Five students from the Roma community were awarded in the competition for literary texts written in the Roma language, organized by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of Montenegro, in cooperation with Help, on the occasion of International Romani Language Day.
The students who won smartwatches for their literary texts written in their native Roma language are: Ermina Krasnići, a student at “Marko Miljanov” Primary School; Nevrija Garpi, Eldin Beriša, and Bajram Kranići, students at “Boždar Vuković Podgoričanin” Primary School; and Ardijana Djukatani, a student at “Spasoje Raspopović” Technical High School. The awards were presented by the Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Fatmir Gjeka, and Dijana Anđelić, the director of the Help Montenegro.
The competition, held in honor International Romani Language Day (of November 5th), aimed to motivate young members of the Roma community to begin using their native language outside of the family setting. The Roma language, which is not yet taught in schools, is primarily used at home by the community members.
Minister Gjeka addressed the young Roma by sharing a personal story about his class teacher in primary school who was Roma, the most beloved teacher that he had throughout his entire schooling.
“Before you is the future, and you can achieve anything you want, as long as you continue learning. We are satisfied with the progress made on inclusion field, but I know that much more can be achieved. It is up to you to speak up, to point out everything that bothers you, that you are dissatisfied with, and want to improve. This is the time of freedom, equality, and we must be open and honest with each other about everything that bothers us. There are many opportunities available to you, which you should use. I cannot imagine Montenegro in any other way but as a multiethnic, multireligious, and equal state for all, and you represent the future of this state,” minister Gjeka emphasized.
The students were accompanied by their mentors, who work with them every day: Professors Tatajana Jovanović, Anđela Labović, Mersiha Sijarić, and Rajka Šćepanović. The Director of the Ministrie’s Directorate for Roma and Egyptians, Sokolj Beganaj, especially highlighted the importance of teachers who motivate their students to preserve the Roma language, which has not yet been included in the school system, despite being a key element of Roma history, culture, and identity.
The opportunity was also used to discuss with Minister Gjeka the issues of the inclusion of the Roma language in the education system, yet on standby despite the willingness and interest from the Roma community in Montenegro to achieve this fundamental human right. The Minister expressed his willingness to seek a solution through cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation.
The director of Help praised the students for their motivation to write literary works in their native Roma language.
“I hope you will continue to using and preserving your language in the future and that you will become even better in it. I believe that, together with you, Help and the Ministry will have future collaborators with whom we will work together for the benefit of the Roma community,” she said.
Gjeka and Beganaj praised the collaboration with Help, in constant effort to provid support for the better and more comprehensive inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro.
“If it weren’t for Help, we wouldn’t have a lot of things we have today, like the RE mediators, which are now a reality. In my opinion, this is something that has been finalized, and now it’s just a matter of the formalities of permanently hiring the 21 mediators in local institutions. If it weren’t for Help, this wouldn’t have been realized either. They initiated it, gave us the idea, and I understood its importance. Now we must continue and identify where else this should be implemented, in other segments,” said Minister Gjeka.
On this occasion, Help donated 4 PC’s to the Ministry for the needs of the Directorate for Roma and Egyptians.
