Balval and the Roma disdain for “trapped air”

A home does not cage you in. It sets you free.

Roma child dancing in the rain. Picture by Martina Petkova

“But what are you doing all day, uncle?”

This question, heavy with confusion and compassion, was asked by Pepi’s adult niece when she first visited our home.

When we - Martina and Pepi - moved in together to live in Martina’s apartment, everyone thought that one of us was making a big sacrifice.

Martina was showered with warnings by her white non-Roma circle of friends, acquaintances, and relatives and even though not one of these warnings came out to be correct, there is still the chronic idea that Martina is being used by Pepi simply because we’re living together in Martina’s apartment in a middle-class neighborhood.

Pepi’s Roma community is plagued by poverty. Half the families there have had their houses destroyed and were placed in shelters with horrible conditions. So for Pepi to have a stable living situation in a “nice” neighborhood is, on paper, a big win for Pepi.

But things “on paper” don’t tend to apply to the Roma spir…