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Ana Maria Crina, 19, Romania, witch Meet Ana Mar

Ana Maria Crina, 19, Romania, witch

Meet Ana Maria Crina from Romania, member of the ursari community(bear tamers). She is 19 and reffers to herself as being a very powerful Roma witch.

She now feels very proud of her Roma roots, but has the power to acknowledge that it was not always the case. Throughout her life she experienced strong discrimination, both in school and in everyday life for her way of dressing and the ethnic identity.

Crina states that she is a very powerful Roma witch and she learned the craft from her mother, since she was a child. Children in her vicinity used to call her "gipsy witch", a slur that affected her until she understood the true value and beauty of our community's traditions that are kept to this day for many generations.

Even though she was mocked by her colleagues in school, after some time she realized that her gifts are a blessing and nothing to be ashamed of. Crina performs palm readings and offers services related to astrology and numerology.

Asked about her encouragement for a young Roma struggling with accepting publicly their identity, Crina told us that "every person has a story and no one should feel ashamed by theirs. Be proud, because many people would love to have such a rich history and beautiful traditions"

Follow Crina on Instagram @ana_maria_crina and give us a follow, like or share if you want this stories of young Roma to go further.

"My name is Thalía Román Muñoz and I'm a 28-yea

"My name is Thalía Román Muñoz and I'm a 28-year-old social educator, dancer, educational and audiovisual material content creator, sign language interpreter and community mediator, among other things.

I was the first person in my family to attend university, studying education at the University of Granada, Spain. My objective was to accompany and guide other people through critical moments in their lives. At the moment, I work in a social educational center with minors who are at risk of exclusion, many of whom are ethnically Roma. I feel both proud and fortunate to be a role model to them, and to show them a reality that, unfortunately, few are exposed to: that Roma people can study, have a decent life, and explore their potential.

Dance has always been a part of my life. At two years old, I began dancing Flamenco, a style of dance that was born here in Spain thanks to the arrival of the Roma community and the mixed history of Arabian and Andalusian cultures.

I also studied other styles of dance, like hip hop and Latin dance. I use dance as an educational tool because, for me, art doesn't care what language you speak, what colour you are, or where you come from; it is a path towards coexistence. This is why fusing art and education is key to my methodology.

On International Roma Day in Granada on April 16th, 2016, not only was I given the opportunity to speak about Roma culture at several round tables, but I also took part in preparing and reading the International Roma Day manifesto. I hoped to work on breaking stereotypes and misconceptions about our community.

I always knew I was Roma and never felt ashamed to say so - I feel proud of my roots, of my culture, of my family, of who I am.

This is what pushed me to travel to India in 2018, our country of origin. It was a voyage towards myself, towards my very nature, towards my soul. I believe that in order to know who you are, you need to know where you come from."

Interview with Thalia continues in the comment section. Meanwhile, follow her and her amazing work for the community @thaliaromanm
🔥🔥 #opreromnja #romapride
#romayouth #romainspiration

Gilbert Costache, international model and actor, R

Gilbert Costache, international model and actor, Romania

Born in Romania, Gilbert Costache has over 12 years of experience in the modelling industry.
He has worked in some of the main fashion capitals of the world: Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Istanbul, New York and Los Angeles.
He enjoyed walking on the catwalk for: Adidas, Zara, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Guess, Armani, Calvin Klein, Burberry, Catalin Botezatu, Stefan Musca, Mircea Barbulescu.

"I am Gilbert, a roma romanian guy, a rebel spirit, always interested in life, in creation, in playing and having fun.

I was aware of my ethnicity since I was a kid, I was raised with all this Roma tradition. My grandma would speak with us in Romani language, even if I didn't understand, my little brother started to understand.

The thing is, that at my parents generation, already it stopped to speak, I feel like they were ashamed with that. Even though for me raising with this traditions and manner of thinking ( we are all united, we need to stay together, if one is good, all of the rest is good mentality) for me already was a big value.

And even this day I am so happy when I am in big group of nice people. I genuinely love people. But to answer to your question good awareness, I had in school, when they were using Gypsy word for something bad, like the ones that steal or whatever bad.
And me to be proud is cause I have it in my blood to be free, to enjoy life, we born like that.

