Wednesday, December 06, 2006

People conflicts; Gypsies (Roma) - And Music

Gypsies. Beautiful music, background still misty. Here is some of the music: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6077876602430937809". This particular bit is Russian, but you can search for gypsy music and get many nationalities, and there are broad similarities.

The most beautiful, neat settings can foster deep-rooted prejudices, people against people, like anywhere. Here is a New York Times article, nytimesagency.com/preview/NTA2006112674803, that reports on one particular Slovenia Roma family forced out of home.

A simple search of news for "Slovenia gypsies" produces many more articles on the overall topic. We saw gypsies (known as Roma) mostly in Romania, and Croatia, but we were also looking for them more there. There is a wide variety of economic situations among them, as with any group, and some are in traditional costume, others blend.

Here is a site to remember: www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/47348. This site lets you click on the different countries for overviews on Roma and progress (or not) and learn about the history.

Also see our country-blog, Romania Road Ways.

Here is a site where you can scroll down to the music part - click, and enjoy. Go to www. worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic [the rest of the address would be /view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/roma__gypsy__music_778]. One of my favorits is this traditional Balkan singer - sounded very familiar after hearing radios and groups in pubs. Excellent.

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