South Bohemian Regional Romani Coordinator: We want good coexistence at the Máj housing estate

The demonstration on 29 June during which neo-Nazis and other extremists committed so much violence was faced by local Romani residents with a counter-action during which they called on their neighbors to work with them on resolving problems. Local Romani residents have a low opinion of those who committed the violence, but how surprising was it for them that their non-Romani neighbors were demonstrating against Roma as well?

Roman Slivka, the South Bohemian Regional Romani Coordinator, who lives on V. Volfa Street at the Máj housing estate, where most people from the local Romani community live, has a very bad feeling about the fact that ordinary people have been demonstrating against the Roma together with neo-Nazis and others committing violence. He is concerned that society is radicalizing and is also convinced that this has been a long-term trend.

"For quite some time we have been observing that more and more ordinary people from the majority part of society are biased in that way. During that demonstration there were not so many extremists here, most of those participating were people whom we often encounter on the street. That event will be deeply etched into our memory, for the children and youth most of all. The psychological burden on people who are already living in constant fear and stress will be even worse," Slivka told news server Romea.cz.

The Romani Coordinator explained that the peaceful assembly that took place at the same time as the 29 June anti-Roma demonstration at the Máj housing estate was held by local Roma in order to improve their coexistence with their neighbors. "We tried to explain to the non-Roma that we want good coexistence. We have offered to work with them and we will continue to do so, first and foremost with those who complain about the Roma. It’s hard, because some of those who complain are not interested in improving our coexistence – it’s clear that they hate Romani people. However, we are glad to negotiate with anyone interested."

Coexistence problems are negligible

The coexistence problems at the Máj housing estate, home to 22 000 people, of whom between 350 – 380 are estimated to be Romani, are negligible in Slivka’s view, especially in comparison to the problems that exist at several places in North Bohemia. That has been confirmed by Mayor of České Budějovice Juraj Toma.

The mayor was surprised by the fact that the 29 June anti-Roma demonstration turned into a march and then into clashes with police officers. "The situation at that housing estate is not as dramatic as it might seem. From time to time isolated problems do bubble up, but Máj is definitely not like Chanov or any other troubled housing estate in the country. We all know that our Romani fellow-citizens live there, that the rhythm of their lives is different, that they behave differently than the majority population, and that naturally creates dilemmas and tensions, but, there is no brutal, long-term conflict there," Thoma said.

The Romani Coordinator says that in general, the problems consist of ordinary matters, such as dissatisfaction with behavior that is based on a difference in mentality. "Romani people are noisier, and that bothers some non-Roma. Many Roma live stuffed into a much smaller area than is usual. However, all if this could be healed and some agreement could be reached if the town hall would finally start doing something positive in that direction," Slivka said.

Town hall making the situation worse

Slivka says the town hall has simply made the entire situation worse so far, for example, by removing benches and playgrounds from the public areas of the housing estate. Local government has also buttressed repressive measures by reinforcing municipal police patrols of the housing estaet and setting up police stations near it.  

"From our perspective, those steps have helped create a situation in which the Romani residents now all gather in a single location more than they used to. They are now more visible on the grass, in the public areas, and on the sidewalks near their homes," Slivka said. 

However, Slivka hopes the town hall will be willing to take action. "The children have nowhere to play, there is only one playground, which is not enough for 22 000 people. The youth have nowhere to go, not even anywhere to have a laugh, because they are not allowed into the local discotheque. That means adolescents and children are growing up on the street, which in and of itself creates problems in their behavior," Slivka said.

Thanks to the police

Local Romani people also want to negotiate with the town hall so that Romani crime prevention assistants or police officers might work with municipal police patrols. "Romani patrols would resolve this problem. When a non-Romani police officer comes here and shouts at the Romani children, they laugh at him. If it were a Romani officer on patrol, the Romani children would listen. That’s just how it works among us, Gypsies enjoy greater authority than whites," said Jozef Vasl, another Romani resident of the Máj housing estate.

The town hall has said it already did its best to institute such a program, but reportedly no one applied who could meet the requirements. "Unfortunately, no one at that time met the requirement that at the age of 21 they would be clean, have a clean criminal record, and educated, i.e., have a high school diploma. Those are the requirements established by law that they must meet. We can try again, but as I say, we already have experience with it," Mayor Thoma told news server iDnes.cz.

The Romani residents disagree with that characterization and say they can find young men in their community who would be able to join the municipal police. Slivka, on the other hand, is satisfied with the work done by police officers during the anti-Roma demonstration of 29 June. "I would like to publicly thank the Police of the Czech Republic for protecting us and preventing the pogrom the extremists were attempting against us," Slivka said.