The Roma people's historical origins are from Rajasthan India; these were made up of many diverse peoples who traveled across Asia 1000 years ago towards European frontiers, pushed by an expanding Ottoman empire, arriving at Constantinople in the 14th Century. The Gypsy peoples enjoyed an initial warm acceptance inside Europe; their presence was perceived as enriching, almost spiritual as a lost tribe of Christians with extraordinary skills in music and dance, however this was turned around very quickly as the Gypsies became prized for their craftsmanship with metal, and they were very soon enslaved by feudal lords and monasteries, living under slavery for 500 years in Europe. They were victims of forced deportation as slaves to the Americas, even leaving as early as Christopher Colombus' first voyage, and later, with the abolition of slavery in 1856 an eventual Diaspora across Europe into Russia and to the Americas Their more recent history include such horrors as genocide during the Holocaust; mass exodus from Kosovo and across the Balkan states during the 1990s Balkan wars; and during the twentieth and early twenty first century, a flux of Roma seeking opportunities abroad; many leaving eastern Europe for the west after the fall of communism, and fuelled by institutionalised racism and the economic crisis, in an environment where anti-gypsyism becomes an evermore growing concern, with hate attacks, arson and killings; Roma continually face a lack of opportunities, where exclusion from education, rejection and fierce border controls, destruction of camps, forced evictions and deportation continue unabated. Rom, Roma, Roms, rrom, rroms, Gypsies, snake charmers, blacksmiths, gypsy, tsigane, zigeuner, gitan, gitanos, ancestor, heritage, nomadic, nomad, traveling, travelers, travellers, journey, poor, rejected, marginalised, marginalized, marganilization, beauty, indigenous, indigenes, romani, romany

The Roma people's historical origins are from Rajasthan India; these were made up of many diverse peoples who traveled across Asia 1000 years ago towards European frontiers, pushed by an expanding Ottoman empire, arriving at Constantinople in the 14th Century. The Gypsy peoples enjoyed an initial warm acceptance inside Europe; their presence was perceived as enriching, almost spiritual as a lost tribe of Christians with extraordinary skills in music and dance, however this was turned around very quickly as the Gypsies became prized for their craftsmanship with metal, and they were very soon enslaved by feudal lords and monasteries, living under slavery for 500 years in Europe. They were victims of forced deportation as slaves to the Americas, even leaving as early as Christopher Colombus' first voyage, and later, with the abolition of slavery in 1856 an eventual Diaspora across Europe into Russia and to the Americas Their more recent history include such horrors as genocide during the Holocaust; mass exodus from Kosovo and across the Balkan states during the 1990s Balkan wars; and during the twentieth and early twenty first century, a flux of Roma seeking opportunities abroad; many leaving eastern Europe for the west after the fall of communism, and fuelled by institutionalised racism and the economic crisis, in an environment where anti-gypsyism becomes an evermore growing concern, with hate attacks, arson and killings; Roma continually face a lack of opportunities, where exclusion from education, rejection and fierce border controls, destruction of camps, forced evictions and deportation continue unabated.

The Banjara, Blacksmiths and Snake Charmers, nomadic peoples of Rajasthan India, are considered the closest ancestors to the Roma Gypsies of Europe. The history of the Romani people has been a history of movement. Not from some innate wanderlust as the storybooks would have it, but because of outside circumstances that have left them no option. Moving out of India a thousand years ago in response to the eastward spread of Islam, and arriving in Europe three hundred years later pushed ahead of Islam's spread towards the West by the Ottoman empire. Rom, Roma, Roms, Gypsies, snake, charmers, blacksmiths, gypsies, gypsy, tsigane, zigeuner, gitan, gitanos, india, rajasthan, jodhpur, jaipur, tilonia, ancestor, heritage, nomadic, nomad, traveling, travelers, travellers, journey, poor, rejected, marginalisation, marginalized, marganilization, banjara, beauty, camel, tent, tractor, indigenous, indigenes, romani, romany

