{"id":10673,"date":"2024-01-12T14:22:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T13:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/?p=10673"},"modified":"2024-01-12T14:26:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T13:26:31","slug":"dikh-he-na-bister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/dikh-he-na-bister\/","title":{"rendered":"Dikh He Na Bister"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo published by courtesy of <\/i>Dikh He Na Bister – Roma Genocide Remembrance <\/b><\/i>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DikhHeNaBister<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

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El\u017cbieta Mirga-W\u00f3jtowicz<\/p>\n

Dikh He Na Bister – young Europeans commemorate the Roma Genocide during the Second World War<\/b><\/p>\n

A few months ago, another edition, this time the 13th, of the Dikh He na Bister (Look and don’t forget) project, the only youth project in Europe dedicated to the Genocide of the Roma during the Second World War, came to an end. Dikh He na Bister is an initiative of the International Roma Youth Network ternYpe (youth – Romani language)1<\/sup><\/a>, which has been the main organiser of the event since 2010.<\/p>\n

TernYpe, the initiator and organiser of the project, has been commemorating 2 August, the day of remembrance of the Roma Genocide, with its partners since 2010 by organising large meetings2<\/sup><\/a> of young Roma and non-Roma in Cracow and O\u015bwi\u0119cim. The meetings are dedicated to young people and focus on education about the history of the Roma during the Second World War, the history of resistance, activism and mobilisation. The initiative aims to raise awareness among young Europeans, NGOs, state actors and institutions about the extermination of Roma during the Second World War. It is an opportunity to discuss the current challenges and experiences of racism, hate speech and rising extremism in Europe. An important element of the meetings are workshops, discussions about anti-Gypsyism, discrimination, extremism and populism faced in Europe today. By strengthening cooperation between Roma and non-Roma youth and youth organisations, the initiative shapes collective historical memory, awareness and respect for human rights. The initiative strengthens young Europeans’ awareness of their causal role and responsibility within their communities and the need to build civil society.<\/p>\n

A key component of the project is the visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the organisation of the so-called Roma Youth commemoration at Crematorium V, participation in the memorial ceremony at the monument of the murdered Roma, as well as meetings with the few remaining Witnesses – Roma survivors of the Holocaust. For ternYpe – an international network of young Roma, the Roma genocide is one of the flagship projects and areas of attention. The merits of the project’s content and its growing reach have been recognised by the European institutions, selecting it as one of 27 national projects in the European Charlemagne Youth Prize competition in 2011.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that Poland was the first in Europe to officially recognise 2 August as the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust of Roma and Sinti, which was established by a resolution of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) on 29 July 2011.3<\/sup><\/a> This day commemorates the so-called liquidation action of the “Gypsy camp” in Auschwitz-Birkenau, when during one night from 2 to 3 August 1944, the surviving inmates – more than 4,000 women, children and men of Roma origin – were murdered. As a tribute to the Roma and Sinti, victims of German Nazi genocide, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland establishes 2 August as the Day of Remembrance for the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti<\/i> – this is the text of the resolution adopted by Sejm – the Parliament of the Republic of Poland.<\/p>\n

The Roma and Sinti started to fight for remembrance, for recognition of their extermination and for the popularisation of the memory of the Roma as victims of the Second World War rather late, because only since the 1970s. Since the beginning of the 1990s, ceremonies commemorating the extermination of the Roma and Sinti at the site of the German Auschwitz-Birkenau camp were organised on 2 August by Roma and Sinti associations from Poland and Germany. However, they were not official commemorations, although they were financially supported by the Polish authorities and representatives of the authorities took part in them.<\/p>\n

The establishment of 2 August as the official Day of Remembrance for the Genocide of the Roma by a resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland was a historic event and an important element in the gradual restoration of Europeans’ collective memory of the so-called Forgotten Holocaust – the extermination of Roma and Sinti. On 2 February 2011, a week after the Holocaust commemoration, the European Parliament commemorated the Roma Genocide through a special debate in plenary. In his speech, Jerzy Buzek, the President of the Parliament, stressed that only a few countries had officially recognised the Roma Genocide. The European Parliament officially declared 2 August as the European Day of Remembrance for the Murdered Roma and Sinti only in 2015.4<\/sup><\/a> In the following years, countries such as Germany, Austria, Croatia, Lithuania, Canada and Hungary also joined in support of this initiative.<\/p>\n

