Reaching Beyond the Clichéd Image of the Romani

Košice, Slovakia, 2013 © Åke Ericson. A children’s game in the Luník IX settlement. Juraj Mizigor performs a backflip.

Apold, Romania, 2010 © Åke Ericson. A young man fills a basin of water for washing his hair. Many of the Roma people who have been deported by the French authorities are originally from Romania. In the village of Apold in Romanian Transylvania, about 150 Roma people still live in dire conditions.

Apold, Romania, 2010 © Åke Ericson. Newlyweds Jetula and Ibrahim Krasnici hope for a better future, for themselves and their children.

Belgrade, Serbia, 2015 © Åke Ericson. Many displaced Roma cannot afford to go through the lengthy and expensive process of applying for citizenship documents; some don’t even know they can apply. Fljorim Podujevo must prove his parents have citizenship and provide evidence of a formal residence in order to obtain ID cards.

Richnava, Slovakia, 2014 © Åke Ericson. Slovakia reveals that Roma children are being placed in segregated ‘Roma only’ schools or classes or special schools for children with ‘learning disabilities.’ These programs have limited curriculums and in turn, often limited career opportunities after school.

Apold, Romania, 2010 © Åke Ericson. Sunita Ceinioc’s four children share the same bed.

Apold, Romania, 2010 © Åke Ericson. Every Sunday there is a cattle market a few miles outside of Apold, where both Roma and ethnic Romanians meet. Those who have an animal to sell are better off; a horse may generate close to 550 euros.

Košice, Slovakia, 2014 © Åke Ericson. The view of Hrebendova Street. Several buildings are in an uninhabitable condition and at risk of collapse.

Ozd, Hungary, 2016 © Åke Ericson. On the far side of the railway tracks, on the outskirts of the city of Ozd is one of the more deprived villages in Europe and home to around 400 Roma. They live in buildings that once provided homes for workers from the nearby steelworks, but conditions are have declined immensely.

Rimavska Sec, Slovakia, 2015 © Åke Ericson. Since becoming mayor in the village, the teacher and Roma activist, Stephen Vavrek, has invested in education in schools for Roma children.

In 2009, Swedish photographer Åke Ericson began documenting the everyday lives of Roma people across Europe. The resulting photographs are collected in Non Grata, published by GOST Books. “Latin for ‘undesirable’ or ‘not welcome’ Ericson’s title suggests the discrimination many Roma face in daily life due to their last name or complexion,” explains a statement released by the publisher.

Roma people “often live outside of society without human rights: social, political, cultural and economic,” writes Ericson. “My aim with this photographic series is to reach beyond the clichéd image of the Romani,” he explains, adding, “I do not only want to show the repression and misery under which great numbers of Romani live. My story is also about the Romani who are integrated into everyday life.”

Non Grata brings viewers to deeply underprivileged communities in Eastern Slovakia to areas of Spain where Romani children attend school and climb the socioeconomic ladder.

“Ericson attempts to show not only the reality of a displaced community but also the positivity and creativity which exists within,” states the publisher.

The publication of Non Grata coincides with an exhibition of the project at Atelier für Photographie, Berlin, from April 26 – May 24, 2018 and at La Moulinette Gallery, Paris, from August 30 – September 16, 2018.

Non Grata by Åke Ericson
GOST Books

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