Ethnomusicologist speaks on the Roma rights movement in Ukraine (01/22/06)

Ethnomusicologist speaks on the Roma rights movement in Ukraine

by Maya Lew

NEW YORK - Over 70 people gathered at the Shevchenko Scientific Society on December 3, 2005, for a lecture on "'Tsyhanska Doroha' (Romano Drom): Politicizing the Roma-as-Nomad Stereotype in Ukraine," by Dr. Adriana Helbig, the society's youngest member and lecturer.

Dr. Helbig graduated from Columbia University in May 2005 with a doctorate in ethnomusicology. Her dissertation, titled "'Play for Me, Old Gypsy': Music as Political Resource in the Roma Rights Movement in Ukraine," is an ethnographic study of Roma (Gypsy) communities in Transcarpathia from 2000 to 2004. This work analyzes the ways in which Roma utilize expressive culture to draw awareness to the minority rights movement in post-Soviet Ukraine.

Dr. Helbig's research was made possible through a grant from the Fulbright Association (2001-2002) and through travel grants and teaching fellowships from Columbia University's Department of Music.

The theme of the evening's lecture and Dr. Helbig's research was how the perpetuating stereotype of Roma-as-nomad is rooted in racial prejudice. There are over 168 Roma settlements in the Transcarpathian region with populations that range from 200 to 2,000 Roma.

Dr. Helbig lived and worked in Roma communities in Uzhhorod and Lviv. She detailed how Roma have throughout recent years been pushed out of the economic sphere, for example in Uzhorod, where they can no longer trade at the central bazaar. Other examples included how floods have wiped out entire "tabory," or settlements of Roma, a situation exacerbated by the lack of knowledge and support for rebuilding from the rest of Ukraine.

Dr. Helbig also focused on the recent organization of Roma in response to these stereotypes. Over the last 15 years, Roma in Ukraine have begun to organize themselves culturally and politically through a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These NGOs receive financial aid from Western philanthropic organizations like the Soros Foundation to implement various development projects in impoverished Roma communities. Represented by more than 80 cultural, judicial, educational and political organizations, Roma have become one of the most socially organized national minorities in post-Soviet Ukraine.

The goal of this Roma movement and organization in Ukraine is to abolish stereotypes of Roma and to educate others about their culture, as well to draw government attention to the state of Roma affairs in Ukraine. Some aspects that may be missed by those in Ukraine and other countries who chose to write off "Tsyhany" are that Roma do not want to live in poverty or be considered outsiders, and despite their stereotype as nomads with apathy toward the land, that they do and want to work the soil.

Dr. Helbig discussed in detail one of the most widely known customs of the Roma, namely the funeral procession that even non-Roma acknowledge: "Roma funeral processions serve as a poignant example of one of the ways in which Roma in Uzhhorod ground their lived experience in the physical world. Movement signifies a crucial aspect of this grounding. Roma do not bury their dead near the Roma settlement but rather walk through town to the cemetery in Uzhhorod proper. Non-Roma must wait until the procession passes before continuing with their daily business. As one Roma informant put it, however, 'it is only in death that non-Roma treat us with respect.' The procession demands politeness from onlookers for the Roma deceased and concurrently affirms the strength of the Roma community who participate in this ritual of collective mourning. Yet it is the accompanying music that roots the procession in the consciousness of those who see and hear it."

The evening's lecture ended with a short film produced for Ukrainian television by The Romani Yag organization in 2002. Filmed on location in Transcarpathia, the film offered powerful insights into the ways in which Roma perceive themselves and want to be perceived by non-Roma in Ukraine and elsewhere - having jobs, working the land, playing music and educating their young.

After hearty applause and a question and answer period moderated by Prof. Vasyl Makhno, Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych, president of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, thanked Dr. Helbig. The evening concluded with conversation over wine and cheese.

For more information about Roma or The Romani Yag monthly newsletter readers may contact Dr. Helbig at [email protected].

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