One
theory connected them to a military caste in Northern India that moved west
into the Byzantine Empire. Johann Christian RĂ¼diger connected in 1782 the Romani language to Hindustani, subsequent
research supporting the hypothesis that Romani shared a common origin with the
Indo-Aryan languages of Northern India. The Roma speak a New Indo-Aryan
language (NIA).
Another
theory suggested that Roma are related to the Dom people of Central Asia and
the Banjara of India. A 1992 study showed serological similarities between
Romani and the Jatt clan of Northern India and Pakistan, connecting the two
genetically. The Roma did not originate from Eastern Europe as previously
thought. Romani language bears no similarity to Latin languages.
The
Roma or “gypsies,” have always balked at national integration because they
prefer their nomadic and free lifestyle centered around a campfire. They love
dance and music. They do not like to be tied down or follow the laws of civil
society. In spite of efforts to educate them, the school dropout rate is the
highest. They prefer to marry off their children very young. If they are given
apartments, they strip them bare, sell the parts, and move into the courtyard
in tents.
The
Western Europeans treat their Roma better than Eastern Europeans. They receive
RVs and other generous social benefits. They do not fear the law, on the
contrary, the law fears them. We have been terrorized for twelve hours on the
midnight train from Nice to Paris by a group of “gypsies” who frightened
hundreds of passengers. Even the train police hid from them.
It
goes without saying that civil society must treat minorities equally and
fairly. Nobody has the right to ignore, mistreat, or abuse vulnerable groups.
But they also have the right to live as they choose, according to their
traditions.
I
have seen the “gypsy” life and culture up close, integration in society is not
part of their culture. Their work ethic is quite different than the average
person’s work ethic. Every train station, bus station, or tourist attraction in
Europe is besieged by “gypsy” pickpockets as young as five or perfectly healthy
adults begging on street corners while cradling a baby or pretending to be
handicapped.
Since
Eastern European countries have become part of the EU, their “gypsy” problem
became the problem of the EU. Countries like Italy have been sending Roma back
to their original countries because the increased begging, the crime, and the
theft were affecting tourism. But they keep coming back.
Some
Roma groups have settled into communities of their own choosing where they have
built gaudy palaces, mixing different styles of architecture with marble to
mimic the palatial homes they’ve seen in their European travels. These palatial
homes are often not attached to electricity or water.
The
idea of permanence conflicts with their culture. I have asked many of them why they
do not settle in one place, why wonder constantly. It is in their blood. A few
do settle down in villages and work the land. Others settle on the outskirts of
a town and send their kids to railroad crossings to wipe down windshields of
stopped motorists in exchange for a few pennies instead of sending them to
school.
To
solve the problem of the migrating and inconvenient Roma, the European
Commission approved the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies
up to 2020. (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/discrimination/docs/com_2011_173_en.pdf)
EU
governments are thereby asked to create plans to socially include and improve
the well-being of their Romani citizens in hopes that the Roma will stay within
the boundaries of their countries and not migrate to the western part of the
EU.
One
of the Open Society Foundations programs is called, "Making the Most of
the EU Funds for Roma." The Chairman of the Board, Kalman Mizsei, wrote an
article on December 20, 2012, titled, “Robbing the Roma.” (http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-growing-isolation-of-europe-s-roma-by-kalman-mizsei)
Kalman
Mizsei stated that the Roma are suffering more because of the euro crisis and
the intolerance, especially in countries with a larger population of Roma:
Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Greece.
Bulgaria,
Hungary, and Romania are chastised for being “the most laggard spenders of EU
funds, particularly from the European Social Fund.”
The
most egregious, the Romanian government, has only spent 10 percent of the $5.9
billion received from the European Social Fund on improving the Roma poor
living conditions, low life expectancy, and low rates of school
attendance.
Nomadic
people have always had low life expectancy and low rates of school attendance,
they are on the road all the time, don’t go to doctors, it is their lifestyle
choice. When they marry their daughters at the age of 12, with matrimonial
contracts sometimes signed at birth, going to school is not a priority, they
are groomed for marriage.
Can
you change centuries of tradition by offering or withdrawing money as
incentive? Since the EU suspended the money coming from European Social Fund,
the Romanian government stopped reimbursing the non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) who were running programs to help the Roma.
The
EU bureaucrats blame the situation on the general population’s unjust view of
the Roma that “they prefer stealing and damaging other’s property to working;
that they receive disproportionate and undeserved social benefits; and that
they produce children in order to qualify for more public assistance.” Having
lived around Roma, I am not so sure that some of the views are so unjust.
I
recently strolled down the street in my hometown where many Roma families live,
incorporated since the communist regime. They never moved except for the occasional
trip that the head of the family took to the Western EU to make money,
returning home with suitcases full of goods, cash, and brand new automobiles. How
they managed to buy a brand new car in such a short period of time is a mystery
to me.
Aside
from a few newer and cleaner houses, these Roma lived in dilapidated, smoked,
dirty homes, with yards filled to the brim with trash. A brand-new automobile
with Great Britain, Spain, France, Germany, or Italy license plate was parked
in the street.
I
photographed a lavish wedding on the same street a few days earlier – I counted
30 foreign made cars in the procession, decorated with flowers, accompanying
the wedding entourage to the reception hall. Until then, everybody trudged
through the pot-holed street, singing and dancing next to a fenced-in property
with a burned home which had been turned into a make-shift trash dump. No
amount of tickets from the city hall made the owners clean it up or dispose of
the ruins. Twice a week, with total disregard for noise pollution and their
neighbors, traditional Roma music blared from loudspeakers for hours across
several streets.
“Physical
exclusion” of the Roma is a dangerous trend, said Mizsei. “Under communism,
significant efforts were made to assimilate Roma; they were given jobs, albeit
at the bottom of the economic pyramid, and were assured housing.” It is true, Roma
had meager jobs and meager apartments just like everybody else, but they
destroyed their housing, having no appreciation for a permanent lifestyle and
all responsibilities of a non-nomadic society.
Even
former French President Nicholas Sarkozy is raked over the coals for having
ordered in 2010 the expulsion of illegal Roma and the demolition of their
temporary eyesore camps.
Where
the Roma robbed? I have seen documents claiming that some Roma leaders were
robbed of their gold coins and jewels during the communist regime under the
guise of safe-keeping. Because of their migratory lifestyle, Roma tend to carry
all of their wealth in gold and silver jewelry attached to their bodies or sewn
into their clothes. I am not sure if they were reimbursed when the communist
regime fell.
How do you integrate a group of people into a society at large when that group does not want to be integrated, the members of the group prefer to live by their rules in self-appointed ghettoes? Can you blame their neighbors for not relishing the idea of living next to such a temporary encampment?
It
appears that the last bastion of hope for the Roma is the EU bureaucracy – they
have the power and the money to force the other EU members into compliance –
change centuries of nomadic traditions of the Roma and integrate them into
society with the help of Romani NGO leaders who are tasked to change social
policies. Problem solved, one step closer to global governance, fitting
everyone into a predetermined template.
Well, I have been reading your blog posts daily and the reason I come on your blog frequently is its compelling content… Regards…
ReplyDeleteWater Treatment Chemicals
Nice Quote.Get A cheapest bus ticket from http://bustickets.vishvabhraman.com upto 15% discount on all bus booking
ReplyDeleteGet special coupon code on www.vishvabhraman.com/
Use Special Coupon Code VBSP12