Υπάρχει, στην καρδιά της Ευρώπης, μια βιομηχανική φάρμα χοίρων που βρίσκεται στην τοποθεσία ενός στρατοπέδου συγκέντρωσης.

Στον φράκτη της φάρμας υπάρχει μια σημαία της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης· η φάρμα, στην πραγματικότητα, δέχεται ευρωπαϊκά κονδύλια από την Κοινή Γεωργική Πολιτική. Η δύσκολη πρόσβαση στο σημείο  – αναγκάζεται κανείς να περπατήσει μισή ώρα μέσα από ψηλά χορτάρια, κάποιες φορές μέσα από λάσπη, ακόμη και μέσα στο καλοκαίρι, για να φτάσει στο ξέφωτο που συνορεύει με το σημείο που υπάρχει μια μοναδική επεξηγηματική πινακίδα-  συνεισφέρει στην διαγραφή της μνήμης του εγκλήματος και παρεμποδίζει τη μετάδοση της ιστορίας. Η παρουσία χοίρων, με την αποκρουστική και βρώμικη μυρωδιά που κυριαρχεί, λεκιάζει την μνήμη αυτών που χάθηκαν, και είναι μια προσβολή στην αξιοπρέπεια αυτών και των απογόνων τους.

Είναι το Letty, στην Τσεχία, μία ώρα νότια από την Πράγα με αυτοκίνητο. Ένα στρατόπεδο βρισκόταν εκεί το 1939 για να προφυλακίζει διάφορους εγκληματίες, ωστόσο μετατράπηκε σε στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης αποκλειστικά για τους Ρομά τον Ιούλιο του 1942, μέχρι και το κλείσιμό του τον Αύγουστο του 1943. Εκατοντάδες Ρομά δούλευαν στα καταναγκαστικά έργα και από εκεί απελάθηκαν στο Άουσβιτς-Μπίρκεναου.

Αυτή η «τοποκτονία» , η αναφορά στο έγκλημα ενάντια στην περιοχή, αντηχεί την γενοκτονία των Ρομά κατά τη διάρκεια του Β’ Παγκοσμίου πολέμου. Επίσης αντηχεί τη δίωξη και  τη διάκριση στην οποία υπόκεινται ακόμα οι Ρομά ανά την Ευρώπη. Συμβολίζει την απουσία γνώσης για αυτό το κομμάτι της Ευρωπαϊκής Ιστορίας.

Μολονότι διαφορετικές εκφάνσεις του ρατσισμού έχουν κάνει την εμφάνισή τους στην ήπειρό μας, μια ήπειρο που διασταυρώνει μια κρίση ταυτότητας, μια κρίση αξιών, μαζί με μια οικονομική, κοινωνική και θεσμική κρίση, το μένος του αντι-Ρομά ρατσισμού, όπως και ο αντισημιτισμός, εξηγούνται από την διαγραφή της μνήμης της γενοκτονίας των Ρομά και του ολοκαυτώματος.

Πράγματι, με τους επιζήσαντες να εξαφανίζονται, είναι η ένοχη συνείδηση του Ευρωπαϊκού πολιτισμού που αντιπροσωπεύουν και που χάνεται. Παρόλα αυτά,  η ένοχη συνείδηση είναι αυτή που επιτρέπει την πρόληψη των πράξεων. Η βία απελευθερώνεται, και αν επιτεθεί στις κοινότητες Ρομά και Εβραίων σήμερα με αυτό το μένος, θα είναι επειδή αυτοί είναι συμβολικά οι πρωταρχικοί κληρονόμοι-μάρτυρες,  οι πρωταρχικοί αντιπρόσωποι αυτής της ένοχης Ευρωπαϊκής συνείδησης· μαζί, διαμορφώνουν το πρώτο φράγμα στη δίωξη.

