If we don’t call, no one will hear us

Prague, Czech RepublicDecember 6, 1993
Margita ReiznerovaPoet; Roma Association for Children andYouth[currently (1999) living in exile, in Belgium]
The Roma have never provoked violent incidents or incited conflict with other people. There may be conflict inside their communities, but they havenever gone outside to demonstrate or whatever.
Today perhaps we should learn how to demonstrate: if we don’t call, no one will hear us. We may curse each other, but that’s no good: the world cannot hear us.
I think that is why people attack us. They know that in the past when we were hurt we could not write a letter or complain. We solved things among ourselves, and that was it: the rage was gone.
We did hold some demonstrations when the skinheads attacked Romany families in one town and we held demonstrations about the right to citizenship. So the other Roma should join us. Maybe they should go out into the streets.
MEDIA AGAINST INTOLERANCEA Conference Organized by The Fund for New Performance/Video
Franz Kafka CenterPragueDecember 6, 1993