The Roma: The History of the Romani People and the Controversial Persecutions of Them across Europe

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams.” – Old Romani Proverb In the 21st century, cultural differences and individuality are often celebrated and protected across much of the world, and given society's conscientious awareness of such phenomena, it is therefore all the more surprising when considering the ignorance or indifference that the world at large exhibits towards the Romani people. Otherwise known as the “Roma,” or by their popular misnomer, “the gypsies,” the members of this highly undervalued and grossly misrepresented community have long been considered outcasts. More often than not, the Romani are branded by even those who fancy themselves liberals as “pikeys,” “gyppos,” and “gips.” There's also a regrettably common term, “gypped,” meaning “to cheat, or swindle,” which perpetuates the damaging stereotype that the Roma are dishonest nuisances and societal pests. Even well-intentioned attempts to shine the spotlight on the community have sometimes been counterproductive, for they are often reduced to no more than exotic, whimsical entertainers for the privileged. According to a shocking email authored by an anonymous whistleblower in 2012, the staff at the Laurieston Job Center in Glasgow's Southside regularly referred to their Romani customers as “gypos, scum, beggars, suicide bombers, thieves, and [pedophiles].” The whistleblower cited the staff's disturbing comments regarding an unnamed Romani woman, who had brought her two children along to the job “The staff were all joking and saying they should sanction her for claiming whilst pimping out her kids. They then went on to make horrible remarks about the children, saying they were 'mongs.'” On August 5th of the same year, over 700 far-right “activists” stormed the heavily Romani-populated Hungarian village of Devescer. “Gypsy criminals,” the mob chanted as they hurled rocks, paving stones, and other projectiles at the homes of their prey. “We will set your homes on fire. You will burn inside your homes!” The police, who were called to the scene, supposedly stood on the sidelines with their arms crossed, unwilling to intervene. The dangerous blanket statements issued by various European politicians in recent years are also a cause for concern. In 1992, Bert Karlsson, a prominent member of the Swedish New Democracy Party, claimed that “Gypsies [were] responsible for 90% of crime against senior citizens.” In June 2008, the conservative Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ordered the fingerprinting of the 150,000 Romani, children included, as a way to crack down on street crime. In France, political parties from either end of the spectrum have blamed the Romani for the nation's problems, economic and otherwise. The Gypsies, asserted one interior minister, were responsible for one in every 10 crimes. It’s fair to wonder why the abhorrent treatment of the Romani continues to slip below the radar of many social justice warriors, particularly in this age of globalization. This is all the more confounding given that many are aware of the ways the Roma have been persecuted over several centuries, most notoriously during the Holocaust. The The History of the Romani People and the Controversial Persecutions of Them across Europe examines their history, from their origins to today. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Roma like never before.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, World History, European History

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2019

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rzutem na taśmę postanowiłem przesłuchać kolejną pozycję Charles Rivers Editors. Ostatnio w Stanach Zjedonoczynych głośno jest o systemowym rasizmie obecnym na przykład w szeregach tamtejszej policji. Śmierć Gerogea Floyda wywołała szeroko zakrojoną dyskusję na ten temat. W Europie w mniejszym stopniu dyskutujemy na ten temat, chociaż na pewno to samo zjawisko istnieje. Ta pozycja potwierdza istnienie zjawiska systemowego razismu skierowanego przeciwko przedstawicielom grupy etnicznej, szeroko pojętej jako Romowie. Zafascynowała mnie historia Romów w Europie. Ci ludzie są obecni już od setek lat na naszym kontynencie. Systemowo od samego początku jak tylko pojawili się na kontynencie europejskim byli prześladowani. Ta książka punktuje jak te prześladowania przebiegały.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when I was quite young I found out that a group of gypsies were near our town and that a police escort had been arranged to make sure they got through the town and left. Probably the next time I thought about them at all was Cher's song where she sang 'they called us gypsies, tramps and thieves.'

Fortunately this book provides a good bit of information on these wanderers. Their origins are gone into and there's some discussion about how Christians considered them Satanists. They were not allowed to marry Christians or to enter a Christian church.

It also goes into how gypsies were hunted and killed and how various countries tired to kick out any gypsies or worse yet to just kill them. I wish the book had gone a little more into the reasons why they were hated so much. Also, did the accusations that they were thieves have any basis in reality? It's a book that leads a person to want to find out more about this group of wanderers.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent concise history. Lot of information in this short book.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an eye-opening account of the discrimination against and persecution of a group of people who originally came from northwest India.  After reading this book, I have more questions than answers because this diverse group of people is hard to categorize and put into discrete boxes.  I thought the bibliography and explanation by Charles River were excellent. 

I think we will learn much more about this interesting group of people now that we have genetic testing available for the common man.  The fact that the actual homeland is now understood to be northwest India (instead of the previously thought homeland of Egypt), is important to note. 

