Can you say a bit about you? How would you define yourself, in the sense of identity, with which aspects do you identify more?
My name is Donka Kyoseva – actress, screenwriter, theatre director and poet. In parallel, I teach acting and do fire shows. I am of Roma origin and I am part of the LGBT community.
How did you started to be a poet? And what is the message that you want to transmit through your art?
5 years ago, I felt my muse. Before I was writing just for theatre. And I did decide to do my poems in Romani language because I love my language.
Before, when I was really little, I was in a music group, but in a moment, they started to sing only folk Bulgarian music and I said: This is not for me, I am not Bulgarian.
Can you explain why you are not Bulgarian, even though you were born in here?
I am a Roma person who lived in Bulgaria. The only thing that makes me Bulgarian is that it is said in my document that I was born here, but nothing else.
Also, I really don´t like where Roma people forget their traditions and origins. It is important to keep alive our dances, songs, our language. It is a way to not forget ourselves.
Can you explain a bit more what do you mean as being part of the LGBT community?
Because I am a lesbian. It is very hard to be lesbian and Roma.
How was your childhood as lesbian?
I understood that I was a lesbian by myself. I didn’t have any other reference of lesbian Roma person around me, and my family is really religious.
Even when I was a teenager, I was with a boyfriend for really long time, but this was not myself.
Do you think that to not being able to be yourself, did affect you?
Of course this affected me. In this time. I didn´t understand what happened with myself. But later, when I started to go out with people, I understood myself.
Then, when I understood myself, I spook about it with my family, and I said to them that I am lesbian. They didn´t understand it. They didn´t react violently to me. They just did not understand it. They said: “We don´t understand you, but if you are happy, we are happy”. They didn´t push me to get married with someone.
What does it mean to you be queer?
It’s quite normal for me. After all, people are different and should have the right to choose.
What does it mean to you to be Roma?
Identity. I don ‘t like being framed. The fact that I feel my belonging to a certain community does not mean that I like everything about it, but I try to take only the positive things and if I have the opportunity to contribute to the change for the better.
Are you proud of being Roma?
I am so proud. It is a different culture, and we have amazing music, I love my language, and our dances.
Do you have a community of people with this common identity (Queer Roma)?
There are quiet a few queer Roma who I know and hide from the society. It is not easy being different in an encapsulated community.
I have friends and people who I know that are gay. And if they say this to their families and friends, they will receive a lot of violence.
I know a lot of people that when they said to their families, they suffer a lot of harassment, and they forced them to get married with some girls, and them the drama started. If you don´t have strong character, you cannot do anything.
What would you say to them to make their live a little bit easier?
I will suggest them to go to a different place, where they can be themselves. Honestly, I really don´t know, because it is very hard.
My best friend who is gay didn´t feel good in their community and with his family, and I told him to come where I am, and we will figure out a home, job, or anything that he needs, but the most important thing is he is happy now. He had to move from this place that was hurting him.
Do you think that is important to celebrate the Pride?
Pride should be there. A lot of people still live in fear because they are different, and this is absurd in the 21st century.
Can you define how was the Pride in Plovdiv the previous years?
In Plovdiv, according what I know, there was only one Pride and people were really aggressive, and I think this year there is not going to happen. The only year that was celebrated in Plovdiv, unfortunately I did not attend it.
Is there any reason why you haven´t attended to the Pride in Plovdiv the previous years?
Because I was in the Pride in Sofia, doing a performance in the Sofia Queer Forum Fest Roma about my poem regarding to two women that they were in love, and one was Roma and the other one was Bulgarian, with our traditional costumes each of us. We wanted to show the two girls from different cultures can be together. It was about love, independently of the different traditions, it was so emotional and it expressed a lot.
Do you think that theatre, poetry and the fire shows, as a way of expression helped you accept more yourself?
Theatre helps me to transmit messages than in other circumstances I couldn´t do it, because I am acting, and it is not me personally, it is my role, so people cannot point me. An at the same time, the message is so powerful.
Was easy for you to become an actress and to reach your achievements as artist?
No. For example, at the school they laugh at me because I was poor, and when I said that I want to become an actress they told me that it is impossible, and that I was going to get married as the rest of the Roma girls, and this would never happen, because probably I wouldn´t even finish the school. Also, the teachers threated me as a second hand.
Then I did it. At the beginning I worked in a really bad casino, and then in a supermarket to pay the university in Plovdiv as actress.
I was studying 4 years in the university to become actress and I did it. But even nowadays that I have the degree, I sent my curriculum to a lot of theatres to work there, and in the moment that they see my picture and that I speak Romani, they don´t call me anymore.
Also, because I did two master classes, one in Italy and another one in Romania, I understood that I had to learn English, and I learnt it. I also know Ukrainian.
Have you been the only Roma person in your class in the theatre degree?
Yes, the only one. Actually, we are just 2 Roma actress in the whole Bulgaria.
But for example, tomorrow we are going to do a performance about the Roma weddings, and in my theatre group there is Turkish, Roma, trans, gays, and a lot of different people with different colours. I am the director of the performance, and I designed the costumes, music, dances, and create everything. One night I wasn´t sleeping looking for a traditional wedding song, like the one that my mum played in their wedding, in order to show the traditional and authentic Roma culture and music, and I found it.
Did you feel safe during the Pride in Sofia?
Personally, I felt safe because I felt the presence and support of an entire community.
How would you define the situation of queer people in Bulgaria?
Sometimes I see improvements, but the society has a lot of to learn about how to be respectful with queer people in Bulgaria. The lack of education and tolerance leads to rejection and aggression towards queer people, which we are unfortunately witnessing.
Can you say some specifics situations that you know where queer people have been suffering violence or hate speech in Plovdiv?
Yes, we have in Plovdiv a gay club. There is a lot of Roma, Turkish, and Bulgarians, who are trans, sex workers, straight people too (no problem for us), bisexuals, … And people that hate us, they are walking around and saying ugly words to us everyday all the time.
If I boy is having a little bit of make up, they start to bullying and harass them.
If there is some kind of verbal violence or physical violence, is there any collective where you support each other in Plovdiv?
If we can, we will support. But the problem is that the violence will happen when some queer people are alone, if we are together in a group, they are not going to do nothing to us.
Do you feel supported by the police?
The police, what I see and what I understand, they don´t do any work. The overuse their power. They have this attitude of showing off that they can do whatever they want. Even though, there is good people working in the police as well, but there are not that many.
Did you stop to do something in your live in order to protect yourself for hate speech or violence from the society as queer Roma person?
They cannot stop me to be myself. If I die, okay, they can, but if not, they cannot stop me.
At the same time, I try to not make problems for others. Even though, I have the feeling that queer people or people in general, they don´t do what they need to make themselves happy, they are trying to fit and adapt to the others, and like that it is not possible to be yourself and be happy.
Do you feel safe saying openly that you are queer?
Among my family and my friends, yes.
Is your family and friends supporting you?
I feel supported, despite different understanding with my family.
Is there any specific person that helped you accepting yourself as queer in your past that allow you to reach this mindset that you have nowadays?
I think no. When I was little, I also was like that.
It is true that every time that I meet someone, I understand a bit more about myself, and I discover new things about me. And I feel supported with my friends, even though a lot of more times I am the one giving the support (She laughs).
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