Romani NGO director tells thousands in Czech capital that he wants non-Roma and Romani people to find a common language and path forward
Prague’s Wenceslas Square saw the traditional “Concert for the Future” (Koncert pro budoucnost) yesterday on Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, and thousands of people attended. Dozens of performers and speakers were involved.
Part of the five-hour program was dedicated to the memory of the first President of a democratic Czech Republic, Václav Havel, who passed away a decade ago. The crowd was also addressed by the director of the Romodrom organization, Romani community member Nikola Taragoš.
“If I could wish anything at all for our common future, I would very much wish that Romani people and the majority could find a common language and a common path forward,” Taragoš said. He then quoted Havel: “To comprehend one another does not mean adapting ourselves to each other, but mutually understanding each other’s identities.”
“I assess the Velvet Revolution today as an opportunity, not a one-time event, more something of an abiding nature. At the same time, it’s a challenge, a challenge that can aid us with creating a society that is based on mutual respect and on solidarity. Dear friends, I would like to communicate to you all that this feeling, the solidarity and the transformation that I experienced back then, has awakened again and greatly resonates in me,” Taragoš said.
