IN THE NEWS
Ambedkar in Hungary
PARDEEP ATTRI
The Romas, a discriminated minority in Hungary, turn to Ambedkar and
Buddhism in their quest for dignity and equality.
Romas constitute one of the biggest minority blocks in Europe and have
a history of being constantly… discriminated against, persecuted and
stigmatised by white Europeans.
A fight against injustice: Romas protesting at Heroes Square in Budapest.
Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the
usurpers, but by relentless struggle.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
O n April 14, 2008, when Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's birthday was being
commemorated across India, I got an email from an unknown person —
Derdák Tibor from Hungary — appreciating my article, "Schools, Toilets
or Temples?" which he had read on an e-group. My article had lamented
that "at every street corner we have built temples, but not toilets or
schools." Tibor said he was a sociologist, and a former member of the
Hungarian Parliament now working for the Roma community (derogatorily
referred to as gypsies across Europe). Over endless emails, I
gradually learnt about the lives of and the problems faced by the Roma
community in Hungary, while I explained to him the conditions of
Dalits in India.
Striking similarities
What intrigued me was Derdák Tibor said that he and another Roma
leader, Orsós János, had been inspired by the philosophy of social
transformation of Dr. Ambedkar and his work among the Dalits, and that
they were now trying to deploy Ambedkarite ideas in their struggle for
equal rights for the Roma community. How and why Ambedkar? Tibor had
chanced upon a book on Babasaheb in Paris and a new world opened up.
He immediately could see the similarities between the discrimination
faced by Dalits in India and Romas in Europe.
Romas/'Gypsies' are normally considered to be "members of nomadic
people of Europe with dark skin" with a worldwide population of about
12 million, originally from North India. With their eight million
population in Europe, they constitute one of the biggest minority
blocks in Europe and have a history of being constantly opposed,
refused, discriminated against, persecuted and stigmatised by white
Europeans. They constitute about seven per cent of Hungary's
population.
After discovering Ambedkar, Tibor and János visited Maharashtra in
2005 and 2007. They felt a deep connection with the Dalits of India
and with Dr. Ambedkar's emancipatory agenda. After returning to
Hungary, in 2007, they founded the Jai Bhim Network, embraced Buddhism
and opened three high schools named after Dr. Ambedkar in Sajókaza,
Ózd and Hegymeg for Roma children. One of the activities of the
Network is to invite young Dalit activists to Hungary and provide them
with opportunities to interact with the Roma community. Recently, I
was part of one such three-member delegation and lived with the Roma
community in the village Sajókaza for almost a month.
Life in Sajókaza
Sajókaza is a beautiful village about 30 km northeast of Miskolc, with
a population of 3,300 people, half of them Romas. The majority of the
Romas live on the outskirts of the village in ghettos. In their
neighbourhood, there is no tap water, no street lighting and no sewage
disposal. A few meters away, in the adjoining non-Roma streets, all
these basic amenities are provided. There was a time when all the
Romas of the village were employed in the nearby mines but now almost
all of them are unemployed and live on a monthly dole from the
government. During our stay, it became evident that the Romas suffer
as much everyday discrimination as Dalits. There are three churches in
Sajókaza, but not even a single Roma visits them. It immediately
reminded me of the Hindu temples in India where our entry, though
guaranteed in law, is prohibited in practice.
The foremost hurdle in the education of Romas in Hungary is the
segregation of Roma children, who are forced to sit in separate
classes. They attend different schools/classes in dilapidated
buildings without basic amenities, whereas Hungarian children attend
regular, fully equipped schools. Tibor says there were separate cups
and plates for Roma students till 10 years ago. Roma children grow up
constantly dehumanised, humiliated, persecuted and rejected. They are
declared 'mentally challenged' and are sent to special schools; so
much that about 90 per cent of special school students in Hungary are
said to be from this community. Segregation is not limited to schools.
In 2003, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) conducted field
research in Hungary and documented 44 cases of so-called "Gypsy rooms"
—segregated maternity wards.
Stereotypes are potent tools of hatred. And the Romas suffer from the
worst kind of stereotyping by the whites. The 'Gypsies', for the
average white European, are necessarily cheaters, beggars, thieves,
pickpockets, nomads, people who live in dirty conditions and don't
like to work. It is believed by non-Romas that the Romas cut their
forefingers so that they could easily pick pockets; and that ' Roma'
children wear long clothes to hide the chickens they steal from white
farmers' homes. These prejudices are thriving today.
Websites that promote tourism in Europe offer gratuitous advice on
'Gypsies'. One site, under the heading 'Personal security in Rome',
says: "Gypsy children could surround you, and shamelessly start
robbing your belongings, taking advantage of your surprise. They would
then pass the belongings to older gypsy women…" The image of 'Romas'
being thieves is so entrenched that they are the first to be rounded
up by the police if there is a crime in the neighborhood.
One of the most horrific stories I heard white Hungarians cook up was
about pregnant 'Gypsy' women. In September, Oszkar Molnar, the Mayor
of Edeleny in Northeast Hungary, accused Roma women in his town of
intentionally harming their unborn babies in order to secure extra
child benefits. The Equal Opportunity Authority issued sanctions
against Oszkar Molnar, a representative of main opposition party
Fidesz, but he has vowed to launch a legal appeal against the
Authority.
On October 11, 2009, about 1,500 Romas gathered at Heroes Square in
Budapest to protest Mayor Molnar's views, and to demonstrate against
segregation in schools and discrimination in everyday life. One slogan
caught my attention: "A child's head is not a pot that has to be
filled, but a torch that needs to be ignited." Says János, president
of Jai Bhim Network, "After our turn to Ambedkarite Buddhism, people
ask, 'How can you teach Buddhism to gypsies?' What we are doing seems
odd since Buddhism in Europe is largely the leisure hobby of the
middle classes. But it is easy to answer them: they don't offer
effective secondary education for Gypsies, and we do! Whatever people
say, we just carry on with our work."
Email: pardeepattri@gmail.com
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