Prislop, Sibiu

Prislop is a village in the Răşinari commune, Sibiu County, Romania, about 15 km from the county seat, Sibiu. Most of the approximately 300 inhabitants of Prislop are of Roma ethnicity.

To reach Prislop from Răşinari center visitors have to climb a steep hill. There is also a path through a valley reaching from Cisnădioara.

Description

Prislop's facilities include a primary school, one public telephone, a small grocery store, a newly-built community center that is not yet functional (as of 2006), one tap fed with mountain water, and electricity supplied to 85% of the buildings. In Prislop no sewerage, paved roads, running water, or street lamps exist.

Approximately 300 people live in Prislop. The ground on which all but a few buildings are erected is public, and is administered by the mayor of Răşinari and is allocated to needy persons. Therefore homeless ethnic Romanians have started living in Prislop as well.

History

No one knows for certain how old this settlement is. The typical log cabin there is usually built from used wooden beams, i.e. discarded railroad ties, and therefore give no clue as to the age of the buildings. The roofs are covered with tar paper.Some cabins are built of bricks or stone and some have tile roofing. These date to the 1920s, when some dwellers maintained a standard of living comparable to that in the surrounding villages.

The Roma in Prislop have traditionally been broom and basket makers, and have been Romanianised since living memory. They neither speak the traditional Roma language nor do they wear the typical Roma dress. They have always maintained extensive business relations with the surrounding villages, where their work was appreciated.

After World War II, when many Transylvanian Germans from Cisnădioara gave up their houses, the government offered these to the Prislopeans as a new residence. But they refused to embarrass and upset the people of Cisnădioara in this way as they had kept fond memories of the mutually fruitful relations of previous times.

Under the Communist regime the Prislopeans were fully employed. Every morning the men walked towards the city to do their work. Only from the 1990s has the employment situation in Prislop taken a drastic turn for the worse.

Prislop today

Beginning in 2003, social welfare for the unemployed was introduced. For a small amount (around $30) the recipients do three days of community work, allotted by the mayor. Ever since then, poverty has not been as dire in Prislop as previously. Nevertheless, living conditions are still very sub-standard.

Education

Adults usually have a basic education, some of them are even professionally skilled. In the 90'ies, the local school was closed and school attendance was nil. Hence there is a frightening degree of illiteracy among the young adults. Since the year 2000 the Primary school in Prislop has been conducted continuously and the children visit the Răşinari school from the fifth grade onward. Depending on the situation within the families, there are a few excellent girl students by now.

Work

Prislopeans are all on unemployment status and keep alive by additionally making brooms (fall through spring)and picking berries and mushrooms (summer). Day labour on fields and in surrounding villages is also common.

External links

* [http://www.karpatenwilli.com/images/prislop.htm "Fotos aus dem rumänischen Zigeunerdorf Prislop" (Pictures from the Romanian Gipsy village Prislop)]