany population and other minority nations and ethnics. Czech practice ignores principles stipulated by international treaties and in the national constitution. The already widespread xenophobic practice of state authorities culminates in their approach to local citizens - Romany citizens - where the authorities do not want to respect even those rights otherwise - even if not very readily - assigned to immigrants. The author of the article documents this with an example of a seminar organised in the Czech Republic by the European Council in mid nineties on “Status and Rights of Immigrants and Minority Nations and Ethnics”. The Ministry of the Interior as the co-organiser did not even think of applying the same definition to the Romany community. Later the author in cooperation with other non-governmental organisations managed to make the Ministry of the Interior invite to the discussion a quite representative group of Romany personalities headed by president of the then strongest Romany organisation, Romany Civic Initiative, Mr. dr. Emil Ščuka. Unfortunately, the “Romany representation” did not make use of the chance to defend the status of the Romany population on an international forum. Who made good use of the chance were traditional creators of Romany strategy of the Government. The only Romany then turning up in the government villa was dr. Vlado Olah. “Otherwise just empty chairs with name tables were there as tombstones of lost chance to lend European dimension to the Romany issue.“ The then hot issue of the clearly discriminating Civic Act, very destructively affecting most Romany inhabitants of the Czech Republic, might have made the issue one of the main themes of the seminar. If a positive change was brought about by the seminar, then it was no merit of the “Romany representation”. The author comes to the conclusion that even the present form of the government concept of Romany integration only offers a false dilemma to them - assimilation or ghetto.
By Jakub Polák

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It Would Be So Easy…
Reflection on lack of flexibility of current law resulting in lack of flexibility of state authorities and regional governments in solutions of problems of the poorest inhabitants that cannot but get into conflict with a number of dead standards. There are unused possibilities of jobs for the unemployed within the municipal needs. Limited outlook and preference for particular interests o individual municipalities makes it even impossible to find a solution where the existing law would allow it.
By Pavel Kaliáš

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Report
When Talking About Her past Her Face Is Ice Cold
Making use of materials accessible in majority media and own experience of the author the article reflects on whether halfway houses, whose construction is currently supported by the State, are the best solution for the Romany people. The article takes a comparison with standard practice of Great Britain and other Western European countries preferring preservation of the original family to institutional care. The practice increasingly being adopted in our country reminds of the regime before 1989, when placements of children in children homes was considered universal cure of all problems - recently including loos of residence. Stay in children home mainly affects Romany children, resulting in complete alienation from the original family and break of the traditional bonds. Particular examples are used to demonstrate that neither halfway houses nor any other paternalistic care can secure Romany integration into the majority society.

Hospital at the Outskirts
The issue of hidden racism is pointed out with the help of the example of the popular TV series “Nemocnice na okraji města“ [Hospital at the outskirts of the city]. The new series includes the character of a Romany nurse. Unfortunately, the presence of a Romany character is not taken for granted, as needed in ordinary life. “When the head nurse talks about recruitment of new nurses, she comments on (or justifies) recruitment of the Romany candidate by the fact that she was the best for she did not fail when a teaser was prepared for her at the entrance examination. If this mission is to apply to Romany people in general, then their future is no ideal. Note that the teaser was not prepared for every candidate, but just for the Romany candidate, and on purpose, as the head nurse emphasises. To get the position it was not sufficient for the Romany candidate to be as good as the others, she had to be better…An average member of a minority has no chance to assert itself among average members of the majority.“
By Petr Záras

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What Has Happened
Government Wants to Count Romany Population
One of the head commentators of the Lidové Noviny daily takes a critical reflection on the government intention to count Romany population. Unlike the government representatives the journalist realises the risks of the intention. Regardless the number of Romany people who would state their Romany nationality at the census he knows that assimilation as offered by the most recent government documents is not on the way. It is clear that journalists are in better contact with the reality than government officials.
By Martin Zvěřina

