Rose Hill, where kings and queens rest

By Brian Livingston

— The idea of leaving an offering on a grave hoping a problem will be solved with the next rising sun may seem foreign to many. But the evidence of such beliefs is very apparent on a grave in Rose Hill Cemetery. Trinkets, or offerings, have been left there for the sake of hope.

Walton Moore Jr. is a member of the Masons who are in charge of taking care of Rose Hill and Magnolia Gardens cemeteries in Meridian. He is also the historian and tour guide for Rose Hill. It was a special tour Tuesday night that Moore led through the many old headstones. To most people, being in a cemetery at night would not be their first choice. But the long shadows cast on this night, coupled with Moore’s seemingly infinite knowledge of the people now resting there, yielded more of a treat than a trick.

Of course the site that drew the most questions from the group concerned the “Gypsy Queen,” Kelly Mitchell, who died in 1915 from childbirth in Demopolis, AL. Beads, jewelry, coins, polished rocks, baby toys, candy bars and many other items cover her grave. It is said if you have a problem, you bring an offering, ask the queen to help you solve it, and she will come in your dreams that night with the solution.

“Every so often I have to clean some of the items off the cover stone,” said Moore, now in his 80s. “I still see gypsies who come to the grave every so often. I talk to them a great deal to learn as much as I can. These are very smart people. They’ve had to be in order to survive this long.”
One of the myths, that there is treasure buried with the queen, is totally false, Moore said. The cover slab of stone laid over the grave to protect the casket and the queen has been broken many times. Moore has to glue it back together whenever that happens as he does with other monuments that are broken by falling tree limbs or jealous wives. Finally, a concrete slab had to be poured years ago because the break-ins became so prevalent.

The placement of the gypsy graves also is curious as it is next to the ornate monument and resting places of one of Meridian’s most famous families — the Ragsdales.

“The gypsy lineage is a popular part of Meridian,” Moore said. “Some are still living here and many more pass through here to pay their respects to the queen.”

Or to offer up their problem to Kelly Mitchell in hopes she will lead them in death as she did in life.

Gypsy jazz, American swing intertwine delectably

REVIEW Pianist Hyman, guitarist Debarre flavor the Django Reinhardt festival

October 29, 2007
BY JOHN LITWEILER
Chicago Sun Times

The swing revival came to Symphony Center on Friday night in an American and a European version. The Europeans played Gypsy jazz, based on electrifying guitarist Django Reinhardt's 1930s Hot Club of France Quintet. Compared to the festival sextet's virtuoso razzle-dazzle, American pianist Dick Hyman swung simply and with the greatest of ease. Lots of fine flavors in this concert, but not quite complete nourishment.

The Hot Club heirs, little known in America, played mostly in threes and fours. Remarkably, guitarist Angelo Debarre sounded just like Django, with Django's fast, wide, note-bending vibrato, Django's lyricism and Django's sense of formal contrast. Debarre was full of speeding, swooping lines, and if he somehow missed the feeling of inevitability in Django's solos, that surely testifies to the master's subtlety. Though the other guitar soloist, young Kruno, was undermiked, his phrasing was more vivid and his sense of musical line was more flowing. Both were marvels, and the highlight was a Gypsy song, sung by Kruno, to furious two-guitar strumming.

High-caffeine violinist Florin Niculescu sawed away in double-time, wildly flinging scales and arpeggios around. Ludovic Beier conveyed a flavor of old European movies with clever but wheezy accordion solos. Energetic rhythm guitarist Tchavolo Hassan and ex-Chicago basssist Brian Torff completed the group.

Hyman's piano solos in the fast "Swing Is Here" and "Ornithology" were especially inventive, with a light touch, an old Johnny Guarnieri flavor and a delightful sense of space in his lines. He's a swing-revival eclectic who channeled Count Basie in an unusually slow "Dickie's Dream," but his disappointing other solos were loaded with up-down runs.

Hyman's four younger Friends were eclectics from the 1980s swing revival. Guitarist Howard Alden also offered pleasing relaxation and played a clever "Panama" duet with Ken Peplowski on clarinet. Peplowski, who soloed more than his mates, nervously reflected early-jazz reedmen from Benny Goodman to Kansas City, even in two tenor sax solos. Bassist Jay Leonhart killed time by singing, and Ed Metz Jr., a good drummer, stayed in the background.

This quintet's set was abbreviated. Though they returned to play a finale, Django's standard "Minor Swing," with the Gypsy-jazz six, leader Hyman's heart seemed to be elsewhere this evening.

John Litweiler is a Chicago jazz critic and author.