I would tell them that our community is very old, and we have our good grounding, good history, people that did great things, we have great values. To think that pride is something very natural for us, to just follow our heart, cause we are an ethnic group that is one of the most connected with our heart, Soul. I would say that we are naturally born with music, rhytm, we have this already in us. We know how to enjoy life like nobody else, and we are very intelligent. Never let the power to others to define us, for what they believe about us as Roma. And always the power is within us and the focus on showing them we are great people, with good morals and we can show that."

Jezmina Vonthiele, educator, writer, artist, fortu

Jezmina Vonthiele, educator, writer, artist, fortune teller, activist, podcaster + more :))

Today I share with you the story of Jezmina Vonthiele, a wonderful activist that works for the Roma topic around various fields.

Asked how she would introduce herself to someone that meets her for the first time, Jez told me:

"I can be self-deprecating and shy when I meet people and they ask what I do, maybe because I do a lot of different kinds of work. After I’m pressed and I finish being awkward, I tell them I’m an educator (adult & kids, ranging from middle school to college to continuing education), a writer, artist, a fortune teller in my mom’s family tradition, dancer, art model, podcaster, & activist. Sometimes I just say I’m becoming a full-time witch."
Going back down the memory lane when she first was aware of her Sinti/Roma identity, Jezmina shared this with me:

"My maternal grandmother & her family are Sinti, and she began explaining that we are Sinti and teaching me family traditions when I was about 5 years old.
She grew up in Nazi Germany hiding her ethnicity, so she told me it was very important to keep it a secret, but that being a Sinti is a wonderful thing and it is very important to keep the culture alive.
So I was full of Sinti pride early on, particularly because the traditions my grandmother taught me were beautiful, and I understood how much loss and violence she had been through.
Grandma recently shared her “Sinti pride” on @Romanistanpodcast. It was painful to hide being Romani, which I was terrible at, and painful when I was met with racism or I was fetishized when I shared. I also was aware of the immense privilege I had. I decided to be completely open when I was working on my MFA in Creative Writing in grad school. I wanted to tell my stories."

The answer to the question related to young Roma accepting and being proud of their identity can be found in the comment section. Meanwhile, follow @jezmina.vonthiele on Instagram to get to know more about her great work!!

Brooke, Czech Roma living in the US, student, cont

Brooke, Czech Roma living in the US, student, content creator, owner of @slaviccaesar on Instagram and Tiktok(more than 700k followers) and @sapphiclemon on Tiktok(200k + followers)

"Hello! My name is Brooke or Grape, you can call me either! I’m a history major who specializes in Eastern European history. History is a big passion of mine and I hope to become a history professor in my future.

I remember my father talking about our Czech Roma heritage quite young, but I grew up a lot with my mother who wasn’t Roma, but rather a Polish woman.

I’ve always felt like I was in a weird spot because my family was divorced and I was constantly trying to navigate between the two households and the two different cultures.

However, I remember especially when I was a young teen traveling to the small town were my father was from and seeing the Roma flag fly high above his childhood home. It definitely inspired me to be proud of my Roma heritage."

Asked what her advice for young Roma struggling to accept their identity would be, Brooke said:

"To any young Roma, being Roma is beautiful. There’s nothing to be ashamed of especially in a community full of amazing people. I used to get down a lot because of my heritage, but just know that in your blood rests strength. The Roma are a strong and resilient people and there’s so much beauty in the culture."

Follow Brooke @slaviccaesar both on Instagram and Tiktok + @sapphiclemon on Tiktok. She is a great educator on Eastern European history and a fierce promoter of Romani history to a global audience🔥

Sara, 20, Romania, currently living in the US, psy

Sara, 20, Romania, currently living in the US, psychology + criminology student @depaulu , piano alumni of @lasvegasacademy

"I would present myself as Sara, a Romani-Romanian girl. Most people I have met so far here in the States are familiar with the term Romanian, but not as much with the term Romani.

I go in depth to educate the ones that are interested in learning about the matter. I explain that me being “gypsy” is not a bohemian style of life, it is an actual ethnicity with its own culture, tradition, language, and so forth.
I then emphasize on the fact that my name is not spelled with an H at the end and how addressing me as Sara Apostol instead of Sarah Apostle is important to me because is important because my name is my identity.
By changing my name to conform to someone’s level of comfort is molding my identity based on someone else’s likings.
I am proud of my Roma heritage because it is part of my identity. It is the reason obstacles have been set in my way of success, and it is the reason why I have been so ardent about wanting to succeed and prevent other young people with potential from going through what I went through.

