Czech regional candidate: Children can't help the conditions they are born into
This article continues our series of questions and answer sessions with leading candidates from various political parties and groups running in the upcoming elections to Regional Authorities in the Czech Republic. We asked the candidates for their opinions on the integration of the Romani minority and how they would achieve improvements in this area. We were primarily interested in whether they would be calling upon Romani personalities to collaborate with them, as well as in their positions on education, housing and unemployment levels among people living in socially excluded localities, Romani people included. We also asked whether they intend to achieve calmer co-existence between majority-society and minority people.
Our series continues with the Liberec Region. We sent our questions to these politicians:
Eva Bartoňová – ODS (Civic Democrats)
Lenka Kadlecová – ČSSD (Czech Social Democrats)
Jiří Kočandrle – TOP 09 + Starostové (TOP 09 and Mayors)
Jan Korytář – Změna pro Liberecký kraj (Change for Liberec Region)
Stanislav Mackovík – KSČM (Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia)
Martin Půta – Starostové pro Liberecký kraj (Mayors for Liberec Region)
Only two candidates responded to our questions, Eva Bartoňová and Jan Korytář. After publishing Ms Bartoňová’s response, we are now publishing the the wording of our questions and the responses received from Jan Korytář, an ecologist, manager, chair of the civic association Čmelák – SPP, a member of the Liberec town council and former mayor of Liberec.
1. The integration of Romani people in the Czech Republic has so far mostly been conceived of as a one-way affair. Very few decision-makers ask Romani people for their opinions. On the other hand, Romani people themselves often are unfamiliar with the opinions of the majority society and with proposals for political solutions to this issue because no one ever consults them. Would you try to change this through supporting the participation of local Romani representatives?
Options given for response and the responses of Jan Korytář:
If yes – what would this inclusion look like in practice?
a) Would you seek to have Romani people listened to during joint meetings?
Yes, just as we do our best to make sure all citizens are heard during the resolution of problems concerning them. Involving the public in decision-making is a priority of our program.
b) Would you ever have an outstanding Romani personality as an adviser?
If we find one, then why not – we already have one such personality on our candidate list, so if this issue were to fall within our jurisdiction, I would see it as logical to seek solutions to those problems directly with a person who is part of that environment and knows the problems from personal experience. There is no reason not to have a Romani personality or personalities as adviser(s).
c) Would you involve more Romani personalities in the design and implementation of integration measures?
That wouldn’t be a problem, but it might require a bit more activity on the part of Romani personalities – the doors are open.
If NO – what would your integration approach look like?
a) Would you proceed through repressive proposals, such as conditioning the disbursal of welfare on the fulfillment of certain conditions, or banning residency on municipal territory for those who repeatedly commit misdemeanors? What concrete measures would you advocate?
b) Would you proceed through motivational measures, such as paying long-term unemployed persons to work for NGOs, towns and villages? What concrete measures would you advocate?
Choice b) does not contradict what comes before it, it doesn’t really apply here – I see it as an auxiliary measure to involving Romani personalities.
c) Would you combine these approaches? How, specifically?
2. How would you proceed in addressing the long-term unemployment of people living in socially excluded localities and other poor people, including Romani people living in those localities?
Options given for response and the responses of Jan Korytář:
a) Though an effort to create jobs? What would such an effort look like in practice?
I would primarily do my best to make sure such people do not become concentrated in one locality, i.e., there should be a long-term program combining field social work, job creation, and support for seeking housing outside of such localities, and that all should be coordinated with the way in which social welfare benefits are disbursed and the amount of benefits provided so as to create motivation. However, in my opinion, the effort to get rid of these ghettos is key because a concentration of people with similar problems tends to intensify the problem as a whole.
b) By reducing the unemployment and social welfare benefits these people receive so they start seeking work?
c) Some other way? How, specifically?
3. How would you approach resolving the housing of the very poorest people, including Romani people, living in socially excluded localities?
Options given for response and the responses of Jan Korytář:
a) Advocating for social housing, to be financed from the regional budget?
Yes, how else would this be done? There should be an integrated social housing system which would, in the ideal case, be broadly distributed, not concentrated in one area, and it should be be linked to other key matters such as employment, welfare, etc. I see this as important particularly for families with children. Children are not to blame for the conditions into which they are born, and the region or the state should help ameliorate their starting handicaps. However, this should be done in such a way as to not simply increase their dependency on welfare, naturally.
b) By reducing the state housing benefit so these people start looking for their own housing?
c) Some other way? How, specifically?
4. Would you like to increase educational achievement among the poorest people, including Romani people living in socially excluded localities?
Options given for response and the responses of Jan Korytář:
a) If yes – how would you like to contribute to that increase specifically?
Naturally, but this will take a long time, it’s a problem similar to that of corruption. As long as the region or the state doesn’t allocate enough financial and human resources to resolve this problem, nothing will change on its own. First the so-called political will to do this must be created. That can be contributed either by enlightened politicians, or by representatives from the Romani community, but without greater investment of public money, it won’t happen.
b) If no, why – do you consider the current state of education to be so good that no change is necessary?
5. How would you like to achieve a better, calmer coexistence between majority-society people and minorities, primarily the Romani minority?
Options given for response and the responses of Jan Korytář:
a) Would you like majority and minority people to start communicating with one another more often? If yes – how specifically would you like to achieve this?
b) Through increased outreach and social work activities among poor people, primarily Romani ones? What would that look like in practice?
c) By forcing these people to obey the rules “through force”? How, specifically?
d) A combination of the above, or some other way? How, specifically?
By removing the causes of these tensions. You have named most of them, the causes exist on “both sides of the barricades”: Unemployment, poverty, inadequate housing, lack of education, and prejudice.
