The Roma of Serbia, who are Indian by heritage, are never pleased to see outsiders wandering into their settlements. Their greatest fear is deportation to India. But I wonder where in India they would be sent? Do they even know?
While they’re not Serbian, they’re hardly Indian. These ‘outsiders’ can be found in every country in Europe. Each European country has a different attitude towards these nomadic intruders.
Of course ‘nationalism’ (read: racism) shows up everywhere, no ones hands are spotless. And not to say things are easy for the Roma in Serbia, but at the same time Serbs use them for punchlines of jokes equally they acknowledge the poignance of them.
Emir Kusturica, Serbia’s preeminent filmmaker, depicted the Roma in shades of realism and melancholy romance in his 1988 film Time of the Gypsies. The Roma leave their settlements to conduct their business. You’ll see a man and his son driving extraordinary contraptions, wooden flatbed carts motored by cobbled-together engines, or hauled by ponies. To see these ‘vehicles’ check out the documentary Pretty Dyana (2003) by Boris Mitić.
While they enter the city, it’s not reciprocal. The Roma will not ban you from visiting their settlements but they will make you feel uncomfortable, unless you are invited.
Every settlement has its own King. My friend Igor Stojanović wrangled an invitation for him and I by the King of the Roma of one particular settlement. We’ll go bearing gifts and return with tales to tell.
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Wow, fear of deportation after all these years. I heard on Terry Gross last week a fellow talk about the one million Mexicans deported to Mexico (repatriated!) during the decade of the Great Depression. It wasn’t a federal thing and Los Angeles County was probably the single biggest deporter. 60% were American Citizens and many were born here.
King of the Gypsies. Sounds like a child’s game. Happiness to the kids!