History of Roma People

1
History of Roma People

• A quick overview!

2
Migration and the Romani language

• Linguistic study ? revealing the history of Roma
  people in Europe
• Northern India
• (and these languages
• derived from Sanskrit) ?
• Balkan region of Europe
• Muslim invasions in Northern India ? migration
• Estimated time of migration 9th century -13th
  century

3
Roma populations

• around12 million Roma are living around
• the world, 8 million of which
• are living in across Europe,
• in almost every country
• Majority of Roma people in Europe are located in
  the Central and Eastern countries

4
Migration of Roma to Romania

• The exact time and path of the migration is
  uncertain
• One theory Roma arrived with the Ottoman Turks,
  or perhaps earlier with the Tatars --- earliest
  historical record of Roma in Romania is 1385
• Today Roma people are the second largest minority
  in Romania (although accuracy of the population
  estimate is debatable)

5
Dialects of Romani in Romania

• As all dialects of Romani across Europe are
  derived from the Indian languages of their
  ancestors, they have evolved with respect to
  influences of various European languages the Roma
  have been exposed to
• Black sea region Balkan (Usari)
• Transylvania region Carpathian
• In various regions Vlax (also spoken in many
  other countries across Eastern and Western
  Europe)
• Due to pressures to assimilate into Romanian
  society linguistically, many Roma no longer speak
  dialects of Romani today

6
Where are the Roma in Romania?
Highest concentrations in the south, eastern
Moldavia, Dobruja (below Moldova) and
south-eastern Transylvania.
7
Different groups of Roma people

• Rural/Nomadic Groups some are called tiganii de
  carute which means Gypsies of the carts in
  Romanian -- this group retains the oldest Roma
  traditions in Romania
• City-dwellers urban gypsies speak Romanian
  almost exclusively, although must still
  understand and speak some of the Romani dialects
  although their traditions are still distinct
  from non-Roma in the cities

8
History of persecution

• Persecuted, ostracized and discriminated against
• legally regarded as slaves for five centuries
  until the great slobozie
• Nomadism was prohibited post-WWII during the
  communist regime
• Political change collapse of the communist
  regimes in Central and Eastern Europe brought new
  hope to the Roma
• The new Romanian Constitution finally
  acknowledged the Roma to be national minority ?
  independent political force in the Bucharest
  Parliament, as other national minorities had been
• Efforts of standardization of Romani
• Many Roma left Romania

9
Education Policy in Modern Day Romania the Roma
case

• Delana Lensgraf

10
The Roma

• Romas are among Romanias poorest people,
  accounting for over a million inhabitants
• Roma children face serious difficulties enrolling
  in school
• 1998 UNICEF funded research study only 61 of
  Roma children aged 7 to 16 were attending school,
  compared to 98 of Romanian children.
• The rate is even lower for pre-school children,
  where a mere 20 of Roma children under the age
  of 7 go to kindergarten

11
Non-enrollment, non-attendance and school
drop-out among Roma children what are the causes?

• Causes are social, economic, cultural
• Precarious health condition
• Delays in psycho-intellectual development
• Low learning motivation of Roma children two
  thirds of Roma children who have dropped out show
  a lack of interest in school
• Gender-based differences (according to which
  girls get married early, and their social role is
  to raise children and take care of the family)
• Poor self image 20 have attitudes of rejection
  or repugnance, while only 10 have a positive
  attitude
• Source

12
Lack of Educational Resources Available to Roma
Children

• School buildings are older overcrowded in
  comparison with majority Romanian schools
• Often lack a library
• Fewer qualified teachers
• Significantly higher teacher transfer rates
  especially in those with grades 1-4
• 67 of Roma schools had a deficit of qualified
  teachers, and among schools with 50 or more Roma
  students, the deficit was over 80.
• Teachers are the worst paid professionals
• Change careers or
• Become unmotivated by their work
• This in turn effects students, cycle!

13
The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015an
unprecedented international effort

• Who? Initiative developed by the World Bank and
  the George Soros Foundation, supported by the OSI
  and the World Bank, and endorsed by nine Central
  and Eastern European countries
• What? 65 projects have been launched in 13
  Eastern European countries, for improving the
  integration of Roma children in the regions
  education system. The conference will call for an
  increased commitment of all stakeholders and in
  particular government to sustain some of the
  small progress of the past years and urgently
  scale up the efforts so that the objective of the
  decade of Roma inclusion could be met.
• Objectives? to combat discrimination , close the
  gap in welfare and living conditions , break the
  cycle of poverty and exclusion, to accelerate
  progress in economic status of Roma
• How? The Decade focuses on four main areas
  education, housing, employment and healthcare.

