Public Defender for Protection of Roma Culture and Traditions in the Country

The Public Defender of Georgia requests the government to protect the Roma culture and traditions. The Ombudsman’s report to the parliament states that in accordance to the Framework Convention for the Protection of Ethnic Minorities the state shall create appropriate conditions for the concrete minority to preserve their language as a main part of their identity.

“Only Roma people speak Roma language in Georgia; the society has meager information about this language- mostly the people employed in the corresponding institutions who work on Roma problems. Acknowledgement of the importance of Roma language and preserving the language for the ethnic group is urgently necessary because losing the mother-tongue threatens the identity of any ethnic group,” the report stresses out.

The Public Defender underscored that popularization of the Roma Culture is not promoted in Georgia and big part of society does not have information about their culture and traditions. The general opinion of the society on this ethnic group relies on stereotypes.

Head of non-governmental organization in Leninovka village, Dedoplistskaro district, told the Public Defender’s Office that Roma people eventually lose their culture and traditions that might finally end into their assimilation.

“Consequently, the state should take measures to preserve the culture and traditions of Roma people. It could support not only preservation of the Roma culture for ethnic group, but it could support their further integration with Georgian society that is obligatory for Georgia due to its membership to the Framework Convention for the Protection of Ethnic Minorities,” said the Public Defender.

The native language of Roma community in Georgia is Roma with Krim and Vlakh dialect. Their knowledge of Georgian language depends on their place of residence. There is no exact statistics how many Roma live in Georgia. Their settlements are in Samgori district, Tbilisi, in the village of Gachiani, Gardabani district, in the village of Leninovka in Dedoplistskaro district, in Telavi, in Avangardi district in Kutaisi, in Batumi and Kobuleti.

Interpresnews