Forgiving Elie Wiesel, Somewhat, on His Opposition to Gypsies in Holocaust Museum

Published: January 2, 2007

The New York Observer

The Nazis' extermination of Gypsies was nearly as complete, proportionally, as the Nazis' extermination of European Jews. Yet the commemoration of Gypsy victims of the Holocaust has never come even close to the memorialization of Jewish victims.
In her fine book on gypsy life, Bury Me Standing, Isabel Fonseca describes the resistance by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council to the inclusion of Roma, or gypsy, victims of the Nazis in the museum that the council supervises in Washington.

It was only after the 1986 resignation of President Elie Wiesel, the survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who had opposed Gypsy representation, that one Gypsy was invited onto the council...
I tended to judge Wiesel for this opposition, till a few days ago, when I read his book on his father's murder in a concentration camp, Night (1958). In it, he describes his first night in Auschwitz, after saying goodbye to his mother and one of his sisters for the last time. He and his father are moved to a barracks where Gypsy inmates assisted the German guards, or kapos. His father is suffering from colic and approaches a Gypsy to find out where the bathroom is.

The gypsy looked him up and down slowly, from head to foot. As if he wanted to convince himself that this man addressing him was really a creature of flesh and bone, a living being with a body and a belly. Then, as if he had suddenly woken up from a heavy doze, he dealt my father such a clout that he fell to the ground, crawling back to his place on all fours... I did not move... Yesterday, I should have sunk my nails into the criminal's flesh... I thought only: I shall never forgive [him] for that...
Night's great theme is the son's guilt at surviving while his father dies. It includes another scene of cruelty by Gypsies. I wish Wiesel could have gotten past his anger at Gypsies when he held a position of authority; and yet I find that I also excuse him

Hungarian extreme-right group inducts 600 new members

BUDAPEST(AFP)---A Hungarian far-right group recalling the country’s pro-Nazi regime during World War II, inducted 600 new members Sunday in a military-style ceremony amid protests from the government and Jewish groups.

Members of Magyar Garda, or Hungarian Guard, attended the event in Heroes’ Square in Budapest wearing white shirts and black uniforms emblazoned with red and white stripes, a flag associated since World War II with Hungary’s Nazi-allied Arrow Cross regime.

Some 2,000 people attended the ceremony.

Fearing a resurgence of extremism, the Socialist party in government joined Jewish and Roma (gypsy) rights groups in placing large billboards with warnings along one of the capital’s main avenues, where Magyar Garda members were to march.

The black-and-white signs, some showing Hungarian Nazi leaders during the war raising their hands in a "Heil Hitler" salute, read: "History repeats itself. You can still turn back."

The Hungarian Arrow Cross regime was responsible for the deportation of some 450,000 Hungarian Jews to Nazi death camps, mainly Auschwitz.

Magyar Garda was founded by Jobbik, a fringe far-right political party not represented in parliament, and inaugurated in August with the induction of 56 members.

Its militant anti-gay, anti-gypsy and anti-Semitic rhetoric has led Jewish and Roma rights groups to ask the government to ban Magyar Garda, although the organisation has done more mundane tasks since its establishment such as cleaning cemeteries.

Jobbik spokesman Levente Jonas told AFP: "The goal of Magyar Garda is to finish the transition from communism."

Asked how that could be done, Jonas said: "I cannot answer that question right now."

He added however that Magyar Garda leaders continued to urge members to receive weapons training, "particularly because of the rising number of crimes committed by gypsies."

Far-right groups wielding their trademark red-and-white stripes grabbed headlines in September of last year following violent confrontations with the police in Budapest.

Anti-government riots had broken out after after an audio tape was leaked on which Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany could be heard admitting he had lied to voters to win re-election.

Hundreds were injured and arrested in clashes and the police was also criticised for using excessive force.

Gypsy family vows to fight on for home

THIS is our family home and we will be heartbroken if we are forced to move - that is the message from Startley gypsies Rosemary and Jim MacDonald.

The couple have lived at The Paddock, Heath Lane, in the hamlet near Malmesbury, for five years and are fighting to win a planning appeal that would legally allow them to stay there.

Despite owning the land, they have numerous applications to change its use to a residential gypsy site turned down by North Wiltshire District Council.

They have also lost a previous appeal at a public inquiry.

Mrs MacDonald said she is tired of the continuing battle and just wants a place to bring up her daughters, who are aged eight and ten.

"We have got nowhere else to go," she said. "This is our home now. We can't afford to move, so this is it now.

"It would be so nice for the council to give a bit of leniency and have a look at the way we have developed the land and to see how nice it looks.

"We have never given any trouble to the neighbours and it would just be nice to be accepted as part of the community.

