ThetimeoftheGypsies.

ThemysteryaboutRomanipeoplesoriginsbroughtthemdifferentandcontradictingnamesas theywerewanderingthroughtheMiddleEastandEurope.TheRomanipeople,alsoreferredto asRoma,Sinti,Kale,Gypsy,GitansorTsigane,areanethnicgrouplivingmostlyinEuropeand theAmericas.ThetotalnumberoftheRomaniisuncertainsomesourcesproduceanumber from2millionupto12millionaroundtheglobe. AsanethnicityGypsypeoplehavesufferedforcenturieshardlyfindingaplacetoliveand unacceptedbythecommunityofacountrywheretheytriedtostay. HateandfearareinstitutionalizedfeelingsdirectedtowardtheGypsies,oozingfromthenews orothermedia.Humanrightslawsshouldbeappliedinthiscase,butnooneknowshowto handletheproblem,thusexistenceofRomanipeopleamongusremainsanenigma RecentlypublishednewsaboutthestolenchildnamedMariabyaRomanicoupleand subsequentdisclosureofthiscrimemademillionsofpeopleslidebackintoMedieval superstitionsaboutGypsies,claimingthatGypsiesarestillkidnappingchildren..(MirrorNews 10/22/2013GreecegirlMaria:Gypsycoupleaccusedofabductionboughtblondechildfor 900),whichisapuregeneralization.ItseemsthatfortheWesternargumentcultureits entertainmenttohavesomeonetowhipwhilesimultaneouslyspeakingoutagainstinjustice, intolerance,discriminationandracism.

ThehistoryofRomanipeoplehasbeenneglectedforcenturies.Newgeneticfindingsin2012 discoveredthatcurrentEuropeslargestminoritygroup,theRomani,originatedandmigratedas agroupmorethan1,500yearsagofromnorthwestIndia,Punjabregion.(1)Theyprobablyleftto escapetheinvasionofAfghangeneralMahmudofGhazni,whopushedthemoutofnorthern

IndiaintotheareathatisnowPakistan,AfghanistanandIran. InIranthisonelargeRomanigroupsplitintotwogroups,onegroupwentsouththroughSyria, NorthAfricaandGreeceandreachedtheAndaluciaregionofSouthernSpainaround1400,and anothergroupwentnorththroughArmeniaandCaucasusbeforearrivinginwhatistoday Bulgaria,RomaniaandSerbia.TheyreachedtheBalkansabout950yearsago,andthen dispersedthroughoutEurope. ScholarswhostudiedRomanihistoryfollowedthepathoftheirmigration,puttingtogetherpiece bypiecetheRomanilanguageandtracingitbacktoSanskrit,anancientlanguagespokenin India.Inadditiontolanguage,Romanimigrationpatternscanbefoundinthewrittenpapersand reportsofpeoplewhometthemontheirtravellingpath.(2) SincethefirstappearanceofRomaniinEuropeinthe14thcenturyCEnativehabitantsofthose landstriedtoignoreorevictthesenoisy,darkskinnedpeoplewearingkaleidoscopicclothesand speakinganincomprehensiblelanguage.Romaniadaptedtothesurroundingculturewherever theywent,adaptingthedominantreligionandalanguageofthearea.However,theykeptmany oftheirtraditionsandtraditionalskillssuchasperformingarts,metalworkingandjewelrymaking. EuropeansneverfullyunderstoodtheRomani,thenomadiclifestyleofawholenationthat refusedtointegrateintosociety,andasaresultoftheirwanderings,theRomaniremainin extremepovertycombinedwithignorance.Romaniwereandstillareblamedforbegging, thievery,kidnapping,prostitutionandwitchcraft.SincetheMiddleAges,Romaniwereenslaved, persecutedandsenttoadifferentplacesasslavesorservants.(3) Bytheyear1544theChristianChurchhadfosteredsuchstrongprejudiceagainstGypsiesthat governmentsandtheircitizenryrepressedandpersecutedGypsiesinamostsavagemanner, whileatthesametime,claimingtobegoodGodfearing,civilizedpeople.GypsyHuntsbegan inthe16thcenturyandcontinuedaslateasthe19thcentury.Nocrimeneededtohavebeen

committedbythesepeopleinorderforthemtobeincarceratedorhunteddownlikeanimals.The persecutionoftheGypsieswaswellonitswaybeforetheNazipartycameintopowerin1933. Basically,NazisinheritedtheantiGypsieslawsthathadalreadybeeninoperationsincethe MiddleAgesthroughoutEurope.(3) SomeGypsiesweresterilizedasearlyas1933inGermanywhenAdolfHitlercametopower.In thesameyear,campswerebeingestablishedbytheNazistocontainGypsiesandtheNazi PartyaskedandwasgivenhelpfromotherEuropeangovernmentstolocateandidentify GypsiesthroughoutEuropeforitslaterexterminationplans.In1937Dr.JohannesBehrendtof theOfficeofRacialHygienereleasedastatementassertingthat: ..allGypsiesshouldbetreatedashereditarilysicktheonlysolutioniselimination.Theaim should,therefore,betheeliminationwithouthesitationofthischaracteristicallydefectiveelement inthepopulation..(UniquenessoftheVictims:Gypsies,JewsandtheHolocaustbyIanHancock 1988).InHitlersGermanyonlytheRomaniandtheJewsweremarkedoutforexterminationon racialgrounds.ItsnotknownpreciselyhowmanyRomaniwerekilledintheconcentration camps.AccordingtoWikipedia2013datathenumberofmurderedpeopleisbetween 500,000600,000,butsomescholarsoftheGenocidein19391945callanumberupto1million. SufferingsofRomanipeoplecontinuetoday,despitethegeneralprogressofthinkingabout racismandhumanrights.ForamysteriousreasonHumanRightsdevotees,whenhanding downtheirstrongopinionthroughInternetandothermassmediasources,rarelypayattentionto theglobalproblemregardingtheRomanipeople.AfterHitlersattempttoerasethewhole Romanination,thereweremanyoutrageouscaseswhichreceivedlittlepublicity. IntheCommunistageRomaniwomenintheformerCzechoslovakiawerepaidtobesterilized inagovernmentprogrammetopromote"ahealthypopulation"between1958and1990. BecausemanyGypsywomenwereilliterate,theyweresigningpapersprovidedbytheCzech

