I first met Raya, then still called Raisa Udovikova, in 1964 when I was working as a reporter for a Norwegian newspaper in Moscow. She was a leading actress at the famous Theater Romain. We married in 1966 and later moved to Norway with her two children, Natasha and Oleg. Due to the language barrier - Raya spoke only Russian and Romani at the time - she changed her education from acting to dancing and singing. Later, when she learned Norwegian, she also acted in theaters and films. I also changed my field - from a journalist I became his manager and a book translator (I translated about a hundred books from six languages into Norwegian).
The International Roma Union is the oldest and largest international Roma organization. I am a member of its parliament. We have offices in Vienna, Geneva and Washington. President Zoran Dimov is based in Skopje, North Macedonia. IRU is now represented in more than fifty countries. It takes a high degree of ingenuity and organizational talent to unite Roma on four continents who belong to different subgroups. This was never an easy task. We were forced to fight against anti-Roma prejudice, persecution and bureaucracy. We won and suffered defeats. Dissatisfaction and impatience is growing among many Roma because of the unfulfilled promises of the authorities and the lack of great results. Many other Roma organizations with different goals have come and gone. But the IRU is still here. During its more than fifty years of existence, it has been a central driving force and inspiration in the global struggle for Roma rights and an important instrument of unity and solidarity across all borders and all Roma groups.