Roma people, especially young women, deal with mental health issues due to the barriers imposed by discrimination, developing a fixed mindset about one’s potential, diminishing one into a dehumanized version of the self.
They believe that just because of their ethnicity, they do not stand a chance in accomplishing their dream, whatever dream they may have.

The reason why being Roma is an important part in all the activities I engage is to remind myself and all Roma people out there that anything they put their mind to can indeed be accomplished and that no background, color of skin, height, or language can prevent them from becoming the people they dream about being one day. It is hard and requires many sacrifices, but I promise you all one thing. At the end of the day, it will all be worth it. If I can, so can you."

Interview continues in comment section🔥🔥 Follow @saraapostol on Instagram to get to know her better!!

Juni, 18, Sweden, activist, owner of @romaniuprisi

Juni, 18, Sweden, activist, owner of @romaniuprising

She did not say it about herself, but @junibergman_ is definitely one of the most inspiring Roma activists that I've had the chance to meet. She developed on her own @romaniuprising , a page that focuses on sheding the right light over the Roma culture and discrimination that our community suffered throughout history. At the same time, Juni manages to bring hope and courage to young Roma all around the world through online activism of the best kind.

Asked about the moment when she became aware of her Roma origins, she answered:

"I was always aware even if I wasn’t always proud of it, my mother used to tell me horror stories of forced sterilisation and slavery so it wasn’t really something I couldn’t be aware of, having a white dad also helped emphasise how drastically different my family’s culture is from the rest of Swedish society.

I think the first time I ever felt proud of being Roma was when Esma Redzepova represented Macedonia in Eurovision 2013 but it still took me a few years to truly feel pride."

On the topic of encouraging Roma youth to proudly and publicly accept their identity, Juni said the following:

"I wholeheartedly understand why young Roma chose to hide their identity, I myself used to lie and say I was half Arab (among other things) when people asked what my ethnic background was but I think to move forward we need to stop hiding.

It warms me to my core to see how my 12-year old brother takes pride in his identity in a way that I never did when I was his age, he’s standing up to fellow students in school as well as teachers when they target him and I couldn’t be prouder.
I think the more space we take the less they can ignore our plight."

You can and you definitely should follow Juni on Instagram @romaniuprising and @junibergman_ . She also has a tiktok account that you need to add to your following list and this is @junihoni.

Diana, Hungary, body positive model, influencer (1

Diana, Hungary, body positive model, influencer (1.2 million followers on Instagram)

Today I am honored to have the chance to introduce to you @dianasirokai . She is a body positive model of Roma ethnicity, born in Hungary and currently living in the UK.

I was thrilled to get in contact with her and she responded wonderful to my questions:

How would you present yourself to someone that meets you for the first time?

"I always proudly say I’m a Roma from Hungary. It’s usually a short conversation about where I’m from as If I say I’m Hungarian people just stare at me confused then I say I’m a Roma and they are amazed by it. I remember when I was younger , I didn’t know how to explain my ethnicity to people , I didn’t want them to “ judge “ me. I now proudly say I’m Roma especially because I’m a well known model now so I hope I can help change people’s judgments about us by simply owning my ethnicity."

When did you become aware of your ethnic identity and how you started to feel proud about it?

"I was 8 when I realised I’m “ brown “ compre to others in my class. The teacher put a letter T next to my name in her book and I asked what’s the T for she said : You are Turkish right? I said no! I’m a Roma and she started treating me differently from that moment. I remember not feeling proud until my teenage years. Once I started to learn more about our culture I realised how amazing we are and I was proud to say I’m a Roma!"

What would you tell to a young Roma that feels ashamed/embarassed/afraid of accepting publicly their identity?

"I would tell them to start learning about our culture, look into our history and understand who you are. You will never feel like you belong somewhere as a Roma , you will always be different from others. There’s so much beauty in being a Roma start realising it and own it!"

Follow @dianasirokai on Insta to get inspired on daily basis by a Roma model and influence which spread good vibes through her content❤💚💙

Marius Elisei, 21, Romania, Tiktoker with a millio

Marius Elisei, 21, Romania, Tiktoker with a million followers, cool person

Marius is a 21-year-old famous Tiktoker in Romania. He creates lighthearted, funny content meant to make your days better. He introduces himself as being a person that loves to have fun and has a very personal way to connect with people around him, showing them his true face, offering transparency and instant friendship.

