The gypsies/The roma in hungarian society

Fülszöveg

The most frequent question asked about the status of the Gypsy/ Roma in Hungary is: are they to be considered essentially as a social or an ethnic group? This dichotomy even if misleading has its importance, as the dominant view and the consequent policies of the previous regime ignored the ethnic aspect an privileged the social one. Quite soon in the course of the transition period the opposite trend could be observed, the prevailing stance has become the ethno-cultural one, whose most visible embodiment was the establishment of the network of Roma self-governments. To try a quick answer, one is tempted to use the good old notion of the French sociological school by stating: in fact we are facing here a totál social phenomenon, thus keeping up the either/or approach is inoperative. The more so, that a topic so heavily loaded with popular prejudices and oversimplified theories, deserves - because of its paramount importance in the building of a tolerant, democratic society -... Tovább

Fülszöveg

The most frequent question asked about the status of the Gypsy/ Roma in Hungary is: are they to be considered essentially as a social or an ethnic group? This dichotomy even if misleading has its importance, as the dominant view and the consequent policies of the previous regime ignored the ethnic aspect an privileged the social one. Quite soon in the course of the transition period the opposite trend could be observed, the prevailing stance has become the ethno-cultural one, whose most visible embodiment was the establishment of the network of Roma self-governments. To try a quick answer, one is tempted to use the good old notion of the French sociological school by stating: in fact we are facing here a totál social phenomenon, thus keeping up the either/or approach is inoperative. The more so, that a topic so heavily loaded with popular prejudices and oversimplified theories, deserves - because of its paramount importance in the building of a tolerant, democratic society - thorough research on which to base bold policies. Although a totál phenomenon, the diverse aspects of the complex reality with its different social strata and multiple sub-ethnic groupings studied in this publication, offer the needed building blocks for the understanding of the topic. Thus, from the staggering unemployment data to the média consumption patterns of the Gipsy/Roma, from the analysis of the phenomena of identity to the regrettable facts of school segregation, from their history to the trends describing recent emigration, the reader will be able to come closer and get acquainted with the realities of this so often romanticized and mystified community of Hungary. Ernő Kállai Vissza