Czech Romany activists ask Cunek to debate his plan

Activists from the Czech Romany association Dzeno have asked Jiri Cunek, junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) chairman, to discuss his plan for the help to socially excluded people at a working meeting, Dzeno chairman Ivan Vesely has told CTK.

Cunek presented his plan, which many criticise as disputable and even unacceptable, at the KDU-CSL programme conference last week.

Cunek told CTK he has not received Dzeno’s letter of invitation so far, but said he is ready to meet anyone who is interested in the [social exclusion] issue.

Cunek said he has regular meetings with members of various organisations as well as individual Romanies who have managed to free themselves from the bounds he referred to last week.

He said it is such positive examples he has based his plan on.
Romanies are indignant at Cunek having said last Friday that the traditional Romany culture is at variance with the charter of fundamental rights and freedoms, and that broad networks of family ties prevent social integration of Romanies.

Cunek said that Romany family clans contribute to their members’ ending up in poverty. The clans support their members without forcing them to try to improve their lives. Once poor, a Romany cannot extricate himself from the family bounds, Cunek said.

It would help Romanies to free themselves if social housing was available to them outside the family community and if they were given jobs, Cunek said.

As Romanies focus only on the present moment, and not at all on the future, they should receive their monthly salaries gradually, divided into parts, every week, he said.
As far as social allowances are concerned, their distribution should be conditional on Romanies’ works for their respective municipalities, Cunek said.

In their letter to Cunek, Dzeno activists wrote that they agree with some of his proposals.
"Despite your clumsy effort to openly highlight the problems of those socially excluded, we believe some of the points you’ve presented….show inner logic and seem substantiated," they wrote.

According to Vesely, there are more than 300 houses, streets and neighbourhoods inhabited by the poor, mainly Romanies. The number of the ghettos’ inhabitants is estimated at 80,000. Most of them are jobless, dependent on social allowances.

Vesely said Dzeno’s aim is to renew and develop the traditional Romany values. It has joined an international programme that is to improve the education, employment, housing and health of Romanies in 2005-2015.

Many believe that Cunek owes his political career to his decision, in his capacity as mayor of Vsetin, north Moravia, to evict local Romanies from a dilapidated house and resettle them on the town outskirts and some even in other towns in Moravia.