Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey

by Isabel Fonseca

A masterful work of personal reportage, this volume is also a vibrant portrait of a mysterious people and an essential document of a disappearing culture.    Fabled, feared, romanticized, and reviled, the Gypsies—or Roma—are among the least understood people on earth. Their culture remains largely obscure, but in Isabel Fonseca they have found an eloquent witness.   In Bury Me Standing, alongside unforgettable portraits of individuals—the poet, the politician, the child prostitute—Fonseca offers sharp insights into the humor, language, wisdom, and taboos of the Roma. She traces their exodus out of India 1,000 years ago and their astonishing history of enslaved by the princes of medieval Romania; massacred by the Nazis; forcibly assimilated by the communist regimes; evicted from their settlements in Eastern Europe, and most recently, in Western Europe as well. Whether as handy scapegoats or figments of the romantic imagination, the Gypsies have always been with us—but never before have they been brought so vividly to life.   Includes fifty black and white photos.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, Travel, Sociology, Cultural, Historical

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Fonseca studied on Columbia and Oxford.

Writes for many newspapers and magazines, The Independent, Vogue, The Nation, The Wall Street Journal.

For four years, she has been living with the Gypsies from Albany to Poland.

Currently lives in London with her husband Martin Amis and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really into subcultures and history and this was a really fascinating glimpse into a culture I knew practically nothing about: The Romani. This book is fabulously researched and intermixes the current world of this formerly nomadic people with their ancient, ancient history. Upshot: It's not a 100% fun read, but it is mind-opening. Poverty, prejudice, even acts of massacre are enmeshed in their history. It was almost startling to read about all this racism and endemic poverty in Europe, a continent I think most Americans associate with luxury and progressivism.

Anyway, definitely worth a read if you want to learn about a world that is incredibly foreign! I will never use the word "gypsy" again after reading this, for sure.

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a thousand years the Gypsies wandered. First, out of India into the Caucasus and Armenia—the mountainous lands between the Black and Caspian Seas. Then onto the Anatolian steppes, the land now called Turkey but once part of the vast Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire. With the coming of the Seljuk Turks and the Ottoman Empire, many more moved north across Bosporus into Europe to wander among the peoples of the Balkans and even further north and west. Some 12 million Gypsies (or Roma) now live in Europe, making them among the continent’s largest minority populations.

“Early in their Balkan existence…the Gypsies were wanted…not for their crimes, but for their talents. Tinsmiths, and coppersmiths, locksmiths, blacksmiths…as well as the esteemed musicians among them, were valued and even fought over.” Yet always they remained a people set apart, wayfarers by choice (when they had a choice), speaking a language that no one else could understand, never trusting the gadje--the outsiders--and mingling as little as possible.

The Gypsies perhaps uniquely among peoples have no dream of a homeland; historically illiterate, they also have no book in which their collective memories are stored, and indeed no real sense of their own history beyond the memories of grandparents and great-grandparents. A yearning and sense of nostalgia is part of their songs and stories—yet the longing is for no singular place, but rather for the long road.

“O Lord, where should I go?
What can I do?
Where can I find
Legends and songs?

The time of the wandering Gypsies
Has long passed. But I see them,
They are bright
Strong and clear like water.
You can hear it
Wandering
When it wishes to speak.”

--Papusza's song

Between 1991 and 1995 Isabel Fonseca journeyed among the Roma through Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. The timing is a part of what makes her narrative unique; Fonseca was witness, not just to the world and culture of Gypsies, but also to the early years of chaos that followed the Soviet Union’s demise. Fonseca is always a clear-eyed observer, unsentimental yet sympathetic. She rarely intrudes as a narrator, but when she does it is with self-deprecating humor, and in a way that imparts a sense of immediacy.

The most vividly evocative section tells of the summer that she spent with a Gypsy family in Albania, in a village improbably named Kinostudio—“Movieland”:

“Everywhere in the Balkans life felt unstable. But among the Roma one felt as they did: utterly safe, as in a family….Kinostudio was a family—practically the whole neighborhood was related….I was chaperoned everywhere, partly because I was a woman and I was their ward…Even at home I was never allowed to be alone: not ever (and not even to use the bathroom, but that was because there wasn’t one). The Dukas [family] did not share gadjo notions of or need for privacy. Or for quiet. The more and the noisier the better was their creed—one that I found universal among Roma.”

Later sections explore the linguistic and cultural clues to Gypsy history (summarized above and since confirmed by DNA analysis), and visit the more broken Gypsy peoples of Bulgaria and Romania. Chapters telling the stories of Gypsy persecutions and the laws that even today make traditional life and livelihoods nearly impossible to pursue are sometimes horrifying and always full of surprising insights.

Her analysis of anti-Gypsy attacks in Romania in the years after Ceausescu’s fall sheds light on ethnic conflicts in other Balkan areas: “Most foreign reporters have described the post-1989 purges of Gypsies as the expression of ancient ethnic hatreds between ordinary people which had been temporarily suppressed by the communists. Wrong. In Bolintin [a Gypsy section burned to the ground in a single night], as in most other villages, the purge may be seen as the inevitable consequence of communist policy. These were fake communities. Like all attempts to assimilate the Gypsies by force, resettlement had backfired.”

Strikingly illustrated with Fonseca’s own photographs, beautifully written and even lyrical at times, this is a book to savor. It is also a book to study and to learn from because the problems of the Gypsies remain one of Europe’s great unsolved challenges and because, sadly, if things don't change for the better soon, this may be one of the few records that will remain of this ancient people and their culture.

Content rating PG Warning for occasional earthy language and also for mature themes revolving around sexuality, women's issues and family life and, more seriously, atrocities including the Holocaust.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between 1991 and 1995, Isabel Fonseca journeyed among the Roma through Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland & Germany, among other places. Unusually, she manages to gain the trust of many of these people, and was accepted into their lives - although American, and have to communicate mostly through a translator.

The stories she recounts here are fascinating ones. Sad and depressing, without doubt, the future of the Gypsies looks pretty bleak. With a lack of willingness to improve their own lives, governments who simply want to transfer the problems elsewhere (or forced settlement of these often nomadic people), and a lack of a legitimate homeland, these people exist on the fringes of society, in often terrible conditions. Organised violence, regularly resulting in murder and displacement by the people who live near the Gypsies regularly and systematically goes uninvestigated and unpunished (there is a lot about this in the book, and many examples).

