Diversity is quite an interesting concept. In essence, it is the formula that makes the human races unique. People have minds with the capacity to create various cultures that shape the core ways in which they think, behave and perceive the world. On the other hand, diversity has managed to become one of the greatest downfalls of mankind. It has caused various wars on religious beliefs, separation amongst people because of a lack on understanding and inequality because people are resilient to accept something other than the way they know it to be. One of the major areas we can see destruction of diversity is in the separation of the Roma gypsy population in various European metropolitan cities.
Continental Europe is roughly 3,997,929 square miles, composed of 27 different countries.[i] Each country has its own language, belief system, cuisine and worldview. Most major cities are melting pots, made up of people from every nation and culture. Normally, the inhabitants that flood these cities have moved to contribute something to the local society such as work, school, love and/or just mere pleasure.
However, amongst the immigrants living in cities such as Paris, France there is also the presence of those whom don’t contribute, such as Roma gypsy population. These people normally tend to live on the outskirts of the city, in poverty settings without substantial shelter or sanitation. Gypsies are known among Europeans to be thieves. They tend to migrate into cities and make their living by stealing from the general population. They organize themselves in a mafia or gang-like structure. There is a man at the head whom sends out women and children to beg on the streets and in touristic areas. They teach the children how to pick pocket at ages as young as 3 and 4 years old because they are immune from punishment until the age of 16. This is a major problem because it aids them in continuing to take form others what is not theirs without having to endure any type of penalty.
Additionally, the children brought up in gypsy communities are given no formal form of education. They do not attend schools in the country they reside nor are they taught to read and write in their mother tongue. Instead they are learning to beg, steal, and hate those whom oppose them. So, as this community continues to grow and take advantage of the system, the French continue to hate them back all the more.
For the French social system, the Romas are seen as a major issue. The French are resilient to have any form of compassion or understanding for these people. They want them out but the law won’t permit it; therefore, they’ve found their only resolve is to be passionately angry. They see them as a hopeless cause and even more so as an enemy. French resent the fact that they have to pay such high taxes to allow people such as gypsies to cheat their system and rob from them that they are not willing to fins any solution to help them. They are completely incapable of seeing a gypsy as anything other than the stereotype, even the children. As a result, the two communities continue to hate each other while remaining in the same house.
The great problem here is that when people are different they can put one another down. The French don’t see the gypsies as people worthy of helping and the gypsies don’t see the French as people worth respecting. Because the two are diverse, they can’t see eye to eye and therefore have yet been able to coexist togethe
[i] Rosenberg, Matt. “How Big Are the Continents?” About.com Education. About.com, 16 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 Oct. 2016. <http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/largecontinent.htm>.
Image: Laccino, Ludovica. “Roma-only Bus Route in Montepellier: 5 Countries Where Romani People Suffer Discrimination.” International Business Times. International Business Times, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. <http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/roma-only-bus-route-montepellier-5-countries-where-romani-people-suffer-discrimination-1496193>.