Gejza Horváth cancels appearance at Roma Spirit award over death of a Romani man in Žatec
Today Gejza Horváth wrote the following open letter and published it to his personal Facebook profile.
Open letter to the Roma Spirit Awards in the Czech Republic
I am one of the nominees for the Roma Spirit Award in the area of Romani culture. I hereby definitively announce that I reject any opportunity to be given an award in the Czech Republic. I also refuse to participate as a performer on the musical program of the awards ceremony. I cannot hide my indignation over the incident in Žatec, where recently a human life ended for no reason. The victim is, once again, a Romani man, and the Czech “democratic” Republic is again silent.
As a Romani man, I consider this decision to be my obligation.
I cannot celebrate.
As a father, a grandfather of five, a person who composes music and wants to give something to people and to the world, I do not want to receive an award and celebrate in a society where racism is rampant.
The seriousness of this situation demands that the leading representatives of this country begin to actually deal with human rights and ensure the safety of us Roma and our families. They must ensure our access to education, to jobs, to housing, and to a dignified life as citizens. We built this country too. Everywhere you look you can see our work.
This is our home too!
We, too, want to live in safety, like all the other citizens of this country do.
People, open your eyes and stop being indifferent.
Start behaving like human beings!
In Brno, 22 October 2016
Gejza Horváth
