April 8, 2008
"Let's celebrate together the 8-th of April, International Roma Day"
International Roma Day is one of a few celebrations that the Roma minority has got. In 1990s it became an international event. Even though Roma live sparsely in various countries, they try to coordinate celebrations of the April 8, as well as to find a common symbol. Some times it has been celebrated through tree planting, some times with candles lighting or by throwing flowers into rivers sometimes. Flowers drifted along the Nile, the Amazon River, and along the Czech Vltava River too. Though efforts have been made, paradoxically, the celebration is not very known by the majority and by many ordinary Roma as well. Just people working in civic sectors, who try to organize celebrations in particular towns and cities, know about this event.
Beginning of 1970s brought Roma's emancipators aspirations from national association level into international one. Just on the April 8, 1971, there had been the first international Roma meeting near to London . Initiators of this holding have in particular been Grattan Puxon and Donald Kenrick from England , Jarko Jovanoci f rom Yugoslavia , Mat Maximoffem from France, and many others. In London , delegates of the first international holding officially constituted the first international Romani organization that has been named IRU (International Romani Union). The IRU was called the World Romani Union from the beginning. As another outcome of the conference, representatives validated the labeling Rom that has been taken instead of Gypsy. Therefore, we do not talk about any invention adopted after the November 89, as estimated by many. Approval of two attributes, which are a feature of any nation, had also been done. These two attributes we talk about are the Romani flag and the Romani anthem, “Gelem-Gelem ”.
Even though there had been two more IRU's congresses later on, the April 8 has been recognized as the International Roma Day. This happened in Warsaw in 1990, when the fourth international congress had been hold. The April 8 should remind the day, when the official approval of international Roma cooperation set seal upon. Since that time, the Roma movement has got an international and socio-political dimension. During such a day, all participants of the celebration are reminding themselves about the common origin, language, culture, unity and cooperation and in the first place about "romipen", which means the identity preservation.
The pope Jan Pavel II has played a part in popularizing the International Roma Day especially in Christian countries in the year 2000. He used general audience that came together to the Vatican 's St. Peter Square on 8th of April. During this convenience of the International Roma Day, he asked all the worshippers for more respect to Roma.
Activity's description:
The celebration of International Day of Roma People was realized as never before. On this occasion, the organizations; The Albanian Roma UNION Amaro Drom, Rromani Baxt Albania and, in close collaboration with other Roma organizations in Albania like Disutni Albania, Roma for Integration, Qendra per nje Vizion Bashkekohor Rrom, Drita e Gruas Rrome etc have realized different activities to honor this important day. Representatives of Central and Local Governments as well as authorities representing international organizations, or different NGOs from majority were present too. Roma people, coming from all over Albania where Roma community is located were active participant and altogether joyfully celebrated this day. A very important role for the implementation of the activity gave the irreplaceable role of our partners: among them Terre Des Hommes, Tirana Municipality , Birra Tirana and Bar Restorant “Mangalli”.
Roma anthem solemnly opened the activities; its music was marvelously executed from musical group “Rromano Dives”, compound mostly of maestros of old generation rroma musicians and younger too. It symbolized the transmit from generation to generation of this anthem and produced a deep and special emotion to all those present at the hall of National Historical Albanian Museum .
The participants, representative of different institutions, of Albanian Government, of Civil Society, and of course of Roma minority, launched colorful messages. They praised ethno-cultural tradition of Roma community, demonstrated, the readiness to contribute for the appliance and respect of the rights and freedoms of Roma community according to international convents, the legislation of Albania as reflected in the National Strategy for Roma community.
The chairpersons and directors of all Roma organizations from all over Albania were unanimous at their promise to continue their activities, serving as much as possible to the cause of Roma rights. They promised that will multiple their endeavors to effectuate their projects on the benefit of integration of Roma people into the new democratic society, applying them in different fields like employment, sheltering, preschool education, out of school education, cultural education, learning of Roma language, respectively evidencing our ethnic values having as objective the integration of Roma people not only into the new democratic Albania, at the same time into the broad family of Europe.
