Gypsies, aka the Roma

As I learn more about Romania -- and it's like peeling a huge onion, with a seemingly infinite number of layers, trying to get to the core truth -- I am also learning more about the Gypsies, also known as the Roma.  I thought I'd share some of the things I am learning, as I learn it.


The Gypsies are a distinct ethnicity in Romania, and can generally be identified by their darker coloring and their shorter-than-average stature.  The Gypsies often dress differently too, the women often in long, colorful skirts.  The Romani are comprised of two subgroups:  the Roma and the Sinti.  The Roma are the Gypsies originating in Romania.

What really interests me is the treatment of the Gypsies in Romania.  I have recently learned that many of the schools in Romania are still ethnically segregated, with the Gypsies going to far inferior schools.  (Sound familiar?)


Here's some information from Wikipedia:

There is a sizable minority of Romani people in Romania, of 535,140 people or 2.46% of the total population (2002 census). The Roma are the most socially-disadvantaged minority group in Romania, even though there are a variety of governmental and non-governmental programs for integration and social advancement, including the National Agency for the Roma and Romania's participation in the Decade of Roma Inclusion. As an officially-recognised ethnic minority, the Romani people also have guaranteed representation in Parliament and official recognition of their language in localities where they make up more than 20% of the population.

Here's a little factoid that a friend in Romania sent to me:

An additional problem is that many Gypsy (Roma) do not have birth certificates (it's a pain in the neck here in Romania and even worse if you try to get one several months or years after the fact --  another long story, but suffice it to say that it doesn't work like it does in the U.S.).  The kids are not allowed to go to school because they don't have a birth certificate (i.e., they don't exist).  Here in Romania, the "paper" MAKES the reality; it doesn't just confirm the reality. And yes, that's the law. 

I think that's a fascinating -- and disastrous -- notion:  that documents make the reality, they don't just confirm it.  So if you don't have a birth certificate, you don't exist.  You can imagine the problems that could create in this modern era, for people who live as much outside the system as they can.

I am of course thinking about how all this will affect Ion, the three year old Gypsy.  As mentioned before, adoption is impossible, even if someone wanted him, he's not going to get a foster family because of his ethnicity.  I wonder what the future holds for him in terms of education, etc.

Right now he's being bounced around.  Last week he was in the CPS home for disabled children, then he was moved to the Barlad Children's Hospital.  Yesterday he was sent back to the home for disabled children, along with Alina, Ionut, and Cristi.  And remember, Ion is NOT disabled, and he's not sick.  He doesn't belong in either the home or the hospital, but there is nowhere else to put him.  <<sigh>>