"BRAZIL: Roma Women and Families Say ‘We Exist!’"

 Natalia Viana – Women News Network – WNN


This article orginally appeared in its entirety here.

At the camp Roma gypsy sisters live in a close-knit community, São Paulo, Brazil. Image: Paulo Pepe

São Paulo, BRAZIL: On the outskirts of São Paulo, it’s easy to miss the orange tents amid the tufts of grass in Itaquaquecetuba from the whirl of the freeway. But with a closer look, a Gypsy camp shows its colours: a dozen or so tents with embroidered pieces of fabric hung on improvised walls.

Like thousands of gypsy, or Roma camps – as they prefer to be called – in Brazil, they have no electricity or water, even though the families have been living there for over 20 years. There are no toilets or sanitation: all 100 people use a corner hidden behind an abandoned building.

They decided to stick with this campsite because better ones are growing scarcer. “We are not welcome in many places. When you put up your tent, city council officers come to throw you out”, explains Claudinei Pereira. Only a few local administrations in Brazilian cities provide land for the Roma. In many places, like here in Itaquaquecetuba, they live on private land, and risk being thrown off at anytime.

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