• What are the dialogues "Where shall we go swimming?" and "You’re not allowed to use the word gypsy, are you?" about?

The aim of this dialogue is to destroy some of the myths and stereotypes which have arisen in relation to the Roma minority. Many half-truths and myths survive in the way people regard the Roma, along with unnecessarily romantic defences instead of objective explanations, unjust accusations, and over-generalisations.

• What is…?

Roma: a member of the Roma ethnic group. The word ‘Roma’ is used in Czech and was taken from Romani. It corresponds to the designation of the Indian jati (caste) of Dom or Domba.

Gadjo, non-Roma: a member of the majority. The word ‘gadjo’ comes from Slovakian Romani.

Gypsy: a pejorative designation of a member of the Roma ethnic group. In several languages, it has not yet been replaced by the neutral self-designation ‘Roma’.

Sub-ethnic group: a group of people which share a common origin, language and material and spiritual culture, which is part of a larger linguistic-cultural community.

• Topic

Between Roma people and non-Roma, there is only very restricted or indeed no exchange of day-to-day life practices and procedures on the level of regular human and neighbourly relations. Neither group learns of the other’s life customs or, above all, of their differences. It is important to realise that nothing which is said of Roma people as a whole has to be the whole truth, and does not have to be completely applicable to individual Roma. This does not only relate to Roma, but every other human community and the attempts made to express their characteristics and differences. Roma are people like any other, with the same human life needs and wishes, with the same pleasures and problems. Historical destiny over which they had no influence simply led them along paths and exposed them to situations different than those which European nations experienced. It taught them to survive, to preserve the family at all costs, it taught them skills other than putting down roots in a place, and it taught them to be mistrustful of the outside world and its authorities. Support and security was to be found only in the social relations of the family. Some of these skills make it difficult for Roma people to establish a working relationship with the majority and its institutions these days. Many half-truths and myths, unnecessarily romantic vindications instead of objective explanations, unjust accusations, and over-generalisation remain in relation to the Roma people.

They are gypsies
If we attempt to specify as accurately as possible those who have been known as gypsies since the 15th century in the Czech lands, sooner or later we come up against the word ‘Roma’, which is what these people call themselves. It is very difficult to delineate what the Roma ethnic group is, and who belongs to it. Their own and most frequently-used group names may offer certain clues. The words ‘Rom’ (man in the sense of husband), ‘Romni’ (woman in the sense of wife), and ‘Roma’ (as the designation of a certain community) are those terms which most precisely and faithfully designate the understanding the Roma themselves have of their disparate community. ‘Rom’ does not mean, as is often thought, ‘person’; for this term, Romany uses the term ‘Manus’ or, depending on the dialect, ’Jeno’. .

The term ‘gypsy’ with a small ‘g’, which is used by non-Roma people, probably arose in the 11th century from the word ‘Athinganoi’, which was used in a Georgian text written in the Iberon Cloister on Mount Athos, in what was then Byzantium (A. Mann, 2001). From the term ‘Athinganoi’ arose, alongside expressions derived from the region of (Lesser) Egypt (such as Gypsy or Gitano), the most widespread appellation of the Roma used in many European languages. For instance, in Germany the Roma are called ‘Zigeuner’, in Hungarian ‘Cigány’, etc. (C. Nečas, 1993). When the Roma are called ‘gypsies’ by non-Roma people, most of them feel the negative connotations of this word, which evoke ideas of the qualities which are usually attributed to them. Moreover, this word has other meanings not relating to the ethnic group. The dictionary of literary Czech offers, for instance, ‘vagabond’, ‘adventurer’, ‘swindler’, ‘liar’ and ‘thief’. In Czech, the derived verb ‘cikánit’ literally means ‘to lie’.

Sometimes it is the case that Roma, in personal contact with non-Roma, will offer the term ‘gypsy’ for use (I’m not a Roma, we’re ‘gypsies’), but clearly because they have the feeling that this is expected of them. It seems that they are attempting to encourage in their counterpart an atmosphere of security, friendship and understanding. The name ‘Roma’ was also unanimously recommended by international Roma organisations. On an international level, the name ‘Roma’ is beginning to be regarded as politically correct, even when it is used by politicians or other publicly-active personalities.

