Accident of Birth
There have been gypsies in Spain since at least the early fifteenth century. They first entered the country as pilgrims. As pilgrims they were awarded a safe conduct, allowing them to travel in Spain with the protection of the King. They travelled in groups, as they had ever since they had left northwestern India, probably around fifteen hundred years ago. In Europe they settled mostly in modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, and Hungary. But groups did reach all the other western European countries.
The local population looked favorably on them at first, and there is genetic evidence that they intermarried in those first years. But then the Catholic Monarchs defeated the last Moorish kingdom of Granada, and they set out to homogenize Spain as much as possible. That included the expulsion of the Jews and later of the remaining Moors who wouldn't convert to Catholicism. And the obligation of the Gypsy nomads to settle down in one spot, work in a profession, and serve the local lord. They also had to abandon their customs and attend Mass regularly. There was a penalty if they didn't obey the Real Pragmática (order issued by the King and that differed from a royal decree by the way it was issued). If, after sixty days of the proclamation of the Pragmática they hadn't settled down, each one caught wandering would be given a hundred lashes and expelled from Spain. If they were caught a second time, they would have their ears cut off and spend sixty days in chains before being expelled. Caught a third time and they would become the slaves of whomever had discovered them. From there on out the relationship between Gypsies and Spaniards deteriorated.
But they survived. Between the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth, they were well-known for the buying and selling of cattle, which allowed them to take up a nomadic life-style once more. By Franco's time, though, they were once more put under the official eye, and the Guardia Civil were ordered to keep a close watch on any wandering Gypsy. Spanish Gypsies were luckier than many others in the Europe that fell under Hitler's control. Franco was more logical in the use of resources and didn't feel the need to send massive train shipments of people to Hitler's Europe to be gassed. Though many were simply thrown in prison at the minimum suspicion of wrongdoing. There were a few who became famous and were well-known. All of them specialized in Flamenco music. Possibly the most famous was Lola Flores, nicknamed La Faraona for a role she had played in a movie. After Franco's death the Gypsies received the same legal status as everyone else, and were no longer submitted to the watchful eye of the police.
But stereotypes persist. Unfortunately, there's even a "reality show" that follows four Gypsy families that reinforce some of them. The most common are that they live in makeshift temporary houses built on private or public property; that they deal in drugs; that the children don't go to school; that they steal; that they sell cheap or stolen merchandise in market fairs; that they're always dancing, singing, and partying; and that the men beat the women, who marry early and have many children. The truth is that these stereotypes apply to some of them, but these days Gypsies have mostly become just another Spanish community. There are college educated Gypsies who work in challenging professions. Most children now go to school, and finish at least the obligatory schooling. There are Gypsy shopkeepers and others who have middle-income jobs working side by side with payos, non-Gypsies. Spanish Gypsies, while mostly maintaining their traditional laws and customs, are now simply another neighbor.
The problem is a wave of Romanian Gypsies that have come since Romania joined the European Union. These people are not integrated into the communities where they have arrived. They live in hastily contrived shacks on the outskirts of cities and dedicate themselves to begging and sometimes stealing. The bigger problem is that most of these Romanian Gypsies are controlled by organized criminals that take most of what these people can make in a day. They generally sit at the doors to supermarkets or wander through crowds, sometimes with a paper asking for signatures to remedy some tragic situation. While the person with the paper draws attention, someone else from behind will pick the victim's pockets. Most people try to avoid these women (and sometimes men) who come up with a whining voice, pleading, "Po favo, señora, po favo. Una moneda." Sometimes someone will drop a coin in the cup they hold out, almost under someone's nose. Most times people will just brush by, ignoring the pleading.
Last week, however, a bunch of morons didn't avoid them. They taunted them, they threw coins at them as if they were monkeys, and even burned a five euro note in front of the horrified face of one of the women who frequent the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. There was a soccer game last Tuesday between PSV Eindhoven from Holland and the Atlético de Madrid. Quite a few Dutch fans travelled to Madrid to see the game. In the afternoon some of them were sitting at the outdoor tables of a café in the Plaza Mayor. A group of Romanian Gypsy women came by with their whining chant about some coins. So some of the fans started to call them names, laugh at them, and throw them some coins just to see how they would run around to pick them up. Things got worse when some of the idiots came over to the women and told them to dance in place or do pushups to get some more coins. The women did what they were asked and got thrown coins in return. Passersby called out the Dutch fans and some even took video that was then shown on the news. It spiralled into an international diplomatic incident. A few days later in Brussels, the representative of the Dutch government formally gave apologies to the Spanish president for the actions of the Dutch citizens in Madrid. The truth is, however obnoxious those beggars can be, they are still humans that don't deserve to be treated like buffoons from the fourteenth century. Those Dutch soccer fans were lucky to have been born where and when they were. The Romanian Gypsies, unlucky. But it's simply an accident of birth. Both are still humans and still deserve respect. Even if both do things that are wrong. Some through coercion, some through choice.
