Romani Roots

The following essay was written by ProudRomani who contributed it to this site.

ROMAN ROOTS in no way condones nor condems that which is contained with this essay article and respectfully ask all who view this acticle to remember that it reflects  the views of one of it's members and not necessarily of this organisation.

The viewer should therefore read the following article with objectivity and any concerns, views or comments on it may be submitted to us (address on "Contact us" page) and will be placed if deemed appropiate.

"What is a Gypsy?"... the eternally asked question.

First thing, please call us Roma (or Romani or Rom), or Pavee (Irish Travelers), or Gitano, or Black Dutch, or Sinti, et cetera. These are distinct groups shoved under the term "Gypsy" and we would prefer to be addressed accurately if possible.   If you have to use the word "Gypsy," please capitalize it.  To not do so is an insult.   Some of us are offended by the word "Gypsy" itself, some are not.  Some use one, some the other, some both.  I use both.  I would rather do away with the word altogether but that is not going to happen any time soon.

When I use the word "Gypsy" in this essay it is on purpose.  Either it is me discussing this word or I am using it to include all of the ethnicities included under the umbrella term of "Gypsy" rather than just the Roma.  Or, I may be making a joke.

Regarding knowledge of the Roma overall... some Romani insist on "say nothing!", some of us say, "tell all!", some of us say, "tell SOME!" to dispel the prejudices.  I say, "tell some" and am about to do that.

I am Romani so I am discussing Romani, not Sinti, Gitano, Pavee, or others called "Gypsy." When someone refers to a "Gypsy" they are usually referencing Romani, but not always.  Some of the groups stuck under the umbrella label of "Gypsy" are related genetically to us, such as the Gitanos and Sinti.  Others stuck under the label are not genetically related to us, such as the Pavee (Irish Travelers).

Please know that there is much that is beautiful and wonderful about the Romani people, if you take the time to learn about it.  If I dwell much on the negative that has happened to the Romani in this essay, it is only because of the passion and love I have for my people... I want to set the record straight and correct misinformation.   I am going to address the most common gadje objections to us and tell the truth.   I am also going to tell you some good news and some about my culture.   If you came to my home, know that you would be greeted with a friendly smile and be offered the guest cup as is common in Romani households.

I am an American Romani of Eastern European descent.  Most of my knowledge is of Eastern, some Western, some Southern Europe, and a bit of Northern Europe.  Britain's history broke off some 500 years ago and, since then, is vastly different.  I offer the following video as a short bit about British Rom by British Rom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOZQ6_2yeVE . 

This was produced by a group I am involved with.

I am not going to address Britain or most of Western or Southern Europe.  I know quite a bit about the situation in Britain but I am focusing on Eastern Europe, some of Western and Northern Europe, and the United States because I am from the United States and am of Romanian ancestry.  I am more in touch with the parts of the world I am addressing.   Also, to go into British history would add another two feet to this essay.  Nobody wants that!

** Who I Am, and Common Misconceptions about Gypsies **

I am Romani.  I shall answer for the Roma.

I am not going to do the following because I cannot:

   1) tell your future,

   2) read your palm,

   3) read the tarot for you,

   4) look into my crystal ball for you (I do not have one... all I have is a Magic 8-ball in my desk drawer),

   5) put a curse on someone for you or remove one.

I do not own, and have never played, a tambourine.

I am also not going to steal your wallet, silverware, or anything else. You can leave your children near me and I am not going to steal them.  You, to the women, really do not need to clutch your purse closer to your side and sidle away from me when I am near... really.

I guess, when I was issued my Gypsy Union Card, I did not purchase the proper benefits package because I missed every Gypsy stereotype out there.

Ask me to read your palm, I shall feed you the most amazing load of malarkey, then point to a spot on it and say, "There is where it says you are an idiot for thinking that all Gypsies can read palms!!" Ask snidely about my "crystal balls,"  "how do you get internet in your wagon," etc, and I will raise my eyebrow and give you my patented "you've got to be kidding" look and maybe a sarcastic remark. Call me a thief, tell me that Hitler was a hero for killing us, that I copulate with my mother because all Gypsies are incestuous, or all the other things we are told to insult us, I shall fix you with my best "you are less than the chewing gum I scrape off of my boot" look and walk away, dismissing you from my mind. Present me with a physical threat and I respond in kind.  Blackbelts in two martial arts plus my father's training have resulted in some effectiveness.

