Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion objects to disinformation published about its proposals for infamous housing estate

The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has objected to an article about its activities that was published by the homerlive.cz website recently. According to the Agency, the article is biased and misinterprets the Agency’s proposals to address the situation at the Chanov housing estate in the city of Most, which is home to many Romani people.

The author of the article claims to reference a report from the Agency that was delivered to the city. The server alleges that the report reads as follows: “They recommend preserving Chanov and paying its inhabitants an extraordinary financial benefit so they can move into quality housing in Most proper. The experts from the Agency also call on the city to make it possible for children living at Chanov to access cinemas, theaters and commercial sports facilities free of charge. As if that weren’t enough, the route of the city bus line should be adapted by the city for the Chanov inhabitants so they can travel directly into the city center.”

The Agency has objected to the article. “We object to the disinformation article published by the Homer.cz website on 13 October 2019. At the same time, we emphasize that the article claims to be based on material that was an internal communication between the Agency for Social Inclusion (Department of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic) and the Most City Hall, not on material that was made public by us,” the Agency said in a statement.

The article on Homer.cz, according to the Agency, has significantly distorted the content of the communication it claims to be reporting on and has misled its readers. “In the material at issue, the Agency is responding to the city’s plan to build ‘container housing‘ in Most. The Agency does not recommend going through with that plan because it has been clearly demonstrated in years past that maintaining segregated housing leads to the overall deterioration of situations and to increasing the incidence of sociopathological phenomena. The number of people living at Chanov is gradually decreasing, and for that reason, the Agency has proposed allowing the gradual decline of the housing estate over the course of the next few decades,” the Agency said in an effort to correct the reporting about the leaked material.

The Agency then cites the actual text of its own material:  “The Agency unequivocally recommends that the Statutory City of Most create, in collaboration with experts from different fields, a long-term plan for the gradual decline and elimination of the residential segregation at the Chanov housing estate. This solution respects both the conceptual and the legal frameworks adopted by the Czech Republic.”

At the same time, the Agency believes involving Chanov residents in the decision-making and planning process would be absolutely correct and could aid in improving the situation. “The concept of deciding ‘about us without us’ is difficult for the Agency to accept,” the report sent to the city concludes.