Roma Housing in the Czech Republic

Résumé du document

The English documentary "Gypsies, tramps and thieves?" realised by Kate Blewett and Bryan Woods in 1999 notably shows a Roma young mother who lives in revolting conditions in a single room shared with twenty-three other Roma. We can see them piled up in a very small space. The toilettes don't function any more, and are regularly flooded. This striking scene is followed by the interview of a Czech woman in the street, who calmly assesses that Roma are not unhappy to live as they do, because it's part of their culture. As a democratic country, aiming at respecting Human Rights, Czech Republic is supposed to struggle vigorously against such prejudices and more globally against intolerable conditions of living of Roma community. But one could argue that the situation shown in the video is an extreme case, a marginal situation, stressed in order to shock the audience. Is the situation of housing for Roma really concerning? Hasn't it improved since 1999?
Actually, the situation of housing is even nowadays very often miserable and unacceptable, and the action of the local and national authorities is far from satisfying. It has to be admitted that the situation worsen after the collapse of the communism until the end of the XXth century (I). Though more and more pressure have been put on the state these last years in order to act concretely (II), the situation of housing for Roma is today still concerning (III).

Extraits

[...] The Roma generally lived in very poor conditions at the beginning of the century In the Czech Republic, ghettoisation of Roma community is a recent phenomenon. It started to develop after the fall of the communism in 1989. Shantytowns, which had globally disappeared during the communist period, began to develop once again in big areas, since many Roma started to move from rural area to big cities. Very often, Roma families settled in abandoned housings, which resulted in their isolation, since these places were situated in deserted area. [...]

[...] This striking scene is followed by the interview of a Czech woman in the street, who calmly assesses that Roma are not unhappy to live as they do, because it's part of their culture. As a democratic country, aiming at respecting Human Rights, Czech Republic is supposed to struggle vigorously against such prejudices and more globally against intolerable conditions of living of Roma community. But one could argue that the situation shown in the video is an extreme case, a marginal situation, stressed in order to shock the audience. Is the situation of housing for Roma really concerning? Hasn't it improved since 1999? [...]

[...] However, the balance sheet of the project was pessimistic, since the action didn't result in the establishment of “systems of self-governance in the houses” as it initially wanted, and since all tenants and fieldworkers interviewed after the project stated that relations between neighbours had not improved. What can be concluded from such a negative experience? The reasons of its failure are mainly the fact that it was a short-term project, while changing mentalities, and relations between Roma and non-Roma, is a long-term process. But the Minority Rights report also stressed the reluctance of public institutions to commit themselves into the projects. [...]

[...] Roma are overrepresented in these housings. They form 60% to 100% of the population there, while representing only of the total population of the state. Conditions of living are deplorable, very often with no heating, nor hot water or bathrooms[1]. For example, in 1997, a building in Slezska Ostrava was condemned because it was flooded and the foundations were eroded. Every non Roma families were resettled, but some Roma families were placed there, in spite of the fact that the Regional Hygiene Office had declared that the area constituted a “health hazard”[2]. [...]

[...] The mayor had decided to re-house the Roma in another town Rokytnice, without previous consultation of the city. The last refused to accept them in its lodging centre, which was actually in an even more destitute condition than the Kostelec one. The more choking fact was the reaction of the population of the city. Far from feeling sympathetic towards families which were brutally expulsed, they were 400 to demonstrate in Rokytnice against the re-housing of the Roma in the town. [...]