Czech Roma to receive OBE from Queen Elizabeth II
Petr Torák, a Czech Roma who moved to the UK in 1999, is to be honoured
with an OBE for his outstanding work as a police officer. Torák, who was
targeted by neo-Nazis in the Czech Republic, has been making headlines for
many years for his remarkable commitment to public service.
As far back as 2008, the UK press was hailing Petr Torák, a young Roma
refugee, as “the new face of British policing”. By age 27, he was
serving as a community support officer in the city of Peterborough, but in
2006 graduated to become a fully-fledged police officer. He speaks five
languages and has been applauded for his skills in dealing with migrants
– an issue that took on a fresh dimension in Britain following the
eastward expansion of the EU in 2004 and 2007.
Born in the Czech city of Liberec, Torák says he experienced countless
racist physical attacks in his native country. He moved to the UK in 1999,
and found jobs in the fast food industry and as a security guard. But the
young Roma soon set out to fulfil a life-long dream of active community
service. Torák spoke to Radio Prague’s Rosie Johnston back in 2008,
describing his work as a UK police officer:
“Most my time is spent working with newcomers from Eastern Europe in
particular, from the Czech Republic, and from Poland. Not only because I am
from the Czech Republic originally, but because I know the majority of
these sorts of languages and I can do it well because I can interact with
them and understand their culture. So that is why I work with them so
much.”
Torák has also set up the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association in
Britain, a roughly 50-strong group battling to overcome perceptions – as
common in Britain as in the Czech Republic – that Roma are associated
with crime and theft.
The officer’s exemplary skills and commitment in fostering community
relations across ethnic and cultural boundaries have now brought him to the
attention of the Queen, who is set to reward the Czech Roma officer with an
OBE. Speaking to Czech Radio on Friday, Petr Torák said he was deeply
honoured to be receiving this award. Torák partly credited an effort by
the UK police force to recruit officers from all ethnic backgrounds for his
stellar rise, and also praised UK culture for being largely blind to the
colour of a person’s skin. The officer, who has since established a
family in Britain, also added that he has no plans at present to return to
the Czech Republic.
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