Are the Romani compulsive liars?

Let's explore what "sounds" true.

Pepi’s sister, Todorka, standing by the stairs that lead to her room in the run-down building she was placed in after the demolition of her house | Picture from November 2021 by Martina Petkova

“The building was in such a bad condition, that my son kept falling through the floor and landing in the room of the family living below.”

Do you think the sentence above is true? Do you think it is even a little bit true? Does it sound exaggerated?

We will tell you the facts. But first, let’s look at the bigger questions. Do the Romani lie? And more importantly: what makes them lie?

“In case they don’t believe me”

Recently, Pepi had a health problem that forced him to spend 20 days out of the month on sick leave so he can rest at home. Because of that, he received only a small portion of his salary. The rest would be paid out, in a week or so, by our national insurance agency. So, Pepi called the office of a private judge where he makes monthly payments on an old loan. He wanted to tell them that h…