"People think of the word gypsy and don't want them in their back yard.

"Certain people think we shouldn't even be breathing the same air as them.

"All I want is just somewhere decent to raise my children and that's all. It's just what any normal human being wants. I love it here and if I ever did have to move I would be heartbroken."

But other residents in Startley do not believe the family should be living there without permission.

Roy Metcalfe is chairman of the residents' association and the immediate neighbour to the camp, where he said three families were living.

He said it is far from a suitable site for them to be based on. "There is no infrastructure in place and no mains drainage," said Mr Metcalfe.

"It's on a little, tiny road and it's not able to take these big wagons on a regular basis. There is a lot of noise and commercial activity going on," he said.

The final date for residents to submit their objections to the planning inspectorate is tomorrow.

Mr Metcalfe said they would then have to nervously wait for the appeal decision. "There is a great concern, which is why there is so many objections going in," he said.

The council refused the most recent application in January.

Planning officers said the proposal was unacceptable because it was "located remote from services, employment opportunities and unlikely to be well served by public transport".

Mrs MacDonald said they would keep fighting, even if their latest appeal is turned down.

"We will just appeal it again and fight it to the end," she said. "I'm only fighting for what I know is mine."

4:18pm Thursday 11th October 2007



By Gordon Simpson

Czech hospital has to compensate Gypsy woman for coercive sterilization, court rules

The Associated Press
Friday, October 12, 2007

PRAGUE, Czech Republic: A Czech court ruled Friday that a hospital must pay 500,000 koruna (€18,200; US$25,800) in compensation for sterilizing a Gypsy woman 10 years ago without her consent, a lawyer for the woman said.

Complaints about the practice have been heard many times. But the lawyer, Michaela Kopalova, said this marked the first time a Gypsy woman in the Czech Republic had been compensated for such a claim.

The court in the northeastern city of Ostrava also ordered Ostrava's Municipal hospital to apologize to Iveta Cervenakova for violating her rights by sterilizing her in 1997, Kopalova said.

Cervenakova, 31, was sterilized after giving birth to her second daughter by Caesarean section. Kopalova also represents two other Gypsy women who are seeking damages from hospitals, claiming to have been illegally sterilized.

(MORE)

Can the world stop genocide?

A conference in the Canadian city of Montreal has been discussing ways to prevent genocide. BBC world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle, attending the meeting, asks whether this can be done.

The 75-year-old woman sat on stage in front of hundreds of United Nations officials, legal experts and academics.

The day before, Marika Nene had travelled from Hungary to Canada - the first plane she had ever taken on her first journey outside Hungary.

She was not intimidated by the gathering. Her long hair was lit up by a stage light and her facial features were strong.

But the strongest thing about Marika Nene, a Roma - or Gypsy - woman who was trapped in the anti-Gypsy pogroms during World War II, was her determination to tell her story.

"I had no choice. I had to give myself up to the soldiers," Marika Nene said through a translator.
"I was a very pretty little gypsy woman and of course the soldiers took me very often to the room with a bed in it where they violated me. I still have nightmares about it".

Many members of Marika Nene's Roma family died in the work camps and the ghettos.

She had travelled to Montreal to give a reality check to the experts and UN officials at the "Global Conference on the Prevention of Genocide".

(MORE)

Spanish gypsy widow takes her case to the European Court of Human Rights

Oct 17, 2007 - 6:59 PM

El Mundo newspaper reports on Wednesday of the case of a gypsy woman who has been refused a widow’s pension by the state because she and her husband married gypsy style. María Luisa Muñoz is now taking her claim to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg after seven years of fighting in the courts in Spain have proved unsuccessful.

She married Mariano Jiménez in 1971, and had six children with him before his death in December 2000. The INSS National Social Security Institute refused her application for a widow’s pension, on the grounds that she was not his spouse, despite his many years of paying into the system.

María Luisa’s first claim to a social court in Madrid was upheld, but was later overturned by a higher court on an appeal placed by the INSS. Her last resort was the Constitutional Court, where all but one of the magistrates voted in the court’s ruling earlier this year that she had not suffered discrimination because of her race.

The Fundación Secretariado Gitano, a non-profit organisation which works for the promotion of the Roma community and who are giving their legal support to María Luisa in her claim, says her situation is a clear example of discrimination and a ‘violation of human rights.’

The FSG also points out that the couple’s marriage took place some years before the 1978 Constitution, at a time when laws which expressly discriminated against the gypsy people were still in force.

2nd Edition of the International Romani Yag Gypsy Festival Opens Today

Discover the Gypsies!

