Roma - Europe's Ostracized

I'm making a switch back to Serbia for today's blog post after reading my friend's post and referring article about the plight of the Roma living in Belgrade. While living in Belgrade, I had written about the Roma on numerous occasions. So often I had looked down below the Gazella bridge in Belgrade at the large Roma settlement below while riding across this major bridge in the comfort of a car or bus. Below I saw tiny shacks made out of cardboard, scrap wood, tin, and other recycled items. Mud and garbage was ever present. Smoke often emanated from the shacks, sometimes wafting past satellite dishes. For the Roma living there, it wasn't much, but it was home.

Now it is home no more. Prompted by a planned upgrade of the bridge, the Roma were evicted, with some given as little as 20 minutes to gather their meager possessions and leave. Some were given "alternate housing" of metal containers located outside of the city. For a population that makes its living from recycling what others throw out (as well as other small things such as washing windows of cars at stoplights or playing the accordion/violin on the streets or buses), this was a move that posted major hardships. And that was for the "lucky" ones that actually were given housing.

The over 12 million Roma (otherwise known as Gypsies) of Europe face similar hardships. In addition, they are the continued subject of discrimination throughout the area. Even people who wouldn't consider saying racist remarks about others feel perfectly comfortable saying derogatory generalized remarks about the Roma. For the 500 years that the Roma have been in Europe, they have always been on the outside of mainstream society, with many Roma not learning the local language, going to school, and typically living in separate, squalid communities. Like the Roma living under Gazella Bridge, many don't have the proper identity cards that would make them eligible for the country's medical care and other services. Due to the continued acceptance of discrimination and desire for countries to beautify or modernize, the Roma get pushed farther and farther out of society and what they call home.

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