by Eszter Szilassy (H)

Statistics

Of all countries of Europe, Romania is probably die one in which the greatest number of Roma live. The available statistics differ. The official census figures are probably underestimates (the January 1992 census arrives at a figure of 409,723 Roma, accounting for 1.8 per cent of the total population (22,700,000 persons). Another census fifteen years earlier put the Roma population at 227,398). On die other hand, the figures sometimes put forward in the media or by a handful of Roma militants may well be exaggeratedly high (it is not unusual a figure of 3 or even 5 million to be claimed). According to the Roma organizations and information provided by Ethnic Federation of Romanian Roms, Roma people in Romania number about 2.5 million (a little more than 10 per cent of the total population of the country). This figure is itself sometimes questioned by well-informed specialists, who put die Roma population at 1.5 million. An order magnitude is given which covers (with the usual gray areas) -perhaps indeed many of them - conceal their Roma origin, claiming instead to be Romanian, Hungarian or Turkish.

In a recent thorough analysis, Elena Zamfir and Catalin Zamfir (1993) estimate that the proportion of Romania's Roma population which still follows die traditional way of life, or something very dose to it, probably numbers about 1,010,000 people (i.e. 4.6 per cent of the total population). According to the study, even when only the "visible" part of the Roma population is taken into account, it constitutes Romania's second largest minority, after the Hungarians (7.1 per cent, 1,062,000 persons).

Historical and Cultural Background

The dispute over figures immediately makes clear just how difficult it is to specify exactly who is a Rom, and also to find out what the Roma themselves feel about the question, scattered as they are throughout Romania. The bulk of them (some 500 000 or 600 000) live in Bucharest, the capital city, whose total population is estimated at 3 million. Around the capital and elsewhere in Wallachia odier Roma live in often quite homogeneous rural communities where the chief activities are farming and related occupations. Similar Roma villages and huts are to be found all over the country. lt seams, however, that the Roma communities in Transylvania are very different from one another and from their non-Gypsy neighbors, and stand out in that their life-style, work, and dress make them early recognizable. This is probably because traces of regional particularities which have been cultivated over the centuries still remain. Transylvania did not become part of Romania until 1918. Separated from Moldavia to the east by the Carpathian mountain range and Wallachia to the south, it was for a long time under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whereas the other regions of Romania developed under the shadow of the Ottoman Empire.

The Roma arrived in Romania in the 1 Sth century, and until the middle of the 19th century were bought and sold as slaves. Following the dissolution of slavery in 1856 many migrated further west, others remained where they were, and others again, resumed their formerly nomadic lifestyle.

Following the communist take-over after the Second World War, nomadism was prohibited. From about 1965 each Romanian was obliged to have a fixed address, employment, and be registered with the local police. Today, only some 5-6 per cent of the Romanian Roma have returned to a nomadic life, and this is generally restricted to travel between communities during the summer months while also maintaining their own residences.

Like any other social group, the Roma are structured vertically in a hierarchy of socioeconomic levels, and horizontally in terms of traditional clan groupings such as former nomads and settled groups, and then by occupational groups: coppersmiths, woodworkers, metal workers, musicians, and so on. Living throughout Romania, Their highest concentrations are in the south, and in particular, eastern Moldavia, Dobruja and south-eastern Transylvania.

Trends in the Policy towards Roma during the Communist Period

Throughout Central and Eastern Europe it was taken for granted, when Communist government look over, that Roma would be assimilated as a matter of course. Politically, a citizen's ethnic origin was not important. The assimilation and modernization policy of the USSR was to be exported to its satellite countries. But, whereas in Russia the "Gypsy" stereotype was quite positive and connected with a long tradition of song and music that was very much in fashion with the Czarist nobility and then the intelligentsia. Roma were regarded in central and eastern European countries mainly as a poor, inferior section of society.

The Roma suffered terribly, too, in the Second World War. When the Communist regimes were being set up, the policy objective was to eliminate the relics of the past. The Roma way of life was seen by The leaders as a reminder of a primitive state in man history. The plan was for the material poverty of the Roma gradually to disappear as a matter of course as they were incorporated in the socialist production system. The state showed special concern for the humbiest of them. In Romania, some Roma climbed the ladder in government departments or the Communist Party. Others look on local responsibilities. Many Roma showed no resistance 10 joining the big collective farnis. Roma schools were opened etc., broadly speaking, the people' democracies ensured that Roma had the same legal rights as other citizens.

This policy resulted a kind of forced immersion in of Roma people in Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania too, the authorities started to discourage nomadism in the mid-1950s. It was not until about 20 years later that a virtual ban was enforced as a result of constant harassment by the police (although in 1983, 30 per cent of Roma were still regarded as nomads or semi-nomads.) In the meantime, a number of itinerant families had been settled on the outskirts of towns. The Gypsy problem did not really emerge until the rise of nationalism in the mid-1960s. The existence of (Gypsies was denied. Speaking of it was tantamount of defending racism, and photographing Roma was prohibited.

