500 years of slavery. A stain on human history
500 years of slavery. A stain on human history Gypsy. An ethnic group or a social condition? History books and lessons tend to overlook almost completely the history of Roma people and the discussion about the 500 years of slavery the community endured has only just begun. Where does the term “gypsy” come from and […]
Roma music
A fiddle is heard, a cymbal is heard, The sweet voice of a minstrel… (Trec Țiganii) From the oldest times to now, Roma people were considered one the finest musicians, the first lute players. Even though their music has changed its sounds drastically through the ages, the way the ensembles are organised and the instruments […]
Pata Rât, an ugly “stain” on the beautiful face of a five-star city
Always marginalized and discriminated, the Roma people have developed a keen sense of self-defense by creating a close-knit, interdependent community where they can help each other when in need. An organization of that kind is Radio Pata, a community radio that was born for and from the needs of the Roma people in Pata Rât. […]
Roma and the silver cup
The Cortorari are a Roma community in Transylvania whose most valuable asset is the Tahtai, a silver cup inherited from generation to generation. Having a Tahtai is like having a nobility title. The cup is part of a marriage negotiations, used as a motive for murder, fights and curses, dictating the way the Cortorari community […]
Roma tradition and culture in the culinary art
The roots of Roma gastronomy reflect the nomadic life the community used to have. Ingredients like meat, cabbage, potatoes and cheese can be found in multiple traditional recipes, while the preparation and serving rituals are based on hindu principles of the purity and impurity. Roma’s culinary roots lie in nomadism. Over the years, the […]
One part of Roma’s Stories project will be a five days long job shadowing activity.
One part of Roma’s Stories project will be a five days long job shadowing activity. But what is job shadowing? Job shadowing or work shadowing is a type of on-the-job learning. It may be a part of an onboarding process, or part of a career or leadership development program. Job shadowing involves following and observing […]
The Romas: From a tent to… palace
While a nomadic at its origins, the Roma community is today in its majority a stable population. The prestigious and impressive houses that look like palaces, or the PVC unsanitary houses at the outskirts of numerous cities, they both represent Roma’s realities today. The Roma have for centuries been a nomadic group without a […]
Deportation of Roma to Transnistria. The Holocaust
How many pages do our history books devote to the grim Roma past? When talking about Holocaust, we tend to remember the extermination of Jewish people, even though there were many other communities who suffered during that time. One of those communities is the Romas. In Ion Antonescu’s fascist Romania, Roma people were put […]
Art, the basic element in Romani blood
The fact that the Roma people have art in their blood is no longer a secret! Countless “actors” of the national artistic scene are of Roma ethnicity, and although they had a lot of work to break the barriers of racism, once their talent was recognized, they gained a lot of success. In the following […]
Exploring Reykjavik through Job Shadowing
In the field of experiential learning, there is one known as job shadowing. The trip to Reykjavik, Iceland, organised as part of our Roma Stories project, meant an exchange of know-how for a group of five Roma people. Their experience in Reykjavik, where they encountered diverse cultures, captivating landscapes and opportunities that broadened their horizons […]