Poznati kalderaški romski pisac, evangelistički svećenik Mateo Maximoff rođen je 17. siječnja 1917. godine u Barceloni u Španjolskoj. Njegova majka bila je Manouche Romkinja iz Francuska. Bila je rođakinja poznatog romskog glazbenika Djanga Reinhardta, osnivača „gypsy jazza“. Njegov otac bio je kalderaški Rom iz Rusije, po zanimanju metalurg. Mateo je prvo naučio kalderaški dijalekt romskog jezika, a onda je španjolski postao njegov drugi jezik. Međutim, koristio je francuski jezik kako bi se izrazio u svojoj umjetnosti, a to je bio jezike zemlje u kojoj je proveo najveći dio svog života.

Mateo se nikad nije formalno obrazovao. Njegov ga je otac naučio abecedu, kako čitati i kako brojati. Sve što je naučio, naučio je sam. Počeo je raditi vrlo rano jer je s 14 godina ostao bez roditelja. Počeo je raditi sa svojim ujacima kako bi mogao uzdržavati  braću i sestre.

Kad je Francuska proglasila rat nacističkoj Njemačkoj 1939. godine, počeli su teški dani za obitelj Maximoff, a i sve druge Rome i Putnike. Francuska je bila sumnjičava prema nomadima jer je vjerovala da su oni špijunirali za Njemačku. Ovo je vjerovanje rezultiralo time da je mnogo Roma protjerano iz Francuske ili smješteno u logore. Oni koji su protjerani pokušali su pobjeći u Španjolsku. Obitelj Maximoff bili su jedni od „sretnika“ koji su uspjeli prijeći granicu i ući u Španjolsku. Međutim, oni su uhićeni na granici i smješteni u logor Gurs na francusko-španjolskoj granici. Nakon 42 dana poslani su u „Ciganski logor“ u gradu Tarbesu.  Iako su oni koji su bili u ovom logoru „imali više sreće“ nego oni koji su bili u logorima za istrebljenje, njihovi su životni uvjeti bili zastrašujući. O tom je razdoblju svog života pisao u knjizi „Routes Sans Roulottes“ („Ceste bez vagona“). U intervjuu je rekao:

„Kad sam došao u logor s 23 godine, imao sam 75 kilograma. 31 mjesec kasnije imao sam 44 kilograma i izgledao sam kao kostur pokriven kožom. Bio sam tako mršav da su ljudi mislili da imam tuberkulozu. I dalje mi nije jasno kako sam uopće preživio. Nisam bio jedini koji je tako izgledao. Ostali Romi su bili u istom takvom stanju.“

Mateo i njegova prva žena razdvojili su se u ratu, a kasnije je za razdvojenost uzrokovala raspad braka.  Obitelj Maximoff je i dalje mogla zaraditi u logoru, u usporedbi sa Sintima ili Kalima zbog toga što su znali izrađivati kotlove i opremu za domaćinstvo. Za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata, 27 Mateovih ujaka, ujni i rođaka ubili su nacisti u poljskim logorima. Nakon rata Mateo je tužio Njemačku kako bi mu priznali da je bio žrtvom rasizma u ratu i do kraja života plaćali su mu mjesečnu odštetu. Međutim, tek je od 1982. godine priznato da su i Romi bili žrtve rasne diskriminacije i progona.

Mateova najpoznatija djela su Ursitory (1946), Cijena slobode (1955), i Svijet koji nije moj (1992). U  svojoj prvoj knjizi Ursitory uklopio je romsku kulturu i način života kojim žive Romi. Njegove su knjige pisane na francuskom i prevedene su na 14 jezika, uključujući i romski. Također je objavio romske priče u francusko-romskom časopisu naziva „Les Etudes Tsiganes“. U to je vrijeme, kad je on objavio svoje knjige, objavljivanje knjiga na romskom jeziku bilo gotovo nemoguće. U današnje se vrijeme objavljuje sve više romskih knjiga i djela. Mateo Maximoff i o ovome je govorio. Rekao je:

„Svijet bi bio preplavljen romskim autorima da Romi znaju pisati! Samo da je staviti sve te fantastične povijesne priče koje su mi ujaci tako živopisno i zanimljivo prepričali o životu u Rusiji! Ne biste trebali promijeniti nijednu riječ. Bilo bi ih dovoljno zapisati baš na onakav način kako ih Romi prepričaju.