So really there is too much going on in this book for a real summary. It is an engaging read, and one that elicits sympathy for the situation these people are in.

As someone with only the briefest of encounters with Gypsies (in the UK and Ireland, where, as usual they are not see as law-abiding members of a community), there was a lot of background to the culture and their origin (see below for the now accepted Indian origin theory) which I leaned.

The title of the book is part of the translation of a Romani phrase "Bury me standing. I've been on my knees all my life." P304 of the book.

Some interesting quotes follow.

P97
Early on in their Balkan existence, Gypsies held a curious position in society: they were at once more powerful and, by the nineteenth century, less free than they ever have been. Both conditions had to do with the structure of rural feudalism. The Gyspies were wanted, and detained - not for crimes, but for their talents. Tinsmiths and coppersmiths, locksmiths, blacksmiths especially, as well as the esteemed musicians among them, were valued and even fought over.

p100
...the study of Romani has also yielded a controversial ethnic possibility. This lies in the word the Gypsies widely use to refer to themselves (and literally to mean man or husband): rom among European Gypsies; lom in Armenian Romani; and dom in Persian and Syrian dialects. (And so we see that the term Rom, as in Romany, has nothing whatever to do with Romania, where, confusingly, the Gypsies have lived in great numbers for many centuries. Nor it is, as English Gypsies told the social anthropologist Judith Oakley, "cos we always roam." Rom, dom and lom are all phonetic correspondence with the Sanskrit domba and the Modern Indian dom or dum, which refer to a particular group of tribes who look similar.
In Sanskrit domba means "man of low caste living by singing and music." In modern Indian tongues, the corresponding words have similar or related meanings: in Lahnda it is "menial"; in Sindhi, "caste of wandering musician"; in Panjabi, "strolling musician"; in West Pahari it means "low caste black-skinned man." There are references to the Dom as musicians from the sixth century. The Dom still exist in India; they are nomads who do number of jobs: basketmaking, smithing, metalworking, scavenging, music-making. Not surprisingly many people have leapt on a Dom theory of origins for the Gypsies.

[Florence (Lefty) MacIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s always been a mystique surrounding Gypsies, this book takes a good stab at separating truth from fiction. Trust me; the real story is every bit as fascinating as the folklore. This is a great introduction to their culture & history; educational, shocking, often heartbreaking and highly readable.
By living amongst them, Isabel Fonseca was able to do what few outsiders have accomplished, provide a glimpse into the way of life of a highly secretive people. Observations on their superstitions, traditions, spiritual life (or rather lack of) and the unenviable role that woman play in their culture. Women are admired for being witty, ribald & rude, do all the work and are married off at the offset of puberty. Men appear to have all the authority but women possess the darkest & most forbidding powers.
The writing is pretty uneven, she kept changing her focus – what you get is a sociological / historical / political thesis & personal travel journal all rolled into one, includes some great photography by the way. One moment it’s a compassionate account of their day-to-day lives, of her experiences travelling through post-communist Eastern Europe, captivating stuff. The next it reads like an academic paper, you might do some skimming. She is prone to making sweeping statements about 'all gypsies' but in fairness her research seemed sound, and her passion for the Roma is indisputable.
Anyway, somehow it all came together & just worked. If the topic interests you at all I’d definitely recommend it. 3 ½ stars rounded to 4
I was left with little faith in their continuation as a distinct culture, but then what do I know? Despite all the cards stacked against them they’ve survived over 1000 years through sheer resourcefulness, tribal solidarity and what I believe is their major strength – courageous defiance.

“Many Gypsy songs speak of rootlessness and the ‘lungo drom’, or long road. Of no particular place to go, and of no turning back.”
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tseT9o..."

[Jonfaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is nearly eleven years since I read this astonishing portrait of a people. My friend Roger not only endorsed the book but gave me his copy (I have since acquired my own) and I was riveted with its anecdotes and depositions; I recall that I was engrossed with such at the airport when I first met Lena, my best friend's wife. I related a story in the book where god created a book of laws and insights which would gurantee the success of the Roma. Unfortunately, God printed the text on cabbage leaves and a goat ate it. Lena laughed. She now works for Al-Jazeera and we smile.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rom are in the news again and that is never good for them. (I cannot bring myself to use the word Gypsy, although Fonseca does). The latest European country to find them enough of a nuisance for deportation is France. The title of Fonseca's book comes from a Rom proverb: "Bury me standing because I have lived on my knees." Yet Fonseca's Rom are anything but kneeling. Although the caravans appear to be gone, victims of industrialization and modernization, much of it compulsory, most maintain a separate linguistic, cultural and economic identity. That identity, Fonseca argues, has its origins in the caste system of what is now northeastern India (which appears to be one of those areas of astonishing linguistic fertility -- another new language was announced there this month, October 2010). The economic pursuits of the Rom, trading (especially of horses and now cars), blacksmithing and music, are the same ones that their ancestors engaged in millenia ago. Much of the culture remains what it must have been, too, gold coins braided into hair, and the extensive code of cleanliness--much prejudice accrues to the Rom for the state of their dwellings, which is unimportant to them, but they spare nothing in washing clothing and avoiding all else that may be impure by their definition. Their eruption into Europe turns out to have not been entirely voluntary; the aristocracy of Eastern Europe, including Vlad Tepes, or Dracul, had a lively slave trade in Rom for centuries. In other areas or Europe, to be Rom was to be guilty, punishable even by death, most notably but not exclusively under the Nazis. Fonseca documents that period in great detail, and shows how both the Rom and those who enslaved them; it is a curious thing how the descendants of the slavers see themselves as the victims of Rom. Some of Fonseca's most powerful interviews are with the post-Communist officials (the book was originally published in 1995) who wink at attacks on the Rom, the police who abet those attacks. The collapse of the Soviet empire did not improve their lives materially, although nothing matches the Nazi persecution, with all the paraphernalia of the Holocaust: odd racial theories, mad doctors (including Mengele), ghettoes, work camps, extermination. And still they persist: Fonseca's books is full of the incredible diversity of a people so universally stereotyped: the advocates and intellectuals, the feuding "kings" (a title that the Rom don't confer), and, most vividly, the women: the matriarch of a family of Albanian Rom, a Bulgarian too independent for the constraints of her own culture, and the great singer and composer Papusza, put on trial and punished with ostracism for revealing too much to the "gadjo", the non-Rom. This is part of her lament for the passing of the days of the caravans: "The time of the wandering Gypsies/Has long passed. But I see them,/They are bright,/Strong and clear like water./You can hear it/Wandering/when it wishes to speak./But poor thing it has no speech..." The image is exquisite, but the Rom have survived even the loss of the road.

