REPORT OF THE SEMINAR “CULTURAL IDENTITIES OF ROMA, GYPSIES, TRAVELLERS AND RELATED GROUPS IN EUROPE” STRASBOURG, 15-16 SEPTEMBER 2003 Report on “Cultural Identities of Roma, Gypsies, Travellers and related Groups in Europe », 2003 BY ALEXANDRA RAYKOVA GENERAL RAPPORTEUR OF THE SEMINAR The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe “ Every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such and no disadvantage shall result from this choice or from the exercise of the rights, which are connected to that choice. ” Article 3 al. 1 from the FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR PROTECTION OF THE NATIONAL MINORITIES TABLE OF CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORT: Why this seminar? The participants; Objectives of the report; About the content of the report. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS SUMMARIES OF CONTRIBUTIONS: PART I – CULTURAL IDENTITIES “RROMANIPEN – ROMA IDENTITY PATTERNS BETWEEN ARCHETYPE AND STEREOTYPE. WHAT DOES THE ROMANI CULTURE MEAN TO THE ROMA?”; MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE “RROMANIPEN”; INTERNAL ROMA JUSTICE MECHANISMS – THE “RROMANI KRISS”; THE NOTION OF TIME IN THE ROMA CULTURE; INTRODUCTION TO THE CULTURAL IDENTITIES OF THE BALKAN EGYPTIANS, BEASH, TRAVELLERS AND ASHKALI; part ii – denomination BRIEF HISTORICAL REMINDER, SUCCESSIVE MIGRATION WAVES AND SUB-DIVISION OF ROMA INTO VARIOUS GROUPS ACCORDING TO: Traditional occupations Languages and dialects OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELEVANT TERMINOLOGY USED AT THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE; REFLECTION OF THE CURRENT USE OF RELEVANT TERMINOLOGY WITHIN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND SPECIFICALLY BY THE MG-S-ROM; SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DISCUSSION ON THE ISSUE. CLOSING REMARKS RESULTS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS General Specific On cultural identities On the use of names at the Council of Europe CONCRETE PROPOSALS FOR PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DISCUSSION ON THE ISSUE. CLOSING REMARKS RESULTS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS General Specific On cultural identities On the use of names at the Council of Europe CONCRETE PROPOSALS FOR PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES CONCLUSIONS OF THE RAPPORTEUR APPENDIXES Glossary of Romani terms used in the report Contribution by Prof. Courthiade INTRODUCTION WHY THIS SEMINAR? At the 15th meeting of the Group of Specialists on Roma, Gypsies and Travellers (MG-S-ROM), held in Strasbourg in March 2003, Mr. Nicolae Gheorghe (OSCE-ODIHR) pointed out that there is sometimes confusion in the terminology used to name the various groups covered by the discussions and the work of the MG-S-ROM. He also mentioned that there is still confusion about administrative categories (for example “Gens du voyage” in France) and ethnic groups (for example “Travellers” in Ireland). Mr. Gheorghe advocated an explicit debate of the issue from the angle of cultural identity. In response, the Specialist Group on Roma, Gypsies and Travellers (MG-S-ROM), proposed holding a specific activity in the course of 2003. The Secretariat of the Roma/Gypsies Division proposed organising a multi-purpose seminar: on the one hand, the seminar would, by examining the similarities and differences between the various relevant cultures, provide participants with clarification of the terminology used by MG-S-ROM, as well as by the Council of Europe (hereafter “CoE”) in general; and on the other hand, it would serve as a forum for defining the needs and relevant actions, which could help to strengthen the Roma1 culture throughout Europe. THE PARTICIPANTS Over 100 participants took part in this two-day International Seminar, including: Representatives of Roma, Sinti, Kale, Travellers, Yenish, Beash, Balkan Egyptians, Ashkali communities (several of them as speakers) from about 30 European countries; Governmental officials dealing with Roma issues from several of these countries and members of the MG-S-ROM; Representatives of international Romani organisations (FERYP, GATIEF IRU, IRWN, RNC); Various departments of the Council of Europe (ECRI, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, CoE Congress for Local and Regional Authorities, DG III Social Cohesion, DG IV Education, Private Office, etc.); International organisations (UNHCR) and NGOs dealing with Roma issues (ERIO, OSI, PAKIV, PER); The Permanent Representatives of several member States with the Council of Europe, plus Permanent Observers’ Office of Japan and Mexico to CoE. The seminar addressed the topic of identity from the anthropological, historical, linguistic, and political angles. In their welcome addresses both Ms. Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni – Director General of Social Cohesion and Mr. Henry Scicluna – Co-ordinator of activities concerning Roma/Gypsies, underlined the importance of the seminar in the framework of CoE activities, and highlighted its specific objectives. OBJECTIVES OF THE SEMINAR To analyse how cultural values and customs influence social relations inside and outside the communities; To examine to what extent and within which limits the various groups share a common identity and cultural values, common traditions or ways of life; To achieve consensus among the various groups on a common name to be used at international level; To address majority/minority issues and the impact of the socio-economic conditions on cultural identity and integration in modern societies from the angle of the different generations. THE CONTENT OF THE REPORT This report focuses on the results of the individual contributions and the plenary discussions, as well as on the conclusions and the recommendations made during the seminar. It also provides short summaries of thematic inputs made during the seminar. Finally, this report also sets out the Rapporteur’s conclusions and raises some questions to be put to the MG-S -ROM for further reflection. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Dr. Andrzej MIRGA, Chair of the MG-S-ROM, in his introductory remarks, asked the participants to reflect upon two very important questions: How could this seminar contribute to the work of the MG-S-ROM? How was the Roma culture defined and what was its relation with the Roma identity? Dr. Mirga also introduced the working approach of the MG-S-ROM, which consisted in acknowledging and recognizing the diversity of the Roma. He stressed that the CoE intergovernmental structures, such as the MG-S-ROM, should not intervene in defining Roma’s culture and identity. But the Group could both advise and stimulate the governments to support activities related to the cultures and identities of the various ethnic groups. Dr. Mirga also reminded the audience of the existence of a specific recommendation on Travellers that had been produced by the MG-S-ROM. He also listed a number of legal instruments aimed at protecting individuals’ culture and identity. Furthermore, the Chair of the MG-S-ROM mentioned the need for assessment of the existing measures and standards for protecting Roma’s cultures and identities, adding that close attention should be paid to reverse assimilation processes. Dr. Mirga concluded his introductory statement by inviting the participants to submit proposals to the MG-S-ROM to be taken into consideration by the Group of Specialists in formulating new memoranda, opinion papers and other policy-related documents, for preparing various recommendations, as well as for national policies on Roma and/or Travellers. MR. JEAN-PIERRE LIEGEOIS, UNIVERSITY OF PARIS, DIRECTOR OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE - DG IV PROJECT “EDUCATION OF ROMA/GYPSY CHILDREN IN EUROPE” Mr. Liégeois’ introductory remarks contained a number of substantive remarks that are either quoted or otherwise used in various parts of this report. One emphasis of Mr. Liégeois’ statement was the link between the concepts of Roma education and Roma culture, and the consequent importance of this seminar. Mr. Liégeois began by underlining the longstanding interest of the CoE towards the issue of the schooling of Roma/Gypsy children. He reminded participants of various steps taken at CoE level on this issue through the development of various legal instruments on minorities, the adoption by the Committee of Ministers of the Recommendation No. R (2000)4 on the education of Roma/Gypsy children in Europe, or the instigation of a concrete DG IV project “Education of Roma/Gypsy children in Europe”. Mr. Liégeois outlined the aforementioned project, which he himself was currently overseeing. The speaker stressed the importance of the seminar, especially its innovative aspects. In particular, he made the following points to the participants: “…The present seminar is a very special one, in both form and substance; • To my knowledge, this is the first time that Roma, Gypsies, Travellers and members of other communities have come together from such diverse geographical, cultural, social and political backgrounds to discuss key issues; it is, in short, a long-awaited event; • It also promises to be novel experience, in that you will effectively be acting as your own anthropologists, and will be doing so as a team; anthropologists work in a particular community, seeking to define its uniqueness and identity, and numerous theories have been written on the subject; what matters here, though, is this experience of collective anthropology developed within a group dynamic; the discussions will, I expect, be rather lively, and are at any rate