Everyone talks about the fortune telling Gypsy.  While fortune telling is/was a traditional way of making a living for some Roma, it is/was also traditional for us to mend pots, do odd jobs, work as musicians and entertainers (you already knew that), train horses, train bears, and many other skills.   Our people would camp to do this, invited by a landowner, or we worked as we traveled.

** Is "Gypsy" a Lifestyle? and the Genetics of the Roma **

People often seem to believe that what being a Gypsy is a lifestyle, not an actual genetic heritage. They seem to believe that by taking up the "wandering life" they can become "Gypsy." A good way to annoy a Romani (or any other "Gypsy") is to walk up to him/her and say: "I am now a free spirit, I am going on the road... I am like YOU now." Many people do not believe we even exist anymore, yet I am in-your-face proof that this is inaccurate. In the United States, there are a guessed one million of us.  Of course, we are on no census so all we can do us guess.

We are not defined by lifestyle and we are not defined by culture, although we have our own culture... a very rich one. We are a genetic ethnicity. Our DNA marker has been isolated on the Y chromosome and I just learned that major progress has been made towards isolating our mitochondrial markers as well.  (For more information on DNA markers and such projects, go to the National Geographic Genophraphic Project at :

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/.)

Personally, I intend to participate in the full spectrum of DNA studies when I have the opportunity.

Hence, "Gypsyness" is not determined by lifestyle or desire, but rather is carried in our DNA as stated. You cannot become one. You are born one or you are not.  This also applies to other "Gypsies" such as the Pavee, Sinti, Gitanos, and all the rest.

The proverbial jury is still out about the specifics of our DNA and, when I learn something conclusive, I shall write about it.  It is difficult to convince any number of us to submit DNA samples, or anything else, to any gadje run study so I shall have to wait until the studies are ready for release.   There are Romani run studies currently underway.

** Where Did Gypsy/Romani Come From? **

Again, I am only going to address the Romani because that is what I am.  Many under the umbrella label of "Gypsy" are related to us, others are not, like the Pavee.  Hence, I am ONLY speaking about Romani.

We hailed originally from India (or through India, originally Asia... the jury is out on this), not Romania, not Hungary, and not Egypt. "Rom" means "man" in the Romani language.  In no way are we linked with Romania other than that we live there along with living everywhere else in the world and an unfortunate commonality in name. 

It is also not known why we left India or why we came to India if the coming through India theory is the true one.  There is much speculation, many theories.  I do not want to write out a foot long dissertation about it.  If you want to read a two-foot long dissertation, here is a good start:

http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/history.htm.

 Since that article was written, the possibly through India theory has been added.

"Gadje" means "not Romani." It includes every race and/or ethnicity other than Romani (and related types of Gypsies... we all have a different word or spelling for "gadje"). In the Romani view there are only two types of people: Romani and gadje.  All ethnicities, which are not Roma, such as Hispanic, black, Asian, Caucasian, etc, are all considered gadje.

The term "Gypsy" is an incorrect one, originating from the belief that Romani (the largest ethnic group under the umbrella term "Gypsy") were from Egypt.  "Gypsy" is considered a generally derogatory term, especially if not capitalized, i.e. "gypsy" when referring to Romani.  The uncapitalized version is associated in America with "gypsy crime" which is, more often than not, committed by gadje.  Racial profiling at its worst.

Living in tents and/or horse drawn wagon (vardo or vurdon in Romani) is not a prerequisite for a Roma. That is not part of the rulebook. Okay, there IS no rulebook. We live however we wish. I live in an apartment. Some are still somewhat or fully nomadic, whiles others (like me) are not.  Laws have been put in place in the vast majority of lands to force us to settle while other laws and police action occurs to this day to violently drive us out of our settlements, especially in Europe. Force us to settle, then kick us out.