[Renin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beni çok tereddütte bıraktı bu kitap. Pek çok şey öğrendim, çoğu yorumda söylenenin aksine okuması da oldukça kolay ve çoğu zaman zevkli bir kitaptı. Ama verilen bazı bilgiler de yanlıştı. Mesela Gagavuzlar için Bulgarca konuşan müslümanlar denmiş. Veya sanki kitap 1820 yılında yazılmışçasına Türk ve müslüman kelimeleri birbiri yerine kullanılmış. Veya Türkçeden geldiğini iddia ettiği bir sözcük gerçekte Yunancadan geliyor. Bu tip hatalar, acaba başka neler yanlış da ben farkedemiyorum diye huylandırdı beni.

Belki bunlar çok önemli değildir, beşer şaşar, dikkate almayabiliriz. İçeriğe odaklanmak gerekir belki. Orada da bazı sıkıntılarım oldu doğrusu. Yazar kitaba sanki çok hevesle başlamış da gittikçe morali bozulmuş gibi, bir tuhaf düşüşle gidiyoruz kitap boyu. Önce Arnavutlara bir parça acıma veya daha kötüsü tiksintiyle baktığını hissediyoruz yazarın, sonra Bulgarlara sinirleniyor sanki, Rumenlere uyuz oluyor falan derken, kitabın sonunda neredeyse tüm Doğu bloku halklarından nefret ediyor gibi. Bu da olabilir, yazar tüm halkları sevmek zorunda tutulamaz elbette ama çingeneler hakkındaki klişeleri yıkmak için yola çıkan yazar, Arnavutlar, Bulgarlar, Rumenler ve sair halklar hakkında klişeleri hiç sorgulamadan benimseyiveriyor. Burada da inandırıcılığını yitiriyor benim için biraz.

Tabii aslında soğuk savaş sonrası konjonktürü devreye giriyor burada. Doğu bloku halklarının tümünün tek ırk hayali kurduğunu söylediği bir yer var mesela kitapta. Tek ırk mı? Doğu bloku bunun için mi vardı yani? :)) Veya Romanya’da eskiden komünist parti üyesi olan bir çingenenin komünizmin enternasyonalist ve insancıl değerlerine bugün halen inandığını söylemesi üzerine, yazar bunu beyninin yıkanmış olması ile açıklayıveriyor. Bu tip şeyler beni okurken çok sinirlendirdi doğrusu. Yazar Vogue’da, Wall Street Journal’da falan yazıyormuş ya, gitsin o mecralarda yazsın bunları dedim içimden birkaç kez, oralarda gideri var bu lafların.

Ne diyeyim, çok eleştirel bir okuma gerektiriyor doğrusu. Kaldı ki bir etnik grubun NEDEN sürekli düşmanlık gördüğünü de açıklamıyor. Açıklayabilecek kavram setinden de yoksun, kimlik de kimlik, kimlik de kimlik. Başka hiçbir referans noktası yok.

Bunun yerine Miroslav Penkov’un öykülerini tekrar ve tekrar ve tekrar okusaydım keşke.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrific, horrible, terrible. Perpetuates the WORST stereotypes of "gypsies" under the guise of spreading knowledge about the Roma minority. Lord save us from the friends of the colored people...

This - above - was my original review of this book. Later I received a comment on my review to which I responded. It's true that because of my utter distaste for the book, I'd been direct, but brief. In my answer to the comment, I elaborated further. Now, having seen so many positive reviews of the book here, I felt that I ought to re-post my exchange with the commenter here, so more people may see a fuller explanation of my sentiments:

"Harley" commented:

I have a suspicion that you didn't read this book or you would realize that the author is trying to disprove stereotypes.

My response:

I most assuredly have read the book. Perhaps I was careless in my use of the word "sterotypes". What the author does is essentialize and exoticize "the Roma" in a way that is completely out of proportion to reality. And the worst part is that I have met countless people who will defend this book with their last breath, yet have not once in their life spent any time with someone who is actually of Romani background. As someone who had worked on Roma issues and has interacted with many Romani people from all socio-economic classes, I can also tell you that this is a book that makes pretty much everyone I know groan. Not to mention that the author is flat-out wrong on many of the generalizations that come out of her book -- Roma are not inherently "secretive", obsessed with cleanliness, or for that matter, nomadic (nor have they been so, by and large, for a couple hundred years). To be sure, Romani communities have their pathologies, just like any other community -- there are people of all races, ethnicities, and nationalities that beg, that steal, that are unemployed, that are homeless. The worst that can be said about the Roma in Europe (especially Central and Eastern Europe) is that for reasons of historical oppression, they are disproportionately poor and marginalized in every country they live in, and (as it does in every country around the world) poverty makes all those pathologies more acute. But, in my view, whatever the author's good intentions, this book does nothing to advance the cause of Roma, and much to set it back.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read Bury Me Standing, I was devoted solely to fiction. My experience with non-fiction was limited to very dry histories that communicated NO sense of the people or circumstances involved. I don't know why I bought Bury Me Standing at the book shop of the Holocaust Museum in D.C., but I did, and it changed me in several regards.

First, I gained a much broader understanding of what the Holocaust meant and means. The Roma/Gypsy population was, percentage-wise, as or more significantly decimated by the Nazis as the Europen Jewish population. Neither this book nor my review is about "who suffered more," but about acknowledging the full breadth of the impact of Hitler and his regime on generations of people in many locales. Before I read this book, my conception of the Holocaust was limited to its impact on Jews--I hadn't really thought about Gypsies, homosexuals or the mentally challenged.

