24.01.2014 Rroma identity or identities?

The young Rrom Filip Borev (2014) addresses the question of whether it is appropriate to speak of one or of several Rroma identities. Given the fact that Rroma belong to many different groups that have their respective characteristics, it seems appropriate to speak of several Rroma identities: “Every week without fail someone asks me “is the word Gypsy offensive?” There really is no simple answer. How can there be when there are 12 million Romanies in Europe alone – all with their own opinions, experiences and identities. It is this fact which complicates almost every debate amongst and about the Romani people. […] in reality we are a collection of many different groups with varying cultures, languages, histories, and identities. What we have in common, however, is that together we are the Romani people.” A danger in the use of seemingly politically correct terminologies such as “travellers” is that they mediate misconceptions. Most Rroma are not travellers. In the UK, the Rroma are often confused with Irish Travellers, which have a completely different history. Borev comes to the conclusion that the devaluation respectively appreciation of an exonym depends on the person who uses the name.