”You can call me a gypsy if you want to”
Life on the street in Oslo is hard. Most of the Roma people dream of the months they can spend with their families back in Romania. But happy days at home last only as long as the money they have earnt in Norway. Many live in a constant back-and-forth between small traditional villages in Romania and the streets of large European cities – often on the move to avoid the authorities. This constant moving and double life affects both those who travel away and those who remain behind.
The city is decorated for the 17th of May national day. The celebrations are well organised, and the streets have been swept clean. People are in a spending mode: ice-creams, sausages, balloons and fairgrounds.
The children’s procession is tidy and smart with Norwegian flags and floral decorations; the adults’ procession is rather less organised but full of fun. Outside Domkirka ( the Cathedral) she sits. In front of her there is a plastic cup. Behind her there is a Norwegian flag which has been forgotten in a flower pot.
17th of May, Kritiansand, 2013.
In the summer of 2014 there is a majority in the Norwegian Parliament in favour of forbidding begging.
Photo: Linda Bournane Engelberth. For several years she followed the travels of the Roma people between Romania and Norway.
Life on the street in Oslo is hard. Most of the Roma people dream of the months they can spend with their families back in Romania. But happy days at home last only as long as the money they have earnt in Norway. Many live in a constant back-and-forth between small traditional villages in Romania and the streets of large European cities – often on the move to avoid the authorities. This constant moving and double life affects both those who travel away and those who remain behind.
The city is decorated for the 17th of May national day. The celebrations are well organised, and the streets have been swept clean. People are in a spending mode: ice-creams, sausages, balloons and fairgrounds.
The children’s procession is tidy and smart with Norwegian flags and floral decorations; the adults’ procession is rather less organised but full of fun. Outside Domkirka ( the Cathedral) she sits. In front of her there is a plastic cup. Behind her there is a Norwegian flag which has been forgotten in a flower pot.
17th of May, Kritiansand, 2013.
In the summer of 2014 there is a majority in the Norwegian Parliament in favour of forbidding begging.
Photo: Linda Bournane Engelberth. For several years she followed the travels of the Roma people between Romania and Norway.