Ubrzo nakon srdačne dobrodošlice koju su Romi isprva primili u Španjolskoj tijekom prve polovice 15. stoljeća, njihova se situacija pogoršala. Kako je Kraljevina Španjolska počela protjerivati Rome iz zemlje, mnogi od njih su pobjegli u Portugal. To se smatra njihovim prvim migracijskim kretanjem u tu zemlju. Iako neki dokumenti izvještavaju o prisustvu Roma i prije, u 15. stoljeću, sigurno je da tek početkom 16. stoljeća imamo točne podatke o prisutnosti Roma u Portugalu.

Prvo književno djelo koje spominje prisutnost Roma u Portugalu je dramski tekst Gila Vicentea 'Auto Das Ciganas', koje je 1521. godine izvedeno pred kraljem Joãom III. Ova predstava, svojevrsna glazbena parodija, otkriva tradicionalne stereotipe o Romima, s referencama na čitanje s dlanova, gatanje i trgovinu konjima. Zanimljivo je istraživanje iz 2004. godine, u kojem Malvinni analizira kršćanske reference u ovoj predstavi i kako „žene [Romkinje] reklamiraju svoje kršćanstvo kako bi povećale šanse za dobivanje milostinje [lemozine]“. Ovo odgovara čestim strateškim odlukama koje su Romi donosili u vezi s religijom u to vrijeme, budući da bi prihvaćanje katoličke vjere moglo biti korisno i socijalno i ekonomski.

Romi su ubrzo počeli biti marginalizirani u odnosu na portugalsko društvo, a zakoni protiv njih počeli su se donositi, kao što je to prije činila i Španjolska. Romi su ubrzo postali narod bez zemlje, bez imovine, i bez mjesta u portugalskom društvu. U tom kontekstu, i nakon progona koje su doživjeli i u drugim dijelovima Europe, počeli su graditi identitet koji karakterizira otpor zakonu, koji je uvijek uključivao prijetnju egzistenciji Roma.

Primivši mnoga izvješća o sukobima između Roma i Portugalaca, kralj João III 1526. godine sastavlja prvi zakon o protjerivanju. Počinje odbijati ulazak Roma u Kraljevinu Portugal, a oni koji su već bili u zemlji bili su odmah protjerani. Ovaj zakon tako postaje prvi među mnogim zakonima i uredbama donijetim protiv romske zajednice.

Na sličan način kao Španjolska, Portugal je počeo protjerivati Rome u svoje kolonije, uglavnom u Brazil, ali i u Afriku. Kao rezultat toga, razvijaju se bliske veze između protjeranih Roma i portugalskih doseljenika. U tom se je smislu zanimljivo prisjetiti se ovdje zakona koji je odobrio španjolski kralj 1568. godine, a koji se primjenjivao na teritorijima kolonijâ u Južnoj Americi. Budući da je tamo već preselio velik „broj Portugalaca i Roma“, ovaj je zakon zahtijevao da se Rome protjera. To pokazuje kako su, unatoč progonima, Romi selili zajedno s ostatkom portugalskog stanovništva u većini njihovih prekomorskih pothvata, a identificirani su gotovo kao jedinstvena skupina, zbog činjenice da su svi govorili portugalski.

Anti-romsko zakonodavstvo nastavilo se provoditi sve do 19. stoljeća. Spomenimo par najvažnijih odredbi: godine 1592. Filipe I još jednom protjeruje Rome iz Kraljevstva, ali ovaj put im je omogućio da ostanu pod uvjetom da napuste svoj nomadski način života, dakle živeći u stalnom boravištu. Međutim, ako u 4 mjeseca ne napuste svoj nomadski način života ili ne napuste Kraljevinu Portugal, bit će osuđeni na smrt bez mogućnosti žalbe. Romi nomadi zbog takvog života nisu bili korisni, nomadski način života je predstavljao prijetnju interesu monarhije. Svojim 'antisistemskim' načinom življenja predstavljali su prijetnju onome što se smatralo normalnim, dokazujući da postoje i drugi načini življenja, osim onog tradicionalnog. Ovo je bio prvi put da je zakon propisao pretpostavke za smrtnu kaznu koja se primjenjivala samo na Rome u Portugalu.

