Letter from Prague Kde domov můj?
I always found it quite funny that the main verse of the Czech national anthem, Kde domov můj is not a statement – where my home is, but rather a question, where is my home? It seemed a perfect question for a son of Czech parents who immigrated to Britain before I was born. When I was small, I knew that my parents had come from another country to the one where we lived and where all my friends were from, but often found it difficult to understand. “We can’t be there, because some bad things have happened” was the simplistic answer given to an inquisitive child. Yet, at home we would speak Czech and eat mostly Czech food. In fact, I even learned to speak Czech before I learned English. Often, teachers at kindergarten, I’ve been told, would call home to ask what on Earth I was saying to them.
Dominik Jůn
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