In April, representatives of the radical nationalist organization C14 dispersed a Roma camp on Lysa Hora in Kyiv. According to the report by the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe, Roma in Ukraine suffer from systemic discrimination in access to education, housing, healthcare, and employment.
The Village Ukraine interviews three Roma individuals living in Kyiv: student Aliona, actor Petro, and international organization vice-president Zola. They explain that the Roma community is very diverse, encompassing different values, religions, and structures.
Photo: Anna Bobyreva
20 years old, student
For some, our culture may seem like a different planet. But despite all the ups and downs, aggression, and genocide, we have preserved our identity.
I am a student, studying in my third year of law at Kyiv National University (KNU) and working in the public sector. I am a scholar of the “Law and Humanities Disciplines” program from the Roma Educational Fund. This program became a platform for my development, and thanks to it, I had the opportunity to study in college and university. When I entered college, there were no government scholarships available, so receiving the scholarship was a big achievement.
I am from Chernihiv and belong to a specific subgroup of Roma known as “Ruska Roma” (Russian Roma). My family moved to Chernihiv 35-40 years ago. Each subgroup is distinct from the others and has its unique traits. We have our own dialect – it’s not taught in schools; parents, older siblings, grandparents, and the community pass it on. Traditions and way of life also differ. We live in regular houses, not in temporary settlements. My family is involved in business, and my mother is part of a community organization. You can identify the subgroup of Roma by the dialect, traditions, clothing styles, and religion. For instance, Ruska Roma are Orthodox Christians, Ukrainian Roma are predominantly Orthodox as well, some others are Catholic, and Crimean Roma are Muslims. The Roma community is very diverse, so it’s impossible to generalize everything.
In Ukraine, there are about ten groups of Roma. This is all influenced by historical context and how we (Roma – ed.) arrived in specific regions. Most Roma were nomadic within the Soviet Union until 1956 – then the nomadic lifestyle became a crime, and the “voluntary-compulsory” settlement of Roma began. However, some groups settled in the post-Soviet area before this as well. Roma from the post-Soviet region differ from Balkan Roma – they have different music, dances, and even a different understanding of a girl’s role. In our region – Ukraine, Russia, Belarus – girls are expected to maintain their “purity” until marriage. Even I, as a Roma, continue to learn more about my minority group over the years. I only know what my family taught me. I started learning about the history of different Roma groups on my own later – and it’s incredibly interesting.
There are core values that are almost universal across most Roma groups. First is respect for elders. For us, this is above all. There’s a unique decision-making mechanism within the community – through a council of elders. No, we don’t have barons. The council of elders resolves contentious issues that arise between families or groups. For instance, if a girl marries a Roma from a different group. It’s an event! In the past, this was quite hard to imagine. The role of women varies greatly – for instance, in my group, we have a more liberal approach towards girls. A woman’s word holds weight. In some groups, a woman’s role is to be the guardian of the family hearth, taking care of the husband and children.
In my community, education has now become a necessity and a value. But even when I went to study from Chernihiv to Kyiv, I had to convince my family that I wanted to develop myself and get a quality higher education. Eventually, my mom said she trusted me and let me study. Despite this, many of our acquaintances came to her and said, “How could you let your daughter go alone to Kyiv? Have you lost your mind?” They worry that I might succumb to external influences and lose my identity, which was instilled in me by my family and community. They also worry that I might have more contact with men. Our interactions are quite restricted; there’s a process of courtship and such. A girl should not be involved in any questionable relationships. She must be very cautious, as the family’s reputation is directly tied to the girl’s reputation. If it’s discovered that a girl hasn’t preserved her “purity” until marriage – it’s a huge disgrace for the family. And both the girl and sometimes even her younger sister might have difficulty getting married, not only within the community but sometimes throughout the country. This doesn’t mean we don’t have mixed couples. Recently, couples have emerged where a girl or a boy is not from a Roma family.
Not all of my identity is defined by being Roma.
I don’t walk into university or the dormitory and announce, “I’m a Gypsy!” I’ll share if asked. My style of dress is different. Also, my behavior – I don’t attend student parties and gatherings. After a few months of living in the dormitory, my neighbors realized I was different from the others. It was challenging for me to balance studies and work; I frequently attended conferences, and I had many human rights posters. At some point, they asked, and I told them that I come from the Roma community and that I’m a human rights activist. It’s evident that I stand out. I’m not ashamed to speak Romani, to be part of this culture. In a way, it’s a privilege for me. Because I can talk about how I live and even make jokes about being a Gypsy – not very human rights-related jokes, though. But I have the right to joke about myself, even though I used to be very cautious about that.
