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number of immigrants coming from European countries like Rumania and Bulgaria has significantly increased.
Rumania and Bulgaria have joined the European Union in January 2001. According to the European Union Agreements, their nationals should benefit from free movement of people, working and dwelling in any other member state. However, their entry is subject to a transitional system until the end of 2013. Until that date, nationals of these two countries can freely enter the French territory without a visa, but they need to apply for a working permit if they wish to work and settle down. Moreover, France has added one economic condition to the entry of Rumanian and Bulgarian nationals in the territory: when entering France, they have to prove having enough funding to sustain themselves. Otherwise, entry on the territory can be denied to them.
In short, this transitional system allows Rumanians and Bulgarians to travel in other member countries and stay for maximum three months. Beyond that period of time, they need to either leave the country or find an occupation with the corresponding working permit. Based on that law, expulsions of Roma have shifted from two-three thousand per year before 2007 to eight thousand and more in 2008 and onwards. The escorts back to the borders are mainly voluntary because the French government grants a three hundred euro bonus to each adult and one hundred euro bonus for each child, and furthermore pays for the airplane ticket back to their country of origin.
IV. The Roma
Among the Rumanians and Bulgarian immigrants arriving in France and other Western European states, the case of the Roma ethnic minority is of particular interest. Even in both countries Rumania and Bulgaria they are considered to have a status aside and they very often do
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not enjoy the same benefits as the other nationals. Moreover, their type of migration is different than the one of other Rumanians and Bulgarians. In order to understand their pattern of migrations, we need to understand who they are, where they come from, and what their way of living is.
The history of the Roma ethnic minority is one of endless persecution, suffering and forced assimilation. Host populations have at all times perceived them as threatening, and tried to annihilate them, either through enslavement, banishment, genocide, or more mildly but none the less radical in its intentions, through forced assimilation. And yet, the Roma spirit and way of life have survived. They sure had to change and adapt to local constraints, historical events and economic downturns in order to survive, but the essence of the spirit remains the same. After trying for centuries to assimilate them and force into conformity, the host population can only but note that they have failed in that. The Roma have preserved a distinctive identity centuries after their first arrival in Europe, even when they have merged in the host society.
Defining their numerous names. Rom is an endonym, which means it is the word Roma people use to call themselves. The term rom was chosen during Roma World Congress held in London in 1971. Literally it means „man‟ or „husband‟. A flag and a slogan were also chosen at that Congree: „Opre Roma‟ (Gypsy rise!) Rom is the singular, and Roma is its plural, but most people call them „Gypsies‟, the name given to them by the outsiders (Fraser, 1992).
Rom has two meanings. In the first, it is a generic term designating all ethnic groups originating from India and which arrived in Western Europe as early as in 1419. Comprised in his generic sense, it encompasses Sinti, Manouches, Gypsies (or Kale), and Roma for the most notorious ones. In this sense of the term rom, there is no relation to Rumania. The second meaning refers to the groups of a more recent wave of migration coming from the Balkans. Their
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common denominator is the Romani language. Their speech is “much influenced by the impact of their ancestors‟ long stay in Rumanian-speaking lands, hence their designation as Vlach (=Wallachian) Rom” (Fraser, 1992: 8). (Wallachia is the ancient name of a Rumanian province).
These Vlach Rom are subdivided into several different tribes: Kalderash, Lovara, Curara, Ursara and so forth.
Historically, they have been called many names. In the Medieval times they were called
„Egyptians‟ because they pretended to come from Little Egypt; then in the fifteenth century they were called „Bohemians‟ as their nobles claimed on their titles to come from Bohemia, and
„Gypsies‟, a Spanish term that stem from „Egyptian‟. These are all names given by outsiders.
Nowadays, it is under the term „Gypsy‟, largely pejorative because of its racial connotation, that they are often referred to, and under the new one: Rom. Only the latter has been chosen by the Roma themselves to refer to their ethnic identity (Fraser, 1992: 317).
