In today’s post-Yugoslav sphere, many young Romani intellectuals are proud of their Romani heritage. Although they encounter many obstacles due to discrimination, they fully identify with the term ‘Roma’. However, most Roma still find themselves on the margins of their societies. Whilst they sometimes refer to themselves as Roma, in other instances as gypsies, others use alternative group names such as Egyptians and Ashkali (the latter especially in Kosovo).
It was the spring of 1970 when the 18-year-old Ludvik Levačić was conscripted into the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) to perform his compulsory 18-month military service with his fellow male Yugoslav citizens. He vividly remembers his first day, when an officer wrote in his army ID booklet that he was of Slovenian nationality (nacionalnost).