Επομένως, η διαγραφή της μνήμης, η αποτυχία να μεταβιβαστεί η ιστορία, και η άρνηση εμφανίζονται ως τα στοιχεία εκείνα που επωάζουν τον ρατσισμό και τον αντισημιτισμό στις μέρες μας.

Επιπροσθέτως, ο τερματισμός αυτής της «τοποκτονίας» αντιπροσωπεύει τη μάχη ενάντια στο ρατσισμό, ενάντια στη διάκριση και ενάντια στις προκαταλήψεις που χαρακτηρίζονται από την άγνοια που πλήττει τους Ρομά. Πρέπει λοιπόν,  να προαχθεί η  γνώση, η δικαιοσύνη και η ισότητα. Πρέπει να μεταφερθεί στις τωρινές και μελλοντικές γενιές, για να τους επιτραπεί  η αποκατάσταση της κληρονομιάς της δίωξης, και για να ελευθερωθούν από την ασφυξία του βάρους ενός πένθιμου παρελθόντος. Με λίγα λόγια, αυτό θα ενσωμάτωνε το πνεύμα του Roma Pride, μια κινητοποίηση ενάντια στο ρατσισμό, στο όνομα της ισότητας και της αξιοπρέπειας, για την οποία μέλη της Ρομά κοινότητας και άνθρωποι έξω από αυτή, από πάνω από 20 χώρες της Ευρώπης δραστηριοποιούνται την πρώτη Κυριακή του Οκτώβρη τα τελευταία 4 χρόνια.

Η αξιοπρέπειά μας, μέσα και έξω από την Ευρώπη, απαιτεί να βάλουμε ένα τέλος στη βεβήλωση του Letty.
Για αυτόν το λόγο, με αφορμή το Roma Pride, ζητάμε από τον Πρόεδρο του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου κ. Τουσκ, τον Πρόεδρο της Κομισιόν κ. Γιουνκερ, τον Πρόεδρο του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου κ. Σουλτς, όπως και από τον Τσέχο Πρωθυπουργό κ. Σομποτκα να δράσουν ώστε να μπει επιτέλους ένα τέλος στην τοποκτονία που αντιπροσωπεύεται από τον εξευτελισμό του Letty.

Συγκεκριμένα, αυτό σημαίνει να μεταφερθεί το βιομηχανικό χοιροτροφείο και στη θέση του να ανεγερθεί ένας κατάλληλος χώρος μνήμης και μετάδοσης της ιστορίας· σε αντίθεση με την πινακίδα που βρίσκεται πάνω στους μαζικούς τάφους, λίγες εκατοντάδες μέτρα από την τοποθεσία. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι πρέπει να υποστηριχθεί η έρευνα για να ανακαλύψουμε ολόκληρη την ιστορία της τοποθεσίας, αλλά και όλων όσων έζησαν εκεί, και όσων πέθαναν εκεί.

Η χρηματοδότηση για να γίνει αυτό είναι ήδη διαθέσιμη. Θα αρκούσε, για παράδειγμα, να χρησιμοποιηθούν μερικά από τα εκατοντάδες εκατομμύρια του Ευρωπαϊκού προϋπολογισμού που υπάρχουν για την ενσωμάτωση των Ρομά, και που παραμένουν αδρανή στις Βρυξέλλες εξαιτίας της αδιαφορίας των κρατών μελών ή των τοπικών αρχών.

Σήμερα, αυτό που λείπει είναι η πολιτική βούληση για δράση

Μέσα από την ανάληψη αυτού του έργου αξιοπρέπειας  το Ευρωπαϊκό σχέδιο θα βρει την αναπνοή του που σήμερα σημαδεύει την αποτυχία του, θα μπορέσει να απαντήσει σε μια κρίση αξιών στην οποία βρισκόμαστε, και θα δώσει στις σημερινές και μελλοντικές γενιές την δυνατότητα να ατενίσουν το μέλλον με αναζωογονημένο ενθουσιασμό. Σήμερα, αυτό το μονοπάτι αξιοπρέπειας περνάει από το Letty.

