or
When one of us bleeds we all do!
“When the Union's inspiration through the People's Blood shall run” would be the first line of the rewritten workers' song “Solidarity Forever”, to suit the Romani struggle, the refrain, the chorus, however, remaining the same, e.g. “Solidarity Forever” and it is this solidarity that we will have to learn, methinks, or relearn, to be more precise.
In truth, there was once a time when we seem to have had something of this solidarity, though never, it would appear, for the entire People. If we want to get anywhere in this world as a People, as a Nation proper, then this must change and we must find it in our hearts to have solidarity with our fellow Rom wherever on this planet that may be. If they hurt and are being attacked or discriminated against the n so is and should every one of us feel that hurt and we should fell righteous anger to speak out against such abuses, etc. But most of us, nowadays, just sit on our butts and hands and do nothing. The formula seems to be “I am all right Jack, what do I care”.
Or was this solidarity of the Romani People of old and the community spirit and the helping all Rom in need just something that everyone has imagined and is it but a myth. From what I am seeing in the last 20-30 years or so I must say it could appear to have been just so.
I do know that in fact that this solidarity did exist but that was before envy end jealousy began to rule our hearts and minds. It was, strangely enough, at a time when life was harder and money scarce and in very short supply often that the Rom shared with any Rom in need. Today, however, sadly, we are worse in that respect than the Gadsche.
We must, however, concentrate with this solidarity on our People, the Romani People and not support the wrong causes, such as illegal encampments by Irish Travellers, for instance, who in other instances will not hesitate to use even the force of arms to push Romanichal residents from official council Gypsy sites and then take those over, forcing the Rom to take to the drom again and then illegal encamp. No Irish Traveller has ever, as far as I know, come to the aid of a Romani family that was forced with eviction. Misplaced solidarity will not reciprocated.
Romani are Romani, as I have said before elsewhere, and Irish Travellers are Irish Travellers and while there are some Romani in Ireland, North and South, the majority of Irish Travellers are not Romani and do not share the same Culture and values. While they may lead a similar life to that what the Romani used to, and some still, do live that is about where the similarities end. While the Rom are a Race the Irish Travellers are nothing but Gohja in trailers, and let's not get fooled in believing the stories about them being an ancient pre-Celtic nomadic people of Eire. Those Irish Travellers that are in trailers (and in kennas) in Eire and in the UK (and those that went to the USA and elsewhere from Great Britain and Ireland) are no older as a travelling people than the potato famine and the great majority in the UK especially only came here during the wars and especially after World War II, the men first as laborers on the road build projects who then later brought their families over, having discovered that the British welfare state would give them anything they wanted without much of a question being asked unlike Ireland where no welfare state existed at that time. Am i being unfair? I do not think so.
When it comes to solidarity it is, as said, our race that comes first and must come first and all of us should feel and express a righteous indignation if but one member of our People is being discriminated against. Alas, however, this does not seem to be the case. Rather, it would appear, most are too busy hiding their ethnicity from the Gohja, who know anyway (I shall say again that no one will ever believe that Giovanni Mettbach is an Italian name), rather than standing up for our brothers and sisters so that they may see this solidarity and, should anyone else of us be in trouble, they are inspired to do the same for us.
One for all and all for one, so, apparently, was the motto of the French Musketeers and this is a motto that we, the Rom, in today's world, would do well to adopt.
© M V Smith, June 2007
Showing posts with label solidarity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solidarity. Show all posts
Anti-Gypsy-ism is alive and well, unfortunately
While one might have hoped that Anti-Gypsy-ism would by now be a thing of the past this is, unfortunately, not so.
Anti-Gypsy-ism is alive and well in the European Union, and here not just in the new member states, as well as in the United States.
A child, for example, vanishes, while on vacation with her parents in Portugal, in May 2007, and immediately everyone, especially the media, and here especially the gutter press, accuses Gypsies of having abducted the little four-year-old blond girl from Britain.
Why? For what reason?
Well, because the Gadje actually do believe the concocted fairy stories that Gypsies steal children, that’s why. And doesn’t everyone – so at least the media presents the case – know that the favorite ones that Gypsies like to steal are little blond boys and girls?
