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the Roma need your support

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ROMANI CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS

Click here to read about an ethnic segregation scandal in eastern Romania and sign for change.

URGE THE EU TO PROTECT ROMA FROM CORONA

Here you will find a petition that covers covid-19 related issues involving the Roma — including scapegoating, lack of medical attention, etc.

STOP ROMA GENOCIDE

Sign and raise awareness. Extreme nationalists are pushing for the genocide of the Roma.

COVID-19 CRISIS IN SPAIN

Petition to request an online meeting with Mayor, Juan Espadas to help Roma receive economic support while they cannot practice their economic activity — and to allow families to access food.

ROMANI CHILDREN IN ALBANIA

Petition and spread awareness of the treatment of homeless Romani children in Albania here.

GET IG TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE G-SLUR

A petition urging Instagram to recognize “Gypsy” as a slur — similar to Pinterest’s policy.

ROMANI CHIB ON DUOLINGO

Many Roma haven’t had an opportunity to learn the language for various reasons. Although there isn’t a universal dialect, a petition has been created for Romani Chib to be added to Duolingo.

ROMANI FLAG EMOJI

Petition for an emoji of the Romani flag. The flag may not be representative of a country, but it represents a group of people who should be able to celebrate their culture in the digital world.

EDUCATE YOURSELF

165 Years Since the Abolition of Roma Slavery

February 20, 2021

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The chattel, racial enslavement of Roma in Romania is estimated to have started in the 1370s and lasted for five centuries. Five centuries of violence, trauma, family separations, and other horrors surrounding slavery. Enslaved by the Crown/State, the Church, and nobility, Roma were documented as “princes’ Gypsies,” “Gypsies of the Crown,” “Gospodar’s Gypsies,” and later as “Gypsies of the State.” The word “Gypsy” is synonymous with slave. Alternatives to enslavement were death or escape. The enslavers held power over Roma through laws and regulations of the Orthodox church; however, they also imposed this power by depicting Roma as inferior criminals, nonpersons, and outsiders through the construction of “Gypsy criminality.”
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Through press reports and a translation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, the movement against slavery of African Americans in the United States heavily influenced the Romanian abolitionist movement. February 20, 2021 marks the 165th anniversary of the Roma’s liberation from slavery in Romania. With the enactment of “Legalisation for the emancipation of all Gypsies in the Romanian Principality” in February 1856, almost 250,000 Romani slaves were set free after nearly 500 years of enslavement. They were not, however, free from racism.
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Once emancipated, the Roma still remained fully dependent on authorities and local landowners. No reparations were given for the inhumane treatment they had suffered for centuries. They were not paid or given land, leaving no opportunity to generate intergenerational wealth. Like other cases of slavery and emancipations, the slave owners were paid compensation for freeing their Romani slaves.
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Romanian institutions INITIALLY decided to avoid the usage of the word “țigan” (Gypsy), when needed. The official term temporarily being “emancipat” (emancipated). Later, the word Țigan was again weaponized and used to dehumanize Roma; it is still used in such a context today. There is no escaping the historical context of that slur.
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Slavery of the Roma is denied in some Romanian history books. The rest of the world rarely, if ever, mentions the enslavement at all. State institutions and the Orthodox Church have failed to take responsibility for Roma enslavement, and show little to no interest in doing so. A formal apology for the enslavement has not yet been issued. There are no museums, nor is this history part of the school curriculum. Some historians who do acknowledge the enslavement argue that Romani people were “lucky” to have been enslaved by Romanians, claiming that the system worked to preserve their identity.
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The oppressors hold Romani history in their hands. Refusing to acknowledge the enslavement of Roma is harmful in more ways than one. With anti-Romani racism as rampant as it is today, a simple “we’re sorry” from representatives of the Romanian state would hold so much political power — as well as moral power.
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The idea of “Gypsy criminality” was created during this time of slavery, but continues to work as wrongful “justification” of anti-Romani racism today. We are still viewing the ripples of this horrific part of history. Whether it is acknowledged or not, the legacy of enslavement lives on.
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Challenge the notion that the Roma were lucky to have been enslaved for five centuries. Understand that “Gypsy” is rooted in hate and racism, carrying a long history of violence and discrimination. Have that discussion when Gadje (non-Roma) argue that it isn’t a slur. If you didn’t before, you now know the historical context behind it. Educate yourself and others.
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Sources

Achim, Viorel, and Davies, Richard. The Roma in Romanian History. Hungary, Central European University Press, 2004.

Hancock, Ian F.,.  The pariah syndrome : an account of Gypsy slavery and persecution / Ian Hancock  Karoma Ann Arbor, Mich 1987.

Hon. Alcee L. Hastings. Commission on Slavery Established in Romania. https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/press-and-media/statements/commission-slavery-established-romania