cording to the Constitution, every local gov- ernment should have a proportional number of employees in state institutions of all national minorities, and not just Roma,”says Ana, who is also a trained journalist. It was due to her journalism studies that she came to Niš from her native Aleksinac, and although she became pregnant while at col- lege, she still managed – with the help and sup- port of her family – to complete her studies. As she is rising above her community today through her example and work, so her parents once stood out in little Aleksinac. Her mother was the rst woman in the town to have her own craft workshop open in her own name back in the 1960s. “My parents had a high level of awareness of the importance of education in building a better life. They passed that on to me, and I passed it on to my own children. And so, just as I became pregnant during my studies, so did my daughter-in-law. But we all supported her in continuing with college, babysat when needed, and she will soon be the rst female Roma judge in Serbia,”notes Ana with pride. As we walk towards the famous Niš For- tress, a symbol of the city, we pass through an underpass in the city centre. As we walk, individual fellow citizens greet her cordially, hug her, thank her for her help, because it was back in 2005 in Niš that Ana launched an SOS hotline to assist women who were victims of domestic violence, in the Roma and Serbian languages. That was also the rst such SOS hotline in Europe, which is still available to women every day. “That’s the reason they applauded me at the Council of Europe when they handed me the award. Through our SOS hotline, we help women, regardless of their nationality, be- cause a victim is a victim. It is interesting that we receive the most calls during weekends and holidays, when families are gathered to- gether, and the least during the summer pe- riod”, reveals this brave woman. As we sit in the Tavern at Rajko’s in Tink- ers Alley, a preserved part of the old Niš ba- zaar, Ana tells us that there used to be 13 tink- ers workshops there. She often comes here with her family to feel the spirit and scent of Kalča and Sremac, and at the end, as we bid farewell, she admits to us what lls her with pride the most. “One day there will be no Ana Saćipović, but there will be my four grandchildren, fu- ture Osvit activists , and all other Roma girls and young women who are slowly chang- ing their attitudes and resisting the Roma community. They are not ashamed of tradi- tion, but they want to work on themselves and change everything that is negative about it, such as early Roma marriages. I’m happy to see how they are thinking today and I’m not afraid for the future.”
N iš, 1976, I’m queuing for bread in a bakery. A little Roma girl is standing in line in front of me. She waits pa- tiently and courteously. When her turn comes, the woman behind the counter passes her by, ignoring her as if she weren’t there. She’s a child and is still waiting. When my turn comes, I ask the worker why she’s ig- noring the girl, and she spews a salvo of in- sults at the expense of that innocent child. I reacted and protected the girl, and promised myself that I would do my best to change the image of the Roma people – says Ana Saći- pović, founder of the Osvit Roma Association in Niš, recalling her rst encounter with dis- crimination. Today, decades later, she has done a lot for her people. This is also con rmed by this year’s award that she received from the Council of Eu- rope for the Integration of Roma in the West- ern Balkans and Turkey. She was proclaimed one of the most successful Roma women in Europe and experienced the applause of 150 European parliamentarians. “The position of Roma women in Serbia is still di cult today, but what I’m proud of is the fact that we’ve succeeded in motivating a large number of Roma girls and young wom- en to get educated. When she is educated, a woman gains con dence, can more easily nd a job and thus becomes economically inde- pendent from man. This hasn’t been the case todateintheRomacommunity,”explainsSaći- pović, as we stroll around Niš and she shows us the building of the Roma Cultural Centre, which she deserves the most credit for. This is the rst institution of its kind in Serbia. She also reveals that educated Roma women without work are perhaps in the toughest situation. They have raised them- selves above their environment through ed- ucation and are not accepted in their Roma neighbourhood, while on the other hand they are discriminated against by the community, which is full of prejudices regarding the Roma. “That’s when I step onto the scene and help every woman who asks me for help. Ac-
– Moji roditelji su imali visok ni- vo svesti o važnosti obrazovanja u izgradnji boljeg života. Preneli su to na mene, a ja na svoju decu. I eto, kao što sam ja na studijama ostala u drugom stanju, to se dogodilo i mo- joj snaji. Ali svi smo je podržali da na- stavi sa fakultetom, čuvali dete kad je trebalo i ona će uskoro biti prva že- na sudija Romkinja u Srbiji – pono- sno ističe Ana. Na putu do čuvene Niške tvrđave, simbola grada, prolazimo kroz podze- mni prolaz u centru. Dok šetamo, poje- dine sugrađanke srdačno joj se javlja- ju, grle je, zahvaljuju joj se na pomoći jer je Ana još 2005. u Nišu pokrenula SOS telefon za pomoć ženama žrtva- ma nasilja u porodici na romskom i srpskom jeziku. To je i u Evropi bio prvi takav SOS telefon, koji je i da- nas dostupan ženama svakog dana. – U Savetu Evrope su mi zbog toga aplaudirali kad su mi uručivali nagradu. Putem našeg SOS telefona pomažemo ženama bez obzira na na- cionalnu pripadnost, jer žrtva je žrtva – kaže ova hrabra Nišlijka. Dok sedi- mo u Kafani Kod Rajka u Kazandžij- skom sokačetu, očuvanom delu sta- re niške čaršije, Ana nam priča da se tu nekad nalazilo 13 kazandžijskih ra- dionica. Često tu dođe sa porodicom kako bi osetili duh i miris vremena Kalče i Sremca... – Jednog dana Ane Saćipović ne- će biti, ali biće tu moje četiri unuke, buduće aktivistkinje Osvita, i sve dru- ge mlade romske devojčice i devojke koje polako menjaju svoje stavove i pružaju otpor romskoj zajednici. One se ne stide tradicije, ali žele da rade na sebi i da promene sve ono što je u njoj negativno, kao što su rani romski brakovi. Srećna sam kad vidim kako već danas razmišljaju i za budućnost se ne bojim.
Ana još 2005. u Nišu pokrenula SOS telefon za pomoć ženama žrtvama nasilja u porodici na romskom i srpskom jeziku It was in 2005 in Niš that Ana launched an SOS hotline to assist women who were victims
of domestic violence, in the Roma and Serbian languages
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