The local population looked favorably on them at first, and there is genetic evidence that they intermarried in those first years. But then the Catholic Monarchs defeated the last Moorish kingdom of Granada, and they set out to homogenize Spain as much as possible. That included the expulsion of the Jews and later of the remaining Moors who wouldn't convert to Catholicism. And the obligation of the Gypsy nomads to settle down in one spot, work in a profession, and serve the local lord. They also had to abandon their customs and attend Mass regularly. There was a penalty if they didn't obey the Real Pragmática (order issued by the King and that differed from a royal decree by the way it was issued). If, after sixty days of the proclamation of the Pragmática they hadn't settled down, each one caught wandering would be given a hundred lashes and expelled from Spain. If they were caught a second time, they would have their ears cut off and spend sixty days in chains before being expelled. Caught a third time and they would become the slaves of whomever had discovered them. From there on out the relationship between Gypsies and Spaniards deteriorated.
But they survived. Between the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth, they were well-known for the buying and selling of cattle, which allowed them to take up a nomadic life-style once more. By Franco's time, though, they were once more put under the official eye, and the Guardia Civil were ordered to keep a close watch on any wandering Gypsy. Spanish Gypsies were luckier than many others in the Europe that fell under Hitler's control. Franco was more logical in the use of resources and didn't feel the need to send massive train shipments of people to Hitler's Europe to be gassed. Though many were simply thrown in prison at the minimum suspicion of wrongdoing. There were a few who became famous and were well-known. All of them specialized in Flamenco music. Possibly the most famous was Lola Flores, nicknamed La Faraona for a role she had played in a movie. After Franco's death the Gypsies received the same legal status as everyone else, and were no longer submitted to the watchful eye of the police.
But stereotypes persist. Unfortunately, there's even a "reality show" that follows four Gypsy families that reinforce some of them. The most common are that they live in makeshift temporary houses built on private or public property; that they deal in drugs; that the children don't go to school; that they steal; that they sell cheap or stolen merchandise in market fairs; that they're always dancing, singing, and partying; and that the men beat the women, who marry early and have many children. The truth is that these stereotypes apply to some of them, but these days Gypsies have mostly become just another Spanish community. There are college educated Gypsies who work in challenging professions. Most children now go to school, and finish at least the obligatory schooling. There are Gypsy shopkeepers and others who have middle-income jobs working side by side with payos, non-Gypsies. Spanish Gypsies, while mostly maintaining their traditional laws and customs, are now simply another neighbor.
The problem is a wave of Romanian Gypsies that have come since Romania joined the European Union. These people are not integrated into the communities where they have arrived. They live in hastily contrived shacks on the outskirts of cities and dedicate themselves to begging and sometimes stealing. The bigger problem is that most of these Romanian Gypsies are controlled by organized criminals that take most of what these people can make in a day. They generally sit at the doors to supermarkets or wander through crowds, sometimes with a paper asking for signatures to remedy some tragic situation. While the person with the paper draws attention, someone else from behind will pick the victim's pockets. Most people try to avoid these women (and sometimes men) who come up with a whining voice, pleading, "Po favo, señora, po favo. Una moneda." Sometimes someone will drop a coin in the cup they hold out, almost under someone's nose. Most times people will just brush by, ignoring the pleading.
Last week, however, a bunch of morons didn't avoid them. They taunted them, they threw coins at them as if they were monkeys, and even burned a five euro note in front of the horrified face of one of the women who frequent the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. There was a soccer game last Tuesday between PSV Eindhoven from Holland and the Atlético de Madrid. Quite a few Dutch fans travelled to Madrid to see the game. In the afternoon some of them were sitting at the outdoor tables of a café in the Plaza Mayor. A group of Romanian Gypsy women came by with their whining chant about some coins. So some of the fans started to call them names, laugh at them, and throw them some coins just to see how they would run around to pick them up. Things got worse when some of the idiots came over to the women and told them to dance in place or do pushups to get some more coins. The women did what they were asked and got thrown coins in return. Passersby called out the Dutch fans and some even took video that was then shown on the news. It spiralled into an international diplomatic incident. A few days later in Brussels, the representative of the Dutch government formally gave apologies to the Spanish president for the actions of the Dutch citizens in Madrid. The truth is, however obnoxious those beggars can be, they are still humans that don't deserve to be treated like buffoons from the fourteenth century. Those Dutch soccer fans were lucky to have been born where and when they were. The Romanian Gypsies, unlucky. But it's simply an accident of birth. Both are still humans and still deserve respect. Even if both do things that are wrong. Some through coercion, some through choice.
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