Until recently, anti-Gypsy laws were still on the books in the United States, including forcing us to move on.  The laws disallowed us from traditional ways to make a living, and made us pay a hefty fee for even admitting that we are "Gypsy."  Believe it or not, in some states we had to purchase a license to be what we are or we had to lie about our heritage.  These laws varied from state to state.

The important thing to remember is this:  like any people, there are the good and the bad, so do not expect the Romani to be an exception.

** A Brief Explanation of "gypsy crime" **

Since I mentioned it above, I thought that I should clarify.  The terms I am using are readily searchable online so I shall leave the readers to search for them using their favorite search engines (Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, etc) them if they wish.

"Gypsy crime" includes distraction burglaries, snatch and grabs by wandering roves of various people, fortune telling scams, and "sweetheart swindling."  The last is very vile and, unfortunately, often, but not always, committed by us.  There is a notorious family, hated by the rest of us, who does this.   The rest of "gypsy crime", which is the majority of it (sweetheart swindling is rare), is perpetrated by gadje. 

The reason it is called "gypsy crime" is the criminals describe themselves as "gypsies" based on their lifestyle, which they consider "gypsy."  The fortune telling scammers ride on the Romani stereotype and often when they are taken into the police station, they remove their wigs and wash off their dark makeup to reveal... gadje.  Yes, some of it is done by us (every ethnicity has its bad eggs) but the majority is not.

Some fortune tellers, Romani or gadje, are not scammers.  They are running an honest business.  In order to not be caught up with a fortune telling scammer, please do your research.  If you know, it is easy to pick up a scammer from a legitimate business.   I do not necessarily believe in fortune telling but that does not impact the legitimacy of their business.

** "What is a Tsigani?" and a very little European history **

An essay about European history would be about 5 feet long so I am going to forgo that and address two issues only.  Tsigani and its many variants are how we are customarily referred to throughout Eastern and part of Western and Southern Europe.

Firstly, according to Dictionary.com :

(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=tzigane

the origins and meaning of the word tzigane is this following:

[Origin: 1880–85; < F tzigane, prob. < Hungarian cigány, akin to G Zigeuner, Romanian tigan, Serbo-Croatian ciganin, Bulg tsíganin, all ult. < MGk (a) tsínganos, earlier athínganos member of a heretical sect of Phrygia, perh. lit., “untouchable, inviolable” (Gk a- a-6 + -thinganos, deriv. of thingánein to touch)].

In this section I am also going to describe its common definition as I hear it coming out of Romania.  Words are tricky things... origins are not always clear and meanings change when they reach the vernacular.

Some reading this might know about the word "tsigani" and its many variants.  Here is some of the history of that word and a major part of our history: the Vlax nation (and miscellaneous others) of the Romani were enslaved in Romania for about 500 years, ending in the 1850s (some reports say 1860's).   We were sold as "sclavi tiganesti," "sclavi" being Romanian for "slave."   Here is an excellent link about Romani slavery:

http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/slavery.htm.

Romani have also been enslaved in various other parts of the world, such as the Renaissance period of England during King Edward VI's reign.  We were also enslaved in Spain, being shipped to America as slaves in the 15th century.  Russia and Scotland did it as well.

The dictionary states the origins of the word "tsigani" as the 1880's, however, I have seen with my own eyes pictures of actual slave sale posters with that word  "tiganesti" on it.  Slavery ended for us in the 1850s so I doubt the date listed in the dictionary.

The common usage (the vernacular usage) of the word Tsigani that I have heard from Romanian friends and used throughout Eastern Europe and part of Western Europe carries the same negative connotations as the word "Gypsy": thief, swindler, nomad (negative connotation).  In Romania it also has "dark skinned" as part of its meaning with a negative connotation.  I think we all know a similar word in English that is applied to a different ethnic group and is now one of the most forbidden words in the English language. 

