Priority to the “Roma agenda”

The president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, cardinal Dominik Duka, met with the human rights commissioner of the government, Monika Simunkova, last week in Prague, to discuss a “tense situation” in the regions densely inhabited by the Roma. Relations between Roma people and majority citizens have been marked by intolerance for years, especially in the north-western and southern parts of Bohemia where the percentage of gypsies is higher then in other regions and where the current rate of criminality is alarming.A tense situation. The town of Ceské Budejovice has been at the center of ethnic tensions especially for the past few weeks. A seemingly simple conflict at the playground on 21 June was followed by a demonstration that was supposed to draw attention to the problems of coexistence of socially weak families and the tensions escalated to the measure of an open conflict with the police and 30 detained participants of a march with a strong presence of several radical groups. A bit of light into the critical situation was brought by the Salesians of Don Bosco who offered their premises for a “cultivated discussion” of all parties, with the aim to stabilize the situation and outline the prospects for the development of mutual relations for the future.From the streets to the negotiating table. According to Ondrej Trojek from the Salesian youth center, representatives of the Roma community, majority inhabitants, non-governmental organizations, municipality and the police met in the first half of July to seek reasonable solutions. “The debate was constructive and we consider it to be very successful because we managed to calm down the emotions and bring over the discussion from the streets to the negotiating table,” explains Trojek. The most encouraging thing is that participants of the meeting agreed to work on the improvement of mutual relations in a long-term horizon. The conclusions and recommendations include the establishment of the office of an “assistant for the prevention of criminality”; reconstruction of several patrolled playgrounds; establishment of working groups with the aim to solve concrete problems of coexistence of Roma people with the majority of the society. “We don’t want to solve our misunderstandings through fights and arguments, but through the joint quest for compromises in a normal neighbourly way,” reads the official statement.Open arms of the Catholic Church. Participants in the meeting have also drawn their attention to the main reasons of the tense situation which are “high unemployment rates, drugs and boredom”. This topic was also at the center of the meeting of cardinal Dominik Duka, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, with Monika Simunková, human rights commissioner, that was held on 22 July. According to the cardinal, the Roma agenda has always been one of the highest priorities of the Catholic Church, due to the specific problems of this ethnicity in the Czech republic marked by high unemployment and social exclusion. “In some regions, about 80% of the Czech Caritas’ services are Roma people,” explains the head of the Bishops’ conference, adding that the help towards this minority includes not only material and financial support, but also education and formation of Roma youth. He appreciated the work of the Salesians in this regard and pointed to the importance of “small steps” and “painstaking work” to solve the situation which is not easy even in peaceful times. The situation – according to cardinal – goes often beyond any political measures. “The Catholic Church has always had open arms for the emarginated, including Roma people,” emphasizes the prelate, pointing to the fact that the structures of the Church include also the Roma priests who are very well accepted by members of their ethnicity, as well as by majority of inhabitants. “Persistent hard work, encouragement through good examples and constant searching for possible solutions” are the most important steps, concludes cardinal Duka, inviting to reconsider the “value system” in society. Drawing from the conclusions of the meeting, the commissioner will elaborate a project for concrete support which will afterwards be a subject to discussion within the Bishops’ conference, to find the best possible way for its practical implementation.