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Roma Pride 2013 marches through Prague this Sunday

02 October 2013
3 minute read

Roma Pride 2013 will take place this Sunday, 6 October 2013 in Prague and 13 other European cities. Romani people and their friends will march through the historic center of Prague from the Old Town Square to Prague Castle.

The aim of Roma Pride 2013 is to celebrate Romani culture and identity and to draw attention to the problems ailing Romani people in the Czech Republic. "The situation of Romani people in the Czech Republic is deteriorating year by year, and the so-called social integration policy has failed in its current form. The situation must be addressed as soon as possible. This will not work unless Romani people themselves stand up for their rights, which are being systematically violated," Jozef Miker of the Konexe civic association, which is organizing the march, said when asked to explain the reasons Romani people in the Czech Republic are joining the Europe-wide Roma Pride event.   

Romani people from the regions, who often live in shocking conditions in impoverished ghettos or in residential hotels where they pay usurious rents, will be participating in the Roma Pride march along with Romani people from communities that have become the targets of hate marches. The discussions and workshops that will take place in the evangelical U Salvátora church will focus on the phenomenon of anti-Romani hatred and marches.    

"Roma Pride is much more than just a march through Prague. We have prepared a rich program for all participants. There will be concerts by great bands, discussions, lectures and workshops. There will be a special children’s program and a communal supper. Roma Pride will end, just like last year, with an ecumenical service at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Wall [kostel sv. Martina ve zdi]," said Ivanka Mariposa Čonková, the press spokesperson for Roma Pride 2013. 

Roma Pride 2013 is coordinated Europe-wide by the EGAM network (the European Grassroots Anti-Racist Movement). The main coordinator in the Czech Republic is the KONEXE civic association, the Czech representative in the EGAM network.

This year’s Roma Pride in the Czech Republic is a co-production of the civic associations Slovo 21, Czech Helsinki Committee, the biweekly cultural affairs magazine A2, the Museum of Roma Culture, the Young Greens, activists with the "Let’s Block the Marches!" platform and the "Hate is No Solution" initiative, and independent pro-Romani and Romani activists. Financial support is being provided by Slovo 21, R-mosty and the Konexe civic association.

Program

    10:00 Roma Games / K4 (Celetná 20) – making signs, games for children, exhibition of photos by Jan Rozemberg
    10.00 Info-petition stand / Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí), presentation by the Museum of Roma Culture
    13.00 Roma Pride march to the Castle, start: Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí)
    15.30 Hip – hop: "I say what I want!" / workshop with De La Negra/ K4 (Celetná 20)
    16.30 Romani activism during anti-Roma marches, workshop, kostel u Salvátora – U Salvátora church (Salvátorská 2)
    18.00 Communal supper – kostel u Salvátora – U Salvátora church (Salvátorská 2)
    19.30 Religious service – kostel u Martina ve Zdi – church of St. Martin-in-the-Wall (Martinská 8)
    21.00 Koncert La čhavendar – K4, featuring performances by De La Negra, DJs, films and videos

The Facebook page of Roma Pride 2013 in the Czech Republic is at https://www.facebook.com/events/578276418904481/

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