We are not a Halloween costume nor “bogus” refugees
Canadian Museum for Human Rights | By Gina Csanyi-Robah with Shayna Plaut, Ph. D.
Published: April 7, 2025
Most Canadians know the Romani people as “Gypsies,” mythical wanderers of the earth, travelling free spirits who shun both work and education. But for millions of Roma around the globe, discrimination, exclusion and persecution of their communities and culture has been anything but a myth [...]
Chad Evans Wyatt and Mary Evelyn Porter
Consider the visual grammar of the "Gypsy" photograph. Exoticism, and "otherness" separating these people from their majority context. In the words of Czech Professor Miroslav Vojtĕchovský, these images are a theatre of grotesque characters, irreconcilably different, without redemption. Garish colour can further isolation.
RomaRising offers respectful black and white images of dignity, countering stereotype. Many among these souls are highly educated, and have capacity to function as government ministers and lead within society. Indeed, Mr. Ciprian Necula became State Secretary in the Ministry of European Union Funds, representing the Romanian Government. He is not unique [...]
JoEllen Brydon Art
In 2006 I came upon a story based on an ethnic community history, about a “band of Gypsies” who arrived in Peterborough, Ontario in 1909 causing quite a stir. Guided by Professor Keith Walden, from the history department of Trent University, I developed an academic reading course to facilitate my research and examine Romani history and culture. I referenced the photographic images of the visit in the Bailsille Collection at the Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives, as well as the extensive news coverage. I talked to people about their memories of “Gypsies”, and consulted throughout with Ronald Lee, Romani scholar, activist and natural born Roma [...]
Canada’s History | 1 Jun 2018 | Cynthia Levine-Rasky
Despite racism and persecution, the Roma have persevered in Canada.
IN SEPTEMBER 1919, IN SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA, a police officer encountered a group of settlers who had not been seen before — a group of twenty-one Roma who had recently arrived in the Cape Breton Island town. The plainclothes officer charged the men in the group with robbery, despite their claim of having no knowledge of the crime. Their brief stay in the county jail was followed by bail, release, and an arraignment. The police confiscated the group’s horses […]
Gina Csanyi-Robah, Vancouver educator and executive director of the Canadian Romani Alliance, will speak at SFU on March 19th to shed light on the ongoing struggle against anti-Gypsy discrimination in Canada. This event commemorates the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st) [...]
COLUMBIA LAW REVIEW | May 2010 | Jack Greenberg
For much of their histories, the Roma in Eastern Europe and African Americans traversed similar paths. Both endured centuries of slavery and were emancipated, almost simultaneously, during the mid-nineteenth century. Both continued to suffer years of discrimination, poverty, inferior housing, deficient health, and segregated education [...]
BOSTON, MA – September 23, 2024
The François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and the Canadian Romani Alliance published a groundbreaking study measuring both major and everyday discrimination experienced by Romani individuals in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton area (GTHA) in Canada [...]
If you are Romani we invite you to talk to us! If you live in Toronto or Hamilton and are Romani please connect with us. The interviews will be done on the phone, online, or in person. Interviews are 45 min long. You don’t have to use your real name. You will receive a $25 gift card to say thank you! […]
