Romani people with broom: Flash mob of outraged community
Yesterday, the local authorities of Mukacheve (Zakarpattia region) solemnly unveiled the monument to a Romani person. It could be fine, but the monument represents a man sweeping the street.
According to the local media, the monument was unveiled with the words, “No matter what work they are busy with, they are artists in spirit. The feature of this monument is that it was created in honor of a man of, it might seem, obscure but very important profession keeps the streets of our city clean, cozy, and positive”.
The response from the Romani community was instant.
The Romani people of Ukraine initiated the flash mob: to take a photo with a broom and tell about a “conventional” Romani person.
The essence of the flash mob:
- A person should be dressed in smart clothes (men should preferably wear suit and tie) and hold a broom.
- Under a photo, there should be indicated a person’s name, education, and place of employment, as one wishes.
- Use hashtag: #Проти_дискримінації_ромів #stop_discrimination_Roma #Romano_angal_gakaya
“Yesterday, the local authorities in Mukacheve presented the monument to a Romani street cleaner and showed their real attitude to the Romani people. The image embraces all possible stereotypes one could imagine,” Natalia Kozyr, project coordinator of the Development Charitable Foundation, says.
“Thereby we want to show that the Romani people are not the “conventional street cleaners”, but doctors, teachers, lawyers … We have to break this stereotype once and for all!” Natalia Kozyr stresses.
The Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation joined the flash mob. The activists note that they oppose stigmatization and discrimination against Romani people and support the flash mob “against violation of human dignity.”
Фундація приєднується до флешмобу проти приниження людської гідності! Учора у Мукачеві влада урочисто відкрили пам`ятни…
Posted by Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation on 4 вересня 2015 р.
Based on the materials of the Development Charitable Foundation Foundation.
