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An Old Vintage Photograph of an Old Gypsy Caravan, Trailer, Wagon with a Horse.jpg

Pen and Ink, Ink and Pen

Oh, dordi on chord my pen

On took it slowly too.

Forced assimilation.

Avali

Displacement from so amen knew.

Romani pen erased from our conscious 

Repeated in swathes.

Kana the gavvers and musckers descend, 

Chord the kurchi’s and chavvie’s away.

Amen might rokker different! 

Amen na dinlow, 

Our pooker is savvy, nais tuck.

Intelligence is not measured by paper, and oda a fact amen na got from a book.

Avali, me mandi Romani 

Yek, chikto gav, to another

Weshs

Pooves

Droms

Tret like chordies by gorjas

No kushti aitchin tan to call home.

Amen weren’t eating stale dead uns like bawlows and jooks, 

Amen na mokadi don’t tuti know.

Dickoi, amen cour, amen not ladged 

Amen are Rom through and through

From our Yoks to our, cib to our Chokkas

Dickoi mandi phral lets pooker

Avali me mandi Rom

Dickel

Av puchel mandi

Mandi rat is lolo like tu

 

Ada me Romani story

Beseltele dumo 

Sunel mandi tacho

If tu na mislinel me human kana finished…

Tu can Jei choom mandi djolano!!

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TRANSLATED

Oh dear they stole my identity

They took it slowly too

Forced assimilation

Yes

Displacement from what we knew

Gypsy identity erased from our conscious

Repeated in swathes

When the police and authorities descend

Steal the little girls and boys away

We might talk different

We are no fools

Our speak is knowledgeable thank you

Intelligence is not measured by paper and that’s a fact we never got from a book.

Yes I am Romani

One dirty town/village to another

Woods

Fields

Roads

Treated like dirty outcast by locals

No good stopping places to call home

We wasn’t eating stale bread like pigs and dogs

We are not unclean don’t you know.

Look here, we’ll fight, were not shamed

We are Romani through and through

From our eyes to our tongue to our boots

Look here my friend lets speak

Yes I am Romani

See

Come ask me

My blood is red like you

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This is my Romani story

Sit back

Hear my truth

If you don’t think im human when finished

You can go kiss my ass.

 

Saira-Jayne Jones

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