Miranda Vuolasranta

Photo of Miranda Vuolasranta

Name : Miranda VUOLASRANTA

Age : 47

Profession : Special Adviser on Roma related Issues, Teacher of Romani language and history

Country : Finland

Miranda Vuolasranta is Special Adviser on Roma related Issues, Teacher of Romani language and history. She is 47, she speaks several languages, including Romani, and she comes from Finland.
Miranda likes cooking, reading and trekking.

She is Roma.

For describing herself, she usually says that she is a teacher, an adviser, and a mother.

Miranda traveled a lot: “I traveled around in three continents and I have visited numerous countries. I learned to be tolerant and to listen to the others”.

In fact, Miranda left her community and country for living abroad and she spent the last three years in Strasbourg. About the experience of living abroad, she particularly likes the possibility of approaching different culture and languages as well as multiculturalism, “that allow me to grow and develop myself” but she also recognizes that leaving her own country and community is not always easy because she particularly misses her family and friends.

Question: Which is the best souvenir you have of your childhood and which is the worst one?

MV: The best souvenir of my childhood is something my father thought to me: “One have to learn how to survive on the bare rock without anything, if this is needed” - and I found out later that this is true: if you really desire something you will find the way to overcome all obstacles and difficulties.

Question: Which is the worst souvenir you have of your childhood?

MV: The worst souvenir from my childhood the rejection I suffered from some non-Roma people, who did not consider us, the Roma, good enough to enjoy equal rights.

Question: What does it mean for you being Roma?

MV: Being Roma for me it means taking care of each other, maintaining relationships in the community, appreciating my own culture, values, traditions; this also means cultivate our language and history. Roma people do have their own way of life, their language – Romani – their history, and these are some of our values. But I have to say that in my view the best quality of Roma is, as I said, taking care of each other.

Question: You talked about values; What is the most important value in your life?

MV: Being honest to myself and to the others.

Question: You traveled a lot and you certainly met many non-Roma people. Do you have some good gadgé (non-Roma) Friends?

MV: I have innumerable non-Roma friends. I would say what I really appreciate in them is that they seek for justice. But I also met many gadgé who showed intolerance and who were envious. For example, I have sometimes met rejection in job interviews because of my ethnic background, and because I use to dress the Finnish Roma traditional dress. But generally speaking, I believe that life must be fully lived, without limits and barriers, and that’s why I have so many non-Roma friends, with whom I have socialized through a multicultural approach of our relationship.

Question: You are a Roma but you are also working for Roma. What do you like most in your job.

MV: My work is challenging and varied, and it gives me an opportunity to help people and, in a certain way, to improve the world where we are living.

Question: Which famous personalities (alive or dead) would you take as an example to follow in your life?

MV: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Mary Robinson, Tarja Halonen

Question: What would you do if you suddenly became a rich person?

MV: I would certainly do a good plan to make the money grow and I will use it to relief and reduce human suffering, in particular children’s suffering.

Question: What suggestion would you make to European Governments to improve the situation of Roma in Europe?

MV: European governments need national Strategies to tackle Roma issues, especially to improve the integration and inclusion of Roma, and this means that sufficient resources should be allocated to implement these policies after their adoption.
Then, massive awareness raising campaigns on Roma culture and traditions should take place to show that Roma are citizens and as such they have to be respected in their countries.
It is also important to include basic fact information on Roma in all educational structures in order to diminish the lack of information of non-Roma and the fears related to Roma. Adding information about Roma as an obligatory part of all education structures and teaching materials would contribute to a more pluralistic society.

When it comes to social rights, it is necessary to ensure decent living conditions (housing) for Roma, with basic infrastructure such as: pure water, electricity, sanitation etc.
Another issue to be tackle is the segregation of Roma children: they have to be de-segregated by providing a proper education also through a bilingual curriculum approach.
Vocational trainings for unemployed Roma should also be provided.

And finally, it is extremely important to include Roma in all levels of decion making when the decisions concern them.

Question: What would you like to say to the gadgé who are reading this interview?

MV: Well I would just say them to meet their friends without prejudices. Give yourself an opportunity to grow as a person: you cannot change the world, but you can change your own attitudes.
Recognize the rampant Anti-Gypsism and denounce it.
Get to know Roma first and judge only afterward.