Roma versus Gypsy - a typically Romanian dilemma

Alert DateMarch 2, 2009 Country: Romania Racism and discrimination phenomena: Anti-roma/zinghanophobia
General Type: Racist discourse, Discrimination Groups affected / Interested in: Roma & Travelers Strands: Racism, Discrimination

Timeline

  • MP Silviu Prigoana promotes a legislative proposal of changing the name of Roma to Gypsy.

    According to the newspaper in question, Democrat-Liberal Party deputy Silviu Prigoana took over the initiative of a national newspaper, Jurnalul National, which came up in March 2009 with the idea of a legislative proposal (gathering signatures for it) to change the name  of Roma to Gypsy and promoted it in Parliament. [1] Various institutions had diverse reactions, some supporting the initiative, others opposing it, other opposing them by explaining it would not solve the problem it addresses. Of t...

Against the background of various actions of the Italian and French authorities targeting Romanian Roma, starting with 2007 [1], a national debate was initiated in Romania as to how the Roma should be called: Roma or Gypsy. The problem was the fact that the name “Roma” is easily confused with “Romanian” in other EU countries. A national newspaper, Jurnalul National, came up in March 2009 with the idea of a legislative proposal (gathering signatures for it) to change the name to Gypsy. The grounding for the initiative sounded as follows: “The reoccurrence of crime committed by gypsies in Italy and not only, as well as associating these deeds with the Romanian people presented as a people of rapists, thieves has negative effects not only on our country in terms of image, but also on good-faith Romanians who go abroad to earn a decent pay. We have come to paradoxical situations, where Romania no longer means the country of Nadia Comaneci, of Constantin Brancusi or of George Enescu to the foreign press and public opinion, but a country of barbarians who steal, rape and hit you in the head. And it all comes from an unhappy confusion of terms: Roma/Romanians, terms which in other languages, such as Italian – rom-rumeno are very much alike, and the differences disappear in the collective mentality, to the point that these words become synonyms and nobody knows anymore if the one who stole or raped is Romanian or Roma”. [2]

Democrat-Liberal party deputy Silviu Prigoana took over the initiative and promoted it in Parliament. [3] Various institutions had diverse reactions, some supporting the initiative, others opposing it, other opposing them by explaining it would not solve the problem it addresses. Of these institutions, the Romanian Academy considered that the term “Gypsy” is the correct one. [4] Finally, in 2011, the initiative (not the first one of its kind in Romania) was rejected by the Parliament (in February by the Senate and in April by the Chamber of Deputies). [5] Romani CRISS NGO filed a petition with the equality body against the deputy and the Romanian Academy claiming discriminatory treatment. [6] No update on the case was publicly available.

In 2011, the NGOs Impreuna Agency for Community Development, Accept Association and Roma Equal Chances Association filed a petition against the Romanian Academy Language Institute for the way the term “gypsy” was defined in the Romanian language dictionary, ignoring its pejorative meanings. The equality body recommended that the Academy change the definition of the term “gypsy” to show its negative meaning. [7]

According to Impreuna Agency, the Academy sent them an official address telling them that, in the following edition of the dictionary, the terms will be defined as follows:

“Roma – term through which the members of an ethnic group originating in India and spread especially in the South and East of Europe identify themselves, replacing the name gypsy, considered pejorative

Gypsy – 1. (often pejorative) the person belonging to a group of people originating in the North-West of India, which have also migrated to the North of Africa and, subsequently, to the Two Americas, differentiating themselves in various groups and leading a semi-nomadic life and who speak an Indo-European language. 2. (often pejorative) Epithet attached to a brunette person; 3. Epithet imperiously given to a person with an uncivilized behaviour.” [8] (not clear what is meant by imperiously)

 

Sources:

  1. See, for example, Peter Walker, “Italy’s Gypsies suffer discrimination and prospect of draconian curbs”, in The Guardian, 21.07.2008, available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/21/italy.race1 (Date of access: 06.03.2012) and BBC, Q&A: France Roma expulsions, 19.20.2010, available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11027288 (Date of access: 06.03.2012) as well as: Center for Legal Resources Press Release. The Roma between France, the European Commission and Romania, 06.09.2010, available in English at: http://www.crj.ro/EN/The-Roma-between-France-the-European-Commission-and-Romania-581/ (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  2. Gabriela Antoniu, “Proposal of the National Journal: ‘Gypsy’ instead of ‘Roma’”, in Jurnalul National, 02.03.2009, available at: http://www.jurnalul.ro/tigan-in-loc-de-rom/propunere-jurnalul-national-tigan-in-loc-de-rom-145427.htm (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  3. Dana Piciu, “Silviu Prigoana takes over the initiative of the National Journal” in Jurnalul National, 18.03.2009, available at: http://www.jurnalul.ro/tigan-in-loc-de-rom/silviu-prigoana-preia-initiativa-jurnalului-national-146429.htm (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  4. Meidafax.ro, The Government agrees with the changing of the name Roma to Gypsy, 02.12.2010, available at: http://www.mediafax.ro/social/guvernul-este-de-acord-cu-schimbarea-denumirii-de-rom-in-tigan-7773030 (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  5. Romanian Parliament website, information on the Legal Initiative Pl. Nr. 731/2010 Legal proposal on the terminology used for the ethnicity of gypsies, available at: http://www.cdep.ro/pls/proiecte/upl_pck.proiect?idp=15412&cam=1 (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  6. Romani CRISS, Press release. The Romanian Academy and Silviu Pirgoana at hearings with the National Council for Combating Discrimination, 01.03.2011, available at: http://www.romanicriss.org/comunicat%20CRISS%20plangere%20Prigoana.pdf (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  7. Andra Dumitru, “The Roma are asking for changes in the Romanian Dictionary” in Romania Libera, 18.07.2011, available at: http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/eveniment/romi-cer-schimbari-in-dex-231576.html (Date of access: 06.03.2012)
  8. Impreuna Agency for Community Development, News Item. Appeal for declaring one’s ethnicity during the Population Census 2011, posted on 28.10.2011, available at: http://www.agentiaimpreuna.ro/nodes/index/page:1/type:news (Date of access: 06.03.2012)