VIDEO: Romani students at BARUVAS honor the victims of the tragic fire in Veľký Šariš by lighting candles and observing silence

The commemoration took place on a footbridge over the Ponávka River near the center of Brno. According to the organizers and the students, it was a powerful moment.

“We wanted to honor the memory of those innocent souls and their great-grandmother. We want everyone to know that we are thinking of the victims and survivors, and also for the survivors to know that,” Monika Hronová, a student of preschool and after-school pedagogy from Hradec Králové, told the Romea.cz news server.

“I am very sorry for what happened, and I am glad that we were able to at least symbolically express our sincere condolences to the families affected by the fire,” said Michael Chudík, an economics and business student from Brno. The organizers said the gesture was dignified and natural.

“The students and I decided to light some candles for the victims of that devastating fire. We lit up the footbridge with our candles and sent up our message there with a minute of silence. We are thinking of the victims and their families, and we hope that the people who will laugh at this event, or those who might even approve of it, will realize that hatred just breeds hatred,” said Štefan Balog, manager of the ROMEA scholarship program.

Five people – four young children and their great-grandmother – lost their lives in the fire that broke out in a Romani settlement in Veľký Šariš in eastern Slovakia on Wednesday evening. The fire destroyed eight temporary housing units and left about 30 people homeless.

The tragedy has deeply affected the Romani public and society at large in Slovakia. In response, Romani activist Jozef Stojka called on Romani people in the Czech Republic, in Slovakia, and across the European Union to light a candle in memory of the victims over the weekend and to share a photo of it as a call for change and an expression of grief and solidarity.

The BARUVAS meeting (Romani for “We Are Growing”), organized by the ROMEA organization, is taking place in Brno for the fourth time. This is the 25th such meeting.

The main goal of the event is to support the academic and personal development of young Romani women and men by building up their relationship to their identity as Roma and their self-confidence. Twenty-five students from higher vocational schools, secondary schools, and universities came to Brno from all over the country.

During the program the students visited the Hodonín u Kunštátu Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Moravia and the Museum of Romani Culture, joined the voluntary cleanup of public spaces in the center of Brno, and discussed the ethical use of artificial intelligence. The meeting is part of ROMEA’s long-term scholarship program, which has supported more than 400 students since 2016.

The total amount paid by the organization to students in direct scholarships exceeds CZK 12 million crowns [EUR 480,000].