Godine 1647. kralj João IV odobrava Romima da da imaju stalno boravište na određenim mjestima. Međutim, Romima je zabranjeno govoriti ili podučavati svoj jezik, ili nositi svoju tradicionalnu odjeću. Morali su raditi, a sva djeca starija od 9 godina odvedena su da služe u neromskim domovima. Sve do 1820. godine postojali su i mnogi drugi zakoni i naredbe o protjerivanju, zatvaranju ili čak progonu Roma iz Portugala.

Liberalnom revolucijom 1820. godine cijela politička panorama Portugala se mijenja. Počela je vojnim ustankom u gradu Portu, a zatim se brzo i mirno proširila na ostatak zemlje. Revolucija je rezultirala povratkom portugalskog suda 1821. godine u Portugal iz Brazila, kamo je bio preseljen tijekom Poluotočnog rata, kao i pokretanjem ustavnog razdoblja ratifikacijom i provedbom Ustava iz 1822. godine. Liberalne ideje ovog pokreta imale su važan utjecaj na portugalsko društvo i političku organizaciju u 19. stoljeću.

Od tada se stavovi mijenjaju, a portugalsko državljanstvo dobivaju svi Romi koji su rođeni u Portugalu. U sličnom svjetlu, 1852. godine zakon određuje da Romi ne mogu biti kažnjavani zbog svoje nacionalne pripadnosti. Uspostavlja se jednakost Roma s ostatkom stanovništva u slučajevima kažnjavanja. Napokon, 1920. godine zakon potvrđuje njihovu potpunu jednakost s pravnog gledišta.

Unatoč zakonskom priznanju ravnopravnosti za Rome u Portugalu, njihovi su materijalni uvjeti i dalje znatno lošiji od prosječnog Portugalca.

Prema informacijama Agencije Europske unije za temeljna prava (FRA), 2016. godine samo 35% Roma u Portugalu je sudjelovalo u službenom tržištu rada. Također, 76% Roma tvrdi da je doživjelo diskriminaciju, a 32% i dalje živi u nesigurnim uvjetima stanovanja.

Portugal je potpisao i ratificirao Okvirnu konvenciju za zaštitu nacionalnih manjina, ali nnije donio posebne zakone koji bi se posebno odnosili na Rome.

U današnjem svijetu postoji potreba da se krene dalje od formalne ravnopravnosti, da se ona ostvari u stvarnoj ravnopravnosti životnih uvjeta. Zakoni koji uspostavljaju jednakost Roma s ostatkom društva bili su revolucionarni u jednom trenutku povijesti, no sada jednostavno nisu dovoljni. Da bi se postigla stvarna ravnopravnost, pristup obrazovanju i zaposlenju mora biti zajamčen svima, kako bi se svakom Romu pružile potrebne mogućnosti za razvoj i napredak.

 

 

Following the warm welcome Roma people had initially received in Spain during the first half of the 15th century, their situation quickly worsened. As the Spanish Monarchy began expelling Roma people from the country, many of them fled to Portugal. This is considered their first migratory process to the country. Although some documents refer to the presence of Roma people even before in the 15th century, it is certain that it is only at the beginning of the 16th century that we have exact records about their presence.

The first literary work which documents their presence in Portugal is “Auto Das Ciganas” by Gil Vicente, which was played in the presence of King João III in 1521. The play – a sort of musical parody - is highly revealing of traditional Roma stereotypes, with references to palm-reading, fortune-telling and horse-trading. Interestingly, a study by Malvinni (2004) analyses the Christian references in the play and how ‘(Roma) women appear to advertise their Christianity to increase their chance of getting alms (limuzna)’. This goes in line with common strategic choices made by Roma regarding religion at the time, where the adoption of the Catholic faith could be beneficial both socially and economically.