They’re all the same
When we come across a new phenomenon, e.g. an unknown city or topic, it seems to us to be a monolithic, undifferentiated mass. The first identification of the Roma corresponds to this. However, it should not remain so. Through the unclear outlines of the identity of the Roma people, it is clear that from their point of view, the basic and traditional unit of the Roma community, wherever they live and whichever Roma community or group they belong to, is the extended family. When looking at larger units, it is unconditionally necessary to take into account the fact that, when trying to find the identity of the Roma and designate their groups, one cannot think in the geographical or political categories of individual European countries. The sub-ethnicity of the Roma runs across or completely outside these categories of our understanding of European relationships. And so, there are Roma living in Denmark who claim descent from Roma living in the Valasko region of the CR, who originally came from Russia, and in Holland there are groups of nomads whose Romani includes Russian words, etc.

A view of the Roma sub-ethnic group will not work, for instance, if consideration is given to a unit larger than that of former Czechoslovakia, because the roots of those who live in Bohemia and Moravia are in the territory of Slovakia. In the territory of former Czechoslovakia, there live several sub-ethnic groups of Roma which have cultural links not only to Hungary, but also to Poland and the Ukraine. The Slovak Roma are a far larger group. They come from the Slovak Roma colonies where they lived for centuries, only arriving in the Czech lands after 1945. On the other hand, Roma arrived in Slovakia from the Balkans, from regions where Serbo-Croatian was spoken. Not only many Serbian words but the frequent occurrence of the surnames Horváth (Hungarian: Chorvat) and Rácz (Hungarian: Serb) testify to this. Fifty years ago, it was still possible to hear from older Roma that they were Serbian. However, they did not remember Serbian history, and these historical attributes quickly got forgotten, being replaced by the more current “We are Slovak Roma” after the arrival of Slovak Roma in Bohemia after 1945.

Another group comprises the Hungarian Roma, who come from Southern Slovakia. The third most populous Roma group are the Roma living in the Valasko region, with a very specific and well-preserved culture and language. These days, most of the Valasko Roma are reserved in their dealings with the outside world, and conservative when it comes to maintaining their customs and traditions. The Valasko Roma call the Slovak and Hungarian Roma ‘Rumongrels’. Originally, this simply meant ‘Roma Ungro’, or Hungarian Roma, and the appellation related only to settled Roma, mainly living in Northern Hungary and Southern Slovakia. The Valasko Roma differ from the Hungarian and Slovakian Roma most obviously in that until 1959, theirs was a nomadic lifestyle. ‘Valasko’ is derived from the territory with the political name of the historical country Wallachia, which is now part of modern Romania. The Roma migrated en masse from there after Roma serfdom was abolished in 1856.

In the Czech Republic, there lives a small remainder of the original sub-ethnic Sinto groups (German Roma) and the so-called Bohemian and Moravian Roma. These groups comprised the pre-war Roma population in Bohemia and Moravia, and were characterised by a high level of integration into Czech society. All of these sub-ethnic groups of Roma, so typical for the Czech lands, were almost completely murdered during World War II.

Over the hundreds of years that the Roma have moved away from life in their original countries, the traditional caste-based understanding of relationships within the community is still very strong. In regular contact with the Roma it is not very clear, but it is a relatively determining factor of internal ethnic coexistence. It is clear in a host of customs, values and orientations of the Roma. In their own understanding, the Roma are not divided only into kindred descent, which is comprised by individual sub-ethnic groups, but also into wuzho Roma and marimé. This distinction into the ritually clean (wuzho) and unclean (marimé) of the group runs across the Roma community. The basis for this caste or ritual distinction are the relations of the Roma lineages, customs relating to leisure or the rejection of certain foodstuffs, but also the communal professions of certain groups (M. Hübschmannová, 1993). Certain types of work are deemed unclean, such as the cleaning of cesspools or trades involving the processing of earth. Other professions enjoy a very high status amongst Slovak Roma, such as being a musician or a shopkeeper.

