Comments on: O Canada!

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:33:50 +0000

You are correct. The visa issues is another thing though. The “refugees” can fly here stay with relatives or say they are visiting then stay here and claim refugee status that is why we need visa requirements not only for the czech’s but also for the mexican’s and a few others. The first commentor tells how the Roma citizens act within the czech society. That may only be a portion of them. Also why would we want people who don’t want to work and want to live off the system coming to Canada?!!!! We want people that are going to be productive members and contributing members to our society. Let the Czech Republic deal with their own issues. As mentioned before the Roma citizens can apply to live in another EU Country if they feel they need to!!!!

By: Jitka

Jitka — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:58:40 +0000

I totally agree with what Josef said.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:04:41 +0000

Hello Pavel,

Thank you for the precisions. You make a good point about the comparaison with the US.

Gabriel

By: Pavel Soukenik

Pavel Soukenik — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:01:02 +0000

Thank you for providing the counterpoint, Gabriel. You are correct that my criticism is aimed at the refugee branch. I also agree about the xenophobia, and would add there is a kind of denial of the race attitude issue (‘I don’t like them because they are XYZ, not because they are gypsies’).

But Roma did have equal rights ever since Czechoslovakia started as an independent republic in 1918; something you cannot say about the US where voting rights and segregation had not been addressed until the 60s. So I find the claim ‘Only with the prospect … was … forced to guarantee equal rights’ misleading.

Also, I do recognize the government and NGOs in the Czech Republic have a lot of work to do (as is the case with UK, France, and US).

By: gabriel

gabriel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:02:50 +0000

Mister Soukenik,

You did not argue that the Canadian immigration system is broken, you considered critics of its refugee branch. The canadian immigration system is more than the refugee status it grants, and proves to be one of the most efficient in the World. Minorities’ social and economic integration, in Canada, is not hindered by xenophobia as it is the case in many european countries. In fact France has recently decided to emulate the canadian model.

Also, Yes, Canada can grant refugee status to Americans. No, you can’t compare the US to the Czech Republic, I know both countries for having lived there, and the US has a longer experience in dealing with issues of minorities and clear affirmative action initiatives. Only with the prospect of EU integration was the Czech Republic forced to guarantee equal rights to the Roma minority.

Maybe the visa requirement will be a wake-up call for the Czech government to insure the welfare and blossoming of its minorities.

By: Josef

Josef — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:36:06 +0000

Hi,
I am a Czech citizen living in Canada. The problem with Roma people goes way back. For centuries they were living like nomads, moving from one place to another. That was their way of life. But during communism, they were forced to settle. The communists didn’t want them to move around. They were given education (at that time, they didn’t even know how to write) and free appartments to live in. Unfortunatelly, they always demolated them and then complained that they needed new ones. After the fall of communism in 1989 it got more difficult because nothing was for free anymore. Despite of this the Roma people still got new appartments for free and Non-Romas had to pay for them. But they aren’t able to maintain them. They don’t want to pay for hydro or heating. They rather remove all the hard floor and just burn it in the middle of the room to make heat. They burn all the furniture. They pull out all the radiators in the rooms and sell them. They throw all barbage out the window. Who’d want to live in a neighbourhood with people like that?
Of course there is more unemployed Romas than Non-Romas. Bucause Non-Romas are willing to work! Besides, Romas are not depandable, they like to drink, steal and fight. They stroll in groups only. They steal during the day. There are many people who will confirm what I say. And more.
Romas don’t want to work. They just look for a way to “milk” the system. It is normal for a Roma couple to have 5 or 6 kids, even more. Because they get more child support from the government.
Now, they found out that if they come to Canada they can make even more money for doing nothing. They get a free appartment, each $1,300.- a month, free food, free health care. Now, imagine how much they get if it is a 5 member family. It’s more than an average person makes. And an average person has been living in Canada for his/her whole life, paying taxes…
That’s not all. After 2 or 3 years of doing nothing and getting paid for it, they will get deported (because the Canadian refugee system must realize that they are just playing it), they will go back to Czech and they will claim retroactively all the welfare benefits for the 2 or 3 years they didn’t get from the Czech government. It’s already happening.
In my over 30 years of living (25 in Czech republic) I can honestly say that maybe 2 Romas out of a hundred are decent human beings. And I am an optimist!
I really hope that the Canadian government will realize what’s happening here. Now if my friends or my family want to visit me, they might not be able to, which is really unfair. Many people are in similar situation. Czech republic is a democratic country, there shouldn’t be any refugees applications accepted by Canadian immigration. It’s not Afghanistan…