Wonderful is an ongoing project about the young generation of Roma people who live at the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain.
There are approximately 12 million Roma people living in Europe, making them the largest ethnic minority on the continent. In Spain, where the Roma are called calò, their population is estimated to be 700 thousand, which means that they are the second largest Roma population in Europe.
I first met this community on International Roma Day in April 2014, while attending a commemoration ceremony. I decided to start this project in order to break the stereotypes and social stigma that were associated with this ethnic group, as prejudice and growing xenophobic attitudes become ever more prevalent in the mainstream media.
I focused on the young generation, trying to reveal a glimpse of their world, as their future seems to offer little promise and stereotyping, racial discrimination and social exclusion are the main factors shaping their lives. With around 60% of the population aged below 29, the Roma are a relatively young community. Taking on adult roles and responsibilities very early in their lives and being burdened with an important duty in the economical activities of their families, they learn to be adults at a very young age.
The strength and maturity I saw in those children and the youth contrasts sharply with their fragility, their hopes and wishes of living a free childhood and adolescence, while at the same time fighting for recognition of their ethnicity and culture. Being caught between tradition, patriarchal structures and socio-cultural globalization, they are struggling to build and maintain their personal identity.
Lena Mucha is a freelance photographer born in Germany in 1983. After graduating with a Master in Social Anthropology and Political Sciences from the University of Cologne in 2011, Lena took up photography, while working in Colombia with different NGOs. Her work focuses on stories related to human rights, gender issues and social changes within societies and ethnic groups that are to a large degree under-reported: http://www.lenamucha.com/
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