World Roma Day

(Patria) - World Roma Day will be marked tomorrow in many countries. It is celebrated on April 8th in honor of the first World Roma Congress, held from April 8th to 12th, 1971, in London. 

At that congress, decisions were made regarding the Roma flag and official anthem. The Roma flag has a green lower part symbolizing the earth and a blue upper part symbolizing the sky. The red wheel in the center of the flag represents the journeys and migrations of the Roma. 

The official Roma anthem is based on the old Roma song Đelem, đelem (˝I go, I go˝). 

The first Roma Congress in London also resulted in the proclamation of the official Roma language (Romani chiba), as well as the official adoption of the name ˝Rom˝, which means man in the Roma language. 

At the fourth World Roma Congress held in 1990 in Poland, it was decided that April 8th, the day the 1st Congress opened in London, would be proclaimed World Roma Day to be celebrated annually around the world. 

According to the 2013 Census in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are 12,583 Roma living in the country, of which 10,036 live in the FBiH, 2,057 in Republika Srpska, and 490 in Brčko District.

According to the Special Report on the Position of Roma, prepared by the Institution of the Ombudsmen for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2013, it is estimated that around 50,000 Roma live in the territory of BiH.