While the Dikh He Na Bister initiative has received recognition from the European institutions, the individual actions taken by young Europeans are equally important. Awareness of their role and responsibility towards the community and the building of civil society are key aspects supported by this project.<\/p>\n

The long-term goals of the Dikh He Na Bister project include ongoing research and scholarly discussions on identifying extermination places, documenting and commemorating memorial areas. Particular attention is paid to the involvement of young Roma in continuously expanding their historical awareness and stimulating their activity in their communities. In many countries, these young people, who have been participants in the Dikh He Na Bister project for many years, are the initiators and originators of local projects documenting and commemorating the Roma Genocide, filling in and bridging gaps in local histories and building Roma heritage.5<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Despite progress, the process of commemorating the Roma Genocide remains open. In the face of contemporary socio-political challenges, such as the conflict in Ukraine, there are many aspects that need further work and attention. However, the Dikh He Na Bister initiative clearly shows that the Romani\u2019 past during World War II is becoming increasingly recognised and respected, which is an important step towards building a more complete and fair history.<\/p>\n

The Dikh He Na Bister project clearly demonstrates that there is now recognition of the Roma extermination, also called the Roma Genocide, the Roma Holocaust, Porajmos, Samudaripen, during the Second World War as a historical fact. This recognition is reflected in the decisions of important national and international institutions, which are willing to fund and support various initiatives related to this topic. Continuous research and scholarly discussions on the identification of extermination and murder sites are taking place, and more memorial areas are being documented, marked and commemorated. Many activities are directed towards young Roma, who, like others, should know their history, be inspired and empowered by it and be involved in the development of their communities. Nevertheless, this does not mean that all aspects of Roma extermination commemoration have already been accomplished. It is a long-term process, started decades ago by the Roma themselves, especially the German Sinti, and all the more so given the current socio-political situation, linked, among other things, to the war in Ukraine, much remains to be done.<\/p>\n

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1<\/a>\u0002<\/sup> The organisation was established in 2009, founded by several European Romani youth organisations. TernYpe is the first umbrella organisation for Romani youth in Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2<\/a>\u0002<\/sup> In 2014 and 2019, ternYpe brought together 1,000 participants in Cracow and O\u015bwi\u0119cim.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3<\/a>\u0002<\/sup>https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/mniejszosci-narodowe-i-etniczne\/2-sierpnia–dzien-pamieci-o-zagladzie-romow<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4<\/a>\u0002<\/sup>https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/news\/en\/press-room\/20150414IPR41851\/meps-urge-end-to-roma-discrimination-and-recognition-of-roma-genocide-day<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5<\/a>\u0002<\/sup> https:\/\/2august.eu\/category\/we-learn\/<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Dr El\u017cbieta Mirga-W\u00f3jtowicz<\/b><\/span><\/span> is a cultural animator, political scientist and researcher, a graduate of the Jagiellonian University. She works as an assistant professor at the Centre for Migration Research at the University of Warsaw. She has almost 15 years of experience working in government administration in the field of state policy towards ethnic and national minorities and in coordinating integration policy towards Roma in Poland. In 2008-2014, she was Plenipotentiary of the Ma\u0142opolska Voivode for National and Ethnic Minorities. Author of evaluation reports for the European Commission under the Roma Civil Monitor project (2017-2020) and Roma Civil Monitor II (2021-2025). Author of scientific and popular articles on Roma issues. For the last 13 years she has co-organised an international Roma Holocaust commemoration project with Ternype: \u201cDikh He Na Bister\u201d. Member of the board of the Jaw Dikh Foundation. Member of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). Graduate of the Roma Leadership Academy \u201cNicolae Gherorghe\u201d (2019) organised by the OSCE\/ODIHR\/Contact Point on Roma and Sinti, scholarship holder of the U.S. Department of State International Leadership Visitor Program (2010), graduate of the Roma Access Program at the Central European University (2006) and intern of the European Commission (2005).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo published by courtesy of Dikh He Na Bister – Roma Genocide Remembrance https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DikhHeNaBister   El\u017cbieta Mirga-W\u00f3jtowicz Dikh He Na Bister – young Europeans commemorate the Roma Genocide during the Second World War A few months ago, another edition, this time the 13th, of the Dikh He na Bister (Look and don’t forget) project, the … Czytaj dalej Dikh He Na Bister<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bez-kategorii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10673"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10679,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10673\/revisions\/10679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-drom.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}