Vijesti ROMI.HR

Desetljećima su Romi diskriminirani i porobljeni. Romi su prije mnogo stoljeća napustili pradomovinu u sjevernoj Indiji i došli u srednjovjekovnu Europu. Na područjima suvremene Rumunjske su Romi postali robovi 1370-ih godina ili čak ranije. Postojale su tri vrste porobljavatelja: Kruna, pravoslavna crkva i plemstvo. Prema tadašnjem zakonodavstvu, robovi su pripadali vlasniku, a oni robovi koji nisu imali “gospodara“ postali bi robovi Krune.

Na područjima suvremene Rumunjske Romi su se od ostalih razlikovali indijanskim podrijetlom i bojom kože, nisu bili bjelci niti kršćani. Isticanje tih razlika je korišćeno kako bi se pokušavalo opravdati porobljavanje Roma. U listopadu 1385. godine je vladar Vaške Dan I poklonio Tismaskom manastiru 40 romskih obitelji.

1848. godine Vlaška je izdala proglas u kojem se govorilo: "Rumunjski narod se oslobađa srama posjedovati robove i proglašava Cigane slobodnima."

Prošlo je osam godina prije nego što se ova izjava pretvorila u zakon, 20. veljače 1856. godine. Ali vrlo jak društveni pritisak i psihološke posljedice ropstva su postojali mnogo duže. Ropstvo je ukinuto 1855. godine u Moldaviji i 1856. godine u Vlaškoj, nakon čega je 250 000 Roma zakonsko postalo slobodno, a činili su 7% rumunjskog stanovništva.

Za mnoge Rome sloboda je došla vrlo neočekivano. Iako su Romi pozdravili oslobađanje od "gospodara", neposjedovanje imovine ih je stavilo u vrlo težak položaj. U stvari, ništa nije učinjeno da se pomogne Romima da se prilagode novom statusu "slobodnih ljudi". Nitko im nije osigurao zemlju ili imovinu, novac i obrazovanje. Dakle, ti ljudi nisu znali što im je činiti.

Zbog toga što su Romi dobili slobodu preko noći, mnogi od njih nisu bili u stanju ići u korak s promjenama i započeti novi život. Nisu imali skoro ništa, niti kuću niti novac. Stoljećima su Romi potpuno ovisili o svom "gospodaru". Počeli su se seliti na zapad, na područja suvremene Mađarske, Srbije, Hrvatske i drugih zemalja u potrazi za boljim životom.

Nažalost, o ropstvu Roma se zna vrlo malo. Na svjetskoj razini ovoj temi nije posvećeno dovoljno pažnje. Rumunjske povijesne knjige uopće ne spominju romsko ropstvo, svjetska književnost i kinematografija se također vrlo rijetko bave ovom temom.

U današnje vrijeme mnogi Romi ovise o drugima i pod velikim su pritiskom kada se radi o zaradi novca za život. To su djelomično posljedice ropstva. Većina Roma ima prihode u zoni sive ekonomije. Mnogi Romi nemaju dokumente ili potrebno obrazovanje kako bi dobili stalan posao. Sve to rezultira očajanjem, visokom razinom siromaštva i lošim životnjim uvjetima, što podsjeća na ropstvo.

Istovremeno, u suvremenom društvu se uvjeti znatno razlikuju od onih iz 19. stoljeća. Vremenom se kvaliteta života poboljšala. Naprimjer, danas je školsko obrazovanje dostupno svima, uključujući Rome. Ne bismo smjeli zaboraviti da je ropstvo dio povijesnog sjećanja za većinu Roma u Hrvatskoj. Međutim, jedini način nadvladati ovakvu prošlost je sticanje obrazovanja i preuzimanje potpune odgovornosti za sadašnjost i budućnost svoje djece. Djeca trebaju pohađati školu i država im mora osigurati sve što je potrebno poput knjiga i pomoći u obrazovanju. Ali najvažnija je želja pojedinih pripadnika romske zajednice iskoristiti prilike i promijene život na bolje.

Uzimajući u obzir sve ove faktore, postaje jasnije zašto mnogi Romi nisu postigli značajan uspjeh u životu. Posljedice ropstva su još uvijek prisutne i trebamo se više baviti ovom pitanjem kako bismo ih iskorijenili.

Being another person's property, when someone decides instead of you how to live and what to do in your own life, to be sold or bought – this is what slavery is. Reading such description, it may seem that such thing as slavery is a relic of the past. However, the echoes are still present. It becomes clear when you look at the conditions of life of some groups of people, who are trying to survive instead of living. Majority of Roma people in Croatia belongs to such group, which significantly influences their life.

For decades Roma were discriminated and enslaved. Roma left ancestral home in northern India many centuries ago and arrived in mediaeval Europe. In the modern territories of Romania, Roma people became enslaved in the 1370s or even earlier. There were three types of enslavers: the Crown, the Orthodox church, and the Nobility. According to the legislation of that time, slaves were the property of the owners and those slaves who did not have a „master“ would become slaves of the Crown. 

In the territories of modern Romania, Roma were distinguished by the Indian origins and skin colour as non-white and non-Christians. Such difference was used as one of the reasons for enslaving Roma. In October 1385, Dan I, prince of Wallachia and an enslaver, gifted to the Tismana Monastery 40 Roma families.

In 1848, Wallachia issued a proclamation saying: “The Romanian people frees itself from the shame of owning slaves and declare the Tzigans to be free.”

Eight years passed before this statement turned into a legislation on February 20, 1856. But the terrible social pressure and psychological consequences of slavery existed a lot longer. Slavery was abolished in 1855 in Moldova and 1856 in Wallachia, after that 250,000 Roma slaves who became legally free made up 7 percent of the Romanian population.

For many Roma people, getting the access to freedom came unexpectedly. While liberation from a “master” was welcome, the lack of material possession meant a challenging position. In fact, there was nothing done to help Roma to accommodate in a new “freedom status”. No one provided them with any land or property, money and education. So there was no understanding what to do next.

Getting freedom overnight, many Roma could not follow the speed of the changes and start a new life. Roma basically did not have anything: no home and no money. Because for centuries, Roma had completely depended on their “master”. Roma started moving to the West, to the territories of modern Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and others in search of a better life.

Unfortunately, very little is known about slavery of Roma people. This topic has not been exposed that much on the global level. Roma slavery has been denied in Romanian history books, while global cultural and knowledge production rarely mentions it.

Nowadays, many Roma people depend on others and have high financial pressure, when earning money. Obviously, those are partially the consequences of slavery. Most of Roma have income from the grey market, many do not have documents to be hired for a regular job, or do not have education for that. It all ends up in despair, the high level of poverty and the conditions Roma live in, which reminds of slavery.

At the same time, in the modern society the conditions are quite different form the 19th century. Through the time the quality of life has been improving. For example, nowadays, education at school is available for everyone, including Roma people. We all have to remember, that slavery is a part of historic memory for most Roma in Croatia, but the only way to overcome that past is to educate and take the full responsibility of your present and future of your children. Children have to attend school and be provided with everything needed, like books and extra classes, by government. But at the end the key point is the desire of individual Roma to use the opportunities and change life for better.

Considering all of those factors, here comes the reason why many Roma have not had a significant advance in life. There are still consequences of slavery present and we need to do more in order to eradicate them.