First semester report: Old problems, new hope

Looking at this Roma gentleman showing his travel-card, I got the sense that not only had he done this many times this week already, but that I would have to expect the same treatment during my ten months living in Prague.

Photo by M. Steele (CC BY 2.0)

I should have done this article before the New Year as a reflection of my first semester at Charles University in Prague. Missing my own deadline, however, gave me the chance during the festive period to not only think about my experiences last semester, but what I hope to achieve during my second semester in Prague.

The Ticket Inspector Game

Reflecting back on my first term in Prague, both negative and positive experiences have shaped my outlook, attitude and research. The saying often goes: "get the negative out of the way first" and that is exactly what I intend to do. However, these negative episodes in Prague have been some of the most helpful and insightful for a number of personal and academic reasons.

I was born in Prague, am a Czech citizen and, before my Erasmus year, I had not lived in the city of my birth for a prolonged period of time. To many Czechs, I probably do not look "typically Czech" (whatever that means) and that is because I am Roma.  My experiences, most of which have been on public transport, should not have happened but, I must stress, are not representative of the whole of Czech society - I would like to think the spirit of Charter 77 still influences many.  

Before starting at Charles University, I did a recce of the route to the Law School on the 17 tram. What I guessed was a ticket inspector, walked up to me and asked for my ticket and I made nothing of it. On the way back, the same thing happened and, to be honest, I was quite impressed with the standards of the Czech transport system.

The evening was different. I was stopped suddenly at the exit of Florenc station by a man - short buzz-cut, black-clothing and not the most friendly of characters - who pushed a badge in my face and placed his hand aggressively on my shoulder.

Speaking in Czech, I told the soon-to-revealed ticket inspector to "go away" and that I did not want to "buy [his] stuff" - probably not the best think to say.  I showed my ticket and I looked over to the other inspectors who were leaning against the wall and ignoring seas of people streaming down the steps to the metro. I then noticed a gentleman who looked of Roma ethnicity walking pass the group of inactive inspectors - they soon sprung into action and the Roma gentleman was selected for a spot-check. It was as if someone had switched on a light and I could see clearly what was going on.  Looking at this Roma gentleman showing his travel-card, I got the sense that not only had he done this many times this week already, but that I would have to expect the same treatment during my 10 months living in Prague. 

With this hypothesis, the next day I tested it out and have amused myself ever since. On any journey, especially on the metro, I simply sit and nearly every time a ticket inspector makes a be-line for me, sometimes the whole length of the carriage.

In reality, this is no laughing matter. Compared to Czech Roma generally, I am in a privileged position because I am able to fly back home with relative ease. Can you imagine walking down the street every day and being judged simply for the colour of your skin, being followed in shops (yes, that happened to me too) or being spot-checked whenever an agent of the state happens to be around? That is the experience of Roma in Europe and it's sadly only the tip of the iceberg.  I urge you to look at the score of unresolved racist murders of Roma in Bulgaria, the segregation of Roma children in the Czech school system and the housing inequality in Slovakia.  This is no laughing matter.

A growing Roma Rights movement

My experiences on Czech public transport were also important in terms of my research. Currently, I am focusing on whether the quasi-automatic practice of placing Roma children into "special schools", deemed to have been a breach of Convention Rights in the landmark D.H v Czech Republic case in 2007, has persisted.  Although the above experiences have troubled me, my first semester has given me a lot of hope and much encouragement that Czech civil society and the international community are coming to realise that Roma human rights, or "Roma Rights", must be upheld unequivocally in education, housing, the criminal justice system and many more areas of public life.

Photo: Fil Sys - Seminar for Racial Discrimination & Strategic Litigation in Brno, 13 Nov 2017

In the process of finalising my undergraduate dissertation title, I am currently trying to understand the background of the D.H case, the arguments used in the court and whether there has been an effective implementation of the D.H ruling in Czechia. I was fortunate to have been invited, back on November 2017, to the Annual Seminar at the Public Defender of Rights Office in Brno which focused on "Strategic litigation and the fight against discrimination". At the Conference, the role and impact of strategic litigation first came to my attention, as I listened intently to presentations from James Goldston (one of the Lead Counsels in D.H and Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative) and representatives from Czech civil society, international NGOs, academia and the judiciary. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the landmark D.H  ruling, it gave me further encouragement to continue my research. 

That same week, I met with Deb Vilas in Prague, an internationally renowned child life and play specialist. We first got into contact when I read her raw and honest depiction of a play session in Chanov, a Roma settlement in Northern Bohemia, with the Klicek Foundation. Talking to Deb Vilas and the Klicek Foundation about how poverty, education and social care in Czechia has shaped the lives of underprivileged children, many of whom are Roma, still has an immense personally impact . I hope to keep in contact with Deb Vilas and the Klicek Foundation, both of whom do vital work in protecting and promoting children's rights around the world.  Deb Vilas has a blog and she has written about her time in Prague last November - it is worth reading: here is the link.

Second Semester Hopes

Looking to build on my research and experiences in Czechia so far, I intend to venture out more in New Year. I want to visit Ostrava (the setting of the D.H case) and Usti nad Labem (which has a high Roma population) and, if possible, speak to and get involved with local an national NGOs. I would also like to interview key people, in relation to D.H, and others who have knowledge of the impact of the ruling.

The international community is slowly but surely waking up to the fact that Roma face unacceptable discrimination throughout. I hope my research, experiences and this blog can not only publicise the plight of the Roma, but also make a difference, change peoples' attitudes and make known a very much forgotten prejudice in Europe.

Thank you and Happy New Year.