@flamer84
As long as France has good opinions,the other countries don't matter.
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@Joe Shearer Putting roma gypsies and romanians in the same bag is of course misleading.
In fact,the romas have nothing European.
They immigrated from Asia like hundred of years ago.
They have no historical and cultural links with the romanians and Romania.
In Western Europe,this leads to confusion,many people putting romas and romanians in the same bag + the medias literally associating both.
Really? <gasp!>
Immigrated from Asia? Whatja know?
It so happens that if you come to India, I can introduce you to people who strongly resemble the Roma, and even speak a language pretty close to theirs (there are many dialects and variations in their language - I speak very broadly). Modern Roma is a heavily Europeanised version of western Indian languages, most particularly Rajasthani. Their chiefs are Rai, and their chieftainess Rani; ask any Pakistani or Indian what those terms mean.
I had the serendipitous experience of asking a vendor for authentic Roma music and being handed a CD by Kalyi Jag (they're very, very good, btw). When I asked the meaning, and the pronunciation, it was pronounced Kali Aag, and every Hindi and Urdu speaking member will spot it immediately - it indeed stood for the precisely identical thing that it would be in Hindi/Urdu, Black Fire.
Some twenty to thirty years ago, an Indian diplomat got completely engrossed in this study, and went deep into things Roma. Among other things, he helped to design the Roma flag, and encouraged visits to India, and cultural exchanges; those who have heard and seen Flamenco (and Fandango) will immediately spot similarities to contemporary Indian dance forms.
Genetic studies indicate that they left western India around the 10th or the 11th century AD, some say in the captive train of the murderous Timur. They seem to have percolated through Khurasan, through Persia, and through the Levant to Egypt. From there, their first point of entry into Europe was Italy, and their origin in Egypt gave rise to the name gypsies. Their spread through Europe was rapid; their repeated brutalisation at the hands of Europeans, of every single nationality, was epic in its cruelty and savagery. More Roma were killed, proportionately, than even Jews, (from memory, about 4 million) by Hitler's racist Nazi regime.
They have of course left their mark on European culture, despite the best efforts of European culture. You will be most familiar with Carmen; however, the Italians will recall Il Trovatore, and the Germans the Ziguenerbaron. The British, bloody bifteks that they are, have to do with rather more mundane works such as Lavengro; equally typically, George Borrow was uniquely British and could not have been found in any other culture.
If you dig into the origins of the Black Madonna and if you know anything about Hindu theogony, you may be in for more surprises.
I hope that gives you a fuller picture of the Roma.
For Indians (and Pakistanis): if you meet a Roma by accident in, say, Budapest, you will take him for a Khanna or a Kapoor; if it is a she, you will lose yourself in her blacker than black hair.
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. 100% Not sure/No opinion green.
? And how's the beer?
. So long as we can park our sh*t on their shores and get a cold beer when one's needed I don't think I'll be bothered by opinions.
