The plight of the gypsy community
Dr. Ruwantissa ABEYRATNE
IT IS encouraging that yet another Presidential initiative, by which
President Rajapaksa has given instructions to grant electoral rights to
the minority Gypsy community, while planning to settle them in the
Vakarai area, has been taken.
In this regard it is reported that this initiative has been welcomed
by the Gypsy community and representatives of the Gypsy community have
agreed to settle in Tamil dominated Vakarai.
It is also reported that the minority Gypsy community lives in sub
human conditions and no politician has paid attention to their problems
since they have no electoral rights.
The gypsies of Sri Lanka are called “ahikuntikas”. The etymology of
the word is uncertain and one view is that ‘Ahi’ means serpents and that
the prefix could well have been attributed to them because gypsies make
a living by using snakes, monkeys and palm reading or fortune telling.
Some academics and experts on Sri Lankan culture are of the view that
Ahikuntikas are believed to have come to Sri Lanka from Andra Pradesh in
India. A chronological estimate as to when they arrived in Sri Lanka has
not been made.
Gypsies have been perennially regarded as nomads as they have no
fixed abode and they travel from place to place as frequently as in
seven-day intervals.
It is this peripatetic nature that keeps the gypsies from
establishing their roots and integrating with society and precludes them
from participating in economic activities and social practices as others
do.
There is little doubt that gypsies are gradually changing as a result
of evolving economic and social factors, although the change cannot be
marked as a radical change towards total social and economic
integration.
It is also a high possibility that at least some (if not all) within
the clan would like to integrate with society so that they could enjoy
the lifestyle of the average citizen. There have been instances where
the government has made attempts at settling portions of the Gypsy
community.
For example, a group of Ahikuntikas were given houses in the North
Central province in a village called Kuda Wewa.
It is also reported that a community of 25 gypsy families with a
population of about 100 persons speaking the Thelingu language encamped
on the banks of the Mahakanadarawa tank at Mihintale during the New Year
season.
Gypsies around the world
In global terms the word “Gypsy” is descriptive of anyone leading a
nomadic life, although generically it is usually applied to the Roma,
who have traditionally spread throughout the world as a nomadic people.
It is internationally recognised that they have a distinct ethnic
identity and share a common heritage that sets them apart as an ethnic
group.
The early history of the Roma is somewhat sketchy and not much is
known about their roots or ancestry.
However, it has now been established that early Roma ancestors left
India in great numbers as early as the 5th century, although the bulk of
the migrations occurred much later, in the 11th century, after the
Muslim invasions of India.
It is also chronicled that, following this exodus, and during the
early 14th century, the Roma travelled west across Iran into Asia Minor,
and from there most went to Europe through Greece.
The historical conclusion is that the Roma first arrived in Europe
over 500 years ago, and were called “gypsies” because of the erroneous
assumption that they had originally come from Egypt.
Although they were well received in Europe initially, their “strange”
and unfamiliar customs and reclusively closed society soon caused them
to be marginalised and unwelcome.
The Roma in Spain were free under Muslim rule until the Christians
conquered Spain again in 1492. After that there were legislative
enactments that made it an offence to wear or display the Romani dress,
and speak the language and practice Romani customs.
The Roma in France were expelled from Paris in 1539, and had to leave
England in 1563 under the threat of death.
In the beginning of the 15th century, many Roma were forced into
slavery by Hungarian and Romanian nobles who needed labourers for their
large estates.
It is now documented that during World War II there was mass
persecution of Roma people and over 500,000 Roma perished in Nazi
concentration camps.
They were forced into government sponsored assimilation programs
depriving them of their language and culture. Even today they are still
persecuted and under pressure to abandon their nomadic life.
The Roma are dispersed throughout Western Europe, the Middle East,
North Africa, and the Americas. Because of this, the Romani culture
varies in different areas of the world. One thing that all Romani have
in common is a strong sense of group identity. They are very family
oriented, and the elderly are held in high regard.
