The first information about Roma on the territory of Belarus is recorded in the privilege of Aleksander Jagiellończyk in 1501. According to the charter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the Gypsies were allowed to roam in the lands of the Principality.
According to the population census of 2009, there are more than 7 thousand Roma in Belarus. The Gypsies themselves give another figure – about 60 thousand.
About 10% of the Roma are officially employed. Roma complain that they are not hired because of their nationality.
Roma children go to school No. 13, the only one in the village. They study in Russian. Half of the pupils are children from Roma families.
"It's hard to be illiterate now, but if parents don't press with it, the children leave school after 9th grade. Those who want to achieve success in life continue their education. They get higher education," – Alina says.
Few Roma call the Belarusians "Belarusians" in Hrebianiova. They are "Russians" for them. The Belarusian language is understood, but not spoken, although their Russian language contains a significant amount of Belarusian words.
Link: https://charter97.org/en/news/2019/5/27/335586/
