Roma Education in Romania
Roma Education in Romania

Summary/Abstract: Until the middie of the 19th century, the Romas were slaves in Romania, used by monasteries and landlords as agricultural workers or artisans. The last slave-markets were in the 1860s, The liberation has not changed the basic problem of the property. Without any goods, disdained by others, the marginalised population of Romas tried to survive. Some of them, working for others as serfs (a "humane" form of slavery), setded in the margin of villages chose the way of assimilation: they lost the mother tongue and a great part of traditions, but because the prejudices, the sacrifice was in vain. The marginalisation and discriill:ination against this group (call ed "Romi de vatra" - settled Romas) remains. Others chose the traditionally nomad life: travelling from localities to localities, they sold different artisan products (for example, the "Cocalari" carved and sold combs made by bones) or presented different performances (for example, the "Ursari" was bear-Ieaders). This way life taught the Romas, as traders, to do not have trust in non-Romas ("Gadje") and to try to cheat them. They life depended on this - a bad bargain destroyed the possibilities of survive.

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