<H1>Gypsy and Rom</H1>

 

Gypsy performs a very charming flamenco. We might think sometimes that gypsies who passionately dance wearing a red dress in a movie or a musical are charming. Tom Cruise had said that he had a crush on Penelope Cruz when she was performing flamenco in a movie, Volver. But, in reality, gypsies could not have a colorful life as people usually thought. According to the dominant view gypsies ,a nomadic minority, were derived from India and came to Eastern Europe in the 1400s. At that time gypsies had life such as slave under serfdom and wandered here and there without a fixed residence. They call themselves Rom, Lom, Roma, or Dom, not a gypsi. All these names have a meaning of human. My heart ached with sympathy for them. (Therefore, I will use the term ‘Rom’, not ‘gypsi’ in this text.)

 

The entertainment is the most appropriate work for some Rom who do not stay one place for a long time. In this regard, lots of Rom gain their livelihood as a performer like a clown, a musician or a fortune-teller. On the other hand, there are some other Rom who settle down their life but they belong to the poor strata according to the survey of UNDP in 2011. In addition, half of their children do not attend an elementary school.

 

In history, there had been lots of discrimination on Rom. They used to be burned at the stake or buried alive while being regarded as a symbol of devil or a target of witch-hunt in the Middle Ages. Also, Nazi Germany had persecuted them, so about 15 million people were killed. In recent years, Rom who live in the core of London have some difficulties such as migration restrictions and deportation on a charge of mess and misdemeanor. The reason they are being persecuted is that they keep on wandering without regularly paying a tax. This is against the claims of Europeans.

 

I think, across the ages and in all countries of the world, the apple of discord is from the disapproval without understanding and the greed forcing one’s idea on others. As all people are entirely different in character, every country and race has their own nationality and ethnicity. However, we did not accept the differences but made an ethnic group, Rom, have a sorrowful life. I sincerely hope that there is no longer any repetition of these persecutions and sorrowful history, while reminding myself of the saying ‘There will be no more discrimination if we agree to disagree.’