If we take into account the Roma who live scattered throughout the country, who are less visible and who did not identify themselves as Roma in the census, then the number of Roma in Romania would be around one million, equivalent to 4. However, many of these people do not identify themselves as Gypsies. They consider themselves to be Romanians in certain parts of the country Hungarians or Turks , but, for one motive or another, they are not recognised as such by others.
In everyday language, the term tends to carry a social value. Gypsies who have completely detached themselves from the traditional way of life no longer consider themselves to be Gypsies and are no longer considered to be so by others. This multiplicity of terms obliges those studying the Gypsy Roma population in Romania to establish the necessary ethnic demarcations.
We have already seen the number of Roma recorded by the census , , as well as the figures used by the authors of the study around one million. One author who has written about the Roma established on a sociological basis that the figure of Roma living in Romania stood at over 1,, Bearing in mind the margin of error, he subsequently estimated that the number of Roma living in Romania was no larger than 1,,, possibly less.
Some Roma leaders have stated that the population is made of 2 or even 3 million, while international Roma organisations currently use the figure of 2. Even if all the descendants of the Gypsies from the inter-war period were accepted, such figures would never be reached.
The substantial difference between the birth rates of Gypsies and Romanians has existed for only two generations.
At the same time, the social and ethnic evolutions that have taken place during this time have meant that numerous individuals of Gypsy ethnic origin have abandoned their original community and integrated completely into the majority population.
It is certain that the unifying element is not language. In the census, only , people declared Romanes to be their mother tongue, equivalent to The rest declared their mother tongue to be Romanian However, it is probably that the percentage is somewhat higher, since the census does not record instances of bilingualism.
From the point of view of language, it is clear that the Roma population is in an advanced stage of assimilation. Similarly, it cannot be said that the Roma have their own ethnic cultural tradition, since they have no cultivated language or written culture of their own.
Consciousness of ethnic identify manifests itself strongly among some categories of Roma, but is very flexible or even absent in others. There is, however, a clear sense of group belonging at the level of natural communities. Group solidarity exists at the level of Roma clans, but not for the Roma population as a whole.
Relations between the different categories of Roma are characterised by co-operation in some cases, by rivalry in others, but very often there is a clear separation between the different clans. What unites Roma and confers their identity upon them is in fact their way of life, which is different from that of the other ethnic communities, and here particularly the traditional life strategy, which even in modernised forms, persists today.
We are dealing with a life strategy specific to a community that suffers discrimination and marginalisation, and that lives by the exploitation of marginal resources. As we have seen, this is completely valid only for the traditional communities.
It is, however, perceived as being the defining characteristic of the Roma population as a whole. In this respect, it is possible to agree with those who consider the Roma to be a marginal social category rather than an ethnic group. In the conditions of the democratisation of the political regime, the Roma have begun to make their presence felt in public life, affirming their specific interests and their right to a decent life, as well as respect from the other citizens of the country.
They have formulated specific social and ethnic demands. A series of leaders have emerged, some are of a traditional type, others are modern leaders, represented by Roma intellectuals, who speak on behalf of this population. The Roma have formed civic and political organisations, including a few political parties. Clearly, we are witnessing a movement of ethnic affirmation on the part of the Roma.
We are facing a population that is manifesting itself as a distinct ethnic group. Apart from their social distinctiveness compared to the rest of the population, the Roma are beginning to manifest solidarity that is ethnic in nature. The existence of ethnic consciousness is making its presence felt among the Roma population. Today, Roma are affirming their ethnic identity in larger numbers than in the past.
It is clear that we are witnessing a process of ethnic redefinition. In the s, the Roma were tending to express themselves publicly as an ethnic group in the other countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe with substantial Roma populations and where for five decades they have had a similar experience to that in Romania. Meanwhile, a Roma movement of political and cultural emancipation has been underway in Western countries for the last two to three decades.
The process of redefinition experienced by this population cannot be understood if we limit ourselves strictly to the realities of the Roma population in a single country. This population, highly differentiated from many points of view, is seeking to construct a collective identity for itself that transcends state boundaries. Since the beginning of the s, Roma organisations, whether at a national or international level, have been campaigning for national authorities and European bodies to adopt a social policy with regard to the Roma population and to accord them political and cultural rights.
