Posted: Thu 27 Aug 2009 21:25 Post subject: Madonna booed in Bucharest for defending Gypsies
BUCHAREST, Romania - At first, fans politely applauded the Roma performers sharing a stage with Madonna. Then the pop star condemned widespread discrimination against Roma, or Gypsies — and the cheers gave way to jeers.
The sharp mood change that swept the crowd of 60,000, who had packed a park for Wednesday night's concert, underscores how prejudice against Gypsies remains deeply entrenched across Eastern Europe.
Despite long-standing efforts to stamp out rampant bias, human rights advocates say Roma probably suffer more humiliation and endure more discrimination than any other people group on the continent.
Sometimes, it can be deadly: In neighboring Hungary, six Roma have been killed and several wounded in a recent series of apparently racially motivated attacks targeting small countryside villages predominantly settled by Gypsies.
"There is generally widespread resentment against Gypsies in Eastern Europe. They have historically been the underdog," Radu Motoc, an official with the Soros Foundation Romania, said Thursday.
Roma, or Gypsies, are a nomadic ethnic group believed to have their roots in the Indian subcontinent. They live mostly in southern and eastern Europe, but hundreds of thousands have migrated west over the past few decades in search of jobs and better living conditions.
Romania has the largest number of Roma in the region. Some say the population could be as high as 2 million, although official data put it at 500,000.
Until the 19th century, Romanian Gypsies were slaves, and they've gotten a mixed response ever since: While discrimination is widespread, many East Europeans are enthusiastic about Gypsy music and dance, which they embrace as part of the region's cultural heritage.
That explains why the Roma musicians and a dancer who had briefly joined Madonna onstage got enthusiastic applause. And it also may explain why some in the crowd turned on Madonna when she paused during the two-hour show — a stop on her worldwide "Sticky and Sweet" tour — to touch on their plight.
"It has been brought to my attention ... that there is a lot of discrimination against Romanies and Gypsies in general in Eastern Europe," she said. "It made me feel very sad."
Thousands booed and jeered her.
A few cheered when she added: "We don't believe in discrimination ... we believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone." But she got more boos when she mentioned discrimination against homosexuals and others.
"I jeered her because it seemed false what she was telling us. What business does she have telling us these things?" said Ionut Dinu, 23.
Madonna did not react and carried on with her concert, held near the hulking palace of the late communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
Her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said Madonna and other had told her there were cheers as well as jeers.
"Madonna has been touring with a phenomenal troupe of Roma musicians who made her aware of the discrimination toward them in several countries so she felt compelled to make a brief statement," Rosenberg said in an e-mail. "She will not be issuing a further statement."
One Roma musician said the attitude toward Gypsies is contradictory.
"Romanians watch Gypsy soap operas, they like Gypsy music and go to Gypsy concerts," said Damian Draghici, a Grammy Award-winner who has performed with James Brown and Joe Cocker.
"But there has been a wave of aggression against Roma people in Italy, Hungary and Romania, which shows me something is not OK," he told the AP in an interview. "The politicians have to do something about it. People have to be educated not to be prejudiced. All people are equal, and that is the message politicians must give."
Nearly one in two of Europe's estimated 12 million Roma claimed to have suffered an act of discrimination over the past 12 months, according to a recent report by the Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights Agency. The group says Roma face "overt discrimination" in housing, health care and education.
Many do not have official identification, which means they cannot get social benefits, are undereducated and struggle to find decent jobs.
Roma children are more likely to drop out of school than their peers from other ethnic groups. Many Romanians label Gypsies as thieves, and many are outraged by those who beg or commit petty crimes in Western Europe, believing they spoil Romania's image abroad.
In May 2007, Romanian President Traian Basescu was heard to call a Romanian journalist a "stinky Gypsy" during a conversation with his wife. Romania's anti-discrimination board criticized Basescu, who later apologized.
