The former South Boulevard, which now bears the name of the great Saban Bajramović, will keep that name for a while at least. The initiative to name that street after Sasha Savić Švaba, and Stock Square to bear the name of the greats of Niš, Serbian and world jazz music, has been withdrawn.

There was a big uproar in the public about the initiatives to take away the street from Shaban Bajramović and to name the Roma settlement after him. At the same time, that street would bear the name of Saša Savić Švaba, the leader of the Night Wolves, who died three years ago.

The President of the Assembly Assoc. Boban Džunić gathered the initiators today and announced that the initiatives have been temporarily withdrawn and that they will not be discussed at the next session.

"Our friends, who were the initiators of these initiatives, which caused great interest among our fellow citizens due to the half-information and misinformation of some who themselves were the initiators of those initiatives, listened to my proposal to temporarily withdraw their initiatives and talk to those who were in favor that initiative, and now they are not, as with all other relevant factors", said the President of the Assembly.

The meeting was also attended by Councilor Svetislav Jovanović, the representative of the proponent of the initiative to name Stochni Trg after the Roma great, as well as representatives of the "Night Wolves", who requested that streets be taken from Shaban and named after their deceased leader, because , as their elder says, that was the end of it.

The Night Wolves have said they will not give up on the idea of having that street named after their late leader.

Link: https://gradskiportal018.rs/bulevar-sabana-bajramovica-zadrzava-svoj-naziv-bar-za-sada/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31OTBH9_kw3zHjCQbS4xZVpmTNFUXKwTxuTOZqKyaZEtRFh4vyo2UZ-kg_aem_AfcMjs-LUlEMCyccz9_D2DSHATbbpR5EYzzHGIjncbb2EYNKRz8Hp_QVE_zJVfauKvxXxX8fBCRUc_ylfnaoG9Em

Melina’s father, a Romani man from Prilep, first came to the USA in 1967, followed by the rest of his family who gradually settled in New York. In this first episode of the series, Melina tells the story of her paternal grandparents, who grew and sold tobacco in what is today North Macedonia. Her grandfather first emigrated to Vienna, Austria, where he worked in various jobs to raise money so the family could emigrate to the USA. After arriving in New York, Melina’s grandmother did her best to take any job that came her way, working in factories producing sausages or staples.

Melina’s grandfather also tried his hand at business and took care of several properties. “More of our family members gradually came here. According to what my parents told me, they first all lived in one apartment and then gradually arranged their own separate housing. It was a big family community,” Melina explains.

For a long time she never suspected that she was Romani. As a child she believed she was of Spanish origin because she looked like her Hispanic friends, and she took on some of their cultural features.

“For almost 10 years I thought I was Puerto Rican, so that’s great,” she says cheerfully, adding that she realized her origin when she visited Macedonia at the age of 12. “That’s where I saw how my father lived, which was a small room with his parents and three sisters. Back then, I could see how badly they were living. If I went just two blocks down there were pebbled streets, beautiful stores, this, that and the other,” she says about what it was like to realize she is of Romani origin.

“The sense of community there is much larger, you could feel it as much bigger. That’s where my love for my own community comes from. When I come back here [to the USA] and I hear the word ‘Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy’, I said ‘No, wait, wait, wait. That’s not it. We’re Romani, we’re not ‘Gypsy’,” Melina, who lives with her own children and husband in the Bronx, explains with determination.

The #me.Rom documentary series is being filmed for ROMEA TV by František Bikár and offers viewers a unique view of the lives of Roma living in three different US states. ROMEA TV will publish five interviews from this series over the next few weeks.

Youtube:

Link: https://romea.cz/en/world/me-rom-roma-in-the-usa-were-trying-to-create-the-romani-solidarity-we-long-for-here-says-melina-r-salifoski-of-new-york