Monument to be built in Bucharest to recognise the Roma victims of Romanian slavery

Romania’s capital Bucharest is to have a monument dedicated to the Roma who were slaves in Romania until the mid-nineteenth century.

Slavery had been in existence in the country from around the 13-14th century, with most of the slaves of Roma origin amongst some others who were Tartar. It was not until the 1840s and 50s when this was abolished in stages up until 1856.

The end of February saw the passing of 155 years since the end of this system of exploitation. Leaders of the Roma Centre Amare Rromentza and the European Committee of Krisinitor Roma (CERK) used this opportunity to begin a campaign to raise money in order to build the monument.

For Florin Motoi of CERK, this monument is something that they fully support as it ‘symbolises the recognition of the tragic period of Roma slavery by the Romanian government.’

Roma leaders have announced that correspondence is already taking place with the Minister of Culture and the City Hall to agree on a central city location for the monument. As for the design, this will be the responsibility of Roma sculptor Marian Petre. He has said that the way the monument looks will be dependent on the space but a chain will be a key part of the final creation.

The structure will cost 300,000 euros and will be funded by Roma. The official Romani population of Romania is 535,000 and as pointed out by the president of Amare Rromentza, if each of them donated 50 cents, then the monument could be finished by the end of the year.

Those wishing to offer a donation to help with construction can seek further details on how to do so from Mrs Delia Grigore at rromano@amarerromentza.org.