The term Roma generally refers to persons who “[describe] themselves as Roma, Gypsies, Travellers, Manouches, and Sinti, as well as other terms. The term Gypsy originated from the mistaken assumption that Gypsies came from Egypt; the term Roma is similarly misdirecting to the extent it suggests Romanian origins. Roma encompass people belonging to both nomadic and non-nomadic communities—diverse in respect to language, religion, nationality, history, and culture—but understood to share a common ethnicity.
The Roma emerged from India around 400 B.C. as a tribe of nomadic musicians and entertainers, and they found their way into Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, mainly as slaves.35 It is uncertain whether they were brought and traded as slaves, or brought to Europe and enslaved later in the course of warfare. Still, historians claim that well over half the Roma population in Europe during the fourteenth century consisted of slaves.
Roma are currently the largest minority in Europe, with some estimates ranging from 10 to 12 million37 and others ranging from 6.8 to 8.7 million.Precise demographic data is unavailable, and official and unofficial estimates for each country vary substantially.39 Relevant data is scarce, partly due to an unwillingness of the population to self-identify as Roma for official purposes.
Currently, the Roma throughout Europe experience extreme social
exclusion, poverty, and intentional–often systematic–marginalization and discrimination in housing, healthcare, education, social benefits, and job opportunities. Roma have a lower life expectancy (10 to 15 years lower than the European average), have a higher infant mortality rate, live in substandard conditions (described as “de facto ghettoes” even in Western European states), face unemployment of up to 80 percent, 44 and, in many instances, do not have access to healthcare or education.45 To illustrate the problem of unemployment, consider that, in 2006, 90 percent of all Roma in Bulgaria lived on state benefits. Additionally, due to the combination of lower-than-average life expectancy and higher-than-average fertility rates, it is estimated that half the Roma population in Central and Eastern Europe is under the age of 20. Widespread lack of identification documents, often statelessness, and lack of title to land occupied by Roma communities further complicate the problems they face. Finally, the unfortunate situation of the Roma is illustrated by the percentage of Europeans who consider being a Roma a disadvantage: percent of Europeans consider being Roma a disadvantage, while 79 percent consider being disabled a disadvantage.
The statistics above demonstrate the seriousness of the social, economic, and political disadvantages of Roma communities. These statistics only hint, however, at the prevalence and nature of negative stereotypes toward Roma, generally referred to as anti-Gypsyism. These attitudes are responsible for the lack of political will toward Roma integration but are themselves partly a reaction to Gypsy law and culture.
