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Well, I have keys. Let´s go.
The Civic Association Jekhetane-Together
presents the short documentary
Ľudovít
The next bus stop – the Queen of Peace square
I’m the only Roma who has been working for almost 26 years for the company.
I started to work there at the time of previous regime – communism.
I proved that I was able to do it.
I have already registered myself, but I must also call the transport supervisor via transmitter.
If you want to be a driver, you have to have a complete medical examination.
There is glass, and I can see that there is enough water.
You have to be healthy. You have to pass psychological tests.
We repeat the tests every year.
You must have nerves of iron for this work.
There are all sorts of passengers, and they leave all kinds of things in bus,
so bus has to be clean in the morning.
I have to inform my supervisor, if there are any problems with passengers or bus.
Mr. Petík belongs among our loyal drivers who stayed, and I can say that he’s a reliable person,
and it is very important for transport business.
We need responsible work.
You must get up early in the morning and do your work on time.
No problem with this.
Now I have already registered myself, the supervisor now knows that I am in bus
and I’m ready to drive,
this is the afternoon shift.
The next bus stop – Širpo
The message for drivers:
Nobody has called me yet, is Grešková street passable or not?
I sometimes see him in bus No. 17.
It’s unusual that a Roma drives.
It is not easy for the Roma to have a job.
In my opinion if he is good at it and they employed him, and he proved himself in this job...
everyone is first employed for a limited period of time, a trial period,
and if he proved himself, why not...
Oh, he is that driver.
I know him, but I have not realized who he is.
He’s been working for the bus company for many years.
And he drives well.
You know, there are only three drivers who drive so carefully, and if you stand you even don’t have to hold,
and if he slows down or starts, you don’t totter.
I live here in the Housing Estate III that has 30 thousand inhabitants,
and I have been driving this route for almost 30 years.
People know me here.
Driving skills are important, you must feel it,
and I know I carry passengers, not building material.
They were all masons and they built these houses, they bought plots.
Everything is legal.
I left this village, because I was recruited for state-mandated military service,
I was a soldier, I was in Prague.
And this is my father, with violin, on the left
and on the right – that’s my mum.
My father built this house.
This house has two floors; we have taken this photo downstairs.
You know, I grew up in the village and I was born in this house.
Neither we had problems here, nor our parents,
and you can see, white people live here…
one, two, three gardens where white people live.
We don’t have any problems here, I mean no conflicts.
The mayor was supportive.
He knew this community and he was aware they would like to live otherwise.
Thus, they built their houses.
They are grandchildren of my sister.
...of two sisters, not one.
Yes, two. One of them lives downstairs and the other one upstairs.
Come in.
Our parents wanted us to leave, because there are no opportunities.
The problem was also here at the time of communist regime, but not as severe as it is now,
the problem of attacking the Roma.
They used to say that we need some education and we should go away,
because there are no opportunities in this village.
But, now as I am getting older, I understand it better.
If there is any job opportunity, I wouldn’t leave,
because it’s my home...I feel better here, because I was born here.
I and my siblings, we spent some part of our lives here.
Okay, down, down!
You know, I have 10 siblings.
We were 11 children.
.And it’s not easy to bring up 5 children, but they are here.
I tried to provide them with education, to give them at least what I had.
My parents were educated, they were not illiterate persons;
they could read and write.
When we were younger, we used to take photos.
I brought up my children in such a way that they had to attend school.
I tried to protect them so that nobody could tell them something like - you don’t know, you are not educated.
I have five children, but all of them have secondary education and passed School Leaving Examination.
And here you can see (your) father as a musician at state-mandatory military service
in the folk band “Jánošík”.
It was in Brno.
It’s the band ”Jánošík” from Brno.
My grandfather used to work in Italy.
He was a good mason and even better carver.
He had a hobby - he nailed violins to the wall.
And my father also collected violins, he was an excellent violinist,
there was no better violinist than him, far and wide.
I picked up the baton.
I have been collecting violins since my fifteen.
Come here.
He is one of my grandsons,
he plays violin and he has won the competition in Trnava this year,
and now he is a champion of the Slovak Republic.
She is my oldest granddaughter,
and next year she will graduate from secondary school.
Okay, you can play.
Good Sunday morning. After one week, we meet again.
Welcome to “5 to 12“ political discussion forum.
Government wants to solve the problems of the Roma minority.
The measures should be prepared by Peter Polák,
the member of political party “Ordinary People and Independent Personalities“.
However, that´s all stir things up.
Responsibility is not only about sending children to school.
It is more than that.
You should also teach children how to behave in public.
You should explain children what to do if someone says “gipsy“, or something like that.
I’m proud to be Roma,
and I’m Slovak too, I was born here, my ancestors were born here in Slovakia.
But if someone make us feel that we don’t belong here, I am sad.
It hurts, but I don’t feel like a second-class citizen.
Because we are the same human beings like others, white people.
But neither I nor my children bother about our darker skin.
Starring Ľudovít Petík
Directed by Paula Ďurinová
Produced by The Civic Association Jekhetane-Together
The film was made in co-operation with the Living Documentary
The film was produced with the financial support of the Slovak Government within the framework of the grant program “Support and Protection of Human Rights”.
The Civic Association Jekhetane-Together in Prešov takes full responsibility for the contents of this film.
Translation Jana Šavelová