Since he studied all primary school in a rural Roma community, Marius became aware of his ethnic identity when he had to move to the city to pursue his high school education. He benefited from one of the places awarded to Roma students to enter high school and he felt a little bit pressured when the professors were constantly bringing it up in conversations during classes.

However, one day, when one of his classmates made a racist joke, he saw that all the other colleagues jumped to protect Marius and show him support. From that moment, he learned that most of the people have good morals/values even though you can encounter racists. Since that moment, he always said to anyone asking about his identity that he is a Roma.

His advice for all young Roma would be to not hide their ethnic belonging because it represent a huge step in one’s personal development, to be able to accept oneself. He also strongly believes that nowadays there are fewer people that judge based on appearances and it does not play any importance what our nationality/ethnicity/gender/sexual orientation is. All that matters is what type of person/human you are. He finishes by saying that racists do not have to find a place in our daily life, they should not influence the way we feel about ourselves.

Follow @marius_elisei1 here on Instagram and on Tiktok🔥🔥

Isabela, 21, Romania, artist, opera singer, finali

Isabela, 21, Romania, artist, opera singer, finalist Romania Got Talent 2019

Isabela Stănescu, is 21 years old, she is from Piatra Neamț and dedicates herself entirely to art. She is a great a musician, a student at the National University of Music in Bucharest and she's been making music for 14 years. She wants to become an opera soloist and a successful musician.

In her own words, Isabela shared this:

"What makes me even more special is that I am of Roma ethnicity and come from a family od calderash Roma! Yes Yes! Traditional Roma!

I can say that I was aware of my identity since childhood. I always knew that my origins are more "special", since I first joined school, first grade.

All the teachers were fascinated by this little and hard-working girl, who, however, came from a Roma family (so that you can see what the expectations of people with prejudices are): one, that I was whiter than milk; two, that I was a gifted child and always with enough steps in front of everyone; three, that nothing coincided with what I was and what I was doing with what they thought meant "being Roma."
Anyway, I knew that belonging to my origins is something that makes me special, and I always liked to be different."

Isabela's advice for young Roma feeling ashamed/afraid to publicly embrace their identity is:

"For young people who are ashamed or afraid to assume their ethnic identity, I have the following message: "be the change you want in the world." We have a very difficult job, to replace the wickedness in people's hearts with wisdom and light. It's completely ok to be different, it's HUMAN. Some will look at you with hatred, others with admiration. Take power from people who are proud of you and love you as you are, regardless of ethnicity, color, religion, sexual or political orientation. Don't be afraid to show both majorities and minorities that "it can be done differently" through the power of your own example. This is how you will draw a path for those who want to follow in your footsteps, and little by little, it will be spring, with a flower, and another flower, and another ..."

You can and you definitely should follow @isabela.stanescu on Instagram!🔥

Aline, Brazil, Roma rights activist and singer A

Aline, Brazil, Roma rights activist and singer

Aline Miklos is a Romnji, activist for the rights of the Roma people, singer, of Hungarian nationality born in Brazil and living in Argentina.

Asked about the moment when she realized her belonging to the Roma minority group, Aline answered as it follows:

"When I lived with my family I didn't really ask myself what it was to be a Roma or not, I just was. I only started to wonder about this when I went to live in another city, in São Paulo, where I graduated in history. From then on, I saw that when you don't respect a stereotype, people deny you the right to belong to an ethnic group. In other words, they told me that I was not Roma because I studied and did not live with my family. Then I realized that if I want to be a Roma, it was not enough to be born in a Romani family, but I would have to defend my right to exist in the middle of chaos, in the middle of majority society."

On the topic of encouraging young Roma to stand up and publicly accept their ethnic identity, Aline said the following words:

"I understand the ones who prefer to hide their identity in public because this is a form of defense. For my family, for example, hiding the Romani identity was a form of resistance that they encountered for many years. I think that when a Romani person hides his/her identity it has more to do with the fear of suffering prejudice than with being ashamed of being what he/she is. What I can say is that now is the time to show it, to say and defend what we are. We are more and more Roma who show themselves as they are, far from stereotypes, we are a new generation and we have the total capacity to change our condition together."

