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Romani Gypsies Quotes

Browse 11 quotes about Romani Gypsies.

Romani Gypsies Quotes

“But on one occasion he was lost for words. 'If it's all as bad as you describe,' asked an inconspicuous young man at the end of one of the lectures, 'then why did you choose to become a Gypsy?' His image of Gypsies had marked them as a mere lifestyle, a fashion, a brand.”

CultureEducationRacismSocial JusticeGypsyCultural AppropriationStereotypingRomaniRomani Gypsies
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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“Their flag has two background colours: green representing the ground below, and blue for the sky above. In its centre it depicted a wheel: this symbolized the image of the Romani people as travellers and, resembling the 24-spoke wheel known as the Ashoka Chatra which features in the centre of the flag of India, it served as a reference to the Roms' historical country of origin.”

IndiaCitizenshipNationalityRomaGypsiesRomaniRomani Gypsies
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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“The thought of even more permanent separation of children through boarding schools or foster homes is even more troublesome, and Roms in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Hungary and Switzerland are still haunted by the memory of periods in the history of their communities during which the practice of separating Romani children from their families was encouraged by authorities as a means of forcibly integrating the young generations of Roms into mainstream society.”

RacismAdoptionCrimes Against HumanityRomaRomaniRomani GypsiesForced AdoptionForced Assimilation
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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“People are often surprised to hear that Romani is in fact a fully fledged language just like any other, that it has its origins in India, that it is related to Sanskrit, an ancient language associated with Indian scholarship and religion, and that it has been preserved by the Romani populations through oral traditions and in a variety of dialects for many centuries.”

IndiaSanskritRomaGypsiesRomaniRomani GypsiesSanskrit Language
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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“Claims for compensation for physical damage through sterilization and for psychological damage through incarceration were not recognized for this reason. Claims for lost possessions were rejected on the basis of a wholesale prejudice that Gypsies did not own possessions. Claims for compensation for lost income on the basis of a reduction of earning capacity (as a result of physical and psychological damage and years lost due to imprisonment) were rejected on the grounds that Gypsies were unlikely to have sought employment even under more favourable circumstances. Like the German Jews, the Roms had been stripped of their citizenship rights by the Nazi regime's racist legislation.”

HolocaustWwiiGypsyRomaRomaniRomani Gypsies
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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“What do women who live in houses, wear traditional long skirts, speak Romani to their family members and are offended when somebody calls them 'Gypsies' have in common with women who live in caravans, wear shorts, use only the occasional Romani word and refer to themselves as 'Gypsies?' What does a Romani coppersmith in Bulgaria share with a Romani used-car dealer in Los Angeles? How can a Spanish musician of Gitano background feel represented by a Hungarian Romani member of the European Parliament?”

CitizenshipNationalityGypsyCultural DifferencesRomaniRomani Gypsies
Book:I Met Lucky People: The Story of the Romani Gypsies
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