The Prague Post
September 7th, 2008
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City experiments with coexistence

Czechs and Roma live side by side in newly opened neighborhood

The first inhabitants of Coexistence Village in Ostrava watch a celebration marking the village's opening. They were homeless after the 1997 flood.
By Arie Farnam
For The Prague Post
(October 2, 2002)


OSTRAVA, NORTH MORAVIA

It is a common enough sight for a neighborhood street: a group of children playing a skipping game. But a closer look reveals that something unusual is happening.

Some of the children are pale-skinned and blond-haired -- their ethnicity is obviously Czech. Others have dark features and are clearly Roma, or Gypsies. Mingling together, the children chatter away in Czech, with a sprinkling of Romany words -- and no one seems to mind.

Here in a hollow between the overgrown empty lots and crumbling slums on the outskirts of Ostrava, such scenes of ethnic harmony are becoming the norm. The children live in Vesnicka souziti (Coexistence Village), a social experiment born out of the need to house people made homeless in the 1997 floods.

"A group of Roma evacuated from Hrusov [an Ostrava slum] decided they wanted to live together with Czechs, not separate and isolated from society, and a group of Czechs agreed," says Kumar Vishwanathan, the Indian physics professor who spearheaded the effort to build the Village.

"Now they must prove to the rest of the country that Czechs and Roma can live together successfully. That is the dream."

Unveiled in September, the 63 million Kc ($2.03 million) project received half its funding from foreign-aid groups. The government put up 21 million Kc. Caritas, a Catholic social service organization, sponsored the project and provided additional funding.

Thirty families -- 15 Romany and 15 Czech -- have found new homes here. Each family worked on the construction of the community and each will pay rent for their new home until they pay off the value of the property.

The families were the poorest of the poor even before they lost everything in the floods five years ago. Since then, they have lived in temporary apartments, large tin containers or even in Hrusov's collapsing buildings, their dwellings infested with poisonous mold. Most are unemployed. All have small children.

They now live in four rows of compact, comfortable houses with quaint gabled windows, facing a matching community center. The streets between are wide and well lit.

"This is fantastic!" said Jaroslav Cervenjak, a Romany resident of the village. "None of us, Roma or white, have ever had such beautiful homes and we finally have the chance to live together in peace."

The idea of the village drew some opposition. Neighbors protested. Some signed petitions against the project, saying the project was too generous to the Roma. Local politicians were slow to embrace the idea.

"When I first saw this project, I was astounded that such a thing can exist in our country," Vitezslav Zamarsky of the Regional Development Ministry said Sept. 17 as the village was officially opened.

"It is a miracle. If Roma and majority Czechs can live together like this, there is no enemy that can hurt us. This community is an example to the rest of us, and the central government should take it as a lesson."

According to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe report published last year, the prevailing trend in the Czech Republic has been to segregate Roma, not integrate them.

"Things are finally changing in this country," said Marek Mika, another Romany resident, as he hung curtains in his bright new kitchen. "In this village, we will prove that it is possible for Czechs and Roma to live together without fighting. It is the best chance for our future."

Some still need proof. "I wonder how long it will take them to destroy this place?" asked one neighbor, looking on as residents moved in. "There are too many Roma here. Roma are always bad news."

But Anna Mickova, one of the ethnic Czech residents of the village, disagrees.

"Many people are surprised that I am not afraid to live with Roma," she said. "Some even say I am a disgrace, but the Roma belong in this country too. I am used to them and I would not want to live in a monotone society.

"The Romany children love me and they don't care what I look like. At least, I know that with them around I will not be alone even when I am old."

In order to qualify for a home in the village, ethnic Czech potential residents had to be in acute need of shelter -- and also tolerant of the other ethnic group.

"I did not always accept the Roma," says Jan Novak, another ethnic Czech resident. "When I was growing up, I thought all Roma were thieves. Then I met many Roma in my work on construction sites. I found that most of them were good workers and trustworthy friends."

While the new residents of the village turned on the heat and moved furniture into their homes, Vishwanathan said he had other worries.

"Building the houses was the easy part," he said. "The hard part will be getting the people here employed. They will have to work together in order to really pull themselves out of poverty. "Many people in this country are watching and expecting them to fail, so the stakes are very high. This project carries great opportunity and great risk."

Arie Farnam may be reached at news@praguepost.com




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