Human rights activists say the attacks in Hungary, which began in July 2008, may be tied to that country's economic crisis and the rising popularity of far-right vigilantes angered by a rash of petty thefts and other so-called "Gypsy crime." Last week, police arrested four suspects in a nightclub in the eastern city of Debrecen.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also have been criticized for widespread bias against Roma.
Madonna's outrage touched a nerve in Romania, but it seems doubtful it will change anything, said the Soros Foundation's Motoc.
"Madonna is a pop star. She is not an expert on interethnic relations," he said.
___
AP Writers Alison Mutler in Bucharest, William J. Kole in Vienna and Nekesa Mumbi Moody in New York contributed to this report.
Joined: 25 Aug 2009 {Posts: 22 } Location: California
Posted: Fri 28 Aug 2009 01:05 Post subject:
I’ve never been to Europe, but I do look forward to backpacking across Europe someday. Anyway, I have a Romanian friend who came to the states as a teenager. I spoke to him once about the things that I’ve read about the extreme prejudice that many Gypsies face throughout Europe, and how wrong I thought it was. I was expecting that he would agree that it was wrong since he’s fairly liberal politically.
Well, he didn’t agree with me at all. At one point he even told that I should mind my own business. He said that the Roma have “destroyed the Romanian name.” They that have made it “difficult to be Romanian in Europe.” He said that many Europeans share his opinions, believing that the Roma get what they deserve because they are a criminal people.
That can’t be entirely true can it? I mean, how can that even be possible? They can’t all be criminals, they can’t all be bad. They can’t truly deserve to be treated inhumanely. Maybe someone who has actually been to Europe and has had experience with the Roma people can maybe share their experiences. It must have been an awkward situation for Maddona.
I agree. The ostracism of the Romany folk, especially in Eastern Europe does remind you of Jim Crow in many ways. But there are differences. The two main differences are the lack of ODR and the cultural element.
First, they have nothing comparable to the U.S. one-drop rule nor even hypodescent. Children of intermarriage who choose to reject Roma culture, are assimilated and accepted as mainstream despite their part-Roma ancestry.
Second, a real culture gap (religion, language, costume, food taboos, ethical standards) exists between the Roma and the mainstream, unlike the U.S., whose color line is based on ancestry and ethnopolitical self-identity rather than on significant cultural differences. For example, for centuries Roma leaders turned a blind eye or even encouraged theft of outsiders. This resulted in "The Travelers" in Ireland adopting some Roma customs despite lack of a genetic connection.
Here are three good sources, respectively on Romany history, culture, and molecular anthropology:
David Crowe, A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia, 1st ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995)
Isabel Fonseca, Bury Me Standing : the Gypsies and Their Journey, 1st ed. (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1995)
David Gresham and others, “Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies),” American Journal of Human Genetics 69 (2001): 1314-31
Across Europe thousands of Roma (Gypsy) children are being forced onto the streets to beg and steal, and law enforcement agencies are seemingly powerless to prevent it.
Cash machines in Madrid are a particular target for street crime. The cardholder is distracted at the crucial moment by one person, allowing a child to dive in, grab the money and run off.
Thirteen-year-old Daniela says she can make 300 euros (£260) from a single successful robbery without any risk of being punished.
"It's only the police that catch us. They take the money we have on us. They take us to the day centre, and the centre lets us go.
"I give [the money] to my mother so we can go to Romania to build a house. But I hide some of it for myself. I give her 150 euros, and I keep 150."
Madrid police say that 95% of children under 14 that they pick up stealing on the streets are Roma from Romania.
Because the age of criminal responsibility in Spain is 14, there is little they can do.
More than 1,000 Romanian Roma live in just one of the many camps that lie on the outskirts of Madrid.
The conditions are appalling - rats roam freely amid the rubbish, and there is no sanitation.
Every day children from the camp head out into the city to steal and beg, and many are beaten by their minders if they do not return with money.
Organised crime
Nowhere in Europe has there been more controversy over crime in the Roma community than in Italy, where the government recently declared a state of emergency following various high profile crimes blamed on the Roma.
