Several sessions of the Fourth World Romani Congress in the Polish town of Serock (near Warsaw) dealt with Romani culture and language (and its possible standardisation). Among those attending were several well-known writers and intellectuals, such as Ian Hancock, Šaban Ilija, Šaip Jusuf and Luminiţa Mihai Cioabă.
One of the sessions addressed the international Romani literature scene. Following a lecture on this topic by Rajko Djurić, there were poetry readings by the authors themselves, all of them in Romani.
In this excerpt, Leksa Manush announces his second poem with a joke (translation: ‘You are sitting, but I say: “Stand up!”’) before reciting his appeal for activism and unity. He begins with the programmatic words ‘Ušten, ušten / sare o Roma, ušten …’.