Serbs and Roma equal in sufferings, why not in normal life, opera singer asks

“Roma means a human in Serbian, so Happy Human day,” Tasic Knezevic said.

A solo singer in the northern city of Novi Sad’s Opera House, Tasic Knezevic added she was a victim of discrimination for so many times that she stopped counting, recalling an incident in a supermarket when she and two other people set off the exit alarm but the security stopped only her.

She had to empty her backpack and pockets, and when asked why the other two were not stopped, she got an apology, while some customers commented that it was apparent, alluding to her nationality.

She added Serbia had adopted good laws against discrimination, but that in practice it was a different thing.

Tasic Knezevic said Serbia’s Commissioner for Human Rights did a great job, “but we know that there are always problems in Serbia. In the 1990s there was a wave of refugees (during the 1991-1995 war in former Yugoslavia), and then the departure in 1999 (the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo).

“The poverty among Roma is huge… we are in a constant circle which we cannot get out from,” she said.

“If a Roma and a Serb apply for the same job, and the Roma is better qualified, the Serb will get the job anyway, though they are equal according to the law,” Tasic Knezevic said.

The World Roma Day will be celebrated at Novi Sad’s National Theatre with “Roma through centuries” manifestation, she said.

That will show the similarities in the life of two peoples, starting from the time of Tzar Dusan (1308 – 1355), through the Turkish occupation, in the Great War and during the WW II, Tasic Knezevic added.

Asked about the roots of such discrimination despite the shared history, she said that “all begins at home, the parents should teach children to accept the differences. We are even not different; we only have different skin colour.”

She added that media with the national frequency did not have single Roma news presenter or weather person, sports commentator... and we have qualified people.”

Tasic – Knezevic said discrimination existed everywhere, and the Roma were often victims of double-discrimination. “When you travel abroad, and they see Serbia’s passport, you are subjected to double check.”