** Europe... the Good News **

Before I continue, I wish to list some of the positive steps being taken in Europe.  What I have said and what I am going to say is very grim.  The grim nature of what I have, and am going to, say, is warranted.  I wish to throw some good news in before I continue.  This section is about what both lovely gadje and we have done, and are doing, to help.

I do not wish to give you a wholly negative view of Eastern and some of Western and Southern Europe.  Yes, it is bad... very.  However, there are some attempts in some nations to combat and correct inequities.  Most are in their infancy and it is yet to be seen if they shall bear fruit.  A few of them are already bearing fruit.  With the centuries of hatred on both sides and the massive marginalization of the Roma it is going to take immense amounts of work on both sides.

There are Roma, who have managed to obtain an education via various methods, who have entered the political arena and others who are unifying Roma Internet and television stations across Europe.  They have the daunting task of much opposition from the racist gadje and the problem that so many of our settlements do not have electricity, phone, or mail service, much less television or internet.   Most of us fall into the latter category and Roma in a few entire nations fall into that category.  There is no way that dwellers in these settlements or living in these nations can know anything about the outside world.  Nor are the people living in them able to read or write.  However, this is a good step.

In a few instances, we have managed to do things like start a brick factory in, I believe it was, Romania.  This provides jobs by selling the bricks to gadje and helps us build better housing for ourselves.  There are Roma in Bulgaria who are being trained specifically to help de-marginalize Roma students who are, in all ways, marginalized and disadvantaged. 

There are gadje who are fighting for us, from groups like Amnesty International to localized groups of gadje, to individual business owners who hire us while most will not.  They take much flack for it but, as one said, he pays all of his workers the same and Roma work just as hard as gadje and are even more grateful for their jobs than his non-Rom employees.

Bulgaria is, from what I have seen, more assertive of the European nations in improving our lot due to a lot of pressure, up to and including electing a few of us as government officials and instituting policies to improve our lot. Romania, on the lower end of treating us well, is a contradiction: the government is instituting many new policies to assist us, rather large ones, however, the government speaks openly about us in hatred. However, I give credit where credit is due and I have learned about much that Romania is now doing.

Some European governments are realizing that, by denying us education in a work force that requires education, they are setting themselves for even more of a "Roma problem."  Many nations are falling under criticism for the treatment of minorities (mainly us) and are being pressured.

Because of all of this, a few nations are taking steps.  Even Romania, one of the nations where we are the most hated, is taking rather impressive measures to fix the "Roma problem."  Some of the vilest hate I have seen comes out of there, including from the government, but I am hearing from Romanian gadje friends and gadje foes of measures that are being implemented.

Nations like Slovakia and Italy are making NO positive steps and things are degrading for us.

There are gadje who are producing documentaries about our plight in Europe to get the message out, including filming us, recording our stories as we tell them, recording racist gadje then refute what the racist gadje say with evidence directly to the contrary.   They find proof of such things as forced sterilization, segregation and inadequate schooling, extreme job discrimination (usually flat out denial), severe abuses by medical professionals and denial of medical care, and more.  They hope to get the word out.  YouTube is one of the ways they do it and I have noticed that the "hits" on these videos are very high.  Of course, so is the vile commentary but, just by being seen, the word IS being gotten out.

I believe that this one of the best ways to help.

** A Brief Bit about Romanian Gadje/Rom Dynamics **

A large portion of the hatred toward Romani originates from Romania  (although it also comes from Italy and others, as well), so I should also briefly address the issue.

When we were released from slavery in the 1850's, we were not taught to live "mainstream" or offered any help, unlike the black folks in the United States.  We were released from slavery, kicked out of wherever we were, and had to run or face more persecution.  To this day we have had no help other than the baby steps I listed and those only recently, starting in the 2000's.

The general Romanian and other Eastern, some Southern, and some Western European opinions of us as subhuman and/or animals still holds to this day.   I have also heard it in the United States... up close and personal in my face plus much, much more.  That is a sad statement of this nation.

