“To be Roma means to be a fighter.”

Macedonia is home to the world’s largest Roma settlement but as a result of ongoing discrimination many members of the Roma community do not have access to healthcare or education⎼⎼especially women and undocumented ‘phantoms’. Follow Kelly Giardina on assignment as we dive deeper into these systemic problems as well as ways the Roma community and organizations like HERA are addressing them and fighting for each other.

Watch Fighter

The Roma people have historically been discriminated against based on prejudice stereotypes forcing them to live outside government systems. HERA’s top priority is to make healthcare more accessible to this systematically disenfranchised group.

HERA—Health Education and Research Association was founded in January 2000 by six volunteers. Over the years, HERA has been advocating for better policies as they believe in the freedom of choice and diversity. HERA provides free and confidential services for sexual and reproductive health and for gender-based violence, as accessibility, availability and confidentiality stand indivisible from people’s health. They educate about sexual rights because strong citizenry and sustainable democratic society remain unattainable without comprehensive information and youth participation. HERA empowers the marginalized, because for a society to become inclusive, it must rely on social justice.

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Photo by Kelly Giardina

director’s statement

“I’ve noticed that in the travel industry people often refer to themselves as ‘gypsies’ not knowing how derogatory and offensive that word really is. Cultural appropriation and the misuse of language that results in harm for marginalized communities is something that I have always been passionate about when educating others. The Roma people are a nomadic community derived from Northern India who have faced persecution and discrimination as they have moved farther and farther west through Europe. The word ‘gypsy’ has been used as an insult and tool to perpetuate stereotypes and further marginalize the Roma community. There are so many ways we create harm unintentionally and the more know the better we can show up in the world. When we heard about the work HERA was doing in Macedonia, we knew we wanted to support them in any way we could. We hope it will inspire audiences to rethink using the term ‘gypsy’ and represents a dedication to the ongoing fight for justice as well as an amplification of the voices on the ground who are directly affected by discrimination. This documentary is a clear demonstration of how systemic discrimination operates.”
—Danielle Da Silva