The original atmosphere realized broke all previous frames and restrictions, far from stereotypes of the past was specially and interestingly vivified from the concert offered from the group of young musicians of Rromani Baxt organization. They unfolded artistic parts of Roma musical heritage. Their play demonstrated that Roma ethno-cultural identity is under transition to a higher level, having in consideration new conditions of the collaboration with the contemporaneous European culture.
The activities that celebrated the Eighth of April continued with a peaceful demonstration, walking along the main boulevard crossing "Skenderbej” square, central square of Tirana . Along that promotion walk different boards relating to the occasion, International day of Roma People were showed. They showed and made present the need to respect the rights and freedoms of Roma minority in a democratic European society. Bunches of Colorful flowers were symbolically offered to occasional majority's passer-bys from young members of Roma minority offering the message of the necessity to preserve the traditional coexistence as equal members of same democratic society. It offers as well the message that desirable European integration is an objective of both minority and majority, therefore there is the need for open and constructive collaboration.
The final part of the celebration of International day of Roma People was the presentation of a delegation compound of members of youth Romas at highest Legislative and Executive Albanian Institutions. Pupils from educational preschool institutions of Rromani Baxt Center , pupils from “Bajram Curri” 9-years school, from secondary school “Eqerem Cabej” as well as from the University of Tirana , accompanied from members of the staff of the organizations Amaro Drom and Rromani Baxt went to those institutions.
This young-aged delegation holding buckets with colorful flowers offered flowers and postcards where legitimate rights and requests, regarding Roma minority were expressed. Among them is to be mentioned the requests for education, housing, media access, integration, respect of International Convents ratified from Albanian authorities. There was asked that National Strategy for Roma Minority have to be pulled out of the drawers and implemented seriously far from vague round tables, that it have to jump from bureaucratese's paperwork into real and vivid implementation meeting the needs of the community, improving people's right.
Highest institutions of Albanian State welcomed the realization of the meetings. Mr. Bamir Topi, the President of Republic was the first that met the delegation. A worm welcome was reserved, followed with an open discussion. The President vocalized the readiness of Albanian State to respect the rights of Roma minority; he observed that more substantial contributions have to be offered from different levels of Governance in fulfillment of contemporaneous International standards for Roma minority.
Later on the delegation met Mrs. Josephina Topalli, speaker of the Parliament, She reserved a worm welcome too, ant transmitted the message of the necessity to be more attentively and more rigid relating to the application of the provisions of contemporaneous legislation on the benefit of Roma minority, as foreseen as well from the criteria presented from European Union for the integration of Albania into Europe.
The Premier Mr. Sali Barisha welcomed this delegation and promises that Albanian Government, which has included in its program the respecting of the rights of Roma people as priority will do the best possible to implement it. He told that National Strategy for Roma Minority has to pass into complete realization and, especially the field of education has to be placed at a preferential status.
All the activities realized for the celebration of the International Day of Roma People were made present at visual and written media, in public and private ones. Is to be stressed that media presented not only the chronicle on the information, it underlined and offered as well messages for the need of non interrupted contribution along all the year and not only on the occasional date of Eight of April, telling that the integration of Roma people into the Albanian Democratic Society is to be built every day.
Beside the obligation that have state's institutions and respective dignitaries to respect and contribute on the application of the messages offered on this occasion, Roma Organizations and their Representatives as well have to share and hold on their part of the burden. We that are chosen to be representatives of our Community ought to contribute more and more to defend the rights of Roma people, to help their integration, at the same time we feel obliged to express our gratitude to those Institutions and dignitaries that backed us and reaffirmed their readiness to be always our partners in arriving of this high objective. The successful celebration of the International Day of Roma People made us more motivated, supported and safer that common endeavors will produce at last the desired results, Integration of our Roma Minority into a Common Democratic Europe.
Albanian Roma UNION Amaro-Drom