A Roma encampment, made up of broken down caravans and squats, next to the Seine Canal leading into Paris at the intersection borders of Bobigny, Noissy le Sec and Paris, was destroyed and the Roma Gypsies evicted during the morning of March 29th 2011. Romanian gypsies had been living there a few years Rom Roma roms rroms tzigane tsigane zigeuner zingari gypsy gipsy manouche sinti police policier gendarme eviction expulsion paris banlieu suburbs racist racism deportation camp camping caravan destruction devastation homeless SDF european sarkozy aggression CRS moving house home canal bondy bobigny noissy ile de france

Romanian Roma living with racism and in poverty. Sometimes working in the lowliest paid jobs, and marginalised, even separated by boundary walls from non-gypsy communities. Many Roma Gypsies work in the Cluj municipal Rubbish dump, recycling rubbish for a living. It is dirty and unhealthy work but they are proud to be earning rather than begging on the streets, these Roma have little choice if they want to survive. Most types of metal, especially copper wiring, and plastic bottles and aluminium cans are the most sought after materials. Recycled items and materials are sold by weight to small recycling businesses. The Roma recycling workers make a very meagre living from picking through the rubbish For Roma Gypsies who live in Sfântu Gheorghe, there is a wall dividing two communities from each other. The non-Roma live in the blocks of apartments whilst on the other side of the wall live the Roma Gypsies, in little houses. The Municipality says the wall is there to protect property and cars from damage by the Roma. The non-Roma are annoyed because they say they cannot sell their apartments for a good price, so they are forced to stay where they are. Roma Gypsies left India 1000 years ago. They were often nomadic just so they could find work, these days most are sedentary. Their origins were from a collection of tribes with their own languages and culture, pushed by the Ottoman empire towards Europe, as camp followers to the huge Islamic army. Once in Europe, they endured 500 years of slavery until the mid 19th century. A million were killed in the holocaust. Hundreds of thousands exiled refugees from kosovo. Eastern Europe Roma come to the west seeking a better life. They are shunned, marginalized, excluded wherever they go. Indigenous, foriegn, whether European citizens or not, Roma lack the opportunities afforded to others. They live on the periphery, in the brunt of racism, often deported back to their countries of origin.

Bulgarian Roma Gypsies formerly residents of an infamous municipal building tower block without windows, in Yambol, which was the bone of controversy for many years. The building was knocked down in September 2010 and its residents forcibly evicted. The municipality refused to rehouse them. They live adjacent to the old building in homemade squats. Their shacks are surrounded by a vast municipal estate housing non-Roma. In Veliko Turnov, other Roma live in 'Baracki' named after the barracks which were built many years ago after a landslide. They are surrounded by modern housing developments containing non-Roma population in 'Orange County'. Other Roma communities live in Fakulteta Mahala, a Roma Ghetto on the outskirts of Sofia and in the woods near Sliven. Roma Gypsies left India 1000 years ago. They were often nomadic just so they could find work, these days most are sedentary. Their origins were from a collection of tribes with their own languages and culture, pushed by the Ottoman empire towards Europe, as camp followers to the huge Islamic army. Once in Europe, they endured 500 years of slavery until the mid 19th century. A million were killed in the holocaust. Hundreds of thousands exiled refugees from kosovo. Eastern Europe Roma come to the west seeking a better life. They are shunned, marginalized, excluded wherever they go. Indigenous, foriegn, whether European citizens or not, Roma lack the opportunities afforded to others. They live on the periphery, in the brunt of racism, often deported back to their countries of origin.

Roma of wealth and high standing, often live in sumptuous buildings. Amongst them is the King of the Roma, Florin Cioaba, whose palace is in Sibiu, and who leads a Romanian Christian Centre movement. He is also politically active in European Roma and traveler organisations, and represents 'his people' in Romania and across Europe. The huge houses of the wealthy Roma have extravagant decorated zinc roofs, and are built like palaces with several floors and balconies, in all different shapes and colors, copying various architectural styles. The town of Buzescu lying to the northwest of Alexandria, south of Bucarest, is a well known home for rich Roma and for its typical Roma Gypsy style architecture, with symbols such as Mercedes Benz emblems, which was once considered the best made car, cockerels and stars. These buildings often take years to build, their occupants or family members working abroad, bringing back money and finishing the structures little by little. In the past when Roma were largely nomadic, families brought their caravans or wagons with them. Nowadays Roma are mainly sedentary, and the very wealthy Roma are obliged to offer hospitality to whole families of their kin, when big celebrations or events take place, such as weddings or funerals. Visiting families will live across a whole floor of the host's home.