The Roma in Romania since the fall of Communism

The collapse of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe brought new hope to the Roma and to many others in Central and Eastern Europe. In Romania, the fall of the Ceaucescu regime released feelings that had been pent-up for a long time. The Gypsies were acknowledged by the new Romanian Constitution to be national minority. They were entitled to be represented as an independent political force in the Bucharest Parliament in the same way as the Hungarian, German, Bulgarian, and other national minorities. The authorities took initiatives in die education and cultural fields. Roma political parties were set-up by intellectuals, trade unionists and businessmen who no longer had to keep their Roma origins a secret. Hut this was a late occurrence, at a time when the economic and social system was foundering and in the very early stages of a democratization process which still has not yet settled on new social structures.

Sadly, hope has turned to disappointment. In all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe the condition of Roma is worse than it was under the communist regimes. The new democracies are criticized for their failure to address a wide range of issues including Roma welfare. In the context of the difficulties facing new democracies however, these criticism are not justified. In almost all of die countries of Central and Eastern Europe the will to carry out reform exists but the government and administrative structures and the skills which supports those structures can only be developed over time. This point is particularly relevant in relation to minority issues. It must be remembered that under the communist regimes isolation was imposed. For forty-five years time stood still and nations emerged which, in many respects, had not changed since the World War II. It will take time for the new ideas, which have developed in other regions to penetrate both the governments and the populations of Central and Eastern Europe.

Economic Situation

From the economic viewpoint, it can be said that the Communist period speeded up the formation of a large Roma proletariat, usually stuck in unskilled, low level jobs which, although they did temporarily provide virtually full employment, put the Roma at a disadvantage on the labor market. Under die communist regimes employment was compulsory and all work was officially sanctioned. Anyone found to be unemployed or illegally employed risked imprisonment. The Roma generally worked for very low wages as unskilled laborers in agriculture, construction and the steel industry. Sooner or later, the most highly-skilled would inevitably sweep the field, when the effects of the world crisis started to be felt in eastern Europe in the 1980s, the Roma were the first to be affected, although as much because they were seen as Gypsies as because of their lack of skills. On the other hand, the Communist System had not managed to eradicate certain kinds of behavior common to many Roma. and in particular had allowed some self-employed trades which met local needs to continue. Surprisingly enough, no real progress towards the establishment of a middle class can be perceived, even after four decades in Romania.

The actual situation with regard to Roma employment is very difficult in Romania. Their place in economic life has become increasingly insecure as a result of The economic crisis, the privatization of land, the shutdown of technologically obsolete basic industries and the lay-off the least skilled workers In many places, competition for jobs looks like inter-ethnic competition. When applicants have the same skills, ethnic minority members are turned down and preference is given to the dominant ethnic group. The 1992 survey of Romania showed that 80 per cent of the adult Roma population had no skills. Of those who had, only 1.8 per cent had a medium or high level of skills. Three-quarters of qualified persons were specialized in occupations geared to the modern economy, others were in a traditional activity. Over 50 per cent of the persons in the sample were out of work and 5 per cent were retired. The situation was much worse for women than man: about 70 per cent of women were out of work and of these only 2 per cent received unemployment benefits!

Of course, it is simply difficult to extrapolate these characteristics to Romania's Roma population as a whole, especially as a very high proportion is integrated in Romanian society with no claim to a particular identity. However, in a country where the economy is particularly affected by the crisis, those who are seen as Roma are a particularly vulnerable group.

Education

High levels of Roma unemployment are largely the results of poor education. Under communism, enforced school attendance meant that illiteracy among the Roma was reduced. Since the fall of communism school attendance has ceased to be enforced and these gains have diminished rapidly. Poor school attendance at the primary level derives from a number of factors: socio-cultural conflicts with non-Roma children, learning difficulties and disabilities, insufficient interest, lack of parental support, and even inadequate clothing. At the secondary level, the early marriages (between 13 and 15 years of age), typical of Roma society, the pregnancies that often follow soon after, and the necessity for die young husbands to find employment also take Their tool on Roma educational development.

Unlike most of Europe's ethnic minorities, the Roma do not, in general, attach particular value to education, neither for economic achievement nor for social mobility. Instead they are liable to see it as culturally disruptive, being the means through which young Roma, confronted by ethnic hostility, attempt to assimilate into the majority society and leave their Roma heritage behind.

Consequently, out of the estimated 2-2.5 million Roma, only some 10,000 have been to secondary school, far less have completed it, and only a handful have gone to university. Of these, only a few maintain their ethnic identity and try to work within, or for, the Roma community. The actual figures, however, are impossible to estimate, There are no specifically Roma educational statistics because of Roma reluctance to identify themselves on official documents.

The lack of enforced school attendance has meant a drop-out rate that is now much higher than under the communist regime. Consequently there is marked decline in literacy in the Romanian language among young Roma, thereby affecting their future employment possibilities. Previously 5-6 per cent of die Roma were regarded as illiterate in Romanian (or in Hungarian in regions inhabited by the ethnic Hungarian minority). Today 7-8 per cent of the Romanian population is regarded as illiterate, and the majority of these are believed to be Roma.