In France, as in some other countries, one more term is used to refer to all peripatetic groups:
Gens du voyage or „Travellers‟. This term refers to anyone with a nomadic way of life and it is not limited to the Roma alone. It is more neutral and politically correct. It reflects the modern concern to avoid discrimination on grounds of race. But none of the terms used by outsiders is actually free from ambiguity. The first name referring to them in the Balkans stems from a Macedonian term, Athinganoi, which comes from the Byzantine Greek Athinganoi or Atsinganos. Other terms used in Europe in the nineteenth century stem from that origin and give Zingaro in Italian, Tsigane in French, Zigeuner in German, Cigani in Yugoslavia and so forth (Association Migration Conseil, blog, 2010). Romanichal, which simply means Rom people, is most in use in the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. On the continent, there are many names for the old-established Gypsies: calé („blacks‟) in Spain and Southern France, Kale in Finland, Sinti
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in Germany, and manouches in France. There are numerous terms in use to call them, which proves the diversity of this fragmented nation. The way these groups refer to themselves is mutually exclusive.
This quick description supports Angus Fraser‟s (1992) idea that Gypsies can be called a
„people of Europe‟ because the long association and intermingling with other people in Europe have indelibly marked their language, culture, and society. They are present in every European country, and what we Fraser calls „pan-Europeans‟.
The present study will deal with the more precise group of Roma originating from Eastern-Europe and arrived in Western Eastern-Europe in the most recent migrations. It is necessary to distinguish all those sub-groups in order to understand precisely whom we are talking about. Few people are aware of these important variations and there is a tendency to confuse all these groups in one, using the name of one group for the other, interchangeably. The confusion in the media betweens the numerous terms in use contributed to the overall confusion about the issue of summer 2010.
Origins. There are few written records of the Roma presence in Europe. They have been written by outsiders or gadje, as Roma call them, often in ignorance, prejudice and incomprehension. It is said that the Roma Diaspora took place at some time before the ninth century AD. Nowadays most scholars seem to agree with the theory saying that Roma are originally from India. There are linguistic evidence linking the Romany language to Indian dialects, and more particularly, Hindi. Genetics studies have given support to the theory of racial affiliation when finding a blood relationship between Roma and tribes of the Indian sub-continent. The limit of such a study, however, is met by the great miscegenation the Roma have undergone through time and through their numerous migrations. Fraser noticed that “Gypsies
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[aka Roma] have undergone racial admixture and the gene pool of any particular cohort may be very mixed (1992: 24).
The first person to make the connection between Romani language and Indian dialects is a Hungarian theologian, Istvan Wali, back in 1753. Two others scholars, Johann Rüdiger and Jacob Bryant, studied that connection between Romani language and Indian as well. Rüdiger published his findings in 1782, but these reached a little audience. It is through the publication of H.M. Grellmann who made a synthesis of these findings that they reached the wider public in 1783. Angus Fraser points out that this interest in the Roma their origins had been motivated at that time by a passion for exotic peoples, but also by the practical consideration of authorities eager to understand them. The idea was to understanding them through understanding their origins, aka through studying their language. However, the origins of the Roma remain rather ambiguous, despite repeated efforts to trace back their migrations.
First migrations. The Roma are believed to have left India at different times sometime before the ninth century. They first arrived in Persia, then Armenia. In 1071 we find them in the Byzantine Empire after the Seljuks invaded Armenia. From there they crossed to Greece around the fourteenth century, and by the end of the fourteenth century they were widely established throughout the Balkan provinces where they had arrived through Transylvania. In Wallachia (a historical and geographical region of Rumania) and Moldavia the Roma first sold their services as serfs paying tribute to the local monasteries. However, they were before long turned into slaves, and this condition continued until 1856, when their liberty was finally fully restored.
Fraser recounts the Roma‟s predicaments in Wallachia and Moldavia where “the Gypsies were systematically turned into slaves” (Fraser. 1992: 57).
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Medieval times. The first migrations of the Gypsies that researchers have reconstructed start from India and stop in the Balkans. We have to wait until the Medieval time to finally find them in Western Europe. The first mention of Roma in Western Europe dates from 1417. They arrived from the Balkans in groups of 30, 60 or even 100 people, claiming to be pilgrims and asking for alms. At that time they were still treated with a measure of consideration. Their unique physical appearance (dark skin) and attire (large earrings) attracted people‟s curiosity. The Roma claimed to come from Little Egypt and to be under a seven-year penitence to expiate the sin of the forbearers who refused to give asylum to the Holy Family during Its flight from Egypt. Under this excuse the local lords, nobles and kings delivered them letters of protection and the Roma received shelter, food and even money. At that time, it was still accepted the Roma had the right to manage their own affairs (Fraser, 1992: 70).
