Gypsy camp

One of the most startling things about France's deportation of Roma and the leading Hungarian party's proposal to send all Roma to specialized camps is that this is a pattern seen before in history.  Not only Nazi Germany but other states have persecuted the Roma people throughout European and world history.  Law made all Roma slaves in the Romanian states of Moldavia and Wallachia from the 14th until the 19th century.  Spain restricted Roma to certain towns and later rounded up Roma and sent them to live in labor camps in the 18th century.  In 1885 the United States forbid the immigration of Gypsies; some countries in South America did likewise.  Czechoslovakia began sterilizing Roma women in the 1970's.  Many more instances of persecution against Roma can be found if one does a bit of research. 

Roma in the last century

1940's, waiting in Belzec
 

1970's (Photo by Josef Koudelka)

2010, leaving France (hurrietdailynews.com)

France has deported over 8,300 Roma already this year.  Some of the reasons it lists for this include prostitution and sex-trafficking, though centuries-old discrimination against Roma in Europe count for something as well.  One of the countries Roma are deported to is Hungary, but the leading Hungarian party Jobbik doesn't want them there either and has proposed creating camps to contain them.  This party's European Parliament representative confirmed their plans:  

"We would force these families out of their dwellings, yes... Then, yes, we would transport these families to public order protection camps." 

He also said that,  

"At these camps, there would be a chance to return to civilized society. Those who abandon crime, make sure their children attend school, and participate in public works programmes, they can reintegrate.  No doubt there will be people who show no improvement. They can spend the rest of their lives in these camps."  (More at thestar.com)


It is as simple as that: they can spend the rest of their lives in public order protection camps.  There have been other camps in centuries past with the aim of keeping the public from Gypsy crime; Spain started this trend in the 1740's, and Germany had preventive custody camps in the late 1930's.  To their credit, Hungary doesn't seem to have anything in mind beyond sending Roma to camps to live, but it is interesting to note what kind of memories living camps may bring back for some Roma people.

What reparations have been given to the Roma after all the persecution they have undergone, especially at the hand of the Nazis in WWII?  Who opened up to care for Roma and heal the wounds they'd undergone as a people? They seem to have been somewhat sidelined in that as well.  It may partly be society at large's fault that this people group is still known for its petty theft and abundant poverty.  This is a complicated issue with a web of opposing angles and we all wish we had a answer for it; but we can change the attitude toward Roma starting with ourselves.