Busy after the holidays....

Gypsies do a fair amount of recycling here in the city, and after New Year's there's lots of paper to pick up. This fellow even managed to find some seasonal oilcloth to use as a seat cover.

ABC WEDNESDAY "F" is for "Fun!"

I was envious of these Romi or Gypsy boys having a great time in a public fountain just off of Knez Mihailova. It's been really hot here... I wondered if they would give their sister a ride, but I couldn't wait to see...too hot.

See other F's and maybe more fun on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Another addition...

While waiting with my son for my daughter-in-law to appear with Baby Mila to go home, I caught these Gypsy or Roma kids with their grandmother. They seem to be waiting for their mother to bring them their newest family member. Pensive group... What are they all thinking?

SUNDAY BRIDGES--home no more

Had to dig through my archives to get a bridge photo for you today. This photo was taken a few years ago and it shows some makeshift houses that stood under Gazela, one of the bridges across the Sava River in Belgrade. The gypsies who lived in these homes were joined at one point by Serbian refugees from Kosovo, who had nowhere to go. The settlement expanded literally to the bursting point, and measures were taken, some claim unsatisfactory ones, to resettle these people, since unsanitary conditions posed a major health threat. You can read about the plight of the gypsies in particular in Europe and in Belgrade right here.

P.S. That is the New Railroad Bridge you see in the photo; the photo itself was taken from Gazela Bridge, while I was riding in a bus.

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

ABC Wednesday--Y is for Year-round hardships, or Traces of India in Belgrade

I'm back, safe and sound, and it's a bit cooler here than in India and Qatar..

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that Belgrade has quite a large Gypsy or 'Roma' population. Most sources agree that Gypsies originated in India and migrated to Europe and beyond. The Roma population here in Belgrade lives primarily on the outskirts of the city and prefers not to integrate into society. You can see from the above photo that they lead a rough life year-round, scavenging for firewood and recycling paper and scrap iron, for example.

Join ABC WEDNESDAY.

ABC Wednesday--"S" is for "Sonorous Saturday"

It's that time of year again....the season of 'slavas,' which are Orthodox Serbs' saints' days. I've explained last year. Some of the local Roma or gypsy population here wander through neighborhoods trying to earn some money by playing music. One definition of 'sonorous' is
"full and loud, deep, heavy sounds," and these two guys played true to form last Saturday afternoon, the day of the Saint Archangel slava. Like others in my building, I clipped some money with a clothespin and tossed it down to them. You can see that the drummer spotted me and my camera...!

Post your entry for ABC WEDNESDAY!

"Real Good for Free" Part II

The other day I showed you this musician playing another kind of instrument. Here we see a man with his grandson playing away, again not really for free, but in the hopes of earning a few dinars. I always thought learning to play the accordion must be really hard...

The Other Side of the Tracks

These two photos, showing you a view in two opposite directions, represent a hot social issue in Belgrade. Just a little over a year ago, I showed you this photo regarding an international sport competition organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) under the sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee. From July 1st to the 12th, this competition brings together student sportsmen and sportswomen. The second photo shows only part of the many new apartment buildings going up to house the competitors. These apartments will then be sold, and actually quite a few of them already have.

So that the competitors (and future occupants) won't have to look out on the huts of several hundred gypsy and refugee families who are living in the unhygienic conditions you can see in the first photo, the City has razed their homes, forcing them to the streets. The City has promised new housing to those squatters who have national identity cards, but only a tiny percent do. These are primarily Serbs who have escaped from Kosovo, and not the gypsies.

The sign you see on both photos reads, "No one is worried about Belgrade's citizens. They're only interested in refugees. They get everything, and Belgrade's children get nothing, and must go on the street. We are praying for help."

This is an eternal problem for Belgrade's gypsy population. In the past, they have been promised resettlement, but residents near possible relocation sites have staged protests to keep them out.

What's your view?

Upside down in the mirror

It's quite common here for Roma (gypsies) of all ages, from the very youngest to adults, to beg for a few coins while cars are stopped at traffic lights. Some are quite imaginative with their begging, like this young boy who did a handstand, hoping to elicit some sympathy.

Hard times ahead?

Everyone's saying that there's a world financial crisis and that the situation is only going to worsen in 2009, but for some people, like the Roma or gypsy in this photo, nothing much is going to change. He and others like him will continue to forage around the city for necessary items to use or resell.

The Sleeping Gypsy Part Two

Another "camera on my lap discreetly" photo from me. This poor young Roma or gypsy mother had just conked out while breastfeeding her baby. She slept all through the ride downtown, but the baby woke up as I took the photo. I'd taken another photo of a different Sleeping Gypsy (art lovers will know the painting I'm referring to) here .

FLASH! The Flintstones Visit Belgrade!

I'll bet Fred and Wilma pimped their foot-powered car and drove it to Belgrade, where I had the great fortune to photograph it, though the Flintstones were nowhere in sight. This little eco-friendly beauty has it all: air conditioning, spacious trunk, great visibility, padded seats and headrests, plenty of headroom, and space for the family dog...or small dinosaur. Its easily-readable gas gauge tells you at a glance how much fuel you have left, and entering and exiting is a breeze (literally). Best of all, spare parts are never a problem, and I think Fred and Wilma were probably out shopping for headlights. (I was wondering if those green ropes are seatbelts... )



P.S. This actually is a car that is regularly driven by Romi, or gypsies, as they make their rounds throughout the city, picking up old newspapers, metal, or odds and ends.

The Sleeping Gypsy

This scene reminds me of a famous painting byHenri Julien Félix Rousseau (1884-1910), a French Post-Impressionist Naive or Primitive painter. He is also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer) after his place of employment. Rousseau painted many scenes of jungles and other exotic places, claiming to have been inspired by the rainforests of Mexico where he said he'd done his military service...but he hadn't. He'd simply spent hours in Paris's Jardin des Plantes, or botanical gardens, which also have a small zoo. Ridiculed during his life, he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality. This painting, entitled La Bohemienne Endormie or The Sleeping Gypsy, is one of my favorites. Years after being painted in 1897, the gypsy woke up in the MOMA in New York in 1939, thanks to the donation of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim, and then went back to sleep. (If you're wide awake, you can see me somewhere in this photo taking the picture....)

The Roma Recycle

Yesterday, April 8th, was International Roma Day. "Roma" isn't the city, but rather the name for the ethnic group most of us call gypsies. It was a day dedicated to call attention to respect for the human rights of the Roma. Roma are the largest minority in Europe, where they often face violence, police brutality and systematic discrimination in education, employment, and housing, particularly in post-communist countries. Persecution of Roma is a continuing problem and monitoring through intergovernmental organizations can improve the human rights of Roma minorities across Europe. In this picture, several Roma are carting back treasures they've found either for their own use or to resell.