However, we cannot speak for all of the Roma here, since this would lead to inadmissible generalisations and would exoticise the Roma. The rules of cleanliness are part of all world religions. They are enshrined within the most important works of Hinduism, the Veda, as well as in Buddhism, in the food code of the Koran, along with the Old and New Testaments. Cleanliness, in this respect, does not refer to the body.

On the other hand, in relation to physical cleanliness it should be pointed out that the Roma pay meticulous attention to hygiene and to tidiness inside their homes. Many Roma who, through the influence of various circumstances, belong to the group of socially poor, often do not have the material conditions or sufficient financial resources to be able to regularly replenish their wardrobe and repair the household fittings. The worn clothes which you wash every day will not look like new, even though you want to look good. This is a situation which the Roma themselves are not happy with, and which they do not know how to resolve.

They don’t know how to behave, they are noisy
Every community has its specific communication methodology, with language and cultural traditions which develop over the generations, change and are supplemented in order for members of the community to understand one another. Misunderstanding is a source of conflict. Every person desires peace, harmony and happiness, and the same goes for the Roma.

The communication style of the Roma, which is historically based, will not apply to everyone around us. We can see the differences between people for ourselves in everyday life. However, for the purpose of first approaching the subject, a generalising model is unavoidable. The Roma people have an amazingly developed sense for understanding a person based solely on appearance and intuition. They can asses the honesty of a person immediately, as well as other characteristics and properties from their body language, their eyes, expressions, the movement of their hands, legs, their gestures, etc. They feel pleasant and relaxed in the company of another person, or they perceive a threat, even when our words are assuring them of the opposite. It is as thought they read the stance of a person from the inside. Empathy also plays a huge role in the communication style of the Roma, who will very quickly put themselves in the feelings of the other person and can immediately feel what that person is experiencing. They thus attain very quickly the feelings of pleasure or anxiety, powerlessness and insecurity, which surround them. The Roma’s experience of the majority is that their members, on the contrary, do not know how to read the feelings of the other. They do not speak of their feelings, and do not want to communicate negative and hurtful feelings. An individual from the majority would themselves perceive that they were embarrassing themselves in front of other people. The atmosphere amongst Roma themselves is based on trust and does not underestimate strict self-control. Their spontaneous conduct can then provoke a feeling of threat which dominates other feelings. From their reactions, it seems that the Roma always take an extreme approach to all events taking place around them. For them, impulsiveness and immediate reactions are a natural part of life, and a daily phenomenon. A Roma sees it in their family, understands it well, and behaves this way themselves. If they did not know how to cry, shout or scold, they would not be able to show that the other person matters to them. Because for the majority this kind of emotional conduct is not common, they read it otherwise, amongst other things as a higher level of threat.

They don’t want to be educated
Education and cultivation have always represented important values in the traditional Romany community. However, this was education in Romany culture, language, ethics and the Romany professions. The fame of a good musician extended beyond the boundaries of region and country. Families often sold all of their possessions so that their son could study with one of the well-known musicians. The possibility of a Roma being able to support themselves by something other than music or some Roma craft or trade was so minimal in the past that only exceptionally-gifted individuals aspired to majority education. Roma professionals had their place in society. They were specific, useful and sought-after. No wedding or celebration of any sort could take place in Slovakia or Hungary without a Roma band. Almost every village had its own Roma blacksmith. Sometimes, they operated alongside the guild of certified blacksmiths, but they were not a nuisance to one another since they covered different segments of the market. The Roma blacksmiths carried out special work, such as fitted horseshoes, and were very cheap, normally being remunerated with potatoes, cheese, bacon, etc.