governmentwithoutknowingwhattheyhadsignedfor.Therearenoaccuratenumbersofhow manyoftheCzechoslovakia'sGypsieshavebeensterilized,butaccordingtoCarolSilverman, anauthorandresearcherofRomanihistoryandculture:..In1987,forexample,36.6%of womenwhoweresterilizedwereRom,whileRomarepresented23%oftheentirepopulation.In 1989nearly50%ofthewomensterilizedinBrnowereRoma.(4) EventsledbytheFrenchgovernmentin2010weretargetedagainstRoma.Frenchauthorities demolishedatleast51illegalRomacampsandbegantheprocessofrepatriatingtheirresidents totheircountriesoforigin,whichbytheirthoughtswasRomania,notIndia.TheRomani situationhasbeenconsistentlyoverlookedinmattersrelatedtotheHolocaustandothercasesof institutionalizedethniccleansing.Becausetheenforcementoflawsandcruelregulationsinthe past,whichpreventedGypsiesfromstoppingandsettlinganywhere,theydevelopedasa nonliterateculture,withtraditionsbasedonoralhistory.DuetolackofinformationtheRomani experienceofthegenocideismoreobscurethanthatofanyothergroup.Thesameistrueabout historicaleventsofhumiliationanddestruction. IanHancockanativeRomaniandalinguist,Romanischolarandpoliticaladvocate,expressed hisopinioninthearticleTheConsequencesofAntiGypsyRacisminEuropepublishedinThe BelgradeCircle,no.12,1995:..AstheonlyAmericanmemberoftheRomaniAdvisoryCouncil oftheProjectonEthnicRelations,andoneofthetwoRomaintheU.S.delegation,Iwantto drawaparallelbetweentheRomainEasternEuropeandthesituationofAfricanAmericansin theUnitedStates.Thereisalessontobelearnedhere,andonewhichmustbeheededatall costs.. Itsunderstandablewhygovernmentsdislikenomadsbecauseitisdifficulttocontroltheir movementandtoobtaintaxesfromthem.GovernmentalenforcementinEuropeancountriesto maketheRomanisettlefailed,atalltimesforallprograms,andtheexperienceofhowtotreat

andtolerateRomaniswayoflivingisstillfarfromacceptance.Lackingatraditionalhomeland combinedwithhostilesurroundingsmadetheRomanirelyontheirsurvivalskills.Cultureofthe Gypsypeopleissomethingnottobefixed,evenifthemajorityofagriculturallydevelopednations seeitascompletelywrong.AllexperimentstointegratetheRomaniintosociety,tomakethema sedentaryminoritygrouphavebeenfruitlessbecauseestablishedprogramswerenotdesigned torespecttraditionsandvaluesofthetheRomanipeople.Beliefsinproper,standardized housekeepingnormsareblockingthegeneralpublicsviewsfromtheleastunderstandingofhow differenttheRomanipeopleare.Officialunwillingnesstomakeanattempttounderstandrootsof thestrongspiritofGypsiesnomadismleadstomistreatment,expulsionandnegativereaction. FormanyGypsies,nomadismgavethemasenseoffreedomandsuperioritytothe surroundingnonGypsyworldthathasprovenimpossibletoeradicate(5)(DavidM.CroweThe historyoftheGypsiesinEasternEuropeandRussiap.236) InabilitytoaccepttheseimportantculturalprinciplesoftheRomanipeople,itscomplexityand origins,mayleadtothefailureofeffortsatinstitutionalreformsandprograms.

1.LubaKalaydjieva,DavidGreshamandFrancescCalafell."GeneticstudiesoftheRoma (Gypsies)www.biomedcentral.com.BMCMedicalGenetics2001.Web.13November2013

2.NationalGeographics.www.education.nationalgeographics.com.2012.Web15November

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3.WilliamA.DunaGypsies:APersecutedRace1985.CenterforHolocaustandGenocide studies.http://www.chgs.umn.edu.Web.11November2013

4.CarolSilverman.PersecutionandPoliticization:Roma(Gypsies)ofEasternEurope http://www.culturalsurvival.org.Summer1995.Web.November2013

5.DavidM.Crowe.AHistoryofGypsiesofEasternEuropeandRussia.NewYork,1995.Print.