Second, this book explains Roma/Gypsy culture and history in a very accessible way. Whether or not you *think* you're interested, you will find that you are.

Lastly, I *never* read non-fiction before I happened to pick up this book. My previous experience led me to see non-fiction as dry and dusty and entirely lacking in the elements I found most compelling in fiction. Bury Me Standing exploded all my preconceptions, and I have gone on to find equally compelling titles in a number of other subjects (granted, they are still few-and-far-between, but they exist in increasing numbers).

I could not recommend this book more highly.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great example of book design/ marketing at work. I came upon it wandering through Barnes and Noble (I think), and the cover just jumped out at me. Combined with a very catchy title, it was pretty hard to resist. It helped that I knew absolutely nothing about the subject matter, so there was some added interest there.

Bury Me Standing is a combination of an anthropological study and a history, weighted more heavily towards the former. The bulk of the text is a chronicle of Fonseca’s experiences traveling in Eastern Europe, where she lives and talks with Gypsies in Albania, Romania, Poland, and parts of Germany. She also attends an international conference of Gypsies[1] organized by some prominent Gypsy academics (not to be confused with academics specializing in Gypsies). Part of her investigations also take her into the bureaucracies of these countries, where she spends a fair amount of time speaking with government officials and law enforcement officers about the Gypsies, and how they are treated (usually badly).

Interspersed throughout the anthropological text is some material on the history of Gypsies. Unfortunately, the history of the Gypsies is a bit difficult to trace; the Gypsies themselves keep no written records, and many historical accounts are severely biased, where they exist at all. Still, Fonseca does a decent job of constructing at least a skeleton of the history of this nomadic people. And she does an excellent job of painting a picture of their modern culture.

Fonesca’s in-person observations of Gypsy life and culture are what make this book really worthwhile. It helps that she’s a good writer; her descriptions of the people, and their surroundings, are well-rendered, and help give the reader a good sense of the lives that many Gypsies lead (usually ones of abject poverty).

My only complaint about the book is that occasionally, Fonseca assumes knowledge that the reader may not have. For instances, she makes numerous references to British Travelers, who I presume are British Gypsies (and not British guys who help Wesley Crusher achieve godhood), but she never really explains what they are. In fact, while she makes mention of American Gypsies, British Travelers, and so on, she’s mostly focused on Gypsies in Eastern Europe. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but I would have loved to have gotten a more general picture.

Still, definitely a solid and enjoyable book. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, it’s worth looking into.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My personal philosophy of late has been: Ignorance leads to Fear, which leads to Hate that often ends in violence and/or injustice. This philosophy is the drive behind my desire for cultural knowledge of all types.

Often when I read about Gypsies or hear about them it is in a negative context. Therefore, I got this book to learn more about their culture. Wow! It really was an eye opener! I read this book many years ago. However, I thought it important to post about this book considering what is going on in France *right now*.

They are accused of being "liers". However, their culture believes it is rude to disappoint someone which leads to the accusation of lying. They have been persecuted for a *long* time because of their preferred nomadic lifestyle. Transient (nomad) has not become to mean a *bad* thing it seems in most countries. They were one of the first cultures wipes out in the German concentration camps during WWII. Some countries have *forbidden* them from traveling.

To truly understand the complexity of their culture this book needs to be read. The author lived with them for long periods of time as well as interviewed others in various communities around the world. It is a truly insightful book to this culture. I suspect that even though it was published more than a decade ago it is still relevant.

Remember! A culture different than our own is *not* automatically bad or wrong. It is simply misunderstood.

[Dani Dányi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hosszú, vegyes műfajú, és szerintem a maga nemében igazán hiánypótló könyv, amit Isabel Fonseca uruguayi származású író saját kutatói-újságírói munkájából írt meg , és méltán lett belőle nemzetközi siker. A négy évnyi kelet-európai utazásból albán, bolgár, román, lengyel és cseh illetve szlovák fókuszú könyv a '90-es évek elején íródott, és egy 2008-as utószóval az időközbeni fejleményekre reflektálva is bővült. A magas színvonalú magyar fordítás Elekes Dóra munkája, és amellett hogy a sikeres akadálymentesítés sokat hozzátesz a szöveg olvasmányosságához, különösen örvendetes magyarul, a könyvben tartalmilag egyébként keveset és érintőlegesen tárgyalt, de tematikailag maximálisan érintett ország (többségi) nyelvén olvasni.
1989, a változás éve most 30 éves, és ez különös aktualitást ad ennek a könyvnek is, mint afféle alternatív '89-es kelet-európai tematikának. Elsősorban személyesen megélt események beszámolója, de sok kitérőt tesz Fonseca nem csak a saját háttérmunkájára, de történelmi és társadalmi-politikai kitekintéseket is ír, vegyítve a személyes elbeszélés szubjektív és a tájékoztató-informatív tárgyilagos szempontjait. Általánosságban ez egy nem homogén, nem elfogulatlan, ám kétségtelenül (többnyire) jól működő szövegfolyamot eredményez. Nagyon sokat tanultam (még viszonylag tájékozott emberként is) a cigány történelemről és kultúráról; hogy a legdurvábbakat kiemeljem, arról például eddig sehol nem is hallottam, hogy Romániában egészen a 19. századig, több mint négy évszázadon át rendes specializált vásárokon kereskedtek a cigány rabszolgákkal - és a porajmos, vagyis a roma holokauszt ma már jobban dokumentált és ismertebb téma, mint a könyv megírásakor volt, de erről is úgy gondolom, alapvető dolog tájékozódni.
Viszont nagyon jól tette a szerző, hogy a mindennapi, személyes, családi-kultúrantropológiaia vonalú történetekkel, beszélgetésekkel és tapasztalatokkal indítja a könyvet, kb a fele ilyen balkáni terepmunkával megy el és ez nagyon jó alapozás a későbbi, néhol kevésbé azonosulható epizódokhoz. Sajnos mégis az volt az érzésem, hogy jó lett volna húzni a második feléből: sokszor volt olyan benyomásom, hogy visszatér korábban már kifejtett meglátásokhoz, és jobb lett volna alaposabban megszerkeszteni, mert nagyon ütős lenne egy szorosabb és kihegyezettebb szöveg.
A cigányságot nem heroizálni, egzotizálni, kisegíteni vagy emancipálni, hanem megismerni és megismertetni, ebből adódóan (vagyis ennek feltételeként is) elismerni célzó könyv ez, úgy csinálja ahogy a tények és a valóság meg is követeli: árnyaltan, sokoldalúan, kritikusan és önreflexíven - ám a társadalmi igazságosság és az emberi jogok mellett, az előítéletek, a kirekesztés és az erőszak ellen foglal állást. Hálát érzek ezért, és személyesen megérint a dolog.
Úgyhogy ennek az értékelésnek a végén szeretnék még személyesebben is reflektálni a témára. Magyarországon felnőve az ember azt hiszem valamilyen módon érintetté válik a cigányság ügyében, ha közvetlenebbül nem is, de minimum az iskolai, közösségi, és nyilvánossági-közbeszédi sztereotípiák és mintának beállított esettanulmányok szájhagyományát gondolom sokan megkapták, ahogyan én is: ennek lényege talán, hogy a "cigány" egy szitokszó, és kerülni kell a kontaktust ezekkel a minálunk sokkal rosszabb, veszélyes és alantas emberekkel - én legalábbis ezt szűrtem le a felnőttek félmondataiból gyerekként. Azóta is magamban hordom az elhintett előítéletek visszhangjait, és elképeszt itthon is, más országokban is a velem fehér közösséget alkotó embertársaim alapvető, kulturális rasszizmusa, és itt nem a kopasz neonáci fajvédőkre gondolok elsősorban, hanem szimpatikus, iskolázott, jóravaló emberekre. Stopposként, utazóként, konferenciatolmácsként, egyszerű járókelőként stb minduntalan találkozom ezzel, és nem átallom leírni itt is, hogy ez a fajta viszonyulás nagyon gáz, és engem nagyon zavar.
Szeretném, ha sokan olvasnátok el ezt a könyvet, én úgy gondolom, ez az egyik olyan határvidéke az irodalomnak, szociográfiának és publicisztikai írásnak, ami igazán értékes, és talán nem túlzás azzal letenni, hogy valamit helyretett az emberi érzékenységünkben.

