"Gadsche" is what the Roma call others, the non-Roma, as the Jews say "Gojim" to non-Jews. But "Gadsche" in Romanes also means "peasant", the stubborn farmer who does not leave his land and who fights wars for it. But in Kosovo, thousands of Roma -and, especially, Ashkali farmers have been settled for generations.

This may go back to the time when Roma were held as serfs by Muslim and Christian lords. In any case, farming has long been a way of survival for Roma -families, especially during times of high unemployment. They grew corn and traded livestock and vegetables.

And the prosperous Rom clan of the Dschambasi, members of which can be found all over the Balkans, bred horses. The urban Roma, too, often had large gardens, where they grew fruit and vegetables and kept chickens. Today they still like to speak about the get-togethers and feasts they held in their garden-houses during the summers.

Garden House in Klina
Photo: Paul Polansky

The Ashkali Village of Medvec near Pristina Photo: Paul Polansky

Roma Horse Breeder in Klina
Photo: Theo Fruendt

The Ashkali Village of Medvec near Pristina Photo: Tilman Zülich