Changing attitudes. A few decades to a century after Roma‟s first arrival in Western Europe, public attitude towards them deteriorated and decrees and laws were enacted against them, banishing them from the countries, allowing physical punishments against them and physical and economic punishments against the local people helping them. They were seen as undesirable, a political threat (people thought they were spies for the Turks) and troubling the public security and the social order.
Fraser analyses the change of attitudes towards the Roma was to be found in the religious climate where pilgrims did not have the same status as before; people grew tired of seeing the same groups of Roma regularly coming back; and finally settled people do not trust nomads.
They “represented a blatant negation of all the essential values and premises on which the dominant morality was based” (Fraser, 1992: 127). That was true in the fifteenth century, and it
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still is true in the twenty-first century. Roma are anti-conformists, and this disturbs the established order, and settled people seem never be able to forgive them that fact.
The Roma livelihood was described as begging, fortune-telling, horse-dealing, metal-working, healing, music and dancing. Theft was another recurrent theme reported by the chroniclers. The truth is that in this atmosphere of suspicion, the Roma could hardly find regular livelihoods. The peasants were not in the habit of employing casual labor at that time, guilds regulated crafts and trades, and commerce was tightly controlled. The Roma, perceived as a dangerous and unfair concurrence, were left with the small services and minor trading and entertainment. Fraser underlined that “when Gypsies offered legitimate services to the settled population, they were at risk from the ill-will attracted by transient traders and artisans who violated local monopolies” (1992: 129). Roma faced a serious contradiction: accused of violating the local monopolies when trying to make a decent living, Roma were yet criticized for being lazy, unproductive, beggars and thieves.
Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As time passed, the Western European countries started getting annoyed at the Gypsy‟s presence. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, all European countries were taking repressive measures against the Roma. They were viewed as criminals because of their position in society: there were severe racial prejudices against them and religious hostility. The Church tried repeatedly to excommunicate them and those who helped them or went to them for fortune-telling. Besides expulsions, the governments had come with new measures: the Roma were sent to the galleys or to one of the overseas colonies to be used as manpower. Another means was to force them to assimilate with the local populations.
“They were forbidden to set themselves apart in dress, speech or occupation. […] Marriage between Gypsies were forbidden [and] Gypsy children over the age of five were to be taken
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away and brought up in non-Gypsy families” (Fraser, 1992: 157). By the middle of the seventeenth century sedentarization was much achieved. The Age of Enlightenment that opened so many minds brought little change how Europe perceived and dealt with the Roma.
The Age of Enlightenment. The eighteenth century witnessed social, political and economic changes. Fraser noticed that these changes stirred up “new currents of migration, both within European countries and on a global scale” (1992: 190). The Roma were not the only people on the roads. At that period, the Roma population in Europe was assessed at 700,000 to 800,000 individuals. The Industrial Revolution that largely occurred between 1815 and 1914 brought into the society larger changes than ever before. Nonetheless, “in the face of urbanization, industrialization and other European pressures, Gypsies showed themselves able to maintain their autonomy” (Fraser, 1992: 221) The Roma failed to conform to the imperatives of the Industrial Revolution as they were part of an informal economy, and they were soon perceived as outcasts who had been overlooked by the industrial culture.
The forgotten Roma Holocaust. A consequence was the resurgence of dormant notions about the Roma being thieves and criminals. The ideology there were a „higher‟ and a „lower‟
races came up at that time (in the 1850s). The Nazi party saw in the Roma a racial problem that needed to be solved. During the Second World War, when they finally got the means to apply their ideology, the Roma were taken to work camps along with the Jews, and from 1943 they were included the infamous “final solution” that brought the death camps. All the countries under German rule applied the directives concerning Jews and Roma. The France under Vichy‟s government contributed too. “30,000 Gypsies and other „nomades‟ [were] guarded by French police and military. Eventually, many of them were deported to concentration camps” ({Fraser, 1992: 265). The biggest numerical losses were in Yugoslavia, Rumania, Poland, the ex-USSR
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and Hungary. It is however impossible to assess the exact number of casualties. “Tallies of the Gypsy victims who died in Europe during the war range from about a quarter of a million to half a million and more” (Fraser, 1992: 268). And those who survived most carried physical or mental marks of their experience.
