About eleven years ago, 1500 Roma, or as many people know them, “Gypsies,” began a sudden but brief exodus to Canada. A Czech camera team aired a program on Czech television about a handful of Roma moving to Canada. As in the rest of Europe, Roma had always experienced racism and discrimination. At that time, Canada had no visa requirements for Czechs and those Roma who could, promptly took the opportunity to move. All this took place in July and August of 1997. Concerned about the sudden influx, the Canadian government quickly imposed visa requirements and the influx stopped. At that time, Paul St. Clair, a Czech with a PhD in sociology from the University of Toronto, became involved with the new community because he could speak Czech and some Hungarian. Although he had already been in the country for nearly 25 years doing very different work, he found working with the Roma compelling. In 1998, he and others established the Roma Community Centre in Toronto. Since its start, he has been the Executive Director of the Centre. They assist mainly refugees and newly arrived Roma from Eastern Europe, in settlement and immigration issues, including the refugee process.

Since the Czech Republic and other Eastern European countries joined the European Union, Canada removed its visa requirements and Roma are coming once again in large numbers. The rise in their refugee claims have put the onus on countries like the Czech Republic to answer questions about their treatment of Roma. The ongoing assaults on Roma all over Europe are well documented. The recent march against the Roma near Litvinov, by right-wing party members has intensified scrutiny of each country’s treatment of these minorities. The rise in their refugee claims may also have prompted a recent visit from the Czech Minister of Human Rights and Minorities,

Where do the Roma you serve come from?
The majority of people we deal with are Czech and then Hungarian Roma. There are fewer people from the Slovak Republic, Romania, Poland, ex-Yugoslavia and ex-Soviet Union. We have some contact with European Roma organizations but our focus is really on Roma in Canada.

What has led to the recent increase in their immigration to Canada?
In Nov. 2007 Canada started non-visa contact for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and all the new EU members. The Western European members insisted that their citizens be allowed to enter Canada without visas otherwise they would require visas of all Canadians. This wasn’t something Canada did to be nice, but rather out of self-interest. Since then, in one year, there have been 700 claims from Czech Roma, 250 from Hungarian Roma, and about 60 from Slovakian Roma for refugee status.

What stories do Czech Roma tell you about their lives before they came to Canada?
Roma are attacked all the time. They tell me that even pregnant women get attacked--kicked in stomach while they are pregnant. Police say if you can’t name the attackers, we can’t help you. Seven or eight different women have told me this type of story. This is in the Czech Republic. The police are not willing to investigate.

Although there are racial problems here [Canada], comparatively it’s a paradise. They can get housing. In the Czech Republic they call for job interviews and they are told to come. When they show up and see they are Roma, they tell them it’s filled or simply that they don’t hire Roma. In some places in the Czech Republic, unemployment among Roma is 80-90%.

Children in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia have to attend segregated schools. Now that it’s more liberal, parents have more say and they don’t want to have their children in the same schools with Roma. The schools simply tell the Roma parents their children need to attend schools for those with learning or mental disabilities. In those schools, you have 10% Czech students and the rest Roma. If parents don’t agree, they say Roma people don’t care about education or their children. The future of these children is precarious because they can’t do much with this kind of education. They can be bricklayers or cooks. Last year, there was an attempt to pass anti-discrimination law but it didn’t pass in Parliament. I think the PM vetoed it.

Hungary, on paper, has one of the most sophisticated minority protection systems in the world. But on the ground, it is very much the same as what is happening in all the other countries. In the Czech Republic, ordinary people support the skinheads. The Czech Republic has two parties, the Workers’ Party and the National Party, and Hungary has two similar parties—all are neo-Nazi, and have a white supremacy ideology and they are running people for parliament. Both have paramilitary wings. In the Czech Republic, they are trying to outlaw the Workers’ party, but the government itself is rightist and is having trouble passing the ban.

In the Czech Republic you have the same element of “soccer hooliganism” they have in England. The white supremacy ideology got combined with soccer fans. They go to a sport event, go drink and then throw Molotov cocktails into Roma homes, break in, or beat up Roma they see on the street.

The main problem in all of these countries is that the police, whether on instruction from higher ups or not, are not empowered or are unwilling top protect the Roma. “Come back when someone is dead,” they say. They won’t even write reports. “Well they only cut you and beat you up.” As long as the police are not active in protecting the Roma it is never going to stop. This is a deep-seated hostility in these places that are very homogenous. How will it stop?

What happened when the Czech Minister for Human Rights and Minorities came to speak with you in November?
Jamila Stehlíková came to Canada as a reciprocity visit. Our minister was in the Czech Republic. We wanted to find out what the purpose of her visit was. She wanted to meet with the Czech Roma and me to find out how successful they have been in establishing themselves in Canada. They said they didn’t experience any racism here, that they blended into Canadian society without any difficulties. They said, “Our children are not afraid to go out onto the street anymore.” She wanted to know about the social assistance that is provided here and the kind of education Roma students receive. In Canada there is no overt racism against Roma and the schools emphasize an anti-racist ethic. That is exactly what doesn’t happen over there [Czech Rep.]. The Czech Minister didn’t want to speak specifically about the purpose of her visit. She tried to focus on the intentions of the Czech government to create new policies that would improve the situation of the Roma there. She had no answer about why police don’t arrest people who attack Roma; why they allow neo-Nazis and skinheads to have public gatherings— gatherings on Hitler’s birthday on the main squares of Prague or public celebrations of Crystal Nacht. Armed racists enter Roma houses, destroy their things and assault the occupants. From the Roma point of view it is like Germany in the 1930’s. Stehlíková says the Roma are economic refugees, but she had no answer to any of these questions and people here were angry.

In Litvinov , 1000 police came and tried to hold the line between 600 skinheads and the Roma. In this case, the group applied for a permit to demonstrate. That is how the police knew how many people were coming. They were bussing skinheads in from other areas. Many people, including the police were injured, but those who were caught were charged only with something like ‘disturbing the peace.’ Following this, other cities had similar marches and there was no such resistance by the police. Roma are not economic refugees. Just look at what has been happening.

The Czech Republic will become Chair of the EU from January 1st. This is embarrassing for them—to have refugees leaving their country. Their first goal is to get Canada to stop accepting Czech refugees because it will look bad for them. They are fighting the opening to Czech Roma. We are afraid that Canada might succumb to this kind of pressure. As Chair, the Czech Republic will have a lot of leverage on trade with the EU. That is very important for Canada. We don’t know what is going to happen. So far, from Jan to Sept of 2007, 78% of Czech claims [for refugee status] have been accepted. Of Hungarian Roma, less than 60% have been accepted and of Polish Roma, only about 45%. These are high numbers.

In the Czech Republic, they are viewed as dirty gypsies, all thieves. In Canada, no greater number is getting arrested than any other groups. In the Czech Republic, because of high unemployment and low education, they have to resort to something to survive. That is why they came here. If they try to defend themselves, they’ll end up in jail and can’t work. They follow them in stores and their children are afraid. This is the situation.

Here, we try to assist in helping them find work. There is already an established community from ten years ago. Most of them help the new people find work. They have to learn English. It is a slow process. They work in construction. There are some Roma businesses. England has double the claims from Roma from Eastern European countries. The people who come here are the ones who can afford it. Most are so poor they can’t afford the airfare. Many have such extensive family ties—that also keeps them there. As long as border stays open, this trickling effect will keep going.

Past Close Up Articles

Rev. Allan Ramirez, Latino Advocate
Dr. Agapito López, M.D.
Bill Habern, defense attorney
Anya Cordell, activist
Rais Bhuiyan, survivor
Allison Moore, Volunteer