So, after slavery was abolished, we had no skills, were still hated, we hated gadje, and not until very recently has there been any effort to help "mainstream" us.  During the Communist era we had better employment because the Communist State assigned a lot of us jobs as, usually, musicians.  With the end of Communism, jobs for us evaporated again when gadje were not forced to hire us.

That is part of the reason for the situation in Romania... just part.

** The Stereotypes and How They Came to Be **

Here is just one example of some of the untrue stereotypes about us, and how they came to be. There are plenty more.

"Gypsies as Baby Stealers"

Over the centuries, wanted us to move on from wherever we were camping. They needed an excuse to kick over our stewpots so our families would starve. They started the "baby stealing" stories so they could justify coming, en masse, into our camps, kick over our stewpots, and, thus, render at least one family hungry for the night.  But of course, not a single baby was found in said stewpots. Violent action against the Romani usually accompanied these events because it was never just one gadje who came to play the fun game of Kick the Stewpot, but groups of many. Of course, the offenders did not necessarily escape, as they say, scott-free from these encounters.  They may have come en masse to our camps but, no, they did not get away unscathed and the outcome was not always in their favor.

Most of the myths and stereotypes are based on kernels of truth that are twisted beyond recognition with all pertinent data withheld.  This malarkey has been passed down, further warped, for, literally, centuries.

I am including in this essay the truth about us.  I am trying to address, as briefly as possible, why these stereotypes evolved by addressing the core issues, themselves.

To go further into all of this would take a rather long and cumbersome essay, hence, I shall forgo that.  Rather than doing this, I am writing this essay and I invite you to read the information on the following page:

http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/myths.htm. 

These materials should nicely and concisely elaborate upon these issues. 

If you wish a heavier and longer read, the following is an in depth study of part of this very issue and more:

http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_d_identity_romancevsreality&lang=en&articles=true. 

I heartily recommend that page.

That last article was written by one of our foremost scholars: Dr. Ian Hancock.  He, himself, is Romani and is on the boards of many universities as well as councils.  I do not know the author of the article on Patrin because it was not listed but suspect that it was Dr. Hancock.

** Romani Today **

Most of us do not live in closed Romani communities in the United States, though some very few lucky Roma do. There are single Romani family units or even lone Romani like myself. I can tell you that Romani family and community ties and the desire for such are strong, and that I wish I had one. I do not know why this is so but the pull to be amongst other Romani is very strong.  And yes, in Romani communities, gadje -- except for the very few -- are not trusted.

We are people. We have no greater predilection to thievery than anyone else, most of us in the United States live in homes, and we are not inbred. I am a phlebotomist (a health worker trained in drawing blood for testing or donation) rather than a fortuneteller. We are employed and work in all fields and live how we wish. Mother Theresa was of the Rom, so was Elvis Presley, so is former President Clinton, so was Sir Charles Chaplin.  Many hide their ethnicity out of necessity.  That is why you did not know.  Take a look at the information contained on this webpage, you might be surprised at who you find listed there:

 http://www.imninalu.net/famousGypsies.htm. 

There are many artists, musicians, politicians, scholars, scientists, explorers, writers, and much more.

In the mid 1970's, via international congress, the Romani declared ourselves to be a nation. It might be difficult for a gadje to fully understand, but this is the basic premise: the Romani nation is wherever a Romani lives. We have no actual country, but we do, however, have a nation: it is in our hearts and our souls and can never be taken from us. Our national anthem is the song "Djelem Djelem" (accessible translation and audio files at:

 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/gelem.htm)

and our flag is the red wheel over the blue and green. The red wheel symbolizes our travels and/or the chakras.  The green is the earth, the blue the sky above. "Opre Roma" means "Rise Roma!" and April 8th is International Roma Day.

** Romani Culture, Customs, and Traditions **

The Romani culture is ancient and rich, and is far too varied amongst its members for me to go into any great depth in this essay.  However, I can give you a few examples of our people.

Our language is called Romanes, Romani, Romany, or Romani Chib.  It is not standardized due to its many dialects and in that it has only fairly recently been recorded on paper. Unfortunately, I do not remember much of what my father taught me as a youth and I only have recently started relearning it.

