The Romanies or more commonly known as Gypsies are an ethnic group which immigrated from the Indian subcontinent. They currently number around the 10 to 12 million range and have been seen living in Europe, Asia in addition to North and South America. In many instances, they are targets of hate crimes, discrimination, and even denied citizenship in countries they have been living in. At the time of communist rule, Romanies gained social and economic protection. However, as communism fell, the Romanies once again crumbled and went into a state of poverty. Through researching the Romanies, we learn of the hardships they went through and how strong they are. Even though they are all separated worldwide, they still share a bond stronger than people who immigrated without any problems. Romanies should gain political sovereignty and have a country of their own where they are free from discrimination and hate crimes.
Romanies, translated to “person” from an Indic root, are an ethnic nation whose sense of nationalism stems from their ethnicity, connecting with their fellow Romanies deeper than the country that they reside. The Romanies have gone through different hardships compared to their fellow citizens; they regularly receive discrimination ultimately never being ‘one’ with their country. At the time of their immigration boom, 15th to 16th century, the Romanies learned various skills and many became employed. Locals became furious and began calling them thieves for ‘stealing’
Liviu Tipurita’s 2011film, Gypsy Child Traffickers, is a disturbing documentary about the exploitation of children who are forced to work as beggars on the streets of London for the benefit of businessmen in their home country of Romania. The film exposes the harsh conditions in which the Roma gypsy children are living, the corruption behind the child trafficking, and contemplates the stigma that the Roma gypsies have faced for decades. The film producer, John Sweeney, follows women and children for several months in order to document their illegal activities, then confronts them in Romania in an effort to expose them and gain understanding about why they are begging for money when they seemingly live a lavish lifestyle in their native country.
For Anzaldua, any borderland is “a place of contradictions” (preface 19), rendering border residents to suffer from constant insecurity and perplexity as they struggle to keep their multiple identities intact. Nonetheless, as she writes
Within a single culture there are differences based on religion, politics, nationality, race, and ideology that go largely unassumed by its members. This leads to people defining others in ways that are entirely inaccurate. Members of these imagined communities who live without their identities being recognized by the larger majority are very similar to the subordinate, more “primitive” cultures that exist in the world in the sense that most of the time, they go unacknowledged by larger, more advanced powers. When these subsidiary entities are unable to make themselves known, they simply become easily influenced by higher powers since they tend to become “a quiescent, ignorant, manipulable electorate” (Pratt, 510). It is vital that these marginalized peoples learn to make themselves heard, for there are many principles and ideas that can be learnt from them.
The figure group The Gypsies is Charles Vyse’s first venture into the genre of the Romany (Fig. 57). In the nineteenth and early twentieth-century true Gypsies or Romanies, considered a separate nomadic people, possessing a language, customs, and beliefs. The women, categorized by flamboyant clothing, extravagant songs, and dances, and the men, branded roguish thieves, and horse traders. Moreover, popular interest in gypsies came through literature, theatre, and film, engendering the nostalgic vision of a pastoral people refusing to integrate into the society of the day. Gypsies, colourful inhabitants of fairgrounds and racetracks would become subjects for his figures, creating a new genre. The modelling of the group invokes
Many circumstances oblige people to move from their native country to a foreign one. From this movement of migration have emerged many ethnic groups. An ethnic group is a restraint number of persons living in a larger society and sharing the same distinct cultural heritage. Some people tend to bury their habits and accommodate to the new way of life. However others hold on to their identity and try to identify their race and maintain it. This enriches societies and makes them multi-racial. Therefore, every ethnic group is essential to complete the mosaic. Although they are sometimes threatened, minorities must fight to preserve their principles. Why must they fight? Because racial identification has many positive impacts on the members.
From 1939-1945 millions of people were persecuted all throughout Europe. One of those kinds of people were the Gypsies (or Roma). The Gypsies were a members of traveling people. These people traditionally made a living by trade and fortune telling. In Germany the Nazis considered the Roma as genetically inferior. The fate of the Roma was very similar to the one as the Jews. In the concentrations camps the Roma were forced to work and mass murdered. On September 21, 1939 Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the Reich security main office met with Security Police and Security Service officials in Berlin. He intended to deport 30,000 German and Austrian Roma from the Greater German Reich to the German part of Poland. The governor of the German
The changing environment throughout time has caused many families to move out of their homelands. These families are either forced to make the decision to move out, or they move by their own desire. Migration and parenthood in a new country are significant transitions that pose stressful challenges for immigrant and refugee parents. Although living in Canada can be rewarding, however, there are challenges that immigrants and refugee face through trying to adapt to the culture of Canada. These challenges may include, battling cultural shock, Language Barriers, Misconceptions of Homeland and culture, employment, and depression.
Gypsies are nomads (Leeson, 2013). The nomadic nature seems to be a central point of departure that defines the gypsy way of life. Although, the modern Roma people no longer travel in caravan and have blended in with the locals, the sense of independence through travel still is reflected in their way of life (Romanian Family Health Initiative, 2007), for example, many Roma men choose occupations that lets them travel and be on the road (Matras, 2000).
Some Roma hide their ethnic identities because it can be dangerous and bad for their business because of the stereotyping that goes along with being a Roma. Also, depending on the community, they may be threatened, attacked, or discriminated again.
Gypsies' connection to fortune telling dates back to the time of Persian invasion. It's quite an ancient practice. Nowadays, most of them are popular for their psychic ability, as well as their ability to condemn life with a curse.
There are many types of people in the world who do not have specific states that they call their homes. Many people like this have fought and still continue to fight to make it so they have their own place to call home. An example of these people are the Romani people also formerly known as the Gypsies. The Romani people are associated with what is called a stateless nation. A stateless nation is defined as a national group that aspires to become a nation-state, but lacks the territorial means to do so. The Romani people are nomadic people which causes them to be all over the world. Because they are known to be all over the world they don’t have their own state where they can practice their historical cultures, their cultures, and their political organization/ government they follow.
The beginnings of persecution come from hatred. Hatred comes from the growth of fear. People for time immemorial have been devastated by the growth of rampant fear that’s projected onto their race, religion, ethnicity, and culture. Under the Soviet Block, the Roma people were subject to harsh persecution and demonization as a result of their society that was not compatible with the communist regime. In Czechoslovakia this fear almost caused the destruction of an entire people, a culture, a way of life. The outcome of this persecution was widespread destruction of the Roma culture within Czechoslovakia, and had it been allowed to continue, potentially lethal. Roma people came under intense scrutiny from both the government and the citizens