Resources for International Roma Day – April 8 , 2011

Preparing for the Ten Days of Prayer for Roma: Now is a good time to begin educating ourselves and our congregations about Romani people (formerly known as “Gypsies”) in Europe. Scapegoating, stigmatization, random violence, police brutality, pogroms, vigilante “justice,” lack of access to clean food and water, education, or health care, and forced deportations–these phenomena are not new. Participate in the ten days of prayer here: http://www.pcusa.org/resource/pray-roma/

BOOKS:  Three to start, all available used or new through Amazon.com

1) Bury me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey, by Isabel Fonseca. London: Vintage Books, 2006.

2) We are the Romani People, by Ian Hancock. University of Herfordshire Press, 2002. (Comprehensive about origins and culture)

3) The Roads of the Roma: a PEN Anthology of Gypsy Writers, Ian Hancock et al., eds. University of Herfordshire Press, 1998. (Poetry and stories by Romani writers and timeline of laws against Roma and attacks on Roma.)

VIDEOS:  All are available online. Each is powerful in its own way

Amnesty International: 2010 Roma Day Video: April 8 is International Roma Day every year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbx0nVjU47I&feature=related

Colorful but Colorblind: Roma beyond Stereotypes (25 short videos, 2010) http://roma.glocalstories.org/?utm_source=TOL+mailing-list&utm_campaign=2d49beda5a-CbCpromo10_11_2010&utm_medium=email

Podcast: An American View of European Roma / Romaphobia http://humanrightseurope.blogspot.com/2010/12/podcast-american-view-of-europes.html

Faces of Change: Romani Women (in many different countries). http://www.mundiromani.com/

Amnesty International: Roma families living in uncertainty Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZfhPMTQy50

I am a European Roma Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_RWXwbFqI

“The Roma Families Living in Europe” http://www.5min.com/Video/The-Roma-Families-Living-in-Europe-460501515

Fighting prejudice and pogroms with projects: http://www.in.com/videos/watchvideo-roma-people-fighting-against-prejudices-9657345.html

 Attacks on women and children in Hungary: http://www.5min.com/Video/Attacks-on-the-Roma-Community-in-Hungary-460503229

Full-length feature film: a view of a Roma village in the 1990’s:
Gadjo Dilo (The Crazy Foreigner) (French, English subtitles; some offensive language; nudity) available on VHS and DVD from Amazon.com.

Compiled by Liz and Doug Searles serving in Lodz, Poland