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Lavinia Loredana Spargo
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UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 3, 2011 - 02:32 PM
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Hello everybody!
The monthly theme for the Romanian team is UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT.
This refers to the confusion that is often made between Romanians and the Rroma ethnic group, to the hard life of the Rroma people but is also a call for all of us to start appreciating their culture.
Unfortunately the situation of the Rroma people in Romania is neither black nor white. It is very hard, if not impossible to establish how their plight started, and what the solution is.
The other day I watched a short film about a Rroma family and it brought me to tears several times. Watch it here
Also, read the latest report from Amnesty International related to the evicted Rroma families in Cluj Napoca.
It is not normal to treat them as if they are anything less then humans! It is not normal to ignore this situation! It is wrong to assume that these people are used to living like this!
We should all do something about it! They are just like us, they have families, dreams, desires, feelings like any other ethnic group on the planet so let's stop being discriminative and take action!!
Please contribute with ideas, thoughts, which could help with a future project (even if you're not part of the Romanian team )
Also share your appreciation for their music and dance!
Thank you!
Lavinia
This post was edited on: 2011-06-03 at 02:41 PM by: Lavinia Loredana Spargo
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Cristea Ana
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 24, 2011 - 11:01 AM
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I also think that we should solve the problem as nowadays it is not only happening in Romania but all over the world. More and more countries feel threatened by them.
I think that education pays an important part when solving this problem as more and more people fail to see that rromii are human as well and they have the same rights as the rest of the people. On the other hand, rromii should also try to get rid of their traditions and go to schools maybe even to universities.
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Lavinia Loredana Spargo
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 27, 2011 - 02:47 AM
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Yes, this problem exists in other countries as well, but we have the power to try and do something in our own country.
I think their traditions are great, I really enjoy their music and their dances, and they should be preserved for the future.
The problems lays in that the Rroma children don't receive enough education to be prepared for life and are not instilled with strong values. And the fault lays with their families but also with the Romanian educational system, and when it comes to adults, they are not given the chance to prove that they want to work. This is so complex that you can't blame one person or one group for it.
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Cristea Ana
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 28, 2011 - 09:47 AM
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When I said traditions I was referring to their beliefs. For example, girls are not alllowed to go to school and have a proper edution. If they do go to school they drop out at an early age because they get married and have to take care of the family.
Gypsies do have great traditions and they made a great contribution to art but I think that they should also understand the fact that maybe we are right for once.
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Todoran
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 29, 2011 - 02:35 AM
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hello!
i think we discriminate Rroma people because we were taught to discriminate. Disrimination and rasism is something that is given to us ever since we are little children, something that we learn from our parents, our friends, on the street, and something that we see all the time on the television. We grow up with these concepts and mental structures, and this way, our actions turn into discrimination and rasism.
But those who are discriminated are frustrated, humiliated and angry. They come to accept all the bad things the other say about them and they act consequently. They believe these prejudice and stereotypes that become part of their identity. It's like a vicious circle.
I think that one way to stop being discriminative is by being educated. Issues like stereotypes, discrimination and racism should be treated with more profesionalism and responsibility at the counselling and orientation classes in schools. Notions of different traditions and cultures should be introduced to children at an early age. Teachers should not discriminate at all the Rroma children. If we want to live in a healthy society, we should take care of children's education.
What am I doing in order to stop being discriminative? I try to inform myself about the Rroma people and this way to know them better. Every time a discriminative thought comes to my mind I remember that we are all humans, we are all the same essence, we all need love and compassion. That we are, is not given by our skin, nationality, religion, job or beliefs. We are all much more than that. We all deserve to enjoy the miracle of life.
Please take a look at the documentary A class divided You can find it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BrFHq-t2VY&feature=related
This post was edited on: 2011-06-29 at 02:49 AM by: Todoran
This post was edited on: 2011-06-29 at 02:49 AM by: Todoran
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Negru Alina
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 29, 2011 - 11:35 AM
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Indeed, the situation of the Roma people is rather unclear nowadays.While some try to accept and integrate them in society, the majority discriminate and treat them as inferior.
We, the Romanians treat them the worst because we refuse to accept them and we deny their rights as human beings. When we meet them on the street we immediately identify them as violent people; we tend to think that all are criminals and we often judge them; we refuse to let them live among us, to attend our schools, to work in our cities; we desperately try to find ways to change the name of their ethnic group so that they wouldn't be mistaken for Romanians.
It is sad but it is the truth.
Fortunately, there are many things we can do to change this situation. For instace, we can continue the programme "The Second Chance" in schools,in order to help adult Roma people to learn how to read and write. Then, we can offer them decent jobs, so they would gain their own money and they wouldn't be forced to steal or to live in poverty.
