Mária Lendelová

"How was it in Slovakia - did the gadjos support Romani people? - "For what I can remember, it was good when I was small. There was a certain bond between people due to what they went through. The gadjos accepted the Roma because they themselves also had it hard during WW II. They liked my dad. The gadjos trusted the Roma a lot. They helped each other. Gadjos and others helped the Roma. When grass was about to be scythed, they knew who to come to - my dad, my brother and others. 'Let's go scythe the grass, I'll give you something in return.' They made some money, working for the gadjos. Scything meadows or transporting it on carts. They did these sorts of jobs because there was destitution, no money, no food. The gadjos helped them. Or when a cow died, the gadjo woman would say: 'Use the meat.' I remember a cow being hit by a thunderbolt on a field. I could see it with my own eyes. My mum wouldn't have it. She'd say: 'It was killed by a bolt, I can't eat it now?' She liked the better things. Not even my dad would eat it. But the other Roma people were happy they had meat. So, they'd carve the whole cow up."

"She hadn't slept all night, braiding the strings for folk costumes. The gajo women wore nice skirts, costumes with roses, lined sleeves with aprons - she made that in color. Red, blue, various colors. She'd bring it to the village and return with meat or other food to cook from. She went there every day. At night, she did't sleap because she was braiding the strings. She'd always tell me: 'Sleep, girl, I don't have to. I have to finish all of this. What would you eat, otherwise? There is nothing to cook.' She used to tell me that. I laid down, she sat by and braided the strings."