[Tom Mayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding my way to this after finishing Colum McCann's excellent new novel, ZOLI, I learned a great deal about Gypsy culture and the roots of ethnic persecution in Eastern Europe. Fonseca has a supple and engaging voice. She tells a personal story, remaining stoic despite the outrageously alien landscape she finds herself trying to navigate. More importantly, she has the anthropological and sociological chops to explore the issue on a more theoretical and intellectual level than your everyday journalist. After reading the book I tried to see what else she has written. I found out that this is her one and only book. I also found out that she has enough game to marry Martin Amis. I was duly impressed.

[ميّ.. قارئة كتب · Rating 4 out of 5]

[كان "مانوش رومانوف" دائماً يقول أشياء للذكرى، خاصةً، وبشكل جميل، أثناء الوداع... ذات مرة، وفي نهاية إحدى الزيارات إلى صوفيا، كان خلالها على وشك البكاء عملياً على شعبه الغجري، ناداني بطريقة درامية وقال :
"ادفنوني واقفاً.. أمضيت حياتي كلها راكعاً على ركبتي"]

يا لهذا الكتاب.
إنه مختلف تماماً عن كل ما قرأته حول هذا الشعب الذي ظل دائماً -ووفقاً لتعبير ذكر في الكتاب- مجرد "إلخ"....!
فجميع قراءاتي عنهم تناولتهم كـ "أرقام وإحصائيات ودراسات أكاديمية"، في حين اختارت إيزابيل فونسيكا أن تسافر في عرباتهم، وأن تصادقهم وتتعرف إلى طباعهم وعاداتهم وتحاول تعلم لغتهم... فوجدت الكثير من القصص التي تستحق أن تدون وتروى عنهم،  وصادفت تاريخاً طوى قروناً من التهميش والعزلة والنفي والتهجير والتعذيب والإبادة لحقت بهؤلاء المظلومين، وكشفت الغطاء عن آلامهم المردومة وآمالهم المكبوتة وأحلامهم العالقة بين حدود الدول والسياسات التي تعبث أبداً باستقرارهم.

كتاب إيزابيل مؤلم جداً كالحقيقة.
وهو -رغم ذلك- أخاذ وباذخ في تفرده.
يستحق القراءة مئة ألف مرة.. ♥️

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and their situation in the modern world. Well, "modern" being the early to mid-nineties.

Gypsies were more of a Halloween costume than a real culture or group of people as far as I was concerned before I moved to Europe. Upon moving to Europe, I discovered very early -- immediately, in fact -- that Gypsies are indeed real and almost universally loathed. Even the most open-minded people I knew had nothing but horrible things to say about the Gypsies, or Roma, as they are more perhaps more sensitively referred to. The Roma are on every street corner begging, and you can spot them dressed in rags or mismatched castoffs collecting deposit bottles and digging through garbage.

There is no one nationality of Roma, and their origins are fuzzy, but most likely descended from a group of people from India a thousand years ago. They are traditionally travelers, tradespeople who moved from town to town. In my opinion, the world developed around them, and they simply did not develop with the world.

They were treated as slaves throughout most of history, some even being brought to the United States as slaves, which you might hear mentioned on "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding." Like many of the world's mistreated minorities, they have had a tough time overcoming other people's hatred of them.

The biggest problem is they culturally are in a weak position. They are largely illiterate and have an (understandable) aversion to "the establishment." They don't want real jobs. In those cases where they try to follow the rules, governments still cheat and "lose" applications and forms, or design legislation expressly to exclude the Roma. People perceive their persistent position on the fringe as one of choice. And perhaps that is even true to an extent. But when you are one of a group of people so universally detested, and treated as such, how motivated would you be to take on the establishment?

