Sefedin Jonuz
The survivor Sefedin Jonuz ( *2 February 1935 in Skoplje, Macedonia † 9 March 2023 in Cologne), tells about his childhood during the German occupation. Sefedin Jonuz father and uncle were forced into forced labor and many relatives became victims of the occupation by Bulgarian allies of the Germans.
After the war, Sefedin Jonuz completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and a locksmith. Since 1954 he was engaged in the struggle for equal rights for Romani people. In 1964 he emigrated to the Federal Republic of Germany, where his wife Mena Jonuz and his daughters Elizabeta and Fatima later followed him. In Germany, he resumed his political activities, working as a locksmith and later as a self-employed restaurateur.
In 1988 he founded the Kölner Rom e.V., an association for the understanding of Romani and non-Romani and campaigned for the right of Romani people to stay. He helped organize numerous demonstrations and protest actions, participated as a speaker at events and conferences, co-edited the magazine Jekh Chip, and provided social counseling. Of great importance was his commitment to coming to terms with the persecution of the Romani people in fascist-occupied Yugoslavia. For example, he collected numerous testimonies from survivors for the first German-language publication on this subject. Sefedin Jonuz was very well connected not only nationwide, but also internationally and maintained an intensive exchange with politically and linguistically engaged Romani people from many countries. Until his death, he was active in a Muslim community and helped there as well as privately all those who asked him for advice.