Υπογράφουν:

Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement – EGAM, Miroslav Broz, Leader of Konexe (Czech Republic), Marian Mandache, Executive Director of Romani Criss (Romania), Deyan Kolev, President of the Amalipe Roma Centre (Bulgaria), Jeno Setet, Roma civil rights leader (Hungary), Bernard Kouchner, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Founder of Doctors Without Borders and Doctors of the World (France), Kim Campbell, Former Prime Minister of Canada, President of the World Movement for Democracy (Canada), Beate and Serge Klarsfeld , Sons and Daughters of Deported Jews (France), Kinga Goncz, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chair of Roma Initiatives Advisory Board (Hungary), Miguel Angel Moratinos, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spanish Cooperation (Spain), Jovan Divjak, Former General, Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defence forces of Bosnia and Herzegoniva, Defender of beseiged Sarajevo, Executive Director of Education builds Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Dario Fo, Nobel Prize for Literature (Italy), Markus Pape, Journalist, writer (Czech Republic), Paul Polansky, Historian (USA, Czech Republic), Richard Prasquier, Vice-President of the Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah (France),

The call is signed by 78 MEPs and MPs coming from 22 countries, 10 former ministers, mayors, local elected people, and hundreds of intellectuals, artists, antiracist activists, Roma and non-Roma, of more than 30 countries, in Europe and beyond.

Full list of signatories on www.egam.eu.

MEPs :
Max Andersson, Member of the European Parliament (Sweden), Jan Philippe Albrecht, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Petras Auštrevičius, Member of the European Parliament (Lithuania), Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament (Italy), Malin Bjork, Member of the European Parliament (Sweden), José Bové, Member of the European Parliament (France), Lynn Boylan, Member of the European Parliament (Ireland), Matt Carthy, Member of the European Parliament (Ireland), Nessa Childers, Member of the European Parliament (Ireland), Michael Cramer, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Ryszard Czarnecki, Vice President of the European Parliament, Member of the European Parliament (Poland), Seb Dance, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Fabio De Masi, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Annaliese Dodds, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Stefan Eck, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Frank Engel, Member of the European Parliament (Luxembourg), Cornelia Ernst , Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Tanja Fajon, Member of the European Parliament (Slovenia), José Inácio Faria, Member of the European Parliament (Portugal), Eider Gardiazabal, Member of the European Parliament (Spain), Charles Goerens, Member of the European Parliament (Luxembourg), Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament (Portugal), Enrique Guerrero, Member of the European Parliament (Spain), Thomas Handel, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Maria Heubuch, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Ivan Jakovčić, Member of the European Parliament (Croatia), Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Jude Kirton-Darling, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Philippe Lamberts, Member of the European Parliament (Belgium), Patrick Le Hyarick, Member of the European Parliament (France), Barbara Lochbiler, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Sabine Lösing, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Merja Kyllönen, Member of the European Parliament (Finland), Martina Michels, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Claude Moraes, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Younous Omarjee, Member of the European Parliament (France), Maite Pagazaurtundúa, Member of the European Parliament (Spain), Vincent Peillon, Member of the European Parliament (France), Kati Piri, Member of the European Parliament (Netherlands), Georgi Pirinski, Member of the European Parliament (Bulgaria), Soraya Post, Member of the European Parliament (Sweden), Julia Reda, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Terry Reintke, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Michèle Rivasi, Member of the European Parliament (France), Liliana Rodrigues, Member of the European Parliament (Portugal), Ulrike Rodust, Member of the European Parliament (Germany), Lola Sanchez-Caldentey, Member of the European Parliament (Spain), Csaba Sogor, Member of the European Parliament (Romania), Bart Staes, Member of the European Parliament (Belgium), Catherine Stihler, Member of the European Parliament (UK), Pavel Telička, Member of the European Parliament (Czech Republic), Ernest Urtasun, Member of the European Parliament (Spain), Bodil Valero, Member of the European Parliament (Sweden), Marie-Christine Vergiat, Member of the European Parliament (France), Renate Weber, Member of the European Parliament (Romania), Josef Weidenholzer, Member of the European Parliament (Austria), Bogdan Wenta, Member of the European Parliament (Poland), Tomáš Zdechovský, Member of the European Parliament (Czech Republic)

