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5 10 15 20 25 30 35 23 Episode 5: Tolerant? Who? That afternoon while they were going to meet the others in the park, Jensika and Rahma had decided to take the short cut that went by the Roma shantytown. At a certain point, Rahma noticed that Jensika was walking too fast. “Why are you running?” she asked. “Running? Me? Ok, well, passing by here makes me a bit nervous.” “Jensika, what are you saying? Now you’re going to tell me that gypsies steal children and Communists eat them! Jensi, I’d like to remind you that your best friend is Mario- someone who lives exactly in the place where you’re escaping from!” “What does that have to do with anything?” “You have prejudices towards these people. How would you feel if I behaved like that when I pass by the area where your community lives? You’re behaving exactly like those dumb people who started a rumour that the raid at the secretary’s office was organized by Roma people!” “Really? I didn’t know that. And why do they say that? Have they found any evidence?” “No, not at all. On the contrary, it seems that the principal has decided to lodge a complaint against unknown persons since based on the recordings from the video cameras it isn’t even possible to tell if they are female or male. I think the cameras weren’t working and the school doesn’t want to reveal it; otherwise, other people could come to rob the school. Anyway, the people who started this rumour are the same people who avoid us because we are friends of Mario.” “This makes me angry.” “Right.” “I don’t behave like those people. I feel nervous when I pass by here only because I’ve never gone inside, I don’t know the place, and I don’t know the people who live here. I know Mario, though. We are friends and trust each other a lot. Don’t you believe that things and people you don’t know always make you a little scared?”