I still remember the moment I went with my parents to cast a ballot in an election for the very first time – we all got dressed up and left the house together as a family. It was an important day for us.
My parents considered it their duty and were very well aware that it was also their right. I also perceive voting to be a basic part of my life.
Recently I saw a film about the life of Nelson Mandela and it reminded me of how much effort he and his followers had to expend to achieve the right to vote in free elections. What they had to go through defies belief.
That film gave me a lot to think about. I recommend other Romani people watch it and learn about Mandela’s life so they can realize they should not treat their right to vote with such a lack of interest.
We all are responsible for making the country we live in the way it is. Do you believe a single vote makes no difference?
That’s just an excuse. By voting we are showing the people who could change our living conditions our belief in them, we are empowering them.
Local politics in cities and municipalities is the closest to Romani people’s daily lives, and by voting locally we can influence housing conditions, or where children go to school. I always vote on the basis of the maximum amount of information available, I do my best to find the public figures who I know will keep their word and whose behavior and decision-making I am aligned with.
Go vote for your local assemblies! If you don’t vote, then don’t complain later on that life here is heading in a different direction than you had in mind.
