The second-grade reader includes a story called “Mýdlová Madla” (“The Soapy Rail”) by Ivona Březinová. “Mama told me I shouldn’t talk to those Demeterovic boys at all … she said they’re Gypsies. Gypsies are dirty and steal,” second-graders read in the textbook, which was published in 2005.
Czech Human Rights Commissioner asks anti-Romani reader be withdrawn from schools
Two days ago, I linked to the European Human Rights Court verdict over a Roma woman forcefully sterilized in Slovakia. Just as a matter of context, the text above is part of a book Czech second graders read at school. Slovakia and Czech Republic used to be one country (Czechoslovakia) until 1,993. This book, which teaches seven year old children that Roma people are dirty and they steal has been in use for over six years. Now, the Czech Human Rights commissioner is requesting its removal from classrooms. Requesting is the key word here, as such a request is not enforceable by law until there’s a court order. For all I know, the book might remain in some classrooms for the next ten years, until the European Court of Human Rights issues a new verdict (which is how long it took the sterilized Roma woman to reach hers).
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.