Regan Chewning
Essay 4/Draft1
11/19/00
Gypsies: The last nomads, the free-spirited, passionate bohemians with their mysterious rituals and powers. This romanticism is nearly as unfair as the fear and hate distracting us from recognizing the hardships and persecution these "carefree" people have undergone for centuries. In Europe, the Roma (as they wish to be call) have been cast out, burned at the stake, sterilized, ghettoized, forced to give up their traditional way of life, caught in other people's wars, and more than half a million were slaughtered in the Holocaust.
Roma misfortune can be attributed to the vicious cycle of poverty that paralyzes so many minorities situated in an unforgiving society. This cycle of poverty began and still exists today due to the discrimination that the Roma face because of, among other things, their skin color and unorthodox ways of making a living. Through out history the largest complaint about the Roma, however, has been their wandering lifestyle. What is interesting though, is that the Rom are no longer nomads. The few that do move from place to place are migrant and are forced across boarders by the very authorities that complain about their way of life.
While some sources speculate that gypsies originally migrated from Egypt, it is usually agreed upon by most scholars that the gypsies came from India to Eastern Europe about a thousand years ago. The true reason for this move remains a mystery but many theories exist that they my have moved as a result of changes in the government, the economic situation or perhaps they have always been wonderers. Whatever the reason for their move, we will probably never know the truth. One gypsy lady learned during her childhood that "We were being punished for stealing the fourth nail that was needed in Christ's crucifixion. That's why his feet are crossed and nailed together. We were forced into wondering for taking this nail."
Whether gypsies were responsible for... [continues]
Essay 4/Draft1
11/19/00
Gypsies: The last nomads, the free-spirited, passionate bohemians with their mysterious rituals and powers. This romanticism is nearly as unfair as the fear and hate distracting us from recognizing the hardships and persecution these "carefree" people have undergone for centuries. In Europe, the Roma (as they wish to be call) have been cast out, burned at the stake, sterilized, ghettoized, forced to give up their traditional way of life, caught in other people's wars, and more than half a million were slaughtered in the Holocaust.
Roma misfortune can be attributed to the vicious cycle of poverty that paralyzes so many minorities situated in an unforgiving society. This cycle of poverty began and still exists today due to the discrimination that the Roma face because of, among other things, their skin color and unorthodox ways of making a living. Through out history the largest complaint about the Roma, however, has been their wandering lifestyle. What is interesting though, is that the Rom are no longer nomads. The few that do move from place to place are migrant and are forced across boarders by the very authorities that complain about their way of life.
While some sources speculate that gypsies originally migrated from Egypt, it is usually agreed upon by most scholars that the gypsies came from India to Eastern Europe about a thousand years ago. The true reason for this move remains a mystery but many theories exist that they my have moved as a result of changes in the government, the economic situation or perhaps they have always been wonderers. Whatever the reason for their move, we will probably never know the truth. One gypsy lady learned during her childhood that "We were being punished for stealing the fourth nail that was needed in Christ's crucifixion. That's why his feet are crossed and nailed together. We were forced into wondering for taking this nail."
Whether gypsies were responsible for... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
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(1999, 10). Gypsies. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gypsies-17489.html
- MLA
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"Gypsies" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gypsies-17489.html>.
- CHICAGO
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"Gypsies." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Gypsies-17489.html.