Not all of my identity is defined by being Roma. I’m a girl. I love rock music. I enjoy drawing. Human rights are valuable to me. Kyiv is a big city. Here, I can wear pants freely. In Chernihiv, I can’t do that – I’m a girl, and unmarried at that. Although here, unpleasant incidents can also occur. For example, sometimes when people discuss something, I can mention that I represent a certain Roma group and express my opinion. People then give me looks like, “But you were one of us! How should we react now?” Or during our first session, a situation arose. We were waiting for an exam, and one of my classmates was joking with riddles: “What’s a female profession where someone is always around you and asks for money?” Without hesitation, one of the guys, who is very knowledgeable and does well in studies, answered, “Gypsy.” I turned around and asked why he thought that. He realized that I represent this community and started apologizing for not intending to offend me. These stereotypes are so ingrained that you don’t even realize it. The answer to the riddle was “conductor,” by the way.
For some, our culture might seem like a different planet. But despite all the challenges, aggression, and genocide – we have preserved our identity. Yes, we are a closed group and have only recently started opening up. There were times when we closed ourselves off even more due to external aggression. But we exist. Sometimes I even hear in cafes that Gypsies are this or that. And what about others? People simply can’t accept “foreign,” “different,” something from the Soviet era – “different-minded.” Subconsciously, they see it as a danger. Sometimes people don’t even attempt to understand, to learn. But to understand, you need to ask questions and gather information from various sources.
“I don’t walk into the university or the dormitory and say, ‘I’m a Gypsy!’ If asked, I’ll share.”
23 years old, actor
In my childhood, I told my mother that I wanted to be Ukrainian. I wanted to hide that I am Romani
I am from Kurakhove, Donetsk region. I obtained my first higher education in Donetsk. Then the war started. I didn’t plan to move, I love this city very much. But it turned out that I moved to Kyiv. I wanted to pursue something in the arts, so I decided to enroll at the Karpenko-Karyi University on Benyuk’s course (course of theater and film acting – Ed.). At first, it was very challenging – I am a guy from Donetsk, and this is a very nationalistic course with a “language regime.” Now I am finishing my fourth year, planning to apply for a master’s degree, also at Karpenko-Karyi. I worked on the radio, now I work in the “Actor” theater.
I also make films. I’m not a director, rather a co-director, because I’m more involved in the production side: finding ideas, budgets, building the filming process. My first film, “Remember,” is a short film about the genocide of Roma during World War II. It’s a true story I learned from an old woman. She’s Ukrainian and told me how she saved a Roma girl during the genocide. This film was accepted by the International Roma Archive. We presented it in Budapest, and the Institute of Roma Culture and Arts in Berlin broadcasts it regularly.
This year, I made another film that addresses the issues faced by girls in the Roma community. It’s a very closed, patriarchal community with its own constitution. There are few examples of Roma women who are successful and have broken away from the stereotypes within the Roma community. This film is about a girl who lives in an Orthodox family, follows only parental rules and traditions. She wanted to break free from this, but her family didn’t allow it, so she went against them. Then, after a few years, when the girl achieved something, her parents were proud of her. Maybe it’s a bit of a clichéd plot, but we wanted to tell it this way. We had a large team. We shot for three days and three nights without sleep in a pavilion. That’s when I realized that nothing is impossible, because in one night, we managed to build a house. This film is currently in the editing process.
There’s a lot of art in Roma culture. But I encountered a problem that there are almost no Roma people involved in professional art in Ukraine. I’m, you could say, the only Roma in Ukraine with artistic education and involved in making films. Why this isn’t being promoted – I don’t know. Many Roma go into medicine, education, police, because there’s discrimination against Roma, and there you can influence the situation. But art is a powerful key. I’m promoting this: for example, together with our director, I conduct acting workshops at Roma youth forums.
My father is Romani, my mother is Russian. The fact that my mother is not Romani didn’t allow me to fully immerse myself in the traditions. This, I think, actually helped me. I can look at everything from a different perspective and analyze. I don’t want to live in such a closed community. We, the Romani, are trying to open up from within to integrate into the Ukrainian community. Because without this integration, it would be like having a state within a state, which is the case now.
Arranged marriages still exist in the camps. There are special traditions. For example, after the first wedding night, the girl’s friends take her bedsheet and show it; if there’s no blood on it, it’s a huge shame for the family. In the past, the family would be expelled from the camp, and now nobody will cooperate with them, build businesses, or relationships. But this is more prevalent in closed camps, like those in Zakarpattia or certain villages. Of course, in Kyiv, these traditions are no longer upheld.
I didn’t live with all the Roma traditions; I wasn’t raised with them. Now I’m in the process of getting to know them. If I find traditions that I like, I want to embrace them and pass them on. Each Roma family has a surname. My surname is Kyian, although it has no connection to Kyiv. This surname is shared among our entire lineage, and it’s something I want to pass on to my son and daughter.
When someone refers to me as a “gypsy,” it certainly affects me. Because I’m more oriented towards the West, where nobody says “gypsy.” In my subconscious, I’m ingrained with the fact that I’m Romani. Because the term “gypsy” immediately carries a trail of stereotypes with it, and I wouldn’t want to bring those stereotypes into the new community structure.
