Roma in Eastern Europe
This ethnic group, often called 'gypsies', are typically poor, illiterate, and outcast due to language, appearance, and large families.
The Roma in Eastern Europe have had to deal with long-standing animosity from the non-Roma population in Eastern Europe.
The social factors that create and fuel animosity between Roma in Eastern Europe and non-Roma Eastern Europeans are many and cyclical in nature. Due to extreme poverty, the Roma live in shabby encampments, though their options about where to live are limited precisely due to the fact that they are ostracized by non-Roma groups--even the poor (in Romania, for instance).
Because of their living conditions and appearance, members of the mainstream society are more inclined to feel hostile towards them. Therefore, when it comes to making legislative decisions about the Roma, laws are made to disfavor them and estrange them further from non-Roma populations. This, in turn, does nothing to improve the living conditions of the Roma, exacerbating their problems further by making them outcasts. As outcasts, it is only natural that they would react with hostility, suspicion, and defiance.
The cultural diversity between the mainstream population and the Roma may further cause misunderstandings between the two groups that could lead to violence and general feelings of ill-will.
Compared to the mainstream population, the Roma are freer with their use of vulgar language, dress differently, have a louder acceptable volume level, have more children that as a result are less supervised, and they are uneducated for the most part, having no written language (the illiteracy rate is high among the Roma).
The poorest of the mainstream population may feel competitive and threatened by the Roma, especially when living in close proximity--the scarcity of resources and jobs can lead to problems when a member of one group acquires something the other group feels deserving of. Understanding comes when each group provides for the other something that only that particular group can provide.
Economically speaking, the mainstream culture is superior to the Roma. Roma are also unable to compete adequately for jobs, are less educated, and have very little government representation. Even though the Roma are very tradition-oriented, they must realize that their survival depends upon adaptation--for example, having less children than previous generations and placing a higher priority on education.
Bridging the communication gap between the Roma and non-Roma is a process that will take effort on the part of both groups. Non-Roma must be more willing to listen to the needs of the Roma, and the Roma must be more understanding about how their behavior might be offensive to the non-Roma. Each group must learn to relax their stance and to aid in the dissipation of stereotypes that may be crippling the ability for the two groups to coexist harmoniously.
Any social consequences of two cultures that can not reach a level of understanding is detrimental to either group. Violence, ostracization, broader economic disparity, stereotyping, mistrust, and legislative unfairness are only a few. In extreme cases, prosecution by the government or by certain groups is a possibility.
