Do Czechs Hate Foreigners? Part 2

Is it true that Czechs are more racist than other nations? If xenophobia is more widespread here, is that simply an inevitable by-product of having been sealed off from the outside world during Communism? If you don’t happen to be Caucasian, should you think twice about making the Czech Republic your home?

The report’s statistics also show Czechs to be more accepting than some in Western Europe: while 9.6% would not want to live next door to someone of a different race, 15.6% of Italians and 12.3% of the Irish would not want anyone other than white as a neighbour.

Despite these findings, there is a perceived prevalence of casual racism in the Czech Republic, which can be something of a culture shock.

When it comes to those ethnic diversity forms, I tick the plain old boring White British box. If I didn’t, I could have encountered that latent prejudice first-hand, as some of my friends have.

An Asian friend born and bred in London was yelled at in English by an elderly gentleman while taking the tram to work. His suggestion? That she go back to the Colonies. A French teacher with an Indian father I met told me she’s given up asking anyone over forty for directions in the street: they’ll just assume she’s a Roma and stride off.

However, a British friend with Caribbean roots feels she’s never experienced any direct racism while living in Prague. Although the staring can get a bit wearisome, she regards this as naïve curiosity rather than outright hostility.

During a summer weekend away in South Bohemia, being the only black girl in the village meant she quickly became the centre of attention in a positive way. My pal managed to upstage the annual tractor festival as the locals crowded around her to roadtest their English, relishing the chance to encounter someone they considered exotic.

However, his explanation overlooks the fact that the Soviet regime did welcome certain groups of foreigners. My Czech partner’s mother often natters about the Vietnamese who came to their small town and made hard-to-get jeans on their sewing machines — and the Cubans who stole people’s wives. The reason for xenophobia in post-Communist countries is not simply a lack of exposure to foreigners — the strongest antipathy is directed towards the Roma who are, after all, Czech citizens.

I found the intensity of negative feeling directed towards the Roma disturbing; when I had my phone stolen, however, I began to understand how these feelings might have been reinforced in the eyes of some. I’m not making a lazy assumption about who committed the theft: I know the perpetrator’s ethnic background, because after calling my number I met up with the guy responsible. He gave me back my SIM card but would only return my mobile in exchange for hard cash. I understood then how the Czech anti-Roma prejudice might be better thought of as ‘postjudice’ – an antipathy based not just on stereotypes but having those stereotypes, whipped up by the media and extremist groups, confirmed by first-hand experience.***

No-one deserves to be the victim of racial prejudice. However, the fact remains that unlike many foreigners, most Expats.cz readers remain very privileged migrants. We also possess a powerful asset – cultural capital – which goes a long way in cushioning us from the fallout of lingering xenophobia.

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