THE ROMA

On the road, beginning long ago.

“Gypsy” is considered an insulting as well as inaccurate term in today’s world, and this earnest account will deliver an unsettling education to American readers who are almost certainly unaware that a million Roma live in the country. Born in Romania and a Romani, Potter is a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh and a passionate activist for her oft-persecuted people. DNA and language studies reveal that the Roma originated in India and migrated west about 1,500 years ago. Aware of the universal distrust of foreigners, most immigrants quickly adopted their new nation’s language, customs, religion, and dress. It’s no secret that this was a problem for Jews, but readers will be equally disturbed by the almost universal hatred that greeted the Roma, who maintained their own culture and traveled in caravans at a time when almost no one traveled. They were attacked, expelled, imprisoned, and even enslaved. The first enslaved people taken to America—by Columbus—were Roma. During World War II, from several hundred thousand to a million Roma were murdered or transported to extermination camps, including Auschwitz. Today most Roma are settled, but they do not have it easy. Their children in Sweden were not permitted in public schools until 1959. Although caravans are uncommon, stronger British trespassing laws were directed at them in 2022. Traveling widely, Potter is perhaps too focused on recording unpleasant encounters, but she is not shy about pointing out Romani celebrities and cultural achievements. Spanish flamenco is one, as are, despite the names, Franz Liszt’s Hungarian rhapsodies and Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian dances.

Well-deserved attention to a genuinely neglected minority.