Vladimír Čermák on vice-mayor's racist remarks: You are creating Czech society's hatred of the Roma

Radim Ivan wrote: “The welfare office in Havířov is announcing: Fathers used to bring their sons to the mines when they turned 18, but today the gyppos bring their kid to the Labor Office to apply for welfare.” After deleting it, he said he had been repeating the comments of a friend who works there.

I am a Romani man from the Moravian-Silesian Region and Vice-Mayor Ivan’s statements directly affect me, disturb me, and I must respond to them. I am disturbed by the fact that a person in the post of vice-mayor is able to express himself so incorrectly on his social media profile.

The job of vice-mayor, after all, involves great political responsibility with regard to all residents of that municipality. At a time when the Government of our republic is those asking citizens who are finding themselves on the edge of poverty (including those who work) to apply for welfare benefits, Ivan’s insulting post is unacceptable.

From the fact that the vice-mayor has published this post to his profile I have comprehended that he must have made a subjective decision to do so, probably to verify the reliability of his friend’s claims. I would hereby like to ask Vice-Mayor Ivan to provide more information about the person who authored this statement, what position the person works in, and on what data and statistics these allegations have been based.

I would also like to ask how this person determined which applicants for benefits are of Romani nationality. I am asking because, as a member of the Czech Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs, my colleagues and I have been calling for data disaggregated by ethnicity to be collected, or at least for qualified estimates to be made that would contribute actual/qualified data about the number of Romani people who are employed, who are in business, who face discrimination on the labor market, who draw welfare benefits, etc.

Collection of ethnic data/qualified estimates in designated areas at the Government level has not been implemented so far. That makes me sad at the moment, because I am convinced data would be available that would prove the statement made by the vice-mayor’s friend is not true.

Exactly the fact that ethnic data/qualified estimates are not being collected makes it more than likely the vice-mayor was unable to verify these allegations. However, despite that, he decided to publish them to his Twitter profile.

Given that the vice-mayor has been tasked with child protection, social care and strategic development, one must consider whether his post is compatible with the essence of his position and the agenda entrusted to him. Through such remarks, politicians divide society, create even more hatred in Czech society for Romani people, and disparage the labor of the Romani people who work, who are in business, and who create added value for this society.

The coalition governing the municipal department of Ostrava-Jih should consider whether Ivan should be continuing in his position. Once I have received answers to the questions I have posed to Vice-Mayor Ivan, I will appeal to the leadership of the relevant Labor Office to check whether the employee in question is actually even able to continue to effectively do this job, as it conflicts with his discriminatory, prejudiced thinking.