Reclaiming Human Dignity: The Protest and ‘Gypsy’ Stereotypes

By Pardeep Singh Attri

Dispatches from Hungary - II

Roma Protest at Budapest, October 11, 2009. Photo Credit - szentkoronaradio.com

Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power, it is a battle for freedom, it is a battle of the reclamations of human personality. – Dr B R Ambedkar

11th October 2009, Sunday

It has been raining since last few days with cold waves blowing all over the country. While the rest of the Hungarian people still sleeping, Romas are busy preparing for their demonstration against the segregation and discrimination faced by them in their own homeland.

Since early morning, thousands of Romas have started gathering at Heroes Square in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. I am informed that this is going to be the biggest ever Roma protest against their segregation and for equal rights.

We also reached Budapest at around 11 am after two and half hours journey from Sajókaza village. Our troop included two buses filled with Roma people and Jai Bhim Network activists from the village and neighbouring areas.

Despite the fact that it is raining, I can see around thousand people already there preparing for the show of their strength to secure their rights. More people are continuously arriving in buses and cars.

There are around dozen media persons at Hero Square since I arrived and they have been busy clicking and interviewing many protestors. Though I am unable to understand the language and therefore their interactions but I feel the urge to listen to what the Roma protestors were saying to the media and also try to gauge the reactions of media people too.

Is Hungarian media as hostile to Roma rights as our media is towards us in India? I wondered.

Since now I have been in Hungary, with Roma people, for more than a fortnight, I could always get some one to translate a bit for me. How I wish I knew Hungarian and Roma languages, I would have got to understand each and every word.  Anyways with the help of my English knowing friends, I am able to gather some information on what Roma protestors were saying.

Protestors assembling since early morning at Heroes Square, Budapest

Some of the main demands of the protestors as displayed by their colorful banners are -

“We want our kids to go to same schools, where non-Roma ones go”,

“We want equal rights as others have”,

“We don’t want privileges but equal opportunities”,

“We need work instead of benefits”,

“United we can change the world”,

The two which I particularly like is against the stereotyping of school going Roma kids.

“Child’s head is not a pot which need to fill, but a torch which is necessary to ignite”,

“The learning is nothing more than the discovery of possible”

Unfortunately, just like our Dalit kids, the maximum brunt of discrimination against Romas is borne by their kids in the schools. They are often refused admissions and are sent to schools meant for mentally disabled. It is indeed shocking.

Protesters carrying three flags. Photo Credit - szentkoronaradio.com

I can see lot of people carrying three flags together. One is Hungarian, another European Union Flag and the third one is their own Roma flag. The Roma flag is internationally recognized and is used to denote the communitarian solidarity of Roma people living across Europe, dispersed in different countries.

In the protest, along with Romas there are many social activists, human rights defender, researchers and students are also present lending their voices in support of Roma rights. Derdak Tibor got me introduced to many of them. I also get to meet my friend Luisa Steur, a research scholar from Netherland, who has done extensive field work on the problems of Dalits in South India. She came along with her colleague Paul from Mexico to join the protest.

Later we were joined by another two human rights defender from Canada and few from the neighbouring country of Romania.

I can see some tourists too, who are visiting Heroes square, interacting with the protestors but the Hungarian police is trying to stop them to come near to Roma protestors. May be they don’t want others to know about the poor status of Romas in their country!

In the afternoon, we are joined by a group of people who are carrying the petition that has been drafted in order to present it to the President’s office at Budapest They have traveled more than 100 km by foot to carry the petition to Budapest.

Then for next two hours there are speeches by Roma elders, activists and other prominent people. My friends Janos and Benu from Jai Bhim Network also deliver their speeches. Janos talks about the role of education for Roma people whereas Benu exhorted the community to stand together and fight for their human dignity. To their credit, the protestors are listening and appreciating each and every speech despite being standing in rain for so long.

Roma protestors marching at Duna River Bridge moving towards President House

Around 3 pm, everyone started walking towards the Royal Castle, to the President’s house to hand over their petition. On the way we were shouting slogans like “Bread and Work”, “Workers united are never been defeated” etc.

At the time of crossing the Duna River Bridge, I look back and I see flood of people singing, dancing and raising slogans for Roma rights. I sense that much more people have assembled for the protest than I imagined. Due to our march, it seems that all city life has stopped.

