Vijesti ROMI.HR

Prije svega, željeli bismo znati malo o vašem djetinjstvu, uspomenama i procesu odrastanja unutar romske zajednice.

U romskom naselju suočavala sam se s velikim I teškim uvjetima. Bez obzira na to, provela sam jako sretno djetinjstvo, koje je trajalo do 9. godine. Nakon gubitka oca preživjela sam naporan život. Ostali smo bez tatine zidarske plaće i postali korisnici socijalne zajamčene minimalne naknade. Danas, moja obitelj još uvijek živi s zajamčenim socijalnim naknadama. Htjela sam i odlučila nastaviti školovanje nakon srednje škole. Unatoč činjenici da sam zbog teških uvjeta u romskom naselju jedva završila osnovnu školu, obuzela me velika želja da nastavim studirati. Tada u mom romskom naselju nismo imali asfaltirane ulice, nego smo imali blatnjave, neugledne ulice. Nismo imali pristup vodoopskrbi niti struji, također je postojao problem odvoza smeća i otpada, pa su naši stanovnici smeće odlagali u okolici naselja. Situacija se od tada poboljšala, ali još uvijek postoje problemi.

Preselili ste se u učenički dom s 14/15 godina, kako se tada promijenila situacija? Možete li podijeliti snama svoje iskustvo?

Preselila sam se u učenički dom, jer nisam imala potrebne uvjete za studiranje u svom području, Međimurju. Bilo je jako teško razdoblje za mene. U tim godinama ljudi se oslanjaju na svoje roditelje, dok sam se ja morala odvojiti od prijatelja i obitelji, morala sam se brinuti sama za sebe, prilagoditi se novom okruženju. Ali boravak u učeničkom domu pružilo mi je bolje uvjete za učenje i život. 

U nedavnim intervjuima istakli ste da ste zainteresirani za rad u socijalnoj sferi, s mladim Romima. Prema vašem mišljenju, kako možete doprinijeti na ovom području?

Da, voljela bih raditi s mladim Romima, jer bi ih željela uputiti na pravi put, motivirati ih da nastave školovanje. Vjerujem da je obrazovanje jedan od ključnih elemenata za promjene u društvu. Također ih želim informirati o njihovim pravima koje imaju kao pripadnici romske nacionalne manjine, jer smatram da je znanje način ostvarivanja ljudskih prava, odgovornost koju trebamo ispuniti, jedan od preduvjeta uspješnu integraciju uz ostale aspekata privatnog i javnog života.

Bili ste govornica na online sastanku pod nazivom "Potrebe, problemi i potencijali mladih u Hrvatskoj" kao predstavnica Romska udruga mladih Hrvatske. Spomenuli ste da prije niste znali ništa o svojim pravima. Kako je vaše obrazovanje utjecalo na vaše znanje o vlastitim pravima?

Kad sam se odlučila za put obrazovanja i upisala studij, suočavala sam s problemima zbog svoje financijske situacije, imala sam jako loše financijsko stanje i nisam se mogla financirati ni za smještaj ni za prehranu ili druge potrebe. Na primjer, tijekom srednjoškolskog razdoblja, nastavnici su me obavijestili o mojim pravima koja imam kao pripadnica romske nacionalne manjine. Dakle, saznala sam da imam pravo na besplatan smještaj u studentskom domu i stipendiju. Kasnije sam kao redovni student dobila stipendiju kao i ostatak stanovništva.

Kakvo je vaše osobno iskustvo s diskriminacijom, ne samo kao Romkinja već i kao žena?

Kao Romkinja, zbog svoje nacionalnosti, dosta sam doživjela diskriminaciju. Na primjer, prijavila sam se za studentski posao u svojoj županiji. Nakon razgovora, prepustila sam im svoje kontakt podatke i pričekala, nitko nije pokušao stupiti u kontakt sa mnom, pa se moj dečko prijavio za isti posao nakon mene da provjeri problem. Međutim, kad je moj dečko, koji nije Rom, otišao na razgovor, odmah su ga nazvali.

