Svinia in Black and White: Slovak Roma and their Neighbours

by David Z. Scheffel

Roma—or Gypsies as some people still call them—constitute Europe's largest, poorest, and most enigmatic minority. In spite of their centuries-long coexistence with mainstream Europeans, our picture of this people remains rooted in stereotypes and myths that have little in common with contemporary social reality. Full-fledged citizens of the European Union, and ostensibly protected by the world's most progressive human rights legislation, many Roma live under conditions that challenge our notions of Europe, modernity, and pluralism. This book is about a Romani settlement in eastern Slovakia. It is a community that has grown to become one of the largest and most problematic townships of rural Roma in the entire district. The dark-skinned squatters on the margins of Svinia are segregated from the surrounding society by means of physical and social barriers entrenched in local ideology and enforced by rules and conventions reminiscent of apartheid. David Scheffel offers a detailed ethnographic account of the social, cultural, and historical circumstances that have encouraged and supported inter-ethnic inequality in the region. In the process, he demonstrates the complexity of what is often referred to as Europe's "Gypsy problem" with passion and sensitivity.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[Nathan Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Metaphorically speaking, if the external enabling conditions constitute the firewood for the renewal of a people, then the spark to light the fire has to come from within. This spark is the process by which a human being becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears for his own destiny.... As long as [ local people] continue to blame others for their circumstances and decide that others are responsible for their survival, very little will change in their society. In the broadest philosophical sense, they have to come to understand that a slave is also a man who waits for someone else to come and free him." - Anastasia Shkilnyk

[Amity · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Though the author clearly has experience doing field work, he incorporated quantitative data and broadened his scope beyond the traditional ethnography. I appreciate that. However, I do not agree with his interpretation of the situation at every stage of analysis. I think he could have done more to ensure that his socialized capitalist view did not taint his understanding of the Slovak Roma's situation in Svinia.

[Emily Eck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on a plane to Cali from the Midwest. The guy next to me kept trying to talk to me. But this book had a hold on me. It ripped my heart out. Once a professor told me that I could be an anthropologist or an activist but not both. Reading this satisfied the anthropologist in me but brought out the activist. My professor was a douche.