Czech NGO: Information on next wave of evictions in Ústí being suppressed

The Konexe civic association has issued a press release warning of the alleged existence of a list of five buildings in the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem whose occupants are to be evacuated just as others recently were from a building on Beneše Lounského street there. "The working group that managed the eviction of building no. 106 continues to meet on this problem and is discussing further evictions at its sessions as well as the fate of the Předlice ghetto in general. Neither the Romani people being discussed nor the public as a whole are being informed as to the content of these discussions or that they are even taking place," reads the press release, which is below in full translation.

Press release of the Konexe civic association, 1 March 2013

In September 2012, yet another building collapsed in the ghetto of Předlice, burying its occupants. One woman died as a result. A structural engineer then came to Předlice and allegedly compiled a list of 29 buildings that are no longer habitable and at risk of collapse. In addition to dangerous buildings, Předlice is afflicted by other phenomena to a degree unseen elsewhere in the Czech Republic: Shocking hygienic conditions, garbage dumps, loan-sharking, illnesses such as dysentery, cockroaches, rats, bedbugs and drugs, all of this in the context of unbelievably high rents.

In November 2012, the first building in Předlice was evacuated, no. 106 on Beneše Lounského street, the property of a dubious entrepreneur who refused to meet his obligation to his tenants to provide them with substitute accommodation. The families living in 106 were evicted against their will under the threat that their children would otherwise be taken into state care, first into the gym of the local primary school, where they lived for nine days, and then into an infamously usurious residential hotel at the other end of town. The entire operation cost almost CZK 200 000, according to municipal data.

When the residential hotel into which the families had been moved against their will was to be closed by the end of January 2013, the families could not manage to find dignified substitute accommodation despite all of their own efforts and the help provided by institutions. The town proposed that the women with children could move into a shelter, while the men could move into other residential hotels outside of town (or move onto the street), which would have meant breaking up the families.

The former residents of the building on Beneše Lounského rejected this variation of being "pushed around", saying they refused to leave the closed residential hotel, which demonstrated their desire for the dignified human treatment which is their right. The Housing for All (Bydlení pro všechny) initiative and others managed to create media pressure around the issue and also to raise, thanks to support from donors, several tens of thousands of crowns for the residents. Through this combination of tactics, the families managed to find dignified substitute rental apartments.

The time since those accommodations were found has been hectic for the families and for us. Together with volunteers from the Konexe civic association, the families have ridden an unending circuit through every possible authority and institution in order to change their addresses of permanent residence, enroll with the power company and have their wiring checked and meters installed, get new personal identification with their new addresses, reapply for the welfare to which the families with children are entitled, furnish the new apartments, etc. For the community, these demanding weeks have meant other reinforcements were needed – the families must now organize to babysit for one another, coordinate their cooking, hold meetings and plan together. Just at the moment when the story of the first evacuation from a building in Předlice and from an usurious residential hotel in the Krásné Březno quarter is about to see its happy ending, the next cycle of this drama is beginning.

Start negotiating openly!

According to our information, there is a list of five buildings in Předlice occupied by families with children who have to be evacuated in the next wave. Some of the buildings there are in such a poor state of repair that they are at risk of immediate collapse and their occupants’ lives are in danger.

The working group that managed the evacuation of building no. 106 continues to meet on this problem and is discussing further evictions at its sessions as well as the fate of the Předlice ghetto in general. Neither the Romani people being discussed nor the public as a whole are being informed as to the content of these discussions or that they are even taking place. Romani residents are not invited to the negotiations, news of what awaits Předlice during this next wave of evacuations is being kept from the community there, and the institutions leading these discussions are not publicizing any information.

This system is unsustainable. It must be changed.

Both the Romani people concerned and the general public have the right to know what the institutions funded by our taxes are meeting about. An open discussion with experts and the public must be held about the future of Předlice. The solutions proposed must be accepted with the participation of those concerned or they will not work.

The Konexe civic association has previously tried to open a group where Romani residents and the general public could discuss the fate of Předlice. We have also tried, through official routes, to get information about the negotiations underway.

It has proven impossible to get any minutes of these meetings from the town, which in the past has just sent us a sort of parody of a set of minutes which did not provide us with any information. Most recently (on 28 February) we sent a request for information to the Czech Government Agency for Social Exclusion, as we know its representatives attend the negotiations and have access to their results.

On Tuesday, 12 March, a public meeting of the local community will take place in Předlice. This meeting is organized by our association and we are inviting representatives of majority-society institutions to attend. Should they accept our invitation, we will try at that meeting to open up a debate about the future of Předlice in which the opinions of those living in the quarter will be heard.