Ketani Association
Encyclopedia
The Ketani Association is an Austrian association for Romani and Sinti
. It was founded in 1998 by Gitta Martl and her brother Albert Kugler in Linz
, Austria
.
. As they were not able to read nor to write, it was difficult for them to solve these buerocratic issues alone by visiting the responsible offices. The Ketani Association represented these interests for this minority living in Austria over centuries. One of the associations’s tasks was to support and to look after its members by helping out with applications, search of accommodation or education. Furthermore the Ketani Association looks after Romani refugees, mostly coming from the former Yugoslavia, who suffer from postwar-consequences.
It represents the interests of Sinti and Romani people in public through interviews, radio broadcasts, television recordings, writing articles about specific topics i.e. the fate of Romani women in Upper Austria. Another field of tasks is taking care of camping places in the surrounding and especially consultation and conception of surrounding campsites for Sinti and Romani people, i.e. at Braunau
in cooperation with mayor
Gerhard Skiba
. In 2006 the association produced the movie Ketani heißt miteinander. Sintiwirklichkeiten statt Zigeunerklischees von Ludwig Laher.
Besides many cultural project which take place annually, the members of the association give lectures about Sinti and Romani people in Austria and report from own experiences of being part of the minority. An important point is the organization and participation at commemoration events for victims of the National Socialist Regime, for example Maxglan, Mauthausen
and Lackenbach
. In 2005 the soccer team “Ketani Kickers” was founded.
The Ketani Association design a radio broadcast monthly on Radio FRO in Linz. In these broadcasts interesting personalities are introduced, Romani and Sinti music is played and they talk about current happenings and projects of Ketani Association. In the last broadcast under the moderator Josef Gaffl, Gitta Martl and her daughter Nicole read from the book: “We should not have existed”. The book was published at “Geschichte der Heimat; Franz Steinmassl”. It is the very first book about the history of Sinti published in Austria. In 2008 the book was translated in Japanese by Martin Kaneko.
Sinti
Sinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
. It was founded in 1998 by Gitta Martl and her brother Albert Kugler in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
History
Many Romani people and Sinti did not possess any documents after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As they were not able to read nor to write, it was difficult for them to solve these buerocratic issues alone by visiting the responsible offices. The Ketani Association represented these interests for this minority living in Austria over centuries. One of the associations’s tasks was to support and to look after its members by helping out with applications, search of accommodation or education. Furthermore the Ketani Association looks after Romani refugees, mostly coming from the former Yugoslavia, who suffer from postwar-consequences.
It represents the interests of Sinti and Romani people in public through interviews, radio broadcasts, television recordings, writing articles about specific topics i.e. the fate of Romani women in Upper Austria. Another field of tasks is taking care of camping places in the surrounding and especially consultation and conception of surrounding campsites for Sinti and Romani people, i.e. at Braunau
Braunau am Inn
Braunau am Inn is a town in the Innviertel region of Upper Austria , the north-western state of Austria. It lies about 90 km west of Linz and about 60 km north of Salzburg, on the border with the German state of Bavaria. The population in 2001 was 16,372...
in cooperation with mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Gerhard Skiba
Gerhard Skiba
Gerhard Skiba of the Austrian Social Democratic Party was elected mayor of the city of Braunau am Inn in 1989. He became internationally known after setting up a memorial stone for the victims of Fascism in front of the house where Adolf Hitler was born.In 1992 representatives from Bautzen,...
. In 2006 the association produced the movie Ketani heißt miteinander. Sintiwirklichkeiten statt Zigeunerklischees von Ludwig Laher.
Besides many cultural project which take place annually, the members of the association give lectures about Sinti and Romani people in Austria and report from own experiences of being part of the minority. An important point is the organization and participation at commemoration events for victims of the National Socialist Regime, for example Maxglan, Mauthausen
Mauthausen
Mauthausen is a small market town in Upper Austria, Austria. It is located at about 20 kilometers east of the city of Linz, and has a population of 4,850 .During World War II, it became the site of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp complex....
and Lackenbach
Lackenbach
Lackenbach is an Austrian municipality in the District of Oberpullendorf, Burgenland.- Geography :Lackenbach lies in the Oberpullendorf District, the Middle Burgenland and is not divided into any districts.- History :...
. In 2005 the soccer team “Ketani Kickers” was founded.
The Ketani Association design a radio broadcast monthly on Radio FRO in Linz. In these broadcasts interesting personalities are introduced, Romani and Sinti music is played and they talk about current happenings and projects of Ketani Association. In the last broadcast under the moderator Josef Gaffl, Gitta Martl and her daughter Nicole read from the book: “We should not have existed”. The book was published at “Geschichte der Heimat; Franz Steinmassl”. It is the very first book about the history of Sinti published in Austria. In 2008 the book was translated in Japanese by Martin Kaneko.