Gypsies

Gypsies by Joy Awobue

 

Gypsies were descendants from Northern India, known as the Romani. Europeans thought they had migrated from India due to their dark skin when actually they were composed of different type of tribes. Hitler’s intentions during the Holocaust was the exterminated the Gypsy and Jewish entire race. It was known that about 250,000 Gypsies were killed during the Holocaust. When the Gypsies first arrived in Eastern Europe, in the early 1300s, they appeared very strange. They weren’t Egyptians, they weren’t Muslims, and they weren’t Christians. Then what were they? They stuck to their own customs and taboos. The Romani’s thought that they had the ability to tell the future, which priest during that time feared and still fear today. To escape oppression some Romani’s fled to Europe where they faced another type of discrimination. Awards were offered for Gypsies dead or alive. Instead of being “gassed” during the Holocaust period most of the Gypsy population was used for medical experiments. During this time period Gypsies were often racially profiled because of their skin. They were sent to jail where they were detained until they were sent to concentration camps. Bubili, who was a Gypsy, was put in jail escape and fled home for a year. When he came back home he found out that his mother had died and so he fled to the hills with his father and his uncle. Then one day, when he didn’t hear the warning call from his aunt, the German police came for his father, uncle and him. They were sent to various concentration camps. Then one day he saw his father and uncle being loaded into a truck. He soon found out that they were “gassed” and were dead.

This is one tale of someone’s journey through the Holocaust. You would think that they have endured enough, but Gypsies have to deal with the constant battle of being discriminated against today. Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities that are specific to a race. Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief. Many factors can contribute to why people discriminate against a group of people. It could be because of their race, their ethnicity, their religion, or even the color of their skin.

Many Gypsies endure verbal abuse, such as name calling and insults or racist jokes. They also face vandalism and racist graffiti, nuisance phone calls, texts and emails. They are often bullied, intimidated or threatened. In addition, they suffer from physical abuse and violence.  According to Sasho Radoslavov, who is a Gypsy, Gypsies often face the danger of being beaten on the streets. It’s hard for them to find work so they are often found rummaging through trash bins trying to find things to sell to get money and provide for their families. Gypsies are often accused of being thieves. How could you blame them for committing the crimes they do when they are often turned down for jobs just because they are Gypsies? He also says that discrimination “… comes from rumors, aimed to incite hatred toward Gypsies…”  Roberto Dalena from Italy says “Gypsies are a global problem… they have no respect for rules and regulations and are arrogant…and don’t bother to consider people around them.” Testimonies like these are what keep Gypsies away from society and the reason why they stay in their communities.

A solution to this problem will be if the Europeans and Gypsies can come together and work out their differences in order to live amongst each other without having conflict. This won’t be easy. Both sides need to approach the situation with open minds. Another factor that might complicate things will be people who aren’t willing to bury the hatchet with the Gypsy community. Those who are willing need to step forward and take action. This is not an action that only the Europeans need to take part in; the Gypsy community needs to meet them half way. That means that they have to comply with the rules and regulations as well. They can’t do as they please. They need to integrate themselves into the European community and be able to put their differences aside.

In some way we contribute to prejudice against Gypsies in America. We aren’t directly involved but we do have some responsibility in it. We have the right to be curious about a culture we don’t know much about but it’s another thing when it feeds into the prejudice against a group of people. Millions of people tune into the show “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” It is said that “this program… could have made such a difference but instead it has sent them even further back!” The way that Gypsies in this show are portrayed handicaps their race as a whole. Not everyone is from the same tribe. Just like in any other race there is diversity; not everyone is the same. With racism people make snap judgments without getting to know a person. There is a distinguish to be made between to Gypsies and Travelers; they are two different tribes. Not all their beliefs are the same and it varies between tribes. “The sad fact for… Romanies is that they yet to be portrayed as normal, which is what we are. We are always shown in the media to be criminals, cowboys, psychics, fortune tellers, hags, temptresses, people who have a wanderlust, people who are ignorant, unable to read, inbred, and the list goes on.”

Putting an end to Racism

Discrimination against Gypsies is a problem that is occurring in Europe but all over the world there are other races that are fighting the same battle. This needs to stop. We are all human beings for Christ sake. We are entitled to basic natural rights which are the right to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness.  Here in America we have the same issues. Racism still exists in today’s world. Yes, slavery is over, but African Americans are not given the same rights and aren’t treated equally. Who has a say as to how people should live their lives? This is a serious global problem that has been ignored for far too long. No posters or advertisements will solve this problem because that doesn’t make a difference. We, as a whole, need to come together and put an end to this problem. We’ve come a long way from decades ago from being segregated. There are many different ways that you can contribute to the end of racism. Understanding the consequences of racism can prevent people from committing the act. It never hurts to be informed. Learn more about the contributions the people from other racial groups have made to the world. Knowing more about a culture you never knew about can be eye opening. One can figure out something new that they never knew about themselves. People should be forgiving of those who do offend others without knowing. It’s just a matter of not knowing that something offends a person. The offender should take the initiative to learn from their mistakes and not try doing it again. The person who was offended needs to inform that people and not just let it go. That’s how, we, as a human race have gotten to this place. We’ve been very passive about this situation and every chance we get we try to sweep it under the rug. It’s about time that we take responsibility and make a difference.

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