However, the significance of traditional education was gradually undermined. Changes in society offered a new value: education in a Czech school, the problem being that an institutional school was and is diametrically opposite to the kind of kindred community which used to provide Roma children both their basic education and their professional qualifications (c.f. M. Černá, 1998). Traditional basic education was aimed at the child acquiring respect, honour and courtesy – everything which contributes to the harmonic life of the family and the community. Basic education also included the art of wise and appropriate words. It was absolutely inadmissible that a young person use a swearword in front of their family or someone older than them. Of course, this feeling for words related to Roma words, and everyone knew how to very sensitively combine their idioms, phrases, and cultural formulae with various situations, knew which words were appropriate and which not so, when they were permitted to be used and when they were not.

Girls also received an education. A girl was brought up from very young to successfully perform all the roles which a woman had to during the course of life. The values of the ideal woman comprised purity, fidelity, children, etc.

Education in a Czech school, abstract information mediated by means of a foreign language, was a completely new historical experience, and it was absurd to expect that the entire ethnic community would adapt to it within one generation. Many Roma saw the period after 1989 as a chance for their own national revival. More and more Roma realise the value of education, and are trying to ensure that their children do better than they themselves had done.

• Stories and examples

Jan, 14 years old
Honza attends the 8th form of basic school. One day, the Czech teacher told the class that in the next lesson they would write an essay, and asked the pupils to prepare for it well. Honza did what the teacher told him, and studied carefully at home. The day of the essay arrived. The teacher had two types of tests for the pupils. Test A was more difficult than Test B. When the teacher approached the bench where Honza was sitting, he gave him test B. Honza was disappointed and plucked up the courage to ask the teacher a question: do you think I can’t do the other test? The teacher said no, it’s not that, I didn’t have another variant of the test, and returned to his table. However, he returned after a moment and silently gave Honza Test A. Honza was pleased, because he could show what he was capable of. The teacher eventually gave him an A on the test.

Pavel, 16 years old, tells a story
It was one evening before a bank holiday. She got onto the tram at Masaryk Station. I still can’t figure out how she managed to get into the tram. She had a baby in her right arm, a suitcase and two kids in her left arm, and behind her a little boy and girl, about three to five years old. She was Czech, she looked nice, about twenty five years old. Passing the motorway, I could see that she was preparing to get off at the next stop, Vltavská, where I also wanted to get off. It had been difficult for her getting on, and it was definitely going to be difficult getting off, with two kids, a baby in the right hand and a pretty large suitcase in her left. And I just stood there, even though I wanted to get off at Vltavská too, I’m not carrying any bag, not even a book, without which I normally feel naked. When the tram slowed down for the tram stop, another Czech got up and helped her get off. He put the children on the long-deserted tram stop. There were only two adults at the tram stop. I remembered the long, steep staircase to the underpass leading to the residential district. Should I offer to help, as the Czech had done on the doors of the tram, when he carried her children to the platform? Should I have helped the children, holding them by the hand as they went down the stairs and up the other end of the underpass? Roma tend to be very courteous amongst themselves. And I stood there, a Roma in the middle of the night, in front of me a suitcase, two Czech children and a Czech mother with a baby in her arms, who needed help, at least until they had got under the underpass and up the other side. But how should I, a black gypsy, address this Czech woman, who probably had prejudices against Roma people and against foreigners in general, especially late at night in a deserted underpass? What would she say? What would be the first reaction of this white Czech woman, who maybe came from the countryside, with her suitcase, her two little children and a baby in her arms? She would say, “Well, thank you very much, that’s very kind.” Or might she think that I wanted to chat her up? Or perhaps she would think worse things? What would I do if she started to scream when I approached her and offered her help? Or am I interpreting the whole thing badly? How much negative and defamatory stuff is written about the Roma people? I hesitated for a long moment. I tussled with courteousness as I had acquired from my father, as every Rom, educated or not, has it. Just after midnight, I had suddenly found myself in a situation in which there might be an explosion of prejudices. A whole minute went by. I went around her, as though not intending anything, as though I hadn’t noticed her plight. Like an impolite animal on two legs, I simply continued along the entire platform, leaving the suitcase, children and her behind. I ran down the concrete steps, taking two by two, and then up the other side, until I was amongst the houses. A cold wind blew from the underpass. Perhaps this woman hadn’t had any prejudices. At least not such that would have made her scream at a Roma who approached her in the middle of the night, shortly after midnight at a tram stop. If you don’t have such prejudices, dear woman, then I really did you an injustice and failed. It is clear to me that it isn’t likely that you will read these lines, but anyway I am hoping for this possibility. If you do not have such prejudices, I failed you. And your children. And myself. In these night hours, I buried my courtesy. Today and now, I promise: Whenever I find myself again in such a situation, I shall certainly offer my assistance, regardless of how the other person reacts. And then my courtesy will certainly return to me.

