Tom Hodgkinson writes: I met Vitek Formanek when I visited the city of Brno in the Czech Republic a few years ago to give talks. He and his girlfriend Eva sat in the front row at one of the events and introduced themselves afterwards. Vitek is a true punk: he wants to spread peace and love and is also angry. We stayed in touch and I always love receiving Vitek’s courteous and fascinating typewritten letters and photocopied fanzine which is done, as he says, in ’77 style. Vitek has boundless energy: he works at a homeless hostel, writes for film magazines, writes books and screenplays, is a World War II nut, as well as attending endless punk gigs and festivals. Now that our new website is up and running I can share Vitek’s letters with you. Here is the first one.

3 October 2014

Dear Mr. Hodgkinson,

How are you? Sorry for long delay in writing, I was extremely busy.

As you know, I work in homeless hostel as social worker for 350 pounds a month. Since it doesn´t pay my bills, I found a part time job in postal depo, where I load and unload trucks and distribute the parcels. It´s heavy manual work and I thankfully do it only say six times a month since it´s very monotonous and totally non-creative. System here is pretty chaotic; almost every month there is some change, mostly globalised one, and with more work and parcel they put less people to shifts which is pretty shite; they only do it to save money. But what suits me is that they give me shifts when I want, not when they want, so it´s fine with my full time job. I was trying to find part-time job for two years, in vain, so I am pleased to have this one. Already I have found some people who like punk rock and can spread my fanzines around and undermine the system from inside to try and make it implode, ha, ha.

Sadly I haven´t seen that many punk rock gigs this year due to three factors: lack of money, lack of time and lack of good bands I really wanted to see. But in summer Eva and me have been to two festivals, Pod Parou and Mighty Sounds, excellent ones, and have met and seen bands like GBH, The Toy Dolls, Anti-Nowhere League, Cock Sparrer, Buzzcocks, Total Chaos, to name but a few. As usual, all were very friendly. I made interview with Animal is his dressing room at 1.15 a.m. and he was very friendly. Cock Sparrer were very nice and approachable so I finally met and made picture with legends.

I still print my own fanzine, Sex, fun and rock n roll, and although it cannot reach people on massive scale since I insist on doing it 77 paper style, not fucking internet one, I was pleased when some unknown people came to me on the festivals and said they read it and liked it and I should keep up on good work. So at least it reached something.

I was frustrated at my work since standards (as they call it) are so homeless-people-friendly that basically we are in their hands. We can´t control what they bring into our house (and they are all drinking heavily). We have to be happy that they are here since we have to show major percentage of occupied rooms, otherwise we would not get municipal grants and we would lose our jobs. You know, I think these rules encourage homeless to use us, not try to get back into system and abide by the rules. I believe that in life you have to give to be able to get. But they only want to get and nothing give back and parasite the system to which I contribute from my tax. I was so disillusioned with these rules that I wondered if my work is worthwhile. I met supervisor and told him my views and ask him if he could push from bottom to the top and shake the things but it´s difficult to make changes when system is so institutionalised. FUCK THIS SYSTEM. I believe that these people should accept our rules because they want help from us, they are on street and there is nothing under them, we are their last hope. But we help them to misuse us and make them think that is correct and how this should be. So during those three years my view of them changed dramatically. They are just drunk parasites and very small percentage of them really want to work and better their life.

My problem is that I think of my work and it has to have sense and have to be creative. I could not do ANY job just for the sake of doing it. I would refuse working for shits like McDonalds or some bank, ‘cos they only rip people off and I want to help people.

I wrote a script for the film which should be filmed next year. It is to be filmed by UNITEDFILM which is Czech non profit, independent film company.They already filmed my screenplay four years ago and we won silver medal at festival in Luxembourg. Then it was about disfigured Czech airman Frantisek Truhlar who became a Guinea Pig during WWII. My new screenplay is about Czech 311sq. air gunner who was big escaper from Nazi camps and was badly mistreated by communist by his own people. Eva and me also help Unitedfilm to organize independent film festival Cinema Open 2014 in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic in November. Unitedfilm will create new, bilingual website where we will put in Czech and English interview with many world actors and directors and anybody can read their views and stories about work. It should be opened in November with Cinema Open. From November onwards you can check www.unitedfilm.com.

Eva and me also finished a book of interviews with actors, producers and directors and Czech director Tomas Magnusek from Magnusfilm in Czech Republic showed an interest and he should help us have it published next year. We have two more books finished? One about historical places in Czech Republic and one with interviews with punk and punk-influenced bands from all over the world. We have yet to find publishers for them. Apart from that we write for film magazine, magazine for handicapped people, all for free, but is satisfy us immensely.

I am concerned at increase of Islamism in Europe. I understand that people want to live elsewhere and they want to emigrate. But if they want to leave their country since they don’t like its rules, why they want bring these rules and habits to their new home and demand their rights? They should abide by rules of their new country not to kill those people since no one wanted to listen them. That sucks. I am afraid that within say fifty years Europe will be flooded by multi-cultural and multi-racial conflicts, unknown viruses and this peaceful continent will be new Far East.

Czech Republic became very corrupted country where two rules are used. One for politicians who fuck up things, mis-spent millions and don’t get fined. They get different well paid jobs elsewhere. Ordinary working people are on receiving end of all this, since it’s them who have to pay these losses in their taxes. Fuck politicians. Vaclav Havel said that Love and Truth should win over Hate and Lies. I am afraid the former is losing badly.

Vitek Formanek