"In a month period, each kid earned about 12,000 euros," Francesco Messina, Milan police.
In Milan in 2007, just after Romania entered the European Union, police noticed a surge in theft and pick-pocketing carried out by Roma children.
They launched a major investigation involving phone-tapping and surveillance, which revealed that a criminal gang was using the children to generate huge profits.
"In a month period, each kid earned about 12,000 euros (£10,500). Then, 12,000 euros times by 50 kids, and if we do the maths, we reached an astronomical amount of money," says Francesco Messina, who led the police operation.
Members of the gang were jailed for up to 14 years in prison for enslaving and exploiting the children, many of whom were discovered locked in a shed when police raided the camp.
The rescued children were taken into care, but the BBC's This World programme discovered two of the boys had gone back to the streets of Milan, and were stealing again. Even this huge police operation had not saved them from a life of crime.
Discrimination
The roots of the problem lie in Romania, where Roma have faced discrimination and hostility for generations.
The pop star Madonna commented on the problem during a concert in Bucharest last week, and was jeered by the audience.
Poverty among the Roma is widespread. In 2007, Unicef reported that up to 70% of households had no running water.
"The thieving is no longer a national problem - it's happening on an international scale," Breliante, underworld boss in Craiova, Romania.
Many Roma end up leaving the country in search of a better life in the West. Some resort to begging and stealing.
In Milan, Italy, this resulted in a strong backlash. Some Roma camps have been bulldozed and there calls are heard for all Roma immigrants to be deported.
"The right wing says that Romany Gypsies are just people that exploit their children and women for stealing for begging and maybe there is a bit of a truth in this," says Donatella DeVito, who works for a charity that tries to help integrate the Roma into Italian society.
"But the real problem is that some of the Roma actually beg and steal because that's the only chance that they have for surviving."
Fabulous villas
While some crime is driven by poverty, a worrying amount is the result of child exploitation, organised by professional criminals.
Breliante is a powerful underworld figure in the Romanian city of Craiova, where many of the Roma criminals in Milan originated.
He told the BBC many of the fabulous villas in the city were built on the proceeds of crime committed all over the world.
Gang bosses traffic people, including children, abroad to beg and steal and get fat on the profits.
But even he believes the sheer scale of the crime has gone too far and will have serious repercussions.
"The thieving is no longer a national problem. It's happening on an international scale. Our children need to study, because if they carry on like this, if the new generations which grow up now continue in the same way, no-one will have us.
"Our country won't understand us any longer, the Western countries will chase us away."
Liviu Tipurita, who has made films about Roma and child trafficking for many years, has similar fears.
"My fear is that without immediate help the Gypsy child thieves I've encountered in my journey will grow up into hardened criminals," he said. "And the cycle of abuse and exploitation will spiral out of control."
This World will be broadcast on Wednesday 2 September, at 7pm BST, on BBC Two.
I spoke to him once about the things that I’ve read about the extreme prejudice that many Gypsies face throughout Europe, and how wrong I thought it was. I was expecting that he would agree that it was wrong since he’s fairly liberal politically.
There are sizeable, established Gypsy communities outside of Europe. They live in Egypt, other parts of North Africa, Iraq, and Turkey. They face some degree of discrimination in these societies as well.
Quote:
Maybe someone who has actually been to Europe and has had experience with the Roma people can maybe share their experiences. It must have been an awkward situation for Maddona.
You don't have to go to Europe. There are Roma communities in the U.S. Many live pretty much as they do elsewhere: living on the fringes of society as voluntary illiterates.
A simple pair of sunglasses was accidentally dropped from a car window, which caused total chaos in the neighbourhood.
Riot police were recently called out after a fight apparently broke out in the streets of the neighbourhood known as Son Gotleu.
According to sources, the fight was allegedly triggered when a gypsy woman accidentally dropped her sunglasses through the window of the car in which she was travelling.
