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CHILDREN
Basically... they play all day long.
We see here little girls acting as teachers...
nurses, stuff like that.
As a child I used to dream...
of making a new start here at the settlement...
to go as far as possible.
I wanted to graduate from high school...
when I finished elementary I felt very proud I did.
I had the opportunity to continue...
I thought, why not?
But It was considered shameful for Aphrodite to attend high school.
To wake up every day at seven in the morning and leave for school...
to spent seven hours there, and ''what does she do there?''
They influenced me so much...
that they persuaded me to quit.
Some kids go to school...
but they never finish it.
They attend until they learn how to read and write and then they drop out
If it's a boy, he has to work to help his family...
If it's a girl... girls never work...
They basically handle the household...
what frustrates me is that they have to get married.
I liked a lot of things at school...
First of all, the interaction I had with the "balamos"(non gypsies).
I liked learning how to read and write.
I never felt it was something boring that I was obliged to do.
I did it because I liked it.
I'll do everything in my power...
for my children to do all the things I could not do.
I want them to accomplish my dream.
FACES
a gypsy girl...
is valued by her housework and her dancing.
If in a celebration...
a girl stands up and dances her father gets all the credit.
It is something that honors him.
Six or seven months ago...
no girl could wear pants in the settlement...
it was considered dishonoring for the father and the brother.
If the father allowed her to wear pants, then it was ok...
but not every day, just once a week...
maybe to a feast or a wedding.
Imagine what would happen if a girl wanted to wear a mini-skirt.
Girls get engaged very young so they won't walk on the bad side
and dishonor their father.
In the gypsy community if a girl has an affair...
hell breaks loose, it is considered a great disrespect...
that is why they all get married at a very young age.
The parents fear that if girls have an affair...
they will refuse to get married...
but they have to.
Just think that 5 year old girls are already spoken for.
They are married by the age of 12 or 13...
and they get pregnant and have families.
It's not easy to find a 16 year old girl that is not married.
It is very rare for an 18 year old girl not to be married.
She is thought to be a spinster.
With boys things are kind of better...
The community thinks, he is a boy, he can find a bride whenever he wants.
He can get married at 20 to a bride of 14 years old.
It is a disgrace for a girl to be involved with someone...
without being engaged or married...
but as time passes, things are getting better, I hope.
If her father saw her in these clothes he would have killed her!
and possing infront of a camera makes it worse.
It is like she's done something really bad.
We would never wear these at my house nor hers'...
We went in a room and dressed up secretly...
so we could take these pictures.
If they see them now, they'll say ''oh they are nice''...
but if I wear these clothes and visit the neighbour...
my father would kill me... He really would!
HOMES
The houses are beautifully decorated...
from the moment you enter...
you get a nice sensation...
you feel happy with what you see.
Many colours, many different objects...
things I never saw in a 'balamos'(non gypsy) house.
They never call craftsmen or builders...
they build the houses themselves and I believe that's very wise.
Some houses in the settlement are made of bricks and tin...
some of wood...
nylon and clay.
If we had electricity we'd surely have a fridge...
we feel that it is the greatest need we have in the settlement.
We have to spend six or seven euros daily...
to buy petrol so we can operate the generator for 2 or 3 hours.
We also have a television and a stereo...
but only for 2 or 3 hours...
that is why we all love films and series...
and we can't get enough of them.
We have to watch television at night...
when we have electricity.
When a house is built, in order to decorate it...
we hang sheets around the walls...
so the place will look beautiful
this is like a custom.
This is the "catuna" or "famili"...
it consists of blankets, quilts and pillows.
We use them only at night...
we lay them down to sleep and in the morning we fold them up.
This is our glassware...
It is a girls dowry and we decorate the house with it.
In every house, you'll see the bibelots and the glassware.
That's the girl's dowry.
We bathe in the launder...
After the water is heated on the gas stove...
they put the launder to bathe.
During the summer it's ok, one can bathe with cold water...
but during winter the whole family has to wait outside...
so one of its members can take a bath.
There is no private room in the house...
for one to bathe.