This culture stresses the sacredness of its traditions. They see
contact with “non-Roma” as polluting. This view probably came from the
religious beliefs of their Hindu ancestors. However, they usually adopt
the religious faith of the countries they live in.
Seemingly, the most compelling social need of the gypsies around the
world is to be considered equal as human beings whatever their
aspirations in life are. At present they are being marginalised and
stigmatised in various parts of the world. However, some countries are
showing growing tendencies toward treating them with compassion and
equanimity.
There is some information available on the Roma in the Russian and
Eastern European regions. A census carried out in 1989 in the then
Soviet Union documented 47,915 Roma living in Ukraine, constituting
roughly 0.09 percent of the population. In 2001, the State Statistics
Committee carried out Ukraine’s first census since the Communist period,
and found that in 12 years the population had stayed stable at 47,587.
The Ukrainian government’s report to the Committee states, “According
to the 2001 national census figures, at that time there were 47,600 Roma
(Gypsies) living in Ukraine, constituting 0.1 per cent of the country’s
population.”
It is widely recognised that among the Roma community, children are
encouraged to distinguish between people based on differences in
cultural practices and physical features, and learn that it is
appropriate to associate those traits with fear, danger and distrust.
The Roma are considered to instil a certain culture in their children
that drive them to becoming drug traffickers, thieves and criminals in
general. They are known to develop a work-shy, dirty, unhealthy, and
immoral personality, and such views are at times officially promoted.
For example, it is known that one particular government had recently
reported to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination that, in many cases, the authorities faced outrageous
instances of non-observation of social rules of conduct by the Roma, and
violations of community laws.
It was claimed that the Roma did not know their rights, and that they
did not even make an attempt at getting to know them. There was no
single observed case where parents in Romani families considered it
necessary for their children to go through periodic medical check-ups
and observe a calendar of vaccinations.
Also, and more importantly, it was reported that parents did not
aspire to provide their children with education, even at the elementary
stage.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a group
within the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, in its concluding observations at a meeting in
late 1999 expressed its concern at manifestations of xenophobia and
racial discrimination, including acts of violence directed against
certain
ethnic groups, particularly Blacks, Roma (Gypsies), immigrants and
foreigners frequently perpetrated by skinheads, although the Committee
acknowledged the efforts of the State party concerned to combat such
acts.
The same Committee at its hearing in August 2004 recommended to the
United Nations that State parties investigate thoroughly, impartially
and effectively all allegations of ill-treatment, violence or excessive
use of force by police officers, bring those responsible to justice and
provide adequate remedies and compensation to the victims.
Furthermore, in light of its general recommendation XIII, the
Committee recommended that the State party continue to provide intensive
training to law enforcement officials so as to ensure that in the
performance of their duties they respect and protect human dignity and
maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons without distinction
as to race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.
The Committee also encouraged the State parties to continue taking
measures to avoid the marginalisation of some groups of immigrants and
members of ethnic minorities in ghetto-like neighbourhoods and guarantee
the equal enjoyment of the right to adequate housing to all.
What should be done?
These concerns call for a concerted national and global strategy at
settlement of the gypsy community that would address two issues.
Firstly, their integration into society should be accompanied by full
civic rights and their right to their own cultural heritage should be
preserved.
What this means is that the gypsies, like any other community in
society, should be entitled to the respect and legacy of physical
artefacts and intangible attributes of their own society, no matter how
they are settled.
They should also have the right to citizenship, the right to
political representation and the right to vote. What they have inherited
from past generations should be maintained in the present and bestowed
for the benefit of future generations.
Secondly, their settlement should be with full and equal human
rights, in particular social, cultural and religious rights.
As a final gesture of democracy, and taking into consideration their
traditional proclivity of moving from place to place, they should have
the freedom of choice to move their abode and should not be tied down to
a particular settlement for any length of time.
(The writer is coordinator, Air Transport Programmes, International
Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, Canada)
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