served as the abject Other, despite the abolition of slavery, as Roma were the most impoverished in society.
In the early twentieth century, Roma were extremely heterogeneous. Some groups maintained a nomadic lifestyle, while others became more or less integrated in rural or urban settings. Several groups preserved their crafts, often considered Roma specialities, such as tinkering and woodcarving but with the advent of industrialization, Roma lost their monopoly over crafts and attempted to respecialize. Some received small land plots after the land reform of 1918–1920, a process that accelerated Roma assimilation and by the end of World War I traditional Roma crafts had almost completely disappeared. In urban areas, Roma used their skills in industry and construction, while in the countryside they worked as unskilled labourers on collective farms (Achim 1998, 156). The collection of recyclables and trading on the black market constituted alternative survival strategies for some Roma. It is therefore ironic, given the almost complete extinction of traditional crafts, that the focus of current EU policies for Roma is on the revival of these crafts, as testified by the Programme of Revaluing Traditional Crafts at the 2002 Roma Fair. This is problematic because it facilitates coercive mimeticism, in this case the association of authentic Roma with certain skills and occupations.
Nationalism remained a powerful ideology in Romania under socialism as the country metamorphosed ‘from capitalist colony into socialist satellite’ (Verdery 1991, 73). The situation of the Roma did not improve politically, and state propaganda denied their plight completely. As far as ethnic minorities were concerned, Communist ideology attempted to erase differences by drawing on the general claim that all people were equal. The phrase ‘cohabitating nationalities’ replaced the term ‘minorities’; however, Roma were not recognized among them. Roma were not seen as an ethnic minority, but as a social condition to be overcome; assimilation policies regarding Roma aimed to change their lifestyle and turn them into ‘good’ Romanians, full citizens of the socialist state.7
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