While the Jews‟ genocide was quickly acknowledged and compensations given, the Roma‟s sufferings and persecutions were not. For many years, they were denied the recognition of the genocide they suffered. This is why many scholars call the Roma Holocaust the “Forgotten Holocaust”. German courts made prevail that Roma were not being persecuted on racial grounds.
Eventually, in December 1963, a Court accepted that racial persecution against Roma had started back in 1938 and from then on the Roma Holocaust was finally acknowledged for what the tragedy it really was (Fraser, 1992: 269).
Under communist rule. After WWII, the Roma were in a large majority concentrated in the communist countries. Communist regimes‟ handling of Roma was typified by twists and turns.
“Throughout the Communist bloc, with the partial exception of Yugoslavia, the Gypsies wre subject to a systematic assimilatonist campaign” (Stewart, 1997: 5) because non-conformity was incompatible with the regime‟s plannification and ideology. Communists had no ill-will in their attempt of assimilation, as they were convinced they were doing the Roma a favor. They thought
“the Communist society could provide a home for the Gypsies and so integrate them into
„normal‟ life” (Stewart, 1997: 6). After realizing soft assimilation was impossible to overcome the Roma‟s way of live, they became more coercive and tried by means of force to demolish the Roma identity. They enforced school attendance and the settlement of nomadic people. The Communist did not imprison the Gypsies or kill them, but the ultimate aim could still be called
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genocide in that it sought for the total disappearance of the Gypsy ethnic identity, by merging them into the mass.
After the fall of Communism, the Gypsies have become the scapegoats throughout the region because they were considered troublesome and „antisocial‟. Communists saw their way of life
„anarchic‟ and „unproductive‟ (Stewart, 1997: 3, 6). The Gypsies suffered from the social and economic disintegration that affected the whole area since 1989. For instance, in Hungary, sixty-five percent of Roma men were unemployed.
In Western Europe. In Western Europe, the situation of the Roma was not an ideal one either. There too, they faced many problems of discrimination and rejection. In the 1960s already, a new westward upsurge out of the Balkans happened. These new groups were in majority illiterate and could hardly find a job in such conditions. Most Western European countries felt concerned with human and social problems: the camp sites issues and education.
The governments try to improve the poor living conditions as many of the Roma who had chosen to live a sedentary life lived in shanty towns, and the peripatetic had to use camp site like rubbish tips with no water supply or sanitary facilities. From 1969 onwards, the Council of Europe adopted a succession of resolutions and recommendations, urging the member governments to put an end to discrimination, to do something about camping grounds and housing, and to promote education and health and social welfare. From 1977, the United Nations on Human Rights turned its attention to discrimination against the Roma. In the 1980s, emphasis was put on the education of Roma children, as only thirty to forty percent regularly went to school. Illiteracy rate among adults in the members of the European Union had an average of fifty percent, and was as high as eighty percent in some places. Fraser sums up the difficulties the Gypsies had to
The governments try to improve the poor living conditions as many of the Roma who had chosen to live a sedentary life lived in shanty towns, and the peripatetic had to use camp site like rubbish tips with no water supply or sanitary facilities. From 1969 onwards, the Council of Europe adopted a succession of resolutions and recommendations, urging the member governments to put an end to discrimination, to do something about camping grounds and housing, and to promote education and health and social welfare. From 1977, the United Nations on Human Rights turned its attention to discrimination against the Roma. In the 1980s, emphasis was put on the education of Roma children, as only thirty to forty percent regularly went to school. Illiteracy rate among adults in the members of the European Union had an average of fifty percent, and was as high as eighty percent in some places. Fraser sums up the difficulties the Gypsies had to