CEE Who Are the Roma (Gypsies) of CEE?
Some Europeans know them as dirty thieves and wanderers who can’t be trusted.
“Everyone around me says they are bad people,” said Jiri Randall, a Czech with a heart for Roma.
Yet many who make up this minority people group across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) believe their culture is simply misunderstood.
“There is often discrimination,” said Zdena Tuleova, a Romany teacher’s assistant. “Gadje (non-Roma) see Roma differently than we see ourselves.”
Misinterpretation of these people began when Europeans dubbed them “Gypsies” and thought the travelers originated in Egypt (hence the English nickname, “Gypsy”). However, after discovering the Romany language belongs to the Indo-European linguistic family, scholars concluded the Roma began as a lower Indian caste. Today approximately 8.6 million Roma occupy Europe, with 2.5 million living in Romania, 300,000 in the Czech Republic, 260,000 in Macedonia and 30,000 in Poland.
Laws passed in the 18th century forced the wanderers to settle as peasants and assimilate, leading them to share their musical and blacksmith skills with surrounding communities. Then the simple life of the Roma took a tragic turn with World War II and the 1935 Nuremberg laws that classified Gypsies—along with Jews and “Negroes”—as a threat to German racial purity. Some scholars believe as many as 1.5 million Roma died in the time they inhabited concentration camps from 1940 through 1944.
Today a majority of Roma is settled throughout Europe, continuing to fight through walls of prejudice created by years of misunderstanding. One example lies in Shutka (meaning “trash”), Macedonia, where one can find the world’s only self-governing Romany community, complete with a Romany mayor, lawyer and headmaster and total freedom to speak Romany.
Approximately 70 percent of the Romany language is the same across the continent, while the remaining 30 percent varies with each geographic grouping of the people. Roma approach spirituality the way they adopt their language—they have taken on bits of the dominant religions found in surrounding cultures, while not fully assimilating.
Illiteracy and independence are two of the biggest barriers to reaching Roma with the Gospel. Roma will adapt to whatever country they are living in, but only on the outside; in their hearts, their pagan culture remains strong. This has served to protect them from many false religions, but also has erected a barrier to true Christianity.
Yet Roma are realizing their need for Christ and are catching the vision for sharing the Gospel with their people group.
“I believe I am a witness for others,” said Petr Boldi, a Romany believer. Even though Petr cannot hear well through his left ear, he began to clearly understand God’s voice after starting to attend church and study the Bible.
“I would like to tell others how their lives can change by listening to God's voice,” he said.
Romanian Roma are taking short-term trips to other European countries to reach members of their people group for Christ; one Romany believer from a church plant near Warsaw, Poland, is taking the Gospel to Roma in a nearby town; a group of Romany believers in eastern Czech Republic meets in the center of their neighborhood weekly to sing hymns in their heart language and study the Word. God is clearly moving among these people, but time is running out.
Today Roma are one of the most responsive people groups to the Gospel in CEE. Join our CEE teams in sharing the truth of Christ with these people who are ready to hear—pray, give and go to bring hope to every Romany heart.
Who are the Roma of South Europe?
Near the capital city of Skopje, Macedonia, is a settlement of Gypsies known as the “Romany capital of the world.”
Who are the Roma of Central Europe?
“Everyone around me says they are bad people,” said Jiri Randall, a Czech with a heart for Roma. Yet …
Who are the Roma of Poland?
Unknown by many, the word “gyp” comes from the name “Gypsy” and is a slur against a people group …