Slavery of Roma in Romania our ancients knelt, we today stand

Slavery, slaves, shackles, today are words that are considered terrible. It seems impossible to us that the period of slavery existed in human history at all, we even often forget and do not mention it. Although not so long ago, modern society came out of the slave-owning social system, in which the life of a man-slave was worthless. When we talk about slaves today, everyone thinks of American blacks, who were brought from Africa to work on plantations, but a similar fate was shared by the Roma in Romania, about which little is known. The history of Roma migration in Europe was brutally stopped for all those Roma who settled on the territory of Romania, in the area of ​​the Eastern and Southern Carpathians. The Roma groups that arrived in Moldavia and Wallachia in the second half of the 14th century were in five centuries of slavery, and their history can be compared to the history of the black population of the United States. The first irrefutable evidence of Roma's life north of the Danube is a document from 1385, which is also the first written evidence of Roma's slavery in Romania. With this document, the Duke of Wallachia Dan i confirms the gift to the monastery, which, among other things, includes forty Roma families. There are other similar records, including the one from 1388, in which Duke Mirca the Elder also donated three hundred Roma families to the monastery. During the period of enslavement, the Roma did not have legal status in these Romanian states (Wallachia and Moldavia) and therefore did not have any rights. A slave is simply not considered a legal entity, but exclusively the property of his master. This understanding became so widespread that the slave was not responsible for his own misdeeds (theft, murder, etc.), but his master was responsible for it.

It was not until 1646 that the code entitled "Romanian Record of Education" established the rights and obligations of Roma slaves in Moldavia. if the slave admits his guilt, he will be punished more leniently, that is, as stated in the code, he will be subjected to "reasonable punishments" that would be realized with a whip or a stick. Also, this code allows a slave to complain about his master if he uses "naked weapons" during the punishment, which could endanger the life of the slave. When it comes to marriage between slaves, this code made it possible, but only with the consent of the master. If slaves belonged to different masters, they would have to have the consent of both masters. In practice, the masters would agree before the marriage and one of the masters would buy the slave which would become the property of this master after the marriage. Payment could be made in gold or barter (exchange of goods). Wallachian law contains the same principles but is more concise. This is how it is according to this law: “Gypsies are born only as slaves; anyone born to a slave mother also becomes a slave;  the master has no right over the life of slaves; the right of the master over the slave refers only to the right to sell or alienate them; Gypsies without a master will be slaves to the prince; marriage between slaves will be recognized; if a marriage were concluded between a slave and a free person without the knowledge of the master, there would be a separation ”. These were the main conditions established by law until the abolition of slavery in the two Romanian principalities. Without any rights and without any means of subsistence, Roma slaves were completely dependent on their masters. The obligations of men were reflected in agricultural and other difficult jobs, while women, in addition to easier jobs, were in charge of maintaining the property, primarily the house, of their masters. The most beautiful Roma women were sent to massage the feet of important visitors or to stay for a few days on their property. With the introduction of European norms into the socio-political reality of Romanian society, the idea of ​​the "emancipation" of slaves was born. Things practically changed in 1843 with the adoption of an act abolishing slavery for Roma owned by the state, and four years later, on February 11, 1847, the National Assembly, at the suggestion of Prince Bibescu of Wallachia, unanimously adopted a law on emancipation of Roma. which belonged to the metropolitanate, episcopacies, and monasteries. It is estimated that over 200,000 Roma have been released by this act; the Kozija monastery alone owned 2,088 Roma families, while in the Prahovo district to the monasteries belonged 8,870 Roma families.

Almost five centurAlmosties of slavery in Romania are still a historically hidden and scientifically insignificant fact. We Roma, a people who have never fought for their country or in their own name, historically represent the collateral damage of wars, crises. From the above text, we feel the suffering of our ancestors and today we will not allow that suffering to continue. Today, we Roma, from all over Europe, will open the door to forgotten history, not only to remember but also to build a better future for future generations. The Roma will be involved in the main political processes, they will be part of the economic growth of the state, they will decide for themselves. Our ancestors were on their knees all their lives so that we can stand today and that is why we stand upright and are proud to be Roma!