Lucie Lucassen, Romani community member in the Czech Republic, plans to adopt a Romani orphan - like she once was herself
19.1.2021 9:09
Lucie Lucassen (PHOTO: Personal archive of Lucie Lucassen)
She was raised by foster parents and did not want to acknowledge her Romani heritage for a long time,but when Lucie Lucassen began working for one of the biggest Romani nonprofit organizations in the Czech Republic and got to know other Romani community members up close, she came to grips with her own identity and began to take an interest in the history of the Romani people. I have not been working long for the Brno office of IQ Roma Service, but working in the social field is fulfilling to me, the 21-year-old begins our conversation, revealing that it was a bit accidental how she began working exactly for a nonprofit organization aiding the socially vulnerable.
Anti-Roma Stigma of Czech President Miloš Zeman Threatens Progress Over Romani Rights
Members of the Czech government council for Roma community affairs reacted angrily to Zeman’s allegations.
Czech president Miloš Zeman faces a tough run-off against rival Jiří Drahoš in the second round of the presidential election on January 26-27. Voters will deliver their verdict on Zeman’s open hostility to refugees, Muslims, and the European Union, and his support for Russia.
While the vote can be seen as a choice between the country leaning east or west in the future, Zeman’s controversial remarks about Roma demonstrate that many of the questions dividing Czechs are also rooted in the nation’s past.