|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Czechs, Roma discover power of stories
New project seeks to break racial barriers through storytelling
By Staci Semrad
Smoke swirled in the dim light of a top-floor Prague flat as some 60 people of varied ethnicities listened to stories recounted by Czechs and Roma, or Gypsies.
Their contemplative stares at times gave way to sadness, surprise and laughter as narrators read stories about encounters between Czechs and Roma through the years.
"The story I'm about to tell you is not very nice, even though it is about me," Michael Basik, a 21-year-old Czech, said about a day in his childhood when he called a Romany girl a "nigger" and was later forced to apologize.
He said he hoped the girl, Maruska, would someday read his story.
"I would like to ask her forgiveness, this time sincerely," he said, concluding his tale on an evening of storytelling Oct. 17 above Dlouha street in Old Town.
Basik's story and those of others captured the spirit of the Stories Exchange Project, a program designed to promote understanding between Czechs and Roma. Coordinated by the EastWest Institute and the Fund for New Performance/Video, the project is sponsored by the World Bank.
"If we can become friends, we can learn to help each other," said Emilie Horackova, a young Romany from Mimon in north Bohemia. "But without understanding, there is no hope."
Stories in schools
One of the project's main goals is to help prevent Romany children from being placed in schools for the mentally challenged. Perceived as racist, this common practice has become a sore point in the Czech Republic's bid to enter the European Union.
Daniel Campbell, a development consultant from Memphis, Tennessee, who works on the project, said the hope is that the stories will help open the hearts and minds of white students to the plight of their Romany peers.
"Before the Czech Republic becomes part of the EU, these schools are going to have to be integrated," said Campbell, 33.
After spending the last year gathering stories from Czechs and Roma of all ages, the project is now recruiting predominantly white Czech secondary schools to incorporate the tales into their curricula. Some schools are set to begin participating this month.
The Fund for New Performance/Video launched the Stories Exchange Project in 1994. But it was only after the World Bank and EastWest Institute, a nonprofit Prague think-tank, threw in their support last year that it really took off.
Since December, the project has collected about 400 stories from the areas in and around Prague, Usti nad Labem, Ostrava and Brno.
About 100 of those stories are posted on the Internet in Czech and English at www.stories-exchange.org, where visitors can read about the project's partners and fans.
Although several Romany groups back the effort, director John Erwin emphasized that it is not an advocacy project. "This project is about giving everyone a voice," he said.
Facing misconceptions
Yet it's a golden opportunity for Roma, who often feel shut out by the white majority.
"I'm really happy that you listen to me, and I feel that you mean it sincerely. This doesn't happen often," Hanka Kozurikova, a Romany participant from the Nymburk area of central Bohemia, told a recent panel discussion at the EastWest Institute this fall.
Charles University student Michael Kokes, 25, said during the October storytelling event that he had grown up perceiving Roma as outsiders.
"I can't help thinking of them as foreigners," he said. "But it's important to break down the barriers between Czechs and Romanies."
Basik confessed that he continues to struggle with the mindset of the majority group in which he was raised.
"Considering the atmosphere of society, sometimes it's difficult to stand behind my beliefs," said Basik, a law student who would like to become a judge.
Changing people's attitudes is a huge challenge, as David Ferko knows well. The 23-year-old is the project's education coordinator in Usti nad Labem.
Racial tensions rose there last fall when Czech residents erected a fence-like wall, which has since been removed, to separate their homes from Romany neighbors.
Selecting neutral ground, the Stories Exchange Project in August set up a tent cafe in the main square of the town for people to stop in, share Czech-Romany stories and participate in an open discussion.
"White people in the audience came maybe because they were curious. They listened to our stories, and then they started telling us what they dislike about us," said Ferko, who is a Romany. "But it was already a success that in the first day, 100 people appeared and they could start to understand more about us."
The Stories Exchange Project has other goals as well, such as encouraging career advancement and community improvement for Roma by exposing them to the high-tech world.
The project is setting up Internet stations around the country at locations, such as libraries and at a music studio for Roma in Brno.
As the project spreads its tales across the Czech Republic, participants are starting to see hope for the future of Czech-Romany relations.
Such hope appeared at the party on Dlouha when a Romany band burst into song and the crowd -- their skin tones barely distinguishable in the dim light -- turned an evening of storytelling into a night of celebration.
Staci Semrad may be reached at ssemrad@praguepost.cz
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
Back to Top
Home
|