About the Roma

The Roma are a European people but of Indian origin, whose ancestors come from the Ganges valley, in northern India around 800 years ago. They live today throughout the world, above all in Europe. Arriving in Europe from Asia Minor and the Bospherus, they settled at first in the Balkans, moved into the Carpathians and from there on some moved further onwards, little by little, from the Balkans to Greece up to Finland and Russia, into western Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). There are about 10 million Roma in Europe; and the two countries with the highest Romani minority are Rumania and Bulgaria. The Roma are not an homogeneous ethnic group: there are the Roma (85% of the total), the Sinté (often called Manouches in France – 4%) and the Kalé (or Gitans – 10%); then there are the Gypsies (or Romanichals in Great Britain – 0,5%) as well as a Kalé community there: all this without counting the other diverse groups of Roma (much fewer in number but nevertheless Roma still like other Roma). In Europe, 80% of the Roma are sedentarised and do not carry out commercial nomadism. This mainly because from their arrival in Moldavia and Walachia in the 14th century and up to 1856, the Roma were held in total slavery and thus largely sedentary. For centuries (up to the present day), the Roma have been hounded out countries, deported under threat of sanctions if they remained, including the death penalty – all for the only reason of being born a Roma. The Romani people have had to flee violence and discrimination wherever they were, hoping to find a country which would be more welcoming… From the date of their arrival into Europe in the 14th century to the 20th century, governments and parliaments of the different European countries have passed anti-Gypsy laws. The German states voted 140 laws and decrees against the Romani people between 1416 and 1774! In Spain in the 16th century, all Roma (Gitano in the Spanish-speaking countries) caught speaking the Romani language received mutilation as a punishment… which explains how the Romani spoken there has changed to what is now called “Kalo”, a Romani dialect which is more Spanish than Romani… Systematically hounded and deported, the Roma of western Europe have developed a means of survival, adopting a commercially nomadic lifestyle: seasonal agricultural work, repairing items (especially in metal and wood), clairvoyance, and door-to-door selling – all occupations linked to mobility, which many Roma today are very proud to continue. The desire to carry out a commercially nomadic lifestyle constitutes a fundamental Human Right which the Roma (in particular in western Europe) are demanding to be able to continue. The Roma are now citizens of all European countries but who are linked by a common conscious identity, an origin, a common culture and a common language subdivided into several dialects. Being Roma is a positive identity just like being Chinese, Argentinean, French or any other group. Source: <a href="http://www.dosta.org/en/node/34">Dosta</a> Also see: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000_06/uk/ethique.htm">Gypsies: Trapped on the Fringes of Europe</a> - UNESCO Courier </li> <li><a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0DF1039F931A25756C0A961958260&scp=2&sq=gypsies&st=nyt">Hard Times for Europe's Gypsies</a> - The New York Times </li> <li><a href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=11579339&CFID=31112351&CFTOKEN=59794801">Bottom of the heap</a> - The Economist </li> </ul>