AMAZON

I don't know what is going on with the Amazon link to this site, but I have contacted Amazon.  At the present time you can't order these items from the blog. 
I apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have this figured out soon.
Thanks for your patience.
__________________________________________________________________________
The problem appears to be fixed.  If anyone tries to place an order from this site and can't please let me know either as a comment or by emailing me directly at
punkaheron@yahoo.com.

BURY ME STANDING

Bury Me Standing, by Isabel Fonseca seems to be the gateway to the Romani for many interested people.  I've been asked many times what my opinion is of this book.

Actually, I recommend this book, especially to those interested in learning a bit about the history and experiences of the Romani people.  Isabel, a journalist, is a wonderfully gifted writer.  Her depiction of the history is wonderfully written, respectful and accurate.  My problems arise in part two, where she undertakes to analyze our culture.  This is especially disappointing as she says before (and I paraphrase) that one should never experience a culture for a brief time and then presume to analyze that culture.  Unfortunately, I find that she did that very thing.  Take that section with an open mind and a grain of salt.

AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES

AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES is written and directed by Hiary Helstein and narrated by Maya Angelou.

This is one of the most moving movies I have seen.  It presents the reality of the Holocaust/Porriamos as seen through the art of survivors.  It features interviews and showing of the art of both Karl Stojka and Dina Babbitt  among others.

Karl Stojka (and his sister Celia) are Romani survivors of the Holocaust.  Dina Babbitt was a young Jewish painter in Auschwitz whose fate became totally intertwined with the fate of the Roma/Sinti prisoners.

Please visit http://www.lolodiklo.blogspot.com/
or email me
punkaheron@yahoo.com
for more information on the artists interviewed in this excellent movie.

I  recommend AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES to everyone interested in the Holocaust/Porraimos.  Art is a powerful medium and this is a compelling narrative.




In the next few days I hope to review LIVING THROUGH IT TWICE by Paul Polansky, the unwavering supporter of Romani, and
TORN AWAY FOREVER by Yvonne Slee, as Romani activist in Australia.

SUSPINO: A CRY FOR ROMA

Suspino: A Cry for Roma
SUSPINO - A CRY FOR ROMA takes an unflinching look at the persecution that continues to plague Europe's largest and most vilified minority. With the fall of communism and rise of right-wing nationalism, the Roma (or Gypsies as they are pejoratively called) have become scapegoats for Eastern Europe's nascent democracies. Because of violent conflicts and discrimination, tens of thousands of Eastern European Roma are fleeing their countries. The film focuses on Romania where Europe's largest concentration of Roma are considered 'public enemies', and Italy, where the Roma are classified as nomads and relegated to living in camps. Here they are denied basic human rights available to refugees and foreign residents.

Aiming to create a "Gypsy-free" Romanian town, a mayor tries to move local Roma into an abandoned chicken farm, encircled with barbed wire and patrolled by guards with dogs. A Roma family gathers in a Transylvanian graveyard to mourn the death of 3 brothers murdered in an earlier pogrom that also saw the destruction of 21 of their houses. In a squalid trailer camp ten kilometers from Vatican City, a young Roma couple that fled persecution in Romania is trying to build a new life. Instead they end up begging to feed their children. Their nightmare worsens when the mayor of Rome decides to bulldoze the camp to the ground. A Romanian Roma activist seeking asylum in Canada tells a heart-breaking story of a pogrom against his community back home, and explains that this international human rights crisis has its roots in 500 years of slavery in Eastern Europe.

Romania hopes to enter the European Union by 2010 but first must improve their treatment of minorities, especially the Roma. But what hope is there for the Roma when gatekeeper countries like Italy are also in flagrant violation of human rights conventions?

Web Page: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sacr1.html

Reviews
"I had no idea how much I would be affected by watching this intensely moving documentary. I wanted to grab all my colleagues, and sit them down, and make them watch it. If anything will dispel the popular notion that 'the Gypsy's life is a joyous life,' then this will."
Ian Hancock, Director, The Romani Archives and Documentation Center

"The message is passionately stated, yet with great authoritiveness... Kovanic, even though an outsider, is to be congratulated for so successfully presenting an insider perspective by allowing the subjects to speak for themselves."
William G. Lockwood, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Michigan

"I highly recommend this film in both versions. I especially encourage its use in higher education seminar classes, where it can potentially stimulate critical thinking about the subtleties as well as the significance of the Roma and their issues...The film offers introductory multicultural classes a sensitivity exercise for its younger audiences."
David Jim Nemeth, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toledo

"As the first American Romani person to be appointed to the United States Holocaust Council...I am proud to lend support to this documentary film and encourage everyone to see it. This documentary clearly states the racism and persecution my people have faced in past centuries to the present times."
William A. Duna, authorGypsies: A Persecuted Race