Traditionally, the Roma were nomadic. Most of us in the United States live a static life, like all others here. Some in the United States are still nomadic (very, very few), or semi-nomadic (few). Some countries have more nomadic Romani than others but extreme measures have been taken to make us "settle."

Traditional Romani are VERY family and community oriented and loyal. It is one of the hallmarks of a traditional Romani.

Traditionally, marriages are pre-arranged, it can be grounds for expulsion to lay with gadje in the stricter families and Clans, and the phrase "Gadje gadjensa, Rom Romensa" ("Gadje with gadje, Roma with Roma") has strong roots and is still adhered to, to some degree.

Traditionally for me to marry another Romani (assuming that my marriage was not already arranged by my parents or grandparents) I would have to ask her family's permission to even court her and have to be granted it by the family itself. Then I would have to prove myself to her family. It would be much better for my father to contact my intended's father.

Romani elders are revered and considered a valuable community resource.

It is common amongst us to believe that our ancestors guide us... they are very present in our lives.  I hold this belief myself.

Being cast out by one's familiya and Clan is social death. That is saying "you are gadje!"

Now, in the United States, these traditions do not hold nearly as true as Europe but they are still very strong. gadje/Romani marriage is more accepted, for example. Family is huge and family also can include other Romani, especially if they are from your Clan.

Traditionally, we try to police ourselves within our own community. However, that does not exempt us from the laws of wherever we live. We live by both.  We have a very strict law that I am going to describe.  It is very bad and punishable to do anything that is going to bring gadje law down upon us.  We always come out on the sort end of the stick if gadje law is involved.  We do our best to not draw its eye.

That is one reason we, traditionally, do not fight back legally when wronged.  A few of us are, finally, starting to do so and we are suffering the consequences.  However, every movement has growing pains.

Traditionally, we are a bit wary of gadje. If you know our history, you must understand why. Most of us in the United States do not have a problem with most gadje. Bigots are, of course, an exception.

If you know much about Romani laws of ritual purity and life, you would know that "filthy Gypsy" is an oxymoron.  These laws range from rules of dating, rules of how to bathe (you use two cloths, one for upper body and one for lower, you only use running water for bathing and do not take a bath in a tub, you shower because baths are considered unclean, etc.), from how you wash your clothes, how and who you date (not gadje!), how you act within the family and community, how you dress, etc. These laws, basically, dictate all aspects of Romani life. Some of it is extremely strict and not all Clans have exactly the same laws and not all Clans and families follow them as strictly as others.

In cases where Romani are not able to keep clean, there is this to consider: in many parts of Europe and other areas, Romani are not allowed to have sanitary facilities while being denied our traditional way of life and, in some nations, hounded mercilessly.  Hence, there is no choice in the matter.  It is a bit difficult to keep clean when you have no washer or dryer, no soap, no sanitary measures at all, and no opportunity to live in a way that we know how to maintain our cleanliness.  Depression and despondency also play a factor in this.

Many portray Romani women as being sluttish. This could not be farther from the truth. Traditionally, Romani women are not even supposed to display their legs or midriff, for example. Even slightly off the shoulder blouses are a bit risqué.  I see more and more of our women displaying themselves, and I cringe because I was raised traditionally.

For more in-depth information on the customs and traditions of the Romani, you can visit this very useful webpage at Patrin: 

http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/tradition.htm.

I mention "ritual purity."  Ritual purity includes, but is not exclusive to, mixing with gadje.  Traditionally, mixing with gadje other than is absolutely necessary renders us "impure."  The "laws" of bathing that I mentioned are also a part of this.  I am not, myself, comfortable with going into it further than that or posting our word for it where everyone can see.

** Today's Romani Persecution **

Even in these supposed enlightened days, in many European countries Romani are forced into substandard schooling and/or classes for the mentally impaired. It does not matter how intelligent the Romani child is and we tend to be bright. For most Romani, the equivalent of a 7th grade education or lower is all that can be expected.  A few European nations are beginning to make strides to improve this but they are baby steps.  Again, I am using the term "Europe" because some of the nations I describe are in western Europe like Italy, Belgium, and West Germany.