The driver of the car realised what had happened; he stopped the car so that his female passenger could walk back up the road to collect them, but by the time she arrived at the spot, an African had picked up the glasses and refused to give them to her, saying he had found them lying in the street.
The gypsy and the immigrant began a furious verbal argument which eventually turned into violence with even bystanders joining in and bottles and bricks being thrown.
Three people were injured and had to be taken to Palma’s Son Llatzer hospital with medical sources confirming that although there were no stab wounds, victims had been badly cut and bruised.
More than a thousand people turned out onto the streets which prevented the emergency services from arriving at the scene, which was the reason the riot police were called in.
Joined: 26 May 2007 {Posts: 425 } Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posted: Wed 23 Sep 2009 03:44 Post subject:
I don't think the "hatred" is real, I think that it's "middle bully" syndrome.
To give a little background on this, there's a mutual dislike between Hungarians and Romanians.
Throughout the history of Romania, all three of its former principalities were controlled by Hungary; each prince answered to the Hungarian king - Romania was not completely independant from Hungary until WWI (I believe, however, that there was a brief period of independance from Hungary in the 1500's). After the World Wars, Hungary lost a significant amount of its territory to Romania (the Allies redistributed that territory); which resulted in Hungary being seriously humiliated, and being less of an influence in Europe.
So, what happens? Just as Dominicans do everthing in their power to make you don't mistake them for a Haitian - such as mistreating Haitians; and being such easy targets if you want to piss them off by calling them "Haitian," Romanians appear to have similar issues with the Roma - in fact, Hungarians call them "Roma" to piss them off, and it works.
To be fair, though, I think that what people don't understand about discrimination against the Roma is the fact that it was legit, as vagrancy is a part of the Roma culture - and vagrancy was considered a crime in most of Europe long before the Roma arrived. This is mostly why they got in trouble with the law, and in many cases, is the way it still is today.
Modern Roma/Gypsies From Aetolia-Akarnania Central-Western Greece
The Roma people (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom), often referred to as Gypsies, are an ethnic group who live primarily in Europe. They are believed to have originated in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent. They migrated to Europe and North Africa via the Iranian plateau about 1,000 years ago.
Traditionally most Roma spoke Romany, an Indo-Aryan language likely derived from Sanskrit. Today, however, most Roma speak the dominant language of their region of residence.
Etymology
Most Roma refer to themselves as Rom. In the Romany language, Rom (man) derives from the Sanskrit dom (man). Alternate spellings of "Rroma" for the people and "Rromanes" for the language, were rejected by the last Romany congress, which defined the universal Romany alphabet.
The English term Gypsies (or Gipsies), and its Welsh derivative Sipsiwn, derive from the erroneous belief that the Roma originated in Egypt, and were exiled as punishment for their allegedly harboring the infant Jesus[6]. This ethnonym is not used by the Roma to describe themselves, and is often considered pejorative. However, the use of "Gypsy" in English is now so pervasive that many Roma organizations use the word Gypsy in their own names. In North America, the word "Gypsy" is often understood as a reference to lifestyle or fashion, and not to the Roma ethnicity.
In most of continental Europe, Roma are known by many names, mostly derivatives of the Hungarian Cigány (pronounced "Tzig-ahn"). Some examples are: German Zigeuner, Romanian ţigani, French gitans, Greek τσιγγάνοι (plural, pronounced "chigani"), Bulgarian and Serbian цигани (pronounced ['tsigəni]), Spanish gitanos, Italian zingari or gitani, Portuguese ciganos, Turkish Çingeneler (singular:Çingene), Danish Sigøjner, Norwegian Sigøyner, Ladino Jinganos, Czech Cikán, and Hebrew צוענים (pronounced "Tso-a-nim").
