Paul Blokhuis

Statement for the Sinti and Roma Commemoration on the occasion of 2 August 2021, Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma

Ranǎlen aj Rajalen,

P-o 19 Maj 1944, 247 Sìnte aj Rroma sas tradine kotar o kàmpi e tranzitesqo Westerbork k-o eksterminaciaqo kàmpi Auschwitz-Birkenau. Thovde sas len khetanes 3 divesa ande phandle vagònǎ, and-o tatipe bi fejastrenqo, bi xamasqo aj paśpase bi pimasqo. I Mädie Franz, 16 berśenqi, sas jekh maśkar lenθe. Oj aj laqe familiaqe manuśa, 9 ʒene sas line zorǎça kotar lenqi kampìna ande jekh baro masaripe so kerda i policìa and-o Beek, jekh gav and-i disǒrigutni Holàndia. I Mädie irisàili ʒivdi kotar o kàmpi. Sas jekh kotar o but cèrra ʒene so aćhile ʒivde. Kotar o 247 Sìnte aj Rroma tar o Westerbork, 215 mudardile. Maśkar lenθe o buderipe e Mädiaqe familiaqo. Pala so irisàili and-i Holàndia, i Mädie na mothovda pal o maripe. O traśa e kampenqe - oj naśti biril sas len. Nijekh var na runda pes. Aj vaś o mule, oj gndil sas maj miśto te mukhas len and-i śand. Alonda te citǒl. Sar phurǒl sas, i Mädie putarda pes lokhes pesqe nakhlipnaça. Halǒvdas kaj i historìa sas te mothovdǒl. O serimàta – sode dukhavne te oven – musaj te dikǎrdǒn ʒivde. Vaś o neve generàcie e Sintenqe aj e Rromenqe. Aj vaś sarkon aver. Avdives, and-o Evroputno Dives vaś o memoriàli e Rromenqe Holokaustesqo, seras o Porajmos, o genocìdi e Sintenqo aj e Rromenqo and-o Dùjto Maripe e Sundalesqo. Pra bute berśenθe, akava dives na sine semnǎrdo. Pra bute berśença, o Sìnte aj o Rroma sas te aʒukeren vaś o prinʒanipen kodolesqe so kerde lenqe. Pra bute berśenθe, amare pustika historiaqe na liparde len. But cèrra memoriàlǎ sas. Khonik na aśunda lenqe històrie. Akava mukhla bute Sinten aj e Rromen ande jekh palpaldi situàcia ande savi si pànda avdives. On xaćaren pen avrićhudine aj diskriminime vaś odova so isi. Vi and-i Holàndia, o S1inte aj o Rroma save praʒivde kotar o maripe malavdile jekhe bute śudre priaripnaça kotar o dostipe kana irisàile. Baxtaqe, akaja història akana si prinʒandi. Khetanes, amen seras o nakhlipe aj dikhas karing o avindipe. Khetanes e sumnakune, jekhutne manuśen save keren i komunitèta e Sintenqi aj Rromenqi. O històrie keren amen te halǒvas i historia ta e manuśen save sas ćorde kotar lenqo mestipe. O històrie duślǎren amenqe so śaj ovel kana o bithamipen, i indiferènca, i xir ta i intolerànca aven opre. Akalaθar si vitàlo te mothovas palem aj palem i història e Mädiaqi, aj o històrie sare avere Sintenqe aj Rromenqe. Ake sosqe mothovav palpalem akaja història, jekh història savi pànda aćhol manqe k-i godi. Kaj te na bistras len nikàna. Oven saste

Mädie Franz, aged 16, was one of them. She and 9 family members had been snatched from their caravan in a big raid by the police of Beek, a village in the southern Netherlands.

Mädie survived the camp. She was one of the few who did. Of the 247 Sinti and Roma from Westerbork, 215 were killed. Including most of Mädie’s family.

After she returned to the Netherlands, Mädie didn’t talk about the war. The horrors of the camps – she couldn’t deal with them. She never complained. As for the dead, she thought it better to leave them in peace. She chose silence.

As Mädie grew older, she opened up to the past bit by bit. She understood that the story had to be told. The memories – however painful – had to be kept alive. For new generations of Sinti and Roma. And for everyone else.

Today, on European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, we mark the Porajmos, the genocide of Sinti and Roma during the Second World War.

For too many years, this day was not marked. For too many years, Sinti and Roma people had to wait for recognition of what had been done to them. For too many years, our history books did not mention them. There were hardly any memorials. No one listened to their stories.

This has contributed to the disadvantaged position that many Sinti and Roma still occupy in Europe today. They feel excluded and discriminated against because of who they are.

In the Netherlands, too, Sinti and Roma who survived the war faced a very cold reception from society when they returned.

Fortunately, this history is now being recognised. Together, we are remembering the past and looking towards the future. Together with the splendid, unique people who make up the Roma and Sinti community.

Stories help us understand history and the people who were robbed of their freedom. Stories make clear what can happen when lawlessness, indifference, hatred and intolerance prevail.

That’s why it’s vital that we keep telling Mädie’s story, and the stories of all the other Sinti and Roma. That’s why I’m telling this story again – a story that still haunts me. So that we never forget them.