You can follow Aline on Instagram @alinemiklos and follow her page dedicated to Roma from Argentina called @zor.argentina

Veronica, 23, Romania, intersectional activist "

Veronica, 23, Romania, intersectional activist

"I am a Roma queer feminist – and I will always state this loud and clear, because for such a long time we ignored the multiple identities we have in the community. I am a 23 years old mixed Romanian Roma, living in the UK and my main focus is creating spaces for Roma women and Roma queers in places we are never heard. The anti-racist movement silenced women and queers by refusing to advocate for gendered issues, while the feminist movement is gatekeeping any non-white feminist. And I am here to challenge this and reclaim the spaces that we deserve to own."

When asked about her Roma identity, Veronica said:

"I think I was always aware of it, but for a long time my family hid it – especially since I am white-passing, I think they only wanted to protect me. And for a long time I was fine with this too, it just seemed easier.
In 2018 I saw one of Alina Șerban’s productions – The Great Shame, and while the shame was to be held by gadje, I also felt incredibly ashamed for hiding my ethnicity for so long. I felt ashamed for using my white skin to bury my ethnicity, instead of using it to create spaces for my darker sisters. I felt ashamed for not carrying the inheritance of my ancestors and for not bringing glory to their names. I felt ashamed for taking part in the slow erasure of my own community. And that was the moment I decided to accept everything I used to run from. I publicly embraced my history, my origins, my ancestors and I began my fight.

*** Please read the rest of the interview in the comment section. @princessmaiaa is a truly inspiring intersectional Roma activist and deserves all your attention.
Follow @princessmaiaa for your daily dose of intersectional activism!🔥🔥

Ivana, living in Italy, Bosnian-Serbian roots, act

Ivana, living in Italy, Bosnian-Serbian roots, activist, artist, educator

I'm Ivana Nikolic Roma Activist - Artist- Dancer- and Educator.
I am Bosnian / Serbian / Italian of Roma ethnicity. My identity is multiple and I am proud to be Roma.
I learned to dance from the elderly women in my family (my mother, aunts and grandmother) and was taught the typical dances of the Balkans from a very young age. At the age of fifteen she started dancing on the street and also helped to run a social center for families from lower economic backgrounds.

Nikolic is a humble young Artist/activist who is curious and inspired by the potential of dance but firmly claims that her Roma background is a source of pride and inspiration. She comes from a mixed background, having a Bosnian Muslim mother and a Serbian Orthodox father who she claims taught her the basic principles and traditions of the Roma community. She grew up with a family who had spent ‘many years between the Balkan War, being locked in the “Gypsy” camps in Italy.

Despite all the difficulties her parents have faced they are incredibly strong and inspirational. They taught her respect for diversity, curiosity and humility.’

For her, art is possibility. Not just an art form but a lifestyle. Art means community, a place where everyone is welcome, where diversity and difference are embraced and everyone is encouraged to dream. Art is a tool to create a culture of personal and collective responsibility, resilience and empathy.

Ivana directed several shows, the last two,
violent chronicles reshaped in a strong social denunciation in the show “Don't call us gypsies”, and
"Dik i Na bistar!" (Roma language "look and do not forget"), dedicated to the Porrajmos holocaust and extermination of the Roma, theater-dance show direction of Ivana Nikolic.
She works as an educator especially with young people.

You can follow @roma__dancer and her work here on Instagram. She is a true inspiration and a relentless fighter for our people in Italy and beyond.
Find the end of the interview in the comment section. 🔥🔥

Georgia, 20, Australia, personal trainer "My dad

Georgia, 20, Australia, personal trainer

"My dad’s father whom I never got to meet before he passed was Romanichal, leaving us with the last name Smith. I always assumed our family recipes and customs that my grandma and my father taught us were normal for Australian families. I figured out as I got older that our flavourful meals she passed onto us, The eccentric, joyous music she loved to play, and tradition we had of staying in a caravan every school holidays while I was younger, was her way of discreetly keeping our culture alive.

She told me she withheld our culture from my dad, his siblings and all their children to protect us from the discrimination she faced in Germany, and when she first got to Australia. I appreciated her caution and protection but it upset me to know she felt this way, and that I had no real cultural identity surrounding my ethnicity. I asked her a lot of questions and did my own research to gain a better understanding of why she was so scared to embrace her ethnicity. It broke my heart to see all The racial injustice and discrimination Roma everywhere are facing to this day.

