Roma Academics

Different from the situation in Germany there are Roma elites in almost all Eastern European countries: lawyers, physicians, prosecuting attorneys, army officers, teachers, architects, professors, journalists, engineers, artists, politicians, writers etc.. This was true for Kosovo as well. In the 70s, when Tito ordered Pristina University to be expanded and soon 50,000 students were enrolled there, many young Roma and Ashkali received academic training and pursued academic careers. But soon, they found themselves caught in the crossfire between the independence movement of Kosovo with its center being Pristina University and the centralist government of Yugoslavia. Many could only study if they declared themselves to be Turkish or Albanian. The expulsion of most of these academics after the NATO war and the constant threat the few remaining intellectuals have to live under comes close to a decapitation of the Roma people.

Hamit Muksutsoji and Zülfikar Meckolari, Roma representatives at the Kosovo State Parliament.
Photo: Archive Rom e.V.