When they found out that I was Romani in college, some people in my group started joking about it. But one joke after another – and I started feeling uncomfortable. I immediately took an active stance and started explaining that I’m not what they imagine. Now people can make jokes with me: “What’s up, gypsy?” – that’s the most they would say. I haven’t gotten into any other uncomfortable situations. Maybe I’m lucky.
Stereotypes about Roma are always around, and I try to break them down, even within myself. For example, a Roma woman comes up asking for alms. She approaches, starts trying to get money from me, until I respond in Romani. She gets shocked until she realizes that I’m one of them, and then she leaves. That’s how these stereotypes start to fade in. It really bothers me. We’re trying to combat thieves; it’s a huge problem that you can’t hide from. It’s like a Roma “business.” It will take generations that are renewing to erase this. But only closed communities are working on this. Of course, I don’t want to distance myself from them, as they are still representatives of my nationality, but I really do call such people “gypsies.” Maybe some won’t agree with me. But sometimes, I just lose hope of fighting against it. It’s inherent in people if they’re used to living that way and don’t want to earn money through honest work. It’s not my expertise; I haven’t figured out how to overcome this problem yet.
We’re making a great effort to open up closed communities. The problem is also that the Roma from Zakarpattia only open up to other Roma from there. Even if I come and say that I’m Romani, even if I use Romani language to address them – they won’t let me in. Right now, to establish contact with Roma, you need a government liaison to the community. We’re trying to understand and build some connections. We invite them to Roma youth forums to involve them in activism, volunteering, and to break these barriers.
Stereotypes about Roma are always around, and I try to break them down, even within myself.
41 years old, Vice President of the Romani Women’s Fund “Chirikli”
We constantly face situations where people treat us differently or start to fear us.
I’ve been working in the foundation for over 20 years, focusing on advocating for and representing Romani interests at the local, national, and international levels. We collaborate with the Council of Europe, OSCE, and UN organizations.
I was born in the Odessa region, and my parents were not living in a Romani settlement at that time, although they used to be nomadic. My father had an education and a job. For the camp he lived in, it was like a joke that a Romani person would work every day. They didn’t take this well, but now it’s different: many Roma work and go to school.
It all depends on the family. You can live in Kyiv, but if your family isn’t interested in your development, then living in the city won’t help. Most Roma don’t live in settlements. Roma mainly live in compact settlements in Zakarpattia and the Odessa region. Those who live isolated, in areas with high poverty rates, have fewer opportunities. They might not even know that there’s another way of life. But sometimes, even if you live in a small town, if your family understands the importance of education and gives you the opportunity to study, you’ll have a better chance at a better life.
My parents founded the organization where I work. Generally, in many Romani organizations, parents start the work, and then it’s continued by the children. My father was the only one in our community with higher education, and all Roma would come to him to solve their problems. Even government representatives would come to him to address issues. So, he acted as a mediator between the Romani community and state institutions, a mediator as they call it now. In 1993, Ukraine passed a law on public organizations. That’s when the work of our foundation began. The need to constantly protect the interests and rights of people existed and still exists.
We constantly face situations where people treat us differently or start to fear us. In my institute, there was a teacher who believed that Roma didn’t belong there, so she consistently asked other teachers to give me worse grades during exams. And my son has problems at school: he’s teased and called a “dirty gypsy.” Maybe it’s just a teenage phase, I don’t know. But I suggested to the school director to conduct tolerance lessons so that kids understand that people come from different nationalities, and that doesn’t mean someone is better or worse. We have a mediator who wasn’t allowed into the ARGO store on Khreshchatyk Street just because there’s a policy not to let Roma into the store. There have been instances where government representatives, in meetings, make it clear that they hate Roma.
We conducted surveys through our mediators with Romani women. The quality of medical treatment for Romani women is very low; they don’t feel better after visiting hospitals. They even experience discrimination during childbirth. For example, midwives and doctors insult them, may not provide pain relief when needed, and might put them in separate hospital rooms only for Romani women. There are also cases where some can’t obtain passports, or their children suffer at school due to their ethnicity. We receive these kinds of complaints every day.
Generally, in many Romani organizations, parents start the work, and then it’s continued by the children
There can also be severe human rights violations. We can’t always put out all the “fires,” we can’t always be proactive, because it depends not only on us. For example, last year in Darnytskyi district, they set fire to a camp – we were warned that it could happen. We immediately contacted the Kyiv police to have patrols placed there. We asked for a three-day presence, and they agreed, but they removed the patrols after three days, even though they knew the danger remained. As soon as the patrols were removed, the camp was burned down.
Now, due to the events happening in our country, we’re receiving even more such complaints. There are many attacks, and I see a reaction where a huge number of people support and thank these radical groups. Of course, it’s scary to live in a country where society is so negatively inclined. But I understand that the country is in a state of war and there are many groups interested in fueling discord. We try not to perceive this as a growing aggressiveness within Ukrainian society. Perhaps this is just a period of difficulty, a tough time to live, which is why there’s so much aggression. But there are people who have supported us and apologized for the actions of those who are negatively oriented.
