Czech floods 2024: Roma providing aid, Commissioner Fuková coordinating assistance with community leaders, Romodrom sets up crisis hotline

Fuková has described to news server Romea.cz the many steps she has taken to arrange for effective aid delivery. “During the weekend we sent a message to the Regional Roma Coordinators, members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs and also members of its Security Working Group,” Fuková said, adding that she called on all of those entitities to coordinate with NGOs, whether pro-Roma or Romani-led, with Romani leaders, and with municipal representatives.

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“I also called on the director of the Agency for Social Inclusion, Martin Šimáček, to effectively coordinate aid in the socially excluded localities and regions,” Fuková said.

Rebuilding after the floods: Agency for Social Inclusion targets support to the municipalities which are most vulnerable

Šimáček said the Agency is delivering aid to those municipalities affected by the recent flooding with which they have already long been collaborating. “Among the municipalities which have been devastated by the floods are many with which the Agency cooperates. We are offering them assistance not just with solving acute problems, but also with rebuilding after the floods in the days to come,” he told Romea.cz. The Agency is paying special attention to those municipalities which had high levels of social exclusion before the floods.

According to Šimáček, some afflicted people will not have their own resources on which to draw when recovering from this crisis, which is why it will be important to arrange support for rebuilding their housing and infrastructure. “We are offering municipalities aid with finding opportunities for them to assist with rebuilding not just housing, but also other infrastructure so that vulnerable households can access services. We are mapping which municipalities have been most affected by the floods and which have also long held critical rankings in our Index of Social Exclusion. We will strive to make sure those municipalities and their residents receive enough support, as their needs will be greater,” he said.

Flood aid from Romodrom: Special hotline 771 504 840 for those affected

The Romodrom organization is also actively contributing by providing support to all who need it. “All weekend we carefully monitored the situation throughout the Czech Republic, especially in the most affected areas,” their representative Kateřina Vorlová told news server Romea.cz.

“Currently we are offering aid in the most afflicted regions, above all in the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc Regions. We continue to follow the situation and respond in the Pardubice, Ústecký, South Bohemian, South Moravian and Central Bohemian Regions, in Prague, and in Vysočina,” said Vorlová, adding that a special flood hotline is also available from Romodrom.

“All our activities targeting support to victims of the floods are being coordinated at phone number 771 504 840. Anybody can call that number with their questions and needs,” said Vorlová, adding that the Romodrom organization is mobile and prepared to either arrange for the delivery of humanitarian aid or to provide it directly according to current needs.

“We have allocated employees to follow this situation intensively and we are prepared to focus on humanitarian aid provision this week, and in the weeks to come we will work on securing all the other needs of the evacuated persons. We are maintaining the regular operations of our services and continuing to support our clients and employees who also need us at this difficult time,” Romodrom representative Vorlová said.

Coordinated aid in Luže, Pardubice Region: Non-Roma and Roma on the same team

Fuková is in close contact with representatives of the Romani community in the most afflicted areas such as the Ostrava area and the Pardubice Region. She is paying particular attention to the situation in Luže in the Pardubice Region, which was struck by the floods on Sunday, necessitating the evacuation of Romani families from their endangered homes.

“We are in close contact with Ivan Červeňák of Luže in the Pardubice Region. That municipality has been very affected by the floods and the water has washed away many Romani families’ homes and the local community center. I am also communicating with the Caritas Pardubice (Oblastní charita Pardubice) and A Chance for You (Šance pro tebe) – organizations headquartered in the Chrudim area,” explained Fuková.

Červeňák, who is a Romani advisor, described how coordination of aid with the local Romani community is proceeding. He had warned local residents in advance of the potential danger and instructed them to prepare to bring their personal documents and medicines with them should they be evacuated. Once the water actually rose, the Romani community did not hesitate and actively joined in the assistance efforts, voluntarily filling sandbags and collaborating with local firefighters.

Červeňák emphasized that there was no problem with the Romani community during this crisis situation – on the contrary, community members were fully involved in the aid efforts. “It did not matter here who was Romani and who wasn’t. Everybody was on the same team to assist others,” he said. It was important that people collaborated in a unified way and there were no disputes between communities. Červeňák also took over coordination for the whole of Jeronýmova Street, home to both majority-society members and Romani people. Together, all residents there contributed to preparing for evacuation and then the evacuation itself.