A young Roma woman, who had been living near Paris, Isabella returns home to be with her mother and sister in Romania. She was deported by air, from France by the police authorities for 'stealing chewing gum and face-cream'. She declared herself as homeless and returned to Romania with just the clothes she was wearing, at the time of her arrest. She could return to Paris suburbs at any time, where her father and cousins are living. This is part of President Nicolas Sarkozy's program of deporting certain groups of 'foreigners' from France, who break the law. Later she received an official letter sent to her home, from the French authorities, threatening her with prison if she was caught again. So far she is too frightened to come back. However many other Roma go back and forwards between France and Eastern Europe, finding easier ways to make a living in Western Europe, than in their home countries. In Sofia, Bulgaria, there are vocal demonstrations by Roma Gypsies against Sarkozy's policies and especially the deportation of Roma from France back to Eastern Europe. They also fight for the integration of Roma gypsies into Europe. A demonstration took place in front of the French Embassy and attracted a few hundred Roma from around the country. Some had banners proclaim 'We are all Roma" "On est tous des Roms" and others with European flags and signs displaying Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.

In 2008, Silvio Berlusconi, infamously legislates for Roma identity 'race' cards for Roma of Eastern European origin across Italy. European human rights groups and Roma organizations oppose this racist law. The authorities enacted this law nationwide across Roma Gypsy camps from Milan, Rome to Naples. The Italian Red Cross and Police authorities were complicit with this laws enactment, entering camps, photographing Roma of all ages, taking their details; the Red Cross giving out Roma 'Race cards, and the Italian police giving out 'Roma identity papers'. There were demonstrations against this law coupled with other human rights protests, such as condemning NATO's bombardment of Serbia, ten years before, relating to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Roma from Kosovo, many of whom made their way across the Adriatic by Mafia boat, only to become refugees in Italian camps.

Roma Container Camps on the outskirts of Rome, where thousands of Roma now live, next to motorways, rubbish dumps or cemeteries. Originally they'd resided within Rome's city walls, or in rural spaces near the city, in easy reach of amenities, where they could find shops to buy food and ways to make money. Many Roma work inside informal recycling structures, all the family breaking metal, or playing music in the subway, sometimes selling flowers or begging on the streets. The Roma were evicted from the sites they'd made their homes, where their homes and belongings had been often trashed or raised to the ground, sometimes to allow for gentrification or just to get rid of the Roma from the city, leaving their old homes as vacant spaces. Roma Gypsies, as always are victims of society's racism and discrimination, forcibly evicted or moved from one camp to another, taken a long way outside urban spaces, and placed in the periphery, without proper shelter or amenities in what resemble concentration camps, without any trees for shelter from the heat.

Roma diplomats, ambassadors and human rights activists, participating in various European Union conferences and Summits at Brussels and Strasbourg. Their role is to participate in the development and enactment of policy with regard to advancing the Roma's inclusion within Europe. Rudko Kawczynski, and Marko Knudsen, Sinti representatives from Hamburg, Marcel Courtiade, professor of Romany languages at Le Sorbonne in Paris, with Saimir Mile, a human rights Lawyer, both based in Paris. Hungarian MEP Livia Jaroka, Santino Spinelli an Italian musician composer and also Roma ambassador. Roma, Sinti, Manouche and Gitan community representatives come together with representatives of EU institutions, national governments and civil society organisations from around Europe at the highest level to discuss the situation of Roma communities in the EU and find ways to improve it. The aim to support Roma inclusion, which calls for a joint response to tackle Roma exclusion and discrimination in the EU. Organised by the European Commission together with the French Presidency of the EU. Brussels, 16 September 2008