"Does an excellent job of calling attention to the plight of the Roma and would provide an excellent starting point to a broader discussion of the problems of ethnic minorities."
Patricia B. McGee, Educational Media Reviews Online

"A gripping, humane documentary that accurately depicts the plight of Europe's vulnerable 'Gypsy' population. Given the political realities in Italy and Romania as well as other countries where the Roma are considered socially inferior, these abysmal conditions are not likely to change much in the forseeable future. This poignant video will remain relevant for many years to come."
Paul G. Conway, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, SUNY at Oneonta

"A grim but realistic look at the harsh living conditions of Roma in postsocialist Europe... Suspino provides a powerful exposé of widespread discrimination against Europe's largest minority... The film would be excellent for classes on eastern Europe and minorities, especially if supplemented with readings on culture, education, health, languages, political participation, and with comparative materials from other countries."

Carol Silverman, University of Oregon
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I'm honored to know both the director Gillian, and Julia, the inspiration for this film.
I hope you will also watch OPRE ROMA, the prequel of a sort.
Please purchase these movies through the Bullfrog website
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/

GYPSIES: THE OTHER AMERICANS

I was just treated to one of the best hours I've had watching a movie.

Gypsies: The Other Americans, a film by Eric Metzger and Penelope Willens, is a fine example of cinema verite.

The movie consists of first person interviews and raw footage of a Slava (saint's day), a wedding and everyday life of a Kalderas tribe in Los Angeles, 1975

To me it was like watching home movies.  To those unfamiliar with the Romani people it may seem very different from your own experience.

Either way, I recommend this movie.  I'm sure it will raise some questions, specifically about marriage age.  I welcome the discussion. 
Please comment on this page or contact me directly at
punkaheron@yahoo.com
with any questions or comments.

To purchase this movie, please visit
http://www.tritonfilms.com/gypsiestheotheramericans.htm

For some good video reviews please visit:
http://www.tritonfilms.com/youtubegypsiestoa1.html
and
http://www.tritonfilms.com/youtubegypsiestoa2.html

I also want to state that this movie is about the Vlax Romani. They are the most conservative and traditional of all tribes in the United States.  I remind you that we are not a monolithic people though we do share a common core culture, history and oppression.  There are many other Gypsies in the U.S.

I really do encourage people who can afford it to buy this movie.  It's a great way to support Gypsy artists.  AND, movies like this are never available at libraries.  Shall we analyze what that says...

LATCHO DROM

Latcho Drom, by Tony Gatlif,  is a movie that I think everyone should watch.  It is the first movie about Gypsies, actually made by Gypsies.
It's a wonderful movie which tells the history of the Romani people, totally through our music.  It traces the route out of India, beginning in India and progressing through Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and ending in Spain.
Music is an appropriate device to use as Romani have an expression that man only created language so he could lie.  Perhaps, eh
I encourage everyone to watch Latcho Drom/Safe Journey and get up and dance.



I've been telling people that they could order Latcho Drom through their library, but the more I check, the more I discover that many copies of Latcho Drom have disappeared from the libraries.  This includes the King County Library System in Washington State.  Not quite sure what this says, but........
And today I learned that NetFlix does not have Latcho Drom either.
That surprises me because NetFlix does have several of Tony Gatlif's other movies, but not his most popular and celebrated.  Hmmmm.

SHARED SORROWS: A GYPSY FAMILY REMEMBERS THE HOLOCAUST

Shared Sorrows, by Toby Sonneman is a remarkable book. Toby traveled to Europe to interview Gypsy survivors of the Holocaust/Porriamos in Romanes.

Toby is the founder of the Romani Jewish Alliance, through which I had the privledge of working with her for several years.

This is a sensitive and heartfelt book about the Porriamaos, a subject seldom broached.We thank Toby for her continued work in behalf of the Romani people

MAPPING THE INVISIBLE : EU-ROMA GYPSIES

This is going to be a very short entry. Mapping the Invisible is an exceptional book. It is comprised mostly by artists and architects who traveled through Europe interviewing Romani people with the emphasis on their artistic work. Throughout years of oppression, the artistic spirit of the Romani people thrived and continues to thrive.
The focus on architecture is impressive as it emphasizes the Romani's creativity while living in shacks and ghettos.
Both the photographs and analysis are wonderful.

MAPPING THE INVISIBLE: EU-ROMAN GYPSIES
EDITED BY LUCY ORTA
PUBLISHED BY BLACK DOG PUBLISHING.
Awailable through Amazon.com
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE MAPPING THE INVISIBLE

Mapping the Invisible Landscape: Folklore, Writing, and the Sense of Place (American Land & Life)