Some analysts speak of the construction of a new ethnic identity of a modern character, or of a process of Roma ethnogenesis. The fall of Communism has meant the abandonment of assimilationist policies with regard to the Roma and their recognition as a national minority. Today the Roma have civic and political rights identical to those of the other citizens.
To this is added international support for the Roma in these countries. Bearing in mind the manifestations that have taken place in recent years, it must be accepted that the Roma have also begun to express themselves de facto as a modern national minority. Even if the Roma are not a homogeneous population as some of their leaders present them, and are in an incipient stage in their political awakening, we believe that it is already possible to speak of the existence of a Roma nationality in Romania today.
The Roma from Romania are tending to become transformed into a modern national minority. It would appear that nothing unites the Roma apart from their isolation in the view of public opinion. They do not possess the unifying elements through which the modern nations of Europe were forged in previous centuries i.
In the case of the Roma, we are dealing with an ethnogenesis of a different kind. Hence, it has been stated that the concept of national minority is not suitable for the Roma. The Roma would thus constitute a transnational, non-territorial, European minority. Of course, we are not speaking here of the State. It is not expected that the State will support the development of a Roma nationality. Any national State—and the Romanian State also defines itself as such—has assimilationist tendencies.
After , the State has recognised the Roma as a national minority and guarantees them equality in rights alongside the other citizens of the country. Via the Constitution, the Roma are represented by a deputy in parliament. Problems specific to the Roma are dealt with by the Department for the Protection of National Minorities within the Romanian government, and in particular by the Office for the Roma.
The evolution of ethnic consciousness and cohesion of the Roma and the general process of the construction of a modern Roma ethnicity depends almost exclusively on figures within the Roma community, namely the leaders of the Roma community. Roma leaders will have a determining role in the construction of a new Roma ethnicity. As demonstrated by the experience of the European nations, national identity does not affirm itself of its own accord, being to a large extent a construct.
The modern nations are, to a large extent, the work of intellectuals. Roma intellectuals in Romania are already manifesting themselves in this manner. Their project regarding the modernisation of the Roma population—a project that is not of a single voice, but which is present in materials published by Roma intellectuals engaged in this movement of renewal, in their action and public declarations, in the programmes of the different Roma parties and organisations, in articles in the press etc.
The project does not only aim to promote the socio-economic modernisation of the Roma population through professional training, education, modernisation of way of life etc. We also find in equal measure objectives of ethnic nature: the promotion without any complexes of a sense of ethnic consciousness; promotion of Romanes and its transformation into a written language; the establishment of Romanes-language education; the valorisation of the folkloric traditions of the Roma and the promotion of cultural activity that will modernise these traditions; the establishment of a research programme covering multiple aspects of the Roma population and others.
These efforts are designed to transform the Roma into a cohesive national community and a modern national minority. Ethnic modernisation is not possible without the Roma ridding themselves of the social legacy of the past, without their overcoming of the social backwardness and their sense of marginality, and without their social integration. Until now, modernisation for the Roma has largely meant leaving the ethnic community and assimilating into the majority population.
Now for the first time, a new horizon is opening up, namely the modernisation of the ethnic group itself from a social, cultural etc. The outlook in the short term is not very promising. Paradoxically, today in Romania we are witnessing a phenomenon of the reactivation of the traditional organisation of the Roma. The phenomenon is probably linked to the social regression that has been experienced by the Roma population in recent years. Certainly, this does not augur well for the goal of modernisation.
The traditional leaders of the Roma the bulibas,i seem to have a greater authority than that of the modern leaders. There is a tendency for traditional forms of organisational structure, both on a regional and a national level, something that has in fact never existed in the past.
In some places, the practice of traditional courts the so-called kris , which pass judgement on the transgressions of those who break the moral code of the Roma, has been revived. It is necessary to ask whether the Roma population is moving towards modern life or moving back towards tradition. It will take a long time and the course that it will take depends on a multitude of factors. The new Roma identity that is in the process of formation is not obliged to include all segments of the Roma population that exists today.
It is supposed that these segments will evolve in different ways. It is hard to believe that Roma who are virtually Romanianised or Magyarised at the present time will return to their language and partly to the traditions that they have forgotten. The process of ethnic assimilation is a natural one.
