The Romani Flag

Here is the story of the official Romani flag, as explained by the National Romani Anti-Discrimination Organization, a group which monitors discrimination against the Romani people socially and in the media, and provides accurate information and resources to raise awareness about the Roma internationally.

It was adopted at the First World Romani Congress in London in 1971. The Romani chakra wheel at the center is actually a link to the Roma's Indian origins (the 24-spoked Ashok Chakra is in the center of the national flag of India, the *Tiranga*) and represents movement and the original Creation but the wheel on our flag is the 16 spoke wheel which in India represented the 16 spokes of Gandhi's economic liberation and independence movement. The blue and green are the traditional colors with the red wheel in the center. Blue is the blue sky represents the heavens. Green is the land, organic and growing. The blue symbolizes eternal spiritual values; the green earthly values. The wheel in the center for (the Roma), symbolizes movement and progress and it is red is to honor the blood of those of us who have fallen.



The flag was carried to the United Nations in New York in 1978. Yul Brynner, Professor Ian Hancock, Ronald Lee and John Tene were in attendance and were active in the International Romani Union. . .

(The flag) was voted as our official flag by Romani representatives in Britain, France, Spain, West Germany, the Netherlands, and other non-communist countries of western Europe in the 1960s. It was at the 1971 conference that Romani leaders in Europe decided to create the Petition to the UN requesting some kind of status in the UN for Roma. This was granted in 1979 after (the Romani representatives) carried the flag and the petition to New York in 1978.

Since the collapse of communism. The flag is used by Romani organizations in central-eastern Europe and now in Australia.

***

[This post originally appeared on Tereza Bottman's Advocacy Project blog.]