Today's population is largely comprised of the descendants of these emigres. Other Roma came to the region for economic reasons. After the Second World War, Czechoslovakia resettled areas that had formerly belonged to Suedeten Germans, often with Roma from Slovakia. The issue can be traced back to the Holocaust, after which only about 600 Roma remained in what is today the Czech Republic. One that did was the question of citizenship for the 300,000 Roma living on the Czech side of the border. The split between the Czech Republic and Slovakia was hindered by relatively few issues, and even fewer issues lingered on after the separation was complete. The precedent-setting example came in 1993 with the Velvet Divorce. Czech public institutions have time and again taken measures to isolate the Romani population and resisted listening to voices of dissent. The incident typifies Czech-Roma relations of the past ten years. Some officials preferred to call the wall a "sound barrier." Several years later, in the spring of 1998, some of her fellow townspeople beat her to the punch when they announced plans to build a wall separating several apartment blocks occupied overwhelmingly by Roma from several houses with non-Roma residents across the street. Magdalena received a hearty ovation for her answer. The town to which she was referring was Usti nad Labem, and the dark-skinned people were Roma. "A public prosecutor," she replied, "so that I might cleanse our town of all the dark-skinned people."
One of the questions the beauty pageant jury asked teenager Magdalena Babicka a few years ago was: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
#George kubes immigration lawyer series#
Part one of a four-part series on minorities in Central Europe.
Michele Legge, "Canadian asylum for Czech Romanies," Prague Post, April 22, 1998.Czech-Roma relations after the Velvet Revolution "Sponsorship proposals won't affect applicant," Toronto Star, April 25, 1998. Ontario Premier Mike Harris called on the federal government to enforce the rules against illegal immigrants who abuse the welfare system, often, he said, by entering Canada to join family members who sponsor them, and then applying for welfare when the sponsor fails to keep the promise. About three-fourths of the immigrants settled in Montreal. By country of origin, France sent 2000 immigrants, ex-USSR 1800, and China 1700. About 36 percent of the 1997 immigrants spoke French, 20 percent English, and 44 percent neither French nor English. I am hoping, if your kids are there and want to move to Canada - and they have a skill which is required by the economy - they may be able to start a future there." Visiting Hong Kong, Canada's Minister for International Trade, Sergio Marchi said that it was contradictory to ask foreign students "to leave the country (upon graduation) at a time when we are accepting new people (immigrants). Immigrants who do not speak English or French coming to Canada to join family members would have to pay a language study fee.Ĭanada will permit many of the 100,000 foreign students in the country to work in the summer of 1998. The resulting Trempe Report, released early in 1998, included the suggestion that prospective immigrants to Canada be required to speak in English or French.
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Lucienne Robillard in 1997 appointed a three-member independent panel to suggest changes in Canada's immigration system. In October, 1997, Canada reimposed visa requirements on Czechs. One Romany representative estimated that if given a chance, about a third of the 300,000 Romanies in Czech Republic would migrate to Canada.Ĭanada received 1,216 asylum claims in 1997 from Czech nationals of which 277 were withdrawn. Once granted asylum, Kubas explained in interviews that Romanies in Canada can apply to have family members join them: "There will be a lot of activity now." Kubas represents about 400 Romanies applying for asylum in Canada. Their lawyer, George Kubes, has been accused of stimulating the flow of Czech Romanies to Canada by producing and distributing films saying that Canada is eager for them to immigrate. In an unusual move, the Canadian board issued the report with a ruling which granted asylum on April 14 to several Czech Romanies. The report also condemned the racist undertones of citizenship legislation in 1993 intended to settle citizenship questions between the republics of Czech and Slovakia the 1993 law prevents many Romanies living on Czech soil from gaining Czech citizenship. The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board issued a 30-page report that found that Czech gypsies (Romanies) suffer discrimination in all areas of life and that the Czech government was unable to protect them against racially motivated attacks.
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