Today we share with you the story of Maria, a young Roma woman from Romania. Maria has been discriminated against many times, but she has learned how to deal with crimes properly.
"Hello guys! My name is Maria! I am 21 years old and this is my story of resistance!
I am a Roma woman, but I am also part of the LGBT community, which has caused me problems with those around me, both at school and in my daily life.
Many of the incidents occurred during high school. One of the most significant incidents occurred in the second year of high school. I got into a conflict with a classmate after he insulted my ethnicity and sexual orientation. The most painful moment was when he spoke ill of my family, calling them gypsies and bastards.
At that moment, I lost myself, burst into tears and responded to his verbal attacks.
Apparently, things got worse, and we even got into a physical fight. That was the moment I defended myself, he got hurt.
I'm not proud of that, but a lot of girls were scared of him and I felt like I had to end this situation.
Fortunately, the director didn't kick me out, he sent me to some counseling sessions.
I learned how to control my anger and turn it into a creative thing. Like drawing, writing and painting!
We should never ignore discrimination! Racism, homophobia, sexism destroy lives. This should be reported immediately to the school principal, authorities or parents. I am sorry that I did not have the courage to report all these things and I ended up in a position where I had to defend myself against the attacks of a classmate.
It was a very unpleasant experience, which made me not want to go to school for a long time for fear of being put in that situation again.
Stand up for each other, it's a crazy world outside!
All lives are important! "
The online campaign "Voices of the Resistance" invites all young Roma to witness their own stories of resistance! Through this online campaign we want to encourage young Roma to share their good examples of staying active even in such difficult times of crisis. Stay with us, watch our videos and be a part of our online resistance!
