In the organization of the Association of Romani Women “Bolja Buducnost”, the great Romani holiday St George’s Day (Djurdjevdan) was celebrated at Freedom Square in Tuzla.
”Today we celebrate St. George’s Day for the first time on Freedom Square, and members of the Women’s Roma Network ‘Uspjeh’ from Travnik, Doboj and Prnjavor joined our association. We would like to thank ‘Mesa Selimovic‘ high school from Tuzla, whose students enriched today’s program. We will celebrate St. George’s Day with music, juices, and food, and we really care that it is known that we are here and that we are celebrating our history, tradition and culture,” Indira Bajramovic, president of the Association of Romani Women “Bolja buducnost“, said yesterday.
In addition to celebrating several important dates, Roma celebrate the two biggest Roma holidays, St George’s Day and Elijah’s Day (Alidjun’s Day).
”The Roma who have preserved their traditions have the same celebration. We have been put in a situation where we have no sense of celebration and festiveness because of the poverty that oppresses us. We will continue to work on preserving culture, history and tradition, but also our Roma language,” says Indira Bajramovic.
In the following period, the problems faced by the Roma community will be pointed out. Through the synergy of the non-governmental sector and institutions, progress has been made, but, as Bajramovic says, there is still work to be done.