Z góry na pewno nie widać cierpienia
From Above You Certainly Don’t See Suffering

Roma Communities in Europe in Lidia Ostałowska’s Reportage "Cygan to Cygan"

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes Lydia Ostałowska’s collection of reportage Cygan to Cygan (2000), the first so extensive non-fiction work in Polish literature dedicated to the fate of the Roma in various parts of Europe. The article addresses the strategies used to represent the Roma, indicating the author’s effort at an anti-orientalizing description, preceded by participant observation. The article also points to other trends in this collection, such as the desire to restore the historical-political context of the situation of the Roma in various parts of Europe. Important for Ostałowska is use of the narrative point of view of the community, which is the protagonist of the collection, and to reduce journalistic commentary to a minimum.

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