The flag of the Roman people
The first World Conference of the Romani or Roma people was formed on April 8, 1971 in London and officially recognized the flag consisting of blue and green colors with a red calf in the middle and the national anthem (Gelem, Gelem) which means “I have gone, I have gone” and the name “People of the Romans” instead of a name “Gypsy” or “Zigan” and other names
Today, the eighth of April, the “people of the Romans,” or as they are known in the Arab world as the gypsies, light, or al-Kawala, celebrate their international day to preserve their identity, culture, and language in areas where they are still not extinct, in an attempt to raise awareness of the issues they face at the global level. cultural and social areas of their spread.
The first world conference of the Roman people or the Roma was formed on April 8, 1971 in the British capital, London. The conference officially recognized the flag consisting of blue and green colors with a red calf in the middle and the national anthem (Gelem, Gelem) which means “I have gone, I have gone” and in the name of “the Roman people Instead of the name “Gypsy” or “Zigan” and the other names in European languages that are used for the “Romans”, and the names that are given to them in Arab countries such as Gypsies, Anwar, and Kawliya, which this people consider offensive to them, whether they are European or Arab.
Al-Kawlia in Iraq
In their flag, the blue color symbolizes the sky, the green color the earth, and the red wheel represents the historical links with the immigration from India.
April 8 was declared an official day of the Romanian people in 1990 in Ciroc, Poland, during the Fourth World Congress of Romanians of the International Romanian Union (IRU), in honor of the first major international meeting of Romanian representatives, which took place from April 7 to 12, 1971 in Chelsfield near London.
According to some studies, the origins of the Romans go back to the regions of Rajasthan and Punjab in northwestern India and northern Pakistan. The Romanian language or the Gypsy language, so to speak, is the language spoken by some groups of this people, and it is one of the Indo-European languages that include the Indian, Persian, Pashto, Kurdish and most European languages.
Anti-Romans
The Romans are one of the peoples who were persecuted by Nazi rule. The official recognition of Roman Day is also a reminder of the suffering of the Romans (Gypsies) around the world, and the discrimination and persecution they face, in addition to introducing and celebrating their culture.
Anti-Roman sentiment (Antiziganism) is a form of racism represented by hostility, prejudice, discrimination and hatred. Other non-Roman itinerant human groups in Europe, such as the Janis, are often confused with the Roman people.
Demonstration of neo-Nazis once morest the Romanians in the Czech Republic
Sweden officially recognizes them
Most Scandinavian countries fully recognize the rights of ethnic, cultural and sectarian minorities, including but not limited to the Romans. Romanians have lived in Sweden since at least the sixteenth century, and the Kingdom of Sweden officially recognized them in 2000 as one of the five ethnicities that make up the Swedish people.
Today, the government in Sweden preserves the language and culture of the Romans and is protected by the laws of Sweden, and this official ethnic group has every right to preserve and develop its own language and culture.
Demonstration of the Romanian people in Bulgaria
In response to “anti-Romanism”, the former Pope of the Vatican, Pope John Paul II, urged his followers to treat the Roma with mercy and respect.
In 2004, Adam Ereli of the US State Department addressed the continuing human rights abuses faced by the Romans in Europe and asked European governments to encourage tolerance for this persecuted people.
In 2006, Maud de Boer Boccecchio, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, expressed her concerns regarding growing anti-Romanism and encouraged Romanians in Europe to work to improve their poor living conditions, which had been the result of centuries of discrimination.
In 2009, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed the US commitment to protecting and promoting the human rights of the Roman people throughout Europe.
As for the situation of the gypsies, the kawliya, or the zat in the Arab world, it needs a separate study, especially since they worked in handicrafts and music.