The Hungarian root, Cigány most likely stems from the word szegény (pronounced "seg-ān"), Hungarian for "impoverished". In the rural Hungarian dialect, szegény very closely resembles Cigány in pronunciation. Fraser traces the earliest historical mentions of Cigány, Cygan and Cingari to a "very limited zone" in northwestern Transylvania, where a noble Hungarian family named Zygan lived. Fraser does not imply that Roma share Hungarian ethnicity, only that the name Cigány likely originates from this small Hungarian-speaking enclave.[6]
Outside Europe, Roma are referred to by more varied names, such as: in Iranکولی (Kowli), in India as Lambani, Lambadi, or Rabari; in Arabic as Ghajar or Nawar, and in Kurdish as Qereçí or Dom.
There is no linguistic connection between the name Roma (ethnicity) and the city of Rome, ancient Rome, Romania, the Romanian people or the Romanian language.
History
Origin
Both linguistic and genetic evidence indicate that the Roma originated on the Indian Subcontinent. Turner[7] postulates Roma origins in central India before migrating ca. 250 B.C. to the Punjab region where they resided until beginning a massive exodus ca. 1000 A.D..
Exodus
The Roma migration began shortly before 1000 A.D. when Roma presence is first recorded in Persian manuscripts.[8] Romany loanwords indicate a plausible route of further westward migration to Europe and beyond. By the 14th century, the Roma had reached the Balkans; by 1424, Germany; and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Roma migrated from Persia through North Africa, reaching Europe via Spain in the 15th century. Both currents met in France. People recognized by other Roma as Roma still live as far east as Iran, including some who migrated to Europe and returned.
The cause of the Roma diaspora is unknown. One theory suggests the Roma were originally low-caste Hindus recruited into an army of mercenaries, granted warrior caste status, and sent westwards to resist Islamic military expansion. Or perhaps the Muslim conquerors of northern India took the Roma as slaves and brought them home, where they became a distinct community; Mahmud of Ghazni reportedly took 500,000 prisoners during a Turkish/Persian invasion of Sindh and Punjab. Why the Roma did not return to India, choosing instead to travel west into Europe, is an enigma, but may relate to military service under the Muslims.
Europe
Wherever they arrived in Europe, curiosity was soon followed by hostility and xenophobia. Roma were enslaved for five centuries in Romania until abolition in 1864. Elsewhere in Europe, they were subject to expulsion, abduction of their children, and forced labor.
Roma began immigrating to the United States in colonial times, with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnichal from Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 1900s, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Roma also settled in Latin America.
During World War II, the Nazis murdered 200,000 to 800,000 Roma in an attempted genocide known as the Porajmos. Like the Jews, they were sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps. They were often killed on sight, especially by the Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front.
In Communist Eastern Europe, Roma experienced assimilation schemes and restrictions of cultural freedom. The Romany language and Romany music were banned from public performance in Bulgaria. In Czechoslovakia, where they were labeled a “socially degraded stratum,” Romani women were sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This policy was implemented with large financial incentives, threats against future social welfare payments, misinformation, and involuntary sterilization.(Silverman 1995; Helsinki Watch 1991)
In the early 1990s, Germany deported tens of thousands of migrants to Eastern Europe. Sixty percent of some 100,000 Romanian nationals deported under a 1992 treaty were Roma.
Europe
Wherever they arrived in Europe, curiosity was soon followed by hostility and xenophobia. Roma were enslaved for five centuries in Romania until abolition in 1864. Elsewhere in Europe, they were subject to expulsion, abduction of their children, and forced labor.
Roma began immigrating to the United States in colonial times, with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnichal from Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 1900s, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Roma also settled in Latin America.
During World War II, the Nazis murdered 200,000 to 800,000 Roma in an attempted genocide known as the Porajmos. Like the Jews, they were sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps. They were often killed on sight, especially by the Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front.
In Communist Eastern Europe, Roma experienced assimilation schemes and restrictions of cultural freedom. The Romany language and Romany music were banned from public performance in Bulgaria. In Czechoslovakia, where they were labeled a “socially degraded stratum,” Romani women were sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This policy was implemented with large financial incentives, threats against future social welfare payments, misinformation, and involuntary sterilization.(Silverman 1995; Helsinki Watch 1991)
In the early 1990s, Germany deported tens of thousands of migrants to Eastern Europe. Sixty percent of some 100,000 Romanian nationals deported under a 1992 treaty were Roma.
