Historical Dictionary of
the Gypsies (Romanies)
Second Edition
Donald Kenrick
Historical Dictionaries
of Peoples and Cultures,
No. 7
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham,
Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2007
Editor’s Foreword
vii
This volume, which was previously in the Europe country series, is now
where it belongs, in a special series of Historical Dictionaries of Peoples.
Like many other peoples, the Gypsies, or Romanies, or whatever
other names they are known by, cannot be defined simply by the country
they live in, and this far-flung community inhabits several dozen
countries. Indeed, while many of them have settled down voluntarily or
through official persuasion, large numbers still move about within and
among countries, being genuine Travelers, another alternative name.
But while they do live in different places and have different characteristics
depending on where they live, which language they speak, and
which clans they belong to, they nevertheless recognize one another and
themselves as part of a special people, and they have increasingly created
organizations and engaged in cultural and other activities to express
this solidarity. There is also no doubt that outsiders regard them as
a different group no matter what their passports may say.
Thus, Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies): Second Edition
has to cover a very broad field, providing information of a fairly
general nature, so we can learn more about this people, but also specific
entries on the different countries they live in, where the situation may
differ substantially from place to place and also one period to another.
Other entries present important figures, traditional leaders, politicians
and civil rights workers, writers, artists, and musicians—persons in different
walks of life who have contributed to the community. There are
also entries on various publications and organizations. This comprises
most of the dictionary section. The introduction describes the overall
situation and how it has been evolving, while the chronology traces the
major events from year to year. Of particular interest is the bibliography,
which helps readers track down books and articles on multiple
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aspects of the Gypsies, their history, and their culture that are not easily
found by the general public.
It must be obvious that writing a reference work on such a dispersed
population, and especially one that has not been sufficiently researched
and where much of what is written is not necessarily reliable, is a particularly
arduous task. It requires someone who is familiar with many
facets and has a passion for detail—someone like Donald Kenrick, who
wrote the first edition as well. He has been involved with Gypsy studies
for nearly four decades now. Academically, he studied linguistics
with special emphasis on Romani dialect. Dr. Kenrick not only has lectured
and written extensively on the Gypsies but has also been involved
in the Gypsy civil rights movement as secretary of the Gypsy Council
and the National Gypsy Education Council in Great Britain. More practically,
he served as an interpreter at four World Romany Congresses.
The result is an expanded and updated second edition that tells us considerably
more than before.
Jon Woronoff
Series Editor
Chronology of Gypsy History
224–241 Persia: In the reign of Shah Ardashir, Gypsies first come
from India to work.
420–438 Persia: Bahram Gur, Shah of Persia, brings Gypsy musicians
from India.
661 Arab Empire: Indians (Zott) brought from India to Mesopotamia.
669/670 Arab Empire: Caliph Muawiya deports Gypsies from Basra
to Antioch on the Mediterranean coast.
c.
710 Arab Empire: Caliph Walid resettles Zott from Mesopotamia
to Antioch.
720 Arab Empire: Caliph Yazid II sends still more Zott to Antioch.
820 Arab Empire: Independent Zott state established in Mesopotamia.
834 Arab Empire: Zott defeated by Arabs and many of them resettled
in border town of Ainzarba.
855 Arab Empire: Battle of Ainzarba fought. Greeks defeat the Arabs
and take Zott soldiers and their families as prisoners to Byzantium.
c.
1050 Byzantium: Acrobats and animal doctors active (called
athingani) in Constantinople.
1192 India: Battle of Terain fought. Last Gypsies leave for the west.
1290 Greece: Gypsy shoemakers appear on Mount Athos.
1322 Crete: Nomads reported on the island.
1347 Byzantium: Black Death reaches Constantinople. Gypsies
move west again.
1348 Serbia: Gypsies reported in Prizren.
1362 Croatia: Gypsies reported in Dubrovnik.
1373 Corfu: Gypsies reported on the island.
1378 Bulgaria: Gypsies living in villages near Rila Monastery.
1384 Greece: Gypsy shoemakers reported in Modon.
1385 Romania: First transaction recorded of Gypsy slaves.
1399 Bohemia: The first Gypsy is mentioned in a chronicle.
1407 Germany: Gypsies visit Hildesheim.
1416 Germany: Gypsies expell
1489 Hungary: Gypsy musicians play on Czepel Island.
1492 Spain: First draft of the forthcoming law of 1499 drawn up.
1493 Italy: Gypsies expelled from Milan.
1498 Germany (Holy Roman Empire): Expulsion of Gypsies ordered.
1499 Spain: Expulsion of the Gypsies ordered (Pragmatica of the
Catholic Kings).