A selection of photographs of Roma refugees of the Balkan Wars charting their journey from Kosovo, across the Adriatic to Europe. Roma Gypsies living in no-mans land, between enemy lines. They are neither welcome by the Serbs, Croats or Muslims. Sometimes they would earn money burying the dead. The road from Travnik to Vitez, Bosnia. Spring 1994. The Roma homes in the Park District were destroyed by Albanians returning to Kosovo. They accused the Roma Gypsies as being accomplices to the Serbs. In fear of their lives, tens of thousands of Roma fled Kosovo for other Balkan States. Pristina, Kosovo. August 1999. Roma Kosovar refugees, escorted by Carabinieri and Customs police, set foot on dry land after a gruelling 40 hour voyage by Mafia boat across the Adriatic from Montenegro to Italy. They are the luckier ones, who have a new life ahead of them in Western Europe, they were lucky not to have drowned en route, like many of their compatriots, Brindisi, Italy. Summer 1999. Roma Gypsy Kosovar refugees arrive at Bari Red Cross camp. These Roma braved the adriatic crossing by Mafia boat and are their first step towards a better life in western Europe. Italy 1999. Roma Gypsies waiting to be processed to get their obligatory Roma ID cards from the Red Cross, Castel Romano, near Rome, Italy October 2008. Kosovar Roma girl plays near the railway track on the outskirts of Belgrade. These same lines took Gypsies off the concentration camps like Jasenovic, during the 2nd World War, where millions where exterminated. Belgrade, Serbia. January 2004

Roma living inside Rome, at Vicolo Savini Gypsy camp. They spend their days dealing with racism, prejudice and the threat of displacement from their homes. These people have since been forcibly removed to a container camp, on the outskirts of Roma; it is called Castel Romano, it is like a concentration camp. Many came to Italy from the Balkans in search of a new life after the violent disintegration of ex-Yugoslavia. Since then they have been evicted and forced to move from one camp to another.

Roma squatter camps in the snow, at Christmas time. Some of the largest Roma encampments 'bidounvilles' outside Paris. Roma are likely to be allowed to live here six months before being forcibly evicted from their homes. Winter, Sarcelles and Clemart, in Paris northern suburbs, France

Roma Gypsies living on the periphery. Commemoration of the Holocaust at Lodz ghetto, families living with pictures of 'Black Sara' their patron saint Sara le Kali, sites of Jewish and Polish ghettos where many Roma Gypsies were exterminated by the Nazis during the Second World War. Lodz and Tarnow, Poland

Roma Gypsies living across Turkey and Greece. In Istanbul and Edirne many Roma recycle rubbish and scrap metal. Some sell flowers in the street or work as casual agricultural labourers in the fields. Families are sometimes living in slums facing eviction as gentrification of their areas pushes them away, others live in tents and travel where they find work. Around Istanbul many Turkish Roma live in tents on the city's outskirts, recycling scrap to make a living. Other communities lived inside the city, like in Kagithane, but this is an area facing gentrification. They were all evicted from this suburb and force to outside the city.

In Slovakia, Roma have a hard time. Lunik IX housing estate is notorious. An army barracks during the soviet era, this luxurious housing estate was given to Gypsies with the fall of the iron curtain. The City Council refuses to collect rubbish as the 'Gypsies do not pay their taxes', but they are too poor to do so. They are forced to live in their own filth and rubbish. Roma children have been systematically denied opportunties in Slovakia. it starts off with the education system where Roma learn in segregated schools. Often they are treated as mentaly handicapped rather than helped with their learning difficulties. This segregated education system is akin to Apartheid. Hermanovice village is built on an island on a river delta and is sometimes literally washed away when there are heavy rains and flooding. The Roma residents rebuild their makeshift homes. Slovak Roma living in all sorts of makeshift homes from old railway carriages to squats made from materials found in the rubbish dumps next to the cities. Roma collect wood every day to warm their homes.