The future of this population remains open, including with regard to its place in Romanian society. Historically, in nearly every country where the Roma have lived, they have also been referred to as gypsies , a derogatory term used to describe an ethnic group that has migrated throughout the world over the course of several centuries.
The Roma have one of the most dramatic stories in human history, but few people know their ancient tale of travel, persecution and survival. Here are five intriguing facts about the Romani people :. Linguistic analysis suggests that the Roma are originally a Hindi people from northern India.
Many of the words and grammatical rules of the Romani language are virtually identical to those of the Hindi language. Genetic evidence also suggests that Romani people may have originated in northern India. A study, published in the journal Cell Biology, analyzed genomic data from 13 Romani communities across Europe. The researchers concluded that the Roma people left northern India about 1, years ago; those Roma now in Europe migrated through the Balkans starting about years ago.
These findings support written reports of Roma groups arriving in medieval Europe in the s. After leaving northern India, most Romani went to Europe: In some Eastern European countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria, they form up to 12 percent of the total population.
The Roma are also numerous in Turkey, which has about 2. Though concentrated in Europe, there are also Romani populations on every occupied continent — about 1 million live in the United States, and roughly , in Brazil. But others are thinking about leaving. Her sister Elena, who lives up the road in a similar-sized room that sleeps eight of her family, is willing to look outside Romania's borders. But no one wants to leave. She adds: "I have thought about political asylum in the UK.
Some people from Spain, Brazil and Great Britain promised to help after the eviction. But no one did anything. The situation in this landfill slum is just one example of the multiple persecutions Roma face across much of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.
And it is a form of oppression that is beginning to have a direct impact in Britain. Over the past four years, increasing numbers of Roma have appeared in Western European cities, from Berlin to Paris, Stockholm and London. Romania and Bulgaria have the largest Roma populations. No one knows how many of the estimated 90, Romanians in Britain are Roma, but it is a fraction of the one million Gypsies who live in France and Germany. Yet this trickle towards Britain could become a torrent come , when the two nations are given full movement rights.
The small but steady increase of Roma arrivals in Western Europe has already led to a plethora of scare stories from populist media which portray them as endemically criminal communities thriving on begging networks and illegal settlements. Last year, a Swiss magazine ran a cover story about Roma arrivals under the headline: "They come. They Steal. They go. It later turned out to be a toy. While some Roma are involved in crime or, more often than not, forcibly trafficked into crime networks by organised syndicates, or pushed there by poverty , the reports rarely stop to ask why so many people are on the move.
The simple answer is that Europe's Roma are trying to escape a new wave of oppression that has swept across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. Unlike those who migrate for economic reasons, many Roma say they are seizing the opportunity to find a home without harassment.
Those who fight for Roma rights make the argument that those who head to the West are as much political refugees as they are economic ones. Persecution of Roma, who trace their lineage back to northern India but have lived in Europe for more than 1, years, is well documented.
Alongside Jews, gays and the disabled, they were targeted by the Nazis for extermination. But while European views on Judaism, homosexuality and disability have come on in leaps and bounds in the past six decades, the attitude towards the Roma still drips with prejudice. Nowhere is this more visible than in those nations that are supposedly traditional Roma homelands, where for centuries they were historically viewed as slaves for the region's landed aristocracies.
All across Central and Eastern Europe today, discrimination against Gypsy communities is virulent and rising. The global economic crash hit the region hard and the Roma are an easy target.
Far-right groups are resurgent in Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, with attacks on Roma villagers now commonplace. Last summer an off-duty policeman in Slovakia went on the rampage, killing three people from a Gypsy community. In Romania the far right has been kept in check, but not for altruistic reasons.
Unusually, prosecutors opened a case against the group under the country's little-used hate crime laws. But earlier this week, the idea of forced sterilisations was lent a veneer of mainstream acceptability when the head of the National Liberal Party's youth wing, Rares Buglea, voiced his support for the idea on Facebook.
In Baia Mare, a mining town in Romania's impoverished north, the mayor has been building walls around Roma areas — to the delight of the other residents. Back in the rubbish-dump of Pata Rat, Romeo Greta Petra says he has plans to leave the squalor and discrimination behind him.
Standing next to a single bathroom which serves 40 people, he declares that his family has simply had enough. Everyone here just thinks we're garbage. If I could have the possibility, I would go with my whole family.
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