Roma in the struggle for national status

The First World Roma Congress was held on April 8, 1971, in London, and the International Roma Organization (IRU) was founded, and Slobodan Berberski was elected its president. At the Congress, a decision was made that the Roma are the linguistic, historical, and cultural national minority of India, that the derogatory name Gypsy be removed from use and use the unique name Roma, as well as the decision on the flag, anthem, and Latin as the official letter.

The awakening of the national consciousness and collective identity of the Roma is a historical phenomenon in the historical sense, because even though the Roma started to disperse from their native India 1,000 years ago; only a century ago, there were initiatives and attempts to homogenize Roma from all over the world and form a sense of belonging to the nation. As for the awakening of the national consciousness of the Roma on a wider scale, primarily in Europe, it was something like this: Slobodan Berberski came into contact with Roma individuals from various European countries. The idea met with the greatest enthusiasm among the Roma in Czechoslovakia because Dubcek was in power at the time, who envisioned certain reforms for his country. The Czech Spring, of course, had very significant consequences for the suppression of the Roma movement in that country. However, thanks to the fact that the country had prominent Roma intellectuals, some of whom were professors at the universities of Brno, Bratislava, a fruitful meeting of Roma from Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary took place. There were also several Roma writers and intellectuals in Hungary, and the Roma from the Soviet Union also showed great interest in the whole matter.

MINORITY OF INDIA: So, the First World Roma Congress was held on April 8, 1971, in London, and the International Roma Organization (IRU) was founded at it, and Slobodan Berberski was elected its president. At that Congress, a decision was made that the Roma are the linguistic, historical, and cultural national minority of India, that the derogatory name Gypsy be removed from use and that a unique name for our national community, the Roma, be used. Also, a decision was made on the Roma flag and anthem, and the first contact was established with the Indian government through the Indian Embassy in London. It was also proposed that Latin be declared the official Romani alphabet.

The participants in that congress were Roma from Yugoslavia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Spain, England and, it seems to me, from Denmark and the Netherlands. So it was a small group, but the ideas were already articulated at that congress and a draft was made, so to speak, of our national program, which then gradually gained in breadth and depth, from congress to congress: in 1978 in Geneva, 1981 in Göttingen, then in 1990 in Poland, in Warsaw, in Prague in 2000, and finally at the 7th World Congress in 2007 in Zagreb, which, one might say, formulated a new national program whose meaning and content we can briefly formulate that the Roma are a nation. I was elected Secretary-General of the International Roma Union. In 1978, the first World Festival of Roma Culture was held in Chandigarh. It was, in fact, the first meeting of the Roma with the ancient homeland of India, which received great publicity both in India and in the world. At the end of the festival, Roma representatives were received by Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India. From that period, there will be a permanent meeting of Roma representatives from 16 countries with Indira Gandhi, who opened the Second World Festival of Roma Culture in Chandigarh on October 28, 1983, and said: “Dear guests and my Roma friends, welcome to Baro Than. (Baro Than is the Roma name for India - note by R. Đ.) Some of us have met before, there are new faces, but we are all here in the spirit of friendship.

INDIRA: Why am I here, Indira Gandhi asked and answered: “Because I feel a kinship with the Roma people. I have always admired their love of adventure, their intimacy with nature, their endurance and strength. Today, eminent Roma from different countries are among us, and with this festival, we will contribute to strengthening the already deep-rooted ties between the Roma and their Indian community. ” The Second World Congress was held in April 1978 in Geneva. At this congress, the statute and resolutions were adopted, so, therefore, the character and activities of the organization were more precisely determined and defined, and the number of members was increased. There were also representatives of Eastern European countries - Hungary and Bulgaria - as well as representatives from Western European countries who did not participate in the work of the First Congress. Jan Cibula, a dentist from Bern, was elected president of the International Organization, and Jul Briner, who also participated in the work of this congress, was elected honorary president. Representatives of the UN and UNESCO also took part, and for the first time, the Banjaras from India, who have been cooperating with the Roma since 1978, when the festival was held in Chandigarh. Immediately after the Second Congress, a request was submitted for admission to the UN Economic and Social Council. Kurt Waldheim, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, responded positively, and as early as the beginning of March 1979, the International Roma Organization - Romano International Jekethanibe - became a member of the ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council). This is, one could say, the greatest success of the International Organization since its founding. One of the most important issues today is to define the constitutional and political position of Roma in European countries, then to launch an initiative to establish a fund for social integration of Roma in the countries of the Southwest Balkans, Southeast, and Central Europe because Roma is today in Europe. the cradle of human rights, freedom, and democracy, in an incomparably more difficult position than, say, Africans until yesterday in the South African Union. Representatives of southeastern countries are also aware of that. However, the misfortune is that even with that awareness, numerous facts, and evidence, laws are still being passed that are racist in color and directed against the Roma.

