Eva Petrovic (Jeka)
50 years old
“No mother will leave her child behind, and I’ve left my two sons. I had to, in order to get away from my violent husband and the beatings. After 15 years, my younger son found me, and I didn’t recognise him. There is no worse feeling for a mother. I was so shocked that I couldn’t cry. Why did you leave? Why did you separate from dad? Why didn’t you take us with you? Each question was like a blow. One blow after another.”
Baking a bannock and preparing the stove are tasks that are traditionally performed by Roma women. Romani bannock is baked in a traditional “Romani” stove. The bannock symbolically indicates the role of a nurturing mother. Jeka will bake a bannock once her sons come to visit her.