August 2 marks the International Remembrance Day for the Roma Victims of Genocide during the Second World War – Samudaripen, on the day in 1944 when nearly three thousand Roma were killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
According to historians’ estimates, between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma were among the victims of the Second World War. Some of them also perished under the Ustasha regime in the Independent State of Croatia, which enacted and enforced racial laws. During that period, Roma in Croatia were also persecuted and deported to camps, primarily to Uštica, part of the Jasenovac concentration camp complex.
According to official data from the Jasenovac Memorial Site, at least 16,173 Roma were killed there between 1941 and 1945, including a large number of women and children, and 21 mass graves have been recorded in Uštica.
Commemorating this International Day is one way to preserve the memory of the victims, raise awareness, and educate about the atrocities of the Second World War, including the crimes of the Ustasha regime on the territory of present-day Croatia. With this goal, tribute is paid each year on this day at the Roma cemetery in Uštica to all victims from the area, and this year marked the twelfth consecutive commemoration.
The commemoration was organized by the Roma Union in the Republic of Croatia “KALI SARA” in cooperation with Member of Parliament Veljko Kajtazi and the councils of the Roma national minority. It was attended by representatives of numerous institutions, local and regional authorities, the diplomatic corps, and many international guests. The Deputy Ombudsman, Saša Rajić, also participated in the commemoration and laid a wreath on behalf of the institution in memory of the Roma victims of genocide.