This story is taken from the book: Giere Jacqueline, Köbler, Gottfried (2001). Konfrontation. Bausteine für die pädagogische Annäherung an Geschichte und Wirkung des Holocaust. Frankfurt am Main: Fritz Bauer Institut. p. 19-20.

• Sources

References:

Balvín, J. (1999). Romské osobnosti ve fotografii (Roma Personalities in Photographs). Ústí nad Labem: Hnutí R.

Banga, D. (1992). Lyrika. Bratislava: Romaňi kultura + Mikromex.

Bartoloměj, D. (1994). Dějiny Romů, Vybrané kapitoly z dějin Romů v západní Evropě, v Českých zemích a na Slovensku (The History of the Roma, Selected Chapters from the History of the Roma in Western Europe, the Czech Lands and Slovakia). Olomouc: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Palackého.

Buryánek, J. a kol. (2002). Interkulturní vzdělávání. Příručka nejen pro středoškolské pedagogy (Intercultural Education. A Manual Not Only for Middle School Teachers). Praha: Člověk v tísni, spol. při ČT, o.p.s. v nakladatelství Lidové noviny.

Černá, M., Davidová, E., Holomek, K., Horváthová, J., Hübschmannová, M., Jařabová, Z. a Nečas, C. (2000). Černobílý život (Black-and-White Life). Praha: Gallery.

Daniel, B. (1994). Dějiny Romů: vybrané kapitoly z dějin Romů v západní Evropě, v Českých zemích a na Slovensku (The History of the Roma, Selected Chapters from the History of the Roma in Western Europe, the Czech Lands and Slovakia). Olomouc: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Palackého.

Davidová, E. (2001). Romové ve fotografii Evy Davidové (Roma in the Photographs of Eva Davidová). Praha: Fortuna.

Davidová, E. (1995). Cesty Romů. Romano Drom. 1945-1990: změny v postavení a způsobu života Romů v Čechách, na Moravě a na Slovensku (Journeys of the Roma. Romano Drom. 1945-1990: Changes in the Status and Lifestyle of the Roma in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia). Olomouc: Vydavatelství Univerzity Palackého.

Drenko, J. (1992). Rómská primáška Panna Cinková (Roma Mayor Mrs. Cinková) In: Neznámi Rómovia, Bratislava.

Dzurko, R. (1990). Ich bin wieder Mensch geworden. Lipsko a Výmar: Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag.

Dzurko, R. (2002). Rudolf Dzurko. [texty Erika Manuš...et al. překlad Jan Amos Hrdlička]. Český Krumlov: Egon Schiele Art Centrum, 2002. 191 s. ISBN 80-86300-25-0.

Horváthová, J. (ed.) (2004). Memoáry romských žen; Elina, Sága rodu Holomků; Karolína, Cesta životem v cikánském voze (Memoirs of Roma Women). Brno: Muzeum romské kultury.

Fabiánová T., Hübschmannová M. (1991). Čavargos – Tulák (Romańi paramisi – Romská pohádka – Roma Fairytale). Praha: Apeiron.

Fabiánová, T. (1992). Sar me phiravas andre škola – Jak jsem chodila do školy (How I Went to School). České Budějovice/Brno: ÚDO České Budějovice a Společenství Romů na Moravě.