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Oct. 11, 2007) - The 2nd edition of the Romani Yag Gypsy Festival opens tonight! This festival, unique in Canada, features more than 25 activities between October 11th to the 14th. Dedicated to the Gypsies, the festival presents more than 50 artists and speakers, including guests from 5 different countries that will offer many glances on this mysterious culture.

In order to allow all to step into the world of the Roma people, the informational activities will be free for all audiences. As for the concerts, poetry reading, storytelling and master classes, the entrance fees will range from a mere $10 to $25, with reduced rates for students and presale. Most of those activities will be presented at the Ukrainian Federation (5213, Hutchison), at the new Cafe Sarajevo (6548, St. Laurent), at the Parc des princes bistro (5293, Parc) and the Kola Note (5240, Parc).

To find out more about the Festival's complete programming, visit www.romaniyag.com.

Source: Ljuba Radman, President, Romani Yag

Pregnant woman thrashed by mob

Times Of India
9 Oct 2007, 0255 hrs IST,Ananthakrishnan G,TNN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After Bihar and certain other pockets in north India, mob fury seems to have caught on in God's own country.

On Sunday, a mob thrashed two 'gypsy' women, one of them pregnant, in the northern Malappuram district, on charges of theft. The women were rescued only after a police team arrived almost 45 minutes later. The duo was then shifted to a hospital.

The incident occurred outside a shop in Edappal, where a local woman was shopping along with her child. The woman raised a hue and cry when she found the gold anklet that her daughter was wearing had gone missing. While a search was on for the anklet, the passersby saw two gypsy women along with three children outside the shop.

Without even a cursory questioning, the mob assumed that the gypsy women were the culprits. What followed was gruesome violence unleashed on the two defenceless women.

They were beaten up mercilessly and some of people in the crowd even tried to disrobe them. All this while, one of the gypsy women was begging to be let off as she was pregnant.

A police bus passed by without making any attempt to know why such a large crowd had gathered at the spot. What compounded the mob's offence was that they couldn't find the lost anklet from the possession of the women.

The police, after questioning, arrested five people, including four employees of the shop. Senior police officials rushed to Edappal on Monday to take stock of the situation.

Gypsy Roots of social tragedy

Published on 05/10/2007

ON a recent exchange visit to Slovakia our school group saw a performance of the dance drama Gypsy Roots in the National Opera House in Banska Bystrica.

I was pleased to find that although I understand none of the Slovakian language, I could still understand their dance.

The mix of traditional Slovak folk music and Western rap compiled by Goran Bregovic was used as an impressive sound track to which we watched the globally understood story of inappropriate love.

In this particular tragi-comedy dance, choreographed and directed by Jaroslav Moravcik and Dana Dinkova, our hero is a young Roma man, Coban,who has fallen for a local girl, Dara.

The girl’s ‘friends’ are disgusted by her love and jealous of him, so when they see Coban at their party the jealous men of the town engage him in a series of dramatic leaps and superbly choreographed strikes with a baseball bat until the situation escalates and in a moment of panic the hero is shot.

His heroine, in shock, runs from his corpse, only to return to the Roma funeral where, with excess alcohol and shared grief, she is accepted and befriended by the Roma people.

At this point I should explain that the hero has had a guardian angel throughout the performance who previously had only arrived to smoke on stage and shake his head despairingly at the hero’s antics.

However at Coban's funeral the angel’s true role is revealed as he wakes his ward to be reunited with his love whom he marries without the knowledge of the townsfolk in a powerfully symbolic scene, showing the bride in white dress and head band hinting at later developments.

Unfortunately, soon after this the townsfolk hear of Dara's marriage and, in another frenzy of rap and baseball bats, attack the Roma people.

Tragically, whilst attempting to prevent the attacks on her new family, the bride is shot by a member of her own town and after a deeply moving performance by the hero she becomes an angel who in the last scene sits above the Roma people protecting them.

On viewing the dance you would be forgiven for thinking that it is just another Romeo and Juliet style tragedy. However, the Gypsy Roots performance is also a political and social statement which seems to be a reaction to recent events in Slovakia, and more poignantly in the local town of Banska Bystrica where a young Roma man was beaten to death by right wing activists.

Unfortunately in the area there is general unrest between the Roma people and the right wing movements who have a racial hate for the Roma and often accuse them of stealing, crime and violence.

From a dramatic perspective the performance gave a stunning display of athleticism coupled with entertaining and dynamic stage characters, but for the Slovakian nation Dana Dinkova’s Gypsy Roots performance obviously carries a deeper meaning.

