Štefan Tišer

“Still in the v meantime we used to meet up; Emil, deceased Andrej Giňa, Vláďa Rusenko, Margita Reiznerová, Pepík Čonka and Ivan Veselý... We used to meet in that period, but it was a crime, so we always found out, when there were cultural events, entertainment, so we debated in the back discussing what we would do. Of course we were afraid that they find out as the spies were everywhere, that we´d get locked up. But we got lucky and nothing ever happened. And I got an idea to establish this kind of organisation: ‚And it will be a perfect meeting point providing cultural events, where I can invite bands, even children...‘ So I went to the National front here in Pilsen and founded the Roma Cultural Unity. I had to go even to the ministry of interior that was the procedure, so I went to personally hand my application in and I got it stamped. And we had a house in Černická street, later a hotel, so there were our offices. And back then I used to organise these events and always got a grant from the town, a small one, as it came from the communists, who only gave you a contribution so we didn’t have to pay a hall rent and similar.”

“So we gathered during communism and felt a real sense, which draw us and it was the issue of Roma rights here. Not to be called gypsies, when in 1974 the OSN declared we belong to Roma nation. Everywhere you could hear just ‚gypsy, gypsy, gypsy‘. I get terribly offended by that expression. Of course it depends, who you say it, right? But when you simply consider the meaning of the word – ‚gypsy‘– that is a liar, dirt and vermin. And today anywhere, at a demonstration you can hear ‚gypsies go to gas chambers...‘ Dirt and vermin. That all contains the word ‚gypsy‘ within. But Roma? When we meet up in the Street and don’t know each other, we don’t say: ‚Hello, gypsy!‘, but ‚Sar džives, Roma?‘ [How are you, Roma?] The elderly used to say that expression, whoever, my great granddad and I carry it within myself. Wherever I went during campaigns I only spoke Roma language. I got most upset that the young ones didn’t understand me. And that is when I swear as we inherited that after our parents. It is our motherly tongue. I am at home here, I feel Czech. But there are many national minorities here. That means Russians speaking Czech too, at official authorities, and so on, it is an official language, but at home they speak Russian and Croats of course speak Croatian. Likewise Germans speak German. No one can take it from them. So why don’t they blame them and they blame us?”