INSUFFICIENT: When he was invited to Strasbourg to speak at the European Council, Guenter Grass reminded of the decision of the Fifth World Congress of Roma, which demanded the establishment of an international Roma representation in Brussels. But that, he added, is not enough. Democracy and democratic rights must enable these people much greater and broader rights. These rights must first be rooted in the European Parliament. The Roma have been living in Europe since the 15th century, and this nation, after centuries of persecution and pogroms, genocide, and repeated persecutions and pogroms, should not and must not be left without a voice. In that regard, Grass suggested that for the next European elections, the representatives of this nation should come out with a joint list of mandates. However, this is not entirely in line with the existing election laws and procedures in Europe, but the European Parliament will benefit if representatives of the Roma people are also in its seats. Later, during a meeting with representatives of the European Investment Bank, Grass advocated economic and financial programs for the benefit of Roma. Unfortunately, none of Grass's proposals have been implemented to date. I take this opportunity to thank all the International Partner Organizations that supported the Roma Decade from 2005 to 2015: the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Development Program, UNICEF, the OSCE. All praise to the Roma Education Fund because it is of special importance to our community. The REF has so far worked to reduce the gap between educational outcomes among the Roma and non-Roma population through strategies and programs that support quality Roma education, including the desegregation of education systems. The main goal of the Roma Education Fund is to support the creation and implementation of education strategies that contribute to the inclusion of Roma in education systems.

PROJECTS AND PRINCIPLES: REF grants finance projects that are in demand and that are in line with the objectives and principles of the REF and approved by its board. Subsidies were awarded to improve access to preschool education for Roma children, improve teaching methods and skills of school staff in multicultural environments, increase motivation and participation in education systems in the Roma community, strengthen after-school support for Roma students, strengthen adult education, reduce economic and administrative barriers for Roma access to all levels of education and the introduction of Roma culture and language in the curriculum.

On World Roma Day on April 8, the solemn online academy on the occasion of marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the First World Roma Congress will be held at 8 pm on the premises of the Institute. On the same evening, a ceremonial academy was held at the National Theater in Belgrade, attended by the head of the Roma Integration Office of the Regional Cooperation Council, Orhan Usein, the president of the executive board of the Roma National Council, Pava Cubrilov, ministers Maja Gojkovic and Gordana Comic, and equality commissioner Brankica Jankovic. Artists Natasa Tasic Knezevic, Gavrilo Rabrenovic, Branko Tadic and Ethno Group, as well as Sasa Knezevic, perform in the music part of the academy.

The main goal of the Roma Education Fund (REF SP) scholarship program is to contribute to the creation of a critical mass of Roma, higher education graduates, confident and proud of their Roma identity, academic and social skills, equipped with competencies and skills to become experts in their fields. and to remain firmly connected with the Roma community and support its further progress and inclusion in the wider society. Also, today, when we mark the 50th anniversary of the Roma movement, we should mention the organization of young intellectuals Opre Roma, which acts as an articulated voice of the Roma community demonstrating integrity, collective engagement, and influence in decision-making on Roma. This ORS voice is used for political positioning and advocacy of Roma's interests. The ORS is a strong and unavoidable political factor that holds decision-makers accountable for campaign promises. The ORS network is used through a geographical presence and positioning in the field, which shows the great interest of people who want to participate in the movement, such as the initiative "development of 48 municipalities". In less than 20 days, we have established contact and cooperation with 37 potential representatives of the Roma community at the local level. I would also like to thank the editorial policy of Novi magazine, one of whose strategies is the emancipation and affirmation of the Roma people. Starting from the fact that the position of the Roma has never been discussed or any measures taken to resolve it, I appeal to the highest UN bodies to include this issue in their program and to consider it at one of their sessions. The weight and significance of this issue require that, after thorough consideration in the relevant working bodies of the UN, it be included in the agenda of the General Assembly in order to adopt an appropriate resolution on the legal and political position of the Roma.