Excerpt from Human Rights Abuses of the Roma (Gypsies): Hearing Before the Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session, April 14, 1994

I want to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses to this hearing on human rights abuses against the Roma, a people often called gypsies. I believe this is the first Congressional hearing to focus specifically on the Roma, who are a trans-national minority, and not the minority of a single nation. Since human rights abuses against the Roma must be addressed in an international context, I am delighted that we will hear testimony today from leaders of Roma communities in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and the u.s.

A few days ago, I returned from a trip to Russia, where conditions have worsened since my last visit a few years ago. The promises of a free market economy still elude many Russians, and the difficulties in adjusting to a market economy have been far greater than anticipated. Consequently, the optimism and euphoria that swept Russia, as well as the countries of central and eastern Europe, with the fall of communism have been supplanted by frustration, a search for scapegoats, and a horrifying resurgence in ethnic violence.

Among those hardest hit by the economic crises and racial intolerance triggered by the collapse of the communist system are the estimated 6 million Roma living primarily in Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. To many in the United States, the term Gypsies evokes an image of people who dress like Spanish flamenco dancers, wander the countryside in brightly-painted wagons, and play Hungarian violin music. However, as we will learn today from our distinguished witnesses, modern reality for the Roma is in harsh contrast to this romantic image.

A bit of background information is useful: The Roma migrated from northern India around the loth century. They were mistakenly assumed to be from Egypt; hence the name gypsy. Many settled into a nomadic lifestyle in the mountains and forests of central and Eastern Europe. During the Second World War, the Roma were targeted for extermination by the Nazis. Although accurate records were not kept, it is estimated that at least Roma were killed, frequently with the collaboration of the local population.

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