Mateo je puno doprinio romskoj kulturi, književnosti i svijetu. Sam je rekao da je „Bog htio da se Mateo njemu vrati“ i tako je postao evangelički svećenik. Preveo je Novi zavjet na kalderaški, što je zajednici pomoglo u boljem razumijevanju religije. 1971. godine izvršavao je dužnost kao jedan od najvažnijih prevoditelja na Međunarodnom kongresu Roma u Londonu. 1985. godine dobio je francusku titulu Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Vitez Reda umjetnosti i književnosti). 2014. godine po njemu je nazvana Mateo Maximoff multimedijska knjižnica, koja se nalazi u Parizu. Mateo Maximoff umro je 24. studenog 1999, ostavivši iza sebe veliko kulturno bogatstvo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Famous Kalderash Roma writer, Evangelical pastor Matéo Maximoff was born on 17 January 1917, in Barcelona, Spain. His mother was a Manouche Roma from France, she was the cousin of famous Roma musician Django Reinhardt, the founder of “Gypsy Jazz”. His father was a Kalderash Roma metal worker from Russia. Matéo first learned Kalderash Roma, then Spanish became his second native language. However, he used French to express himself in his art, the language of the country where he spent most of his life.

Matéo never had formal education, his father taught him the alphabet, how to read and how to count. All of what he had learnt, he learned himself. He started working from a young age, when he was orphaned at 14. He started working with his uncles to look after his siblings.

When France declared war on Nazi Germany in the year 1939, difficult days started for Maximoff family, with the rest of Roma and Travellers. France was suspicious of the nomads, believing they were conducting espionage for the Germans. As a result of this belief, a lot of Roma were expelled from France lands or put in camps. Those who were expelled tried to go to Spain, Maximoff’s were one of the “lucky” ones who managed to cross the border to Spain. However, they were arrested at the border and placed in the Gurs camp, in the French-Spanish border. After 42 days, they were sent to a “Gypsy Camp” in Tarbes. Even though those who were in these camps were “luckier” than those in extermination camps, their living conditions were horrifying. He later wrote in his book "Routes Sans Roulottes" ("Roads Without Wagons") about this time of his life. In an interview he said,

"When I came to the camp at the age of twenty-three, I weighed 75 kilos. Thirty-one months later, I weighed 44 kilos and looked like a skeleton covered with skin. I was so skinny that people thought I had tuberculosis. Even I cannot understand how I survived at all. But I wasn't the only one who looked like that. The other Roma were in the same condition.”

Matéo and his first wife were separated in the war, later this separation caused their marriage to dissolve. Maximoff’s were still able to make a living in the camps, compared to other Sinti or Kale, with their profession of cauldron making and domestic equipments. During the Second World War, twenty-seven of Matéo’s uncles, aunts, and cousins, were killed by the Nazis in concentration camps in Poland. Later, after the war, Matéo sued the Germany to be recognized as a racial victim of war and he was paid a monthly amount as reparations for the rest of his life. However, Roma only have been recognised as victims of racial discrimination and persecution since 1982.

Matéo’s most known works were The Ursitory (1946), The Price of Freedom (1955) and The World That Isn’t Mine (1992). In The Ursitory, his first book, he incorporated Roma culture and how Roma lived into the book’s plot. His books were written in French and translated into 14 languages including Roma as well. He also published Kalderash Roma stories in a French-Roma magazine, called “Les Etudes Tsiganes”. During the time when he first published his books, publishing books in Roma language was, quite impossible. These days, more Roma books and works are being published. Matéo Maximoff talked about this as well. He said,

“The world would be flooded with Roma writers if Roma could write! Just to put on paper those fantastic histories that my uncles told so colourfully and grippingly about life in Russia! You wouldn't have to change even one word; it would be enough to write them down just the way the Roma told them."

Matéo contributed so much to Roma culture, literature and to the world. In his own words, after “God wanted Matéo to turn to Him”, he became an Evangelical pastor. He translated New Testament to Kalderash Roma, which helped community to better understand the religion. In 1971, he performed duties as one of the most important translators at the first International Roma Congress in London. In 1985, he received the French title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). In 2014, Matéo Maximoff Multimedia Library that can be found in Paris, was named after him. Matéo Maximoff died on the 24th of November 1999, leaving a great cultural heritage behind.