Genetics
Genetic data strongly support linguistic evidence that the Roma originated on the Indian subcontinent. Studies of Bulgarian, Baltic and Vlax Roma genetics suggest that about 50% of observed haplotypes belong to Y-chromosomal haplogroup H. Similar studies on the same subject population with mitochondrial DNA show 50% belong to female mitochondrial haplogroup M. Both of these are widespread across South and Central Asia.
This genetic evidence indicates that ca. half of the gene pool of these studied Roma is similar to that of the surrounding European populations. Specifically, common Y-chromosome (i.e. male-line) haplogroups are haplogroups H (50%), I (22%) and J2 (14%), and R1b (7%). Common mitochondrial (i.e. female-line) haplogroups are H (35%), M (26%), U3 (10%), X (7%), other (20%). Whereas male haplogroup H and female M are rare in non-Roma European populations, the rest are found throughout Europe. However female haplogroups U2i and U7 are almost absent from female Roma, but are present in South Asia (11%-35% approx).
In contrast, male Sinti Roma in Central Asia have H (20%), J2 (20%) and a high frequency of R2 (50%) which is found in India, with high frequencies in West Bengal and amongst the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. The M217 marker, which accounts for about 1.6% of male Roma, is also found in West Bengal (Kivisild (2003) et al). Haplogroups L which accounts for about 10% of Indians males is absent from Roma (Gresham et al however does not seem to test for haplogroup L), as it is also from West Bengal and Central Asian Sinti (Kivisild (2003) et al). A search on the Yhrd database however, shows that some Roma populations (in Europe) have considerable percentages of male haplogroup R1a1. Yhrd gives few matches with South Asian population, but a large number of matches on haplogroup H with Asian Londoners, a sample that has a large number of Bengali and South Indian groups. Luba Kalaydjieva's research has shown that the original group appeared in India some 32-40 generations ago and was small, likely under 1000 people.
(Ref: Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies) David Gresham, Bharti Morar, Peter A. Underhill, et al, Am J Hum (2001); The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity, Wells et al.)
Bolstering the linguistic evidence for an Indian sub-continental Romany origin is that ABO blood group distribution is also consistent with that found in northern Indian warrior classes.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1829 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Tue 29 Sep 2009 13:46 Post subject:
Quote:
BBC NEWS
Race row wounds 'Czech Pop Idol'
The success of Romany contestants in the Czech version of Pop Idol has been marred by racism as the contest nears its final, Czech newspapers say.
Martina Balogova, a 25-year-old Romany whose powerful performances won over millions of Czech hearts, reached the final five but was ousted from the contest on Sunday evening.
Her progress almost to the peak of "Czechs seek a Superstar" brought praise from the press, who saw her also having to fight a battle against ingrained prejudice.
"Martina Balogova has now shattered the stereotype. And it would seem that a great number of racists dislike that," exclaimed the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes .
"Her great voice, spontaneity and self-confidence have broken through the long-standing ghetto of prejudice. All this in front of millions of viewers, on live TV and repeatedly."
“ Did anyone in this country actually believe that Superstar would be won by a Romany? ”
Pravo
Radio Prague said a record three million viewers now sit down every Sunday to watch Superstar on the commercial station Nova TV. It is a "hugely popular show... Contestants like Martina Balogova... have become household names." The final of the show is due to be aired on the last weekend of June.
Pravo daily was saddened by her departure from the show.
"Out of the EU's post communist newcomers, the Czech Republic - along with Slovenia - seems to be causing least trouble. Still - did anyone in this country actually believe that the Superstar contest would be won by a girl who - without a shadow of a doubt - most deserved to win but who is a Romany?
"Let us hope that she will get the chance to cultivate her talent in the future and not just in a contest where not quality but subconscious feelings of sympathy and antipathy were clearly the decisive factor.
