The 2008 European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS) found that the Roma — Gypsies — identified as the most discriminated against minority group in Europe.  The significance of this report is reflected in a recent New York Times article titled “As Economic Turmoil Mounts, So Do Attacks on Hungary’s Gypsies.”

As Times reporter Nicholas Kulish suggests, there’s a correlation between the faltering world economy and the violence against the Roma. Kulish states that seven Roma in Hungary were murdered in the past year, and at least 30 attacks have been launched against Roma homes. Some acts of violence have been attributed to local police and the military; some violence is being waged by right-wing political parties who claim the Roma are a social and economic burden.

This is a persistent stereotype that typifies discriminatory attitudes toward the Roma. But why does it persist? Perhaps due to the history of the Roma culture. A snapshot of that culture: According to the Smithsonian Institution, many diverse groups of Gypsies who immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century (including some from Hungary) supported themselves with smithery trades, baking, crafting handmade furniture and baskets; still others ran menagerie, entertained as musicians and told fortunes.

I’m hesitant to make any inferences about the conflict between the Roma and Hungarians based on this insight, though. Are Hungarians outraged at what they perceive as a shifty, decadent culture clinging to their traditional trades and supplementing income with government handouts? Conversely, are they angered by the Roma supplanting them in the workforce? If that’s it, the issue is sure to get more complicated with unemployment on the rise in Hungary.

It’s a worrisome proposition that one minority group would be scapegoated and attacked by countrymen who’ve decided they’re expendable. Haven’t we seen this happen before? Kulish cites an official from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor who says, “the Holocaust did not start at the gas chambers.” The Molotov cocktails of today are bad enough; what does tomorrow hold for Hungary’s Roma?

More background:
History of Hungary
Geography of Hungary
Holocaust