The Roma Reality in Romania

The Roma are a part of Romania’s image that the tourist board wishes would go away. (The term “Gypsies,” which used to be the common name for this ethnic group, is now considered both derogatory and inaccurate.) But they are a reality in Romania, and we wanted to include a bit about them in our show. Of course, there can be a bad element in the Roma community (some are known for petty thievery), just as there can be bad elements in any community. But there’s a positive side too: hardworking Roma families and communities hoping to assimilate into general Romanian society.

I have a particular interest in the plight of nomadic people (whether Kurd, Eskimo, American Indian, or Roma) whose cultures are built on the nomadic lifestyle and whose very existence as a culture is threatened by being forced to stay in one place — and put their children through local schools. Nomads just don’t fit in the “private property reality” of the last few centuries, and struggling to conform to these unnatural norms — across nomadic cultures — is fraught with challenges and problems.

Rather than show glitzy, so-called “Gypsy palaces” and reinforce negative stereotypes, we worked to be both honest and positive. It really helped to meet and talk with local Roma. Writing the script was delicate. Here’s what we said:

A fun part of travel in Romania is to gain an appreciation for the diversity of the 20 million people who make up this country. Along with ethnic Romanians — who’ve been here since ancient times — there are minorities: Germans, Hungarians, and the Roma.

The Roma originated in India. They were nomads who migrated over the centuries throughout Eastern Europe, where they gained a reputation as entertainers and metalworkers — and sometimes, unfortunately, as petty thieves.

Romania has Europe’s largest Roma population. They’ve had to abandon their nomadic ways and face the challenge of settling down. The classic Roma image is of poor people in shantytowns. But here in Romania, most Roma live side-by-side with their neighbors — often poor, but more or less fitting into mainstream society.

Many Roma carry on the traditional craft of metalworking, and we’ve been invited in to learn more.

At this point we connected with metalworker Emile, his father (Emile), and his son (Emile).

This is Day 59 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.