125
glasses. I was dumbstruck. A week earlier, I had visited Evi whose baby had recently
been diagnosed with thalassemia, also known as Mediterranean Anaemia129. At my home,
later that night, I discovered my glasses were missing, but I didn’t think they fell at the
Roma compound; in fact, I was certain I had left them on the Metro. Seeing them again
was a happy surprise, as was the fact that they had been cleaned and the arms had been
tightened - the work of Vasilo’s second-youngest son, Johnny130, also a thalassemia
sufferer. I thanked the group profusely as they laughed. A white university student from
North America of Greek descent relying on the goodwill and organization skills of a
nearly destitute Romani family was a delicious symbolic role-reversal that seemed to
tickle even the youngest members of Vasilo’s family. For nearly two months afterward I
couldn’t leave the compound without being reminded to take my glasses by nearly
everyone I passed (whether I was wearing them or not).
Identity and the Compound: The Complex of Romani Space and
(Inter)Subjectivity
The ebb and flow of daily life at this Roma compound is as fascinating as the site
itself; in fact the two are intimately connected. There are numerous spatial∕cultural
connections encoded in the materials, architectural styles, and physical organization of
make-shift homes and broken laneways in and among which the Roma live, play, work,
and die. Many of these were noted in my MA thesis (Alexandrakis 2003) and by other
129 This is an inherited form of anaemia caused by faulty synthesis of haemoglobin.
130 Johnny was the primary source of information for my MA. Since 2002/2003 when I conducted my MA
research, Johnny’s condition had continued to deteriorate slowly. Moreover, bad experiences and
frustration with the hospital system kept Johnny from seeking medical attention, usually until he was
extremely sick. Physically, the boy’s growth was obviously stunted, his skin was pale and tight, and
Johnny exhibited a noticeable lack of energy for a young teenager. Emotionally he was reserved and at
times hostile.
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