Roma Gypsies Romania
67 images Created 15 Oct 2010
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.
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.