“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service to their country(*); but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” – Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, 1780
(*) For country it would do us well to substitute “Nation” or “People” as we are here referring to the Romani People or – Nation.
We too live in trying times and so far our soldiers are missing or very few and far between, like partisans rather than an army.
While our enemies plot and scheme, our People remain unready and even unwilling to fight – hiding seems the preferred option – and many, if not indeed most, of our “leaders” - now there is a joke, “leaders” - are worse even than the enemies “outside the gates”. Our People are under grave threat, physical and otherwise, to be wiped out as a People, as a Race, and what do those so-called “leaders” do? Nothing. Nothing to help, that is for sure.
If they are not simply interested in lording it over the “ordinary” grassroots Rom they are after money from the very enemies who, at this very moment, are, once again, plotting to put Rom into concentration camps (Italy – under the guise of “solidarity villages) and ghettos (Czech Republic, etc.), with all those being European Union member countries. The money from the EU is the very reason they are so silent and permit all mention of this to be spiked by the editors of the media in the countries of the new Europe. The European Union is talking big as to what they want to do for the Romani and about integration for our People while behind the scenes something entirely different is going on and they prepare, once again, to incarcerate our Race in camps with barbed wire surrounds and in ghettos with high walls topped with razor wire. Rome burns while Nero fiddles.
Awake Romale – your very leaders, your “kings”, “emperors”, “tsars” and “judges”, the latter who would not be able to judge a beauty contest or an allotment garden produce show, are selling you out to the enemy while feathering their own nests with money that should be for the People.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), January 2008
This is the first page of an 8-page essay. The essay in its entirety is found in the next issue of the O NEVO DROM Journal. To read this essay complete and other articles, please take out a subscription to the O NEVO DROM journal. Subscription is free and the magazine is paper-less and mailed out as an email attachment. To subscribe send an email to churimengro1-at-yahoo-cot-com with “I wish to subscribe to O NEVO DROM” in the subject line.
