Charlotte Flynn December 2015

Mi Újság? What’s new? Reflections on a year of living, learning, and serving as a YAGM in Budapest, Hungary

Putren Le Jakha! Opening eyes to Antigypsyism in Barcelona

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One of my most memorable experiences so far in my YAGM year was in November, when I participated in a weeklong youth conference in Barcelona on Antigypsyism (prejudice, racism, and discrimination specifically targeted at the Roma community and its members).

The conference, called Putren Le Jakha! (Open Your Eyes! in Romani) brought together about 50 young Roma and non-Roma participants from five European countries to learn about the history of Antigypsyism, share their experiences with it, discuss ways of combating it, and develop creative projects to spread awareness about the issue in the community and beyond.

While I could attempt to summarize the event, its motivations, and its intended

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outcome, I think my colleague and roommate Max could do a much better job. Here is part of a statement he gave in his native Romani language at a small press conference organized for local Barcelona new sources:

We have to fight against hatred and exclusion! The time has come when the Roma people do not only live for survival on a day-to-day basis, but when we can actually live and plan our lives and futures. The Roma people have been a part of European society, history, and culture for centuries, but we are still treated as second-class citizens.

There is a huge responsibility on the media and journalists in how they represent Roma people. They should go

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deeper to understand the Roma people and we invite them to open their eyes and have personal experiences with Roma communities.

I really connect with Max’s appeal for the media to get to know Roma communities personally. In

some ways, I think it speaks to my whole experience as a YAGM. Maybe the biggest impact I can have is to get to know people here from the communities I’m involved in and share their stories (and our stories) with audiences who might not otherwise hear them. It’s not a role that I’m entirely comfortable with; finding the right thing to communicate and the right words to communicate it is something I’ve always struggled with. But I guess that’s a big part of what this year is about: facing challenges, facing fears, and opening my eyes and mouth to witness to God’s work.

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Charlotte Flynn December 2015

What else have I been up to since my last newsletter? Here are some memorable moments:

So keres? Christmas in Romania This year, I spent Christmas with my roommate Angela and her family in her hometown of Petrosani, Romania. While I was a bit anxious about being out of place, I was embraced in love and kindness from the moment I arrived. It even

became a joke to say that I was the new youngest daughter—“Charlotika”. I’ll try and summarize the experience here with some of my favorite memories:

Christmas Traditions: Christmas morning, the five of us opened the gift Santa had brought each of us. While I’ve received a lot of Christmas presents in my life, there was something more exciting about opening this one, individual present. It was more about the joy of being given a gift than the gift itself.

Food: Angela’s mother was incredibly sweet and made vegetarian versions of the traditional Christmas dishes. This included sarmale (cabbage leaves stuffed with a rice and vegetables) and beef salad (a glorified potato

salad with homemade mayonnaise, made specially beefless for me).

History: One evening, Angela’s mother brought out a drawer full of family photos and Sundal, Angela’s nephew, went through them with me. It was incredible to see and hear about these memories—ranging from life under Communism, to Roma activist events, to family gatherings—and imagine what it was like to be there.

Learning Romanian: Mostly I would just try to speak with Angela’s mother, but occasionally I would be tasked with running to the downstairs store. I am a bit curious what the woman at the store thought, about this foreign girl who only needed zece oua - 10 eggs, bec - a light bulb, and hârtie igienica - some toilet paper.

While I couldn’t be with my own family this year, being with Angela’s was just what I needed. It was as soul-filling as any Christmas I’ve had. While I miss my loved ones in the US, knowing that I have new loved ones—Angela’s family and more—

makes it easier to feel at home and connected here.

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Volunteer Seminar Building on our time of service  

Office Christmas Party Singing Hungarian Christmas songs  

India Day Fasor students celebrate culture  

Meeting with Bishop Fabiny Discussing the YAGM experience

Human Rights Fair Representing Phiren Amenca