Gypsies, Coloniality and the Affirmation of Human Rights in Brazil

In Brazil, different ethnic and social minorities (Quilombolas, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, the elderly) have expressly got recognition in the Federal Constitution of 1988 and other normative instruments as subjects of human rights. This scientific article deals with one such minority: the Gypsies. This article adopts the following problem of research: what is the relationship between colonial policies that aimed at the management of the Gypsy and the construction of the political-legal status of these peoples in Brazil? This research has made use of the following methodological resources: the participant observation of the authors in view of the legislative process of Bill 248/2015; the documentary research on the records of colonial and post-colonial laws that had directed to the management of Gypsies in Brazil; as well as the literature review, which intertwines the studies on the Gypsy question with decolonial theory.

From Negative Visibility to Positive Invisibility – Who Needs to Use Gypsies [Roma] as the Anti-citizens of Civilized Europe?

Since the 15th century, Gypsies in Occidental Europe have been subjected to special legislation and social action determined to cause one of two types of cultural identity extinction – extermination or complete assimilation. Five centuries later, the result has been an exceptional cultural persistence associated to social marginalisation and, in Portugal, a mixture of positive invisibility (unlike the Spanish situation, Portuguese Gypsies are not recognised as having made any positive form of cultural contribution) and of excessive exposure, in terms of a negative visibility constructed by public opinion and the media. This negative visibility of Portuguese Gypsies is worsened by the systematic silence and a certain connivance on the part of the authorities (Parliament, Government, Catholic Church, Courts, municipal authorities, etc.), with rare and personal, non-institutional exceptions, occurring in moments of excessive persecution. In this paper, we will explore the identity economy of social persecution against ethnic minorities that are not recognised as such in the Law, and are used in daily life as the negative image of the hegemonic ‘imagined society’.

Early Marriage and Education Drop Out in Traditional Roma Communities in Transylvania

This research attempts to analyze the phenomenon of early marriage in traditional Roma communities in Transylvania, Central Romania, and its impact on the education of Roma children. The methodology of this paper is a reflection of a field work conducted in the region of Transylvania, Romania and mainly the city of Târgu Mureş (Τírgu Mureş) the period February-July 2012, following several meetings and interviews with policy makers, representatives from local authorities, civil society, academics, political parties and representatives of traditional Roma communities and local schools. The organization that hosted me and facilitated me in my fieldwork is the NGO Liga Proeuropa and its President Smaranda Enache and her team. This work is a result of my personal interaction with some of the local communities in the region (Tírgu Mureş, Sighişoara, Alba Iulia, Brasov, Sibiu) as well as the capital Bucharest which I had the opportunity to visit at that period of time. The project was funded by a small European grant (Leonardo da Vinci). The town of Tirgu Mureş is where I was based, since the largest number of traditional Gabor Roma who still apply early marriages can be found there.

Book reviews

Review of the following books: Brazzabeni, M., M. I. Cunha & M. Fotta (Eds). 2016. Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York: Berghahn Books.Lech Mróz (2015). Roma-Gypsy Presence in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 15th-18th Centuries. Budapest: Central European University Press.

Romani People and the ‘Right to the City’: Gentrification in Fevzipasa, Canakkale, Turkey

Canakkale city centre has been home for many different ethnicities from the past to our present day. In time, the city centre was also defined as a protected area due to its historical and cultural value. However, major infrastructure, urban renewal, and transformation projects have emerged in the agendas of both public authorities and the private sector. Similar to the rest of the world, in Turkey, Romani people are amongst the first groups to face the discriminating and excluding effects of such projects. This study aims to explore the relationship between gentrification and the violation of Romani people’s ‘right to the city’ with a focus on the Romani neighbourhood of Fevzipasa, Canakkale.

“Visiting” Close Kin Abroad: Migration Strategies of the Serbian Roma

The Roma/Gypsies are the largest, poorest and youngest ethnic group in Europe. During the past decade, the Roma from Central and Eastern Europe were of considerable public concern due to a large inflow of Roma emigrants into Western European countries. Applications for international protection submitted by the Roma from the Western Balkans became a substantial part of the asylum case-load at the EU level. More recently, however, a new wave of migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, has found its way to Europe. As Serbia is classified as a safe country, Serbian nationals have limited chances of being awarded refugee status. Nevertheless undeterred, the Serbian Roma/Gypsies continue to travel to and apply for asylum in Western European countries. Using data from original fieldwork conducted among Serbian Roma women, we argue that their desire to travel and possibly reside in one of the more affluent Western European countries is connected to the fact that they have extensive kinship ties in those counties. Kinship ties, in brief, explain much of current Roma migration practices.

