Our swearing-in ceremony was last Friday! Oh I was so excited to finally begin my service as I have been waiting for this moment since….well, forever. And yesterday, I finally went to work at my organization for the first time as an official Peace Corps Volunteer.
And in my first two days of official service, I learned something fascinating. Of course I’m in a constant state of learning in the Peace Corps, but this came unexpected. As you may be aware/unaware, Georgia actually has many minorities living in its borders, many of which come of neighboring states. However, yesterday I learned that there is an ethnic minority called the “Roma.” And no, it is has nothing to do with Rome, but it they may possibly come from Romania or Moldova many, many YEARS ago (to the point where they can’t really trace it back). Essentially, they have been living in Georgia for many generations. However, they are not very integrated into the Georgian society.
What makes them unique is that they are extremely marginalized in society and endure many negative stereotypes. Most of them do not have any documentation, passports, or typically receive aid from the government. Many of them work for scraps, some beg, and others read palms for a living. Due to their hardships, most of the children do not attend school (or at least regularly). They are also very private and generally do not like interference from the government or other organizations.
Fortunately, my organization works with them at a somewhat regular basis to try to improve their living situation and offer assistance. I felt very honored and humbled that I was able to join in on a site visit to their community. We went to the chief’s house (or the head of the tribe if you will). He was very warm and answered all the questions that my organization had with such openness.
The whole experience was very humbling. This man lived with his entire family- and no, I don’t mean just his wife and 2 kids. I mean, with his wife and 24 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren! In total, I believe he said that 36 people live in a TINY 2 bedroom home that doesn’t really have a kitchen or bathroom. There was a bathtub in the front yard, but I believe they just used it for storing water. They could be taking bucket baths, I’m not really sure on that part. They had an outhouse. They cooked outside on with some gas and fire. All the children slept on the floor on very thin mattresses. Then they roll up the mattresses in the morning so that it does not clutter the floor during the day. The house barely had any furniture. You could tell that the home was super nice back in the day because it had wall-paper, but the wall-paper was barely in existence today. The floorboards were becoming undone. According to American standards, this home was beyond any standard of minimum living conditions.
So I stood there asking questions. I stood there impressed by their willingness and strength. I stood there humbled by a man who had life skills that I have never had to learn. I stood their with kindness and gratefulness that this man allowed me into his home.
But most importantly, it gave me another reality check (trust me, there are so many in the Peace Corps). The privilege we don’t even know we have is astonishing. We have all heard the stories, but seeing it is different. I have never been inside a home of someone who begs for a living. I have never been inside a home of someone who collects scraps. It provides an element to their story that we miss and do not get the opportunity to know. Some of us don’t want to know. But we should. Maybe if we did we would all be kinder, more patient, and more emphatic. The world is starving for that. And that is why I love today, it gave me an opportunity to learn and understand a bit more of the struggles that I have never had to face.
*For more information, feel free to read this article: Roma People. Please note that I did not receive any benefit linking this article nor did I obtain permission from the author. I’m simply adding this for reference as the author has more knowledge than I do.