Roma Ember - Against Racism

Organised by Yenish activist Christian Mehr as a benefit for the Hungarian Fresco Village 'Bódvalenke' (www.bodvalenke.eu) 16 bands and a panel of 4 Roma and 4 non - Roma speakers came together to promote the community where more than 30 Roma Artists have painted the walls of the villagers' houses creating a vibrant, colourful exhibition of Roma art, power and vitality.

'We want to financially support the village infrastructure so that Bódvalenke can further develop into a model of Roma

self-sufficiency by attracting tourism to the village' said Christian 'and show solidarity with Roma worldwide at the same time.'

The purpose of the event was to draw Europe's attention to the inhumane situation of many Roma and Sinti in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, France as well as in Switzerland where, before 1972, no Roma were allowed to settle at all.

All around the world Roma and Sinti are discriminated against, persecuted and forced to live in ghettos and camps. The inclusion of a political forum ensured a lively multi-lingual debate with simultaneous translation facilities on hand.

Speaking first was Ágnes Daróczi, (http://www.theromanielders.org/elders/2/3/) writer and researcher of the Roma Holocaust, author of 'Pharrajimos - The Fate of the Roma During the Holocaust' who talked passionately about the necessity to including the Roma in the process of democracy and of the creation of Roma run media institutions so that their voice can be heard in order to share a common future with equal rights.

She talked about the need to support 'Bódvalenke thinking' a holistic method for development that primarily respects the values of the Roma culture representing the only way to real democracy.

Ágnes also talked about how disadvantaged the Roma are in the education system in Hungary - most of them if they go to school at all - being put into segregated 'special classes' and therefore not receiving the same quality of teaching as other Hungarians. They can therefore not compete in the 'knowledge market' - their 'future is stolen.'

She finished by saying that freedom and brotherhood in Europe in future is about investing in the next generation - inclusion of the Roma and good jobs for everyone so that the young in turn will help, through pensions, to support the old.

'The Roma are citizens of Europe and are fighting for emancipation' she said.

Els de Groen, writer and founder of World Artists Initiative 'Khetanes' (http://artists-for-roma-net.ning.com) a former MEP who worked with the 2 Roma MEPs Lívia Járóka and Viktória Mohácsi. Els described how difficult it was for the Roma MEPs to work in Brussels because their hands were always tied along party lines in the voting system. She also described the discrimination that Viktoória Mohácsi and her family suffered in her own country of Hungary to the extent of receiving death threats by right wing extremists that she was forced to emigrate to Canada.

Omar Bhatia, Scottish Roma painter and author of the 'Romanistan' mural at Bódvalenke explained the process of working at the Fresco village with the many children and how daunting it had been to make a piece of work so large - 30 meters long. He also talked about growing up in Scotland … about not being 'white enough or black enough' to fit into any of the communities invisibly.

Andrijano Dzeladin, owner of Sutka City TV (sutka-city.com) the first Roma TV station operating out of Paris spoke about his first hand experience of discrimination as a Roma travelling throughout Europe. If he travels as a Macedonian he gets stopped as a Roma but if he uses his French passport he sails through unchallenged. He also unfurled  a very significant flag - that of the first Roma Mayor/head of local government in Skopje … see the photo - it will fly over the municipal building in the city.

Three hours for the 'Polit-Forum' was never going to be enough … the other speakers Dr.Thomas Huonker, Historian; Eszter Pásztor, Manager of the Bódvalenke Project and Luzian Ochsner the forum moderator, spoke eloquently. Questions were invited from the audience among whom sat Mariella Mehr (www.mariellamehr.com, essential reading) Yenish Gypsy author and playwright whose long struggle for human rights she has documented in autobiographical fiction to great effect. Mariella reminded us all of the importance of working together against racism and that one event like this is not enough … the struggle continues and so must we.

All the bands came at their own expense and performed for free including Roma Kunst Kollektiv, Zürich,  Blood or Whiskey from Dublin, The Guitar Machine from Sicily and Vera Bila, a Romani singer from Slovakia etc. Christian Mehr, Mariella's son, plans to take the proceeds of the event to the people of Bódvalenke personally.