František Godla

* 1946

  • When the decree which ordered to evict the Roma inhabitants out of the village was issued, we were neighbors of the mayor of the municipality, living directly across from his house. The municipality council had to discuss this matter. The mayor spoke against this decree 'These are my neighbors, we live here together and we have never had any troubles among each other. I am against.' Although the municipality had the authority to decide otherwise. It is said that nobody was in favor of the eviction. That is something I really appreciate. However this is only a local experience of the people living there.

  • There was no segregated area for Romas in our village. Only two houses belonged to Romas – one of my father and one of his brother. Nowadays none of those families live there. The houses were located in the middle of the village, close to the church and in the opposite of the school – excellent conditions for mixed living.

  • When I was enrolled in about sixth grade of the primary school in Hrabkov, we went to buy sweets in the local pub. The pub was nearby with men sitting there. One of them spotted me and came to me 'Is it you sitting at the school desk with our Janko?' I replied yes. 'I will pay for those sweets and you may go on sharing the school desk with Janko.' I was good at school, receiving better grades than Janko. I didn't show up in school in dirty clothes, hence I was accepted. The vibe in our community was also different. Later when we visited my mum with my wife and our children, the neighbour brought fresh milk in the morning. The next day another neighbor came to us with fresh milk without us ordering any from them. For the sake of children... That is to say the relationships were very good.

  • My father was a shoemaker, he was very busy in autumn season in particular, as people from neighboring villages came to him to have their shoes fixed. I can still remember there was a corner area in our old house full of shoes. My father could work which was a good thing. Most of his customers were peasants. Instead of with money they paid with a share of the crop.

  • We enjoyed living in the village together including our non-Roma neighbors. Our relationships were also godfatherly. My godmother wasn't a Roma but a white local woman who died long time ago. She showed interest in me very much. She always wanted to know how I was doing, what school I was attending etc.

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    Prešov, 01.05.2017

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We are all equal

GODLA František - promocie.jpg (historic)
František Godla
photo: Foto: Alexander Mušinka

M.Phil František Godla was born in 1946 in a small village Ovčie in Šariš region (Prešov district) as the youngest of 10 children. There were only few Roma families in the village at this time and the relationship with the majority was very fair. The house of F. Godla’s family stood right in the middle of the village. His father was a shoemaker and a musician. He was well-skilled in both of these professions and therefore had many customers. When F. Godla was 12 years old his father died. His mother and his siblings provided for the family from then on. The first years of school education F. Godla spent in elementary school in Ovčie and last years of elementary school he completed in the neighboring village of Hrabkov. After having completed elementary school he continued at Secondary Comprehensive School in Prešov (predecessor of present-day gymnasiums) which he successfully completed in 1965 earning high school-level diploma. Afterwards he went on to study philosophy and history at Philosophical faculty of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Prešov (UPJŠ FF). He graduated in 1970 and began to work as a teacher at gymnasium in Sabinov (present-day Anton Prídavka Gymnázium) until 2004 (except for one compelled one-year break when he was a teacher in Prešov). He earned Master of Philosophy degree in 1985 from The Department of Philosophy, FF UPJŠ in Prešov. He became a headmaster of Sabinov gymnasium in 1997, most probably the first Roma to be appointed a headmaster. Between 2004 and 2010 he went to work at the education section in The Self-Governing Prešov Region. Since 2010 he has worked as a methodologist of national projects aimed at Roma education at Methodology and Education Centre in Prešov. F. Godla is an important figure representing Roma national minority movement in Slovakia. He is also engaged in non-governmental sector and he is a member of many occupational organizations and committees focused on Roma education. He also translates and publishes in Roma language. F. Godla got married in 1970 to Jozefa, they have two children - daughter Erika (1973) and son František (1975).F. Godla got married in 1970 to Jozefa, they have two children - daughter Erika (1973) and son František (1975).