It’s a documentary that brings to light a community that has largely been forgotten.
—
Intrigued by how such a large group of people could live out of shacks built from anything they could find– as well as earn a wage from endless begging and trading in recyclable materials– 22-year-old Sam Davis filmed Roma, a short and moving documentary about the Roma gypsies living in Albania.
This Roma community was forced to move due to war in 1997 and resettled themselves in the slums of Tirana, the capital of Albania. They are a people who have nowhere to go; nomads without a country and shunned from society as a
whole.
Living in abject poverty and surviving on only a few dollars per day, they eke out a meager living in the urban slums around Tirana’s trash heaps and dumps. They barely have any shelter and live without electricity or running water.
Most have dropped out of school and are illiterate. Because of racism and discrimination, most Roma have very little opportunities for meaningful and successful work.
Unwelcome wherever they go, they spend their day digging through trash, collecting plastics and metals to trade in for a few dollars. Women and children are often seen on the streets begging for what little money they can get.
A highly informative and incredibly sad short documentary, Roma provides as much information as possible within its 11 minutes about their difficulties: the emotional struggles, the poverty and economic issues they face, and the few legal and governmental options available for them.
The picture painted here is one of quiet desperation– where no one knows what to do, or how to help.
~Via Sam Davis, Five Dills, DocX and Vimeo
—
by Skippy Massey
This post originally appeared at the Humboldt Sentinel. Reprinted with permission.
—