Roma People's Project

After being proudly hosted by the Center of Justice for the past five years, the Roma Peoples Project (RPP) is currently transferring within Columbia University to the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR). While the details and logistics of this transfer are being sorted out, this RPP description page will remain active on the Center for Justice website. If you would like to be in touch with the program or receive updates, please reach out to its founder, Cristiana Grigore at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Please stay tuned for more information over the next few months. Thank you

 

The Plight of the Roma People

To some, the term “Roma” is alien and unfamiliar, but the term “Gypsy” (as well as “Traveler”) often serves as a more widely recognized point of reference. Yet, this word can conjure negative images of beggars and pickpockets, or romantic images such as fortune-tellers and dancers. Hence, many people, especially in the United States, believe “Gypsy” refers only to a lifestyle and not an ethnic group. Others mistakenly assume “gypsies” are a thing of the past.

In reality, the Roma originated in Northern India and migrated to Europe about a thousand years ago. Roma subgroups went through periods of nomadism, which is an enduring part of the public perception of “Gypsies”. Today, most of the Roma are sedentary or semi-sedentary, and the population is estimated to be around 8-12 million in Europe.

Estimates vary because many Roma hide their ethnicity. Nonetheless, the Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority and sizable populations are also found throughout the world. The New York area is a particularly prominent hub for the Roma.

 

Global Significance of the Roma Peoples Project

Finding material about the Roma presents a challenge. The Roma have never had a nation-state of their own or a geographical home territory, thus often appearing as a subject tangential to other regions or fields of study. As a result, few institutions prioritize acquiring material about Roma or organizing the information contained in their collections.

These complications—in conjunction with budgetary constraints and the scarcity of Roma experts—allow books, scholarly documents, and other material about Roma to “fall through the cracks,” depriving people of the opportunity to gain insight from the Roma experience. A digital archive would provide readily accessible resources.

Although there are large Roma populations in the United States, they are underrepresented in academia and society at large. The Roma Peoples Project would hopefully counter this lack of visibility and empower Roma in the U.S. and worldwide, inspiring a new generation of Roma to feel a sense of pride in their cultural identity.

There are many meaningful and diverse Roma stories to be told, shared, and heard. The Roma Peoples Project will be a forum and repository for these voices, images, narratives, and legends, both about the Roma and by the Roma.