Luckily for my family, we live in a part of Australia where there is very little education or knowledge of Roma people, so when I began to embrace our culture at about 18yrs old, i was blessed with the fortune of living in a place where I have personally faced no discrimination besides the occasional slur and for that I am so grateful ❤️ however, my privilege further encourages me to defend and fight for my phenja and phrala that are less fortunate than I.

It gives me and my dad both much joy and a feeling of belonging, now being able to proudly tell people we are Romani when they ask us where we come from or why we have such olive skin and dark features. My grandma is still worried for our safety, but I have shown her all the websites, Instagram pages I follow, and other resources there are out and about now supporting Roma, uplifting the community, and she loves them so much."

@geo.rgiasmith is also a micro-influencer in Australia and I encourage you to follow her on Instagram.
Also, check out the end of the interview in the comment section🔥

Julio, Romania, actor, dj, poet Julio is an inter

Julio, Romania, actor, dj, poet

Julio is an interdisciplinary artist, currently a third year student at the Faculty of Music and Theater in Timișoara. Passionate about poetry, theater and sound, his artistic career began in adolescence. In 2019 she was part of the team that wrote the script for the play Sexodrom by the Roma theater company Giuvlipen. In recent years he began to experiment with sound and music production on his own.
"Ever early primary school when classmates had questions like "why do you look different?" I somehow translated the question and understood that they asked me directly why I am black. Then I would tell them that I am Turkish, I could tell them that I am anything until the day I simply said it's enough, I am a Roma, that's me!

At the college I entered on the designated Roma places, on the admission form where everyone had access, it was written Roma Budget, then I entered with my right foot and said "the name Cat is really real and I am a Roma and I assume it! Accept me like this!" Knowing and collaborating immediately after with the Giuvlipen team, I started to fully accept my sexual orientation and ethnicity, although I had accepted it for a long time, but now it was 100 percent assumed."

Asked what he would say to a young Roma fighting with publicly accepting his/her/they identity, Julio said:
"The whole system is racist and there are many children and adults-children who are emotionally immature or ignored. I also practice cutting from the root anything that hurts me because many people are toxic. However, we are special; no one can have the beauty in our eyes, nor the soul and the love we carry.

We are different but we are authentic, it's cool to be original today. We are taught to hate what is different or what seems 'abnormal' to some but we really have something to be proud of, with our own skin, self, beauty, talent and brain!"

Follow bety on Instagram sunt.pisicescu and her newest project on @giuvlipen 's Instagram page. Julio's outfit @loly_by_zita_moldovan and picture done by @thisisamaliaa

Manu, 26, singer, Romania Manuel is a 26 year old

Manu, 26, singer, Romania

Manuel is a 26 year old Roma man from Bucharest, Romania with whom I grew up in the same neighborhood, Ferentari. His passion for music starts since he was very young. I vividly remember going to visit him and finding him playing the drums in his apartment.

His career started from the age of 12 when he became a professional percutionist. Throughout his period as a drumer, Manu played in the bands of Nicolae Guță and Florin Salam to name the biggest singers that he worked with.

He was aware of his Roma identity when his mom started speaking Romanes inside the house. Moreover, he never felt ashamed of being a Roma, due to the education received at home, as well as knowing that he is extremely talented especially thanks to his Roma roots.

Now, Manu decided to start a singing career and he is going to release his first single alongside "the King" Florin Salam and Raluca Drăgoi. The video is going to be released in a few days, so you should follow all the novelties he prepaired for us by searching for him on Instagram @sanmanosmusic and TikTok @sanmanos. He started as well a videoblog on Youtube and you can find his channel @ San Manos.

