Multi cultural cabaret
Most ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic have their own string of cultural activities throughout the year but on two occasions they mix with other minorities for what they call a "multi cultural" get together. This week Daniela Lazarova went along to their "multi cultural cabaret". For more tune in to this week's Magazine.
There are 15 ethnic minority groups officially registered in the Czech Republic. Among them, the biggest are the Slovak, Polish, German, Roma and Hungarian minorities for whom the Czech Republic has become a "second homeland". However the desire to maintain their traditions and "mother tongue", to preserve a cultural legacy for their children is still strong. Most minorities have their own clubs and organize cultural evenings and get togethers. Some have their own restaurants and shops which import videos, CDs and food ingredients - others have to rely on their own resources, on friends, relatives and the occasional trip "home". Most minorities have their own string of cultural activities throughout the year - but on two occasions they mix with other minorities for what they call a "multi cultural" get together. One is the annual spring Folk Festival - the other is a late autumn meeting which has a different theme every year : an exhibition of paintings, an evening of poetry or a gastronomical festival. I went along to this year's event which turned out to be a multi-cultural cabaret.
Lenka Knapova is a Czech of Ukrainian descent who feels that her roots are very important.
"We want evenings such as this, we want our children to speak their mother tongue not just what we call the "kitchen version" of a language that many children in these circumstances speak. We want them to be educated in our culture, language and history. But of course it is a daily battle. We have managed to set up a Ukrainian Sunday school where our kids get together and learn more about their old country and themselves. Very often they speak Czech among themselves-because some of them have never learnt Ukrainian - but they are all Ukrainian children and somehow that binds them and it is very nice to see them together."
Like many of her friends here in the Czech Republic Lenka has a bone to pick with the local media.
"Unfortunately, the media do the minorities a great disservice. You constantly come across reports of a crime having been committed by a certain national - very often a Ukrainian or a group of Ukrainians. That is so embarrassing for us. There are thieves in every country and we are not thieves as a nation. But in the minds of Czechs this creates a negative picture of the Ukrainian minority in the Czech Republic. In fact most Czechs seem to equate the Ukrainian minority with the "gastarbaiters" working in the construction industry, or the economic migrants smuggled across the border by night. But that is not true -WE are the Ukrainian minority, people who have lived here for years, second and third generation Czechs who are indistinguishable from the majority population."
Michal Chrzastowski has lived in the Czech Republic for 20 years now. Although he has not met with any hostility in person, he feels that Czechs do have a problem accepting foreigners.
"Czechs have a set way of life. For instance take a guy who spends eight hours at work, meets the boys at the pub and does his own thing -as he has for years. But foreigners may do things differently. They bring change. And many Czechs are hostile to change. This guy's boss may point out that the new Pole or German makes better use of his time at work. Or, take another example, some men are more gallant towards women - and again - this guy's wife may start to nag about not getting flowers because the Polish or German neighbour comes home with a bouquet once every few days. This may sound far-fetched but the underlying hostility stems from very simple reasons - it is not "big politics" that present a barrier it is narrow minds. This is a character defect and I think that removing it is one of the big challenges that Czechs face. Rising above this attitude."
One minority that appears to have no problems whatsoever is the Slovak minority. Not surprisingly so. Slovaks are not even perceived as foreigners in the Czech Republic since the common state of Czechs and Slovaks, established in 1918, broke up just 10 years ago. There is no language barrier, since Czechs and Slovaks are still pretty much bilingual, and they have a great deal in common in terms of culture and traditions.
Katarina Zatovicova is a Slovak member of Boat Cabaret.
" I wouldn't describe myself as Slovak or Czech. I feel that I am Czechoslovak. I grew up with one foot in Moravia and one foot in Slovakia and now I live and work in Prague but I have friends and relatives in both countries and I feel right at home anywhere on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. I do speak Czech here and I think it is important to learn the language of a country if you want to make it your home. But even if I did speak Slovak there would be no problem. I find that many Czechs miss the sound of Slovak now that they no longer hear it on a daily basis - and I'm often told that hearing it again is like the sound of music to their ears. "
The sound of Katarina singing an old gypsy ballad there .... and I'd just like to add one piece of good news in conclusion. After years of waiting to get a place of their own for get togethers such as this minorities in the Czech Republic will finally be given a common cultural center. The Prague Town Hall is allegedly renovating a building it received in the restitution process for this very purpose. Since the individual minority clubs will no longer have to pay for the lease of concert halls - meetings such as this one should become much more frequent.