1500 Russia: Gypsies first reported.
1504 France: Expulsion of Gypsies ordered.
1505 Denmark: Two groups of Gypsies enter the country. Scotland:
Gypsy pilgrims arrive, probably from Spain.
1510 Switzerland: Death penalty introduced for Gypsies found in the
country.
1512 Catalonia: Gypsies expelled. Sweden: First Gypsies arrive.
1514 England: Gypsies first mentioned in the country.
1515 Germany: Bavaria closes its borders to Gypsies.
1516 Portugal: Gypsies mentioned in literature.
1525 Portugal: Gypsies banned from the country. Sweden: Gypsies
ordered to leave the country.
1526 Holland: Transit of Gypsies across country banned.
1530 England and Wales: Expulsion of Gypsies ordered.
1534 Slovakia: Gypsies executed in Levoca.
1536 Denmark: Gypsies ordered to leave the country.
1538 Portugal: Deportation of Gypsies to colonies begins.
1539 Spain: Any males found nomadizing to be sent to galleys.
1540 Scotland: Gypsies allowed to live under own laws.
1541 Czech lands: Gypsies accused of starting a fire in Prague.
1544 England: Gypsies deported to Norway.
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1547 England: Boorde publishes specimens of Romani.
1549 Bohema: Gypsies declared outlaws and to be expelled.
1553 Estonia: First Gypsies appear in the country.
1554 England: The death penalty is imposed for any Gypsies not
leaving the country within a month.
1557 Poland and Lithuania: Expulsion of Gypsies ordered.
1559 Finland: Gypsies appear on the island of Åland.
1562 England: Provisions of previous acts widened to include people
who live and travel like Gypsies.
1563 Italy: Council of Trent affirms that Gypsies cannot be priests.
1573 Scotland: Gypsies to either settle down or leave the country.
1574 Ottoman Empire: Gypsy miners working in Bosnia.
1579 Portugal: Wearing of Gypsy dress banned. Wales: Gypsies first
reported.
1580 Finland: First Gypsies reported on the mainland.
1584 Denmark and Norway: Expulsion of Gypsies ordered.
1586 Belarus: Nomadic Gypsies expelled.
1589 Denmark: Death penalty imposed for Gypsies not leaving the
country.
1595 Romania: Stefan Razvan, the son of a slave, becomes ruler of
Moldavia.
1611 Scotland: Three Gypsies hanged (under 1554 law).
1633 Spain: Pragmatica of Felipe IV takes effect. Gypsies expelled.
1637 Sweden: Death penalty introduced for Gypsies not leaving the
country.
1692 Austria: Gypsies reported in Villach.
1714 Scotland: Two female Gypsies executed.
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1715 Scotland: Ten Gypsies deported to Virginia.
1728 Holland: Last hunt clears out Gypsies.
1746 Spain: Gypsies to live in named towns.
1748 Sweden: Foreign Gypsies expelled.
1749 Spain: Round-up and imprisonment of all Gypsies ordered.
1758 Austro-Hungarian Empire: Maria Theresa begins assimilation
program.
1759 Russia: Gypsies banned from St. Petersburg.
1765 Austro-Hungarian Empire: Joseph II continues assimilation
program.
1776 Austria: First article published on the Indian origin of the Romani
language.
1782 Hungary: Two hundred Gypsies charged with cannibalism.
1783 Russia: Settlement of nomads encouraged. Spain: Gypsy language
and dress banned. United Kingdom: Most racial legislation
against Gypsies repealed.
1791 Poland: Settlement Law introduced.
1802 France: Gypsies in Basque provinces rounded up and imprisoned.
1812 Finland: Order confines nomadic Gypsies in workhouses.
1822 United Kingdom: Turnpike Act introduced: Gypsies camping
on the roadside to be fined.
1830 Germany: Authorities in Nordhausen remove children from
their families for fostering with non-Gypsies.
