Romi su bogati, ali možda ne na način na koji vi mislite...

U današnjem svijetu audiovizualne aktivnosti su važnije nego ikad. Bilo da govorimo o radiju, televiziji, društvenim mrežama ili Internetu općenito, audiovizualni sadržaj je postao i dalje je glavni izvor informacija i zabave kao i sredstvo za komunikaciju za sve veći broj ljudi. Svojom pristranošću i načinom prezentacije informacija audiovizualni zapisi predstavljaju moćno sredstvo razumijevanja. Međutim, takvo nasljeđe može imati kako negativan tako i pozitivan utjecaj na našu percepciju svijeta i drugih ljudi kao naprimjer romske zajednice.
 

Kad govorimo o nasljeđu, Romi imaju puno vrijednosti i tradicija koje su ostavljene u nasljedstvo budućim generacijama. Međutim, budući da je romska kultura uglavnom usmena, nije ostalo puno trajnog nasljeđa poput književnosti ili audiovizualnih sadržaja koji su stvoreni od strane samih Roma. Većinu starih audiovizualnih dokumenata koji se tiču života Roma stvorili su vlasti ili umjetnici koji nemaju nikakvu vezu s romskom zajednicom. Postoje puno primjera, od poznate Caravaggiove slike “Gatanje“ do filmova poput “Zlatnih naušnica“ s proslavljenom glumicom Marlene Dietrich ili romana “Zvonar crkve Notre Dame“ Victora Hugoa. Nažalost, većina njih je širila stereotipe i predrasude, sudjelujući u stvaranju atmosfere mržnje prema Romima koja postoji i do dan danas. Unatoč uključenosti takvih osoba kao što su filmski producent Tony Gatlif iz Francuske ili organizacija poput Zaklade Romedia u Mađarskoj romska umjetnička scena ostaje uglavnom nepoznata.

Nedostatak romskih dokumentiranih izvora je također razlog tome što najdramatičniji događaji nisu bili dobro dokumentirani. Značajniji je primjer genocida Roma tokom Drugog svjetskog rata, događaju poznatog kao Porajmos. Većina ljudi nije sjesna ovog zločina protiv čovječnosti ili nema dovoljno znanja o ovoj temi. Zbog toga se samo u nekoliko filmovima prikazuje Porajmos i to uglavnom kao fikcija koje su bile zasnovane na stvarnim pričama. Doista, nedostatak audiovizualnih zapisa koji se odnose na ovaj specifični dio povijesti Drugog svijetskog rata ne dozvoljava da se snimi sveobuhvatni dokumentarni film zasnovani na arhivima.

Štoviše, zbog nedostatka jasnog institucionalnog okvira i općeprihvaćene političke reprezentativnosti svih Roma čiji bi zadatak bio da sačuva i promovira audiovizualno nasljeđe Roma. Dakle, za raliku od naroda koji imaju potporu i zaštitu od strane države, romska zajednica često nije u stanju naći financijsku i tehnološku potporu koja je potrebna kako bi se za budućnost sačuvali dijelovi romske povijesti. Nedostatak promoviranja i priznanja kulturnog nasljeđa Roma je štetno za društvo. Stoga, audiovizualni dokumenti su odlično sredstvo borbe protiv stereotipa kroz isticanje pozitivnih stvari koje su Romi stvorili kroz povijest, što dovodi do povećanja razumijevanja njihovog života s ostalim građanima.

Nedavno je pokrenut projekt uz pomoć Njemačke federalne kulturne zaklade koji ima za riješavaje ovog problema. Ideja Projekta pripada Franziski Sauerbrey i Isabeli Raabe.Obje su više godina radile u području kulture i organizirale su niz važnih događaja. Štoviše, počele su raditi s Romima na svečanom otvaranju spomen-obilježja Sintima
i Romima ubijenim u doba nacional-socijalizma u Berlinu. Nakon mnogih rasprava
s romskim umjetnicima shvatili su potrebu za platformom koja bi promovirala romsku umjetnost i kulturu. U siječnju 2019. godine konačno je napravljen Portal Romarchive.eu za arhiviranje svih vrsta dokumenata koji prikazuju romsku kulturu. Danas se organizacija sastoji od 150 ljudi iz 15 zemalja. Ali što je najvažnije, donosioci odluka su sami Romi koji omogućavaju zajednici da bude samozastupljena u svoj svojoj raznolikosti. Osim arhivskih dokumenata na Portalu se mogu naći filmovi, muzika i djela iz književnosti, ali i sadržaj vezan uz porajmos, Pokret romskih građanskih prava ili čak Flamenco. Kao dokaz uspjeha Projekta služi i činjenica da je Projekt dobio Nagradu Europske baštine (Europa Nostra Awards). Unatoč određenim ograničenjima, Projekt može postati prekretnica u očuvanju romske kulture. Digitalizacija svih ovih dokumenata je ključni uvjet koji će omogućiti da se s njima upozna šira javnost.  Na taj način pomaže u borbi sa klišejima i predrasudama. Zadnje, ali ne manje važno, Projekat pruža Romima alat za samoosnaživanje bez obzira gdje žive.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is celebrated on October 27. During the 33rd UNESCO’s General Conference, members adopted the Resolution 53 which sets this World Day. The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images in 1980. Among the type of documents registered as part of this audiovisual heritage are films, television and radio programs recorded on tapes, CDs, digital support…

