The Voice of Roma People and Stories of the Community

Stories of minorities often circulate within their own communities, but how can they reach a wider audience? In Estonian society, several misconceptions and incomplete understandings about the Roma community continue to persist. For a long time, the Roma have been viewed as standing outside of the society. Here, the stories themselves, their sharing and creating space for them are central.

One such story featured in the exhibition “Difficult Pasts. Connected Worlds” is Bergitta’s, documented in Jaana Kokko’s video, from the so-called Porridge Hill in Valga, where the Roma have lived for generations. The event uses food and its sharing as a way to create a communal space and bring stories from the Roma community to a wider audience. During the event, Jaana Kokko’s film Roma Mountain (2022) will be screened, followed by a discussion moderated by Anette Ross.

Anette Ross is a researcher of the Roma language and Roma multilingualism, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Helsinki. She has worked on different educational and cultural projects related to the Roma.

Farida Tsimbota is a teacher at a school for Roma language and culture and she has shared her family’s stories through various cultural and artistic projects.

Jaana Kokko is a feminist artist living and working in Helsinki. In her creative research she has focused on the stories of the Roma community in the border town of Valga/Valka between Estonia and Latvia.