It is important for book publishers such as Charles River to offer the public important information, such as this book.  People can only make significant responses to misbehavior by governments when we are aware of them.

[Gracie Hull · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the Roma from this, despite its briefness (as it is an overview). Perhaps because I listened to the audiobook, I felt that the middle section was very chaotic as it switched from country to country and century to century, which was not very chronological so it was hard for me to follow. I also didn’t learn as much about the Roma themselves as I had hoped, more so how they have been treated throughout history; I might have liked it more if there was a bit more about their beliefs and culture. All in all though, it was informative and I’m glad I read it and learned about the history of the Roma.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book is a pretty okay introduction - it’s easy to digest and reads quickly, but the latter is more of a detriment than a benefit. Given how short it is, it can only go into so much detail and so each topic addressed was discussed only at the most surface level. It kind of reads as a disjointed compilation of Wikipedia articles, and I would be interested to read a more in depth history of the Roma, particularly one written by a Romani author. If anyone has a recommendation that fits that description, please do let me know.

[Kai Odegard · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I got it in the mail, I first was very disappointed it was thin and an A-4 sized leaflet.
The pictures and illustrations inside are all poor quality Black & white.
The booklet is written in such a way one will suspect it has been written by some sort of AI software.
There is no signing of who wrote it, just the publisher name.
Stay clear of this product, as you are better off reading the exactly same on one of the many Wikipedia sites.

[Allie Slocum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really feels like a good starting point for those interested in learning about the Romani people. This is a clear and concise timeline of the suffering this group has faced for centuries. I’d recommend going elsewhere for a further deep dive but starting here is helpful. So many people have been targeted throughout history and we must honor them by learning about them. (Plus it makes you more empathetic. And more willing to see it when others face it!)

[Nicole Roccas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging and thoughtful history of the Romani people, a nomadic people group whose history stretches back more than a millennium to the Indian subcontinent. I read this book after a short story in Cathy Day's collection _A Circus in Winter_ featured Romani characters and I realized aside from literary portrayals and stereotypes, I know little about them. I was surprised and challenged in a good way, and found this book (audio version) to be quite an enjoyable read as cultural history goes.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for getting a high-level view of the centuries long persecution of the Romani throughout Europe. It gives many examples of the historic view of the Romani and the horrendous laws, vile forms of punishment and expulsions broken down by country or region throughout Europe. A very quick, easy, and appalling read.

[Dani Kass · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great primer on the history of the Romani people, their culture, the lack of true knowledge of their origins, and the universally horrific way they’ve been treated, which far surpassed what I’d expected (and I’d expected it to be very bad). It feels weird to talk about a group of people this way, but it’s what the book aims to do.

[Seb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting read

I have wanted to know more about the Romani people and their history for some time and this book was great for a short, insightful introduction.

A well written and enjoyable short read.

[Willie Kirschner · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting start

This is a short book which provides a little information about the Roma throughout history, but fails to provide sufficient information to allow one to understand the basis of Roma belief and customs.

[Angela Herrera]

I read this based on a recommendation from an author encouraging people to educate themselves on history, particularly the history of genocides and how they happen. This was very short and didn’t dive deep, but it was informative and seemed to give the basic bullet points.

[Elliott Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short book with a lot of information. While it’s light on pages it’s incredibly dense in subject matter. There isn’t a lot of filler or added pieces it’s just straight to the point with lots of information. This book shows a broad overview of the lives of the Romani people, their suspected origins, and many key pieces to their culture. The Romani culture is so unique but it is also filled with so much trauma for a group who isn’t committing violence against the nations they sought refuge in.

[Armand Wandji Tchakoumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and very quick to read

Key information about the Romani. I liked the description of cultural background and historical context. Good introduction book for anyone not aware of the tragedy of Romani people throughout history in different parts of Europe.

[Soumya Sehgal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read over coffee

A good overview on Roma's european journey and their hardships. Sadly not too detailed. The book dossnt talk about their time in Persian empire enough andhowit shaped them.

[Lawrence Mayer]

Simply excellent and unusually accurate.

[Lenora Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of typos, but otherwise nicely written.

[Niko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading as educational material, but you need to read this with a discerning eye, as it's not written by Romani people.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who didn't know who the Romani are, this was a great and tragic first look into their history and ongoing persecution. Would love to hear more especially from Romani authors.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, fascinating, concise, and lots of historical and cultural lenses on a massive and complex population. History is horrible and necessary to learn about.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short but a good overview introduction.

[Patrick Tullis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5. Overall solid book that is a bit short on page length and in detail. A nice overview of the topic though and worth the read if the topic is of interest

[Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing introductory work to Romani culture and Diaspora. It lost one star for a historical inaccuracy that I noticed.