The recently resolved case of the residential hotel occupants in the Krásné Březno quarter of Ústí nad Labem is a clear example of something we are all aware of: The dismissive approach taken toward Romani people in this country is often based on the social positions of those involved and the sense of superiority felt by those who are better off. During this recent scandal, the situation of people who are some of the very poorest in this country was spun by the Romani owner of the building in the Předlice quarter which they had to evacuate, by the town government (in the hands of the Czech Social Democrats – ČSSD), by the Romani operator of the residential hotel, and by the firm owning the building in which it was located. Unfortunately, some NGOs also spun their story as well.
The Romani tenants themselves were not to blame for the fact that they had to move out of the building in the Předlice quarter. Nevertheless, at some moments it seemed they were being blamed for doing their best to maintain their dignity and behave like free people.
The Předlice landlord
The owner of the building that was recently evacuated purchased it from the town several years ago for a bargain price under the proviso that he repair it. Tenants moved into the building in good faith, believing the landlord was going to put it in order, but that was evidently never his intention.
After a structural engineer labeled the building uninhabitable, the tenants had to move out. The owner, who was required by law to find the tenants substitute accommodation, told them he had none for them.
Of course, the tenants themselves made the mistake of waiting for the owner to offer them something. They could have started looking for other apartments on their own at that time.
There are acceptable apartments for rent in Ústí nad Labem, as was later proven, so the owner could have found the tenants substitute housing if he had been genuinely concerned for them. The fact that he himself is not poor is evidenced by the villa he owns not far from the town.
Trafficker in poverty
The operator of the residential hotel where the tenants ended up is a classic trafficker in poverty. There are rather a lot of them throughout the country, and some of the wealthier members of the Romani community are in this business, as the case with this particular situation.
The tactic used by these people is simple. They establish usurious rates for occupancy in a residential hotel knowing that some of the cost will be paid by the state in the form of housing benefits, and some of it will be paid by the poor themselves from their wages or their welfare.
"We are two adults and four children and we are paying CZK 11 500 [EUR 455] for a one-bedroom unit [in the residential hotel]. Of that, around CZK 7 000 is covered by our housing benefit. Of the few crowns I have to work with every month, I have to pay CZK 4 300 toward the rent. In the apartment building in Předlice we had a larger apartment, and we paid a total of CZK 6 800 for both the electricity and the rent – I contributed about CZK 2 000 of my own income toward that and the rest was covered by the housing benefit," residential hotel tenant Iveta Jaslová told news server Romea.cz in December of last year.
The failure of the town hall
The town also behaved dismissively toward these impoverished people, as we can see from several statements made by Deputy Mayor Zuzana Kailová (ČSSD). "I’m glad the families heeded my call to finally start taking action and that they found themselves apartments. They have had three months in which to do so. I do not understand why they let this situation become so extreme. Maybe it was just so some people could get publicity," Deputy Mayor Zuzana Kailová told news server iDNES.cz once the scandal had resolved.
Kailová claims the town upheld its legal obligations and sought substitute accommodation for those evacuated from the building in Předlice. The tenants who ended up in the residential hotel insist they never received a single offer from the town that was comparable to their previous accommodation.
The claim that the town hall failed in its approach toward its citizens is upheld by the fact that the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion called on it to finally do something meaningful about the matter (see http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-firm-to-evict-residential-hotel-tenants-tonight). The Agency has retained its honor in this case, because it did its best to do everything in its competency and power for these people, including pointing out that the town hall evidently did not want to resolve their situation, but wanted to get rid of them, as it was suggesting they move into residential hotels outside its territory (in Most, Osek, Duchcov, Dubí, Obrnice, Děčín, Lovosice, Louny, or Žatec).
"We do not consider this approach to be acceptable. A resolution to this situation must be sought on the territory of the town of Ústí nad Labem, not to the detriment of the neighboring municipalities. Forced migration for housing reasons usually leads to further deterioration in the situations of the families involved, primarily with respect to their children," Agency director Martin Šimáček wrote in a press release on the issue.
The owner of the residential hotel building
The CPI Byty firm, which owns the building where the Romani trafficker in poverty was operating his residential hotel, also wanted to get rid of these people. Immediately after the Romani evacuees from Předlice moved into the residential hotel, CPI Byty suddenly determined that the building needs a general overhaul.
