In Europe the Roma form a community of some 8 million souls. They are a misunderstood people, isolated from the world by the negative stereotypes that surround them; for centuries, policies devised to deal with them have been aimed at their physical or cultural destruction.This book is intended to foster a better understanding of the Roma by describing, on the one hand, the richness of their culture and lifestyle and the strength of their identity and, on the other, the mistreatment they have suffered over the centuries.This clear and accessible account of such a thoroughly complex and conflict-ridden situation will particularly interest teachers, trainers, community workers, social workers and people with political or administrative responsibilities in the field. It is also a means for Roma organisations to disseminate information. The final pages of the book set out the foundations for a programme of tailor-made, concerted action.
Part I - Sociocultural data
1. Discovery
Origins
Dispersal and establishment
Migration
2. Populations
Numbers
Names
Living conditions
3. Language
Variations
Comparisons
Functions
4. Social organisation
A mosaic
Organisation
Alliances
Social control
5. Travel
6. The family
7. Religion
8. Economic organisation
9. Art
10. Lifestyle and identity
Part II - Sociopolitical data
11. Historic experience
Exclusion
Containment
Inclusion
Indecision
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