Daniel “Danko” Bunda is a 21-year-old Slovak Roma who currently works for the non-profit organization DigiQ and educates young people at schools. He teaches them about social networks, cyberbullying, hate speech on the Internet or gaming. Among other things, he works as a moderator of a radio session, which thematizes stories of young Roma people.

As a child, Danko did not think about gay issues or about Romani people as such. However, he rather liked to have fun, to be the centre of attention, to perform in front of his parents and friends - he was an extroverted child who loved to have fun. His grandmother told him about a boy who, at the age of six, was already talking about wanting a wife. Danko knew right away that he wanted no such thing. However, he attributed it more to his phlegmatic nature, which he shared with his father and didn't particularly care for.

Danko later began to notice the boys around him and admitted to himself that he liked them and was attracted to them. However, he did not have time to deal with his sexuality because he was trying to survive in the "majority" society as a Roma. He began to observe his surroundings, realizing the consequences of being perceived as Roma by society. This was reflected in various situations, such as suspicious glances in the shop and checks on his bag, or his non-acceptance into the school collective.

    

By the time Danko was 11-12 years old, he was tired of the constant pretence. Sometimes he tried to pass himself off as Spanish or Italian, as that was the only way society would take him. Eventually, it got to be too much for him. He got angry and closed himself into his bubble, which

meant that he spent 3 years programming, playing computer games and learning new languages (English, Czech, Japanese). Then he got into an international high school in Slovakia, where the environment was much more diverse, he started to feel like he was finally fitting in somewhere. Danko commented on his gay coming out: "I rather had my first coming out as Roma."

They had a Rainbow Club at school where LGBTQ+ issues were discussed. It was a session with the school psychologist where the different stages of coming out were discussed. At that point, Danko started to think that he was probably bisexual and that he would have a family and kids and his mom and everyone else would be happy. The more he began to interact with the school's LGBTQ+ community, the more he began to realize that a queer environment is like any other. He began to break down stereotypes around the LGBTQ+ community, like that gay men must be feminine or lesbians must be masculine. One of the next discoveries for 17-year-old Danko was Grindr (an app for queer people that works like a dating site). It helped him realise that there were many more gay people in Slovakia than he had ever imagined.

A few months after Danko downloaded the app, he still thought he was bisexual, so he found a girlfriend. Unfortunately, the relationship didn't work out, as Danko began to realize that he wasn't being honest in his relationship. His now ex-girlfriend asked him herself if he was gay. However, he was offended by the question because at that point he still believed he was bisexual. After the breakup came a pivotal day for Danko. Within a day, he was asked by various friends whether he was gay or bisexual. To the first question he answered that he was bi, but by the evening his answer was that he was gay.

In early 2021, Danko began to address this with his family. First, his sister came up to him at his birthday party, saying that she had known all along that Danko was gay. She said that she, on the other hand, was puzzled that he hadn't come forward earlier and assured him that nothing had changed in her relationship with him. Coming out in front of his mom went differently. After excuses about not having time for girls, he finally brought a friend from Cyprus home to Kosice for dinner. Mom, of course, had no idea. His coming out came over coffee. He knew that if he introduced Mom to someone he wanted to stay and spend his life with, Mom would accept it. He'd never seen his mom so happy.