S obzirom na to, s kakvom ste se diskriminacijom suočili unutar romske zajednice?

I danas je veliki patrijarhat prisutan u romskoj zajednici. Biti žena u romskoj zajednici znači biti u nepovoljnom položaju. Većina žena je često podređena muškarcima. Kažem većina njih, pa riječ većina naglašava da nisu sve žene u nepovoljnom položaju, ali većina žena u romskoj zajednici ima manju vrijednosti u društvu. Dodijeljeni su im kućanski poslovi, poput kuhanja, čišćenja, brige o djeci. U romskoj zajednici žene imaju puno nižu obrazovnu razinu u odnosu na muškarce. Često nemaju priliku sudjelovati u gospodarskom životu i drugim aktivnostima, jer su uglavnom povezane s rješavanjem problema u maloj zajednici. Štoviše, uvjeti reproduktivnog zdravlja vrlo su loši, posebno za mlade Romkinje. Žive u teškim uvjetima siromaštva i materijalne oskudice. Većina mladih Romkinja živi u koncentracijskim naseljima u kojim nema odgovarajuće infrastrukture i higijenskih uvjeta. Najveći je problem što se mlade Romkinje udaju u vrlo ranoj dobi. Ti se maloljetni brakovi često događaju, pa su prisiljeni živjeti u takvim kućama, neadekvatnim, neopremljenim prostorijama.

Bili ste vrlo aktivni u ciklusu izvedbe predstave ‘’Imamo li izbora?’’ koja se usredotočila na rodna pitanja, patrijarhat i nasilje koje su žene pretrpjele. Možete li nam reći nešto više o ovome?

Predstavu su stvorile tri mlade Romkinje iz Romske udruge mladih u Hrvatskoj uz pomoć koordinacije Josipa Ulića. Zapravo je bilo prilično teško odabrati ružna iskustva koje ćemo klasificirati i realizirati, jer se sve tri Romkinje koje su na tome radile došle iz različitih regija u kojima se običaji ponekad međusobno razlikuju. Stoga smo pokušali birati običaje s kojima se Romkinje susreću slično u različitim romskim zajednicama. Romkinje imaju dvostruku diskriminaciju i od s strane svojih obitelji i od ostatka stanovništva. Kako je predstava zamišljena kao forumsko kazalište, a publika je bila prilično zabrinuta, odmah smo dobili reakciju. Svi iz publike bili su pripadnici romske nacionalne manjine i njihova reakcija nije bila baš najbolja. Neki muškarci nisu htjeli priznati da se takve situacije još uvijek događaju unutar zajednice. Samo su dva muškarca priznala da još uvijek postoji diskriminacija i nasilje nad ženama unutar zajednice. Što se tiče žena iz publike, one su sigurno imale sličnih scena u svakodnevnom životu. To pokazuje da smo pridonijeli do publike. Sjećam se da je čak bio slučaj kada je jedan muškarac iz publike rekao da zaista očekuje da mu žena služi sve, da mu kuha, pere odjeću, priprema stol, odgaja djecu itd. Nažalost, takvi slučajevi još uvijek postoje prisutan u romskoj zajednici. U predstavi smo radili na najvažnijim problemima s kojima se žene susreću, poput nejednakosti, maloljetničkih brakova koji su za mene najveći problemi u zajednici.
 

Možete li nam ispričati malo o kampanji Arise Roma? Pojavili ste se u kratkom video intervjuu objavljenom nedavno, pa smo htjeli čuti više o tom projektu.

