...“Life and Misery of Gypsies in Lahore Date: 24th November 2010 SUMMARY Gypsies are a social group of nomads that mostly suffer discrimination from the rest of the society. These gypsy communities in Lahore are living in great misery. They don’t have even the basic facilities of life such as electricity, health, education and clean water for drinking instead there are masses of rubbish and pools of filthy water all around. The children of gypsies run here and there, naked and with dirty hairs and skin, the males are addicted and the ladies move towards the Bazars for begging and prostitution. Government must stop being negligent of these 700,000 people and has to provide them with space for housing, basic facilities of life and provide them with employment to sort out their financial problems. INTRODUCTION The Gypsies are one of the most segregated and neglected ethnic groups in all over the world are living a dejected life on the various margins of the globe. In this report the problems and hardships of the gypsies encountered particularly in Lahore will be highlighted. The major issues are improper settlement of gypsies, lack of basic facilities of life for them, lack of education, unemployment and poverty which results in increase in crime rate. The Governments mostly turn their heads from these settlements, regarding them as "lumps" in the body of society. We will discuss different means by which we can over come this problem...
Words: 723 - Pages: 3
...Ethnographic CD Review: Ensemble La Roue Fleurie – Gypsy Guitars The Music of the Gypsies The Gypsies or the Romani people are an ethnic group now living predominantly in Europe. They are believed to have migrated from an Indian Subcontinent some 1000 years ago due to persecutions and their status on the Indian caste system. It wasn’t until around 1856 that the gypsies were freed as slaves in Walachia and Moldavia, which are now part of Romania. In Western Europe, hanging, flogging, and branding of Roma people was encouraged, and an estimated 1 million were killed in the holocaust. The Gypsies are nomadic and live in caravans or trailers, setting up small camps and moving from place to place. Music as a tradition is paramount in the lives of the gypsies, who have always been revered as being exceptional musicians, especially for their virtuosity in their instruments. For the gypsies, music has always just been a part of life, and it has been extremely important in helping them to cope with the harsh reality of their existence. As a result of the years and years of traveling throughout the world, a myriad of musical influences have left their mark in the traditional gypsy music. Beginning of course with Indian roots, tinges of Greek, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Serbian, Czech, Slavic, Romanian, German, French, and Spanish can be heard in the music. Indian influence can be heard through the use of the harmonic minor scale and the double-harmonic minor, or Hungarian minor...
Words: 1681 - Pages: 7
...find things you never knew…You never knew….” -Pocahontas (Disney, 1995). The films of Walter Disney touched our hearts, and reinforced moral lessons in our homes for years. Pocahontas teaches the life lesson of stereotyping and judging other cultures before you know them. The Romani Gypsy traditional child marriages have been labeled as savage and barbaric by Anglo-Saxon nations. These accusations are a one-sided story without proper understanding of why this tradition was created, or its past bitter sweet benefit to the Romani Gypsies. Anglo-Saxon territories are working with the Romani government to destroy tradition, through law and media. Should these reigning powers interfere with this cultural tradition? The painful answer is no. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), an American social reformer and abolitionist, once said, “We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” Slavery was the chief cause of the Romani child marriages. For five-hundred years Romani Gypsies suffered enslavement in Romania. These slaves shared many similarities with slaves in United States (US) between 1619 and 1865, (PBS.org). The Gypsies were raped and brutally beaten; young Roma girls were used for sexual enjoyment and bred like livestock. However, Roma parents unearthed a bitter social option, which the American slaves did not have. By wedding their young daughters, consummation would strongly discourage slave owners...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...lifestyle. If you hear the word gypsy, then likely you imagine a scarved fortune-teller. Or maybe you think of a band of traveling musicians and dancers in colorfully decorated costumes travelling in wagons. The truth about gypsies is, of course, much more complex than a few outdated stereotypes. Because gypsies have been persecuted worldwide for much of their existence, they don't typically trust outsiders and haven't shared much of their story. Gadje is the word that Gypsies use for non-gypsies or outsiders, this translated means "the great unwashed". This seems in some ways racist towards outsiders but in many ways the Gypsy culture has been pressured to feel threatened by people outside of the culture. But today, more gypsies are speaking up so the rest of the world can understand and appreciate their culture. TV shows like "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" also aim to let us take a peek at their contemporary lives. Gypsies have been harassed and persecuted throughout their history of existence, but many people don't know the Turks specifically executed gypsies during World War I, while Hitler wiped out more than 1 million during World War II. During WWII, not only were gypsies killed, they were also subject to medical experiments. Those still alive in concentration camps were often blamed for crimes committed by others. Although society has changed dramatically the history of un-fair treatment still stands as a fear to many members of the Gypsy culture. "Gypsy" derives from Egyptian...
