On the morning of October 9, Leonarda Dibrani, a 15 year old gypsy girl studying in
France, was arrested by the authorities during
a school trip. Just a few hours later, she and her family were deported to
Kosovo, where their community suffers from discrimination and physical aggression.
According to Le Monde, the young girl
had been studying at the André Malraux Institution for the past five years and
speaks French fluently. Furthermore, she was a good student, perfectly
integrated in the school community.
Manuel Valls, Minister of the Interior, has
spoken to the public saying that the immigration policies must be firmly conducted
and that the deportation of Leonarda’s family was done within legitimate
measures. Naturally, this situation
raised up several protests against the way gypsy minorities are treated in
France, for even when they fulfill their duties legally, they suffer some kind
of discrimination.
Last Wednesday, October 16th, I
visited the Gypsy Lives (Vidas Ciganas)
exposition at the Lisbon City Museum. It
was a very well conceived recollection of visual and historical data about the
lives of the gypsy community in the late 19th century and through
the 20th century. This
exposition exhibits personal photos that belong to the Cultura Gitana instution,
in Spain, one of the most important supporters of the event, together with the Acción Cultural Española society.
According to the information at the guidance
lines, the gypsy community is the largest ethnic minority in Europe. What I
found to be the most beautifully done achievement in this exposition was the
fact that it was partial. There is no stereotyping, no depreciating of the
gypsy community; instead, we are surrounded by a genuine feeling of embracement
towards this ethnic group. We visualize their traditions and learn more about
their community. Today, gypsy families have become much more opened to the rest
of the society they are inserted in. Women go to school, men have jobs besides
the traditional ones (they no longer work in fairs); A lot of them just integrates
society just like any other citizen.
My visit to the museum really made me think
harder about Leonarda’s situation. Why should this girl and her family be
punished because of prejudice and intolerance?
