Vol 2, No 8 2001 pp. 409 - 431
UDC 316.334.52(=914.99)+316.723(=914.99)
ROMANIES, OUR NEIGHBORS
Dragoljub B. Đorđević
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Niš
Abstract. The Romanies of Niš share the common fate of the Serbian Romanies. Niš is - and this is one of its peculiarities - "a Gypsy town" since it has about 30 thousand "dark boys." They have been living for centuries on the banks of the river Nišava, namely in the distant villages, in the suburban settlements, at the city fringes, in their separate city quarters or deeply hidden in the city center; they are ethnically and culturally different, Orthodox or Muslim by confession, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, known and anonymous, excellent musicians or common old paper collectors, employed in industries or hired workers, workers at the conveyer belt or small-scale sellers, quiet citizens or noisy city hoodlums. The people of Niš meet them at every step; they have little or no immediate contacts. Still, the citizen of Niš does not know them; he is ignorant of where they are from and when they settled here, where and how they live, how and what god they are praying to, where they hurry and what they do, why they are like "that" and not like "this"... From ignorance to prejudice - there is only one step. Many citizens of Niš have not made such a step, but, on the other hand, many of them have accepted the stereotypes about the Romanies.
Key Words:  Romanies, Ghettoization of the Romanies, Schooling of the Romanies, Skinheads, Ethnic-religious Distance Towards the Romanies
ROMI, NAŠE KOMŠIJE
Niški Romi dele opštu sudbinu srpskih. Niš jeste, što mu je jedna od osobenosti, i "ciganjski grad" jer ima oko 30 hiljada "garavih momaka". Žive ti oni vekovima na obalama Nišave: po udaljenim selima, u prigradskim naseljima, na obodima grada, po izdvojenim malama ili duboko utkani u urbano jezgro; etnički i kulturno raznoliki, veroispovedno pravoslavni i muslimani, imućni i bedni, školovani i nepismeni, poznati i anonimni, vrsni muzikanti i obični sakupljači stare hartije, upošljeni u teškoj industriji i napoličari, radnici za trakom i sitni preprodavci, mirni građani i bučni huligani. Nišlija ih sreće na svakom koraku, imajući ikakve ili nikakve neposredne dodire, ali ih dovoljno ne poznaje: odakle su i kada se ovde nastaniše, gde i kako žive, kako se i kome bogu mole, kuda to žure i šta rade, zašto su "ovakvi" a ne "onakvi"... Od nepoznavanja do predrasuda - samo korak deli. Mnogi Nišlija nije još koraknuo, ali su i brojni sugrađani iskoračili u stereotipe povodom Roma.
Ključne reči:  Romi, getoizacija Roma, školovanje Roma, skinhedi, etnička-religijska distanca spram Roma