On June 10, Nicolas Dirda, a Roma individual, tragically lost his life when he was fatally stabbed while riding a tram in the Czech Republic. He was en route to a fireworks event near Brno, the country’s second-largest city. This tragic incident ignited passionate protests within the Roma community, a substantial minority comprising approximately 250,000 people in a nation of 10.5 million.
Media reports initially attributed the murder to a Ukrainian individual, although no official confirmation from the police was available.
Fueled by rumors and baseless allegations of additional crimes, a series of confrontations unfolded. Within the Czech Republic, which has welcomed approximately 350,000 Ukrainian refugees following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tensions escalated. This resulted in clashes between the Roma community and Ukrainian refugees.
Roma activists and government officials have called for a rejection of the notion of collective guilt, highlighting how the Roma minority itself has been victimized by similar prejudices in the past. Lucie Fukova, the government commissioner for Roma affairs, made an appeal to the community, asking, “Have we already forgotten the marches against the Roma?”
Nevertheless, the tension has continued to mount. Multiple incidents of violence and intimidation have been reported as radicalized segments of the Roma community allege that Ukrainian refugees are receiving social housing, benefits, and educational opportunities that should rightfully be allocated to the Roma population.
The recent turmoil has spurred the government in Prague to take decisive action.
Lucie Fukova emphasized the government’s acute awareness of the pressing and sensitive nature of the current escalation. She mentioned the establishment of a dedicated working group aimed at addressing “prejudicial violence.”
Despite some limited signs of progress in recent years, a significant majority of Czech citizens continue to express disdain for Roma, as highlighted in a report (available in Czech) [PDF].
This deeply ingrained racism translates into unequal opportunities for housing, education, and employment, resulting in many Roma communities living in impoverished ghettos. This situation perpetuates a cycle of prejudice and discrimination.
These longstanding issues have made the narrative promoted by populist political opposition groups – suggesting that government support for Ukrainian refugees comes at the expense of local citizens – potentially appealing to some within the Roma community.
“Some Roma individuals may resent feeling marginalized in comparison to the Ukrainians, as refugees are generally seen as a more vulnerable community,” suggests Marketa Kocmanova, an expert on radicalization at Charles University in Prague.
While Ukrainians were once a relatively small minority in the Czech Republic and faced their own share of societal discrimination, their numbers have significantly increased over the past 18 months, garnering significant attention.
This unease has been seized upon by radical Roma activists and social media influencers, such as David Mezei, who have actively fueled anger by spreading claims of knife-wielding Ukrainians who should “go back where they came from.”
“These influential figures have a significant impact, particularly within the most economically disadvantaged segments of the Roma community, which, much like mainstream Czech society, are the most susceptible to radicalization,” explains Miroslav Broz, a veteran advocate for Roma rights associated with the non-governmental organization Konexe.
In addition to internal provocateurs within the Roma communities, external influences from nationalist right-wing and anti-system extremists have sought to exploit the situation.
These groups have a history of promoting hatred against the Roma community but have chosen, for the time being, to redirect their focus towards Ukrainian refugees, paradoxically joining the bandwagon to encourage radicalization.
Jana Zwyrtek Hamplova, a senator who previously advocated for segregating Roma children in schools, has thrown her support behind the protests. Other extremist activists have attempted to participate in Roma events in groups, though often unsuccessfully. Nonetheless, Miroslav Broz suggests a concerning overlap as some of the more radical gatherings begin to adopt the language and symbols of Czech nationalism.
When the Roma minority demonstrates for equality, they typically raise the Roma flag. However, at recent anti-Ukrainian events, the Czech flag has taken prominence, accompanied by slogans like “we were here first.”
Additional actors and mechanisms are also attempting to manipulate the Roma community. Disinformation networks, which flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, have shifted their focus to spreading Russian narratives about the Ukrainian invasion. They are now propagating hate speech against Ukrainians and sharing archived news stories of racist attacks on Roma in Ukraine.
Lucie Fukova, a government official, points out that this includes “Russian propaganda about alleged Nazism in Ukraine and the purported legitimacy of Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
These tactics seem to be having an impact, as some recent Roma demonstrations have featured chants of “Glory to Putin!”
Regarding the security aspect of this issue, a spokesperson for the Czech counterintelligence agency, the Security Information Service (BIS), declined to confirm Russian involvement in radicalizing the Roma but acknowledged a “large amount of disinformation” in play.
Russia has a history of involvement in the Czech Republic’s Roma issues, having reportedly supported neo-Nazi skinhead gangs in the 1990s that targeted the minority. Russian links to the country’s extremist political parties over the years are well-documented.
Experts believe that undercover Russian operations may be working to encourage this radicalization, recognizing it as one of the weaknesses in Czech society.
Highlighting the sensitivity of the situation, tensions between the Roma and Ukrainian refugees have even caused arguments among senior members of the governing coalition, with some seeking populist gains.
Many politicians may not fully grasp that discrimination, as long as it persists, remains a national security risk. However, the center-right government, elected on an anti-populist platform, appears unprepared to address the issue comprehensively.
While some officials have suggested increasing media education in Roma communities, Fukova indicates that there are no plans to update broader policies concerning Roma or refugees.
Researchers and activists emphasize that Czech society must be educated to understand that the root causes of radicalization do not lie in the minority’s interactions with Ukrainian refugees but rather in structural racism.
Nonetheless, they also assert that widespread violence originating from the Roma side is unlikely, noting that community leaders have swiftly opposed the incitement by external forces. Marketa Kocmanova points out, “We’ve never witnessed Roma terrorists, even though the community suffers from most of the conditions that tend to promote political violence.”