1. Roma
Megan Reilly, Chelsea Leary, Michael Sweeney, Rachel
Chinman

2. Introduction
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpQQ4A5xRwU
(2:15-5:15)
 Surprisingly, Roma can be considered as the first
European people, since they "broke" European borders
much before any international treaty or convention
existed.
 They travelled all around Europe enriching European
cultural heritage.

3. Where do they come from?
 Today scholars agree that the origins of the Roma
people were established in western India, and they
began to spread slowly across Eastern Europe over
the centuries. Now Roma are beginning to flood in
to France, and Italy from nations such as Romania,
and the czech republic.

4. Cont…
 As the Roma people suffer extreme injustice as try to find a
permanent new home throughout Europe. They are in a
consist state of fear that inevitably leds to travel in hope for
salvation and acceptance by the majority of any culture.

5. The Roma Population in
Europe
 Czech Republic 250,000 to 300,000
 Romania 1,800,000 to 2,500,000
 Hungary 550,000600,000
 France 280,000 to 340,000
 Italy 90,000110,000

6. Do they have friends outside the Roma
community?
 ‘go back to your own country, where you belong.”
 Due to their nomadic lifestyle and differences in
language and culture, and the negative stereotypes by
host nationals it becomes in general extremely difficult
for older Roma to adapt, and make friends in a new
culture.

7. Cont…
 Younger Roma are much more likely to adapt to
their new host culture by learning the language,
living in both Roma and the host national culture
since youth and making more meaning full
interactions on a daylily basis due to the lack of
language barrier.

8. Where do they work/live in Florence?
 Most of them live in camps that embody the worst stereotypes in
Europe
 lack proper sanitation (most don’t have toilets or showers)
 8 camps around/within Florence: one is a permanent structure,
two are considered temporary facilities and five are abusive and
filled with squatters
 1 camp--permanent walled structures, the rest are a combination
of campers, mobile homes, and temporary barracks
 Largest employment sectors in Florence: precarious work (42%),
selling flowers(35%) and work with social cooperatives(18%)

9. Are they religious?
 The Roma women we interviewed all claimed to be
religious- Catholic
 Churches: Sante Croce, a church in Piazza Liberta
 Statistically most Roma are either Catholic or
Eastern Orthodox
 There are rumors of their practice of “white magic”
which uses nature and the elements, but we are not
sure how prevalent this is
 Some are Jehova’s Witness

10. What are the Roma youth
like?
 46 out of 104 kindergarten aged children do not attend school at
all. This number increases progressively with age.
 Children leave school at a young age – care for younger siblings/beg
for a living
 Gypsy girls forced to leave school when
they become old enough to marry (13-17)
 With lack of schooling the children find it
difficult to procure employment when they
are older
 contributes to heightened criminal activities

11. Why do they come here?
 Find that tourists give them more money than they will
get from a real job
 Some can’t get a real job because they don’t have
working papers
 For jobs that involve serving customers, the employers
discriminate and don’t hire them

12. Who do they interact with?
 Mostly with each other
 Only others when they are begging for money
 Most don’t talk to people outside of the Roma
community

13. Do they feel safe?
 According to our interviews, they do feel safe, but according to our
research we don’t see how they can since the government is trying
to get rid of the Roma altogether
 Roma camps are sometimes ambushed by people who don’t want
them to be around anymore

14. 0:11

15.  It took a while to get them to
cooperate without giving much
money in exchange
 The one on the left was much more
willing to talk
 Enjoyed students being interested in
them

17.  Has 3 children- one 9 year old in school in Florence who
does gymnastics and plays soccer
 Romani brought physical culture back into Europe upon
their mass migration, including acrobatics, gymnastics,
and dance
 Direct link between the European Gymnastics traditions
and the Indian Yogic traditions
 She tried to have a conversation with us and hardly
begged us for more money
 Wanted us to meet her American friend who is 32 years
old

18. Do they have a family?
 Most do. Gypsy girls normally marry between
13-17 years-old and quickly start a family.
 They’re known to be very family oriented. A
large amount of the family’s earnings come from
what the children can bring home. They are also
known to have very large families.

19. How do they feel they’ve
been treated?
 The Italian government’s lack of action in the area of Gypsy politics
both reflects and impacts national public attitudes towards
Gypsies.
 Gypsies in Italy are denied of rights (Roma workers are refused
jobs, their children are refused places in school)
 The criticisms of gypsies in Italy include: discrimination in housing
and employment, violence and intimidation, unprofessional police
behavior, the role of the media in diffusing negative stereotypes,
and the lack of support for human rights in the Italian justice
system.
 They receive very little attention both politically and academically.
Gypsy children are often unfairly prevented from enrolling in
European schools.

20. Do they feel they have
adapted?
 The Roma have a saying "roma romesa a gadjo
gadjesa" which roughly translates into: the
Roma stick with the Roma and the gadjo stick
with the gadjo (non-Roma). They cherish their
ethnicity and culture to the point where
integration isn't usually wanted.
 Lack of education and economic opportunities
lead to social problems for the Gypsies.
 Ostracized in Italy culturally as well as socio-
economically.