Statement Regarding the Roma                                                       Back

The Roma faith is very much a part of the their cultural and nomadic lifestyles.  Attempting to seperate them is not a reality.  The Roma have the ability to blend into it's surrounding culture, so here in the US there may be Roma practicing every faith in a public manner, while incorporating some of their own oral traditions into that practice.

There is no exact number of known Roma within the US due to their culture of secrecy, which is well founded due to the stereotyping, mass discrimination and murder of the Roma in the past and still present day, but there is an estimation of 1 million.

While researching the material to add to the AREN Prison Ministry Division website, I learned some startling facts about the Roma or rather the material directed towards the Roma.  There is little information on the Internet pertaining to the incarceration of the Roma, accommodating their faith or culture while in incarcerated, but there was a lot of stereotyping of the Roma associated with criminal behavior.  There is not a single group or organization designed to assist the Roma while incarcerated in the US Correctional System.

On this site, the term gypsy will not be used because it is an ethnic slur that can only harm the Roma by continously associating them to the stereotyping and discrimination that comes with that slur.  We will use the term Roma as a word that reflects all the different tribes of the Romanies.

AREN ask that all Chaplains pay close attention to the Romas that are incarcerated due to their cultural differences, especially in dietary, discriminatory acts by staff and other inmates toward the Roma and the isolation they will experience while incarcerated.

AREN has become aware of an international form of discrimination that is often times brutal toward the Roma.  The Correctional facilities can be a violent place, and can be even more so for the Roma due to the misconceptions of their culture and lifestyle.

While incarcerated, the Roma may not receive any family visitors or have any contact with other Romas, except via the telephone or mail, and may have to encounter a tribal/family/community court upon release that will also further isolate the Roma once released from state or federal custody.

It is important to pay close attention to the Roma's dietary needs because this can cause physical, mental and emotional harm to the Roma.  The majority of the Roma have very strict food preparation guidelines within their tribe/family.  This can cause them to not eat while incarcerated.

There will be more added to this section as the material becomes available.  It would be extremely helpful for any Chaplains that have Roma within their facility, share their accommodations with the rest of us, so that we may grow in this area together.

Legal Cases Involving Roma

Case No. 99-1521
This case shows abuse by police departments with the Roma community.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=6th&navby=case&no=01a0262p

Online Journals, Newsletters, Egroups, Mailing List

The Patrin Web Journal
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/patrin.htm

Gypsy's For Christ
http://www.gypsiesforchrist.org/newsletters.html

Organizations, Churches, Covens

The Gypsy Lore Society
http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/

Internet Radio or Music

Gypsy Radio
http://www.gypsyradio.com/

Articles

Roma and the Law: Demythologizing the Gypsy Criminality Stereotype
http://www.per-usa.org/reports/RomaandtheLaw00.pdf

The Religion and Culture of the Roma
http://www.religioustolerance.org/roma.htm

Romani Religion
http://radoc.net:8088/RADOC-27-RELIGION.htm

Preface to Tzigane Tarot (Tarot of the Roma)
http://www.romani.org/rtchalai.html

Indira Ghandi's Address, "I feel Kinship with the Roma People"
http://www.romani.org/rigadr.html

The Romani Goddess Kali Sara
http://www.kopachi.com/

Gypsies in the United States
http://educate.si.edu/migrations/gyp/gypstart.html

Gypsy Law
http://208.249.122.222/magcontent/invokemagcontent.cfm?ID=F5E2177F-063D-11D4-AD9A0050DA7E046B&method=GuideFullDisplay

Please Call Me Rom
http://members.aol.com/Ghaziya/rom.html

The Origin and Function of the Gypsy Image in Children’s Literature
http://radoc.net:8088/RADOC-40-KIDLIT.htm

Text: U.S. Statement on Roma to OSCE "Human Dimension" Review
http://www.usembassy.it/file2000_10/alia/a0102510.htm

Online Books

Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling (1891)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gsft/

Chapter XV :Gypsy Amulets
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gsft/gsft17.htm

Chapter IV: South Slavonian and other Gypsy-witch Lore
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gsft/gsft06.htm

Chapter VIII: Roumanian and Transylvania Sorceries and Superstions
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gsft/gsft10.htm

Tarot of the Bohemians
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tob/tob03.htm