Commencement of Roma Civic Emancipation

Marushiaková, Elena; Попов, Веселин

doi:10.18193/sah.v3i2.102

Cited by 3 publications

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References 2 publications

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“…Practically, instead of a narrative easily suitable for current needs, there is also an uncomfortable truth that needs to be confronted. On the other hand, recent research explored the interwar Roma movements (Klimova, 2002(Klimova, , 2005Marushiakova & Vesselin, 2017). Despite containing meritorious references, they do not focus however on the Romanian Roma movement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There were interesting commonalities between them, but also differences that should not be neglected. As the Roma movement risks being easily misunderstood if taken out of its original context (Marushiakova & Vesselin, 2000, 2017, the present article tries to address this situation in Romania and contribute to a better knowledge of the circumstances that made possible this interwar movement. Moreover, as it offers terms for comparison, these can also help to better contextualise and understand how the Roma movement in Romania evolved in the last century, and the extent to which it differed from other interwar Roma movements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between Nationalism and Pragmatism: The Roma Movement in Interwar Romania

Matei¹

2020

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In the interwar period, for the first time in their history, Romanian Roma managed to organise themselves on a modern basis, by forming Roma associations and unions, and issuing their own newspapers and programmes. In an effort to define themselves, they became politically active, claiming and negotiating rights. In my article I analyse the context of the interwar Roma movement, how Roma leaders of the time saw themselves and their movement, what programme(s) they had, and how they tried to achieve their goals. This was a serious challenge: As they were not self-sufficient, they heavily depended on support from Romanian institutions, and hence they had to act with caution in order to avoid any hostile reactions from the Romanian majority. Overall, the discourse of Roma elites in interwar Romania ranged between: 1) a national approach directed inwardly, toward the Roma, for ethnic mobilisation purposes, including calls to unite in order to acquire their rights, efforts to combat ethnic stigmatisation, discussions on ethnonyms (Gypsy vs. Roma) or on the importance of Roma in Romania and worldwide, the beginning of a national/ethnic mythology (past, origin, enslavement, heroization vs. victimization, etc.); and 2) a pragmatic approach directed outwardly, toward Romanian authorities and public opinion; rather than a national minority, Roma leaders presented the Roma as a social category with specific needs, due to their historical legacy. Of these two, throughout the interwar period, pragmatism prevailed. Special emphasis was placed on the issue of social inclusion, and on identifying specific problems and solutions (i.e., better access to education, settlement, deconstruction of prejudices, etc.).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Nationalism and Pragmatism: The Roma Movement in Interwar Romania

Matei¹

2020

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“…The interwar has become an important period for understanding Roma emancipation efforts, particularly in Romania, as seen through the works of scholars such as Viorel Achim, Petre Matei, and Ion Duminica, among others (Achim, 2010;Duminica, 2019;Marushiakova & Popov, 2017;Matei, 2010). For example, the first Romanian Roma organizations, such as the General Association of the Gypsies in Romania, the General Union of the Roma in Romania, and the Association of the General Union of Roma in Romania, were set up between 1933 and 1934 (Matei, 2010, pp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faith Church: Roma Baptists Challenging Religious Barriers in Interwar Romania

Ploscariu

2020

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In interwar Romania, the numbers of Baptists grew exponentially among the ethnic majority population in the border regions of Transylvania, Banat, and Bessarabia. In the competition over souls and for cultural space in the newly formed Greater Romania, the Roma became an important minority to win over. In 1930, Petar Mincov visited Chișinău and spurred outreach to the Roma among Romanian Baptists as he had in Bulgaria. It was here and in the cities of Arad and Alba-Iulia that some of the first Romanian Roma converted to the Baptist denomination. The first Roma Baptist (and first Roma neo-Protestant) Church, called Biserica Credinţa (Faith Church), was founded in Arad city around 1931. Confessional newspapers in English, Romanian, and Russian from the interwar period reveal the initiative taken by members of the local Roma community to convert and to start their own church. The article analyses the role of Romanian Baptist leadership in supporting Roma churches and the development of these new faith communities in the borderland regions. Unlike outsider attempts to foster a Roma Baptist community in Bucharest, the Faith Church survived World War II and communist governments, and provides insight into the workings and agency of a marginalized double minority. The article also looks at the current situation of Roma evangelicals in Arad city and how the change in religious affiliation has helped or hindered attempts at inclusion and policy change.

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‘Letter to Stalin’: Roma Activism vs. Gypsy Nomadism in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe before WWII

Marushiaková

Popov

2020

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<p>From the beginning, academic research on Gypsies in Western Europe has presented their nomadic way of life as their most important and essential feature, a key pillar of their community identity. Measures for their sedentarisation were perceived as a shackle in a chain of persecutions, and the policy of sedentarisation conducted in the 1950s–1970s in Central, South-Eastern, and Eastern Europe has continuously been interpreted as an example of the crimes of the communist regimes against the human and cultural rights of Roma. What has been missing, however, in these interpretations is the stance on the issue of nomadism as expressed by the Roma themselves and, more specifically, by the Roma civic elite: namely, by the Roma activists who initiated the Roma civic emancipation and created the first Roma organizations in the regions. In recent years, a need to critically re-think the field of Romani Studies in order to take into account the viewpoint of the studied community comes in the foreground of academic and civil society discussions. Such re-consideration is unavoidable also in studying the field of Roma history. This article strives to fill this knowledge gap and to initiate a new discussion about the issue of the so-called Gypsy nomadism. The viewpoints on this issue, coming from the Roma civic elite itself, are presented primarily on the basis of historical evidence from the interwar period, but are not limited to its framework. Finally, later historical developments in the issue of Roma activists’ approach to Gypsy nomadism will also be outlined, including its contemporary dimensions.</p>

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Commencement of Roma Civic Emancipation

Abstract: The article offers a correction of the widespread approach in which in the studies of Romani

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Between Nationalism and Pragmatism: The Roma Movement in Interwar Romania

Between Nationalism and Pragmatism: The Roma Movement in Interwar Romania

Faith Church: Roma Baptists Challenging Religious Barriers in Interwar Romania

‘Letter to Stalin’: Roma Activism vs. Gypsy Nomadism in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe before WWII

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