This was an interesting read and I would certainly like to read more about the Roma, perhaps something more recently written. I did not care for this author's writing style or the book's organization (hence the 2-star rating), but I appreciated her treatment of the topic, and I recommend this book to anyone living where Roma are present.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the late 1990s, I visited the Czech Republic with my wife and then young daughter. When we were in a small town near to Teplice, two men driving an old fashioned Škoda saloon car first yelled something that sounded abusive, and then attempted to run over my wife and 3 year old daughter. Almost certainly the reason for this cowardly attempt to injure the womenfolk in my family was that my wife is Indian. And, many Indians look like gypsies, Roma, or Sinti.

Fonseca's book, "Bury Me Standing" deals with the similarities (linguistic and others) between the Gypsies and the peoples of India where it is thought the gypsies might have originated, but wisely comes to no conclusion. She also writes about living with these essentially nomadic peoples, who may be found all over the world but mostly in central and eastern Europe. I was interested to read how she lived with gypsy families living on the outskirts of Tirana in Albania. But this is not the best part of her book. The chapters that cover the gypsies of Romania and Bulgaria are particularly intriguing and quite horrifying. After the downfall of Ceausescu, the gypsies all over Romania were subjected to what might best be described as 'pogroms' against them, in which people were murdered and homes were destroyed on a large scale.

Fonseca also discusses the Nazi's mass murders of the Romany peoples during WW2, and how little this is known in comparison with the murdering of the Jews. Like the Jews of Europe, the Roma people are regarded as pariahs. Unlike the Jews, who have stood up to defend themselves, the Roma are still subject to much abuse from their non-Romany neighbours. As an outsider, I feel very sorry for the Romany peoples after reading Fonseca's book, but I also feel that the Roma people have a more robust reaction to what happens and what has happened to them.

I have learnt a great deal from Fonseca's book, and having read it I want to know more. Any book that gets me more interested in a subject, about which I knew little initially, deserves my praise. Her excellent bibliography will help me to learn more about the Roma people.

To conclude, after reading how many gypsies have been murdered in the Czech Republic, I am so pleased that my wife and daughter were not included amongst them.

[Sara W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it took me awhile, but I finally finished this book. Each chapter could stand on its own which is why I kept jumping in and out of this book over the past months. It was pretty good. Some of the writing annoyed me at the beginning, but I can't remember specifically why since I read those chapters so long ago. I didn't expect the book to be focused so much on the author and her specific experiences with gypsies - I expected (and wanted) more about the history and current state of gypsies in general. I don't really think my thoughts about gypsies have changed much after this book. Some things in the book seem contradictory. The author clearly wants people to look passed the bad reputation gypsies tend to have, but then she throws in lines about this or that gypsy trying to fleece her or con someone else which tends to reinforce the bad stereotypes. She also talked about gypsies living in the present and not knowing or caring much about their collective history (past slavery, treatment during the Holocaust, etc.), but then she uses that collective history as a reason for why gypsies act certain ways (I think she used it as a reason for why they were hesitant to settle down and assimilate or something like that) - I just felt like she was trying to have it both ways on this point. Overall, it was an interesting book, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

[Amy Ransohoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad that I read this book, because there is not a lot of information available about the Roma or their culture. But while this was a well-researched chronicle of their history, it was also dry, plodding, and not very well-written in spite of the myriad fascinating people and situations that it described. The middle hundred pages or so could easily have been removed without taking much away from the book, and I really had to force myself to finish it.

So while it was interesting and (I think) worthwhile to read about a notoriously reclusive culture, I didn't enjoy this book and I think anybody wanting to read about the Roma would do better to look elsewhere. Looking at the bibliography, George Borrow or Jan Yoors would probably be a better starting point.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey ought to be required reading for anyone who believes they know a thing or two about European history. As it turns out (speaking from personal experience), one might even possess an advanced degree in the subject and still need educating about the history of this intriguing European population. And this, to a large degree, is Isabel Fonseca's point - the Roma (or Gypsies), historically-speaking represent a practically invisible group of people, even though they live in nearly every nation in Europe (with smaller populations in Africa, Asia and the United States). Since their arrival in Europe some 600 years ago, the Roma have been in turn exploited, marginalized, ignored and persecuted. The xenophobia and nationalism of various European regimes over time, as well as the Roma's tendency to shun both the written word and contact with outsiders (that is, with non-Roma or gadje), has rendered the history of the Roma little known, even to themselves. As Fonseca observes repeatedly, most Roma with whom she spoke only possessed historical knowledge going back three or four generations; that is, to the age of the oldest living member of their group.

This reliance on oral culture, even while living in the highly literate nations of Europe, is at once fascinating and frustrating. Obviously, it makes studying Roma history a profoundly difficult task. The Roma have, by and large, left no written record about themselves. The records that do exist were created by majority European populations who filled them with the kinds of misinformation, fear and hatred one might find in Nazi-era anti-Semitic propaganda. And Fonseca indeed points out the many similarities between the historical treatment of Jews and the Roma in Europe, although she is careful to delineate the independent path the history of the Roma has taken, including systematic and often state legislated persecution well into the 1990s. At any rate, Fonseca pieced together her history of the Roma people through careful study of the racist documents generated by individuals and governments alike for the last 600 years, but also through countless hours spent living with Roma families in numerous European countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Germany.

Fonseca spent, cumulatively, years in the early 1990s traveling in Europe, living with Roma families, scouring archives, witnessing the omnipresent prejudice against these people, and frequently getting the runaround from government officials. Through engaging and well-written prose, she assembles a complex, nuanced and ambivalent image of the Roma people. From their hazy and contested origins (most scholars point to India), through centuries of slavery, forced settlement, punitive legislation aimed at their way of life, and the resulting cycles of poverty and imprisonment, Fonseca traces the cultural outlook of a people who value the story for story's sake; who willfully spread misinformation about themselves as a means of protection; who are born capitalists, living in the moment, not saving but trusting in their ability to eke out a living tomorrow; who value family and cohesion above all; who, even when settled, live in a mental space more attuned with the nomadic ways of life of their ancestors. What emerges as the most shocking aspect of the Roma's history is how their systematic and governmentally-sanctioned persection continued into the last decade of the 20th Century...and no one seems to care.

