Romani Poem Translated by A Z Foreman

Poems Found In Translation: “Rasim Sejdić: Their Boots Crushed the Gypsy Violin (From Romani)”

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Rasim Sejdić: Their Boots Crushed the Gypsy Violin (From Romani) Posted: 29 Sep 2016 06:45 PM PDT Jasenovac, mentioned twice in this poem, was an extermination camp. Run by the Croatian UstaÅ¡e with the material support of the Third Reich, and later dubbed "the Auschwitz of the Balkans" it was one of the largest and most sadistically administrated of all death camps. Inmates consisted of ethnic Serbs, Roma, Jews, Bosnian and Croat Muslims and anti-fascist dissidents. Approximately 45–52,000 Serbs, 15-20,000 Roma, 12-25,000 Jews, and 5-12,000 Muslims were murdered in Jasenovac. Roma taken to the camp did not undergo selection, but were kept in open air in subsection III-C, before being brought to the killing-grounds of Gradina and Ustice for liquidation interspersed with forced labor. There the UstaÅ¡e did not use anything so mercifully quick as bullets, or gas chambers. They enjoyed killing too much for that, and savored the sport, excitement and variety of using knives, mallets, pick-axes, saws and other implements to dismember, bludgeon, exsanguinate, and behead their victims. There were even regular contests to see who could kill the most prisoners in a given span of time or with a particular weapon. In 1942, for example, Lt. Petar Brzica won a gold watch for successfully killing 1360 prisoners in just a few hours using only a small curve-bladed knife. It may seem I am dwelling overmuch on the minutia of the horror and perversion of humanity that was Jasenovac. But there is a reason. I want any and every reader who has never before heard the name "Jasenovac" to have it seared into their brain when they come away from this page. There are two different Romani texts of this poem. One, the first given here, seems to represent the poet's actual dialect. The other uses the metaphonological supradialectal orthography promoted by the International Romani Union, the so-called "Warsaw Alphabet" developed by Cotiarde in the 80s.  This second version also has much of the Slavic loan vocabulary and morphology replaced by Indic-derived equivalents (even the word oblako "cloud, heavens" which is an extremely old  borrowing, is replaced) along with other differences that change the sense of the poem a bit, and give the impression of being puristically motivated. I gave priority to the more dialectal and less sanitized version, which I not only thought was a better poem all round but also seemed to me much more in keeping with Sejdić's attitude toward orality in poetic language. (This is not to say I didn't at all take the other version into account in my translation decisions, but I take it to be secondary.) Their Boots Crushed The Gypsy Violin By Rasim Sejdić Translated by A.Z. Foreman Their boots crushed the Gypsy violin all that remains is Gypsies' ash the fire the smoke  rise heavenward. They carted away the Roma children they ripped from mothers wives from husbands they carted away the Roma. Jasenovac â€” packed with Roma tied to cement pillars they can't budge their hands and feet in heavy shackles down to their knees in mud and sludge. There in Jasenovac remain their bones as witness to indict the works of inhumanity Dawn breaks anew, the sun  warming the Roma as it has always done.  The Original: Gazisarde Romengi Violina Rasim Sejdić Gazisarde romengi violina ačile ognjiÅ¡te romane e jag o dimo ando oblako vazdinjalo. Idžarde e Romen čavoren restavisarde pe datar e romnjen pe romendar idžarde e Romen. Jasenovco perdo Roma pangle pala betonse stubujra pale lantsujra pe prne pe va ando balto dzi ke cang. Ačile ando Jasenovco lenge kokala te pricin, o nemanuÅ¡engim djelima zora vedro osvanisarda i Romen o kam pre tatarda. The Other Original: UÅ›tavde e Rromenqi Violina Rasim Sejdić UÅ›tavde e Rromenqi violina aćhile e jaga rromane i jag o thuv and-o devel vazdinÇ’n. IgÇŽrde e Rromen ćhavorren ulavde pe daθar e rromnÄ›n pe rromnenθar igÇŽrde e Rromen. Jasenovco pherdo Rroma pandle pala betonosqe stùburÇŽ verklinÄ›nçar pe prne pe va' and-e ćika Ê’i k-e ćang Aćhile and- Jasenovco lenqe kokala te mothon bimanuÅ›ikanimata javin vèdro disàjli ta e Rromen o kham tatÇŽrda