More than 100 people attend the funeral of the late Mr. Karel Holomek in Brno, Czech Republic
More than 100 people came to the ceremonial hall of the Brno Central Cemetery to pay their last respects to the late Mr. Karel Holomek, the Romani activist who co-founded the Museum of Romani Culture. He passed away after a long, serious illness on 27 August at the age of 86.
The bereaved spoke of his kindness and sincerity in their eulogies. Later this month a mass will be held for him in Prague, and one year from now there will be a “happening” at the Králický Sněžník nature preserve where his ashes will be scattered.
ROMEA TV broadcast the funeral ceremony live online. “He was a very active, kind and sincere person. His efforts to bring everybody together were also exceptional. The establishment of the Museum of Romani Culture is one of his greatest contributions. We will do our best to disseminate his legacy even further, to educate people about the beauty of Romani culture and show it to people,” said museum spokesperson Karolina Spielmannová.
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The funeral began at 12:30 with a musical performance by Róbert Lacko, who played a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach on the violoncello. Jana Horváthová, the daughter of Karel Holomek and director of the Museum of Romani Culture, then read a eulogy from film director Břetislav Rychlík.
The eulogy said the late Mr. Holomek always expressed himself directly, without embellishment, on everything he considered incorrect and unjust, and that he was never afraid to take steps that were unpopular. The next eulogy was by the author and politician Martin Šimečka.
The band Gulo Čar then performed two songs in Romanes: Pačas (“We Believe You”) and Soske mange kerďal? (“Why Did You Do It To Me?”). The Czech folk songs Ach synku synku (“Oh Sonny Boy”) and Sedí sokol (“A Falcon Sits”).
Róbert Lacko closed the ceremony by performing “Ave Maria” on the violoncello. Many eminent figures attended the ceremony, such as Czech Government Commissioner for Romani Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková, Deputy Culture Minister Ondřej Chrást, the director of the Agency for Social Inclusion Martin Šimáček, former Culture Minister Daniel Herma, former ombudswoman Anna Šabatová, former deputy ombudswoman Monika Šimůnková, journalist Jarmila Balážová, activist Kumar Vishwanathan, Romani activist Ladislav Baláž, former MEP Milan Horáček, the Central Bohemian Regional Romani and National Minority Affairs Coordinator Cyril Koky, journalist Alica Heráková, Monika Mihaličková, Gejza Horváth, director of IQ Roma Servis Petr Máčal and others.
A wreath was also laid on behalf of the ROMEA organization with the inscription Paľikerav Tumenge by director Zdeněk Ryšavý. Since Monday a book of condolences had been available to sign at the Museum of Romani Culture in the auditorium of its Brno headquarters.
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It was possible for people to share their memories of the late Mr. Holomek there. One could write those memories into the book of condolences or just spend a moment of silence there.
Karel Holomek, one of the most eminent Romani figures
Mr. Karel Holomek was born in 1937 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. His father, Tomáš Holomek, was the first Romani person to achieve a university education in Czechoslovakia.
The Holomek family was persecuted during the Second World War and a large part of them perished in the concentration camps. Karel and his sister Marcela were also meant to be transported to Auschwitz because they were half-Romani.;
Thanks to the bravery of their mother and the aid of a Czech gendarme and their neighbors in Milotice, Nazi officials never discovered Karel and Marcela. Their father went into hiding during the war in Slovakia.
Mr. Holomek graduated from Brno’s Military Academy in mechanical engineering, where he also worked for several years as an assistant. In 1968 he had to leave the academy because of his political position on Czechoslovakia being occupied by Warsaw Pact troops.
In Brno during the 1970s he moved in the circles of dissidents and disseminated samizdat literature. In 1981 he spent a brief time in prison.
Mr. Holomek got involved in politics after the 1989 revolution. From 1990-1992 he was a deputy in the Czech National Council for Civic Form (Občanské fórum) and, after it split up, for the Civic Movement (Občanské hnutí).
He founded the Roma Civic Initiative (Romská občanská iniciativa). He deserves a great deal of credit for establishing the Museum of Romani Culture, the work for which first began in the early 1970s.
The museum was first officially established in 1991 at the initiative of Mr. Holomek and other Romani intellectuals as a non-governmental, nonprofit organization. Since 2005, the museum has been a state-sponsored organization of the Czech Culture Ministry.
The current director of the museum is Mr. Holomek’s daughter, Jana Horváthová. After its founding, he became chair of the Association of Roma in Moravia and honorary chair of the Society of Experts and Friends of the Museum of Romani Culture.
Mr. Holomek was also the director of the International Romani Center of the Helsinki Civil Assembly (Helsinské občanské shromáždění), a member of the Czech Government Council for Human Rights, a member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, and the editor-in-chief of the magazine Romano hangos.
Mr. Holomek was awarded a Bronze Medal of Merit. He was given that state honor in 2002.
