Health of the Roma People

Introduction

Romanticized in children’s stories and used as threats by parents to discipline their rowdy children, the term “gypsy” has always brought forth images of exotic, wild, unruly, bohemian lifestyles, considered heathen and ungodly in nature. Women in scantily clad clothes, reading fortunes into a crystal ball in elaborate wagons on wheels with musicians and tricksters around, gypsies were said to steal your children, women, and your money in the night. Even today, the term “gypped”, which dates back to 1899, is still used in casual conversation, perhaps with no knowledge of the origin, by many to mean “being robbed”. ( citation here) Mystery induced folktales and myths have haunted the Roma everywhere they go.

The truth behind this mysterious and highly private culture of people, known as the Roma, can be hard to gather, as they don’t discuss themselves with outsiders, nor do they report via census or other governmental means, so this paper will look at an overview of their highly misunderstood culture and how family nursing can better assist with the care and lives of the Roma people.

History

The term ‘gypsy’, the slang term for the Roma, is considered derogatory for many and is not favored as a means to identify themselves, as the word came about to describe these travelers as being from Egypt, which was a mistaken assumption. The Roma actually historically originate as descendants from India. Though no one is quite sure on the time frame, it is estimated at being around 1000 A.D. when they left for new land and are documented as the first people of color to immigrate to Europe in such large numbers (bearspace article). They are a nomadic people and prefer to move and relocate when and where they please and while the ...

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...he is making good money. Rules are bendable among the children, but strictly enforced for adults, especially female members of the community.

Women also have a trickier time within Roman culture functioning around the belief that Roma women are contaminated and unpure after childbirth and menstruation. They are immediately isolated from the rest of the community and held to the standard that whatever occurs amongst the lower half the of the body is unpure.

Prejudice is a huge obstacle and stressor for the Roman people.

Works Cited

Edelman C., M. C. (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span. (7th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier.

Kaakinen J., G.-D. V. (2010). Family Health Care Nursing. (4th ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.

Sutherland, A. (1992, September). Cross-Cultural Medicine: Gypsies and Health Care. The Western Journal of Medicine, 276-280