It is and was exactly the same when the selfsame gutter press screams about hordes of Gypsies coming into the country, as soon as the countries of their residence would be member states of the European Union. Well, that did not actually happen. The gullible Gadje, however, do believe all those stories and many still believe that thousands upon thousands of Rom from Bulgaria, Romania, and such places have come to Britain. Well, there are a few here who, unfortunately, engage in begging and, possibly, pick pocketing, but as for thousands; well, no.
Attacks on Romani in Eastern Europe, even in European Union member states, are common place, with even politicians of such countries being involved in the attacks, on a verbal level at least, and the “crowning glory” must be Volen Siderov of Bulgaria, a presidential candidate apparently even no less, who openly called for Gypsies to me made into soap, in a style that smacked of Nazi extermination policies. One would have hoped that such sentiments and the like had disappeared with the demise of Hitler's Third Reich but, as we can all see, this is not the case, unfortunately, and was rather wishful thinking and no such thing has happened as far as the Gypsy, the Rom, are concerned.
In truth, despite of the very fact that Siderov made such statements, and that the official government of Bulgaria called for the sterilization of all Gypsy women, Bulgaria was still admitted into the folds of the European Union, no questions asked. This shows that the EU has the same disregard for the Rom, as all those other countries that breach the human rights of the Romani People, and pays nothing but lip service to equal rights for the Gypsy.
We, as a People, must stand up now against this trend of Anti-Gypsy-ism and be counted but I also know that I am wasting my breath to call for such a thing and action.
Why? Because most of our People fall into one of two categories: those that wish to hide their ethnicity, their origins, and then those who, while doing the first or not, could care less and could not be bothered as to what is happening to our People as long as it does not affect them and theirs.
Here we will do well to recall the words of the poem by Pastor Dietrich Bonnhoefer and heed the call that if we do not speak out now and stand up and be counted when they come for us there may be no one left to speak out and fight on our behalf.
Think about it...
© M V Smith, June 2007
Anti-Gypsy-ism is alive and well in the European Union, and here not just in the new member states, as well as in the United States.
A child, for example, vanishes, while on vacation with her parents in Portugal, in May 2007, and immediately everyone, especially the media, and here especially the gutter press, accuses Gypsies of having abducted the little four-year-old blond girl from Britain.
Why? For what reason?
Well, because the Gadje actually do believe the concocted fairy stories that Gypsies steal children, that’s why. And doesn’t everyone – so at least the media presents the case – know that the favorite ones that Gypsies like to steal are little blond boys and girls?
It is and was exactly the same when the selfsame gutter press screams about hordes of Gypsies coming into the country, as soon as the countries of their residence would be member states of the European Union. Well, that did not actually happen. The gullible Gadje, however, do believe all those stories and many still believe that thousands upon thousands of Rom from Bulgaria, Romania, and such places have come to Britain. Well, there are a few here who, unfortunately, engage in begging and, possibly, pick pocketing, but as for thousands; well, no.
Attacks on Romani in Eastern Europe, even in European Union member states, are common place, with even politicians of such countries being involved in the attacks, on a verbal level at least, and the “crowning glory” must be Volen Siderov of Bulgaria, a presidential candidate apparently even no less, who openly called for Gypsies to me made into soap, in a style that smacked of Nazi extermination policies. One would have hoped that such sentiments and the like had disappeared with the demise of Hitler's Third Reich but, as we can all see, this is not the case, unfortunately, and was rather wishful thinking and no such thing has happened as far as the Gypsy, the Rom, are concerned.
In truth, despite of the very fact that Siderov made such statements, and that the official government of Bulgaria called for the sterilization of all Gypsy women, Bulgaria was still admitted into the folds of the European Union, no questions asked. This shows that the EU has the same disregard for the Rom, as all those other countries that breach the human rights of the Romani People, and pays nothing but lip service to equal rights for the Gypsy.
We, as a People, must stand up now against this trend of Anti-Gypsy-ism and be counted but I also know that I am wasting my breath to call for such a thing and action.
Why? Because most of our People fall into one of two categories: those that wish to hide their ethnicity, their origins, and then those who, while doing the first or not, could care less and could not be bothered as to what is happening to our People as long as it does not affect them and theirs.
Here we will do well to recall the words of the poem by Pastor Dietrich Bonnhoefer and heed the call that if we do not speak out now and stand up and be counted when they come for us there may be no one left to speak out and fight on our behalf.
Think about it...
© M V Smith, June 2007
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