1835 Denmark: Hunt for Travelers in Jutland. United Kingdom:
Highways Act strengthens the provisions of the 1822 Turnpike Act.
1837 Spain: George Borrow translates St. Luke’s Gospel into Romani.
1848 Transylvania: Serfs (including Gypsies) emancipated.
1849 Denmark: Gypsies allowed into the country again.
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1855 Romania: Gypsy slaves in Moldavia emancipated.
1856 Romania: Gypsy slaves in Wallachia emancipated.
1860 Sweden: Immigration restrictions eased.
1865 Scotland: Trespass (Scotland) Act introduced.
1868 Holland: New immigration of Gypsies reported.
1872 Belgium: Foreign Gypsies expelled.
1874 Ottoman Empire: Muslim Gypsies given equal rights with
other Muslims.
1875 Denmark: Gypsies barred from the country once more.
1876 Bulgaria: In a pogrom, villagers massacre the Muslim Gypsies
in Koprivshtitsa.
1879 Hungary: National conference of Gypsies held in Kisfalu. Serbia:
Nomadism banned.
1886 Bulgaria: Nomadism banned. Germany: Bismarck recommends
expulsion of foreign Gypsies.
1888 United Kingdom: Gypsy Lore Society established.
1899 Germany: Police Gypsy Information Service set up in Munich
by Alfred Dillmann.
1904 Germany: Prussian Parliament unanimously adopts proposal to
regulate Gypsy movement and work.
1905 Bulgaria: Sofia conference held, demanding voting rights for
Gypsies. Germany: A census of all Gypsies in Bavaria is taken.
1906 Finland: Mission to the Gypsies set up. France: Identity card
introduced for nomads. Germany: Prussian minister issues special instructions
to police to “combat the Gypsy nuisance.”
1914 Norway: Some 30 Gypsies are given Norwegian nationality. Sweden:
Deportation Act also makes new immigration of Gypsies difficult.
1918 Holland: Caravan and House Boat Law introduces controls.
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1922 Germany: In Baden, all Gypsies are to be photographed and
fingerprinted.
1923 Bulgaria: Journal Istiqbal [Future] starts publication.
1924 Slovakia: A group of Gypsies is tried for cannibalism; they are
found innocent.
1925 USSR: All-Russian Union of Gypsies established.
1926 Germany: Bavarian state parliament brings in a new law “to
combat Gypsy nomads and idlers.” Switzerland: Pro Juventute starts a
program of forced removal of Gypsy children from their families for
fostering. USSR: Fi
Latvia: St. John’s Gospel translated into Romani. Romania: General
Association of the Gypsies of Romania founded. National conference
held. Journals Neamul Tiganesc [Gypsy Nation] and Timpul [Time] start
publication. USSR: Teatr Romen performs the opera Carmen.
1934 Germany: Gypsies who cannot prove German nationality expelled.
Romania: Bucharest “international” Congress.
1935 Germany: Marriages between Gypsies and Germans banned.
Yugoslavia: Journal Romano Lil starts publication.
1936 Germany: The right to vote removed from Gypsies. June—
Internment camp at Marzahn opened. General Decree for Fighting the
Gypsy Menace instituted. November—Racial Hygiene and Population
Biological Research Unit of the Health Office begins its work. The
minister of war orders that Gypsies should not be called up for active
military service.
1937 Poland: Janusz Kwiek elected king of the Gypsies.
1938 Germany: April—Decree on the Preventative Fight against
Crime: All Gypsies classed as antisocial. Many Gypsies arrested to be
forced labor for the building of concentration camps. June—Second
wave of arrests to provide labor to build the camps. Autumn—Racial
Hygiene Research Center begins to set up an archive of Gypsy tribes.
October—National Center for Fighting the Gypsy Menace established.
December—“Fight against the Gypsy Menace” ordered. USSR: Government
bans Romani language and culture.
1939 Germany: September—Deportation of 30,000 Gypsies planned.
October—Settlement Decree: Gypsies not allowed to travel. November—
Gypsy fortune-tellers arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration
camp.German-occupied Czech lands: Nomadism forbidden. Germanoccupied
Poland: Special identity cards issued for Gypsies.
