يعرض الآن

Faithful-Rend Collective Experiment
ﺍﺳﺘﻤﻊ ﻟﻠﺒﺚ ﺍﻟﻤﺒﺎﺷﺮ

The Dormai society

Helping educate in the holy land

عربى

I'm with Amoun Sleem from Domari society, Now Amoun what is the Domari?.

 

Domari society is a community from Gypsies who live in Palestine and Israel for more than 500 years.

 

Now you have an organization here, when were you started and why were you started?.

 

We started the organization officially in 2000 and officially starting work in 2007, this organization is to promote the gypsy culture and also to open a bridge between other communities who live in the land, Especially from abroad and especially from the local one, so that they can know they has been a  gypsy society has been  existing in the holy land for that many years.

 

Are there many gypsies in Israel today ?

 

Yes we are talking complete with the Gaza strip about 25,000 gypsies who live in the land.

 

So there is quite a lot of gypsies here!

 

Yeah, But like I say the best part is in the Gaza strip, Living there the same time we have been living in Jerusalem actually.

 

And what sort of programs do you run here in the organization?.

 

We run different programs, we are especially focusing in this organization on the women and children and also in the meantime promoting the gypsy culture because not many people know there are gypsies in the holy land. So for women we try to give vocation training so that they can try to build confidence and be active in the society, For children we have a tutoring class for children who are going to the school, to fight illiteracy in the community because we are a huge, huge community, there are some who can't read and write, So we are standing there to fight this illiteracy in my community, so we support them, the ones who are going to school, so that they continue going to the school. We are supporting them with different needs they need for the school so that the child will not have any reason or purpose to drop out from the school in an early age, so we are like a medical center for in a sort of way so they have no reason to say," My Mum, My Father, they can't read or write, they can't help me with their homework, I can't go to the school on the second day", We say "No" , here is the place we can work with them after the school they can come here , if they have English we could really teach, If they have Mathematics or even Hebrew for some children we are we are supporting them in the subjects they need support in from the school.

 

Do the gypsy children face discrimination in the school or are they accepted.?

 

Sorry to say that that is one of the main issues that we always face in the school, the children also yes they still feel they are discriminating children in the school and they are treated differently than other children.

 

Does that cause them to drop out of school, that is why they need the extra education ?.

 

Exactly, so that is one of the purposes are as well the child feels that he has not been loved or even been treated differently than other children.

 

Is that amongst other children or is it teachers as well?.

 

Children are children, they don't have difference between each other, I am sure the main issue is the teachers in the school, when they see a child and he looks darker maybe or even dressing less expensive than other children, Immediately she can focus or even see the children is from the community.

 

So there are lots of pressures when they go into school?.

 

Defiantly, Defiantly!

 

Is there a big lack of education amongst the Damari community?.

 

Yes there is a great number in the community who can't read or write and they have been dropping out at  very early age, So illiteracy in the community is maybe like 80%.

 

And part of that work that you are doing is also working with the women and to help them!

 

We try to make some change in the society so we think that women are very important and she is the building of the house, so we try with them to make some kind of point of  moving and change in the society.

 

What sort of programs do you do with the women?.

 

Different kinds of program, we did before illiteracy but it was very difficult because this program should be continued for many years, we are having luck with donations and funding but we are not a people that too many people are interested in So a lot of funding  makes a lot of difference for us to continue these courses, so right now we do short courses like catering courses, sewing course, beauty salon for women so that they can find a job and try to help their own families , those are the kind of courses that we are trying to give to the women, its short, it can be a benefit for the woman and they can enjoy the different communities outside, they can be out from the home, so that is the purpose actually.

 

Why is their illiteracy amongst women?, Is it because they have never been encouraged to go to school in the past?.

 

First of all they drop out and then they marry at a very early age, that is something that the community is struggling with.

 

Is the gypsy community a poor community?.

 

As a study, as a reference, they are considered as  one of the poorest communities in the old city actually.

 

Are they welcomed here in the Holy Land or is their discrimination like in the schools as you said?.

 

Sorry to say like everywhere in the world the Gypsy community has been discriminated community, everywhere in each country, even in Europe, It is the same issue in the middle east, So it is one of the main problem or even the most pain for the community, they feel that they are a rejected society and discriminated society.

