A New Awareness of the Roma Civilization

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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2003-09-25

A New Awareness of the Roma Civilization
In search of what Czech life is really like

By Jessica Grenier, Student, Brooks Institute

Photo by Jessica Grenier

A boy rides his tricycle through the glass and debris left from the floods of 1997. Hrusov District of Ostrava, Czech Republic 2003.

Note: This May ten students from Brooks Institute of Photography traveled to the Czech Republic in search of what Czech life is really like. Each student photographically documented a different aspect of the country. My subject was the Romany people, also known to many as "Gypsies." This is my perspective of how their lives are opening to new opportunities.

I went into the Roma community wanting to document the problems I had heard of with these so-called "Gypsies." Disaster has fallen upon the lives of the Romany community after serious floods took out most everything they owned.

These trusting families took me into their homes to let me photograph the damage that had been done over the past six years. It was shocking to see the mold growing out of the walls and the moisture building in the carpets. Very little has been done to correct the situation. The selflessness of the people leads them to respect the homes they have. Their pride keeps them painting the walls while still presenting their home as clean as possible. Even if they painted now, it would only keep the mold away for a month.

A tremendous flood in July, 1997 was the cause of their ongoing problems. The water was two stories high and powerful enough to take out nearly the entire district of Hrusov. Hrusov is part of the city of Ostrava on the northeastern boarder of the Czech Republic. By the time the flood had settled, little was left standing other than one street of apartments and a nearby church. The ruins remain to this day in many places on the west side of the river.

Photo by Jessica Grenier

A man watches in hopes that someone with influence will see the mold and correct the ongoing problems. Hrusov District of Ostrava, Czech Republic 2003.

With the buildings so damaged, many people were re-located. However, dozens of Roma families were left to live in extremely unfit conditions. Their children are now contracting respiratory diseases from breathing the mold and bacteria that often lead to cancer. The families have struggled against the discrimination commonly aimed at the Roma people. Fortunately, the Roma have people like Kumar Vashwanathan and Katerina Nocarova to fight for them.

Katerina is a social worker who took me around Hrusov and introduced me to the families. Few social workers stay in this area because the problems are so difficult to deal with on a daily basis. Katerina is one who has been there long enough to become trusted and loved by the people. She is trying to fix the problems one at a time.

Her main difficulty is getting the buildings torn down and rebuilt. This must be done because of how deep into the walls the water and mold have penetrated. Although the local authorities advise the families to use a mold-killing agent, the agent will only work for a day or two before the mold rises to the surface again. The problem has been ignored too long and it has now become a battle for the children’s lives.

Katerina works in coordination with a man named Kumar, who is also trying to help the Roma families in a different manner. Kumar has been working on the east side of the river building what he calls a co-existence village. It is an area where the Romany people will live and study with people of various origins. Teachers there push their students to learn at higher levels. As a result the literacy level is constantly rising. There are also community centers where children and teenagers can go to play games and relax in a safe environment.

Photo by Jessica Grenier

Two young girls color while on their break from dance lessons. Hrusov District of Ostrava, Czech Republic 2003.

In most Czech schools Roma are not welcome. Their literacy rates are low and most are put into special classes for slow-learning students. In fact, most children in mainstream schools choose not to have a Romany partner. This discrimination persists even though literacy rates are high in the schools created especially for Roma children. This creates a difficult environment for learning and producing a prosperous life in the Czech community.

I visited Roma schools in Ostrava where young teens were learning English as a second language. When I walked in the students were very excited to see me because they could practice their English. They sang songs such as, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” and asked me every question they could think of in English. The children were learning computer skills and handled computers better than I can. It was uplifting to see all the education they are getting. More and more Roma children are working alongside Czech students in this community.

Ostrava has the largest Roma community and it has the greatest number of programs trying to help them. I saw many of these, and they are working wonders. But even more help is needed to support the schools and re build the homes. If people want to help in any way with Kumar's organization called Vzajemne Souziti it can be reached at vzajemne.souziti@tiscali.cz. Or photographs from students at Brooks Institute of Photography taken on a documentary class in the Czech Republic can be seen at www.czechrepublic.brooks.edu .

I went into the Roma community to document the troubles of the so-called "Gypsies." I came out with a new view on life. I had always appreciated how much opportunity I had as an American, but I had never seen the eagerness of the children to have the same opportunity. As I played with the children in the street I learned quickly of their positive attitude about life. I found the children loved taking photographs with my camera almost as much as they loved being photographed. I hope that my small contribution of photographs to the families will put a smile on their faces, even for only a moment.

Related Links:

Brooks Czech Republic Website

Jessica Grenier's member page

Related Email Addresses:

Vzajemne Souziti: vzajemne.souziti@tiscali.cz