Napravila sam video kampanju na njihovoj Facebook stranici, koju i dalje možete vidjeti na stranici. Ciljna skupina bili su učenici od 5. do 8. razreda. U kampanji su sudjelovali Romi i neromi. Video kampanja bavila se temama kao što su blagodati četverogodišnjih programa, smještaj u učeničke domove, školske stipendije za Rome, stavovi i mišljenja neroma, jer nam je zapravo vrlo važno imati određenu podršku iz perspektive neroma, jer bi tada ljudi vidjeli da smo saveznici. A cilj aktivnosti bio je motivirati srednjoškolce da nastave školovanje, imaju svoje ciljeve, i ostanu u obrazovnom sustavu.

S obzirom na vaše iskustvo, koju biste poruku uputili mladim Romima, posebno Romkinjama u Hrvatskoj?

Željela bih preporučiti svim mladim Romima da nikada ne odustanu od svojih snova, da hrabro nastave vlastito obrazovanje, kako formalno, tako i neformalno, u kojem im se pruža mogućnost stjecanja društveno korisnih stipendija, kako bi bili ravnopravni sa ostatak stanovništva. Htjela bih savjetovati i mladim Romima i Romkinjama da se više usredotoče na svoje obrazovanje, jer će ih to najviše osnažiti za bolju budućnost. Također vjerujem da je obrazovanje najvažniji razlog integracije Roma u društvo. Obrazovanje pruža više mogućnosti zapošljavanja i jedan je od najvažnijih načina za poboljšanje imidža Roma u očima javnosti i smanjenje nejednakosti u društvu. Međutim, želim da ostatak populacije mladih postane naš saveznik i mladim Romima, jer nam je potrebno prihvatljivo okruženje u društvu, u kojem ćemo razmjenjivati kulturne karakteristike, razumjeti sliku života i na kraju podržati zajedničke odluke.

Interview with Rosa Oršuš

First, we would like to know a little bit about your childhood, memories, and the process of growing up as part of the Roma community.

I faced great and difficult conditions in the Roma settlements. Despite the difficult conditions in my Roma settlement, I spent a very happy childhood. However, my happy childhood lasted until I was 9 years old. After the unfortunate loss of my father, I had a quite tough life. We were left without Dad’s mason’s salary and became beneficiaries of the socially guaranteed minimum income. Today, my family still lives with guaranteed minimum income. I wanted and decided to continue my education after high school. Despite the fact that I had barely finished primary school due to the difficult conditions in the Roma settlement, I was overwhelmed by a great desire to continue studying. At that time, in my Roma settlement, we did not have paved streets, but we had muddy, uncomfortable/bad routes. We did not have access to water supply or electricity, there was also a problem of garbage and waste collection, so our residents dumped garbage in the vicinity of the settlement. The situation has improved since then, but some issues still remain.

You moved to a dormitory at the age o 14/15, how did this situation change then? How do you look back on this experience?

I moved to a dormitory because I did not have the necessary conditions to study within my neighborhood. It was a very difficult period for me. In those years, people relied on their parents, whereas I had to be separated from friends and family, I had to take care of myself, adapt to the new environment. But Staying in the dormitory provided me with better conditions for learning and living.

In one of the recent interviews, you have expressed an interest in working in the social sphere, especially with young Roma. What do you think your contribution can be in this area?

Yes, I would like to work with young Roma, because I would like to motivate them to continue their education. I believe that education is one of the key elements to realise change in society. . I also would like to inform them about their rights as Roma national minority, because I believe that knowledge is a way to exercise human rights, a responsibility that we need to fulfill, one of the prerequisites for successful integration in addition to other aspects of private public life.

You were one of the speakers in the online meeting titled “Needs, problems and potentials of young people in Croatia" as the representative of Roma youth organisation of Croatia. You mentioned that you did not know anything about your rights before. How did your education contribute to this?

When I decided to move on the path of education and enrolled in my studies, I faced problems because of my financial situation, I had a very bad financial situation and I could not finance myself for accommodation, food or other needs. For example, during my high school period, my teachers informed me of my rights that I have as a member of the Roma national minority. So, I found out that I am entitled to free dormitory accommodation and a scholarship. Later, I received a scholarship as a regular student as the rest of the population.

