Auckland, NZ: Funeral of Romani community member Mr. Jiří Demeter
In Auckland, New Zealand on Friday, 29 September 2023, people paid their final respects to the late Mr. Jiří Demeter, a member of the Khamoro music group. Almost 100 people attended the ceremony.
Mr. Demeter passed away on 21 September 2023 in the circle of his family as the result of a long illness. “I knew Jirka here in the Czech Republic and I also met up with him in Australia. He was really humane and he was a brilliant musician, I had only the best of experiences with him. I am very sorry he has passed,” musician Vojtěch Lavička said during a video in which many figures remembered the departed.
Funeral of Jiří Demeter, Auckland, New Zealand, 29 September 2023. (PHOTO: Used with the permission of Monika Demeterová)
“Jirka was always inspiring to me, he was my role model. When I began playing music and singing, he inspired me in many ways. If I was ever in a bad mood, I listened to Jirka and all of Khamoro. I thank him for that very much,” said singer Bartoloměj Girga in the video.
“Jirka was very close to the music, he had the gift of a gorgeous voice, he was grounded in the arts. When he was onstage he wasn’t just a singer, he was also an actor. He could draw you into the story of the song. That is how he won his audience and his fame,” musician Gejza Horváth remembered him in the video.
Mr. Demeter was born on 30 April 1963 in Prague, Czechoslovakia and came from the Sidor family. His father was a police officer whose sons were musically talented.
From an early age, Mr. Demeter dedicated himself to music. His parents established the Khamoro ensemble in the 1980s, which was quite famous in its day, and Mr. Demeter was the bandleader.
After completing his compulsory two-year military training, Mr. Demeter worked for the Czechoslovak Federal Interior Ministry as a commissary manager. He later went into business.
In his free time, Mr. Demeter continued to dedicate himself to music with his beautiful, strong singing voice. One of the best-known compositions he performed was the Romani halgato song “Čoro čhávo somas” (“I Was A Poor Boy”), written by the famous songwriter Gejza Horváth.
Mr. Demeter performed with his band in the first Romani-run restaurant and club in the country, also called Khamoro. He sang with the best Romani musicians at the time, such as the Lazok brothers.
Mr. Demeter collaborated with public broadcaster Czech Television on the “Romale” [Romani People] program, which was produced by Emil Ščuka. His hyperbolic reggae song called “Vemte si své vozy zpět” [“Take Your Cars Back”] became quite popular.
Mr. Demeter lived for many years in New Zealand. He emigrated there as a result of the racially-motivated violence that was growing in the Czech Republic.