There are no educational programs specifically oriented towards Roma children in which they can also study their own language and culture except, apparently, in two urban schools (Tirgu Mures and Bucharest).

Apart from assumed prejudice, a major part of the problem may rest on die fact diat as, until recently, Romani was not a written language, has a limited vocabulary, it was not taken seriously by most educational officials. The development of Roma education, in my opinion, requires a very specific infrastructure that must be mutually developed between the Romany communities and the Romanian government.

Ethnic conflicts

Conflicts between the Roma and Romanians, or other ethnic groups - such as the Hungarians - have been increasing since 1989, and are one of the reasons for the recent westward migrations of Romanian Roma. The disappearance of communist rule in 1989 left the Roma vulnerable to reaction and attack. For years, the Communist regime had forbidden any reference to Roma. They were seen, but officially did not exist. The inevitable frictions between the different life-styles were repressed. And yet tension was building up as a result of forced settlement and incorporation in the socialist production system, all of which have contributed to make more conspicuous a whole section of the population which had previously been tolerated despite all the ills it was blamed for.

Politics

The greatest benefit which the Roma have derived from the fall of the communist regimes is the right to form organizations and to participate in politics. The Roma are taking full advantage of this opportunity. Since the fall of communism numerous Roma organizations have been set up throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The 1989 Romanian revolution allowed a number of Roma political parties to emerge, reflecting the wide diversity of this ethnic group. But still the political organization of the Roma is undeveloped. The Roma political parties are neither as powerful nor well organized as those of other ethnic groups, such as the Hungarian party which is an extremely important political force.

The Roma Situation is as political as it is racial, economic and social. Without legal protection, enforced by Parliament, the Roma can receive little help. The Roma's tendency not to identify themselves as much as such has meant that because their official numbers are between a third and a quarter of their actual population size. They have unwittingly acted in their own worst interests, weakening the strength of their case as Romania's largest ethnic minority, as well as their political possibilities.

Prospects

Looking at policy towards Roma in Central and Eastern Europe and in Romania since World War II, The picture that emerges is a contrasting one. Forcible assimilation policy during The Communist period took into account neither the Roma'own aspirations nor inter-ethnic prejudices. It did nevertheless accelerate the adaptation of Roma to contemporary society at a time when their traditional activities were declining.

Many factors contribute to a continuing marginalisation of the Roma, geographically, socially and mentally. The Roma in Romania live for the most part at the margins of society in terrible poverty. They do not have proper education or housing and they can not find work. Moreover they are the victims of ethnic discrimination. Not enough consideration is being given to their economic capabilities, much of the housing provided for former nomads is unsuitable, resources are scare etc. In such context, only the most resourceful have been able to achieve above-average stability in living standards, whether in a traditional or modern life-style.

The Roma present's situation is paradoxical. On the one hand, their advancement on the international level as a simultaneously thans-frontier and settled ethnic minority is helping them to become a part of the emerging Europe. We are far removed from the old imageries which depict Roma as eternal, carefree wanderers. On the other hand, Roma as individuals, whether or not they claim to belong to an ethnic minority, depend on the goodwill of the country in which they live in a climate now heavy with xenophobia, particularly at the local level which is, after all, the level at which decisions concerning them are or are not put into effect.

Bibliography

• Braham M., (1993) Report on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees on the Untouchables, Survey of the Roma people of Central and Eastern Europe, 1993.
• Crowe, D. and Kolstki, J. (ed.) (1991), The Gypsies of Eastern Europe. Armonk, London: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
• Fraser, Sir Angus (1995) The Gypsies, Oxford, 1995, Blackwell.
• Huttenbach. H.R. (ed.) (1991) The Gypsies in Eastern Europe, Nationalities Papers, 19. 1991, pp. 373-394.
• Liégois, J.P., (1995) L'émergence internationale du mouvement politique rom, in: Hommes and Migrations, 1995, pp. 39-44.
• Liégeois, J. P. & Gheorghe, N., (1996) Roma, Tsiganes d'Europe, GDM, 1996, p. 17-18.
• Poulton, H. (1991), The Balkans. Minorities and States in Conflict. London: Minority Rights Publications.
• n.n. "Roma, Still Knocking on Europe's Closed Doors" in: Transitions, Vol. 4. September, 1997.
• Poulton, H. (1992), Refugees in Eastern Europe: Minority Rights and Mass Exodus, London: Minority Rights Group, 1992.
• Reyners, A., (1993) "Quelques propos sur l'identité ethnique des Tsiganes en Roumanie" in: Les minorités ethniques en Europe, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1993, pp. 354-355.
• Reyners, A., (1995) Les populations tsiganes et leurs mouvements dans les pays d'Europe centrale et orientale et vers quelques pays de I'OCDE, 1995.
• Zamfir, E., Burtea, V., Zamfir, C., (1992) Preliminary Considerations on the Status of Gypsies in Romania, Bucharest, unpublished, 1992.

last update: 11 JUL 2002 by Ralph