Stories of Pride and Survival: From the Romany People— Sissel Wilmena Daabous

In this evocative paper, Sissel Wilmena Daabous conveys some of the history of the Romany people (sometimes known as Travellers) and their rich skills of survival. This paper also describes Sissel’s attempts to develop ways of working with her people which are based on Romany culture, values, and skills, and which will be relevant to any practitioner who is interested in developing ways of working that are appropriate to their own culture and context. This paper was crafted from an interview1 and was delivered as a keynote address at the 8th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference, which was held at Agder University College in Kristiansand, Norway, June 2007.