Gypsies in the Czech Republic
The Gypsies of the former Czechoslovakia have suffered ethnic marginalization dating back to their arrival in Eastern Europe over 700 years ago. The collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia, and other Eastern Europe countries created the necessary conditions for the ethnic mobilization of the Gypsies and other minorities. During communism minorities presence in Eastern Europe was not officially recognized. The transition from the socialist system to democracy gave the Gypsies of Czechoslovakia a chance to participate in the political process, to represent their interests and end their ethnic marginilization. Though, due to historical circumstances dating back before communism this has been a tough task for the Gypsies and other minorities. The emergence of democracy and a free market economy in former Czechoslovakia has created many social problems for the Gypsies. There has been an increase of prejudice and violent attacks against the Gypsies, as well as widespread unemployment for the majority of unskilled, untrained Gypsies. The causes of the prejudice and conflicts involving Gypsies are attributed to both the social history of Eastern Europe from the interwar years as well as the nature of communist and postcommunist societies. The transition to a democratic form of government has brought about both positive and negative aspects for the Gypsies; in order to fully understand the current social position of this minority group it is imperative to analyze the history of the "Gypsy problem" in the twentieth century.
The history of the Gypsies in Eastern Europe and former Czechoslovakia has created many of the social problems this large minority face today. The Gypsies migrated to Eastern and ...
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...the Gypsies and the majority. Gypsies are still living in poverty and there hasn't been any significant changes in education and the training of unskilled Gypsies. The Gypsies have few people to lead them, and the ones that do have not succeeded in improving living conditions. In order for the Gypsies to become equal the state must enforce penalties against discrimination, and institute programs that will allow the Gypsies to become self-sufficient. The governments of each country must make conscious efforts to educate and train the Gypsies. Efforts need to be made by the gypsies as well. It is important for the Gypsies to become politically active and with the help of international organizations change state policy. The Gypsies have suffered ethnic discrimination for hundreds of years and it is important now for everyone to become socially accepting of minorities.
The case of R. v. Krymowski was around hate speech against the Roma people, also known as the “Gypsies”. A protest was staged by 25 neo-Nazis and other people in front of the motel where the Roma refugees were staying when they were allowed into Canada in 1997. These groups of individuals held up signs in order to gain support from the whole community to extradite/get rid of all the Gypsies who have immigrated. They eventually started getting assistance from a large group of people including public officials, police officers, members of the press and etc. Along with this were newspaper articles which were being published criticising the Roma people saying how they treated their wives and even their daughters unequally compared to the men in the family. They also believed that the Roma’s educated their children how to steal. About 3 weeks into the whole debate, the protesting began which last approximately over 2 hours. The Neo-Nazis held up some horrifying signs around the hotel where the Roma refugees were staying. Some signs stating “Honk if you hate Gypsies”, “Canada is not a Trash Can”, “You’re a cancer to Canada” and “G.S.T – Gypsies Suck Taxes”. However, there were no direct situations towards the Roma people during the whole period of the peaceful protest. Approximately 4 months after the protest had occurred; the police force entered numerous homes of individuals after extreme public lobbying by pressure groups. A number of people were charged with wilful promotion also known as hate crime. The Crown attempted to prove that the people that took place in the protest violated the Criminal Code by having hatred towards an identifiable group of people and tried to establish that the Neo-Nazis along w...
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