Introduction
I must begin this essay
by recognizing the value of May 24, a date that promotes an important and
unprecedented visibility for Roma people in Brazil. This tribute, from the public
authorities points to fundamental rights, social inclusion, appreciation and
recognition of a group historically marginalized by society. There is no doubt
that the creation of a date to commemorate the existence, cultures, value and
Roma participation in national history is a way to minimize and repair some
consequences of racism and gynophobia practiced by the State and society for
centuries.
Decree 10841 [2],
signed by then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, "integrated a series
of measures aimed specifically at this ethnic minority" [3]. This public
recognition as a positive gesture was accompanied by the creation of the Roma
Interministerial Working Group (CTI Cigano) under the premise that the specific
demands of Roma were not being addressed by existing public policies. It was
necessary to advance and meet this agenda, considering the ethnic and social
aspects that defined the Roma communities. This is a first look that we can and
should take in relation to May 24th.
On the other hand, it is
necessary to observe the referred date from other angles, considering symbolic
and cultural effects in the daily life of Brazilian Gypsy communities, whether
in relation to their identification with the representations that are made of
the date by the public authority, or by their meanings, associations and
interests involved. Soon after the aforementioned decree, gypsies from
different groups, segments, and places debated and discussed the choice of date,
signaling the little participation of civil society in the process, since the
tribute would be for a significant population, perhaps between 500 thousand and
1 million people. people.
I remember that during
the days before the ceremony (we had a training agenda with the Ministry of
Culture) that marked the first celebration of the Day of the Gypsy, held in May
2007 in the sumptuous Black Hall of the Palace of Justice, in Brasília -DF,
many activists debated, critically, about the possible consequences of the relationship that the State would be promoting by associating “Santa Sara Kali
Day” with the “National Day of the Gypsy”. In the "corridor"
conversations, between one program and another, there was talk about
constitutional secularism, the general non-identification of Brazilian gypsies
with that saint and the commemorative differentiation in relation to April 8,
International Roma Day.
With this short
introduction, I will deal with a little more detail about the problematization
that we have around the N
Writen by Igor Shimura
https://estudosciganosbrasileiros.blogspot.com/2020/05/o-dia-nacional-do-cigano-e-seus-efeitos.html?m=1