Lacio Drom
Rom and Sinti are two ethnic groups originally from Northern India. Their members are scornfully called “gypsies” and have always been considered different and subject to discrimination. Just think of the Nazi-Fascist persecution and the holocaust suffered. The Sinti have been in Italy since the 15th century. Today there are about 120,000 and a small minority of 3,000 faithful belong to the gypsy evangelical mission that adheres to the assemblies of God in Italy. The Lacio Drom, the good journey , has brought some of these Sinti families to the suburb of Brescia, an industrial city placed in North Italy. Here, in the middle of a hidden field between the river and the railway, a small evangelical church plays an important role in the community spirit of the group. The religion has a social recovery function; Christ is asked for protection for families and his forgiveness is invoked. Everyday life is forced isolation lived with silence, dignity, mystery and resignation. Speechless and hidden from the gaze of “normal” people, the Sinti are fighting a silent war against stereotypes and prejudices deeply rooted in the collective imagination. Their presence is not tollerate, their identity denied but a new Lacio Drom, a new good journey , will one day take some of them far away, to another city, to another field, ready to start the eternal going again.