MPs :
David Assouline, Senator (France), Rita Bernardini, Secretary General of Radical Party (Italy), Patrick Bloche, Member of Parliament (France), Angelo Bonelli, Party Leader of Federation of the Greens (Italy), Fanélie Carrey-Conte, Member of Parliament (France), Khalid Chaouki , Member of Parliament (Italy), Sergio Coronado, Member of Parliament (France), Jérôme Coumet, Mayor of the 13th district of Paris (France), Diether Dehm, Member of Parliament (Germany), Olivier Faure, Member of Parliament (France), Joël Giraud, Member of Parliament (France), Rüdiger Hergt, Member of Parliament (Germany), Giorgos Kaminis, Mayor of Athens (Greece), Giorgio La Malfa, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former Minister of Economy and Finance, Former Minister of European Affairs (Italy), Anne-Yvonne Le Dain, Member of Parliament (France), Noël Mamère, Member of Parliament (France), Sandrine Mazetier, Member of Parliament, Vice President of the National Assembly (France), Peter Meiwald, Member of Parliament (Germany), Nicolai Radita, President of National Roma Centre (Romania), Fabio Porta, Deputy of Democratic Party – the Overseas South America (Italy), Barbara Romagnan, Member of Parliament (France), Roberto Romero, Vice President of Ile-de-France region for International Affairs (France), Michael Danby, MP (Australia)

10 former ministers, mayors, local elected people, and hundreds of intellectuals, artists, antiracist activists, Roma and non-Roma, of more than 30 countries, in Europe and beyond.