14
Roma Education Fund ConferenceApril 2-3, 200?,
Budapest, Hungary

• Eastern Europes largest conference on the
  education of Roma children
• Organized by the Roma Education Fund (REF), in
  collaboration with the Hungarian government, 250
  participants from all over the world! will
• Goal to discuss the achievements and the lessons
  learned since the launch of the Decade of Roma
  Inclusion in 2005
• Some of the conference participants include such
  high-ranking officials as, Marko Bela, Deputy
  Prime Minister of Romania Dusan Caplovic, Deputy
  Prime Minister for the Slovak Republic Viktoria
  Mohacsi, Hungarian Member of the European
  Parliament among others.
• BIG names! closing speech of the conference
  Education Reforms and Roma Inclusion in Eastern
  and Central Europe presented by Mr. Jan Figel,
  European Commissioner for Education, Training,
  Culture and Multilingualism. Hungarian Prime
  Minister, Vice President of the World Bank for
  Europe
• Goal of the conference to assess the progress
  made in increasing enrolment and attendance of
  Roma children throughout the region in the past
  ten years
• Comprehensive analysis in four countries
  Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia
• basic educational indicators
• main constraints and barriers preventing Roma
  from full access to quality education

15
International Collaboration for Educational Reform

• The EUMAP reports on Equal Access to Quality
  Education for Roma
• Aims to
• Support the goals of the Decade in the key area
  of education
• Establish a framework for regular monitoring
  throughout the decade
• Provide an assessment of the state of
  implementation of Government education policies
  for Roma
• Promote consultation with Roma communities on
  education issues, and to
• Provide data on key education indicators
• Present case studies on selected communities

16
The Future of Roma Education

• Stress the importance of early education
• School curriculum needs to be modernized to
  reflect the reality of todays world
• Child-centered teaching methodologies
• Development of critical thinking and
  problem-solving
• Roma traditions and history
• Rights of every individual!

17
Roma People in pre-20th Century Spain
18
Origins

• Generally accepted that the Roma migrated out of
  India into Europe sometime in the 11th century.
• The reason for migration is thought to be a
  result of the advance of Islam.
• Most research acknowledges Roma appearance in
  S.E. Europe sometime in the 1300s, C. Europe in
  the 1400s, and W. and N. Europe in the early
  1500s.

19

• Linguistic evidence points to a northern route,
  exiting through the upper Indus Valley.
• Their route was likely through the Himalayas, to
  the Silk Road west of the Caspian Sea, up the
  foothills of the Caucasus mountain range, through
  Armenia, and to the Byzantine Empire.
• The abundance of Romani words
• with Persian, Armenian, and Greek
• origin supports this hypothetical route.

20
The Importance of 1492

• 1492 was a crucial year as it indicates the end
  and the beginning of an era of close encounters
  with ethnic Others that have had a lasting
  influence on Spains identity. Centuries of
  Spanish colonialism not only left their mark on
  the racist attitudes of settlers and their
  descendants towards the indigenous population and
  the enslaved Africans in the Americas, but also a
  feeling of racial superiority in Spain itself.

21
Timeline of Roma in Spain (pre 20th cent) Until
1499 Acceptance The first Roma to reach Spain
were thought to have arrived between 1415 and
1425. 1490s-1633 Expulsion Persecution of
Roma began with the reign of Ferdinand and
Isabella of Aragon and Castile in the late 1400s
with their efforts to create a homogenous Catholic
state. Ethnic and religious minorities,
including Roma, were ordered to either assimilate
or leave the country. Non-integrated Roma were
branded as highway robbers, thieves, and
sorcerers. Although faced with the prospect of
expulsion and the loss of their language, many
Roma decided to stay in Spain, while at the same
time attempting to preserve their traditional way
of life. 1630-1783 Forced Assimilation With
Spains economic growth in the early 1600s,
policies toward Roma shifted from expulsion to
forced assimilation. Various laws were passed in
an attempt to end the nomadic lifestyle of Roma
and settle them. The government hoped that Roma
would simply seek formal employment and
assimilate into the larger population. Again,
however, Roma overwhelmingly managed to maintain
their traditional way of life outside of
mainstream society.
22
Incorporation Equity In 1783, Charles III
signed a decree that formalized legal equality
between Roma and non-Roma citizens. The
establishment of anti-Roma laws which was
forbidden and Roma were not to be singled out as
a distinct ethnic group in official texts. These
actions were followed by a period of relative
incorporation, when further attempts were made by
the government to extend the rights of Roma and
to reduce anti-Roma sentiments. For example, the
Constitution of 1812 stressed the recognition of
legal equality for Roma, granting Roma the full
rights and responsibilities of citizenship. At
the same time, the government gave little
attention to improving their social and economic
status within Spain. During this period, there
were no government initiatives to assist Roma.
23
"Do not call us Gypsies. We are the Roma people!