1940 Austria: August—Internment camp built in Salzburg. October—
Internment of the Gypsies in Burgenland ordered. November—
Internment camp for Gypsies set up in Lackenbach. Czech lands:
August—Labor camps set up in Lety and Hodonín. France: April—
Government opens internment camps for nomads. Germany: Heinrich
Himmler orders the resettlement of Gypsies in western Poland.
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1941 Baltic States: December—Governor Hinrich Lohse orders that
Gypsies should “be given the same treatment as Jews.” Croatia: Jasenovac
concentration camp opened. Czech lands: October—Decision that
Gypsies from the so-called Protectorate are to be sent to a concentration
camp. Germany: March—Exclusion of Gypsy children from school begins.
July—Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler’s deputy, brings the
Gypsies into the plans for a Final Solution to the “Jewish problem.”
Latvia: December—All 101 Gypsies in the town of Libau are executed.
Poland: October—A Gypsy camp is set up in the Jewish ghetto of Lodz
for 5,000 inmates. Serbia: May—German military commander states that
Gypsies will be treated as Jews. November—German military command
orders the immediate arrest of all Jews and Gypsies, to be held as hostages.
Slovakia: April—Decree separating the Gypsies from the majority population.
USSR: June—Schutzstaffel (Storm Troopers) Task Forces move
into the occupied areas and systematically kill Jews and Romanies.
September—Task forces carry out mass executions of Jews and Romanies
in the Babi Yar valley. December—Task Force C murders 824 Gypsies
in Simferopol. Yugoslavia: October—German army executes 2,100
Jewish and Gypsy hostages (as reprisal for soldiers killed by partisans).
1942 Bulgaria: August—6,500 Gypsies registered by the police on
one day. Croatia: May—The government and the Ustasha order the arrest
of all Gypsies and their deportation to the extermination camp in
Jasenovac. Germany: March—A special additional income tax is
levied on Gypsies. July—A decree of the army general staff again orders
that Gypsies not be taken for active military service. September—
Himmler and Justice Minister Otto Thierack agree to transfer any Gypsies
in prison to concentration camps. December—Himmler issues the
order to deport the Gypsies in Greater Germany to the concentration
camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Poland: January—All Sinti and Romanies
from the Lodz ghetto are transported and gassed at Chelmno.
April—Romanies are brought into the Warsaw ghetto and kept in the
prison in Gesia Street. May—All Gypsies in the Warsaw district to be
interned in Jewish ghettoes. July—Several hundred Polish Romanies
killed at Treblinka extermination camp. Romania: Spring and Summer
—Some 20,000 Romanies are deported to Transnistria. Serbia:
August—Harald Turner, head of the German military administration,
announces that “the Gypsy question has been fully solved.”
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1943 Poland: January—Gypsies from Warsaw ghetto transferred to
the extermination camp at Treblinka. February—First transports
of Sinti and Romanies from Germany are delivered to the new Gypsy
Section in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. March—At
Auschwitz, the Schutzstaffel (Storm Troopers) (SS) gasses some 1,700
men, women, and children. May—A further 1,030 men, women, and
children gassed by the SS at Auschwitz. SS major Dr. Josef Mengele
transferred at his own request to Auschwitz. July—Himmler visits
the Gypsy Section in Auschwitz and orders the Gypsies killed. USSR:
November—Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories orders all
nomadic Gypsies in the territories are to be treated as Jews.
1944 Belgium: January—A transport of 351 Romanies and Sinti from
Belgium dispatched to Auschwitz. Holland: May—A transport of 245
Romanies and Sinti sent to Auschwitz. Poland: 2 August—1,400 Gypsy
prisoners are sent from Auschwitz to Buchenwald concentration camp.
The remaining 2,900 Gypsies are killed in the gas chamber. Slovakia:
Autumn—Romanies join the fight of partisans in the National Uprising.
1945 27 January—At 3:00 P.M., the first Soviet soldiers reach the
main camp at Auschwitz and find one Romany among the survivors.
May—World War II ends in Europe. All surviving Gypsies freed from
camps. Bulgaria: Gypsy Organization for the Fight against Fascism
and Racism set up. Germany: Nuremburg Trials of Nazi leaders begin.
Crimes against Gypsies are included in the charges.
1946 France: Mateo Maximoff’s novel The Ursitory published.
Poland: Roma Ensemble founded.
