Most people in Italy will tell you that a large percentage of crimes in the cities are committed by people from places like Romania. When a complaint is made to Romania, both government authorities and private citizens alike blame Gypsies.
Very few countries hate the Gypsies the way Romania does. These so-called immigrants from northern India were enslaved in Romania until the middle of the 19th century. Another country that hates the Gypsies is the Czech Republic, which claimed that it was Gypsies with Czech passports that were abusing assylum laws in Canada.
Coming back to Italy, tourists are warned about Gypsy thieves and pick-pockets and a particular modus operandi. One morning while walking up the Spanish Steps, I witnessed a botched pick-pocketing incident. A Chinese couple were walking down the steps, when a girl with a baby approached them to beg. While the couple were distracted, another woman tried to snatch the man's wallet. The couple managed to hang on to their belongings, while a crowd watched. A friend of mine asked them to dial 113 and call the cops.
The thieves in question were anything but Gypsies. They spoke Romanian and were very much ethnic Romanians. I am quite sure if the police told the Romanian authorities about this group, they would have been told that the thieves were Gypsies, implying that the Romanian Government was helpless.
I haven't had much interactions with Romanians, except those from Moldova, but I am sure that 95% of the people of that wonderful country are honest and decent human beings but I think Romania needs to accept responsibility for the bandits in the lot and not always pass the buck on to the Gypsies.
Please Note: I write the word Gypsies here and not the politically correct term 'Roma' so that I don't confuse readers.
Very few countries hate the Gypsies the way Romania does. These so-called immigrants from northern India were enslaved in Romania until the middle of the 19th century. Another country that hates the Gypsies is the Czech Republic, which claimed that it was Gypsies with Czech passports that were abusing assylum laws in Canada.
Coming back to Italy, tourists are warned about Gypsy thieves and pick-pockets and a particular modus operandi. One morning while walking up the Spanish Steps, I witnessed a botched pick-pocketing incident. A Chinese couple were walking down the steps, when a girl with a baby approached them to beg. While the couple were distracted, another woman tried to snatch the man's wallet. The couple managed to hang on to their belongings, while a crowd watched. A friend of mine asked them to dial 113 and call the cops.
The thieves in question were anything but Gypsies. They spoke Romanian and were very much ethnic Romanians. I am quite sure if the police told the Romanian authorities about this group, they would have been told that the thieves were Gypsies, implying that the Romanian Government was helpless.
I haven't had much interactions with Romanians, except those from Moldova, but I am sure that 95% of the people of that wonderful country are honest and decent human beings but I think Romania needs to accept responsibility for the bandits in the lot and not always pass the buck on to the Gypsies.
Please Note: I write the word Gypsies here and not the politically correct term 'Roma' so that I don't confuse readers.