What is your personal experience regarding discrimination, not just as Roma but also as a woman both inside and outside of your community?

As a Roma woman, because of my nationality, I experienced a lot of discrimination. For example, I applied for a student job in my county. After the interview, I left my contact details to them and I waited, no one tried to get in touch with me. At that job interview I wasn’t sure whether I was facing discrimination because of my nationality, so my boyfriend applied for the same job after me to check the issue. However, when my boyfriend, who is not Roma, went for the interview, they called him right away

What about inside of the Roma community, what kind of discrimination did you face there?

Even today, a great patriarchy is present in the Roma community. Being woman in the Roma community means being at a disadvantage. Most women are often subordinate to men. I say most of them, so the word majority emphasizes that not all women are disadvantaged, but most women in the Roma community have less value within society. They are assigned domestic chores, such as cooking, cleaning, child-care. In the Roma community, women have a much lower educational level compared to men. They often do not have the opportunity to participate in economic life and other activities, because they are mainly assigned to solve problems within the small community. Moreover, reproductive health conditions are very poor, especially for young Roma women. They live in difficult conditions of poverty and material deprivation. Most young Roma women live in concentration settlements where there is no adequate infrastructure and hygienic conditions. The biggest problem is that young Roma women get married at very early age. These underage marriages happen frequently, then they are forced to live in such houses, inadequate, unfurnished premises.

You were very active in the performance cycle ‘’Imamo li izbora?’’ (Do we have a choice?), which focused on tackling the gender issues and violence suffered by women. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

The play was created by three young Roma women from the Roma Youth Association of Croatia with the help of the coordination of Josip Ulić. In fact, it was quite difficult to choose the wounds that we would classify and realize, because all three Roma women who worked on it came from different regions where customs sometimes differ from each other. Therefore, we tried to choose the customs Roma women face similarly in different Roma communities. Roma women experience double discrimination from both their families and the rest of the population. As the play was conceived as a forum theater, and as the audience was quite concerned, we immediately got a reaction. Everyone in the audience was a member of the Roma national minority and their reaction was not the best. Some men were reluctant to admit that such situations still occur within the community. Only two men acknowledged that there was still discrimination and violence against women. As for the women in the audience, they must have experienced similar scenes in everyday life. This shows that we reached the audience. I remember there was even a case when one man from the audience said that he really expects his wife to serve him everything, to cook for him, wash his clothes, prepare the table, raise his children, etc. Unfortunately, such cases are still present in the Roma community. In the play, we worked on the most important issues that women face, such as inequality, underage marriages, which for me are the biggest problems in the community.

Could you tell us a bit about the Arise Roma campaign? You were in a short video interview released recently so I wanted to know what your involvement is there.

I made a video campaign on their Facebook page, which you can still see on the page. The target group were students from 5th to 8th grade. Roma and non-Roma participated in the campaign. The video campaign dealt with topics such as the benefits of four-year programs, dormitory accommodation, school scholarships for Roma, attitudes and opinions of non-Roma, because in fact it is very important for us to have some support from the perspective of non-Roma, because then people would see that we are allies. And the goal of the activity was to motivate high school students to continue their education, have their own goals, and stay within the education system

To finish the interview, given your experience, what message would you give young Roma, especially Roma women, in Croatia? 

I would like to recommend to all young Roma to never give up on their dreams, to courageously continue their own education, both formal and informal, in which they are given the opportunity to acquire socially useful scholarships, in order to be even equal with the rest of the population. I would like to advise both young Roma men and women to focus more on their education, because it will empower them the most for a better future. I also believe that education is the most important reason for Roma integration into society. Education provides more employment opportunities and is one of the most important ways to improve the image of Roma in the eyes of the public and reduce inequalities in society. However, I want the rest of the population of young people to become our ally to young Roma as well, because we need an acceptable environment in society, in which we will exchange cultural characteristics, understand the picture of life and ultimately support common decisions.