Roma women in Hungary fight prejudice with art
WHEN Hungarian actress Franciska Farkas revealed that she was Roma four years ago, there was “of course” a negative reaction, she said, but she also received letters from girls belonging to the persecuted minority declaring her their new idol.
Many Roma who are in the public eye in Hungary never reveal their identities.
“I want to be a role model,” Ms Farkas said, walking by the river Spree in Berlin, where she is rehearsing for her next project.
Ms Farkas is not alone in trying to encourage young Roma women to feel proud of their ethnicity, as a new generation of Roma artists and actresses across Europe are embracing feminism and challenging negative stereotypes.
To mark International Roma Day tomorrow, Ms Farkas is one of 13 Roma actors and artists descending on Berlin to take part in the first Roma Biennale, a series of art exhibitions, theatre performances and music events organised by the community.
With ancestral roots in India, the Roma migrated to Europe in the 10th century and have a history marked by persecution. There are some 11 million Roma living across the continent, particularly in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain.
Roma communities are usually poorer, less educated and have lower life expectancies and employment rates than the overall population. In Hungary, they have been openly vilified by the far-right who blame them for crime and insecurity.
While Roma women are not represented in any of the European Union’s national parliaments, they are coming to the forefront in arts and theatre to reclaim their public image.
Berlin has become a focal point for activism since last year’s opening of the European Roma Institute of Art and Culture, an international creative hub set up to reduce prejudice towards the Roma. It is headed by two women.
Participants in the Biennale’s main performance at the Gorki Theatre, include Romanian playwright Mihaela Dragan and the Selimovic sisters, Austria-based actresses and rappers.
“It’s really, for us, very important to be kind of role models for our girls,” said Sandra Selimovic.
“We want them to know they don’t have to end up being the nice girl in the kitchen having kids. They don’t have to be dependent on a man and marry very early.”
Actress Riah May Knight, who will also participate in the Biennale, watched villagers in England burn an effigy of a Romani caravan when she was a child.
She still remembers the cardboard children melting in the fire and the crowd shouting, “burn them!” on Britain’s annual Bonfire Night celebrations.
“Racism against Roma is the last bastion of acceptable racism,” said the 21-year-old actress, singer and songwriter.