Up until that time, the firm had let people live in the dilapidated housing without any concerns. In general, CPI Byty has managed to make rather a lot of money out of other people’s bad luck.
NGOs and their clients
Three nonprofit organizations were involved throughout this entire scandal, or to be precise, their local branches were: The Konexe association, the Counseling Center for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights (Poradna pro občanství/Občanská a lidská práva – PPO), and People in Need (Člověk v tísni). Another initiative, Housing for All, did not get involved until the very end of the scandal.
There are many reasons to appreciate all three of these organizations, because they all have done excellent work in helping needy people, each within the realm of its own capacity. People in Need also provides development aid abroad. Nevertheless, each of them has earned some criticism as a result of this case.
The Konexe association, mainly through its most visible activist, Míra Brož, gave the residential hotel tenants courage and a feeling of belonging to the community. It was admirable to follow how even these poorest of the poor, the people whom "everyone pushes around" at other times, were able to raise up their heads thanks to Brož, to find their self-confidence, and mainly to realize that others do not have the right to do whatever they like with them just because they (apparently) are unable to defend themselves.
Of course, Brož did not have to go so far as to vehemently support the entire extended family (comprised of several nuclear families) in their demand that they be housed together. In the end, part of the extended family is living in the Mojžíř quarter and the rest are living in the Klíše quarter.
From the press releases and other information coming from the local branch of the PPO and of People in Need, one could sense their disappointment over how the residential hotel tenants were accepting their assistance. Both organizations criticized the families for not accepting the apartments they suggested to them.
Some of those apartments, of course, were rejected because of the state of their hygiene. This has been claimed not only by the clients themselves, but also by the PPO, according to whom the clients were being too choosy when they rejected apartments infested with bedbugs or cockroaches, given that the conditions at the residential hotel were similar.
The people concerned, of course, justifiably wanted housing at the level of the apartments they had been forced to leave in Předlice, not housing at the level of the residential hotel they had been forced to move into against their wishes.
The clients also said other apartments suggested to them by these NGOs were too expensive.
Moreover, at the time the properties were proposed to the evacuees, they did not want to make the compromise of breaking up their extended family group. If they had not insisted on trying to stay together, it is rather possible they would have eventually taken advantage of some of the properties suggested to them by these NGOs.
Insulted children
Of course, the behavior of the local branches of People in Need and PPO reveals their underlying sense that poor people are obligated to take whatever is offered them. People in Need, for example, canceled its agreement to collaborate with some clients (with some in writing, with others allegedly only verbally) at the moment when they were about to be evicted from the residential hotel without having secured any substitute accommodation, which meant they would have been on the street.
At that particular point, the local branch of People in Need began to behave like an insulted child, not like a nongovernmental nonprofit organization. An NGO should always stand thoroughly on the side of its clients, even in cases when they do not behave according to the NGO social workers’ expectations. Of course, the local branch of People in Need did not stand on the side of its clients during this eviction, but at that point in the scandal, issued a press release that was essentially identical to the town’s position on the matter.
The PPO, perhaps out of a sense of bad conscience, issued a misleading press release dated 1 February and sent to news server Romea.cz on Sunday, 3 February at 20:15, in which it states that on Saturday 2 February it established a crisis committee together with the Housing for All initiative, followed by this claim: "The staff of PPO held talks with the owner of the building in Krásné Březno about the option of concluding rental contracts with all of the current occupants of the residential hotel on Čelakovského street. Currently negotiations are underway about administrative matters, the technical parameters of the units and the legal requirements of the leases."
When PPO sent out that press release, Housing for All had already negotiated leases on apartments for the residential hotel tenants in another location. According to Housing for All, the PPO provided legal aid as part of the crisis committee, but did not negotiate with the owner of the residential hotel building.
The representatives of these NGOs and Deputy Mayor Kailová all went on to occupy the same position, namely, that of attacking Míra Brož of the Konexe association and claiming that he just wanted publicity. They also claimed that by his initial moves to bring media attention to the scandal, he had reduced the chances that the residential hotel occupants might find good housing.
This is, on the one hand, a misunderstanding – Brož just uses different methods to enforce people’s rights, which are, of course, just as legitimate as the usual methods. As for the other criticism, in the end it turned out that media coverage and visibility of the case brought about its resolution. Moreover, thanks to this case, the media have begun taking a greater interest and the public has been able to learn about the situation of impoverished people in this country.
