Working with the Roma

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Rachel Norton is working with the Presbyterian Church’s Young Adult Volunteer Program, with the Roma (Gypsy people) in the Ukraine over the next year. Copies of her letters will be placed on this website Rachel's Letters Letters 1 & 2 Letter 3 Letter 4 Letter 5 Letter 6 Letter 7 Letter 8 Letter 9 Letter 10 Letter 11

 

Rachel Norton - Letter #9 (May 27, 2007)

 

Dear Family and Friends,

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it's summer here! It has been hot and sticky every day this week. This weather has reminded me of people at home; this is the humid sunshine of weddings and graduations. Congratulations to Hannah, Sarah, and Lindsay for earning their respective Masters' degrees! Also, congrats to the Dieterich-Wards, the Herron Lewises, and the Walker Cleavelands on their wedding anniversaries! May is a busy month!

Things have been busy here in Nagydobrony, too. A couple of weekends ago, the volunteers in a neighboring village organized a children's meeting for the Roma kids in the area. Alma and I brought our older group of preschoolers from the South camp. They felt so special to be able to go somewhere outside of their own camp without their parents! Unfortunately, they also really enjoyed lording it over on the other kids who were too young to come with us. Oh well. We rode in a horse cart to the Roma camp in the village of Telek, about an hour away. All the way there, the children were shouting, "we're going all the way to Hungary!" or, "we're going to Russia!" or other exotic, far-off places they've heard of. When we arrived, however, their high spirits dampened a bit. The unfamiliar location and the children from other villages were intimidating to them. Of course, they warmed up eventually and ended up having a nice time. There was singing and dancing, a Bible lesson, and some playtime. When we returned home the kids swaggered about, regaling all with tales of their adventure. Small things (going to another village, meeting new people) take on huge significance for these children because their world is so very tiny. I'm glad we were able to share this experience with them!

The children's day was good practice for some of the children, as summer camps are coming up. Every year, the Roma children throughout Carpathia are invited to stay for a week of camp at the center of Roma mission operations in the village of Csonkapapi. There are six weeks of camp, and I will be there for at least two of them, helping to lead the programs (games, crafts, songs, worship, etc.) and supervising the children. The children from Nagydobrony will get to meet Roma kids from other villages and participate in activities designed just for them! The overtly religious nature of the programming makes me a little nervous, since I know that I won't be in full agreement with all the theological opinions that I will nonetheless be required to endorse. I'm just going to have to keep my mouth shut.

We've received two pieces of disappointing news recently. The first is that one of the young people we know, Renáta, has eloped. She was the narrator in our Christmas pageant. She is fourteen years old, and her new husband is sixteen. They did not date prior to their wedding because there is no socially acceptable way to have a romantic relationship before marriage. There may be some brief, secret courtship before a wedding, but there is certainly no dating around, figuring out what one might want in a future partner. Here in Nagydobrony, it is not uncommon for Roma marriages to occur in this way: a teenaged couple will disappear for a few days to a neighboring village or camp, during which time the two become sexually active. When they return, they announce that they are married (sex and marriage being more-or-less equivalent), and they set up house together. This is, of course, not legally binding. Not surprisingly, these marriages do not always last. A couple can terminate their union quite easily simply by moving into separate homes. There is some risk of public stigmatization, but not for a very long time. Second and third marriages can occur. Mothers often have children by multiple fathers, each of whom were husbands at the times of conception. Now that Renáta is married, she will soon start having children. And there is, therefore, no hope that she will ever get out of the camp.

The other bit of distressing news is that Béla, our Roma mentor and co-worker, wants to stop working with the preschool program and leave the Roma mission altogether. Until now, Béla has used his position as a well-respected member of the Roma congregation to act as our unofficial liaison with the families in the South camp. All of the children love him terribly, and he has therefore been a huge help to Alma and me when we've had discipline problems in the preschool. He has also helped us keep the building cleaned up and ready to be used by the children and the congregation. When Béla first told us of his decision, Alma and I worried that we had done something to upset him, but he assured us that was not the case. Nor is money the central problem (although what he earns for this work is a pittance). It seems the real issue is that some people within the congregation are angry that Béla has been doing this work. I'm not sure why, but I do know it relates in some way to a long-standing power-struggle among the members of the congregation. And I guess Béla has had enough.

In the short-term, this is merely an unfortunate minor inconvenience for Alma and me. By now, the families in the South camp know us, and the children behave about equally as well with or without Béla's presence. In the long-term, however, the consequences of Béla's decision are potentially devastating. What will happen to the preschool program we've worked so hard to establish? I don't know if the ÖDÉ office will send volunteers here next year if there's no one in place to act as their Roma mentor. But even if volunteers do come here, will they be able to get started without Béla's help? I've been trying to think of another person in the camp who might be able to do the work, but no one comes to mind. Alma and I have been writing daily records of what we have done with the children, what was successful and unsuccessful, along with useful information we've learned about the children and the camp and ideas for the future. We've also been using donations to amass mountains of supplies and pay for improvements to the building. We were even hoping to establish a fund here that would continue to purchase the bread and tea that we serve to the children. Now all this preparation for the future of the preschool may have been for nothing. The frustrating thing is that there isn't much we can do about it. Many of you have been very generous with donations of money and supplies, but those things alone aren't enough. There have to be people here to do the work! Those of you who are praying types, would you please pray for the future of this ministry?

I hope all of you are well. If you have a chance, please send an email my way. I can't always respond, but I do love hearing from you all.

Much Love to All,

Rachel

PS. As always, should you wish to contribute to the fund that supports my work here, you can! Just make out a check to the PC(USA) with my name and ECO number, 074436, in the memo line, and mail it to:

The Presbyterian Church (USA)
Individual