Vude sam krsa iklov Tereza (2023)

This Czech-language collection of twenty-two stories presents the lives of people who are still overlooked and kept at the margins of history. Dramatic, moving and humorous stories about Roma families and small ethnic enclaves unfold against the major events of the twentieth century, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Nazi occupation through post-war migration from Slovakia to Bohemia, the normalization period and the changes after 1989. Around twenty authors open the doors of their homes and independently recount unique family histories in which certain themes recur strikingly often. Through these repetitions, they show how the upheavals of the twentieth century affected Czechoslovak Roma, while also demonstrating that they were far from merely passive victims and were often important co-creators of these changes. Family and personal stories offer a view of the past century from the perspective of local Roma, suggesting the origins and depth of many misunderstandings that still hinder dialogue and mutual understanding. The collection reveals how Roma lived alongside the majority population, the values they share and how they have preserved their distinctive culture. The authors draw inspiration from the Roma folkloric genre vakeribena pal o dada, or stories about ancestors, through which Roma families passed the life experience of earlier generations to the next and recorded memories of their closest relatives.