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Abstract

Chapter 8 examines expressions of emotional health among the Romani poor. It takes a critical look at the impact of living in a state of financial, emotional, and political instability and how such emotional states impact Romani psychological well-being. This chapter looks particularly at vocal expressions of pain and suffering. It also celebrates aural expressions of joy while pushing back at the historically rooted tropes that reduce Roms to nothing more than happy stage performers, somehow devoid of full humanity (and the attendant pain and suffering that comes with it). In discussing the processing of trauma that music allows, this chapter offers space to express raw emotion that impoverished Roms cannot afford. It also critiques the exploitation of female Romani vocality in development discourse. Breaking the silence of the visual gaze that frames development reports, this chapter analyzes the aural soundtrack that accompanies media depictions of the Romani poor.