Housing for All
In the end, the Housing for All initiative got involved in this case, assisted by other people from the No to Racism (Ne rasismu) initiative, by Míra Brož from Konexe, and by the PPO. People from Housing for All came to Ústí and, during the course of four days, succeeded in doing what neither the tenants, the town, nor the NGOs had managed to do over the course of several months: Helping them in the situation of the moment.
The tenants were facing a hard decision: Whether to live in accommodation or end up on the street. Together they found apartments in an ordinary building charging ordinary rents where other Romani residents live. The rent on a one-bedroom apartment and electricity deposit in their new arrangements will cost them CZK 6 800 per month, while the rent on a studio apartment in the building will cost CZK 6 300 per month.
The accommodations are not miraculous, but impoverished people in our conditions probably couldn’t have ended up better. The family has rented five apartments in the Klíše quarter. One family with seven children is living in a one-bedroom, another one-bedroom is occupied by a family with four children, and a third one-bedroom is occupied by a family with two children and a third on the way. A grandfather and grandson are living in one studio apartment, and another adult male family member is living in another studio.
Unlike their accommodations at the residential hotel, each family now has privacy and its own kitchen, bathroom and toilet. The building is clean, without bugs or years of accumulated dirt. Most essentially, it is not in a socially excluded locality.
Another two nuclear families belonging to this extended family found housing in the Mojžíř quarter, one in a two-bedroom apartment (two adults and two children), the other in a three-bedroom (two adults and four children). It is not yet known how much they are paying in rent, but it most probably an acceptable price. One of the apartments was made available to the family by a relative, while the other is being rented to them by a person who is a great supporter of Romani people.
Waves of emotions
People in Need, including its Ústí branch, and PPO, including its Ústí branch, perform good social work and other kinds of work on a daily basis. The Ústí-based Konexe association does good work in supporting people through difficult times. If these organizations could manage to combine forces instead of shouting at one another all the time, it would do a lot of good for their current and future clients. However, their representatives unfortunately are still behaving like small children. Their emotions are unnecessarily upset and their capacity for rationality is declining.
People in Need and Konexe are now in a tug of war over who is responsible for what. Arguments and "evidence" are flying through the air. Just one example: People in Need claims that when the tenants signed their leases on the properties in the Klíše quarter, they also pre-signed an eviction notice that will take effect should they miss a rent payment. The landlord made the same claim in an article published on iDNES.cz. Konexe, however, insists no such eviction notices were signed. People in Need also claims the tenants will be paying CZK 500 a month per person for electricity, while Konexe claims they will only be paying CZK 500 per apartment.
Even if the tenants have pre-signed eviction notices, such arrangements are illegal and could be defended against through the courts. There is also no reason for the landlord to evict the tenants as long as they pay what they are supposed to and behave in a standard way, which is why the tenants themselves are not very concerned about that eventuality.
What is hopeful and positive?
The enthusiasm of the young people involved with Housing for All, who spent the night with the tenants at the residential hotel even when there was no electricity, heat or water service there, is truly admirable. Their final declaration is a bit of a rant (see http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/housing-for-all-we-charge-the-system-with-failure-and-incompetence), but it gives us hope that in the future a group of people will finally start to form in the Czech Republic who will not only speak up fiercely for the rights of the most impoverished (and not only their right to housing), but who will also speak up against the upswing in antigypsyism here. Their motto is a variation on the Anti-Fascist Action slogan: "Blacks and whites have joined forces" (Černí bílí, spojili síly).
The greatest admiration for courage and endurance has rightfully been earned by the impoverished Romani people themselves. They stuck to their aims and sought appropriate accommodation for themselves even though they knew they did not have a big chance of a good outcome. At first they thought they had found themselves the right housing back in their original neighborhood of Předlice, but the problem was they couldn’t afford it. The apartments they looked at with affordable rents would have involved other costs – they would have had to completely outfit them at their own expense, installing linoleum flooring, puttying and painting the walls, installing heating units, kitchen units, etc. Understandably, they didn’t have the money for that. Now they will "live like human beings", primarily thanks to how they themselves managed to face up to their fate.