Romani youth are also involved in aid efforts in Luže. Vanesa Klincová, a ROMEA scholarship recipient, had been following the rising levels of the Novohradka River with concern. “We spotted a woman on the other side of the bridge carrying children in her arms and doing her best to get to safety. When we saw that, we were convinced that each and every helping hand is important and we decided to assist,” she described her involvement with the aid efforts. Together with Dominik Vajda, Klincová went to the local Sokol organization where an evacuation center had been established and applied to volunteer. “All we did was deliver the necessary clothing and shoes to adults and children, but we know that was meaningful and we helped a couple of people at least,” she said.

“I’m staying here and I will do my best to aid others however I can,” Vajda told news server Romea.cz. He usually lives in Ostrava, but would not be able to return there now because of the floods.

“The example of the coordinated aid in Luže has confirmed that it is good to have a Romani coordinator in every town who is of Romani origin. That contact person then communicates with the Romani community, the municipality, and organizations during different crisis situations,” Commissioner Fuková stressed to Romea.cz.

Rapid response in Ostrava: Life Together aids evacuated Romani families

Kumar Vishwanathan, director of the Life Together organization, described their rapid response to requests for aid from families affected by the floods in Ostrava-Přívoz. The local crisis team called upon Life Together to support 15 Romani families, 46 people total, who had been evacuated to the Don Bosco facility. “Those families coped brilliantly with the evacuation, we assisted them with buying groceries for supper and for breakfast, the lunches will be provided by the Salesians,” Romea.cz heard from director Vishwanathan.

Life Together is also collaborating with other organizations such as People in Need (Člověk v tísni) and with local authorities, including with the City of Ostrava leadership. Aid was also provided to about 80 more Romani people accommodated in other locations around Ostrava. The Life Together team is also mapping the situation in the flooded neighborhood of Přívoz, from which firefighters rescued 530 people, including children, during one day. Boats and a helicopter assisted on the scene. These families are also being helped by Romani activists in Ostrava such as René Baláž, Jozef Stojka and others.

Brno: Roma involved in crisis aid

Throughout the Czech Republic, Romani people have also joined aid efforts for those afflicted by the floods. On Saturday, for example, in Brno’s Husovice neighborhood, local Roma actively assisted their fellow volunteers with making sandbags and strengthening physical protections against the high waters. That help was organized by Dušan Plachetka.

“Our big thanks to everybody who participated, above all to Dušan Plachetka, who aided us to a significant degree by driving in his own car to deliver the sand into the early morning hours,” the Mayor of the Brno-sever Municipal Department, Martin Maleček, said on Saturday just before 5 AM.

Tomáš Ščuka, a member of the City of Brno’s Roma Council, informed Romea.cz about their preparedness to provide aid in Brno and its surroundings. “We are attentively following the situation in Brno and the surrounding areas. We are also included in the communications channels should the situation deteriorate. Some of our members have long been collaborating with the Food Bank and are therefore prepared, should it be necessary, to provide assistance to any and all afflicted families irrespective of their origin,” news server Romea.cz heard from him on Monday morning.

Brno Team, an informal group of Romani activists, is also offering its aid in Brno.

Mayor of Hanušovice praises Romani aid

Hanušovice in the Šumperk area is also facing the catastrophic consequences of the floodwaters striking the town. During just 10 minutes the water level rose there by one meter, making it impossible to evacuate many residents in time. However, the local Romani community immediately joined in the aid efforts to cope with the situation.

“Romani people are making sandbags and aiding with protecting residents from further harm,” Mayor of Hanušovice Marek Kostka said, expressing his appreciation for the enthusiasm the local Roma showed for saving the rest of the town even though the floods have also struck their own homes.

In Krnov, which was also struck by extreme flooding, Romani residents have actively joined in the rescue work and aid delivery. As much as 80 % of the territory of Krnov was submerged and the water level of the Opava River was 1.5 meters higher than during the catastrophic floods of 1997. Immediately on Saturday Romani residents there were assisting with evacuations, making sandbags and performing other essential work.

Commissioner Fuková expressed her appreciation for the fact that in addition to the Regional Romani Coordinators and local Romani advisors, Romani residents themselves are actively involved in aid efforts. “For example, Karel Karika of the Czechoslovak Romani Union asked me where he could assist. He is willing to deliver help anywhere in the country. He also collaborates with the Food Bank. Another member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, Jiří Daniel from the Blansko area, is cooking for those who have been evacuated,” she pointed out, expressing her appreciation for the labor of the ambulance drivers, firefighters and others who are aiding others during this natural disaster.

“I greatly appreciate the aid of the Integrated Rescue System, which is assisting everybody without differentiating among people. At the same time, I also welcome the help that is targeting the Roma,” Fuková told Romea.cz.