Czech Republic

Czech documentary film about xenophobia, "Czechs versus Czechs", wins special honor at Jihlava film festival

1.11.2015 20:46 Tomáš Kratochvíl's documentary film "Czechs versus Czechs" (Češi proti Čechům) has won special recognition at the documentary film festival in Jihlava "for the impressive use of film as a personal journal to break down social prejudices and stereotypes". The director made the film in the Romani ghetto of Předlice, where he lived for eight months.  full story

Czech Republic: Building owner demolishing controversial properties on Přednádraží Street in Ostrava

31.10.2015 16:47 The buildings on Přednádraží Street in Ostrava from which about 25 Romani families had to move away two years ago have been under new ownership since mid-October. After several unsuccessful auctions, the buildings were bought for almost CZK 600 000 (EUR 22 000) by the Ostrava Engineering and Repair Plant (Ostravské opravny a strojírny), which also owns a production facility nearby.  full story

Czech Republic: Hidden camera captures reactions to a refugee family from Syria

31.10.2015 15:17 The organizers of the Czech Government project "HateFree Culture" decided to test the approach taken by people in the Czech Republic toward refugees when they meet them face to face. The project sent a Syrian family with a young child to Kolín and to several neighboring villages in Central Bohemia.
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Czech Republic: Romani councilor charged with marijuana sale faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted

30.10.2015 23:05 Czech State Prosecutor Hana Řeháková has filed an indictment with the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem against Marcel Cichý, a Romani member of the Trmice town council who is allegedly involved in a four-member group of drug dealers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The group worked in the Ústí Region and is said to have sold marijuana and methamphetamine there between October and December of last year.  full story

Germany: Unidentified perpetrator spray-paints "Gas them" on Romani Holocaust memorial in Berlin

30.10.2015 22:37 Yesterday in Berlin an unidentified perpetrator has damaged the memorial to Romani people murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War. Police and security services are investigating the case.  full story

Czech Education Minister's new press spokesperson to be Romani journalist Jarmila Balážová

30.10.2015 21:19 TÝDEN.cz reports that Jarmila Balážová, who until recently worked as press spokesperson for Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier, is changing positions and will become press spokesperson for Czech Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Kateřina Valachová in November. TÝDEN reports that the Education Minister chose her as spokesperson especially because the two women are already friends.  full story

Commentary: Czech Interior Minister's praise of President echoes communism

30.10.2015 18:46 The main thing we need is peace and quiet for our work, and we won't let any of these "elements" disrupt it. That used to be a favorite phrase of communist functionaries during the previous regime.  full story

Three-fifths of Czechs against EU membership because of refugee reception quotas

29.10.2015 9:04 Dissatisfaction is growing among the Czech public with the country's membership in the European Union, which according to sociologists is connected to the complicated handling of the current refugee crisis. A survey published by the STEM agency last week documented that three-fifths of Czechs are now dissatisfied with the country's EU membership and would vote against entry if the referendum to join were held today  full story

Czech Republic: Hateful demonstrations against refugee reception in several cities

28.10.2015 23:12 In Brno, Prague, and several other cities in the Czech Republic, hundreds of people gathered today for demonstrations against migration, with police in Brno estimating that about 1 500 people turned out. Most of the events (the ones in Brno, Ostrava, Prague and Ústí nad Labem) were convened by the Bloc against Islam (Blok proti islámu) and Dawn-National Coalition (Úsvit-Národní koalice).  full story

Czech Republic: Romani preschool teacher knows change is possible

28.10.2015 8:34 Božena Horváthová teaches Romani preschoolers on Cejl Street in Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city. In a reportage broadcast by Czech Television last month, she described her greatest dream as follows: "You know what I envision? For us to not be 'sidelined', for us to be involved in society. For our children to study and have beautiful professions. I have managed this with my own children and I know it can be done. I know this can be changed."
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Czech Republic deporting Afghan family whose case came before the European Court of Human Rights

28.10.2015 7:13 The Czech Republic will be releasing an Afghan family from the Bělá-Jezová detention facility in the Mladá Boleslav district after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg called on the Czech authorities to transfer them to a different facility. The Czech Interior Ministry, however, says its decision is not in reaction to the Court judgment.  full story

Czech Education Ministry responds on basic timeline for inclusion preparations

27.10.2015 10:48 News server Romea.cz has asked the Czech Education Ministry why it is has not yet communicated with experts and principals about how the transition to inclusive education will take place next school year. On 16 October the ministry sent the following response:  full story

Czech adviser to Education Minister: Segregation is unacceptable, unethical - and undefined in Czech law

27.10.2015 8:52 "The reasons given for the creation of ethnically homogeneous classes frequently do not reflect the actual state of affairs," claims Education Ministry adviser Klára Laurenčíková. Following the newly-reported cases of the suspected segregation of Romani primary school pupils in the towns of Duchcov and Krásná Lípa, news server Romea.cz is publishing this interview describing the development of segregational tendencies in the Czech schools, the current state of those tendencies, and planned changes to the system.  full story

Commentary: Are the Czech schools at risk of chaos next year? Experts, teachers doubt schools are prepared for inclusion

26.10.2015 20:11 The "special schools" will be closed and all of the children in them will move into unprepared "normal" schools where there will not be enough teaching assistants, materials or teachers. Chaos will reign, children, parents and teachers will be dissatisfied.  full story

Some Czech schools report inclusion already happening, Romani pupils achieving average results

26.10.2015 10:20 Primary school administrators in the Semilsko and Trutnov districts have told the Czech media that they are not having any problems with the Romani pupils attending their schools. The principals say Romani children are achieving average results, both in their behavior and in their studies.  full story

Czech Police stop Romani barbecue to enforce local ordinance - even where it does not apply

26.10.2015 8:09 Roughly 20 to 30 Romani people, most of them minors, gathered for a picnic at a park in Duchcov last month as part of a gathering organized by the Romane Kale Panthera (Romani Black Panther) group as a provocation. A local ordinance in Duchcov bans sitting outdoors in some parts of town and is obviously intended to target local Roma.  full story

Czech civil society marks anniversary of the first Nazi transport of Jews from Prague not with silence, but with rhythm

25.10.2015 9:17 An unusual "happening" called "Drumming for Bubny" has marked the anniversary of the first Nazi transport of Jewish people from Prague to the concentration camps during WWII. Four hundred drums were distributed at the Prague-Bubny train station beneath a statue by Czech sculptor Aleš Veselý called "The Gate of No Return" and used by participants to symbolically disrupt the silence that surrounded that first deportation (Video footage of the event is here).  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister rejects notion that mayors can decide who will live in a municipality

25.10.2015 8:26 Mayor of Obrnice Drahomíra Miklošová is calling for increased powers to be granted to mayors so they can decide who can live in their communities. She has repeatedly called the situation in her own municipality grave recently because a larger number of Romani families are now returning there after having attempted to settle in England.  full story

Czech Republic: Hundreds of demonstrators both against and for receiving refugees in Prague

24.10.2015 12:57 On 17 October several hundred opponents of immigration and Islam gathered in the center of Prague as did those opposed to racism and xenophobia. Both camps were kept separated from one another on Wenceslas Square by police officers and the statue of St. Václav.  full story

Czech Republic: Death threats to civil society groups aiding refugees

24.10.2015 8:32 News server iDNES.cz reports that stickers featuring a noose and "DEATH TO TRAITORS" were placed on the display window and door of the Kašpárek Community Center in the Czech town of Pardubice at the beginning of this month. The vandalism occurred several days after the center organized a food drive and other aid for refugees.  full story