We should offer them a chance because, after all, they are wonderful people with wonderful traditions. Just think of their music, dance or stories. You can listen some of them on http://sper.org.ro/basme-rome.html
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Negru Alina
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
June 29, 2011 - 02:50 PM
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Indeed, the situation of the Roma people is rather unclear nowadays. While some try to accept and integrate them in society, the majority discriminates and treats them as inferior. We, the Romanians, treat them worse because we refus to accept them and we deny their rights as human beings. When we meet them on the street we immediately identify them as violent people, we tend to think that all of them are criminals and we often judge them, we refuse to let them live among us, to attend our schools, to work in our cities, we desperately try to change their name of their ethnic group so that they wouldn't be mistaken for Romanians. It is sad but it is the truth.
Fortunately, there are many things we can do to change this situation. For instance, we can continue the programme "The Second Chance" in schools, in order to help adult Roma people to learn how to read and write. Then, we can offer them decent jobs, so that they would gain their own money and they wouldn't be forced to steal or to live in poverty.
We should offer them a chance, because after all, they are wonderful people with wonderful traditions. Just think of their music, dance or stories. You can listen some of them on http://sper.org.ro/basme-rome.html
This post was edited on: 2011-06-29 at 02:57 PM by: Negru Alina
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prieten47
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
July 8, 2011 - 06:48 AM
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Buna ziua!
I have had nothing but good experiences with Roma in Romania. They are friendly and hard-working. They put new steel rain gutters on a church we were renovating not far from Dumbraveni. They did it on time and at a very reasonable price. My contacts with Roma outside Romania have been less pleasant, you know, the usual aggressive begging.
Oh, I remember another experience I had in Romania. I was asked to speak English with a class at a school. All the Roma kids were sitting at the back of the class. I tried to include them in our question and answer session, but the Romanian teacher immediately told me not to bother speaking to them because "they were stupid."
Oh, another experience pops into my mind. In Bucharest, I usually walk from the train station to my youth hostel, and, almost every time, I am approached by a Roma who asks me where I'm going. I now know the routine! Soon, two more Roma pop up and say they are the police and I should give them my passport. I say, "Nu sunteti politie, sunteti borfasi." We all have a good laugh and I go on my way.
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Lavinia Loredana Spargo
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
July 10, 2011 - 02:46 PM
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Buna ziua!
You are right, they are friendly and a lot of them, despite the lack of education, are very polite.
Your experience in the class room is very sad, but true. Take a look at this video, it's about a young man who gave up studying because he was being treated differently due to his ethnic origin. http://www.productive.ro/The-Land-is-Waiting-s49.htm
The video is very simple, pure fragments from this family's life, but so sad and moving. It actually got me thinking a lot. We are all the same deep inside!
I have friends who are teachers in Romania and I know that no active efforts are being done to rectify this appaling situation that has lasted for so many decades now, to give Rroma children a better start in life so they can have the chance to live decently.
Obviously a certain investment would be necessary, not only financial but also on a human resource level. But I believe it's feasable. But first of all we have to educate the Romanian population, part of the problem lays with them.
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prieten47
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
July 11, 2011 - 08:49 PM
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"Mamaliga Te Asteapta" was a very moving film. It reminded me very much of the many farmers I visited in the small towns of Romania. It is a very hard life, and yet somehow "romantic". Living together with animals in very close quarters, that closeness to nature is something we in the cities don't have anymore. Our food comes from the grocery store. Their food is grown in the corn field, stored for the winter, banged on with an axe to loosen the kernels, cooked over a wood fire. I loved mamaliga and couldn't get enough of it, but their mamaliga looked even more delicious! My heart really went out to the mother who was working herself to death, trying to feed her boys. Watching a film like this makes me think over and over, "What can I do?" And yet, any kind of hand-out would probably turn these Roma into beggars or welfare dependents. Although their life is hard, they live with dignity and should be proud they are self-sufficient. I admire Mihai and his family and wish them well. This was a great film. The Romanian was difficult to understand. I will have to watch it again!
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Lavinia Loredana Spargo
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
July 18, 2011 - 05:31 PM
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I admire the fact that you can understand Romanian, and Romanians...
I thought their mamaliga looked really delicious too  ) I can't make it like that, mine is always very loose 
I agree with you when it comes to handouts. It's not a solution. These people have real potential in so many fields. I mean despite the little opportunities they are presented with, they still manage to live, a lot of them learn trades, work by the day, sing, etc, which is so admirable.
That video moved me too, I lived in similar conditions (slightly better) in the countryside during summer holidays, and I thoroughly enjoyed that closenes to animals and the woods, eating food that you have produced yourself and having the satisfaction of a hard day's work.
I was so glad at the end of the video to see that Mihai went back to the seminar!!
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prieten47
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Re: UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND LEARN TO RESPECT
July 21, 2011 - 08:20 AM
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Hey, I think maybe life is imitating art! I remember reading a collection of short stories by Ion Slavici. The story that really made an impression on me was Popa Tanda. Do you know it? It's a story about a frustrated priest who is sent to a very lazy town. After haranguing the townspeople verbally to no effect, he finally decides to lead by example.
I think Mihai could be an excellent Popa Tanda! What do you think? I think I still have that book somewhere. I'll have to read it again.
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