After an hour long march, we reach Royal Castle and the delegates from Roma community meet the delegates of President’s office. They hand over their petition to them. Some promises are being made through government officials to uplift the position of Romas. But I see elders complaining that these are nothing new. The promises are always made but nothing ever happens.

I just cannot but remember what Dr Ambedkar said, “Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the usurpers, but by relentless struggle”.  I sincerely wish that Romas are able to achieve what they aspire for due to their struggle, not just depending upon the promises made by ruling class.

“Gypsies” and stereotyping

Stereotype reflects the ideas, beliefs that some people have about others who are not similar to them and become very potent tools for spreading hatred towards them. This happens with every persecuted community which becomes prisoner of various stereotypes propagated by the dominant community. The ‘gypsy’ image of Roma people is full of stereotyping by the white Europeans which is the bane for the community.

While my interaction with the protestors, I came to know about many such ‘images’ and its impact on the community.
The ‘gypsy’ for an average white European means cheaters, beggars, thieves, people who live in very dirty conditions and don’t like to work, pickpockets, nomads who don’t want to settle down etc.

It is really funny how in Hollywood movies, often Roma characters are shown living in tents, dancing around bonfire and indulging in some magic mumbo-jumbo (almost same as our Adivasis are ’shown’), but I could not find any traces of such people while living with the community since last fortnight having visited many Roma settlements of North-East Hungary.

They are no more nomads, moving from one place to another in carvan but have made their permanent settlement in the rural places long ago. However due to their ‘gypsy’ image they have to live in the outskirts, segregated and rejected by others and still considered nomadic.

One of the most horrific things that I heard was that white Hungarians believe that ‘gypsy’ women beat their wombs during their pregnancies so as to give birth to child with mental disability and claim social benefits from the government. This is sheer madness and extreme limit of hatredness towards any community.

Recently a mayor of the city in Hungary echoed the same regarding Roma mothers and there was huge protest against him organized by Jai Bhim Network activists. It should give you a clear cut indication about the level of discriminatory attitude full of hatred towards Romas that is prevalent in the society.

Another image of ‘gypsies’ is that of being petty thieves. It is believed by the non-Romas that ‘gypsies’ cut their forefingers so that they could easily steal money from the pockets of other people. It is also believed that ‘gypsy’ kids wear long clothes so that they could hide chickens which they steal from white farmers’ houses.

The image of ‘gypsies’ being thieves is so strong that they are the first one who are being rounded by the police, if there is any crime in the neighborhood. Most often they become an easy victim to the police inefficiency to catch hold the real culprits and are brutalized just for being a ‘gypsy’. Almost every family I interacted with talked about the police discriminatory behaviour towards the community. This stereotype hampers the progress of Roma kids in the schools and their job prospects if they succeed in getting some education.

It is altogether a different matter that I could not find even one Roma with chopped forefingers and could see Roma kids wearing ill fitted clothes more out of poverty than any other reasons.

Gypsies are also termed as beggars, lazy people who prefer to beg rather than work. But I don’t think it is true. I meet many Roma women working in the fields and even travelling to other parts of the country for the sake of some dependable jobs. I didn’t find any beggars too. I did find Romas feeling hopeless over the situation and struggling to find decent jobs due to the discrimination.

Then there are usual stereotypes like gypsy don’t value the education, are not good in studies, parents are not interested in teaching their kids etc. If such is the case then why thousands of Romas assemble in Budapest to demand better schools and conditions for their kids? While talking about Roma kids being unintelligent, no one dares to say about the treatment which is met to these kids.

Apart from the regular harassment, taunts and abuses, the kids often face discriminatory behaviour from the teachers too and either drop out or loose any interest in their studies which again strengthen the stereotype of Roma kids not intelligent enough. It is a vicious cycle that can only broken by the will of the entire community.

How will you feel when your perfectly normal child is forced to take admission in special schools for kids having learning disabilities just because the teachers think that our kid is not intelligent enough to be taught with other white kids?

Then poverty brings out another demon, another stereotype – ‘Gypsies are unclean and unhygienic and so avoid any interaction with them’.

Do our readers need an explanation for that?  Do all these stereotypes sound little too familiar?

To be continued…

In my next dispatch I will write about the celebration of Dhamma Chakka Parvartan Divas on 14th October in Sajókaza on the occasion of Babasaheb’s converting to Buddhism 53 years ago.

Dispatches from Hungary - I