‘An Egiptian and noe Xtian Woman’: Gypsy Identity and Race Law in Early America

Though many scholars have referenced Joan Scott as the earliest Gypsy in North America, thanks to a 1695 Henrico County Virginia court record identifying her as “an Egiptian and noe Xtian woman,” none have explored her life further. Despite this, an examination of the fornication charge against Scott suggests much about her life. Scott entered the colony twenty years before her fornication charge and while unmarried bore a child whose father the court considered a man of color. In these ways, Scott’s life appears similar to her contemporaries. Yet, in other ways Scott’s experience differed. By allowing the court to believe in her Gypsy identity and non-Christian religion she worked the court in her favor and saw her case dismissed. When historicized and contextualized, the meager details known about Joan Scott enhance our understanding of the colonial American Gypsy experience and contribute to a broader American historical narrative.

Gypsy Intermediaries Guide the Stranger: Bringing Reciprocity, Some Misunderstanding, but Protection from Outsiders

An independent Gypsy and policy project inspired unexpected controversy from both the Research Centre and State. Committed to ethnographic long-term fieldwork, the anthropologist eventually succeeded in living on Gypsy sites. She was guided by key individuals- here recalled, celebrated and contextualized. These Associates were all literate in a then largely non-literate culture. As intermediaries, they could point to specific challenges across the cultural divide. The future author, wherever possible, hoped to reciprocate their gifts of knowledge and know-how. Select readings of early “Gypsiologists” and pioneering anthropologists proved insightful. Countering populist stereotypes in the dominant majority society, all the Gypsies encountered in fieldwork were protectors of that young woman. This was in contrast to a few maverick outsiders, invariably from other disciplines, who seemingly resented a female intruder on “their” territory and specialism.EDITORS' NOTE: This is a revised version of the paper following a minor editorial redaction dated 20/06/2017.

A Study on the Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and Conducting Social Research with Gypsy / Roma Groups

In social science discourse, the dichotomy between agency and structure tends to dominate debates pertaining to identity construction. When complex social facts are viewed through a simplistic prism of either individual activities or dominant structural impacts is likely to lead to a conclusion, - particularly when the subjects of research are members of communities at risk of vulnerability which are merely two-dimensional; omitting essential elements and interplays of circumstances, agency and structures which can rapidly shift dependent on both personal and external contexts and stressors. In this article, we discuss ways of utilising Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical model to explore the potential for creating a more nuanced theory of identity construction in the context of case studies focused on Gypsy/Roma(ni) people, whose identities depend both on internal identifications and those of the (dominant) groups with whom they live. We also aim to consider how in two widely contrasting international contexts – that of Roma people in Turkey and Gypsy/Traveller communities in the UK – use of Bourdieuian analysis provides appropriate tools that enable an analysis of daily living and the associated sense of active agency of these populations without minimising or excluding the structural effects which impact them. This approach enables a nuanced relational approach to understanding Gypsy/Roma(ni) groups’ identity construction in its entirety, whilst taking account of the specific geographical context in which the populations reside.

Editorial: Introducing the Journal of Gypsy Studies

After much preparation and hard work, we are pleased to release this inaugural issue of the Journal of Gypsy Studies which is an international, peer-reviewed journal aiming to publish quality and rigorous research and scholarship, as well as intellectual conversations/interviews, book reviews, conference reports, viewpoints, and letters on the groups known as and associated with Gypsies. As the production of academic work pertaining to the cultural, social, economic, and political lives of Gypsies is increasing, there is a need for research and theoretical contributions that centre on issues of poverty, discrimination, the sedentary/nomad divide, migration, urban policies, and citizenship and identity, among others. This is particularly important as right-wing political parties are on the rise in many countries where Roma/Gypsies live. Universities that have been influential in Romani studies are being threatened with closure, and Roma/Gypsies face violent attacks and forced evictions everyday. Although some governments and international organizations engage more and more with Roma/Gypsy organisations and development and inclusion programs, tangiable change is rare on the ground.This journal has been created by the hard work and dedication of a small team of academics initiated by Başak Akgül, Doğa Elçin, and Ibrahim Sirkeci in 2015 and among several brilliant colleagues who offered help and support, including Özge Burcu Güneş, Deniz Eroğlu Utku, Danielle V. Schoon, and Margarite Blignaut. We are grateful for their support as well as many colleagues who joined the editorial boards and served as reviewers.