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News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

Opinion

Denisa Havrľová: We must all protest together, nobody has the right to take somebody else's life!

23 October 2016
2 minute read

Life is the most valuable thing our parents ever give us, and every parent loves his or her children selflessly and unconditionally. Not being a mother myself, I don’t know to what degree I can really understand the feelings and sorrow of the parents of Miroslov Demeter, who has died so young.

His death was not a matter of a car accident, or a serious illness. Were the people involved some of those whose hatred and racial prejudice has eclipsed their sanity?

Human beings differ from animals mainly because we have brains that allow us to create things, and especially because they give us the opportunity to choose between good and evil. I have read several of the comments that have been written about this unfortunate situation and I am realizing more and more how hard it is to live when your face is that of a Romani man or woman.

I do always try to find what is good in people. However, the death of this young man, who apparently was beaten to death, and against whom the police forces seem to have struck the final blow, should unfortunately wake us all up from the naive belief that we are doing enough in the struggle against racism.

We must send the clear message to everybody that we cannot tolerate what happened in Žatec! Not only should activists and Romani people unite, but politicians should unite with us as well and say a vigorous “NO” to racism.

This is not about whether this person was Romani – first and foremost, he was a human being, and nobody has the right to take his life just because they decide to take the law into their own hands. We live in a democratic country, and therefore I expect this case will be investigated and the perpetrators convicted through a fair trial.

I would like to see a chain reaction to the demonstrations that are now being prepared, events where non-Romani and Romani people will protest together. This is about everything that life in a free country offers us – the right to live together with others, irrespective of our different ethnicities, nationalities and skin colors.

First and foremost we are human beings, and that is how we should behave. I express my sincere condolences to the parents of the deceased and I believe they will forgive those responsible one day, if at all possible.

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