André Glucksmann, Philosopher, writer (France), Cécile Duflot, Member of Parliament, Former Minister of Territorial Equality and Housing (France), Irwin Cotler, Former Minister of Justice, Member of Parliament for Mount Royal (Canada), Michael Danby, Member of Parliament (Australia), Jack Lang , Former Minister of Culture, President of the Arab World Institute (France), involved in Lety for a long time, Eric Piolle, Mayor of Grenoble (France), Lucie Rybová, Director of Czech Helsinki Committee (Czech Republic), Benjamin Stora, Historian, President of the Board of the National Immigration Museum (France), Danis Tanovic, Film maker (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Oliviero Toscani, Photographer (Italy), Sabina Achterbergh, Chair of Association Sinti, Roma, Travellers Netherlands (The Netherlands), Cengiz Aktar, Professor of Economics and Administrativexf Sciences at Bahçeşehir University (Turkey), Muhamet Arifi , President of Balkan Sunflowers (Kosovo), Theodore Alexandridis, Coordinated Organisations and Communities for Roma Human Rights in Greece (Greece), Henriette Asséo , Historian, Associate Professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (France), Geert Ates, Director of UNITED for Intercultural Action (Netherlands), Graziano Halilovic, President of Roma Onlus (Italy), Yvan Le Bolloc’h, Singer (France), Maruša Babnik, Director of Ekvilib Institute (Slovenia), Roman Chojnacki, President of Roma Union Poland (Poland), Ali Bayramoglu, Columnist (Turkey), Anastasiia Boichuk, President of Roby Bilshe – Do More (Ukraine), Andrea Harle, Director of Romano Centro (Austria), Elie Chouraqui, Film Director (France), Yonous Muhammadi, President of the Greek Forum of Refugees (Greece), Ladan Boroumand, Research Director at The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran (Iran, France), Sari Nusseibeh, Professor of Philosophy (Palestine), Jean-Yves Camus, Researcher (France), Edin Berisa, President of Association for Roma Affirmation (Montenegro), Fabien Cazenave, Director of Young European Federalists (France), Jovan Byford , Senior Lecturer at The Open University (UK), Irena Bihariova, Director of Ludia proti rasizmu (Slovakia), Ofer Bronchtein, President of the International Forum for Peace (France, Israël, Palestine), Sasha Zanko, French Union of Tsigane Associations (France), Catherine Coquio, Professor of Comparative Literature at Paris Diderot University, President of the International Association of Research on Crimes Against Humanity and Genocides (France), Alba Cuevas, President of SOS Racismo Catalunya (Spain), Jovana Vukovic, Director of Regional Centre of Minorities (Serbia), Sandra Vokk, CEO of Unitas (Estonia), Sonia Rolland, Director, actress (France, Rwanda), Anders Dalsbro, Editor at Expo (Sweden), Michel Kichka, Cartooning for Peace (Israel), Rene Danen, President of Bekent Color Foundation (The Netherlands), Alain Daumas, President of the French Union of Tsigane Associations (France), Panayote Dimitras, Greek Helsinki Monitor (Greece), Séta Papazian, President of Collectif VAN (Vigilance Arménienne contre le Négationnisme) (France), Asmet Elezovski, President of National Roma Centrum (Macedonia), Annette Lévy-Willard, Journalist, writer (France), Elmas Arus, President of Zero Discrimination (Turkey), Jean Paul Makengo, Member of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées, former President of European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (France), Richard Odier, President of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (France), Frédéric Encel, Professor of Geopolitics (France), Ndoba Gasana, Former President of the National Human Rights Commission of Rwanda, International Consultant on human rights, lecturer at the National University of Rwanda (Rwanda), Andrzej Luczak, Director of The Institute of Romani Heritage and Memory and Holocaust’s Victims (Poland), Cécile Germain, Federal Secretary of the Young Ecologists (France), Rajan Zed, President of the Universal Society of Hinduism (USA), Ariel Goldmann, President of the Unified Social Jewish Fund and the French Judaism Foundation, Lawyer (France), Kostana Jovanovic, Chair of Roma Platform Netherlands, Association of Sinti, Roma andTravellers Netherlands (The Netherlands), Darko Ivanovic, Journalist (Montenegro), Advija Ibrahimovic, Women of Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Roman Lutt, President of Euroopa Romade Foorum Eestis (Estonia), Thomas Guénolé-Ryzhakov, Political Scientist (France), Federico Guerrieri, President of European Alternatives (Italy), Dijana Pavlovic, Vice President of ‘Federazione Rom e Sinti insieme’, actress and mediator (Italy), Géraldine Guilpain, President of the Young Radical Left (France), Ayse Gunaysu, Member of the Board of the Istanbul branch of the Association for Human Rights – IHD (Turkey), Bassem Samir , Chairman of the Board of Trustees as the Egyptian Democratic Association, and the