There is the sometimes very severe abuse Romani children receive in school, including in the United States.  In large parts of Europe schools are segregated and vastly substandard.  When Romani are able to attend classes, we are taught in Europe to hate our own people.  We are not allowed to speak our own Romani language.   There is also, in the non-segregated schools, the issue of ritual purity.   This is a hurdle that traditional Rom parents have to overcome and is, for the most part, not a problem in the United States.  It is still a problem in Europe but, more and more, it is overcome. 

Often the issue is made about crimes Romani commit and begging in Europe.  Think about a few things, if you will: for the most part we cannot get a job (and I mean that literally), we cannot get above a 7th grade education (if we are lucky), we are badgered and driven violently from where we manage to camp in some nations, we are not allowed in restaurants, public bathrooms, or the like.  What do you do when you have this kind of problem?  Now, not all of us have it this bad in Europe and not all European nations are that bad... but a large chunk are.

Forced sterilization of Romani exists in some nations in Europe (Slovakia is one).   In some nations, to this day, we are shoved into ghettos with barely the essentials to survive (if that) accompanied in some of the worst places by the pleasure of gadje coming in en masse to thump some Romani just for fun.  Or, just shoved into ghettos with no electricity, no running water, no garbage service, no phone, unpaved streets, falling down buildings (no money for repairs), and often no or spotty mail delivery.  Oh, and denial of or dangerous limiting of access to healthcare.  The average life expectancy for a Romani is 15 years lower than that for gadje. A bit low for today, no?  Again I state that not all European nations are this bad.

I have not included the issue of O Porrajmos in here ("the Holocaust") because I am currently writing another essay on it.  It is too important of an issue to cover in just 6 inches or even a foot worth of text.  I am too empassioned about it and am an amateur scholar in the matter.

Two of my poems about the subject can be found in the Holocaust section of Romani Roots.  Please refer to those for now.

O Porrajmos... we NEVER forget.

Here is a little bit about conditions in the United States:

Although anecdotal, the following stories are examples of common treatment Romani have and do receive.

Firstly, the laws against being a Gypsy (the laws specifically state "Gypsy") have only recently been rescinded due to "status crime" legislation. Until then, there were actually laws in place to make our lives miserable and take everything from us.  There is a story about a new mother who was hauled in on one of these laws. Her infant was at home. She begged the police to at least go get her infant or let her call someone. They did not. She was released three days later.  Her infant had starved to death.

I often tell about an old woman left bleeding in a ditch by a policeman when he asked why she was beaten. She told him that she was beaten because she was a Gypsy. Cop said, "Well you ARE a Gypsy" and left her to bleed in the ditch.

The usual way to shut up a Gypsy (of all kinds) child at school: "shut up you're just a Gypsy." Our children have to be pulled from school systems because of the emotional and physical abuse they have received there.  And that is in the United States -- in Europe it is often far worse.

I am not telling of my own specific childhood stories.  Most of our youth have to say they are some other ethnicity to avoid daily harassment and physical abuse. People who stand up for us are mocked.

A friend of mine, when jogging outside his home, was routinely stopped and harassed by the police because he "looked like a Gypsy."  My friend told them that he IS a Gypsy. The police said, "well, there ya go" and continued to harass him (I do not know if this has happened to him lately because I have unfortunately lost touch with him).

Romani are routinely turned down for jobs if we admit to what we are.  If they find out after we are hired that we are Roma, we very frequently face being fired for some nebulous reason or our workload being increased to the point where nobody can keep up and, thus, used as an excuse to fire us.

I could go on, and on, and on.

** So What Now? **

The thing is, we are still here.  Romani are not extinct, not dead, we are not going away, and we are NOT going to lose our culture... it ain't a'happenin'.

Despite adversity, we survive with our identity and our culture intact. So when I say "Opre Roma" -- I mean it.

~~Proud Romani

©2008 PROUDROMANI