The Gypsy "Problem"

Everywhere I went in Bulgaria and Serbia, I heard about the Gypsy 'problem'. 
Attitudes were often quite negative and relations were clearly strained.

As I wandered and listened and observed, much of it seemed strangely reminiscent
of an earlier time in America.  It reminded be of the '50s and 60's when
Americans were also struggling with the presence of blacks (former slaves)
and with those of different ethnicities and cultures...non-whites, such as Mexicans.

It was interesting to find that Roma were slaves in the Balkan regions for many years.
In fact, their legal emancipation occurred around the same time as that of America's slaves.
The Roma perform menial tasks (such as street sweeping and metal recycling)
and agricultural work for little pay in the same manner that blacks and chicanos have.

While our minorities still struggle for equality, things have come a long way.
The pace of integration into society has been much slower here in Bulgaria.
For instance, segregated communities and schools are still quite common.
Segregation is openly accepted and encouraged, whereas in America, segregation is taboo.
Yet historically the Roma received somewhat better treatment in Bulgaria than in other countries.

America was founded on principles of fairness and equality for all.  We were dissatisfied
with restrictions and the old ways.  The repressed and oppressed flocked to our shores.
We openly defined ourselves as a melting pot as successive waves of immigrants arrived. 
America was an experiment of grand proportions and far-reaching ideals, a place of openness
and freedom.  A place where everyone had a fair chance.  It was, and still is...
Far from perfect.  Easier said than done, but through struggle and with time,
we have achieved much. 
Ethnic tensions of every stripe were intensely felt and experienced in every aspect
of society along the way.
From jobs to neighborhoods, religion, intermarriage and social and political status...
All were part of the struggle that played out in so many ways. 
It was and still is, to some degree, an uneven development, but it continues to work. 

Some people are by nature and nurture quicker to adapt to these changes.
Many others are, for the same reasons, slower to receive those that are different.

I could identify with some of their experience by looking back to my own childhood.
I remember my early years growing up in Los Angeles in the early fifties.
Back then virtually everyone seemed to be tall, slim, blonde and tan...
the idealized beauty of the time. My little world was peaceful and homogeneous.

But one night we were driving to a movie theater and my dad took a couple of wrong turns
and wound up in Watts...the volatile black neighborhood of the 50's.
In moments we were surrounded by police cruisers, lights flashing, sirens blaring
and men in riot gear.
It felt like we had stumbled into a war zone. And, in fact, we had. 
We were questioned and warned to stay away for our own safety.
And then we were given an armed escort out of the area...
That was eye-opening!  I was 5 years old.

Soon after, when the first Mexican family moved into our little suburban neighborhood,
there was a huge uproar.  House for Sale signs sprouted overnight..."the Mexicans are coming". 
It was only one family, but nearly everyone panicked. 
We got to know them once things simmered down a little.  They were lovely people.
I still remember Mrs. Soto bringing over big platters of the most delicious homemade enchiladas
I have ever tasted. We became best friends with their girls. 
But I also remember their 1st Christmas when someone broke into their home
and stole all their presents.  When it was later found that their own relatives had broken in.
we felt their painful embarrassment. We all pitched in to share what we had with them.
You can imagine the gossip from that one!

Some years later, I picked strawberries all summer alongside local kids and migrant workers.
I befriended a Mexican girl whose family lived in the back of a truck. 
One girl and 12 brothers...living rough. What a life..
But for our part, we spent a happy summer together.
On the final day of harvest, we would get paid for all of our season's hard work.
My friend offered to cash in my pick ticket and have the money for me early the next morning
so I wouldn't have to wait in a long line.  I handed my ticket to her at her urging,
not heeding the little twinge in the pit of my stomach.  
When I arrived early the next morning her family was already gone..they had gotten paid the night before.  Gone before first light...   I was crushed!  She had stolen all that I had worked for.
No friend, no money, no goodbye.   They were taught to steal....compelled by their parents.

When I was 9 years old, we moved from sunny southern California to Wisconsin. 
That was a series of shocks.  It was the 1st time seeing snow, having a winter coat!
Sitting in class, there were suddenly all kinds of 'strange' kids!  I was so struck by all the diversity! 
Polish kids and a Native American or two.  Kids of mixed European descent...
Italians mixed with Irish, Czechs with Germans and the like.
In the end, typical American kids, but from my very limited perspective it was a big adjustment.
I felt like I had landed on another planet.  Planet Green Bay.     
My world expanded in the most uncomfortable way. 

I had to decide quickly if I was going to hate my circumstances or embrace them. 
In the end, I embraced them.  I began to open up, take chances and like my fellow classmates.
I was lucky. I was a white kid, so circumstances favored my inclusion, more or less without question,
but other minor prejudices kicked in: I wasn't 'from' there. My parents had no standing socially or financially.
My folks helped us deal with those attitudes with a little common sense. 
We learned to minimize those concerns.
They taught us that we were just as good as anyone else and to do our best and ignore the rest.   

In the end, I thought people in general wasted an awful lot of time and energy on such things. 
Judging each other...and thinking they had to put other people in their places...

To me, they were just self appointed bullies trying to shape others to meet their expectations. 

No doubt, children and adults suffer the same thing when society becomes overbearing.  
Such needless suffering....
Now, as then, people still opt to poison their lives with such nonsense.   
They fail to see the gift of each culture, each individual.

When I look upon people now, I see individuals who are the living  survivors of so much history.
Just think of all that has happened to our forebears...
Famines, wars, pogroms, natural calamities, plagues and other illnesses.
Mothers dying giving birth, accidents, every conceivable hardship and struggle..
. 
How incredibly fortunate that we are here at all...alive and well. 
We are...all of us... the living legacy of all that has happened throughout history.
So many miracles that we are here... 
Contemplate that for awhile...

Now look at the next human being that you see and consider that this is true for them as well. 

We are that precious legacy...each and every one of us. 
We should look at each other from that standpoint. 
Each one a miraculous survivor of so much..
It should be no wonder that we are a little bumped and misshapen and imperfect...
Still struggling somewhat, rough and smooth, loving and falling short...
.
What would it hurt to accord each person you see a little respect...and awe. 
You and I....we are here together... in this time. 
A long line of history precedes us.  We are the precious remnant that made it through to today.

It becomes inconceivable to me that people would want to take life...or even harm it in any way.
We should be binding up the wounds, breaking out of society's senseless and hate-filled trance.
Connecting with life instead of ravaging it...

Do you feel better when holding onto prejudice, anger or grievance? ...really? 

or does your heart swell and ease itself when you are kind to another?
  
Your own body will tell you everything you need to know.... 

We are the only ones that can...or will...fix these problems in the end....
We cannot pawn them off or delegate them to others...
Not the governments, not the committees, the endless programs or think tanks....

That has become a get rich quick scheme for those who make a pretense of helping.
Hard earned charitable dollars are systematically withheld from the very people they
were intended to help by the very programs created to administer those funds.
Very little trickles down...it was never intended to...
More about that in the next post...

Thanks again for visiting the Gypsy Ashram...Your comments and additions are always welcome.
Feel free to share these posts...   
Keep your hearts open, dear Gypsies...