Egyptian Democratic Academy (Egypt), Charles Habonimana, President of Group of Former Students Survivors of the Genocie – GAERG (Rwanda), Francis Chouraqui, Lawyer (France), TernYpe (Europe), Esméralda Romanes, President of the European Federation of Romani Women and Travellers (France) , Bernadette Hétier, Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples (France), Nicolai Radita, President of Centrul National al Romilor (Moldova), Denis Huber, Executive Secretary of Chambers of Regions of the Council of Europe (France), Zola Kondur, President of Chiricli (Ukraine), Jean-Pierre Chrétien, Historian (France), Alma Masic, Director of Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kristin Solvik, Manager of Sveriges Antidiskrimineringsbyråer (Sweden), Nordine Idir, President of the Young Communists Movement of France (France), Hristo Ivanovski, President of Alliance of Human Rights (Macedonia), Marcel Kabanda, President of Ibuka (France), Anetta Kahane, President of Amadeu Antonio Foundation (Germany), Krassimir Kanev, President of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (Bulgaria), Pierre Kanuty, Regional Advisor for Ile-de-France region, President of Ile-de-France Europe (France), Tom Koenigs, Full Member in the United Nations Subcommittee on International Organizations and Globalization, Chairman in the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid (Germany), Guy Konopnicki, Writer, Journalist (France), Dimitrios Sotiropoulos, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens (Greece), Joel Kotek, Professor at the Free University of Brussels (Belgium), Karim Lahidji, President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) (France), Anna Lenchovska, President of Congress of National Minorities (Ukraine), Valerian Mamaliga, President of Moldovan Institute for Human Rights (Moldova), Charles Enderlin, Journalist (France, Israel), Jacky Mamou, Former President of Doctors of the World, President of Urgence Darfour (France), Nonna Mayer, CNRS Research Director Emerita for the Centre of European Studies at Sciences Po (France), Mario Mazic , Director of Programs at Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Croatia), Caroline Mecary, Lawyer, Member of the Ile-de-France Regional Council and Member of the Paris Council (France), Fadila Mehal, Founder and Honorary President of Marianne for Diversity (France), Aldo Merkovi, Director of International Affairs at Mjaft! (Albania), Jean de Dieu Mirindi, President of the Association of Survivor Students of the Genocide – AERG (Rwanda), Christophe Louis, Director of Rom Civic (France), Anita Mitic, Director of Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Serbia), Yuliia Zakutnia, Member of Euromaidan SOS (Ukraine), Iannis Roder, Historian, Teacher (Shoah Memorial) (France), Ahmed Moawia, President of the Greek Forum for Migrants (Greece), Yves Ternon, Historian (France), Pierre Henry, President of France Terre d’Asile (France), Fer Yp – Forum of European Roma Young People (Europe), Jette Moller, President of SOS Mod Racisme (Denmark), Erika Muhi, Director of NEKI (Hungary), Florica Gabi Mutean, Director at Pavee Point (Ireland), Pap Ndiaye, Historian, Director of the Department of History at Sciences Po (France), Sigita Odina, Researcher at Latvian Centre for Human Rights (Latvia), Vince Olah, Vice President of Khetane (Serbia), Drom Kotar Mestipen (Spain), Rafal Pankowski, President of the Never Again Association (Poland), Lefteris Papagiannakis, Member of the City Council of Athens, President of the Council for the Integration of Immigrants (Greece), Nafsika Papanikolatou, Minority Rights Group (Greece), National Association of Traveller Citizens (ANGVC), Alexander Pollak, President of SOS Mitmensch (Austria), Boris Raonic, President of Civic Alliance (Montenegro), Benny Fischer, President of EUJS (Belgium), Sacha Reingewirtz, President of UEJF (France) Paula Sawicka, CEO of Open Rebulic (Poland), Angela Scalzo, President of SOS Razzismo (Italy), Claudia Schäfer, CEO of ZARA (Austria), Thierry Sebaganwa, President of Shalom House (Rwanda), Levent Sensever, Spokesperson at DurDe! (Turkey), Noureddine Skiker, Youth Policy Officer of Aubervilliers (France), Laura Slimani, President of the Young European Socialists and the Young French Socialists (France), Dominique Sopo, President of SOS Racisme (France), Rune Steen, Director of Antirasistisk Senteret (Norway), Nicolas Tavitian, Director of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Europe (Belgium), Edona Tolaj, Director of Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Kosovo), Ara Toranian, Co-president of the Council for the Coordination of Armenian Communities of France (France), Klaus Witold, President of Association for Legal Intervention (SIP) (Poland), Baki Youssoufou, Founder of We Sign It, President of Active Generation (France), Centrum Mot Rasism (Sweden), Harangos (Poland)

Full list of signatories on www.egam.eu.