http://radio.cz/en Latest articles on 'Czechs abroad' - issues of concern to Czechs overseas en Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:36:14 +0100 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:36:14 +0100 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Radio Prague CMS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Radio Broadcasting cr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas) webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) http://radio.cz/en/article/154410 The Czech and Slovak community in London are set to lose a venue that has served as a meeting place for generations of refugees and expats. Founded by a Czech Catholic priest in Notting Hill in 1964, the Velehrad centre has provided new arrivals with accommodation and served as a place for various social, cultural and religious events. But the organization that runs the centre has now decided to sell the property, which is a move opposed by many Czech expats in the UK. I discussed the issue with Milan Kocourek, a London-based journalist and the head of the local chapter of the expat organization Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences. Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:36:14 +0100 urn:uuid:e3f2b5dd-5461-56bf-8e04-b0748354a647 http://radio.cz/en/article/153328 Josef Svoboda is a professor, Arctic ecologist and author. Born in 1929 in Prague, Mr. Svoboda studied science and philosophy at Masaryk and Charles universities. He was imprisoned for nine years by the communist regime in 1949 for alleged treason and espionage and then emigrated to Canada in 1968, where he has lived ever since. I began by asking Svoboda about his earliest memories of growing up in pre-war Czechoslovakia. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:14:23 +0100 urn:uuid:bac52c8b-6c38-5ae1-a919-3f40e459b4b0 http://radio.cz/en/article/152798 Today 70 and in retirement in Prague, Mirko Dolák can claim to be one of the few Czechs to have fought for the US in the Vietnam War. Indeed, his buddies in the Marines gave him the nickname “Czech”. He later spent nearly three decades working for the Government Accountability Office, which uncovers waste and corruption in US federal agencies. Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:16:01 +0100 urn:uuid:4447202b-d8c6-561a-b3ea-2975112b85b8 http://radio.cz/en/article/152556 Olga Hrubá is today a feisty woman of 85. Way back at the turn of the 1950s she campaigned, from exile in the US, to save the life of her friend Miladá Horáková, a Czechoslovak politician executed by the Communists after a show trial. For the following four decades Olga Hrubá, along with her pastor husband, worked – with some success – to protect the rights of religious believers in Communist states. Sat, 17 Nov 2012 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:2244ed5f-c03a-53da-bf2a-44a0e81cf85c http://radio.cz/en/article/152289 Aleš Březina is a journalist, author and also editor and publisher of the Canadian-based Czech and Slovak bi-weekly newsletter “Satellite 1-416”. Mr Březina was born in Prague in 1948 and left Czechoslovakia in 1980 after spending more than two years in jail as a conscientious objector, rejecting mandatory conscription in the army. Since then, he has lived in Canada and has just published a new book called "Řetěz Bláznů" – or Chain of Fools – filled with short stories written between the 1960s and early 1980s, reflecting on life in communist Czechoslovakia and the author’s subsequent move to Canada. When I met up with him in Canada for this edition of One on One I asked him to recall his early years in Czechoslovakia. Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:52 +0100 urn:uuid:9833b8fd-ed00-5114-ac1f-4a6e9a83f0c5 http://radio.cz/en/article/152263 Chicago is home to one of the biggest Czech communities in the United States. It also houses the headquarters of President Barack Obama’s campaign for reelection. Where better to get a sense of how Czech-Americans plan to vote? Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:36:40 +0100 urn:uuid:21683fac-dd5d-5777-affb-f6e81a958221 http://radio.cz/en/article/152046 There are more than two million Czechs and their Czech-speaking descendants living outside their homeland, or working abroad indefinitely, and Czech Radio and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs undertakes a number of activities – partly through Radio Prague – to support those communities, to keep their connections with this country strong and to help them spread knowledge about the Czech Republic. Sun, 28 Oct 2012 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:ec33e37e-c9ce-5706-946f-44f1af142800 http://radio.cz/en/article/151896 Marie Gabánková is a noted portrait artist, painter and teacher. She was born in Ostrava and left Czechoslovakia with her family shortly after the Soviet invasion of 1968, aged just seventeen. She has lived in Canada ever since and has had a book of her works published in England, and had such noted figures as singer-songwriter Karel Kryl and writer Josef Škvorecký sit down for portraits. When I met up with her I began by asking Marie what memories she has of her youth in Czechoslovakia. Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:45:13 +0200 urn:uuid:4e588c36-34a0-5f46-a4a6-1710091d4ecd http://radio.cz/en/article/151541 My guest today is Josef Čermák, a very sprightly 88-year-old Czech who was born in 1924 in a small village called Skury just outside of Prague. He studied law and in 1949 emigrated to Canada and he’s lived here ever since. He has served as the president of both the Czech and Slovak Association of Canada and also Sokol, Canada, and he is also the author of a number of books, including It all Began With Prince Rupert – The Story of Czechs and Slovaks in Canada. Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0200 urn:uuid:3b36c7bd-a20e-517e-9d69-036611fc50bc http://radio.cz/en/article/151449 The Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa recently experienced the worst period in its 38-year-long history. Devastated by the 2008 floods the museum has fought long and hard to survive and continue to fulfil its mission –bearing testimony to the two small European nations’ search for identity, human rights and freedom in the turbulent times of the 20th century. Thanks to generous donations from institutions and individuals the museum was able to reopen its doors to the public this summer. Its head Gail Naughton visited Radio Prague’s studio recently to talk about what the institution had lost and gained by the 2008 floods and share her plans for the future. Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:24:12 +0200 urn:uuid:e87227f6-2e06-5208-8f37-c9409c7802b2 http://radio.cz/en/article/151288 This week the Czech capital is hosting a gathering of Czech expats. People of all ages and professions scattered the world over who maintain close links to their native country are here to exchange ideas, forge new ties and help overcome a lingering legacy of the communist past –the yawning crevice between Czechs at home and Czechs abroad. This year’s St. Wenceslas Day on September 28th is dedicated to Czechs living abroad and Czech Radio helped co-organize a week-long festival of expat events leading up to the holiday. I asked Miroslav Krupička, the head of Radio Prague, who is heavily involved in the project, to explain the idea behind it. Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:12:40 +0200 urn:uuid:cf02333f-802f-5fa4-bc0a-faa0ac7be3c5 http://radio.cz/en/article/151198 September 28th is St. Wenceslas’ Day or the Day of Czech Statehood and this year it is dedicated to Czechs living abroad. To mark the occasion Czech Radio, Czech Television and the Czech Foreign Ministry are co-hosting a project called “Czechs abroad” which aims to bring more insight into the life of Czechs who have settled abroad and made their mark there while maintaining strong links to their native country. The head of Radio Prague Miroslav Krupička explains the idea behind the project. Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:49:34 +0200 urn:uuid:0a581fbd-96d4-543d-9484-4803c45e52b3 http://radio.cz/en/article/150010 Excluding the Czech Olympic team and its fans, there are an estimated 50,000 Czechs living in London. Most of them came in search of better – or better paid – jobs but some have also set up their own businesses. One of them is Luděk Dvořák, who came to the British capital over a decade ago from Litvínov, in the north of the Czech Republic, and opened his own bar. Today, Mr Dvořák runs two bars in London, both called Prague. One of them is located in the trendy area of Shoreditch, the other just a few minutes’ walk from the Czech Olympic House in Islington. Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:01:07 +0200 urn:uuid:9dc74bd9-94b2-57ca-a8b0-27e63202c704 http://radio.cz/en/article/149003 Ája Vrzáňová-Steindler is a remarkable woman. Now aged 81, she was twice crowned world figure skating champion, in 1949 and 1950, while still in her teens. Immediately after taking her second world title, she won political asylum in the U.K., before moving to the United States, where she has spent much of her life. Her mother soon followed her to the West – in a dramatic escape on one of three civilian planes simultaneously hijacked by their pilots and flown to an airbase near Munich. Her father, however, remained in Czechoslovakia. Thu, 05 Jul 2012 02:01:00 +0200 urn:uuid:1e19f09d-d0fe-549b-a9f3-10862daa8b70 http://radio.cz/en/article/148797 Who is the greatest Czech living abroad? As part of the “Czechs abroad” project, the Foreign Ministry, together with Czech Radio and Czech TV, is finding the answer to that question. The ambitious initiative also seeks to paint a more vivid picture of those Czechs who do not live in their native country – through reports, conferences and discussions. Sarah Borufka has more. Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:20:39 +0200 urn:uuid:8fcaa14b-d5ef-508e-8e92-3022ec21f03f http://radio.cz/en/article/148568 The Czech artist and designer Eva Eislerová originally wanted to be an architect. Instead, she became one of the most highly regarded makers of art jewellery in the world, after emigrating to New York in the 1980s with her half-Czech, half-English husband, John Eisler. Today Eva Eisler, as she is known to her collectors, spends most of her time back home in Prague, where she teaches at the metals department at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:23:39 +0200 urn:uuid:c50a5c8f-1e0a-58fd-9499-70e90d5d619f http://radio.cz/en/article/148348 Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg on Friday presented the 16th annual Gratias Agit awards in recognition of those who promote the good name of the Czech Republic abroad. This year’s 12 laureates of the prize include former figure-skating champion Ája Vrzáňová, UK-based architect Eva Jiřičná, composer Antonín Tučapský, and others. Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:06:53 +0200 urn:uuid:9ec124d5-2f6a-56a8-bbf5-04981c964891 http://radio.cz/en/article/147644 The Nové divadlo (New Czech Theatre) was established in the Canadian city of Toronto in 1970. Since then it has enjoyed several high points: the great actor Jiří Voskovec appeared in one production, Josef Škvorecký wrote a play for the amateur group and it staged the world premiere of the Czech language version of Václav Havel’s Temptation. In 2010, the New Czech Theatre received an award from the Czech Foreign Ministry for its work in promoting the good name of its founders’ native country. Sadly, Mr Toman passed away in the Czech Republic last summer at the age of 69. Here is another chance to hear his interview about the the Toronto theatre with Ian Willoughby. Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 urn:uuid:65f90aa5-53a1-5b19-a4dc-501b93ad6d7e http://radio.cz/en/article/146667 You might not recognise the name straight away, but Antonín Josef Čermák - a miner’s son from Kladno, Central Bohemia - is one of the most famous Czech-Americans to have ever lived. Anton (or Tony) Cermak became mayor of Chicago at the height of prohibition, overhauled Democratic Party politics in the city, and was then assassinated in the most mysterious of surroundings. All quite dramatic for someone who started his career selling firewood… Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:21:40 +0200 urn:uuid:e2dbcaa9-5f22-5265-a944-8a82cb9f3e31 http://radio.cz/en/article/145741 As part of an exhibition linked to the 70th anniversary of the Lidice massacre in June, Prague's Dox Centre for Contemporary Art is currently hosting a video installation by the London-based Czech documentary maker and editor Jan Kaplan entitled 10:35. The name refers to the time of day that the operation to assassinate the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia – which preceded the Lidice atrocity – reached its climax in a Prague suburb on May 27, 1942. The UK-based Czechoslovak paratroopers who carried out the attack later met their deaths in a church in the city. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0100 urn:uuid:878d6323-3a42-5bf0-be58-785bc1191608