More than two months have passed since the outbreak of an unjust and unequal war, driven by a desire for power and total control. Ukraine - the space millions of people called home - turned into the worst nightmare overnight. And for all Roma Ukrainian refugees, things turned out to be even more dramatic. Because, in their attempt to fight for survival, they also have to fight against racism and preconceptions in the countries where they are refugees.
These are the same preconceptions they had to deal with in their daily lives, only their impact is amplified by the uncertainty of the context. In the train stations, many of the Roma refugees are greeted with racism. At the borders, many of them are treated visibly differently than the majority. In the media, they are portrayed as instigators of conflict and chaos. These are the same preconceptions that reduced the heroic act of some Ukrainians who bravely defended their country by capturing a Russian tank to a title that does nothing but reinforce existing stereotypes: "a Russian tank stolen by the Roma."
In this context, the opening episode of the new edition of "I'm the Leading Actress" aims to take an in-depth look at how the war has affected Roma communities in Ukraine and how Roma refugees are being treated where they arrive. To really understand why, instead of reducing racism and amplifying solidarity, the war did the opposite, we’ll talk with Natali Tomenko - a Roma artist, researcher and activist from Ukraine. We also focus on the harmful representations in the media that only perpetuate some toxic stereotypes, and our colleague, Maria Dumitru - responsible for projects of inclusion and gender equality, interested in Roma feminism, migration, discrimination and gender issues - will present some relevant cases for the way in which the Roma community is affected.
The show will be broadcasted live on both Facebook and our YouTube channel. We encourage you to subscribe to our channel and enable notifications to make sure you don't miss the chance to ask questions in real time.
