Czech Roma look again to Canada
Rumors have begun to circulate that the Czech Republic’s visa-free travel to Canada may be revoked. A large influx of Czech Romany seeking asylum in Canada has begun to raise concerns that Canada may reimpose restrictions on Czech travelers to combat the unusually high amount of refugees coming from the country.
When Canada lifted visa requirements for the first time in April 1996, a massive number of immigrants—the majority of whom were Roma—flooded the country. In October 1997, the visa duty was reintroduced as a direct result. Now, a similar wave of asylum seekers has washed into Canada since the abolition of visas in November 2007—and seven months later observers are fearfully drawing parallels.
Embassy, a Canadian foreign affairs magazine, reported May 7 that “history seems to be repeating itself … prompting fears recently lifted visa requirements will be reinstated less than a year after they were lifted.”
Magdalena Fiřtová, public and academic affairs officer for the Canadian Embassy in Prague, told CBW that “for the Czech Republic, 267 refugee claims were made from the time the visa was lifted on Oct. 31, 2007, to the end of March 2008.” Compared with the period between 2001 and 2007 the recent increase is clear—only 123 refugee claims were filed by Czech citizens during these six years, less than half the number of claims filed in the past five months, according to records from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada referenced in Embassy.
Fiřtová added that “since Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not keep statistics on a claimant’s ethnic origin, we cannot say how many of these claims were made by persons who identify themselves as Roma.” Still, observations from experts show that the majority of refugee claims are again from people of Roma origin fleeing difficult conditions in the Czech Republic.
Vojtěch Lavička, a member of Romea, a nongovernmental association for human rights and tolerance between Roma and Czechs, said that the fear of reinstitution of the visa definitely exists. “Media are starting to speculate that it would be a step back in the friendly relationship between Canada and the Czech Republic,” he said.
Paul St. Clair, executive director of the Roma Community Centre in Toronto, Canada, told Embassy that if Canada chose to reinstitute visas it would cast a bad light on it as a country that is reluctant to admit the persecuted.
Time to panic?
“I think that in years 1996 to 1997 the departure was a bit more abrupt, massive,” Lavička said, adding that he did not have the official numbers.
“Do not panic,” St. Clair told CBW, “no one will cancel the free visa so soon.” He explained that in 1997, despite the large number of Roma refugees, the outlook was positive for the majority of them. “About 90 percent of those who stayed and went through the refugee process obtained the status of refugees,” he said. He added that officials in Canada have been discussing reinstitution of visas only if the percentage of Czech refugees entering Canada reached 2 percent of the approximately 20,000 refugees entering Canada annually. “They say they will monitor and decide,” he said.
The Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as other new EU states, have promised Canada that they will intensify their cooperation with Canada on issues related to immigration and enforcement of law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Karen Shadd-Evelyn told Embassy.
Fiřtová verified this. She did not elaborate on the parameters of the enhanced cooperation but said that “close collaboration between Canada and visa-exempt countries on such issues will help to ensure that the decision to lift the visa requirement is a permanent one.”
In contrast to statements from observers citing the potential ugly outcomes of a reimposed visa system, Fiřtová noted that Canada has parameters that visa-free countries have to accept. “Visa-exempt countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of Canada’s exemption, the requirement for a visa may be reimposed,” she said.
As of now, however, it seems that Czech Republic need not panic. “Canada is not currently considering a reimposition of the visa on Czech citizens,” Fiřtová said.
Strong resentment
One prevailing reason that experts cite to explain the large emigration of Czech Roma is still discrimination and poor conditions in their home country. According to a poll by research firm STEM released to the Czech News Agency (ČTK), two-thirds of Czech citizens have a negative attitude to Roma or even strongly resent them. The poll, released May 7, shows that about half of the people questioned said they believed that all ethnic groups should have a chance to live according to their own traditions and customs. But in the past this belief was shared by a higher number of people. “It is a fear of racism, many experiences with discrimination in many parts of life and, last but not least, the effort to join disconnected families because family ties among Roma are very strong,” Lavička explained. He noted that it is possible that many Roma now are seeking to reunite with family that successfully gained refugee status in Canada in the past.
Referring to the Roma exodus in 1996 and 1997, he explained that the Roma are still facing the same problems with developing positive interaction with most of Czech society. “The situation of those years has not changed much in comparison to current status,” he said. “The stand of the majority toward Roma has not improved much; the percentage of people who hold a negative stand toward Roma is not any smaller, based on public polls it is about 65 to 75 percent.”
Lavička said that it is difficult to get accurate statistics on the Roma population, but even noticeable trends, however positive, may not be a reflection of an improvement in Roma welfare. “Perhaps only because of the growing pace of the economy has Roma unemployment has lowered, but it is only a guess, again, precise numbers are not present,” he said. “On the other hand, the number of Roma who live socially outcast, in Roma ghettos, has risen,” he said, adding that an estimated 40 percent of Roma living in the Czech Republic live in poor conditions. “Perhaps it is only the government that is showing a growing activity toward Roma, but that can be only due to a larger flow of finances from the European Union.”
St. Clair told Embassy that the situation concerning the neo-Nazi and skinhead movements in the Czech Republic, which are hostile to Roma, has worsened since the Czech entry into the European Union in 2004. The reason for this, he explained, is that EU pressure on the Czech Republic is lower than when the Czechs only sought accession.
Lavička emphasized that the activities of the Czech government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are not sufficient. “In the Czech Republic, different NGOs try to help in solving Roma problems, but the help is not adequate. The problems of coexistence of the majority with Roma are so large and vast that even despite intensive help with integration of Roma into society, it will take at least another 10 years until a visible positive shift is made,” he said.
The grass looked greener
A 15-minute television report spurred the exodus of Czech Roma to Canada in 1996, according a report from Radio Prague in 1997. On Aug. 5, 1996, a documentary entitled “Na vlastní oči” (With Your Own Eyes) aired on Czech commercial broadcaster TV Nova that depicted a Czech Romany who had immigrated to Canada and was living a very comfortable life. It portrayed Roma families living well with state support while they waited to be granted asylum.
The days following the broadcast were full of reports from local officials of Roma selling their possessions and property in preparation to leave. One week later, the Canadian Embassy in Prague was receiving hundreds of calls a day—reportedly 90 percent were from Roma. Various reports and experts, including the report from Radio Prague, stated that mayors in some localities were exacerbating the situation by offering to provide fun