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At Neighbours
Sibiu - Do We Have the Right to Judge?
An attempt at a complex view of the issue opened by the royal wedding of children in Sibiu, from the historic, sociological and legal points of view. The article does not escape a small moral reflection: If the European society is unable to offer to Rumanian Romany people effective solutions to their desperate problems then where does it take the right to interfere with their centuries old and functioning structures? The author ensures the readers that she is not governed by the romantic idea that all that is traditional, and Romany, deserves admiration. She just expresses lack of trust for established truths, especially those asserted from the position of power.
By Jana Chalupová

Page 11
At Neighbours
Sibiu Wedding Another Way
The author offers a different - liberal - approach, emphasising rights of individual.
By Node Slayable

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Interview
How to Build Romany Centre
Interview. A Romany businessman of Karin and president of North Moravian Romany Association speaks about how the largest Romany centre in the Czech Republic was built in Karviná. The former mayor of Karviná and the present head of the Centre, Mr. Kuznik, describes the gradually developing new activities of the Centre, currently focusing on the youth.
By Jana Chalupová, Pavel Kaliáš

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Regional News
Romany Translation Was A Problem
Report of the first year of Miss Roma of dance parties in Nymburk. Unlike the traditional competitions of its kind this one was extended by the discipline of translations from Czech to Romany. The organisers approached the competition with humour, as is evidenced by examples of the sentences for translation: “When I was small, I attended a park instead of school and there I was discovered by the police. One of the policemen fell in love with me.“ “We eat ribs every Sunday at home, and when we do not have them on Sunday, then we eat them on Monday and then every day until Saturday.“
Hana Kožuriková

A Case Full of Memories
Humorous stories of Anička Dzurková of Nymburk about her father and grandfather travelling for job.
Hana Kožuriková

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At Neighbours
Two Poems
Margita Reiznerová
Romany and Czech versions of two poems by the famous Romany poet: Kamav te vakrel (I want to speak), Te merel kamav! (I want to die!).

Romany Life in Belgium
The founder of the Association of Romany Authors and this journal, later forced to leave the Czech Republic, talks about Romany emigrants and their lives.
By Margita Reiznerová

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History
Romany Communal Policy After 1989
Full wording of the article here
By Jana Chalupová, Jakub Polák

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Interview
Interview with Přemysl Pergler
Přemysl Pergler has been consultant for Romany community affairs hired by the Government Council to take part in the revision of the Government Concept of Romany Community Integration. The consultant introduces the methodology of the concept creation, making use of his foreign experience and emphasising attention to each comment. He does not consider it correct to just have a narrow group comment on the issue without a wide dialogue.
By Jana Chalupová, Jakub Polák

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Dialogue
New Dimensions of Bad Journalism
Government representative for human rights responds to the criticism of the Concept of Romany integration, published in the last issue of Amaro gendalos, rejecting the full scope of it.
By Jan Jařab

Page 23
Dialogue
“No Romany” or The Art of Embarrassment”
The chief editor replies to the Government Representative pointing out that his response is based on personal attacks, not on factual arguments.
By Jakub Polák

Page 25
Dialogue
Play for National Indentity
A polemic reflection on the relationship of human to its nationality and on the definition of nationality from the viewpoint of the Constitution and international treaties. The approach adopted by the government materials is considered rather simplifying.
By Jana Chalupová

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Dialogue
Routine of Experienced Politician
Response to the appearance in media of Jan Jařab, Government Representative for Human Rights, who, in the opinion of the author, insufficiently opposes views and prejudices of communal politicians and spreads unsupported statements such as that Romany community do not require Romany schools or self-government.
By Pavel Kaliáš

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Dialogue
Anarchists Do Not Want to Lead Anyone
Reaction on a statement of Jan Jařab. The author uses a number of facts to document that the statement of Jan Jařab that Jakub Polák, chief editor of Amaro gendalos, is anarchist who wants to dictate his will to others is a contradiction in terms. “I think that when he speaks about Jakub Polák he rather describes himself. “.
By Ondřej Slačálek

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