Evelina, a young beautiful girl smiles "We are all the same no matter which country we come from, the only difference is our vocabulary, but we all follow the same traditions". Evelina, 21 and from Bosnia, is talking about her fellow contestants at this year’s Miss Roma (gypsy) International 2003. Evelina is one of 14 Roma girls who have come from 7 different countries, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Bulgaria to participate. Most are from the middle classes of Roma society, not the slums and poverty that the West generally associates with East European gypsies. They are young, articulate and forward looking women. Most are still in school and living at home, one is studying medicine, another is a folk singer and a third is living with a boyfriend in Belgium.