Words: 1381 - Pages: 6
...Gypsies during the Kaiserreich Over the past few centuries, Germany has endured many battles, numerous defeats, and few victories in order to establish itself as one of the more powerful countries in the World. Developing an identifiable culture has been one of Germany’s many struggles throughout their nation’s history. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, marked notable steps towards these ultimate goals. Then again, Germany’s march towards a distinguished cultural identity held many obstacles, numerous minority groups inhabiting German regions being one of them. One of the more notable persecuted minority groups are the Roma and Sinti. While the Gypsies that have long been targeted with discrimination from countries all over the world, they faced intensified hardships in Germany during the second Empire, the Kaiserreich. As a distinctly unique, carefree, smaller minority group to begin with, the Roma were not difficult for the Germans to manage throughout their struggles as a developing nation state. Germany did not want any minorities standing in the way of achieving their goal. To begin, the Roma, Sinti were first recorded on German soil in the early fifteenth century, 1407, in Hildesheim. Gypsies originated in northern India and began their endless migrations in the fifth century, reaching Europe by the first millennium (Panayi 14-15). Negative stereotypes of this nomadic group started developing by the fifteenth century, noting them as...
Words: 1177 - Pages: 5
...Casandra Cabral-Castro Professor Henley MUS 211 World Music Cultures May 1, 2014 A Glimpse into Gypsy Jazz Gypsy jazz is wanderer music, created on the move of many, and is comprised of numerous musical traditions. Gypsies originated in India. In the year 1001, an army of peasants were drafted to fight Muslim invaders. The wars lasted thirty years, after which the warriors migrated west to Byzantium. From there they migrated through Egypt and North Africa to Spain and France. In Spain they became known as gitanos and, in France, gitans. They were first reported in France in 1418. Some then continued on to Russia and Eastern Europe, (Silverman, 2000). Some eastern Europeans originally saw the Romani people as valuable new citizens. A couple of centuries later laws were passed excluding Romani from marrying spouses from other ethnic groups, and many Romani were detained and forced into slavery, (Silverman, 2000). This continued for five hundred years. During World War II, the Nazis murdered approximately two and a half million Romanies. They were sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment in concentration camps. More often than not they were killed on sight, especially on the Eastern Front. In central and eastern Europe, Romanies experienced restrictions of cultural freedom. The Romani language and music were banned from public performance, they were moved to live in border areas, and their nomadic lifestyle was forbidden. Romani women were sterilized as part of a state...
Words: 2081 - Pages: 9
...The Roma The Roma or Gypsies are traditionally a nomadic society, and they have no geographical boundaries. Their population in the world is approximately between 8 and 10 million (Pamporov, 2007), and they can be found on nearly every continent. The first mention of Roma or Gypsy is in the fourteenth century Europe, where they are featured both in pictures and writings. By the sixteenth century, they were already shown as a wild and uncontrolled group that made their livelihood by stealing from others. The word Gypsy originates from the notion that this group of travelers came from Egypt, however, their origins hail from India. It is now thought that the first Roma traveled from India. A blood study was undertaken of a group of Roma,...
Words: 1885 - Pages: 8
...Gypsy is a play which each part of the stories plot was essential to the overall theme and message which it was trying to convey. It provided the audience with a clear plot which followed a linear way. The story portrayed a common problem found in many households, where parents become so infatuated with being able to give their kids a better life that their children’s dreams essentially become their dreams. Because of this, the parents often times go through deep measures to ensure their kids succeed. This is exactly what happen in the play Gypsy. The main conflict of the play is the failure Mama Rose is having in making her daughter June, a Broadway star. Ultimately, the problem is left unresolved as June decides to run away from her mother. Mama Rose then turns to Louise who was known to be untalented, and wishes to live out the dreams she had for June through her. Due to the commonality of the plays main conflict, it was extremely easy to relate in some way to Mama Rose’s desire for her kids success. Character development and their contrasting personalities were an essential part of the play, as their actions showed the audience their motivations. The protagonist was June as she was the main character which the whole story revolved around. Mama Rose was clearly the antagonist. Though she was not necessarily a villain, she was in a sense, an obstacle that stood in June’s way. The actors did a phenomenal job of portraying the characters thoughts and feelings to...
Words: 752 - Pages: 4
...NAME__________________________________ STUDENT NUMBER______________________ PHI 1101 H: REASONING AND CRITICAL THINKING 23rd September 2011 First Test: 50 marks worth 10% of final mark Closed Book Professor: Mark Raymond Brown 8:30 am – 9:50 am MNT 202 Please answer each question on the pages of this test. If you need more space for your answer, please use the reverse side of the page. I. Please circle the letter that corresponds to the best answer. Each is worth 1 mark. 1) Subjective relativism is the idea that __________________________. a) Truth is relative to societies. b) Truth depends on what someone believes. c) There is a way the world is. d) Some objective truths are about our subjective states. 2) Social relativism is: a) The idea that truth is relative to societies b) Truth is different for each of us c) Objectively true d) None of the above 3) A group of statements in which some of them (the premises) are intended to support another of them (the conclusion) is known as a(n) _______________. a) chain argument b) claim c) argument d) reason 4) Drawing conclusions about people without sufficient reasons is known as _____________. a) appeal to common practice b) appeal to tradition c) peer pressure d) stereotyping 5) Critical thinking is systematic because it __________________________. a) is caused by...
