ROMA? COME AND EDUCATE US.
Romani version below.
For over a decade, Discover Summer Academy has provided volunteer-run summer camps for high schoolers from the Czech and Slovak Republics and abroad.
Discover cares most about learning, diversity and active citizenship, and is proud to have lived out these values—minimising participation fees, involving therapists and conversations about mental health at camps, welcoming LGBT+ students and volunteers, and voting for strong community rules on bullying and harassment. Students often tell us they’ve never been to anything like Discover, and many have returned as team members.
But Discover also has work to do. As well as being disproportionately affluent, our community remains racially and ethnically homogenous. Despite being Europe’s largest minority, and close to a tenth of the population of Slovakia and its neighbours, Romani people in particular are near-unrepresented, with Czech and Slovak Roma totally absent.
This is not “just the way things are”.
In the countries where Discover takes place, illegal segregation of Roma children into separate classes and schools, or into “special needs” education through biased and discriminatory testing, restricts access to the campuses attended by our founders. Due to this status quo, and the wider exclusion of Roma from civic life through unemployment, housing discrimination, sterilisation, mass murder and more, many of us were never taught to ask why only other gadjé (non-Roma) were part of our classes.
Discover is committed to working with Roma organisations to undo the impact of racism on our community, including the makeup of our staff and student body. In the mean time, we recognise that most of us are still learning how to discuss antiziganism, and that leaving Roma experiences out of what we teach—from discussions of Czechoslovak history, civics and law to the cultural impact of Covid-19—perpetuates unawareness.
If official guidelines permit, Discover’s 2021 sessions will take place this August. If you’re Roma, do education work and speak Czech, Slovak or English—if you’re one person or a group, an academic or an activist, from Czechoslovakia or abroad—we want to invite you to visit our camps and teach us something. (This could mean running a workshop, telling us and our students about what you do, or anything else you want to propose.)
Discover can provide food and accommodation and reimburse travel costs, and is open to discussing what we can give you for your work. We especially invite LGBT+ and disabled Roma, as well as Roma women, to get in touch. Message our social media or email emma.nabi-bourgois@discover.sk to tell us who you are: we hope to hear, and learn, from you.
Imar buter sar deš berš e ňilajeskeri akademija Discover kerel ňilajeskere tabori perdal sikhľuvne so phiren pre maškarutne sikhade andal o Čechi the Slovačiko.
Hin lenge but pal o sikhľuvibnaskere hodnoti, pal e diverzita, pal oda kaj manuš te el aktivno občanos u kale hodnoti keren le prikladoha, oleha kaj o poťibena nane avka bare, keren terapije the vakeribena pal o mentalno sasťipen, Andro programos kiden the le sikhľuvnen andal e LGBT+ komunita the olen so keren bijo love vaj keren kidnipena vaš e komunitna pravidla pal e šikana. O sikhľuvne amenge vakeren, hoj mek nigda nazadžiďile ajso vareso sar o Discover u but lendar aven pale.
Discover hin so te sikhľol. Amari komunita hiňi rasovo the etnicko homogenno. The vaš oda, hoj Roma hine nekbareder minorita andre europa u keren maj jekh deš la slovačikone populacijatar. Hine pro Discover maj nazaačade.
Kada nane ča sar oda hin.
Thema kaj e ňilajeskeri akademija hiňi, keren nalegalno segregacija romane čhavenca. Toven len andro aver sikhade u klasi, the andro špecijalna sikhade. Kada keren o sikhade, andre save phirenas amare zathode le romane čhavenge napristupno. Olestar the olestar kaj hiňi bari le romengeri diskriminacija andro manušengero dživipen, pro buťakero trhos, the tel e sterilizacija vaj samurdaripen, pen buter aňi naačhaven pre oda, hoj andro amare klasi hine ča romane čhave.
Discover hin o phundrado buťake le romane organizacijenca, kaj te visarel avri o dikhiben pro rasizmus pre amari komunita. Kada kerel the amaro timos the o sikhľuvne. Pro akana džanas, hoj buter amendar, pes furt sikhavel sar te vakerel pal o anticiganizmus u hoj hiňi absencija pal o romane džaňibena andre oda, so sikhavas – la čechikoslovaťiko historijatar kijo hakaj, anglomanušengero dživipen u kulturno doperiben pandemijatar – hin jekh le problemostar.
Te e pandemija domukela, Discover turnusa ada berš ena andro augustos. Te sal rom. U keres la sikhľuvibnaha, vakeres čechika, slovačika vaj angličika – te sal jekh vaj san grupa, akademik vak aktivistas palo Čechi, Slovačiko vaj aver thema – rade tumen vičinas te dikhel pro amaro taboris, kaj bi tutar šaj vareso sikhľiľam. (Kada šaj el te denašel o vorkšopos, te phenel amenge the amare sikhľuvnenge pal oda so keren, vaj vareso aver soha kamen te avel avri.)
Discover poťinela chaben u heľol kaj te presovel the o drom. Sam phundrade te vakerel the pal oda, so ela tiri buťi. Samas bi rade, kaj te avenas LGBT+ manuša, romane manuša saven hin problema le mentalno vaj fizicko kampľipnaha. Irin amenge pal peste pro socijalna seri vaj pro mejlos emma.nabi-bourgois@discover.sk. Paťas hoj amenge irineha u pes vareso tutar sikhľuvaha.
Kada sas irindo u prethodo anglo meriben le Stanislavoskero Tomášiskero andro eňadešto Julos, saves chudne o phandle Teplicate. Andro kale keribnaskero vuvud, amen džanas hoj le Romenge kampel hangi andre manušengero vakeriben. Pal le romengero dživipen džal.