Fraser, A. (1998). Gypsies. [translated into Czech by Marta Miklušáková]. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny.

Frištenská, H., Víšek, P. (2002). O Romech (na co jste se chtěli zeptat) (About the Roma (what you wanted to ask about)). Praha: Vzdělávací centrum pro veřejnou správu ČR, o.p.s.

Haluška, V. (2003). Pal le Devleskero Sidorkus – O božím Sirotkovi. Praha: Signeta.

Hanzal, J. (2004). Cikáni na Moravě v 15. až 18. století (Gypsies in Moravia from the 15th to the 18th Centuries). Praha: Nakladateství Lidové noviny.

Hašová, L. (1997). Romové, nebo cikáni? (Roma or Gypsies) (Výsledky dotazníkového průzkumu – the results of a questionnaire). In: Naše řeč 4, 80, 1997, s. 195-201.

Homoláč, J. (1998). A ta černá kronika! Brno: Nakladatelství Doplněk.

Homoláč, J., Nekvapil, J., Karhanová, K. (eds.) (2003). Obraz Romů v středoevropských masmédiích po roce 1989 (The Image of the Roma in the Central European Mass Media after 1989). Brno: Doplněk.

Horváth, J. (1999). Tumenge - Vám. [překlady Jaromír Vavroš, Milena Hübschmannová a autor]. Brno: Petrov.

Horvátová, A. (2003). Pal e Bari Rama the aver paramisa – O Velké Ramě a jiné příběhy [Překlad Milena Hübschmannová a Máša Bořkovcová]. Praha: Signeta.

Hübschmannová, M. (2002). Šaj pes dovakeras – Můžeme se domluvit. 4. nezm. vyd. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého.

Lacková, E. (2002). Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou (I was born under a lucky star) [Podle vyprávění autorky zpracovala, do češtiny přeložila a předmluvu napsala Milena Hübschmannová]. Vyd. 2. Praha: Triáda.

Lacková, E. (1999). Romské pohádky (Roma Fairytales) [překlad ze slovenského originálu do romštiny Marián Balog… et al.; ze slovenského originálu do češtiny převyprávěl Jaroslav Balvín]. Vyd. 1. Praha: Radix.

Tatjana Šišková (ed.). (2001). Menšiny a migranti v České republice (Minorities and Migrants in the Czech Republic). Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál.

Hübschmannová, M. (1991). Moudrá slova starých Romů (The Wise Words of Old Roma): Goďaver lava phure Romendar. 2.v. Praha: Apeiron.

Nečas, C. (1999). Romové v České republice včera a dnes (Roma in the Czech Republic Yesterday and Today) Olomouc: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Palackého.

Oláhová, L. (2000). Nejen romská kuchařka (Not only a Roma Cookbook). Praha: Fortuna.

Pavelčíková, N. (2004). Romové v českých zemích v letech 1945-1989 (The Roma in the Czech Lands between 1945 and 1989). Praha: Úřad dokumentace a vyšetřování zločinů komunismu PČR.

Preussová, M. (1995). Rudolf Dzurko (Cesta, kterou bloudíš, je cesta, kterou sis zvolil) (The Path on which You Lose Your Way is the Path which You Chose) Sdružení občanů a přátel Malé Strany a Hradčan. Praha: Arbor (nadace pro literaturu a výtvarné umění).

Reiznerová, M. (2000). Suno (Sen). Praha: Savoredženengere tajsutne ďivesa – Společná budoucnost.

Scheinostová, A. Romipen: Cesta k moderní identitě (The Path to a Modern Identity) – Diplomová práce na Katedře české literatury FF UK v Praze, obhájená 26. 5. 2003.

Soulis, G.C., Rochowová, I. (1998). Romové v Byzanci (The Roma in Byzantium). Praha: Indologický ústav FF UK.

Stewart, M. (2005). Čas Cikánů [z anglického originálu The Time of the Gypsies přeložila Silvie Prudká]. Brno: Barrister & Principal.

