Roma in Kosovo
Encyclopedia
Roma in Kosovo are Serbian Roma (Serbian speaking, Orthodox and Muslim), polylingual Roma (Serbian and Albanian speaking) and Albanian Roma (Albanian speaking, Muslim) who self-identify as Ashkali
or Balkan Egyptians (Gjupci). The Serbian Roma were targeted by Kosovo Albanians (Kosovo Liberation Army
) with the Serbs during the Kosovo War
as being allied with Serbs and Serbian national interests. The Albanian Roma mostly sided with Albanians and fought in the Kosovo Liberation Army but many were targeted after the Kosovo War.
Roma in Kosovo
are much depleted from their former numbers, and have been in both stationary and nomadic residence there since the 15th century.
Kosovo Liberation Army
(Kosovo Albanians) expelled 90,000 Roma from Kosovo, forcing them to take refuge in central Serbia, but many of them returned to Kosovo. 100,000 to 120,000 Roma live in present-day Kosovo (150,000 before 1999)
After the war and encouraged by the international community, the label Roma, Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians and its abbreviation RAE became more common. Whereas the Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians maintain their distinct origin, this is sometimes contested by Kosovo Roma who claim that all three groups are actually Roma subgroups.
Serbian
Roma:
Polylingual:
Albanian
Roma:
Other:
and the Roma
groupings, while there are none as of yet specifically for the Egyptian grouping.
Roma in Kosovo, like Serbs and other minorities, today live in constant fear of further ethnic unrest. Roma unhoused in North Kosovo are today housed in lead infested camps in North Mitrovca.
There is ongoing campaign for rehousing and proper health provisions for the families affected, and a fatality estimate ranges from 27 to 81.
Serbianising and Albanianising also lead to the Roma sliding from the educational mainstream.
Third level is not attained by the majority of Rom, and of those who do, they are mostly only half Romany, with there being Serb, Turk or Albanian heritage too.
s were housed by NATO / UNMIK in North Mitrovica in a lead mine site, and 27 died of lead poisoning. They were helped by NGO the KRRF, led by Paul Polansky
.
Ashkali
In the Balkans, the Ashkali and Egyptians are Albanian-speaking ethnic minorities of Kosovo and Albania. Observers consider them Albanized Romanies, but they do not self-identify as such...
or Balkan Egyptians (Gjupci). The Serbian Roma were targeted by Kosovo Albanians (Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
) with the Serbs during the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
as being allied with Serbs and Serbian national interests. The Albanian Roma mostly sided with Albanians and fought in the Kosovo Liberation Army but many were targeted after the Kosovo War.
Roma in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
are much depleted from their former numbers, and have been in both stationary and nomadic residence there since the 15th century.
Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(Kosovo Albanians) expelled 90,000 Roma from Kosovo, forcing them to take refuge in central Serbia, but many of them returned to Kosovo. 100,000 to 120,000 Roma live in present-day Kosovo (150,000 before 1999)
Subgroups
As in other parts of the Balkans, the denomination of Roma has always been subject to outside pressure. In the official census, the labels Roma and (Kosovo) Egyptians were used.After the war and encouraged by the international community, the label Roma, Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians and its abbreviation RAE became more common. Whereas the Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptians maintain their distinct origin, this is sometimes contested by Kosovo Roma who claim that all three groups are actually Roma subgroups.
Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
Roma:
- Kovači (Serbian Orthodox)
- Čergari (Serbian Orthodox)
- Srpski Roma (Serbian Orthodox)
- Bugurdjije (?)
Polylingual:
- Arlije (MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
) - Mixed Roma
Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
Roma:
- Gurbeti (Muslim)
- Muhadjeri (Muslim)
- Egyptians (Muslim)(self-identify)
- AshkaliAshkaliIn the Balkans, the Ashkali and Egyptians are Albanian-speaking ethnic minorities of Kosovo and Albania. Observers consider them Albanized Romanies, but they do not self-identify as such...
(Muslim)(self-identify)
Other:
- Turkish Roma
- Divanjoldjije (Muslim)
- Croat Roma
- Lipjan Roma (CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
) - Janjevo Roma (Catholic)
- Lipjan Roma (Catholic
Culture
While all the three groups claim ethnic differences between them, they frequently intermarry. Roma weddings to non-Roma (Gadje, outsiders) is extremely rare. Egyptians, Roma and Ashkalija however do not classify one another as Gadje.Politics
Roma support many of the political parties in Kosovo, depending on their grouping faith, and wish to integrate. Many also support the specific Roma parties, of which there are two, the AshkaliDemocratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo
The Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo is an Ashkali political party in Kosovo.At the legislative elections held on 24 October 2004, the party won 0.4 % of the popular vote and 1 out of 120 seats.-References:...
and the Roma
United Roma Party of Kosovo
The United Roma Party of Kosovo is a political party in Kosovo founded in 2000. It is the only Roma party in Kosovo....
groupings, while there are none as of yet specifically for the Egyptian grouping.
Discrimination
They have been subject to nativisation and assimilation, with many having Albanian names depending on the power profile of the day. Most also have their own naming system for use among their own people.Roma in Kosovo, like Serbs and other minorities, today live in constant fear of further ethnic unrest. Roma unhoused in North Kosovo are today housed in lead infested camps in North Mitrovca.
There is ongoing campaign for rehousing and proper health provisions for the families affected, and a fatality estimate ranges from 27 to 81.
Education
In common with Roma the world over, formal education is of a poor standard, especially among women due both to native beliefs that formal education is unnecessary, and to discrimination in education in the formal schools who are ill equipped for the needs of the Roma children.Serbianising and Albanianising also lead to the Roma sliding from the educational mainstream.
Third level is not attained by the majority of Rom, and of those who do, they are mostly only half Romany, with there being Serb, Turk or Albanian heritage too.
Kosovska Mitrovica camps
Returning IDPInternally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
s were housed by NATO / UNMIK in North Mitrovica in a lead mine site, and 27 died of lead poisoning. They were helped by NGO the KRRF, led by Paul Polansky
Paul Polansky
Paul Polansky is an American author and activist working for the rights of the Roma people in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He has also lived with Roma for the past ten years in Eastern Europe, collecting their oral histories and writing several books about their lives in the Czech republic and...
.