Manitas de Plata, the famous and celebrated, gitan gypsy rhumba & flamenco guitarist. He grew up in Arles in the mid 20th Century and rose to fame, playing guitar with the gitan gypsy singer Jose Reyes. They travelled the world playing even in Carnegie Hall, and were patronized by the likes of Picasso, Dali, Cocteau and Bardot. The sons of the Reyes and Balliardo now make up the 'Gypsy Kings' group. Camargue, Saintes Maries de la Mer, Montpellier, Southern France

Roma gypsies carry Saint Sara from the church of Saintes Maries de la Mer to the sea on the 24th May. It is "Le Pelerinage des Gitans"; the French gypsy pilgrimage in Camargue, France Sainte Sara is an uncannonized saint, who legend says looked after the Christian Saints Marie Jacobe and Marie Salome, cousins of Mary Magdalene, who arrived, it is said, on the shores of the Camargue in a rudderless boat. Saint Sara is the patron saint of gypsies who come from far and wide to see her. There are even paintings of Sara as 'Kali' the black saint in Eastern Europe. Sara may have been the priestess of 'Ra' the sun-god or even servant girl to the Christian saints. No-one really knows. For a few weeks of the year, Roma, Gitan and Manouche gypsies come from all over Europe in May, camping in caravans around Saintes Maries de la Mer. It is a festive time where they play music, dance, party and christen their children. They all go to see Saint Sara in the crypt, kissing or touching her forehead. Many put robes on her shoulders, making her fat for the procession. In the main Gypsy procession of the 24th May, Saint Sara is allowed to leave her crypt, beneath the church, and is carried from the church to the shores of the mediteranean and back again. One day a year she is free from her prison. Hundred's of years ago the Gypsies used not even to be allowed into the church, only into the crypt like Sara...

On ne sait pas exactement combien de centaines d'années les Gitans ont visité les Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, chaque année en mai, pour rendre hommage à leur sainte Sara. Mais ce n'est que dans les années 1930 pour la première fois que les Gitans ont été autorisés à participer et transporter la tsigane Sainte Sara de l'église à la mer. Ce changement de circonstances était dû à la supplications du marquis de Baroncelli, un noble camarguais qui avait voyagé aux États-Unis, se lie d'amitié avec Buffalo Bill et les Indiens Sioux, et plus tard les Gitans. Pendant des siècles auparavant, les Tsiganes n'étaient même pas autorisés à entrer dans l'église elle-même. Ils ne pouvaient entrer que par le porte arrière et en bas dans la crypte noire de suie où Sara, une sainte non canonisée, se tient toute l'année. Seulement un jour par an, elle est élevée à l'église, le 24 mai pour sa procession. "Viva les Saintes Maries, Viva Sainte Sara "pleure les Gitans français dans la messe de l'église, sur la route de la plage, sur le sable et finalement le surf méditerranéen comme Sara est transportée au bord de la mer et ramenée à l'église, à travers les rues de la ville balnéaire de Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer sur les épaules de son peuple. Sara est une légende, qui elle était et d'où elle est venue est l'étoffe de la légende. Peut-être était-elle la servante du deux Saintes Maries, Jacobe et Salomé, cousines de Marie-Madeleine, qui avaient été jetées à la dérive des côtes palestiniennes avec un bateau sans gouvernail. La légende dit qu'il avait dérivé sur les rives de la Camargue dans le sud de la France. Peut-être qu'elle était la prêtresse en chef de Ra, le dieu du soleil, et elle prenait soin des deux Maries. Les Tsiganes du monde entier l'aiment et considèrent Sara comme leur sainte patronne. Elle est souvent connue sous le nom de Sara la Kali et des images de la Sainte noire sont souvent trouvé même, dans des maisons tsiganes, loin au l'Europe de l'Est. Pour un bref séjour à la mi-mai chaque année, les Gitans français catholiques et Manouche, les Sinti allemands et italiens, et d'autres Roms tsiganes garent leurs caravanes en bordure de cette petite ville balnéaire de Camargue, où les nouveau-nés les enfants sont baptisés par des prêtres roms, des guitares et des violons sont joués autour des feux de camp, les familles se rassemblent autour d'immenses paellas, grandes fêtes, avec danses et chants, palmas (applaudissements) à la rumba ou au flamenco débordant sur le rues pavées et autour de l'église. Ils prient sainte Sara dans la crypte, chaque famille tsigane apportant une dentelle ou de la soie manteau, fleurs, collier ou diadème pour orner leur sainte patronne. Sara porte de nouveaux vêtements chaque année, sa graisse corporelle et lourd de robes de couleurs différentes pour chacune de ses processions annuelles. C'est une période de l'année où les gitans et les non-gitans ont pendant des années célébré ensemble leur amitié et leurs alliances.

