Orhan, could you provide a brief introduction of yourself?
I am a lawyer, researcher, and journalist of Roma origin born in Bulgaria. I have been living in Western Europe for 9 years.
Your work has primarily focused on European Roma - could you describe how or why you became aware of, or developed an interest in Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsy communities?
I met Dom refugees for the first time in Belgium and I was surprised to find many similarities between Dom and Roma people. In general, I have always been interested in the history and culture of the Middle East. For example, the traditional folk dances of the Balkan Roma are very similar to some of the popular dances in Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. But the cultural interactions between the Roma and the peoples of the Middle East remain understudied. I think this is still a poorly explored field.
From your knowledge and experience, what synergies and differences have you observed between European Roma and Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsies?
There are similarities, but also differences between the two communities. It is disputed whether the similarities are due to common descent in antiquity, or to coexistence within the same state; for example the Persian, Byzantine or Ottoman Empire. It is interesting that there are almost no borrowings from Arabic in the Romani language, but there are words from Greek, Persian, Armenian and probably even Aramaic and Coptic. According to some scholars, this means that Roma migrations through the Middle East predate the Arab expansion in the region. On the other hand, many Arabic words are found in the Domari language of the Dom people, indicating a greater closeness to Arab culture. What is indisputable is that both Romani and Domari are Indo-Aryan languages and were much more closely related to each other in the past. For example, many words from the Domari language are intelligible to Roma and vice versa. But the historical formation of these communities and their languages is not well enough understood by science. Everything we know is based mainly on linguistic research, but the history of a people cannot be reconstructed solely by studying its language. This is where specialists in history, archaeology, cultural studies, Indology, Egyptology and many other disciplines must be actively involved. The Roma and Dom are not recent migrants in their native places but they have spent many centuries there and have left many traces in the culture, music, dress, customs, cuisine of the surrounding peoples, and these traces are yet to come to light.
Based on your experience, can you provide information about Dom refugees in Europe? From the conversations you have had with Dom refugees in Europe, do you think they present any unique protection or integration support needs?
In my observation, most Dom people shy away from revealing their true origins. This is understandable, because they have been subjected to a lot of discrimination. It is difficult to identify them among the other refugees from the Middle East. But as far as I understand, even the rest of the Arab people are often prejudiced against the Dom people. Sometimes they may be subject to double discrimination - once by other refugees and a second time by the host population. But they have developed strategies for survival in a hostile environment, and perhaps in some ways in Western Europe they are treated a little better than in their home countries. At least these are my impressions, but I want to emphasize that they are not based on extensive research, but on personal observations.
What role do you see for European states, donors, agencies, and organisations in supporting or advocating for both Dom refugees in Europe, and Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsies who remain in the Middle Eastern region?
I think the answer to this question requires more in-depth research among the Dom people in Europe and in the Middle East. It has many aspects - social, economic, political, historical, cultural. At the moment it seems to me that the focus is mainly on the social aspect and little attention is paid to the other aspects. For example, what do they think about the situation in their own countries and how do they see their future. I think that the Dom are just starting to become more visible and look for their place in society. But this will also depend on the relations between the EU and the countries of the Middle East. It will be especially important how the migration policy of the EU will change in the coming years and how the processes in the Middle East will develop.
I am a lawyer, researcher, and journalist of Roma origin born in Bulgaria. I have been living in Western Europe for 9 years.
Your work has primarily focused on European Roma - could you describe how or why you became aware of, or developed an interest in Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsy communities?
I met Dom refugees for the first time in Belgium and I was surprised to find many similarities between Dom and Roma people. In general, I have always been interested in the history and culture of the Middle East. For example, the traditional folk dances of the Balkan Roma are very similar to some of the popular dances in Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. But the cultural interactions between the Roma and the peoples of the Middle East remain understudied. I think this is still a poorly explored field.
From your knowledge and experience, what synergies and differences have you observed between European Roma and Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsies?
There are similarities, but also differences between the two communities. It is disputed whether the similarities are due to common descent in antiquity, or to coexistence within the same state; for example the Persian, Byzantine or Ottoman Empire. It is interesting that there are almost no borrowings from Arabic in the Romani language, but there are words from Greek, Persian, Armenian and probably even Aramaic and Coptic. According to some scholars, this means that Roma migrations through the Middle East predate the Arab expansion in the region. On the other hand, many Arabic words are found in the Domari language of the Dom people, indicating a greater closeness to Arab culture. What is indisputable is that both Romani and Domari are Indo-Aryan languages and were much more closely related to each other in the past. For example, many words from the Domari language are intelligible to Roma and vice versa. But the historical formation of these communities and their languages is not well enough understood by science. Everything we know is based mainly on linguistic research, but the history of a people cannot be reconstructed solely by studying its language. This is where specialists in history, archaeology, cultural studies, Indology, Egyptology and many other disciplines must be actively involved. The Roma and Dom are not recent migrants in their native places but they have spent many centuries there and have left many traces in the culture, music, dress, customs, cuisine of the surrounding peoples, and these traces are yet to come to light.
Based on your experience, can you provide information about Dom refugees in Europe? From the conversations you have had with Dom refugees in Europe, do you think they present any unique protection or integration support needs?
In my observation, most Dom people shy away from revealing their true origins. This is understandable, because they have been subjected to a lot of discrimination. It is difficult to identify them among the other refugees from the Middle East. But as far as I understand, even the rest of the Arab people are often prejudiced against the Dom people. Sometimes they may be subject to double discrimination - once by other refugees and a second time by the host population. But they have developed strategies for survival in a hostile environment, and perhaps in some ways in Western Europe they are treated a little better than in their home countries. At least these are my impressions, but I want to emphasize that they are not based on extensive research, but on personal observations.
What role do you see for European states, donors, agencies, and organisations in supporting or advocating for both Dom refugees in Europe, and Middle Eastern Dom and Gypsies who remain in the Middle Eastern region?
I think the answer to this question requires more in-depth research among the Dom people in Europe and in the Middle East. It has many aspects - social, economic, political, historical, cultural. At the moment it seems to me that the focus is mainly on the social aspect and little attention is paid to the other aspects. For example, what do they think about the situation in their own countries and how do they see their future. I think that the Dom are just starting to become more visible and look for their place in society. But this will also depend on the relations between the EU and the countries of the Middle East. It will be especially important how the migration policy of the EU will change in the coming years and how the processes in the Middle East will develop.