1947 Bulgaria: Teatr Roma established in Sofia.
1951 Bulgaria: Teatr Roma in Sofia closed.
1952 France: The Pentecostal movement among Gypsies starts.
1953 Denmark: Gypsies readmitted to the country.
1958 Bulgaria: Nomadism banned. Czechoslovakia: Nomadism
banned. Hungary: National Gypsy organization established.
1960 England and Wales: Caravan Sites Act reduces provision of
caravan sites. France: Communauté Mondiale Gitane established.
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1962 German Federal Republic: Courts rule that Gypsies were
persecuted for racial reasons. Norway: Government Gypsy Committee
established.
1963 Ireland: Report of the Commission on Itinerancy published.
Italy: Opera Nomadi education scheme set up. Yugoslavia: Gypsies
move to Shuto Orizari after Skopje earthquake.
1964 Ireland: Itinerant Action Group set up.
1965 France: Communauté Mondiale Gitane banned. Comité International
Tzigane set up. Italy: Pope Paul VI addresses some 2,000 Gypsies
at Pomezia.
1966 United Kingdom: Gypsy Council set up.
1967 Finland: National Gypsy Association established.
1968 England and Wales: Caravan Sites Act: Councils to build sites.
Holland: All districts must build caravan sites.
1969 Bulgaria: Segregated schools are set up for Gypsies. Europe:
Council of Europe Assembly passes a positive resolution on Gypsies.
Yugoslavia, Macedonia: Abdi Faik elected a member of Parliament.
1970 Norway: Report published on proposed work with the Gypsies.
United Kingdom: National Gypsy Education Council established.
1971 United Kingdom: First World Romany Congress held near London.
Advisory Committee on the Travelling People starts work in Scotland.
1972 Czechoslovakia: Sterilization program for Gypsies begins.
France: Band known as Los Reyes (later the Gypsy Kings) founded.
Sweden: Stockholm’s Finska Zigenarförening founded. United Kingdom:
Romany Guild founded.
1973 German Federal Republic: Three Gypsies shot by farmer in Pfaffenhofen.
Scandinavia: Nordiska Zigenarrådet set up to link organizations.
Yugoslavia, Macedonia: Radio broadcasts in Romani start from
Tetovo.
1975 Europe: Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopts a
positive resolution on nomads. Hungary: The first issues of the magazine
Rom som [I Am a Romany] appear.
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1977 Netherlands: Legalization of 500 “illegal” Gypsy immigrants.
United Kingdom: Cripps Report on Gypsies published. United Nations:
Subcommission passes resolution on protection of Gypsies.
1978 Switzerland: Second World Romany Congress held in Geneva.
1979 Hungary: National Gypsy Council formed. First national exhibition
of self-taught Gypsy artists held. Norway: ABC Romani primer
produced for mother-tongue teaching. Romania: St. John’s Gospel
published underground in Romani. United Nations: International Romani
Union recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social
Council.
1980 Yugoslavia: Romani grammar in Romani published in Skopje.
1981 Europe: Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe
resolution on helping nomads held. German Federal Republic: Third
World Romany Congress in Göttingen held. Poland: Pogrom instigated
in Oswiecim. Yugoslavia: Gypsies granted national status on an equal
footing with other minorities.
1982 France: New François Mitterrand government promises to help
nomads.
1983 Europe: Council of Ministers passes a resolution on stateless
nomads. Italy: Gypsy caravans removed from Rome at the start of the
Annus Sanctus. United Kingdom: First national Pentecostal convention
held. Belfast Traveller Education Development Group established
in Northern Ireland. Yugoslavia, Kosovo: Romani teaching begins in
one school.
1984 Europe: European Parliament passes a resolution on aiding
Gypsies. India: Chandigarh Festival held.
1985 France: First International Exhibition (Mondiale) of Gypsy Art
held in Paris. Ireland: Report of the Travelling People Review Body
published. Sweden: Gypsy family attacked in Kumla with stones and a
firebomb.
1986 France: International Gypsy conference held in Paris. Spain:
Gypsy houses set on fire in Martos. Yugoslavia, Sarajevo: International
Romany seminar held.
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1988 Hungary: Organization Phralipe founded.