• The Roma were classified as foreigners or
  semi-foreigners because they were not integrated
  into the local community.
• In 17th and 18th century Spain, integration in a
  local community was essential to the
  classification of people as Spaniards.
• A discourse focused on integration was used to
  exclude all minorities, including the Roma.

24
The Anti Gypsy Laws

• First Anti Gypsy laws passed in Spain in1492
• 1499-Medina del Campo in Spain ordered Gitanos to
  find a trade and master, cease traveling with
  other Gitanos, all within sixty days. Punishment
  for failure to obey was 100 lashes and
  banishment. Repeat offences were punished by
  amputation of ears, sixty days in chains, and
  banishment. Third-time offenders became the
  slaves of those who captured them.

25
Laws cont

• For around 300 years, Gypsies were subject to
  many laws and policies designed to eliminate them
  from Spain as an identifiable group.
• Gypsy settlements were broken up and the
  residents were dispersed sometimes, Gypsies were
  even required to marry non-Gypsies. They were
  denied their language and rituals. They were also
  excluded from public office and from guild
  membership.

26
Who were the gypsies?
In Castile and in other parts of Spain, it was
believed that Gypsiness was taken on
voluntarily by people who sought out a bad life.
27
Education Policy in modern day Spain the Gitanos
case

• Philip Carim

28
The Roma people in Spain

• The Roma were granted equal rights in 1978 when
  the new Constitution of Spain was implemented
  after the death of Franco (equal protection of
  language right to education)
• Despite their severely repressed past, the Roma
  community in Spain kept growing. Today, there are
  an estimated of 650,000 to 800,000 living in
  Spain. They represent the largest ethnic minority
  in Spain. Yet "Their political organization
  consists in the absence of permanent power
  structures" within Spain (Salinas 2007, 33)
• While they are Spanish citizens, still they are
  very often treated as second-class citizens
• The Gitanos have their own language in Spain,
  Caló, that differs from what other Roma
  populations scattered around the world would
  speak.

29
The Roma people in Spain

• Although there are Gitanos all over Spain (as
  opposed to France where they are predominantly
  found in the South), they are concentrated in
  Andalucía (218,000), Catalunya (80,000), Madrid
  (60,000) and Valencia (50,000)

30
Institutional and Political Visibility

• There are roughly 600 Roma associations of all
  types spread across Spain. Although this is a
  lot, many of them have very few members. These
  associations usually spring up due to public
  subsidies that they receive Most of them are
  family associations and represent, all together,
  less than 1 per cent of Spanish Roma (Salinas
  2007, 34)
• There are state-sponsored organizations the
  Ministry of Social Affairs created the Advisory
  committee for the Gypsy Development Program the
  Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs created the
  State Council of Gypsy People in order to
  represent Gypsy associations in various official
  and governmental institutions

31
Institutional and Political Visibility

• "Gypsy participation in all these bodies is only
  of an advisory nature, without official
  decision-making power or direct access to
  resources or control over budgets
• In the past 30 years of democracy in Spain, only
  one Gypsy has been elected MEP (not MP). there
  are currently two Gypsy representatives one in
  Extremadura and one in Valencia, but none in the
  National Assembly.
• The Nationalist Caló Party was created about ten
  years ago "has few followers, has gained no
  prominence, and has had no votes in elections."
  The Alianza Romani, created in 2002 "has not yet
  sponsored candidates to elected offices."
  (Importance while these parties do not enjoy any
  political power, they are created and organized
  by the Gypsy people

32
Language Caló

• The Roma in Spain speak a dialect of Romani
  called Caló (Spanish Romani). It blends native
  Romani vocabulary with Spanish Grammar
  (Wikipedia "Caló"). Nowadays however, a very
  vast majority of Gypsies speak Castilian Spanish
  and full use of Caló has been lost.
• A lot of Caló words entered the Spanish lexicon.
  However, these words are predominantly slang
  words. Does this reflect the stigmatization of
  the Roma people?
• Caló is a result of centuries of language contact
  and hence linguistic change Spanish Romani
  assimilated phonologically and syntactically to
  Castilian Spanish. Competence in Caló varies
  greatly from person to person and from community
  to community.

