A False Dawn: Volume 16: My Life as a Gypsy Woman in Slovakia by Elena Lackova, Ilona Lackova

From the Publisher

"The future of the Gypsies of the Czech and Slovak Republics does indeed look dark. But the indomitable spirit of Ilona Lackova is an inspiration for her fellow Roma." "Her life spans the century. One of the nine children born in a Gypsy settlement in Slovakia where they grew up, despised and mocked by the peasants on whom they depended for work, she was married early and at the outbreak of war was a mother herself. Fear of the fascist Hlinka Guard who shaved the heads of Gypsy girls and sent the men to labour camps dominated their lives." "New opportunities came with the arrival of the Russians and the hope of a new life in a socialist society where all were equal. She wrote a play about life in a Gypsy settlement during the war and toured the country with a theatre company of family and friends. Education and appointment as a party official gave her a chance to help her fellow Gypsies whose conditions were even worse than before the war. But the socialist state was a false dawn, the Roma were discouraged from using their own language, began to lose their self respect and were sometimes starving." "This is the fascinating story of a woman whose life has been an exercise in building bridges to span the chasm of misunderstanding between two worlds." "Romipen - Romani tradition, culture and language - has been the guiding force of her life, a source of strength and independence whatever the circumstances. Here is the world as seen through the lucid and critical gaze of Gypsy eyes. Scathing irony gives the reader an insight into Romani social and cultural life, its joys and sorrows, festivals and crises, the troubles associated with finding a place to live, with work, with school, the Second World War and the politics of racism and rejection."--BOOK JACKET.

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