1989 Europe: Council of the Europe resolution on promoting school
provision for Gypsy and Traveler children held. Germany: Government
initiates the deportation of several thousand foreign Gypsies from
the country. Gypsies demonstrate at the site of the concentration camp
at Neuengamme against the deportation of asylum seekers. Hungary:
Roma Parliament set up. Poland: First Romane Divesa Festival held.
Romania: Border guards shoot party of Gypsies. Spain: Gypsy houses
attacked in Andalusia.
1990 Poland: Permanent exhibition on Romanies opens in Tarnow.
Fourth World Romany Congress held near Warsaw; standard alphabet
for Romani adopted by the Congress. Journal Rrom p-o Drom [Romanies
on the Road] starts publication. Romania: Miners attack Romany
quarter in Bucharest. Yugoslavia: Egyptian Associations formed in
Kosovo and Macedonia.
1991 Czech Republic: Romani teaching starts at Prague University.
Italy: Ostia international conference held. Macedonia: Romanies have
equal rights in new republic. Poland: Pogrom instigated in Mlawa. Slovakia:
Government gives Romanies nationality status and equal rights.
Ukraine: Police attack settlement of Velikie Beryezni.
1992 Hungary: Arson attack occurs on Gypsies in Kétegyháza.
Poland: Attack occurs on remaining Gypsies in Oswiecim. Slovakia:
Romathan Theater established in Kosˇice. Ukraine: Mob attacks Gypsy
houses in Tatarbunary. United Nations: Commission on Human Rights
passes resolution on protection of Gypsies. Gypsies recognized as an
ethnic group.
1993 Bulgaria: A crowd of Bulgarians attacks the Gypsy quarter in
Malorad, killing one Romany man. Czech Republic: Tibor Danihel
drowns running away from skinhead gang. Seven Romanies deported
from Ustí nad Labem to Slovakia. Europe: Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of Europe Resolution on Gypsies held. Germany: First
International Conference on Romani Linguistics held in Hamburg. Hungary:
Gypsies recognized as a national minority. International Conference
held in Budapest. Macedonia: Romani language officially introduced in
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schools. Romania: Three Gypsies killed in pogrom in Hadareni. Slovakia:
Cyril Dunka beaten up by police after a parking incident. United
Kingdom: Scottish Gypsy/Traveller Association set up. United Nations:
Romany Union upgraded to Category II consultative status.
1994 France: Standing Conference of Romany Associations formed
in Strasbourg. Hungary: Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe meeting sets up Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues in Budapest,
based initially in Warsaw. Gypsies vote for their local Romany
councils. Poland: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
organizes Warsaw seminar on Romanies. Gypsy boy beaten up and
houses inhabited by Romanies attacked in Debica. Spain: European
Congress held in Seville. United Kingdom: Criminal Justice Act: Nomadism
criminalized.
1995 Austria: Four Roma killed by a bomb in Oberwart, Burgenland.
Bulgaria: One Gypsy dies following an arson attack on a block of flats
in Sofia. Angel Angelov shot by police in Nova Zagora. Czech Republic:
Tibor Berki killed by skinheads in Zdár nad Sázavou. Europe:
Council of Europe sets up specialist advice group on Romanies. Hungary:
Second International Exhibition (Mondiale) of Gypsy Art held.
International Romani Union organizes “Sarajevo” Peace Conference in
Budapest. Gypsies attacked and injured in Kalocsa. Poland: Gypsy
couple murdered in Pabianice. Grota Bridge settlement of Romanian
Gypsies in Warsaw dispersed by police. Residents deported across the
border to Ukraine. Slovakia: Mario Goral burned to death by skinheads
in Ziar nad Hronom. Turkey: Zehala Baysal dies in police custody in
Istanbul.
