Water Engineering and Development Centre

A Paper Life

Belgrade’s Roma in the underworld of waste scavenging and recycling

Mayling Simpson-Hebert, Aleksandra Mitrovic, Gradamir Zajic and Milos Petrovic

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ 12,000 people in the city of Belgrade, Serbia scavenge solid wastes for a living. A Paper Life is based on interviews with over 200 scavengers – mainly Roma – and reveals in their own words their everyday lives, the types of wastes they collect, the dangers they are exposed to, the harassments they endure, as well as their desires for a cleaner and more orderly way of life. This moving account is a wake-up call to city planners everywhere to remember those who make their living on the margins of society. The book will also be of great interest to anthropologists; sociologists; social workers; solid waste specialists; Roma scholars and activists; as well as university students of these subjects.

88pp. (260/210) 2005

ISBN: 978 1 84380 088 0

Download pdf | Purchase in print

apl