Call Sign Magyar: how the family of the Roma militaryman facilitates the adaptation to civilian life

Before the outbreak of the great war and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, 47,587 Roma people have been registered nationwide, as per 2001 Census. This number can, however, be variable and may actually be three times that. Take, say, modern-day historians and human rights advocates, who quote different numbers: 90,000 to 135,000 Roma people.

The year 2022 has substantially changed the priorities for Ukrainian Roma communities. A number of Roma men joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, volunteering to defend the Ukrainian state. A number of Roma NGOs focused their activities to support the frontline and have, for three years now, been tending to humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable Roma families residing in Ukraine—and also to those who have been forced to flee their homes. As far as Roma military servicemen are concerned, it is quite complicated to come up with a number at the moment, due to several reasons. One of these reasons is the reluctance of the Roma militarymen themselves to discuss their ethnic background, in view of discrimination and stigmatisation of their communities in the general society. That said, Russia’s full-scale invasion and the enrolment of Roma men in the armed forces has changed a lot in that matter and has forced the society to reconsider its attitude towards in a substantial manner.

In one of his interviews, as he was contemplating the participation of Roma men and women in combat, Myroslav Horvat, a Roma rights advocate, an activist, and a councilman of Uzhhorod City Council, emphasised the importance of cherishing the memory:

«As far as the war is concerned, we are obliged to mention people who went to defend our country. For me, they are heroes. There are a lot of such men and women among Roma people. Our guys serve as reconnaissance soldiers, as tank operators, as artillerymen, as infantrymen—that is, Roma people are represented in almost every military branch. Roma are a very peaceful people. For us, going to war is something quite unimaginable. Yet, when the misfortune comes to your house, when our country is being attacked by the aggressor, we just cannot stand aside».

At the same time, Horvat tries to do the math on the precise number of Roma men who are defending their country from the Russian aggression today. He asserts that more than a hundred of Romani men from the Transcarpathian Province have enlisted.

«As far as the entire country is concerned, we should multiply that number by two or even three. If we gather all of them, we could form a Roma company or a small Roma squadron. Today, some Roma militarymen are in the frontline. Some are, unfortunately, wounded; some cannot continue their service due to their health condition and injuries. There are, at the same time, certain militarymen who are presently employed as instructors and who share their experience with freshmen soldiers. This war changes each and every one of us; it must therefore also change stereotypes with regard to Roma people», — stresses the Roma rights advocate.

Yurii and Olia are a young family residing in Radvanka, a city district where most Roma people from Uzhhorod city life. Yurii is of Roma extraction; Olia is Ukrainian. Outmarriage is rare among Roma people. In this family, however, you will hardly say from the start that these two young people belong to different cultures which have, for many years now, creating a single environment of the Roma community in Uzhhorod. Olia has been residing in this neighbourhood since childhood and it is here that she met her future Roma husband. She converses with him in the Romani language which, as she asserts, she learnt to speak fluently after she got married. That said, as she grew up amid Roma people, she was familiar with the basic vocabulary as she was listening to her neighbours. She speaks more lively and cheerfully whereas her husband Yurii mostly listens to her and keeps to himself.

At the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Yurii decided to volunteer and enlist. He just could not stay put, as defending his home and his country was something he considered to be his major duty. Then, the local military comissariat turned the lad down and told him to go home: you are too young, mate, and you have a family. Yet the guy insisted and enlisted. Yurii is 25. He and Olia have three children. In the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yurii was assigned call sign Magyar.

 – This is because he looks like a Magyar; his skin is of darker complexion, –  says Yurii as he smiles.

Magyar has survived some of the worst battles: in Kharkiv, Kherson, and Donbass sectors. Most recently, he has been in Russia’s Kursk region where he was wounded. Today, he is undergoing complex rehabilitation at a local hospital in Uzhhorod. The support provided by his wife who is regularly taking care of her husband helps him get back to the quotidian life. As a result of a complicated contusion, Yurii has some issues with his memory. His wife Olia is by his side at all times; she is the one helping him to overcome new challenges every day. As she says, she sometimes lacks a community where she would be able to share her pain with wives of other military men. To feel mutual support and understanding. That said, she has learnt to cope. The most important thing for her is that her husband got back from the frontline. And now, the lady has a unique possibility to be next to him and to go through complex rehabilitation together with her husband.

Yurii says that, after recuperation, he would like to proceed with his cause: to be useful for other young boys of his community. Olia assures him that she will be supportive of everything when it comes to her husband, as she is aware of the hell he went through at the frontline. Now, the spouses think on how to recuperate and how to become physically and mentally sound again. But the main thing they dream of is that there be just peace and that they will be able to live in their country.