Soon enough, Roma people started to be marginalized with respect to Portuguese society, and laws against them started to be sanctioned, as Spain had done before. The Roma soon became a people without land, without property, without a place in Portuguese society. In this context, and following the persecution they had also suffered in other parts of Europe, they started building an identity characterized by a resistance to the law, which always implied a threat to their existence.

King João III received many reports regarding the clashes between Roma people and the Portuguese, which encouraged him to create in 1526 the first law of expulsion. He began to deny Roma entry to the Kingdom of Portugal, and for those already in the country to be immediately expelled. This became the first among many laws and decrees passed against the minority.

In a similar fashion than Spain, Portugal started expelling Roma people to their colonies, mostly to Brazil but also to Africa. As a result, close ties developed between the expelled Roma and the Portuguese settlers. In this sense, it is interesting to recall a law sanctioned by the king of Spain in 1568, to be applied in the colonial territories in South America. This law determined that the Portuguese should be expelled since there was a great “quantity of Portuguese and Gypsies” who remained there. This shows how, despite the persecutions, the Roma people accompanied the rest of the Portuguese population in much of their overseas ventures, and they were identified almost as the same group, due to the fact that they all spoke Portuguese.

Anti-Roma legislation continued up until the 19th century. Just to mention a couple of the most important ones: In 1592 Filipe I expelled them once again from the Kingdom, but this time allowed them to stay if they chose to abandon their nomadic lifestyle, by having a fixed residence. However, if they did not leave or abandoned their nomadic lifestyle in 4 months, they would be sentenced to death without the possibility to appeal. The nomadic lifestyle represented a threat to the monarchy’s interest as they were not being productive. By their “anti systemic” way of leaving, they were posing a threat to what was considered normal, proving that there were other ways of living rather than the traditional one. This was the first time a law established the death penalty specifically for Roma people in Portugal.

In 1647, king João IV authorized the Roma people to set a fixed residence in certain places. However, they were forbidden to speak or teach their language, and banned from using their traditional clothes. They had to work and all the kids over the age of 9 were taken away as servants of non-Roma homes.  And until 1820, there were many other laws and orders expelling, imprisoning, or even exiling Roma people from Portugal.

The whole political panorama of Portugal changes in 1820 due to a liberal revolution. It began with a military insurrection in the city of Porto, that quickly and peacefully spread to the rest of the country. The Revolution resulted in the return in 1821 of the Portuguese Court to Portugal from Brazil, where it had fled during the Peninsular War, and initiated a constitutional period with the ratification and implementation of the 1822 Constitution. The movement's liberal ideas had an important influence on Portuguese society and political organization in the 19th century.

Since then changing attitudes develop, and Portuguese citizenship is granted to all Roma people born in Portugal. In a similar light, in 1852 a law establishes that Roma people cannot be penalized due to their ethnic background. It established the equality of Roma people with the rest of the population regarding sanctions. Finally, in 1920 a law establishes their complete equality from the legal point of view.

Despite the legal recognition of equality for Roma in Portugal, their material conditions, are still considerably lower than the average Portuguese.

According to the information of the Agency of Human Rights in Europe, in 2016 there was only participation of 35% of Portuguese Roma people into the formal job market. Also, 76% of Portuguese Roma people claim to have suffered discrimination, and 32% still live in precarious housing conditions.

Portugal has signed and ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, but has no law specifically targeting Roma people.

In today’s world, there is a need to go beyond formal equality to materialize it into real equality living conditions. Laws that establish equality for Roma people with the rest of society were revolutionary at one point in history, now is just not enough. In order to achieve real equality, access to education and employment must be guaranteed for everyone, so as to allow individuals to be given the necessary opportunities to develop themselves.