Roma have been subject to the kind of oppression and violence that, historically, has been inflicted upon Native Americans (i.e., in several countries Roma children were forcibly removed from their families to be raised Christian), African Americans (i.e., Romania legally enslaved the Roma for centuries, and to this day in many counries Roma are sometimes lynched or their homes burned, while the authorities sit by and do nothing), and Jews (i.e., in addition to fairly common pogrom-like eruptions of violence against Roma in many European nations, over 500,000 Roma were murdered by the Nazi death machine during the Holocaust). Additionally, in hundreds of smaller ways, governments and majority populations in Europe continue to discriminate against the Roma, to relocate them, to hamper their ability to make a living at traditional Roma occupations, and to deny their cultural legitimacy, not to mention their civil rights, as a minority population. Ironically, one of the reasons all of this discrimination and suffering has gone so unnoticed (or been so disregarded) has to do with the Roma themselves. That the Roma culture has remained so largely oral, so dependent on living memory, has meant that the Roma of any one country neither know their own extensive history of persecution nor identify with (or even are aware of the existence of) Roma populations in other countries. To historians, ethnographers and linguists, the cultural unity of the Roma throughout Europe is clear, but most Roma do not know or particularly care about this. With some inchoate and recent exceptions, there has been no Roma civil rights movement, no united front. And so their suffering, their culture and their very existence remains unknown or ignored.

However, lest I paint Bury Me Standing as a bleaker work than it is, Isabel Fonseca observes throughout that despite the persecution and even because of it, Roma culture remains resilient, cohesive and vivid. It possesses a soulful, longsuffering aspect that offers a lesson in endurance and in embracing the now. It reminds us that adversity, too, is part of living.

[Elizabeth]

I read this book in 1999 and it really captivated me at the time. I can't remember exactly why now, but there was something deeply touching about this book.

[dianne b. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A necessary read about a people who few know. The myths, the disregard, the prejudice described in this well documented book were often reminiscent of the treatment of African Americans and Native Americans in the USA; from the legalized (and encouraged) murder of Gypsies through Europe and the UK, centuries of enslavement, and perpetuated cruelty which goes on today with impunity.

I kept thinking of something a woman in Lesotho taught me: that until you can write your history, you don’t exist. Without an agreed upon past, knowledge of their connections beyond the immediate, I’d imagine that it is difficult for Gypsies to leverage their remarkable history.

I was saddened, but not surprised to learn how little documentation there is of the hundreds of thousands of Gypsies murdered by the Nazis. When finally the Gypsy slaughter was recognized by Germany (in 1982!) no plans for reparations were made, unlike the Jews.

“The Jews have responded to persecution and dispersal with a monumental industry of remembrance. The Gypsies - with their peculiar mixture of fatalism and the spirit, or wit to seize the day - have made an art of forgetting.”

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one successful random pickup at the library. I saw the cover and thought "I don't really know anything about gypsies" so I looked at the back and it had praise from Said, so I thought what the hell.

The author has this really interesting combination between personal narrative, somewhat like travel writing and an anthropological approach.

Most interesting to me was her analasis of Romani group memory, or lack there of, that she attributes to a survival seize the day mentality. Although the group doesn't genrerally keep tabs on their own history, there does seem to be a collective memory of wrongs done that is shown through suspicion of strangers etc.

Now I know about 300% more about Romani than I did before I read the book. No too often you can say that.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all practical purposes an anthropology study. Gypsies originated in India, migrating to Middle East via Syria up to Eastern Europe. Colonies in North and South America.

Local long term semi-tribal groups may settle in a mostly uninhabited area until they are chased out by the current inhabitants. Girls are married at puberty, 13 or 14. The grooms family pays an “appreciation” depending on how pretty and healthy for a virgin bride. If bride does not have a baby within a year, the husband can “dump” the wife.

Very few elderly of either sex. Most middle age men are in prison or away for work.

Could be a study of any group of people in any country and any century “who don’t fit.”

[Orin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Academic. Boring. Full of characters, yet having no character. My main fault with this book is that it was written by the author. Really really overwritten. That, and it appears to now be the most available general interest book on gypsies out there, which is regrettable.

[Jonathan Frederick Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly recommenced.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned heaps from Ms.Fonseca's book. I initially harbored a romantic image of the gypsy as a free spirited roaming people, full of mischief, passion and power. People have often called me a gypsy because of my previous traveling lifestyle and I enjoyed the label.

Hearing about women's position in gypsy society blew my mind. They are married as young teens and kept as servants to their mother-in-laws and men until their own children grow and they finally get to be the boss. They are constrained by numerous laws about cleanliness including quite a few intended to protect poor lusty men from being tempted by them (showing their knees). Ms.Fonseca's idea that the women are happier than the men because they have something to do is interesting, but learning of all the rules and regulation they are subject to certainly cured me of my romantic longing to be a gypsy!

While I was previously aware of nasty gossiping about gypsy people by those living around them, I had no idea of the level of authority sanctioned violence and destruction that they have been subjected to. In the multitude of WW2 movies and books I have experienced over the years I can not recall a single reference to persecuted gypsies! Their origins as Indians or as slaves was new information for me as well. This makes me wonder whether the descendants of slaves in America would continue to be subjected to similar persecution if not for the organization by the likes of Martin Luther King and other crusaders like him.

One recurrent concept that fascinated me in this book was the exploration of the cultural value of truth telling vs. entertaining. I have been disappointed by people in my life when I have met someone who always agreed with me. I thought we had everything in common, and felt I had discovered a kindred spirit; only to realize later that they were telling me everything that I wanted to hear, when it was not entirely true. Perhaps they had a little bit of gypsy in them. There is certainly a wide range of opinions on the value of truth. In contrast, others I have met insist on telling the whole truth, including how that dress makes you look fat! I wonder where the best compromise between the 2 extremes lies.

On page 237 the novel states that for hundreds of years gypsies have realized that "appearance was always at least as important as reality." Perhaps this is related to their tradition of roaming. In a short term relationship you can dazzle another person with whatever they want to hear. You won't be around long enough for them to realize that what you are telling them is not true. After you leave they will remain thrilled and satisfied with their personally idealized portrait of you. In a long term relationship, the risk is great that eventually over the years the truth will come out somehow and spoil their imaginary portrait of perfection. The beautiful liar may make you much happier over the short term, but the reliable truth teller will make you feel more secure over time. Although both aim to make you happy, their intended period of influence is different.

