History
The Roma are a European people, whose ancestors came from Northern India around 800 years ago. They live today throughout the world, above all in Europe. Arriving in Europe from Asia Minor, the Roma settled at first in the Balkans, moved into the Carpathians and from there on moved further onwards, from the Balkans to Greece up to Finland and Russia, into Western Europe.
According to estimates, there are about ten million Roma in Europe. Some European countries have a high percentage of Roma, like Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. In these countries, Roma constitute up to ten percent of the population. Roma migrated to the USA and Mexico as well. Roma also live in the Middle East and across the former Soviet Union.
Many Roma hide their identity out of fear for discrimination and because of experiences in the past. During the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Roma were killed in the Nazi concentration camps. Another black page in history is fact that Roma were still kept as slaves up to 1856 in Romania.
Grassroots Roma can include Roma at all levels of society who identify themselves as Roma or are seen as Roma by the overall society, including middle class Roma, marginalized Roma, traditional Roma, mixed Roma (with a double ethnic identity, but with a great potential to act as a bridge with other minorities), and also hidden Roma that refuse their ethnic identities and often reject their own group.
New video from our partner in Macedonia!
Take a look at what`s `Typical Roma` according to our Macedonian partner
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