Romani? Gypsy. aaaahhhh.. yes. the images that come to your mind? a gypsy.. lots of jewlry? they take kids? actually the image i had all my life of a "gypsy" was from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and the poem "The Googies." its about the googies coming to pay to take the kids away. i don't know if shel intended to put the image of "gypsy" in my head by that illustration and poem, but it did. the only thing i truly knew about them was because i've been reading about the holocaust since my mid teens and knew that they'd been taken away with the jews.

mother kali's. morgan ahern, a friend of one of the new co-managers. i've seen her three times now. i've seen her 3 times come and speak at mother kali's about the same subject: the Romani People.

I've learned a lot from morgan ahern. she is a rom herself. new york state had a policy of taking romani children from their families and raising them in state institutions until the 70's. morgan's grandmother treid to save the kids, but after the 2nd or 3rd rescue her grandmother was told she'd go to jail if she did it again, if she took the kids back to their warm, loving family and community. if she took the kids back so that they would be raised with their culture.

i also now know that the romani people are not treated well around this world. in canada the police just watched as molotov cocktails were thrown into the place where romani were staying and they continued just to watch as the romani were beaten as they fled. and this hasn't been long ago, and it was caught on tape. i also know that in italy the romani community is terrorized by the local police. i know that this is happening today.

i know this because i'm lucky to live in the same city as a bookstore that is constantly bringing in prestenters about a variety of issues, not just lesbianism and not just feminism.

some links for more information about the romani people:

• Romani.org: Dedicated to the Roma for their recognition as a people and as a nation, and To their struggle for freedom and against persecution and oppression worldwide.

• Unioon Romani: The UNION ROMANI is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation which is concerned with defending the gypsy community.

• Patrin: Romani Rights

• Romani World: RomanWorld is an initiative of ECRE - European Committee on Romani Emancipation

• Roma in Slovakia

• The Gypsy Lore Society: Information about the Romani and Travelers in the United States
  

posted by brooke at July 27, 2002 01:58:34 PM