In a small town in France, a baby, Maria Francesca, who died this past Christmas Day, was denied burial in the community in which she was born and lived her brief life. Instead, a neighbouring town was forced to step in to provide the tiny plot necessary for the child’s coffin. This is a somewhat shocking story that made headlines this past week, and not at all the kind of controversy one expect to emerge over the holiday in France, a Christian nation known for a strong social support system that provides for its residents from cradle to grave. It becomes less so, however, when we learn that the girl was from a Roma community living in a camp outside the local village.
The Roma (sometimes referred to as the Gypsies) are an ethnic minority that have lived in Europe for centuries – having migrated from India sometime between five hundred and a thousand years ago – but have never been fully integrated into European society. They have long been characterized as thieves and beggars who live in squalor and are possibly even mentally deficient in some way. Based in such justifications, the Nazi’s sent hundreds of thousands to extermination camps, along with other “degenerate” peoples. Discrimination against the Roma remains rampant across Europe, despite occasional attempts to address the divide.
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"Roma Discrimination in France".
Conflicts between Roma and mainstream French society, such as in case of Maria Francesca, lie at the intersection of racism, poverty, and inequality. Because the Roma retain distinct cultural practices and beliefs, they often live in camps outside of cities and towns and are frequently on the move, increasing the popular perception of them as being homeless and jobless. The mayor of the town that refused Maria Francesca’s burial cited the fact that the town needed to retain the limited space in their cemeteries for those who “pay local taxes.” The Roma religion, however, demands that their deceased be buried, not cremated, leaving them with only the option of local cemeteries or some form of illegal burial. After being accused of racism – instigating an anti-discrimination investigation by a government body – the local mayor backtracked, claiming he was misrepresented and would be willing to accommodate the child. By this point, of course, it was too late and she had already been buried.
With little visible Roma population in North America, it is difficult to understand some of the discrimination that occurs in France and elsewhere in Europe. If forces one to ask: if these negative views have held for so many centuries, is there perhaps some truth to them? While writing this, I spoke to a friend who has a Hungarian mother and French father. She said her family, and particularly her Hungarian grandparents, have strongly negative views of Roma, who were often thought to be responsible for petty crimes in their villages. As a child, her mother was told that if she did not behave, the Gypsies would come take her away. My friend’s sister, who now lives in Madrid, has also picked up some of this prejudice, and she often tries to spot Roma pickpockets on the subways and elsewhere in the city. These biased perceptions are quite likely representative of the European population in general.
If these stereotypes are indeed true to some extent, then the next step would be to ask why. Poverty, inequality, and discrimination can often lead to criminal and other antisocial behaviours, and these should be addressed first, rather than inferring some inherent racial deficiencies. As a point of comparison, the “filthy Gypsy” in Europe might be likened to the “dirty Mexican” in America, another itinerant population that is often viewed suspiciously and as unwelcome in parts of this country. I think such comparisons can be useful, since they allow one to look at a similar situation with less bias – we have not been acculturated to view the Roma in a certain way, as we may have been with blacks, Mexicans, and other minorities more prevalent in America – and thus see how problematic these types of discrimination can be. We are more likely to ask questions like “why have the Roma been unable to assimilate?”, “does discrimination prevent them from finding employment and housing and encourage them to became thieves?”, or “is there some aspect of the Roma culture that leads them to view private property, apartments, and other features of Western living differently?”
Rather than lay blame and persecute the small-town French mayor for his apparently insensitive and racist behaviour, we can ask why he might have behaved this way in light of local perceptions of the Roma. How can this be addressed to prevent future controversies like that surrounding the burial of Maria Francesca? It seems tragic that such a large ethnic minority, which has a rich history and set of cultural traditions, remains so marginalized and vilified in a modern society.