Vesna Ackovic and her daughter in law. Christmas tree and decorations. 31st December 2003. David, his brother and brother-in-law. His family celebrate Orthodox Catholic Christmas. The family is half Muslim, so chicken is served together with the traditional fattened pig. In traditional Roma style, the women serve, but do not eat at the table with the men. Belgrade, Serbia. January 7th 2004. Roma Christmas in the Orthodox tradition involves killing the household pig that has been fattened on the kitchen scraps all year. Then there is feasting for several days. The children sit on top of the carcass to signify good luck for the coming year. Funerals are followed by a pumana ceremony which takes place 6 months after the burial, this takes place on the grave with feasting and drinking. Many Roma make a living by recycling, others by selling at the markets or in the building trade. Unfortunately there are those who live in abject poverty where just finding fuel to heat the house at winter is more important than food itself. This is a life without opportunity. A Roma woman carries water to her home. A horse and wagon arrives in Bolontin in the early morning. Elvis Presley has Roma blood. SomeRoma believe that they were the ones who fashioned the nails that held Jesus on the cross, that is why the world treats them badly.

Roma came to the Americas as early as Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Roma were exported and sold as slaves along with negroes from Africa. Europe tried to solve its 'Roma problem' by deporting many Roma slaves to the Americas. In the 1920s Roma, Chinese and mentally handicapped were not allowed to enter the USA anymore. After that Roma went to South America and the Caribbean with a view to traveling north across borders, but many ended up by setting up communities in the southern hemisphere. Nowadays about two million Roma live between North and South America.

English Romany Gypsies Leslie and Edna Elliot traveling with a traditional bow-top wagon in the English countryside, with their horse Sam, a foal and their dog Lassie. English Romany Gypsies traditionally traveled the country roads camping nearby towns and villages, choosing the grassy roadside banks, where they tethered their horses, or in farmer's fields, when they were allowed. Travelling in bowtop wagons drawn by horses, and before that with tents, sometimes with horse drawn carts or just by foot. Often they worked as casual agricultural labourers, doing the seasons work. They also could earn their living in different ways, sometimes selling their wares, brass, tin, wood and cloth, such as embroidered cloths or lace, telling fortunes, music and dancing, and through crafts skills in basket making, plaiting chair bases, sharpening knives, They would make fires from old wood, cleaning up after them when they moved on. There are several horse fairs, notably Appleby in Cumbria and Stow-on-Wold in the Cotswolds where they trade and sell horses, some traditions which keep to this day.

Kalderasha and English Romanichel Roma communities living in Texas, USA. Dukey and his family during an Orthodox Pumana ceremony, this where a close member of the family of the deceased wears 'the dead man's clothes'. This signifies the presence of the deceased 6 months after the funeral. Kalderasha Roma originally from Romania. In Dallas. English Romanichel Roma Jean with her family, daughter Paris and son John, living in Austin, Texas Roma came to the Americas as early as Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Roma were exported and sold as slaves along with negroes from Africa. Europe tried to solve its 'Roma problem' by deporting many Roma slaves to the Americas. In the 1920s Roma, Chinese and mentally handicapped were not allowed to enter the USA anymore. After that Roma went to South America and the Caribbean with a view to traveling north across borders, but many ended up by setting up communities in the southern hemisphere. Nowadays about two million Roma live between North and South America.

The Finnish Roma are amongst the most traditional in Europe. The women have to make the choice between wearing the traditional black velvet skirt for all their lives or not at all. The skirt often made of several petticoats can be ten kilos in weight. The patriarch is given such respect that members of his family will not sit whilst he is eating, and often complicated verandah systems are created so elders can be on higher levels. Helsinki and Tempere, Finland

Roma Gitanos living in the barrio of Pescaderia, near the fishing port of Almeria town. Many Gitanos are crack addicts, a legacy of the era of Isla de Camarron who popularized coke in the Gitanos communities and who died of an overdose. Some of the addicts sell drugs to survive and pay their addiction. This community is very marginalized. Almeria, Spain