The goal of this recommendation and international day is to raise awareness concerning the need to save these documents. Indeed, plenty of threats can affect this inestimable legacy: technological obsolescence, decay or volunteer destruction… Thus, it is important to archive and digitize these documents so that they remain a source of information for future generations.

Roma people are rich, but maybe not from what you may think about...

Nowadays, audiovisual activities are more important than ever. Whether it is through radio, TV, social networks or Internet in general, audiovisual content has become the main source of information and entertainment as well as a communication tool for a growing number of people in a continuous trend. With their biases and representations, audiovisual documents provide us with a powerful mean of understanding. Nevertheless, this heritage can have both positive and negative influence on our perception of the world and other people such as the Roma community.

When it comes to heritage, Roma people enjoy a wide range of values and traditions that are bequeathed to new generations. However, this culture being mostly oral, there is a lack of a long-lasting legacy like literature or audiovisual content created by Roma themselves. Most of the old documents concerning Roma’s life were created by authorities or artists who had nothing to do with the Roma community. From the famous painting The Fortune Teller of Caravaggio to some movies like Golden Earrings with renowned actress Marlene Dietrich or the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame written by Victor Hugo, examples are legion. Unfortunately, most of these have been used to spread stereotypes and prejudices, participating in the creation of a climate of hatred towards Roma which still exists nowadays. Despite the involvement of some figures like the film producer Tony Gatlif in France, or organizations such as the Romedia Foundation in Hungary, the Roma artistic scene remains mostly unknown.

The lack of documented sources from Roma people to represent themselves also explains that some of the most terrible events have not been properly documented. This is the case of the Roma genocide during the Second World War, also known as Porajmos. Then, most people remain unaware of this crime against Humanity or have a major lack of knowledge regarding it. Thus, only a few movies are dealing with the Porajmos and these are mostly fictions based on real stories. Indeed, the lack of audiovisual material concerning this specific part of the history of the Second World War does not allow creating a complete documentary based on archives.

Moreover, there is no proper structure to save and promote the audiovisual legacy of Roma because of the lack of a clear institutional framework and the absence of a political representation accepted by everyone. Thus, contrary to nations enjoying State protection and support, the Roma community is often unable to have the financial and technological support needed to save these pieces of their history. This lack of promotion and recognition regarding the cultural legacy of Roma people might be harmful to the community. Indeed, audiovisual documents might be great tools to tackle stereotypes by highlighting the positive things that Roma created throughout history and enhancing a better understanding of their life among the population.

A project was created recently so as to solve this problem. With the help of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Franziska Sauerbrey and Isabel Raabe initiated it. Both have been involved in the culture sector for many years, organizing some important event. Moreover, they started working with Roma people for the inauguration of the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime (Berlin). Following many discussions with Romani artists, they realized the need for having a platform to promote Romani art and culture. In January 2019, the portal Romarchive.eu was finally created to archive all kind of documents embodying the Roma culture. Nowadays, the organization is composed of 150 people from 15 countries. Most importantly, the deciders are Roma themselves allowing the community to be self-represented in all its diversity. Among the archives, you can find movies, music and literature, but also content related to the Porajmos, the Roma Civil Rights Movement or even Flamenco. As a proof of its success, the project received the Grand Prix of the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Awards 2019.  Despite some limits, such a project might be a decisive turning point when it comes to the preservation of Romani culture. Digitalizing all of these documents is a key condition to share them to a public as wide as possible. Thus, it can be helpful to fight clichés and prejudices. Finally yet importantly, by providing such a platform to the Roma community, the Romarchive project gives to Roma people a tool for self-empowerment and proudness no matter where they live.