Stojka, C. (1992). Reisende auf dieser Welt (Aus dem Leben einer Rom-Zigeunerin). Wien: Herausgegeben von Karin Berger, Picus Verlag.

Stojka, P., Pivoň, R. (2003). Náš život (Our Times) – Amáro Trajo. Bratislava: sd studio.

Šebková, H. (2003). Bacht the balvaj pheňa hin. Štěstí a vítr jedno jsou. Příchovice: Nakladatelství Buk.

Šišková, T. (1998). Výchova k toleranci a proti rasismu: sborník zdroje a formy rasismu a netolerance informace o národnostních menšinách hry a cvičení pro žáky a studenty. (Education in Tolerance and Anti-Racism: A Collection of Sources and Forms of Racism and Intolerance of Information regarding National Minorities, Games and Exercises for Pupils and Students) Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál.

Šotolová, E. (2000). Vzdělávání Romů (The Education of Roma). [fotografie Filip Remunda]. 1. vyd. Praha: Grada Publishing.

Taikon, K. (1999). You’ll Manage It, Katitz [ze švédského originálu Katitzi přeložila Vendula Bohuslavová]. Praha: Ivo Železný pro velvyslanectví Švédského království.

Winter, W. (2004). Winter Time – Memoirs of a German Sinto who Survived Auschwitz (Čas zimy/Wintera – památky německého Sinta, jenž přežil Osvětim). Hertfordshire: University of Hertfordshire Press.

Wyatt, Chad E. (2005). Roma Rising: Romské obrození. Praha: Argo & Nadační fond Dobrý soused.

Other sources of information:

Banyák J. (1993). Panna Cinková. Filmový scénář.

Dúral me avilem – Z dálky jsem přišel – I Come from Afar (Avri kidine le vlašika ďila – Výbor z olašské písňové poezie – A Selection of Valasko Song Poetry) Nakladatelství Karel Holub Ars Bohemica, Praha 2000, 142 stran

HOST. Měsíčník pro literaturu a čtenáře. Ročník XXII, č. 4/2006 Brno 2006: Spolek přátel vydávání časopisu HOST & HOST – vydavatelství. 127 s. ISSN 1211-9938.

Internet:

Amare Roma (Naši Romové). Videograph 2000.
http://fredfred.net/amareroma/texty/texty_html.php

Romane bare manuša - MENT.
http://archiv.radio.cz/romove/osobnost.html

Roma personalities published in the magazine Romano džaniben:

Bartoloměj Daniel: Miro dživipen / Můj život / My Life In: Romano džaniben 1/1994

Žigovi, Anna a Berty Miniportrét řezbáře Ernesta Danča (A Mini-Portrait of the Woodcutter Ernest Danč) In: Romano džaniben 2/1994

Christo Kjučukov: Mo životo / Můj život / My Life In: Romano džaniben 4/1994

Malíř samouk Július Lakatoš (Self-Taught Painter Július Lakatoš) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1995

Július Lakatoš: Mro dživipe / Můj život / My Life In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1995

Cefferino Jiménez Malla - El Pelé In: Romano džaniben 4/1995

Aladár Kurej-výtvarník samouk: Čar, veša, phuv-oda miri bacht / Tráva, lesy, země-to je moje štěstí (Grass, Forests, Earth – That’s My Happiness) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1996

Lundgren, Gunilla Cikánský baron Arthur Theslef In: Romano džaniben 3/1996

O Yanko le Redžosko / Prof. Dr. Ian Hancock In: Romano džaniben 3/1996

Elena Lacková In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1997

Jožka Fečo In: Romano džaniben 3-4/1997

Tony Gatlif In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1998

Eva Davidová. Kdo je Tony Gatlif (Who is Tony Gatlif) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1998

Tony Gatlif hovoří o filmu Lačho drom (Tony Gatlif Speaks about the Film Lačho Drom) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1998

