A letter from James Adams serving in Germany
August 2015 – Who is Our Neighbor?
Dear Friends: On August 29, 2002, Madalin Voicu, one of the most well-known Romani politicians in Romania and one of two Romani representatives in the Romanian parliament, made the following statement: Our Gypsies are stupid. They could at least be crafty, but they aren’t. They are just primitives and they manage to irritate the entire society which is already watching them closely. … They run through the country and Europe barefoot, slimy and dirty, wearing clothes which are more likely to disgust you than make you feel sorry for them. … Begging, soliciting and being disorganized will never bring them any advantages.This quote graphically illustrates that Romanian society harbors one of the worst cases of social stigma in Europe. And this attitude prevails today as the Roma population has grown immensely, far surpassing the growth rate of the general population of Romania.