The travails of Gypsies

Those of us live in any part of Asia or Europe, one time or other; most of us have met Gypsies. Here in this part of globe, India, we are likely to find them on road sides, in busy cities. Camping and littering all around, kids are tottering, women cooking and the male members of the group smoking tobacco or busy in some odd jobs. This nomadic tribe practically left no clear cut history behind them to find their family tree or their origin. However, the evidence suggests, they migrated from Asia to Europe through land routs thousands of years ago. Geographical boundaries carry no meaning to them until recent decades. Where the borders are not porous and strict vigil maintained, there they get stagnated. Off late it is found at some places in Europe they have settled in the outskirts of few cities, as they did in Mitrovica, a town in northern Kosovo. This town is on the bank of Ibar River which separates physically Serbians and Albanians as border.

Askhkali, Roma and Egyptian are three different Gypsy groups have been residing in and around Kosovo. These three names suggest where they came from. Askhkali took their name from the town of Turkey bearing their name till date with 70% Gypsy population. Egyptians might have migrated probably in 14th century from present day Multan, and then called Little Egypt. They have been living peacefully along with Albanians, Serbians and other minorities in Kosovo like Goranis, Turks and Jews. Their ordeal started after the war in 1999, when NATO troupes took over Mitrovica. The local Albanians drove them out of there ghettos, destroying their homes. The NATO force ignored pleading they were not there for policing. Truth is this that UN- NATO forces openly encouraged the Albanian terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army to drive out 230000 ethnic Serbians and other minorities from Kosovo. It is presumed that before the NATO troupes arrived there were 120000 Gypsies in about 17500 homes. After the driving out operation in connivance with the same troupe by Albanians, only about 5000 Romas and 15000 Ashkali remaining. Rest left the country not to return again and entered all over the Europe.
The tragic incident is that when UN took over the charge of Kosovo for peace keeping , seeing the ravaged Gypsies , they raised a temporary camp, which was expected to last for only 45 days and settled around 1000 Gypsies in that camp. They are lingering till date in unthinkable condition. Those camps were raised on abandoned lead mines. Prolonged stay in those camps inflicted lead contamination on entire populations of refugees. Especially the children are worst affected. They register symptoms of hard of hearing, glassy eyes, and lack of concentrations, dizziness, vomiting, and disturbances of growth and organ damages. The only way to address their plight is shifting. Even UN like agency is failing to do that or pursue the task!