Ugrás a fő tartalomra

Stand up for yourself, stand up for your dreams!


I am Ákos Varga, I am 20 years old. After primary school, I continued my studies in Kisvárda. Unfortunately, as early as the age of 14, I have experienced what is it like if you are regarded as different because of your origin. I got into the advanced English/German class of an elite high school with 30 students. Out of 30 students, I was the only Gypsy. A Gypsy coming from a small village whose parents have only finished the 8 years of primary school. It was not easy to settle in. It took me one year to be accepted by my classmates. In the first year, I had to cope with slander and racist comments that were implicitly but undoubtedly addressed to me. Thanks to them did I first have such negative experiences and I say thanks because these offences persuaded me to show the people what I am really like.

My story started at a PE lesson, playing football, when my peers shouted to me: "Run, Gypsy!" Suddenly, I did not know what to do as no such thing had happened to me before. I replied shouting back a dirty word. But it was me who got the fuzzy end of the lollipop, it was me who had to make 10 push-ups for speaking dirty. After this incident, bullying and negative comments on Gypsy people continued.

There was a central figure in the class who hated Gypsies openly and he was even proud of it; we were "archenemies". The turning point came when I was drawn into conflict with this guy. The situation was worsening, we were almost fighting when my homeroom teacher – whom I owe a lot and will be grateful forever – entered the room. At that point it became clear how difficult my situation was in this community. My homeroom teacher rearranged the seating, and thanks to this my classmates started to be more open and interested in me. We started to speak and became friends.  

The end of my story is of course happy, as for the last two years I became a central figure of the class. I complied our show for the prom and I taught the dance to my peers, too. At graduation, the homeroom teacher praised me for the community service I did and rewarded me with a book.

Presently, I am a 3rd year social pedagogy student at the University of Nyíregyháza. My goal is to help Roma children to handle discrimination and to stand up against it. This is my message to everyone who is bullied or discriminated against: "Stand up for yourself, stand up for your dreams, stand against discrimination!"

The post was written by Ákos Varga at the Feather Picking workshop of Independent Theatre.

Megjegyzések

Népszerű bejegyzések ezen a blogon

We Are Unstoppable

What does family, parents and siblings mean to us? What do we do for our family members and what does the family do for us? How can we help each other in life? My story is about my younger brother, I consider him a hero in my life. Gábor is a simple man with a huge heart who is very honest and enduring. His endurance in work makes him a real hero. He works 16 hours five days a week as a cook; he gets up every morning and goes to work because that’s his job. He was 18 when he got a great opportunity to work abroad as a chef, naturally making much more money than here, at home. Had he accepted it, his life would have changed radically, but he didn’t want to leave me and our mom alone. It is just the three of us and we would never leave each other. He has superhuman strength. He moved in with Mom who had to be cared for because of her health, but we never felt that is a burden; we are one and everyone does their bit without complaint – Gábor works, Mom takes care of the household, I s...

Letter to my 14 years old self

If you had the opportunity to talk to your 15-year-old self, what would you say? What would you say thank you for? What would you warn her about? What qualities would you be proud of? What advice would you give to your younger self? Dear Kinga! I’m writing you this letter because today afternoon we have talked about heroes. I was asked who I consider to be a hero in my life and why. Immediately I wondered if I can be my own hero – why not? This letter is to my 15-year-old self, with lots of love. There are a few things that you don’t know yet (you are good at writing poetry, rollerblading is not for you, it was a great decision to dye your hair) but I do already. And to this very day there are a few things that I learn from you. I know that you like to be comfortable, too, there is something very warm and reassuring in being safe. But this is not enough for you, you leave your comfort zone again and again. You stand up for yourself, for other people, for your principles and truth, for ...

If you can’t find a book, write it yourself! – Richard R. O’Neill in conversation

The Hungarian premier of the play ‘ The Hardest Word’ by the British writer and storyteller took place at Roma Heroes Festival. The story is about a Scottish woman who gets it into her head to force the first minister to apologise for the centuries-long discrimination of Scottish travellers. His other play, ‘ The Management Reserves the Right’ focuses on the everyday practice of Scottish barmen not letting Traveller guests enter the pub. The heroes of his plays, just as Richard himself, turn to other people as equal partners with smiling firmness – no matter whether the other is the first minister or the barman. Richard believes that  –  even in hard times  –  it is indispensable to keep our sense of humour and respect each other: that is how we can get on. Books and writing have outstanding importance in Roma and Gypsy communities: the world will get to know our point of view, our children will find plays or even tales portraying their own culture only if we ...