Comment by Courtney Cannon on January 8, 2014 at 7:00

The things they took from us--our liberty, safety, freedom; our blood, our sweat, our tears.  They tried stripping us of our humanity; they hunted us through the woods, persecuted, enslaved and murdered us, yet the one thing they cannot take from us: our spirit. 

As individuals, as artists, we are gifted.  As a group (be it Sinti, Roma, Romanichal, Manusch, Boyash, Jenische, Kale, etc)--as Romani--as The People--we are capable of so much more, if we stand together, find strength in both our similarities and our differences; if we accept those who are mixed, those who are learning about their roots yet are still willing to fight to preserve them; if we accept the help and support from our non-Romani allies, we can win.

We can preserve our culture and our history without selling out or dying out, but through education and cooperative efforts like this community.

I'm willing to stand shoulder to shoulder and fight alongside anyone who feels the same way.

I say we are free, and free people defending their heritage are stronger than anything the extremists can throw at us--PROVIDED we unite.

I am half Sinti.  I am half northern European.  I have lived in Europe, but I am from the U.S.--that is my introduction--and I will stand up and will fight alongside anyone who will have me.  As Romani, we cannot be divided unless we do it ourselves, and as it's the year 2014, I ask anyone who has prejudices about different clans to put aside what you believe, to speak to people, and to listen to your heart.  We are not so different.  We are one nation, the Romani.

Thank you.  Nais tuke, pariker tu.

Comment by Arisztid on January 8, 2014 at 21:13

You are so right.  I hope a united front can be put up in time... and it has to be STAT.

Comment by Courtney Cannon on January 8, 2014 at 22:38

Agreed, or we're lost, and nobody will have time to worry about who's Romani enough (or not).  From what I've seen here, we are a diverse, talented, educated group, and if we unite, we could be unstoppable.  We have voices.  We have abilities.  We could break precedent and change the world.

Comment by Kristina Burbank on January 9, 2014 at 17:53

Opre Roma!

Comment by Courtney Cannon on January 9, 2014 at 20:04

Yes!  I'm willing to rise up and do whatever it takes, and I believe that I'm not the only one who thinks we can achieve great things if we unite.  Having Facebook take that page down was ...like a trial run, but all of us, together, we broke ground that day. 

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