33
Educational Policy Laws

• Spanish Constitution of 1978 Guarantees equal
  rights to everyone and the right to free
  education in native language. It does not
  specifically mention the Roma people.
• There has been no legislation since the onset of
  Spanish democracy that specifically targets Roma
  educational policies and Roma language rights.
  Exception in 1978-86 creation of "bridge
  schools" bridge schools are segregated schools
  for Roma children of low socioeconomic status and
  the law mediated between the Catholic Church and
  the Ministry of Education (they were eventually
  eliminated).

34
Educational Policy Laws

• The Organic Law on the Right to an Education
  (1983) and the Organic Law on the General
  Structure of the Educational System (1990). The
  purpose of these two laws were to 1) to foster
  the exercise of freedom, tolerance and solidarity
  in a pluralistic society 2) to foster respect
  for the linguistic and cultural plurality of
  Spain
• In May 2006, the parliament passed the Education
  Law which acknowledges cultural diversity but,
  yet again, does not specifically mention or refer
  to the Roma people.

35
Education policy the facts

• Historic trend of rejection of compulsory
  education by Roma families (Caló versus Payo
  identity)
• Reversal over the past two decades nearly all
  Roma children attend school
• Despite successes at the elementary level, very
  few Gypsy students attend secondary education
  Of those who do continue to secondary education,
  80 per cent drop out before graduating (Salinas
  2007, 42)
• Only 31.9 per cent of Roma students pass all
  subjects (ibid)
• 70 per cent of Roma adolescents over the age of
  16 have not completed primary education
• there is a lack of Gypsy role models with
  strong educational and professional backgrounds
  (ibid 43).

36
Education policy the facts

• 7 out of 10 Roma over fifteen years old are
  either totally or functionally illiterate
• The Roma as a people are virtually inexistent in
  the history books. Out of 208 textbooks used in
  elementary and secondary schools between 1990 and
  2000, there are only 18 explicit references to
  the Roma people
• This sends a confusing message the laws preach
  (and mandate) linguistic and cultural tolerance,
  yet the curricula and textbooks employed in
  schools almost completely overlook the biggest
  ethnic minority in the country

37
Last thoughts

• These problems cannot be fixed by simply granting
  Roma children space within the educational
  system they must feel like they can succeed and
  they must feel that their language and their
  culture are equally recognized and appreciated
• Lack of education severely impedes access to jobs
  and to the labor market. Hence, the Roma are
  forced to take low-paying, unskilled jobs which
  only reinforces the existing stereotypes
• Must overcome institutional and political absence
  

38
Bibliography

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  York, NY, USA Central European University Press,
  2004. p 122. http//site.ebrary.com/lib/uncch/Doc?
  id10133539ppg128
• Dragomir, Marius. Europes Beggars, Romanias
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  November 2000. http//www.ce-review.org/00/41/dra
  gomir41.html
• Garfias, Robert. Dance among the Urban Gypsies.
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  pp. 84-96. http//links.jstor.org/sici?sici0740-1
  55828198429163C843ADATUGO3E2.0.CO3B2-W
• Szilassy, Eszter. The Roma population in Romania.
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39
Bibliography

• Romania. UNICEF Romania. 6 November 2007.
  http//www.unicef.org/romania/education.html.
• Roma Education Conference will highlight Best
  Practice and Future Plans. Romea.cz. 26 March
  2007. Romano Vodi. http//www.romea.cz/english/ind
  ex.php?id.detaildetail2007_184

40
Bibliography

• Salinas, Jesús. "Reflections on Educational
  Policies for Spanish Gypsies." European
  Education. Vol. 39, no. 1, Spring 2007, pp.
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• "Caló (Spanish Romani)." Wikipedia, The Free
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  29oldid158965618gt

41
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