Elmas Arus, who won the Council of Europe's humanitarian award in Strasbourg for her documentary "Buçuk" shot in Roma neighborhoods, will spend the award money of 10,000 Euros on the education of Roma children.
Elmas Arus, who received the Council of Europe humanitarian award, first came to public attention during Prime Minister Erdoğan's "Roma Meeting" at Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall in 2010. Speaking there, President of the Zero Discrimination Association Elmas Arus said, "Our hands collecting garbage may be dirty, but our hearts are clean!"... Here is the extraordinary story of the bright face of the Roma, Elmas Arus...
The Council of Europe has awarded the 2014 humanitarian award in honor of Swedish diplomat Raul Wallenberg to Turkish director of Roma origin, Elmas Arus. The award was given for her documentary "Buçuk," which she prepared by visiting 38 provinces and 400 neighborhoods where Roma live, and for the work of the Zero Discrimination Association, which she founded to improve the situation of Roma. Arus will receive her award at a ceremony in Strasbourg on January 17, 2014, and announced that she will donate the award money of 10,000 Euros to the Zero Discrimination Association to spend on the education of Roma children.
The public first met Elmas Arus during Prime Minister Erdoğan's "Roma Meeting" at Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall in 2010. Speaking there, Arus said, "Our hands collecting garbage may be dirty, but our hearts are clean! We are here to make our voice heard to those who are bothered by Şadi uncle praying in Sarıgöl and say 'Look at the Gypsy praying in front of me'." Her speech was applauded, and in 2004, she married Haluk Arus, a documentary filmmaker she met during a documentary shoot in Istanbul.
Her Shoes Were Always Muddy
Born to a Roma mother in Amasya in 1979, Arus moved to Istanbul at the age of 6-7. She attended primary school in Bahçelievler. She was the most hardworking student in the class. Her teacher would scold her, saying, "Why did you come with muddy shoes?" Years later, she would explain this situation as, "My shoes were dirty because my neighborhood was muddy." All her grades were 5s, except for behavior and cleanliness, which were 3-4s. This always made her cry. She was also upset that her teacher did not reprimand her classmates who said, "She lives in the Gypsy neighborhood, so Elmas must be a Gypsy." They lived in a shack. Sometimes, she would accompany her mother, who worked as a peddler.
She wanted to study. She had major conflicts with her family because of this. "At least let her finish middle school externally, her enthusiasm will pass, and she will get married," they said. She finished middle school externally in a short time. Then she continued to high school. She was among the top 6 successful students in the school. She then got into Trakya University for Radio and Television Broadcasting. After graduating from Trakya University, she studied at Istanbul University's Faculty of Communication. Her graduation thesis was "The Role of Media in Revealing the Ethnic Identities of Gypsies."
Ümran AVCI
Date: 05.12.2013
Source: Habertürk Newspaper
https://www.haberturk.com/tv/haber/900600-odul-parasi-roman-cocuklara/0
