Amare džiipena* Stories of Vilnius Roma (*Our lives)

Parubanka and Bar are what the Roma called their settlement in Kirtimai. The name Parubanka comes from the Polish name of the Kirtimai neighbourhood Porubanek (from rąbać, to chop). This name was used by the Lithuanian Roma who lived there. The Kotliars, who also lived in Kirtimai, called the place Bar, a shortening of the name Tabar (tabor). The term tabor actually means a temporary camp of itinerant Roma.

Parubanka, or Bar, was a settlement that existed in Vilnius for more than 70 years. It was our home, full of community memories and stories that created and continue to create our identities and our sense of belonging. Although Parubanka (Bar) has been marginalised by the dominant historical narrative, its existence today is testified to by our stories, the stories of people who lived there.

The exhibition ‘Amare džiipena’ does not tell the complete story of Parubanka (Bar). Rather, it reveals our experiences and memories of dreams, community, friendship, and the pain of losing our home, as young people who were born and raised there.
It proposes a rethinking of common stories about Parubanka (Bar) that are full of stigmatising and dehumanising labels. It is an invitation to notice first the people, and their intimate relationship and attachment to the place and their home. It is an opportunity to think about what it means to experience your home becoming redundant in your own city.

‘For us, Parubanka (Bar) is not a symbol of crime or fear; it is our lives, of which we share our experience with you today.

The exhibition’s creators are Roma who were born and raised in Parubanka, or Bar.