Yes, they were
never the primary target of oppression. I stick to that
Let's cover labeling. There are different groups of Gypsies
(derived from the assumption they were Egyptians, and which is now commonly used as a derogative), the most prominent of which are the Roma & Sinti. I find myself inclined to use something all encompassing that isn't derogatory, so I'll be referring to them all as Romani.
Slavery
You argued that Romani never experienced slavery. This is simply incorrect. In fact, it is grossly incorrect. Indeed, their term in slavery predates that of the African American. Romani were slaves earlier than 1250, taken from the Mongols & Tartans and continued in their servitude. They were, in fact, initially brought to Wallachia/Moldavia (now principalities of Romania) and other countries AS SLAVES. Worse, Romani remained in servitude, as slaves, up until 1864 in Romania
(Their freedom was legalized in 1856, but remained as slaves until 1864). In the same year, the Emancipation Proclamation was posed in the United States. In 1865, one year after Romani were truly freed from slavery in Romania, African Americans were truly freed from slavery in the United States.
(An 1852 Wallachian poster
advertising an auction of
Roma slaves in Bucharest)
Holocaust
SS Commander Harald Turner, head of the German administration, stated that
"(…)Serbia is (the)only country that has solved (the)problem of the Jews and gypsies".
The murdering of Jews was referred to as antisemitism; the murdering of Romani was referred to as antiziganism. The official title is Porajmos. In 1935, the Nuremburg Laws were imposed in Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Croatia, which stripped Romani and Jews of citizenship, stating they were
"enemies of the race-based state." This was followed shortly thereafter with concentration camps and extermination. It is estimated 500,000 to 1,500,000 Romani were "exterminated." In fact, the extermination was so thorough, almost
all Romani were killed in the Baltic states and Croatia, resulting in the Bohemian Romani language becoming a dead language
(nobody alive to speak it).
It should be presented that the
Romani and Jews were the ONLY populations specifically targeted for extermination in the Final Solution. If you're not familiar with the
Final Solution, it was the Nazi euphemism referring to their extermination plans for Jews.
Timeline
Now, one of the reasons I found myself unwilling to discuss this further was because of the tremendous amount of information I encountered on Romani. To put it bluntly, there's a buttload
(read links below). The fact the arguments here seemed oblivious to all that information, presented a daunting task for me; how could I bring all this information to your attentions without sounding trite, dismissive, or imposing? After your post, Duduie, it dawned on me. How about a timeline?
Well, a timeline is a lot of work, which I'm not at present inclined to present. Instead I will endeavor to indicate that persecution of Romani is "once again" escalating. It is, in fact, being fueled by Europe's present economic crisis. Dehumanizing the Romani is the mistake being made here. It is this dehumanization that compelled previous generations to persecute, sterilize, and kill. It is dehumanization that fosters generalizations, compartmentalizing of societies, labeling and eventual targeting during hard times.
Fascism is a political movement that gains popularity in times of economic stress. However, it is a dangerous political movement and should be resisted at all costs, as it poses supremacist mentalities that fosters war and encourages hate; not resolving problems but instead finding scapegoats in minorities. Today, the problem is economy. Today, the focus is on Romani.
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me. ~Pastor Martin Niemöller
At present, right now, we have
France forcibly removing Romani from their country,
Italy excusing the burning of Romani encampments and the murder of Romani children. Right now, we have
Czech & Slovakia forcibly sterilizing Romani girls, preventing them from procreating. Right now, we have
Romani being blamed for crimes they did not commit, ostracized for living in isolation, despite not being welcomed anywhere. Right now, we have people claiming Romani are kidnapping and prostituting their children, when it is in fact
NON-Romani who
are kidnapping and prostituting Romani children. Right now, we have
over 90% of Romani being denied employment in normal work. Right now,
Romani are being forcibly segregated in schools, posed in "special education" alongside the mentally disabled.
Right now, in Ireland, we have teenagers assaulting Romani
(note the baby):
It is
not a choice to live in poverty,
it is a result of persecution, racism, discrimination. When there is a criminal Romani, it becomes standard practice to presume all Romani are criminals. When a Romani is denied opportunities, it results in poverty, which itself results in desperation, which results in a higher degree of criminal behavior. By continuing to
"blame the victim," you foster the problem, condone the treatment, accept the imposition of a class system.
Closing Comment
I really don't want to put more effort into this, but I do want to point out that thieves, pickpockets, bait & switch, prostitution, child trafficking, it happens a helluva lot. In Buenos Aires, Tijuana, New York, Los Angeles, and many other cities I visited, criminals existed, most of them battling poverty. Were they exclusively Romani? Of course not. Desperation fosters criminal activity. Discrimination fosters criminal activity. Denial of education fosters criminal activity. A culture of dehuminization fosters criminal activity.
Stop Dehumanizing
Holocaust
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos
http://www.rromaniconnect.org/Romasintiholocaust.html
http://starbacks.ca/~patrin/othervictims2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Laws
http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_e_holocaust_porrajmos&lang=en&articles=
http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data/hist/holo/final.en.xml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Turner
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/gallery/campmisc.htm
http://www.holocaust-trc.org/sinti.htm
A movie --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korkoro
Slavery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Romania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States
Antiziganism
http://www.answers.com/topic/roma
http://arch1design.com/blog/2009/08/romagypsy-persecution-of-the-pariah/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiziganism
https://sites.google.com/a/prestonalbertine.com/racism-and-the-romani/antiziganism
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/97468
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Antiziganism
http://aawe.blogsport.de/2011/03/08/antiziganism-and-neo-nazi-activity/
http://oneworldsee.org/Non-recognition-of-Roma-Holocaust-Nourishes-Antiziganism
http://international.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/antiziganism-another-racial-prejudice
News Today
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/04/race.politics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/23/bnp-sabby-dhalu-uaf-fascism
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/us/roma-persecution-antiziganism-intensifies-in-europe/
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/FD-080609-factsheet-violence-against-roma.pdf
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080514/107310229.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...But-Italy-showing-chilling-Roma-children.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/3278569.stm
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20080801154338727
http://www.neurope.eu/article/italy-should-better-respect-human-rights-roma-and-migrants
http://www.neurope.eu/blog/anti-gypsyism-needs-be-targeted-specific-practical-and-sensitive-ways
http://www.ezaf.org//node/33
http://greenreading.blogspot.com/2010/08/antiziganism-first-they-came-for.html
Videos
Czech racist attack -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKrnJIIltco&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=1
Russia Racism -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsyIHHpc2gE&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=2
Italy Racism -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdNL4pHxmpo&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=3
The Roma Struggle -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lzZ7In8KEE&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=4
Forced Sterilization -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SipcRkfnxtY&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=6
Porajmos (WW2) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7IMOFCj67Y&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=7
Roma Rights -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmLUp2_h50c&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=8
Roma camp in Serbia -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8RY2TJ59Q&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=9
Roma camp in Romania -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXrg8Cc6mwI
Romani in fear - Italy -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyZnhUQe1OE&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=10
Europe - Roma mistreatment -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9vWsjgJiYI&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=11
Italy Roma -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAfzmHd7MPE&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=16
Italy Roma -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlMFRamBVsk&feature=relmfu
Definitely watch this one -- England Roma (police raids) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBydNsiEKQY&list=PLEC5FD0DA2CFF1D99&index=17