This reminds of an interview of a beautiful Brazilian who worked in a grimy jungle. The interviewer was amazed at how the Brazilian could emerge every day immaculately made up to do a dirty job. Myself, I have always thought of getting 'made up' as a mask, somewhat disingenuous. I have always thought that the work you do is more important than your physical presentation. The Brazilian replied that she felt a responsibility to give others something nice and cheerful to look at. That made me think twice.

Perhaps in gypsy culture it is more important to present people with something nice and cheerful, than to present you with the truth. Which is kinder - to tell the person that the dress doesn't fit, or to tell them that they are beautiful?

Some poeple can be maddening in their ability to sabotage themselves when they need most to succeed. For example, the alcoholic who gives you hope, only to relapse. For the gypsies it would seem that their isolationism from mainstream culture is the drug that they can't give up.

Despite their desperate need for respresentation in gadje government in order to prevent their brutal victimization, they continue to kick themselves in the teeth by putting roadblocks in the way of those Roma who have become educated and would like to work with gadje governments to improve their conditions.

This was echoed in an awful reality TV show that I stumbled across "American Gypsies". Of course, reality TV shows generally focus on any drama they can drum up and this one was no exception. I only tolerated a couple of episodes but they were full of arguments and fights between gypsies. One episode showed a family trashing another's fortune telling business because they had broken a gypsy rule of setting up shop less than 3 blocks away from their own business. Another showed the family tumult caused when a father chose to allow his daughter to study acting, therefore spending time with gadje. This show led the viewer to a similar conclusion as the book; that gypsies need to get out of each other's way and learn a method of cultural preservation that does not focus on their exclusion from mainstream culture.

In conclusion, this was an eye opening book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in gypsy culture.

This book was published 20 years ago. Has anyone heard information about the situation of the gypsies since then?

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 60 pages. This was a lot denser than I had expected. I didn’t understand the author’s motivations/qualifications for writing this book, which kept nagging at me. I didn’t like the chapter organization. I’m still interested in the topic, but not in this book.

[Kate. · Rating 5 out of 5]

At some point in life, you stop being surprised. I mean, you still occasionally act surprised -- but it's mostly just for fun, because you've heard it all before. And then you're sitting around sipping wine out on the deck, and you get the surprise of the century: your cool, liberal, multicultural friend passionately declares that "gypsy culture has no merit whatsoever, and if it got wiped off the face of the earth tomorrow it would be no loss to humanity." I almost passed out. And so an otherwise forgettable summer night was punctuated as if by gunfire, and I was baptized in the font of pop gypsy ethnography.

This subject is so fascinating I can barely talk about it in complete sentences. It's like social studies on acid (which might explain why it's so popular now among the phD set... and why Fonseca is being sued by Armenian Roma for sloppy scholarship). The author blends heartbreaking anecdotes and character studies with history and trivia that ultimately make the gypsy story unfathomable to me. Fonseca gets at the complexity of gypsy life, which --it turns out-- matches the complexity of my own feelings about gypsy life. The contrasts go on for days (centuries?): their suffering and good humour, their simultaneous taking and being taken advantage of, their illiteracy and long-standing cultural habits, their strong women trapped inside a distorted patriarchy. And I am left with a million questions: how is Romania so morally bankrupt? why do gypsy women spend three hours cleaning mutton? why did Elie Weisel object to gypsies being included in Holocaust Museum? how does no one realize there are just 1 million more jews in the world than there are gypsies? and how do all the NGOs and IGOs and EUCs begin to improve the lives of these people who live in chaos, who reside outside of time, with no desire to fit in or to belong, who cannot organize themselves for change or resistance? And that's the thing about this book: even a careful and conscientious reader has to resort to stereotypes to begin to comprehend the problems and brainstorm solutions -- of which there are blessed few.

[Sharlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even after finishing this book, I’m not entirely sure why it is titled Bury Me Standing. I don’t recall a mention of this phrase in the book, nor about funerals. Maybe it was something I skipped over or misread? (If you know what the title refers to, please let me know.)

Isabel Fonseca (otherwise known as Martin Amis’ wife) opens this journey into the lives of Gypsies with the story of Papusza, who was the most famous Romany poet, but whose death in 1987 went unnoticed. Already this beginning prepares the reader for a slightly different kind of non-fiction book. It’s not exactly scholarly, not entirely anthropological, neither is it really a travelogue. Perhaps it is best described as an exploration, a journey for both the writer and the reader into a culture that is often misunderstood, sometimes scorned and hated.

Fonseca spends a summer with Gypsies, a family called the Dukas, in Albania, where she observes daily life and their many superstitions and oddities (at least they are oddities to us). As a gadje (foreigner), Fonseca wasn’t allowed to wash herself. The boria (brides/daughters-in-law) have the task of scrubbing and washing her down (!). The boria do almost all the hard work at home – building fires, handwashing clothes (this in the 1990s). And there are some other horrifying things to learn, such as a woman who tells Fonseca that she has had 28 abortions, which she performed herself.

In Romania, she confronts a harsher topic – ethnic conflict. Romanians destroy Gypsy homes, trying to force them out of the towns and villages, sometimes even killing or maiming Gypsies. A villager, probably echoing most of the other villagers, calls them “vermin”.

Bury Me Standing is an interesting look into a people that is stereotyped, persecuted and barely understood (their origins can be traced to India but their history is still kind of foggy). But it is a rather depressing read. At the end of it all, one can’t help wondering: Will their lives ever improve? Do they hope for improvement in the first place? Or will they continue living in these rather shoddy houses, their children barely educated, still considered outcasts?

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I learned a lot about gypsies (since I knew next to nothing) this book left a great deal to be desired. My book group wasn't happy that I chose this book for last month's book group discussion - we felt this author had an amazing topic to bring to an interested audience but just didn't deliver. We were impressed with her travels and that she lived with a gyspy family but her writing seemed torpid to us. I know several of my friends outside of my book group loved this book so it came with a strong recommendation but was rated a low three by all twelve members of my book group.