The Roma: Discriminated, Displaced, and Displeased Linnea Goebel Gettysburg College

1. The Roma: Discriminated, Displaced, and Displeased Linnea Goebel Gettysburg College ANTH 223: Indigenous People, the Environment, and the Global Economy Can The Roma Be Helped? The situation of the Roma in Europe seems desolate. How can so many centuries of hatred and contempt be overcome? The exact answer to this question is unclear. However there is hope and anthropologists might be the key. European mentality is such that Roma are seen as blemishes in the culture of each country because they threaten the contrived unity under nationality that each European country has been building up and distinguishing for centuries. What Europeans are failing to see are the ways Roma have added to the traditions and customs that make each country unique from the others. If anthropologists studying the cultures and histories of modern cultures were to compare notes and work with cultural anthropologists studying European Roma, the connections between both subject groups might be made more aware to groups and people who are trying to change the way Europeans view Roma people. This kind of Anthropological knowledge can greatly aid Roma advocacy groups, as well as individuals in Government positions as they work to end the racism Europeans project towards Roma. Racism is dangerous and the European Union has strict legislation against the acts being done against Roma, but the EU only had so much power. They can stop national crimes such as Sarkozy's recent actions, but the EU can not constantly patrol the millions of individuals in EU countries who enact crimes of hate on Roma daily. Therefore the mentality of Europeans must change, anthropologists can help bring that change by bringing to light more information about both sides of the cultural divide. The Roma can gain understanding of how they have helped create their bad reputation, and Europeans can gain understanding of how much the Roma are actually apart of the many European cultures that are so widely celebrated. Who Are The Roma? *The Roma are most commonly known by the discriminatory name “Gypsies” as it is believed that they came from Egypt before inhabiting Europe in the 13th century. *These nomadic people were originally known for their skills with metals, equine, entertainment, and mysticism. *The Roma culture is rich in oral traditions and being a traveling people their stories are steeped with influences from various European cultures. *They live with a “care-free”, “live in the moment” mentality and are, as a whole, a passive people. When situations in their host country look bad, the Roma move on. From Website: Astronomy Pictures So Much Hatred, So Much Blood Exclusion, Apartheid, Discrimination, and Displacement The Roma people have been persecuted since their arrival in Europe. Europeans enslaved them and only allowed caravans to set camp well outside of villages and towns. As the centuries went on and kingdoms became countries the Roma's lack of a home nation caused Europeans to reject them. The continuous movement and eclectic culture of the Roma gave them no one specific national identity and Europe began forcing Roma children into schools and discouraging the Roma lifestyle and filling the minds of children with knowledge of the countries language, history, and culture. Adult Roma were forced to set roots and try to earn a sedentary living so that their children could remain in school and no longer be persecuted by those around them. Sedentary life does not come easy to most Roma and thus they have always been, at large, the poorest of the poor in Europe. The poor cannot contribute to the economy, and European's feel that Roma do not contribute to their various culture's either. The European view of the Roma is that of contempt which has lead to the continuous apartheid of Roma people. During WWII Hitler killed some 126,000 Roma while Stalin murdered thousands more. Though the 1940s seem like the distant past ideologies that fueled hatred of the Roma then are still present today. Hungry, France, and the Czech Republic have most recently been the most actively persecuting Roma people. The Czech's claim to be “wiping the stain of the Roma from the history of the Czech nationality” (Stránka, 2001). This seems to be the mentality across Europe, no one wants Roma people in their countries, many feel that if the Roma will not assimilate than they must get out. President Sarkozy of France has endorsed the physical removal of hundreds of Roma and continues to displace them. Hungary has also been very persistent in using scare tactics to convince Roma to leave the country. Hate crimes are committed daily on the streets of Hungry against Roma people. From Website: CBC News: World Who Is Helping? ERRC: European Roma Rights Centre. An international public interest law organization working to combat anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma through strategic litigation, research and policy development, advocacy and human rights education. The ERRC has consultative status with the Council of Europe, as well as with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Roma Rights Network: The aim of the Roma Rights Network is to raise awareness of the Roma and the issues affecting them through the dissemination of timely and useful information, targeting regions and peoples not normally targeted, and using tools and strategies not yet extensively implemented in the Roma rights community. These goals being achieved through providing a crucial supplement to the mainstream commercial media representations of the Roma via in-depth analysis and comprehensive aggregation of Roma-related news, documenting abuses, and facilitation of information. These advocacy groups are the two most prominent in Europe for the case of the Roma people. Combined they have brought over 1,000 cases of Roma rights abuse to the courts of Europe and are continuously teaming up with other NGOs and government groups to help raise awareness of the problems faced by Roma, and the ways to help fix these problems. From Website: Dispute About. EU Bibliography Text: Cendrowicz, Leo. 2010 Sarkozy Lashes Out as Roma Row Escalates. Electronic Document, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2019860,00.html, accessed April 27, 2011. Clark, Colin. 2004 The Roma in the Czech Republic. In The Ethnopological Encyclopedia of Europe. Pp. 272-279. Palgrave Macmillan: New York. ERRC. 2011 European Roma Rights Centre. Website. http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-intro.php, accessed April 27, 2011. Gall, Timothy L. 1998 Roma. In Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Pp. 316-323. Detroit: Gale Research. Levinson, David. 1998 Ethnic Groups Worldwide. Oryx Press: Phoenix. RRN. 2011 Roma Rights Network. Website. Stránk, Hlavní. 2011 Curriculum Vitae - Prague Castle. Electronic Document. http://www.hrad.cz/en/president-of-the-cr/current-president-of-the-cr-vaclav-klaus/curriculum-vitae.shtml. Accessed April 27, 2011. Pictures: “Astronomy Pictures”. http://www.astronomy-pictures.net/telescopes/Romany-Gypsy-Caravans-Horse-Archive-postcard-1939_260732828232.html “CBC News:World”. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/10/19/f-vp-kinsman.html “Dispute About. EU”. http://www.disputeabout.eu/clanek/roma-scum-or-unfairly-judged