 

Now we know that Jews went through the holocaust, gypsies also went through he holocaust as well didn't they ?.

 

The gypsies in Europe, so they have the same history, the same struggling but if you want to compare, Jewish people have much better treatment from the European and many churches and many places around the world than the gypsies, gypsies still now I think don't reach 1% of rights after the holocaust as a Jew receives.

 

Has their always been gypsies in the holy land?.

 

Gypsies have been in existence for more than 500 years so they have been here, they have been here quite a long time.   

 

 How did they live, what was their culture, did they live in tents or did they live in houses ?.

 

No most of them before you know before 100 – 200 years I can say that they were living in some tents and some small communities outside the wall of the old city but right now most of them they are living in and settled down in homes, so they live in different places in the old city actually.

 

Do some Damari gypsies still travel today?.

 

Maybe in some Arab countries, Yes I see In Jordan they were travelling and even in Gaza strip they were a community of going out and in to the Egyptian border and to Larish to live in peace there, but these days not much, sometimes if they are forced, people have forced them to move they move but usually many of them still settle down as a community actually.

 

Is the gypsy community very similar to the Bedouin community?.

 

I don't think so NO. They used to live in some tents a long time ago but totally different style. we don't have that hard life maybe and actually the gypsies when they live in the tent, they live for purpose, they are handy people and they used to work with metals Bedouin only sheep and animals, Gypsies were more handy, totally different but the style of the living it was similar.

 

Now we are in a room and there are lots of handcrafts in the room, are these handcrafts made by the gypsy women?.

 

All this handwork that you see around you, we have been giving courses to the women before or we were encourage women if they can go to the old tradition items and they can try to do some handicraft so that it can be sold from here and the women can get the benefit and the rest we can recycle to get some other stuff so that women can continue to making crafts and to encourage them that there could be a solution to their situation.

 

Are these traditional gypsy crafts?.

 

Yes we are more colorful, we are people of colour so most of the handicraft you see it is mixed up with different colour, different materials where ever it is able that we can reach and try to do something with it from fabric we are always very happy to do, it is totally different than other groups here living in the holy land.

 

Is this bringing dignity into the family ?

 

Yes it brings .

 

Is the Damari society a culture in itself?.

 

It is a culture, when you are speaking about community we have existed in the holy land for so many years and when you are digging inside this community, the roots come from India and they have been travelling around the world and then in the end they settled down in one land for more than 500 years, it is a culture , you cannot deny, it is a culture.

 

What is in that culture, the food, the music, the clothes?.

 

In the food we are always  adopting the food also from the holy land, but we have our own style of spices, like I say the roots come from India and in India they are famous for the spices as well  so you see the gypsy food is maybe stylish   with spice but we are middle east, you have to use the meat that is here but in our own style, a little bit different than Palestinian actually.

 

Do you have different music and different clothing?.

 

Music you can say instruments are similar, so the music is similar, in their blood they are really musicians, they like fun, they like music, but the sad thing that the musicians that live in the holy land were in the Gaza strip, so we don't have any connection because of the political situation right there but they really have many bands and really good bands who are playing beautiful music.

 

Do you get gypsies coming from all around the world visiting you here in the center?.

 

I am happy to say that we are quite well known in different European countries, they know that there are gypsies in the holy land, and they come, we have many communities, they were visiting us like from Finland, from Germany from Denmark from France, honestly different countries , we have pictures from many different groups they have been visiting us over the years, even from the UK there were some gypsies they visited us before.

 

Is it important to preserve the culture of the gypsies here in the land, particularly for the younger generation?.

 

It's very important, it is your identity that you say that you existed and you are one of the ethnic groups who live in the holy land so it is very, very important .

 

What is your prayer for the gypsy community here in the holy land?.

 

I wish to see people accepting this society and that this society can even be registered as one of the ethnic, even one of the minorities who have been in the holy land for that many years and gypsies can have some of the rights similar to many other communities, that is my wish.

 

What is your website for people who would like to know more about the work that you do?.

 

Our Website is www.domarisociety.com   

الاكثر من اخبار الحياة

ﻗﺎﺋﻤﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺮﺍﺳﻼﺕ

اتصل بنا

  • بريد الكتروني studio@radiohayah.ps
  • هاتف (970) 022777019