1996 Albania: Fatmir Haxhiu dies of burns after a racist attack. Bulgaria:
Kuncho Anguelov and Kiril Perkov, deserters from the army, shot
and killed by military police. Three Romanies beaten by skinheads in
Samokov. Czech Republic: Romany children banned from swimming
pool in Kladno. Europe: European Court of Human Rights rejects the appeal
by Mrs. Buckland against the refusal of planning permission in England
for her caravan. First meeting of the Committee of Experts of the
Council of Europe held. France: Second meeting of the Standing Committee
of Gypsy Organizations in Strasbourg held. Greece: Police raid
camp in Attica. Police officer shoots Anastasios Mouratis in Boetia. Hunxxxii
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gary: European Roma Rights Center set up in Budapest. Ireland: National
Strategy on Traveller Accommodation proposed. Poland: Houses
occupied by Romanies attacked in Wiebodzice. Romania: Twenty-one
Romany houses burned down in Curtea de Arges. Mircea-Muresul Mosor
shot and killed by chief of police in Valcele. Serbia: Gypsies attacked in
Kraljevo. Slovakia: Eighteen-year-old Romany youth beaten to death by
skinheads in Poprad. Jozef Miklos dies when his house is set on fire in
Zalistie. Spain: Romany Union’s second “Sarajevo” Peace Conference,
in Gasteiz (Vittoria). Turkey: Five thousand evicted from Selamsiz quarter
of Istanbul. Ukraine: “Mrs. H” raped by police in Mukacevo. Two
brothers shot by police in Velikie Beryezni.
1997 Bulgaria: February—Killing of three Gypsies by police reported.
Police attack the Gypsy quarter in Pazardjik. November—
International conference on Gypsy children and their education held.
Czech Republic: February—Appeals court in Pilsen quashes acquittal
of inn owner Ivo Blahout on a charge of discrimination. March—
Four skinheads sentenced to prison in connection with the
1993 death
of Tibor Danihel. August—Several hundred Romanies fly to Canada to
seek asylum. Monument erected at Hodonin to concentration camp victims.
France: March—Jose Ménager and Manolito Meuche shot dead
by police in Nantes. Greece: April—One hundred families evicted
from Ano Liosia. Partially resettled in a guarded camp. Hungary:
February—Gypsies beaten up in Szombathely police station and in a
police car in Mandatany in separate incidents. May—Fifth annual
International Conference on Culture held in Budapest. Norway:
November—In Bergen, Ian Hancock receives Thorolf Rafto Prize on
behalf of the Romany people. Poland: June—Romanies attacked in
Wiebodzice. Romania: January—Mob attacks Gypsy houses in Tanganu
village. Spain: November—European Congress of Gypsy Youth
held in Barcelona. Turkey: January—Mob attacks Gypsies in
Sulukule district of Istanbul. Ukraine: January—Gypsies beaten by
police in four separate incidents in Uzhorod. United Kingdom:
November—National Front demonstrates in Dover against asylum
seekers from the Czech and Slovak republics.
1998 Bulgaria: November—Prince Charles of Britain visits Stolipino,
Romany quarter of Plovdiv. Czech Republic: 4–6 September—
International Romany cultural festival RESPECT held in Prague.
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December—International Conference on the Roma at Castle Stirin.
United Kingdom: 16 May—Music festival in London with Czech and
Polish Gypsy bands composed of asylum seekers. October—Home Secretary
Jack Straw introduces visas for Slovak citizens to keep out asylum
seekers. 19 October—In Wales, Cardiff County Council organizes a
Gypsy and Traveller Awareness Day. United States: New Jersey governor
Christine Whitman signs Assembly Bill 2654, which rescinds the last
anti-Gypsy law of any U.S. state. December—International Romani
Union delegation, led by Rajko Djuric´, attends Nazi Gold Conference on
Holocaust assets in Washington.
1999 Bulgaria: June—Sofia Conference on Peace and Security
held for Roma in the Balkans. Czech Republic: January—More
than 100 prominent persons sign protest to government over locating
of pig farm on concentration camp site. France: Loi Besson encourages
the provision of council-run caravan sites. Greece: February—
Local authority sets fire to five Roma houses in Aspropyrgos
to construct Olympic sports facilities. Macedonia: September
—Government admits 500 Roma refugees from Kosovo held for a
week at the border. Romania: December—International Conference
on Public Policies and Romany Women held in Bucharest. Turkey:
November—Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Istanbul Conference welcomes the development of the Romany civil
rights movement.
2000 Romania: January—Doctors of the World colloquium on Gypsies
in Europe held in Bucharest. Czech Republic: July—Fifth World
Romany Congress held in Prague. Finland: Publication of St. Luke’s
Gospel in Romani. Germany: May—Conference on “Die unerwünschte
Deutschen” (“The Unwanted Germans”) held in Stuttgart.
