Commentary: No surprise Czech MP Schwarz is being called a racist

Who is newly-elected Czech MP Bronislav Schwarz? He is the director of the municipal police force in Most, a regional representative, and a councilor in the town of Lom who has loaned his name to the ANO 2011 political party which, as he has said, paid for his recent election campaign in exchange for his devotion and loyalty.

Schwarz has very often been called a racist because of his opinions. I won’t argue here whether he is one or not.

True, some of his claims do have a racist cast to them. For example, "a iron fist is the only thing for gypsies". 

Combined with his arrogance and his oratory, I am not surprised he has been called a racist for making such statements. I don’t know how effective he is at addressing Romani issues, whether at local level or across the board, but just because he has hired a few Romani people in his role as municipal police director doesn’t make him a "savior" of some sort.    

I also cannot identify with the claim, made in connection with the Romani issue, that welfare is being abused here by Romani people only. Not just Romani people, but everyone registered in the social care system is simply using what the state provides, and that is neither illegal nor a sin.

In the Dictionary of the Literary Czech Language (1989), the word "gypsy" (cikán) is explained as a synonym for the expressions "cheater, liar, thief, etc." Is that why MP Schwarz makes such statements about Romani people?

The endoethnonym "Rom" was first used at an international forum on 8 April 1971, when Romani representatives attending the first International Romani Congress in London included it in the name of their organization, Romano Internacionalno Jekhipen (RIJ), today the International Romani Union, and declared for the first time at international level that it would be the official term for ethnic Romani people. In March 1979, the IRU was recognized by the United Nations as a non-governmental organization.

I am personally bothered by the fact that very often those involved in the topic of Romani people have no local experience of excluded localities. Often these problems are only addressed from behind a desk, and more and more grants for the support of Romani inclusion and integration keep turning up.

Here’s a question:  How much of that money has been spent (and therefore invested) on solving problems in the socially excluded localities and addressing Romani issues in general? I daresay no one is able to precisely calculate the amount.

What is the result? I don’t see any fundamental changes.

On the contrary – more Romani families are finding themselves on the edge of poverty. Meanwhile, in the Czech lower house, seats are being filled by people who show off their own egos through displays of force, but who offer no solutions.

The author is the second vice-chair of the "Citizen for the Town, the Town for the Citizen" (OMMO) movement.