Question about this to other Roma and Sinti??
To all the Roma and Sinti here, how do you guys feel about the movement online where a lot of people want to include Romani people within AAPI Month because of our South Asian origins, and because our culture and language still have Indian roots? People want to recognize the Romani community as South Asian. In my own opinion, I find this a bit iffy. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that Romani people do have Indian ancestry, and that modern-day Indian people can find similarities between their culture and Romani culture. However, I do find it somewhat problematic because it can erase the history of anti-Romani racism, as well as the discrimination Romani people have faced and still face today, by trying to simply say, “Romani people are just a South Asian group” or “just an Indian group.” Also, in my opinion, Romani is a race of its own. Our clans are our ethnicities Lovari, Kalderash, Kale, Sinti, Romanichal, etc. No matter the skin tone of a Romani person, whether they are light-skinned, dark brown, or mixed with something else, we will always be racialized as Romani and still face the same treatment. A regular Asian immigrant in many European countries will often face better treatment than us, and Romani people generally do not have the same privileges that Asian immigrants may have. In many cases, we also face more racism than they do, even though Europe often claims to be more progressive and “less racist.” Overall, these are just my thoughts and opinions on this, and I really want to know what you all think.