My Photojournalism: A day with Gypsies

segunda-feira, junho 18, 2007

A day with Gypsies

Last week me and a colleague went to do a reportage with nomadic gypsies, they were camping in some Portuguese land near the frontier with Spain.
They use to live in a house in a poor neighbourhood and the kids used to go to school but one day the authorities came with a bulldozer and destroyed the houses and everything they had. In that day they were forced to become nomad.
Now they never stay more than tree days in the same place due to the law´s that obligate the authorities to expel them.
They take less than one hour to pack everything and leave the land, travelling true back roads in a old waggon pulled by a horse where they take all they´re belongings and they only have what they can take in the wagon.
When we get there it was raining a lot and it was like this all day, this family of 21 live in tents and they sleep right on the floor that they cover with straw, they say it make´s the ground softer.
In this family no one knows how to read or write because of they´re constantly mobility.
"I went to school but I didn't learn anything, it was one day here and one day there, I know some letters and I know how to write my name, my identity card is sign but I would like to study just to know how to read and write" says Mário the oldest brother of the tree.
Mother of eight Sicinha the widow strives every day to give food to her children living just from the minimal wage of 250 Eur that need to be enough to feed five of them, the other tree married and already leave.
Because the kids don't go to school they spend the days playing with each other and helping the parents with every day duties like collecting food to the horses, cleaning the dishes and the older ones taking care of the youngest.
They were camping near a fountain but even so the kids were clearly showing signs of bad hygiene.
At night they made a bonfire and Mário played the guitar and the family gather around it singing gypsy songs and drinking beer.