Words: 1287 - Pages: 6
...hopes of economic opportunities. Their arduous journey usually ended in California, but California was not the land of hope that the migrant workers wished for. In The Harvest Gypsies and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck analyzes the conditions of the migrant workers as they attempt to settle in California. Both mediums serves the purpose of describing the conditions of the migrant workers; however, the Grapes of Wrath is substantially better at conveying the truth, which can be defined as the full experience, of the situation. In both mediums, Steinbeck discusses the exploitation of the migrant workers. In the Harvest Gypsies, he explains the exploitation in an example story: "The new arrival at the ranch will probably be without funds... But on many of the great ranches he will find a store run by the management at which he can get credit. Thus he must work a second day to pay for his first, and so on. He must work" (The Harvest Gypsies, 3). Steinbeck bluntly explains the events in the big farms that results in the exploitation of the migrant workers: the penniless family comes to a farm for work,...
Words: 666 - Pages: 3
...Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Era During the 1970 Election campaign, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto emerged as the clear front runner in the Punjab and Sind. He is the first person who has played a significant role in empowerment of women Pakistan. In his era, for the first time, women voted for the candidates of their own choice, irrespective of their husband’s desires. This was a big step in the political empowerment of women at the grass roots level. On assuming power in December 1970, Mr. Bhutto gave top priority to drafting a new constitution in which he especially highlited women rights. Begum Nasim Jahan and Begum Ashraf Abbasi were the two lady members of the Constitution Committee which is also an example of empowerment of women in Pakistan.The 1973 Constitution brought about greater gender equality, stipulating that there would be no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, caste or sex for appointment in the service of Pakistan. It also guaranteed reserved seats for women in Local Bodies and mandated that steps be taken to ensure the participation of women in all spheres of national life. However, as mentioned earlier, in spite of forceful demands put forward by APWA and other women organizations, and a determined effort made by Begum Nasim Jahan in the National Assembly, the principle of female suffrage for the reserved women’s seats, was not revived in the 1973 Constitution. Bhutto’s Law Minister, Mr. Abdul Hafeez Peerzada, felt that as in the past the political...
Words: 1126 - Pages: 5
...refers to “a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, aiming at complete extermination of such groups.” This is the perfect expression to describe what happened to the Romani during WWII. Europe during the late 1930s and early 1940s was not the place to be if you didn’t have blue eyes and blonde hair. Everyone knows what the Holocaust is, why it happened and who was victimized, but many people are unaware of the other groups that were targeted by the Nazis as well. The Roma, or Gypsies were a large group that was persecuted mainly before the Holocaust and the Jews. Gypsies originated in Punjab, a region in northern India. They moved into Europe in between 700s and 1000 C.E.....
Words: 1024 - Pages: 5
...The Holocaust is about a series of events that took place during 1933. The Holocaust was were Gypsies, Jews, and homosexuals were torchered and put in Labor camps, Death camps, and Transit camps. Most of the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals were killed in all three of those camps. During the Holocaust the Nazi soldiers went after the Jews but went after Gypsies, and homosexuals also. The Nazis religion teaches them to hate the Jews, Gypsies, and the homosexuals. Nazis targeted them because they thought they were a threat to the country, so the Nazis tried to eliminate all of the Gypsies, Jews, and homosexuals from all the countries near Germany. So the Nazis went on kind of a scavenger hunt for the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals. The German...
Words: 531 - Pages: 3
...“Fifteenth century gypsy immigrants told the authorities that they had come from the turkish- controlled middle east.” The other races affected by the Nazis were hurt and upset that the Nazis attacked them. First, William A. Duna who is an American gypsy who was a descendant from musicians from Hungary who emigrated to the United States in 1893. Second, many of the hospitals or buildings were destroyed during Henry the eight’s dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530’s. Third, anti-semitism is the common name for anti-jewish sentiments. The quote has to do with the stories that were made and mentioned in the article. Creative Title First, William A. Duna who is an American gypsy who was a descendant from musicians from Hungary who emigrated...
Words: 348 - Pages: 2
...the Roma and Sinti gypsy memorial site, the one question that came up was how does this memorial site differ from the Murder of the Jews Memorial. It was discussed that it felt more as a memorial site than a tourist attraction as the memorial for the Jewish people felt. There is a timeline printed on a glass wall separating the memorial site from the park and a part of the glass that had what looked like a poem separating it from the on look of the Reichstag building. It was mentioned through the talk how serene it felt, there was a triangle that was the identification badge of the Roma and Sinti individuals in the concentration camps that was the main focal point in the centre of the pond and the words of an Ascuhwitz survivor’s poem were around the pond/triangle. Also, the places of...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3