Ryvolová, Karolína Johann Peter Preiss: Střet dvou kultur (The Clash of Two Cultures) In: Romano džaniben 3/1998

Hübschmannová, Milena MUDr. Ján Cibula In: Romano džaniben 3/1998

Denisa Demeová: Predstavujem si seba (Let’s Introduce Ourselves) In: Romano džaniben 4/1998

Jozef Pešta / Motospojka u hlavního štábu In: Romano džaniben 4/1998

Romský folklór je živý / Roma Folklore is Alive (Rozhovor s Idou Kelarovou / An Interview with Ida Kelarová) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1999

Ján Berki: Život v černé a bile (Life in Black and White) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1999

Dživav vaš o Roma / Žiju pro Romy / I Live for the Roma (Portrét Jana Horvátha) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/1999

Andrej Giňa In: Romano džaniben 3-4/1999

Holomek, Karel Moravský Cigán - Tomáš Holomek In: Romano džaniben 3-4/1999

Rozhovor M. Hübschmannové s JUDr. Tomášem Holomkem In: Romano džaniben 3-4/1999

Tera Fabiánová In: Romano džaniben 1-2/2000

Aby po člověku něco zůstalo / Let Something Remain of a Person (Rozhovor s romským sochařem Jaroslavem Cickem / An Interview with the Roma Sculptor Jaroslav Cicek) In: Romano džaniben 3/2000

Tera Fabiánová II In: Romano džaniben 3/2000

Hübschmannová, Milena Osmdesáté narozeniny Ilony Lackové: Uľiľom tel bachtaľi čercheň. Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou. In: Romano džaniben 1-2/2001

Kramářová, Jana Duj trin lava pal o Gejzas - Pár slov o Gejzovi – A Few Words about Gejza In: Romano džaniben 1-2/2001

Hübschmannová, Milena Rozhovor s Ronaldem Lee (An Interview with Ronald Lee) In: Romano džaniben 1-2/2002

Weckmanová, Saga Rada Romky In: Romano džaniben jevend/2002

Lillqvist, Katarina Básník, malíř, nebo romský baron Prášil ? (Poet, Painter, or Roma Baron Prášil?) In: Romano džaniben jevend/2002

Hübschmannová, Milena Alexandr Vjačeslavovič Germano (1893-1955) In: Romano džaniben jevend/2002

Elena Lacková (22.3.1921 – 1.1.2003) In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2003

Hübschmannová, Milena František Demeter (28.12.1948-29.6.2003) In: Romano džaniben jevend/2003

Bartosz, Adam Papusza (Bronislava Wajs – cca 1908 – 1987) In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2004

Bartosz, Adam Papusza v galerii nejslavnějších Polek In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2004

Hübschmannová, Milena Rozhovor s romským výtvarníkem Jánem Oláhem-Širem z Detvy (An Interview with the Roma Artist Ján Oláh-Šir from Detva) In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2004

Hübschmannová, Milena (ed.) Emilie Machálková: Elinka vypráví In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2005

Hübschmannová, Milena Antonín Holomek: O mém životě kdybych měl mluvit, tak by to byl roman (My Life would be a Novel were I to Speak about It) In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2005

Nečas, Ctibor Uplatnění prvních romských studentů z Moravy. In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2005

Hübschmannová, Milena Matéo Maximoff (1917 Barcelona – 1999 Paříž), po otci Kalderaš, po matce Sinto-Manuš z rodu Rénard In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2005

Horváthová, Jana Vyšívané příběhy Markéty Šestákové (The Embroidered Stories of Markéta Šestáková In: Romano džaniben ňilaj/2005

Zdařilová, Eva Philomena Franz (nar. 1922) In: Romano džaniben jevend/2005

Šebková, Hana, Wagner, Peter Ferenc Snétberger In: Romano džaniben jevend/2005

Magda Kokyová In: Romano džaniben jevend/2005

Wagner, Peter Sintský výtvarník Alfred Ullrich (The Sinto Artist Alfred Ullrich) In: Romano džaniben jevend/2005