Use Your Eyes

We often judge other people because of their clothes, their outfit, the color of their hair or skin. However, it can happen that the one who helps us in need is someone who we would never have expected to do so. If we are open and not prejudiced our everyday life becomes more beautiful.

I am a blond with green eyes, I had an amazing childhood and I have great parents who I owe a lot. When I was a child, I didn't hear much about Gypsy people, I didn't know any Gypsies in my close environment. If this topic ever came up, people talked about them in a negative way. It was the well known triangle of lying, cheating, stealing. I never really cared about this, I was a child, I was not interested, still, I was a bit afraid of Roma people. I didn't know why, it was inexplicable.

I was nine years old. One day, me and my brother wanted to go home but I run out of money, be couldn't buy bus tickets. My brother got so scared that he started to cry and I suddenly didn't know what to do. I tried to comfort him. I'll never forget that feeling, he cried so heartbreakingly that I started to cry, too. All at once, a woman came to us. She was very old, her voice was soft and her face looked kind. She smiled at us and asked what the problem was. I told her that we had no money left. The Gypsy woman in pleated skirt and scarf bought us two extra tickets. I thanked her, got on the bus and when we arrived home I told the story to my parents.

This woman didn't care who we were, where we came from, how we were dressed. She saw that we were in need and she didn't think twice about helping us. She became our hero. As an adult I aim to change the negative opinion of my surrounding about Roma and immigrant people. Unfortunately, this is very difficult, we are raised to be afraid of the unknown. But I won't give up, I try to live my life to be an example for others.

The blog entry was written by the participants of Roma Heroes workshop.