In a small studio, the voice of the Romani language, culture, and identity is being kept alive. For 18 years, the 107.3 frequency has offered a rich program in this language. “Radio Romano Avazo” is the first radio station established in Kosovo that broadcasts a 24-hour program in the Romani language.

“Zëri Rom” (The Romani Voice) is the name of the radio led by Fatmir Menekshe, who is also the director of the non-governmental organization “Durmish Asllano.”

The Romani language has been spoken in Prizren for over 700 years, he says, and it has been preserved zealously.

“The Romani language is rich, it has been preserved zealously. Since it has never been an administrative language and because the Roma never had their own country or state after the occupation, they were never assimilated. They have always been travelers, nomads, they have been expelled. Therefore, they only carried their language because they didn’t have homes or wealth to take with them. They have kept it as a kind of code to speak among themselves,” he says.

Every day, Fatmir leads programs in his native language, and besides his role as a journalist, he says his goal is to preserve the Romani language.

“In Prizren, we have kept the Romani language exceptionally well compared to other communities, where the Romani community has been assimilated and forgotten its language. We have many Albanian-speaking Roma, but in Prizren, we are better off thanks to these assets of spiritual and cultural heritage, radio, theater. They have the opportunity not only to tune into frequency 107.3 to listen to the Romani language, whether it’s daily news, relaxing programs, various debates, other genres, and pleasant conversations in the native language so it is never forgotten,” he says.

The non-governmental organization “Durmish Asllano” is known as the center of cultural activities for Roma in Prizren, where the radio is a part of it.

Avdi Misini is the first licensed Romani language translator in Kosovo by the judicial system.

Members of the Romani community now have the opportunity to request that their legal cases be handled in the Romani language.

“After the opening of the competition for the first time for the licensing of a Romani language translator, I managed to pass the recruitment phases for a Romani language translator in the judicial system. Since February of this year, I have been the only licensed translator for the pair of languages, Albanian and Romani. This has opened a much more dignified path for members of the Romani community to have their language represented, but also their rights in Kosovo’s judicial system,” he says.

The journalist and civil society activist translated the Constitution of Kosovo in 2008.

Recently, he has also been teaching various courses in the Romani language.

“Since 2012, I have also been a lecturer for various courses on the Romani language, culture, and traditions of the Roma. This is thanks to the support of various organizations that give encouragement to students and young people in the community who wish to learn more about the language, culture, and history. Considering that we are part of modernization, and modern times and technology are influencing the assimilation of the language, we are trying to promote the Romani language through different courses. Since 2024, we have been part of the Language Center at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Prishtina, where we hold regular courses for the Romani language,” Misini adds.

According to the latest population census, there are over 9,000 Roma in Kosovo, with around 85 percent of them speaking their native language. The Romani language has been taught only in primary schools in Prizren as an optional subject since 2011.

Fatmir Menekshe says that this should happen in all municipalities where there are members of the Romani community.

“In the entire Republic of Kosovo, every municipality where the Roma community lives should have the right to receive extra lessons in their native language to learn about the history, language, and traditions of their community. Unfortunately, this only happens in Prizren,” says Menekshe.

Furthermore, since 2022, the Romani language has been formalized in the municipalities of Prizren and Gracanica for matters related to the Romani community. However, there are still no translators engaged by the municipalities.

The former Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Sylejman Elshani, says they have worked to make this happen.

“In the municipality of Prizren, the Romani language is an official language in use, but we still don’t have translators who are paid by the municipality of Prizren. Similarly, in the municipality of Gracanica, there are no translators. Given that the language commissioner is working on this issue to integrate them into the system, the Romani language translators should be part of these two municipalities, where all information, especially contests and other information related to the Romani community, should be translated,” he concludes.

(This product was created in collaboration between CFID and KosovaPress. within the framework of the project: “Countering negative stereotypes about Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities through media initiative” , which is funded by UNMIK.)