Baťová, Holúbková and Ticháková won the White Crow award – SME.sk

BRATISLAVA. A local MP who is fighting to change the name of Dr. Street. Jozefa Tisa, a psychologist integrating people with disabilities and the head of the office, who allowed herself to criticize the approval process vaccines Sputnik V.

The laureates of the 14th year of the White Crow award for civic bravery are independent member Varína Lenka Ticháková, psychologist Soňa Holúbková and director of the State Institute for Drug Control Zuzana Baťová.

Last year’s awards ceremony was moved to the January and online space for the pandemic, but this time the event returned to the traditional November 17 and live gala dinner. The President of the Slovak Republic also confirmed her participation in the handover Zuzana Caputova.

“Last year, several actors postponed their events for the pandemic, and in the end this holiday of freedom was dominated by those who would rather replace freedom with some tyranny. It is therefore important that another voice is heard again this year. crows Zuzana Wienk.

The winners of the current 14th year were chosen by the White Crow Council composed of journalist Tomáš Němeček, actress Táňa Pauhofová, preacher of the Church of the Brethren Daniel Pastirčák, lawyer and representative of Via Iuris Eva Kováčechová, director
Marek Adamov of the Stanica-Záriečie Cultural Center, publicist and founder of Amnesty International Marta Šimečková and director of the Bystrina Association Zuzana Wienk.

Lenka Ticháková

Lenka Ticháková is an independent member of parliament in Varín, a municipality with about 3,800 inhabitants near Žilina. Varín is the last village in Slovakia to have a street named after Jozef Tis, the former president of the Slovak state. As a satellite of Nazi Germany, it sent its Jewish citizens to concentration camps.

Since December 2019, Ticháková has been trying to find a new name for Dr. Jozefa Tisa. She searched the archives, gained the opinion of historians, enlightened and pushed for change. However, the village faces insults, misery and misunderstanding.

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“I also advise believers, but I don’t think the believer is going to go to church, but how to behave. And to defend a person who doesn’t deserve that defense? I don’t understand. Almost 70,000 people from Slovakia came because of He knew where they ended, and he didn’t intervene, “Ticháková described the discussion with the Vavrín people. in a report in the daily SME last year.

For example, the citizens of Ticháková recommended that she put the door in another street or move out. They told her to think about herself and said that an article in the general newspaper had ruined their Christmas. Many were prevented from having to change their documents to change their name.

In addition, Ticháková noticed that as the debate over the name of the street escalated, fewer and fewer people went to their family pharmacy, although they had liked to visit it before. According to her, this also contributed to her decision to close the pharmacy, although that was not the only reason.

Soňa Holúbková

Soňa Holúbková is a psychologist who has been working for people with disabilities for thirty years. At the beginning of her career, she was shaken by her work in a day hospital for people with disabilities, whom the state practically closed and separated from the rest of society.

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In the ossified system, therefore, it has long been striving for the state to systematically address the integration of people with disabilities into everyday life. Thanks to it, there are several changes in the legislation that allow such people to live more independently.

Holúbková first started connecting the children from the hospital with the primary school pupils next door. In 1990, these meetings grew into an international festival of creativity and fantasy, which he and his friends called Yashidel. Young people with and without disabilities met at the festival for 25 years.

Since 1997, Jašidielňa has been organized by the Land of Harmony Foundation, which Holúbková co-founded. In addition to festivals, the foundation is preparing a leisure program not only for young people with disabilities.

Holúbková often heard from disadvantaged people that their greatest desire is to have a life of their own without parents or social service homes. Therefore, in 2002, the foundation and the city of Žilina established the Support Services Agency, which has two “training” apartments in which people with disabilities can try to live independently.

Zuzana Baťová

The director of the State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) Zuzana Baťová became known after she and the institute were attacked by the Minister of Finance Igor Matovic (OĽaNO) for the case around the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.

“She faced media and political pressures, experienced ridicule and threats. Nevertheless, she did not shy away and defended the professionalism and integrity of the public service in principle,” says the White Crow Council.

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In April, ŠÚKL published an opinion, the conclusion of which was that the Office could not assess the risk-benefit balance of Sputnik V because the manufacturer did not provide it with 80 percent of the necessary data. The contract, which was published later, showed that the inspectors had a right to the information.

Matovic, then the Minister of Finance, responded on Facebook with the words: “Congratulations, idiots!” Many understood them as an attack on ŠÚKL and experts as such. Baťa was represented by President Zuzana Čaputová, scientists and chief hygienist Ján Mikas and thousands of people by signing the petition. Dozens of supporters came to bring flowers to ŠÚKL.

During Baťa’s criticism, Matovič spoke her name 79 times in a press conference. ŠÚKL called this performance a “media lynching”.

In addition to media and direct political pressures, Baťová faced death threats during the assessment of the Sputnik V vaccine, which she examined Prosecutor General’s Office. It also happened to her that people on the street shouted or cursed at her. For a time, she was able to receive police protection upon request.