"Sasto Vesto! For Roma Healthcare Through Art "was launched in the beginning of 2017 and continued throughout 2018. The project, with the support of the Open Society Institute in cooperation with Public Health Care, the Open Society Foundation, consists of workshops and forum theater performances in various Roma communities in Romania. The purpose of the workshops was to empower Roma communities to express themselves through art, against systemic discrimination and against negative attitudes and abuses by local authorities, which abuses directly affect health conditions and help to perpetuate the precariousness of Roma life. At the same time, the performances attempted to capture real experiences of the Roma people involved in the project and focused on topics such as: Roma family relationships, gender stigma, abortion, family discussions about menstrual cycle, sexuality, deprotection methods, or unwanted pregnancies.
SASTO VESTO
In the first part of the project, in the spring of 2017, the workshops and shows were made with
the Roma communities in Ferentari, Bucharest ("Ferentari, Health in Sevraj") and Mizil, Buzau
In the first part of the project, in the spring of 2017, the workshops and shows were made with
the Roma communities in Ferentari, Bucharest ("Ferentari, Health in Sevraj") and Mizil, Buzau
County (Dikh te sastimastar! your health! "), in partnership with the E-Romnja organization. At
Mizil the workshop was made by Mihaela Dragan actress together with the Mizil Initiative Group,
consisting of Estera Baicu, Arabis Lincan, Leon Vishan, Corina Vishan, Laura Sandu and Alina
Sima. The play theater performance at the Community Center "La Stela şi Dana" in Ferentari
was made by Alin Coman, Nicoleta Ghiţă, Toto Horvath, Adina Tatu, Cateluta Vatala and
Daniela Vlăsceanu, under the coordination of Zita Moldovan.
Mizil is one of the cities in Romania with the highest number of people infected with HIV, and one or more young people in the Roma communities die each year because of the lack of treatment. The families of these young people, due to lack of information and ignorance of HIV / AIDS, are often stigmatized and wrongfully condemned for their children's illness. The lack of medical education affects, but the community in several ways, another example, that young girls are not encouraged to go to gynecological control, with the mentality that this is only necessary after the beginning of sexual life.
In the Roma community in Ferentari, our show was during the time that the Mayor of Sector 5 closed Caracuda - Social Services Center in Ferentari, thus committing an abuse against public health of people in need in this neighborhood. In solidarity, many Associations have signed a petition against abusive authorities. NGO representatives and local activists discussed, in the absence of dialogue with authorities, about ways and forms of resistance to community health problems.
In 2018, the project continued with theater theater performances made together with representatives and representatives of the Roma communities in Colentina and Ferentari, Bucharest. The "Sasti Vesti (The Inaction of Roma Women to the Public Health System, Stories from the Boldean Community)"and "I am ... (The Inaction of Roma Women to Public Health Services, Stories from Ferentari)" took place in the company of several representatives of the authorities , at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Assistance of the University of Bucharest. The central theme of the two events was the lack of Roma womens access to the public health system and reproductive rights, emphasizing both the intimate space of the family and the community, as well as the relationship between the patient or the patient and the family doctor, and what measure ethnic stereotypes and social labels can influence their lives. "Sasti Vesti" was co-ordinated by actress Zita Moldovan, advisor to Georgiana Lincan and the protagonists of the forum theater show were Constanta Nică, Ana Maria Ioniţă, Mugurel Gheorghe Nica and Sherin Sara Hilani from the Boldeni Roma community in the Colentina neighborhood , Bucharest. The artistic and research team of the show "I am ..." was coordinated by actress Oana Rusu and was made up of Kateluta Vatala, Dana Vlăsceanu and Nicoleta Ghiță.
2018
02.04 / SASTI VESTI – Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Bucharest
15.05 / I AM… – Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Bucharest
2017
05.04 / DIKH TE SASTIMASTAR! (”Take Care of Your Health!”) – Technological College „Tase
Dumitresccu”, Mizil
06.04 / FERENTARI, ”Health in Withdrawal” – Community Center „At Stela and Dana”,
Bucharest