"This case illustrates one of our weaknesses and there is no point in trying to cover it up."
'Shame of the town'
Ms Balogova won her journey to the final five with hits like Cabaret and Those Were the Days.
But she and other non-white would-be Superstars, some with Romany, Angolan or Syrian parents, told the press of the sniping racism they endured during the contest from voting viewers.
“ She's got the same problem, she's a Romany ”
Contestant Marta Balazova
Marta Balazova, a contestant ousted from the last 40, told Lidove Noviny she was hurt by an article published in her local newspaper, Nove Bruntalsko.
She said the article called her said "the shame of the town Bruntal" and said "people were surprised she reached the final 40 because she was a Gypsy".
Ms Balazova said she believed Ms Balogova would not win the contest despite being the best of the last 10: "She's got the same problem, she's a Romany."
Ivana Husakova, 16, another Romany who got through to the last 40 was told by her parents not to harbour any false illusions of success.
"My parents told me I would never win anyway, because I am a Romany," she told Lidove Noviny.
Recurring questions
On the programme's web site chat room, viewers can talk to the contestants but the Romany candidates often find themselves fielding questions their ethnic background.
“ You will not win because you are a Gypsy, what do you say to that? ”
TV Nova web chat room
Q: "What is it like to be a Gypsy?" Balogova: "What is it like to be a Czech?"
Q: "You will not win because you are a Gypsy, what do you say to that?" Balogova: "I won't mind at all, people must be able to lose, life is not just about winning."
Since a jury of four music industry professionals whittled down the hopefuls from 40 to 10, the show's viewers have taken over and vote for their favourites each week by SMS text messages.
Mlada fronta Dnes said the fact that Romanies such as Ms Balogova and Samer Issa, who has Syrian parents, did so well in the contest could be a sign that Czech society is now more tolerant.
"Some contestants taking part in Superstar are saying that they could not win it because they are Romanies. Balogova's success contradicts this, but hidden or open racism is still present in our country," the paper concludes.
BBC Monitoring , based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3759967.stm
Joined: 24 May 2007 {Posts: 131 } Location: Danville, VA
Posted: Thu 01 Oct 2009 21:40 Post subject: Discrimination in Europe, invisibility in America
[quote="Dragon Horse"][quote] BBC NEWS
Race row wounds 'Czech Pop Idol'
The success of Romany contestants in the Czech version of Pop Idol has been marred by racism as the contest nears its final, Czech newspapers say.
Thank you for finding and sharing this. While waiting for 23andme results to see if they confirm previous tests indicating my non-European ancestry is South Asian, I've been looking at websites about Roma history. It was astonishing to learn that there are upwards of one million just in the South, according to the Ethnicity volume of the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Everything I read indicates that they are determined to hide their ethnicity and will never ID themselves as Roma to outsiders. Makes me wonder how many I might have known without ever suspecting.
Despite being imported as slaves steadily from 1650-1750, that first century of Roma immigration produced no Gypsy communities at all; everyone assimilated into FPC, white, or Indian identities and all contemporary Roma come from the 19thc immigration. The first century of Roma arrivals simply disappeared into the landscape and vanished as an ethnicity. The 19th/20th arrivals (perhaps because coming from outside the English speaking world) maintained their cultural traditions and are now a substantial population. Yet they strive for invisibility and largely succeed.
I wonder how their status in South America compares to the circumstances in Europe and North America.
Posted: Mon 16 Nov 2009 16:55 Post subject: Re: Discrimination in Europe, invisibility in America
kpauljohnson wrote:
Despite being imported as slaves steadily from 1650-1750, that first century of Roma immigration produced no Gypsy communities at all; everyone assimilated into FPC, white, or Indian identities and all contemporary Roma come from the 19thc immigration. The first century of Roma arrivals simply disappeared into the landscape and vanished as an ethnicity.
I did not know they were imported to the U.S. as slaves during this time period. Do you know the part of Europe they were imported from? The numbers?
'
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in