Roma Refugees in no-mans land between Travnik and Vitez during the Bosnia war in1994. Later Kosovar Roma Gypsy refugees in 1999, kicked out of Kosovo by the returning Albanians, after Nato bombardment of Belgrade. Some are not wealthy enough to pay the Mafia boat crossing were stranded in the Balkans during the wars, others more fortunate, made the way across the Adriatic with Mafia boats, and faced hardship living in Italian Red Cross Camps before making their way elsewhere in Italy or Europe. Roma Gypsy refugees who came to Italy via Mafia boats from Montenegro after the Kosovo war in 1999 have lived for years in UNHCR refugee camps, then Red Cross sorting camps. They live with racism, prejudice and forced evictions from their homes. Many came to Italy from the Balkans in search of a new life after the violent disintegration of ex-Yugoslavia. Since then they have been forced from their urban camps to live in Container camps outside cities. 1994-1999

Roma and Sinti Holocaust survivors.The Deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti in Germany and Poland 1940-45. Roma and Sinti Holocaust survivors. Roma Holocaust "Porrajmos", the Roma word means literally "the devouring", where it is estimated that between 500 thousand and one and a half million Roma were exterminated across Germany, Poland, ex-Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and 1940s. The Roma were the first race to be subjected to experimentation by the Nazis, as part of Joseph Goebbels' 'Final Solution'.

Roman Paczkowski, last surviving Polish Roma Holocaust survivor. 67th Anniversary. Memorial to murdered Roma and Sinti in the concentration camp at the so-called Zigeunerlager, the concentration camp hut for Roma and Sinti. Auschwitz II Birkenau, Oswiecim Poland Roma Holocaust "Porrajmos", the Roma word means literally "the devouring", where it is estimated that between 500 thousand and one and a half million Roma were exterminated across Germany, Poland, ex-Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and 1940s. The Roma were the first race to be subjected to experimentation by the Nazis, as part of Joseph Goebbels' 'Final Solution'.

The Inauguration of the European Roma Travellers Forum, at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg December 2005. An historic moment for Roma Gypsies across Europe. The opening plenary assembly. Roma self-determination is recognized officially at European level. Roma ambassadors, diplomats and representatives of Roma and Human Rights organizations come together

The Roma people's historical origins are from Rajasthan India; these were made up of many diverse peoples who traveled across Asia 1000 years ago towards European frontiers, pushed by an expanding Ottoman empire, arriving at Constantinople in the 14th Century. The Gypsy peoples enjoyed an initial warm acceptance inside Europe; their presence was perceived as enriching, almost spiritual as a lost tribe of Christians with extraordinary skills in music and dance, however this was turned around very quickly as the Gypsies became prized for their craftsmanship with metal, and they were very soon enslaved by feudal lords and monasteries, living under slavery for 500 years in Europe. They were victims of forced deportation as slaves to the Americas, even leaving as early as Christopher Colombus' first voyage, and later, with the abolition of slavery in 1856 an eventual Diaspora across Europe into Russia and to the Americas Their more recent history include such horrors as genocide during the Holocaust; mass exodus from Kosovo and across the Balkan states during the 1990s Balkan wars; and during the twentieth and early twenty first century, a flux of Roma seeking opportunities abroad; many leaving eastern Europe for the west after the fall of communism, and fuelled by institutionalised racism and the economic crisis, in an environment where anti-gypsyism becomes an evermore growing concern, with hate attacks, arson and killings; Roma continually face a lack of opportunities, where exclusion from education, rejection and fierce border controls, destruction of camps, forced evictions and deportation continue unabated. Rom, Roma, Roms, rrom, rroms, Gypsies, snake charmers, blacksmiths, gypsy, tsigane, zigeuner, gitan, gitanos, ancestor, heritage, nomadic, nomad, traveling, travelers, travellers, journey, poor, rejected, marginalised, marginalized, marganilization, beauty, indigenous, indigenes, romani, romany