When asked what he would advise young Roma that are afraid or ashamed to publicly showcase their identity, Manu said that the richness of the Roma culture is unique and he would encourage all Roma youngsters to show pride in their ethnic belonging and take ownership of their image both in the society and in social media. 🔥 #opreroma #sanmanosmusic #romayouth #romanarrative

Estefania Molina Ruiz, 25, Spain, designer, busine

Renata Mihaly, 21, Romania, artist, painter, fashi

Renata Mihaly, 21, Romania, artist, painter, fashion designer ⁣
⁣
My name is Mihaly Renata, I am 21 years old and I am a student in the second year of college, at the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, in the fashion-clothing design department. So far, I have achieved the following things, which are very important to me: I had my first personal exhibition in 2020, developed skills in fine arts, I am the author of illustrations for a children's book, I created clothing collections, I participated in international painting exhibitions.⁣
Over the years I've decided to dedicate all my time to my personal development and not only. I have always enjoyed getting involved in activities that leave their marks on education, self-esteem, knowledge and development. ⁣
⁣
Although I never hid and I was not ashamed that I am of Roma ethnicity, since kindergarten, in my case, I have received a fair, equal treatment, from all points of view. This is also due to the good education I received from home, where education is at a place of honor on the list of values. I was educated to respect those around me, no matter who they were, and so I was rewarded with the same respect. What I want is for every Roma child to give and receive what they deserve: respect.⁣
We must be proud of what we are and what we have. We have to come out every time we have the opportunity.

Regina Lupu, 18, Romania⁣⁣ When asked how wou

Regina Lupu, 18, Romania⁣⁣

When asked how would she introduce herself to someone that would meet her for the first time, Regina, who is a proud 18yr old Romni from Romania, told me that the usual acquaintance for her ends up by establishing an instant connection with people around her.⁣⁣
Even though she was born in a mixed Roma family, she grew up in a traditional Ursari (bear tamers) family, so she was exposed to her origins and culture from early on. Contemplating about her life choices, way of thinking, and relationship with people surrounding her, Regina felt that these are values inherited from her family and she feels very proud of them.⁣⁣
Being born and raised in a Roma family, Regina had her entire childhood a strong bond with the culture. Her grandmother enabled her a strong bond with the Roma culture, bond that Regina was not aware unfortunately until her grandmother passed away. This extremely sad event put for Regina things in perspective and led her to a moment of realization and awareness of her ethnic heritage. For Regina it took a while to develop the pride of being Roma due to the widespread negative depiction of Roma people in Romania, but she realized that living inside a Roma community, those images portrayed usually by gadje and mainstream media were distorted and they did not ever presented the beauty and the richness of the Roma culture. ⁣⁣
One very important aspect that Regina felt the need to stress throughout our interview is that in her experience, many Roma do not deny their ethnic belonging. It is a much more complex process that includes negative attitudes of the majority society, stereotypes inflicted upon Roma people and transgenerational trauma inherited by all of us Roma from our ancestors and elderly ones. ⁣⁣
Another pivotal mentioning made by Regina is that she understand that Roma parents are resorting to not passing the culture, tradition and language further as a protection mechanism, so that their children will not encounter the same racist and discriminatory attitudes that the previous generations needed to live through.
[...]Read the full answers in comments and follow Regina @roma.culture , @culturarroma and @lupu.anaa

I am Elijah, a 24 years old Romanichal illustrator

I am Elijah, a 24 years old Romanichal illustrator from England.

I was aware of being Romani my entire life, but didn’t embrace it until I was 18. I grew up in a trailer with my grandparents in England, and we would stop on sites across East Anglia. Growing up, I was told about the difficulties my grandparents (and parents) had faced when they were my age, and was taught to understand my privilege of having access to electricity, clean water and an education — I was in fact the first in my entire family to get through secondary school, let alone college and university.
When I moved into a house at 12, I started to become hostile about my heritage. With being bullied, and seeing media broadcast a narrative that we are dirty ‘Gypsy’ criminals — I was brainwashed to believe so. When you are told on a daily basis from a young age that you are disgusting for simply surviving, it hurts, and it rewires your mindset to either to fight against it, or believe in it. Unfortunately I fell into the latter.
It was during when I was 17/18, that I challenged the media, and opened my eyes to the truth. The truth that matters most to me, my own truth. This allowed me to see the beauty of our culture, without the medias negative influence.

At 23, I was in a depressive state, not knowing where I was going with my art, not knowing what I want to be. It was a dark period of my life, but it’s the darkest moments in our lives that allows us to shine bright.
It was in this period when I evaluated what is important to me, why am I doing art? What am I here for? I had an epiphany to use my love and passion for my art and culture, and merge the two.
With my art, I want to try and represent the beauty of our culture, while also shining a light on different issues we face as Roma, creating an open discussion.
[...] Interview with @elijahvardo continuing in comments. If you want to follow his wonderful work, look for him on Instagram🔥🔥

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