Poland: International Romani Union and Romany National Congress
sign joint declaration in Warsaw. Vatican: March—Pope John Paul II
asks forgiveness for the mistreatment of Gypsies by Catholics. United
Kingdom: September—A thousand police block access to the traditional
Horsmonden Fair.
2001 Germany: November—Romany writers meet in Cologne and
agree to set up an international association. India: April—International
Romani Union leaders visit the Romano Kher (Nehru House) in
Chandigarh. Italy: November—Two hundred members of the National
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Alliance march to protest new Roma housing in Rome. Macedonia:
January—Magazine Roma Times begins publication. Poland:
August—Permanent Romany Holocaust exhibition opened at
Auschwitz. Russia: July—Thirty skinheads attack a Gypsy camp in
Volgograd, killing two adults. Serbia: July—Anti-Roma graffiti appear
in Panchevo and Surdulica. South Africa: Roma attend the World Conference
against Racism, held in Durban.
2002 Croatia: September—One hundred Croat parents prevent
Roma children from entering a newly integrated school in the village of
Drzimurec-Strelec. Finland: Drabibosko liin, the first ABC reader for
Gypsies in Finland, published. July: International Romani Writers Association
founded in Helsinki. France: October—Delegation representing
a dozen Gypsy organizations meets minister of the interior to
discuss slow process of caravan site provision. Hungary: June—A
Rom—Laszlo Teleki—appointed as the state secretary for Roma affairs.
Ireland: March—Housing Act criminalizes trespass by caravans.
July—Traveller Movement pickets the Dail (Parliament) opposing the
new Housing Act. Poland: May—Romany National Congress organizes
an alternative International Romany Congress in Lodz. United
Kingdom: November—Exhibition held of Gypsy children’s photos at
the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
2003 Croatia: October—Ms. Mukic, deputy ombudsman, criticized for
condemning segregation in schools. Hungary: June—World Bank sponsors
international conference on Roma in eastern Europe in Budapest. Ireland:
Internal Security Bill proposes fines of 3,750 euros for Travelers
who trespass. Switzerland: August—British Gypsies protest against UK
policy at a UN conference in Geneva. United Kingdom: Fifteen-year
old Irish Traveler Johnny Delaney killed in a racist attack in Liverpool. 5
November—Villagers in Sussex burn caravan and effigies of Gypsies.
2004 France: 16 December—Council of Europe and the European
Roma and Travellers Forum sign a partnership agreement in Strasbourg.
Greece: More Gypsy settlements are cleared away near the Olympic
Games venues in Athens. Spain: November—Gypsy organizations
hire Saatchi and Saatchi to mount a campaign to change public attitudes
toward Gypsies. United States: 8 November—Sen. Hillary Clinton
presents the keynote address at the conference Plight of the Roma, held
at Columbia University.
CHRONOLOGY OF GYPSY HISTORY •
2005 Austria: 4 February—President Heinz Fischer attends a
memorial ceremony for the four Roma killed in 1995. Bulgaria: 31
August—Authorities destroy 25 Roma houses in the Hristo Botev
district of Sofia. Europe: 28 April—European Parliament adopts a
resolution on Roma rights. 17 May—European Court of Human
Rights opens the case against discrimination in the city of Ostrava,
Slovakia. Finland: September—International Romany Music Festival
held in Porvoo. German: 12 September—International Antiziganismus
Conference held in Hamburg. Norway: 27 April—
Gypsies take part in demonstration outside the Parliament in Oslo
stressing need for education. Russia: January—Four hundred Roma
leave the town of Iskitim after a pogrom. Slovakia: 17 March—
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
rules that Slovakia’s housing policies violate international law.
Spain: 13 September—The flamenco musical Los Tarantos (based
on Romeo and Juliet) opens in Madrid. United Kingdom: May—
Sylvia Dunn stands for Parliament from Folkestone against Conservative
Party leader Michael Howard. 25 July—Government announces
£8 million fund for new and refurbished caravan sites.
October—A Scottish parliamentary committee criticizes the government
for not improving the quality of life of Gypsy and Traveler
families.
....
http://www.gitanos.org/documentos/1.1-KEN-his_HistoricalDictionaryoftheGypsies.pdf
