Young Roma prepare for college but can’t visit discos in Prague

On the second weekend in February, the Slovo 21 civic association held its annual gathering of Romani students who hope to go on to college. The meeting was attended by 22 middle school graduates or students, primarily from Brno, Pardubice and Prague.

During the course of the weekend, participants underwent a series of personality tests to determine their qualifications for study. The weekend, full of experiences, was disturbed only by the fact that on Saturday evening, several dance clubs in Prague refused entry to a group of the young Roma, giving the excuses that entry was for “VIPs” only, or that the Roma were inappropriately dressed, or that they lacked membership cards. Roma often hear similar arguments from the owners of clubs and discos in Brno, where as a result there are only a few “open” businesses they can frequent.

The fact that in the 21st century access to culture or entertainment should depend on one’s race brings to mind the separate movie theaters for blacks and whites in the USA of the 1950s and other stages of human history marked by racism. It is understandable that the owner of a business can refuse service with impunity, just as we all are free to decide whom we invite into our homes for a visit. However, it is heartbreaking to look into the sad eyes of young people who want to have fun on the weekend like everyone else – and can’t. Beautifully dressed, freshly showered and perfumed, they spent part of the evening wandering from club to club praying for a tolerant bouncer. They were rejected because of their skin color, and perhaps because maybe at some time in the past, someone of similar appearance had discredited themselves there. Fortunately, we did not give up after our initial disappointment – we found the “right” bouncer, and thoroughly enjoyed our much-deserved dancing.

First published in Czech in Romano hangos 1 – 2010, on http://www.srnm.cz