The wedding day is the most important day of the Gitane bride's life, where she moves from a girl to womanhood. French Gitans, in the south of France, are full of spirit, they live and breathe to the rythms of rumba and flamenco music and dance. Any chance to celebrate brings song and dance together with 'palmas', hand clapping. Before or during the wedding, the bride makes her difficult transition from a girl to womanhood, where her honesty is tested in secret, by the elder women of her clan, with the 'mouchoir' handkerchief. The bride will typically have three wedding dresses, the first one is white for her religious faith, and that is a traditional marriage colour for Roma, secondly a special robe which is the proof of her honesty to match the hankerchief, the french word the 'mouchoir' where the flower stains are her proof, and the final bridal gown is usually an over the top carnival outfit. The groom's outfits will match the brides in colour, but the groom will not have seen his fiancee's outfits until the day of the wedding, when she wears them. Thousands can attend very big wedding celebrations which can sometimes last until daybreak. Men in the bride's family often tear their shirts in honour of her transition. There can be well known Gitan musicians and singers, especially from the families of the Reyes and Balliardo, such as Manitas de Plata or members of the Gypsy Kings group, they are family, cousins, uncles or great uncles. In Roma tradition the men congregate with the men and the women stay with the women. Everyone will dance with the bride, one after another, some putting money into a hat, for luck and helping the married couple on their way.

Eastern European Roma refugees come to to Western Europe to get away from their native countries where they lack opportunities and sometimes live in ghettos, villages and camps without amenities, sometimes totally off grid, without electricity or running water. The living conditions that they are forced to endure encamped next to Western European cities are not much better, if actually worse than their life at home, yet they have access to income streams, such as working in the informal recycling industry, picking up discarded metal on the city streets, and selling the raw materials to scrapyards for recycling. In fact even though the life they lead is hard, they can earn a comparatively better living than in Eastern Europe, and bring money back to their families in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Czech Republic. Eastern European Roma, however, are often subject to strict border controls by police and immigration officials. UK immigration have been occasionally aided by Czech Roma Police Special forces to check incoming peoples racial identity, through their appearance, names or other means, and often disallow certain groups of Roma from crossing the frontier.

Roma gypsies carry Saint Sara from the church of Saintes Maries de la Mer to the sea on the 24th May. It is "Le Pelerinage des Gitans"; the French gypsy pilgrimage in Camargue, France Sainte Sara is an uncannonized saint, who legend says looked after the Christian Saints Marie Jacobe and Marie Salome, cousins of Mary Magdalene, who arrived, it is said, on the shores of the Camargue in a rudderless boat. Saint Sara is the patron saint of gypsies who come from far and wide to see her. There are even paintings of Sara as 'Kali' the black saint in Eastern Europe. Sara may have been the priestess of 'Ra' the sun-god or even servant girl to the Christian saints. No-one really knows. For a few weeks of the year, Roma, Gitan and Manouche gypsies come from all over Europe in May, camping in caravans around Saintes Maries de la Mer. It is a festive time where they play music, dance, party and christen their children. They all go to see Saint Sara in the crypt, kissing or touching her forehead. Many put robes on her shoulders, making her fat for the procession. In the main Gypsy procession of the 24th May, Saint Sara is allowed to leave her crypt, beneath the church, and is carried from the church to the shores of the mediteranean and back again. One day a year she is free from her prison. Hundred's of years ago the Gypsies used not even to be allowed into the church, only into the crypt like Sara...

Funeral for the old King of the Roma Gypsies Florin Cioaba. The day after Florin Ciaoba's funeral, was the crowning of his sons, as two kings; Daniel and Dorian Cioaba. Daniel with the bigger crown is King of Romanian Roma Gypies whilst his older Brother Dorian has the smaller crown and is King of Gypsies of the world and deals with foriegn affairs. Their mother Marita oversees the crowning ceremony Florin Cioaba's hearse (a lorry) packed with security guards is taken from The Cioaba family home to the cemetery. Florin Tănase Cioabă (1954 – 18 August 2013) was a Romanian Romani Pentecostal minister and self-proclaimed "King of Roma around the world". He died on 18 August 2013 of cardiac arrest at Akdeniz Üniversitesi in Antalya. He was 58 years old. In September 2003, Florin Cioaba sparked controversy when he married his 12 year-old daughter Ana-Maria to Mihai Bitrita, a Roma boy aged 15. However, following the wave of criticism, he promised to work to uproot the tradition of child marriages among the Roma. Florin Cioaba also encouraged Roma families to send their children to school during his attempt to fight poverty resulting from a lack of education. Cioaba was elected president of the International Romani Union in April this year