Teenage gypsies take fight against discrimination to Brussels

By Adam Forrest
Children win support from Scots politicians


SCOTTISH GYPSIES, keen to preserve their time-honoured wanderings, remain among the marginalised groups in rural society.

In an era where the "no blacks, no Irish, no dogs" signs of the early 20th century are unthinkable, the travelling community still faces racist abuse and difficulty accessing services.

Now teenage travellers from the Highlands, taunted for "casting spells" and wearing "silly clothes", have taken their fight against discrimination to Brussels.

The group met MEPs in the European parliament to gather support for an awareness-raising campaign they have already taken into schools.

Funded by the Scottish government, their "Who We Are" workshops allow modern gypsy children to explain their way of life and correct misconceptions.

Shantelle Johnstone, 15, travels with her family much of the year, but hopes to complete her Highers in the winter and go to college to become a youth worker.

"In primary school I got bullied a lot," she said. "Being called names wasn't very nice, but they didn't understand. A lot would have come from their parents, who didn't know either.

"They would have thought we were just poor, just scum. But attitudes are changing, people are more aware of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Now it's easier to say, Yes, I'm proud to be what I am'."

Justine Wilson, 17, is also part of a community moving around the Highlands, but hopes to finish her English Standard Grade and eventually become a writer-journalist. She is excited that the campaign, organised by Save the Children, is beginning to help change perceptions.

"I really enjoyed going to Europe and telling our side of the story," she said. "They were eager to listen about how we've been campaigning in schools all over Scotland, giving them an insight into the traveller life.

"We explain to them the similarities and also the differences. They see we listen to the same music, like the same things. We just live a little bit differently, that's all. They realised there was nothing weird or strange about us."

The Brussels meeting was hosted by Fife-basedLabourMEPCatherine Stihler. The young travellers were also able to meet MEP Livia Jaroka, who talked about her own Roma family history and gypsy communities across Europe. The politicians promised to help identify further sources of funding for the continuation of the project.

One of the group, Mark McKenzie, is currently attending Oatridge College in West Lothian to undertake a landscape design and construction course.

The 16-year-old told the Sunday Herald of the abuse his own family have faced. "Occasionally, they would throw rocks," he said. "A group of young boys threw rocks through the window of my uncle's caravan while everyone was sleeping. It's terrible.

"That's the reason why we're doing all this, to help people understand what travellers are really like. Before our workshop, you actually get people writing things about us casting spells and wearing silly clothes. Afterwards they realise we're just the same as other people."

The government estimates there are 2000 gypsies in Scotland, most of whom speak a common language called Cant, in addition to English or Gaelic, and work in agriculture or forestry. Many groups face housing problems since current council site provision does not meet their needs.

Stihler said: "It is vital that we address the discrimination that many of these young people face on a daily basis. Save the Children should be commended for its campaign to make Scots aware that travellers are the same people but with different lives."

Karen Carrick, Save the Children's development officer, said she was proud of the way the young travellers were able to state their case so eloquently to European ministers.

She said: "They demonstrated the excellent work they are doing in schools and other youth settings to try to raise awareness of gypsy travellers among their peers who live in the settled community.

"The trip was a really empowering experience and gave them a real boost."

As a result of the extreme prejudice experienced in the past, many people are afraid to identify themselves as hailing from a travelling community.

Famous gypsies include Charlie Chaplin, RitaHayworth and Bob Hoskins.

It is even claimed former president Bill Clinton is descended from the Faa Blythe Scottish gypsy kings.

Are you ready for the Budapest Gypsy Symphony?

The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra, in Hungarian Szaztagu Cinanyzenekar is the worlds largest Gypsy Orchestra.

The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1895, when Sandor Jaroka, at the time Hungary’s most famous “primas” (gypsy soloist) died . All Hungarian Gypsy musicians decided to attend his funeral and after the ceremony they began to play . The orchestra had been born out of this improvised moment. Since its foundation the Orchestra has performed numerous concerts in many European countries , especially in France , where the orchestra performs 60 sell- out concerts every year. The orchestra has also toured successfully in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, and Japan.

The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra performs with the most amazing virtuosity, the soul of a whole nation. Their repertoire mixes the traditional Gypsy violin of Lazlo Berki, Grigoras Dinicu, Jeno Hubai, Victorio Manti, Elemer Szentirmay, with the great classical works of composers Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt , Jacques Offenbach, Giocchino Rossini and Johan Strauss.

There are violins, viocellos, Double Bass, cimbalons and clarinets, all brought together to bring us lively and heart rending music of a distressing tradition and art that only belongs to them.

Magic atmosphere where each note is like a moan, a farewell, a sob and at the same time an incredible hymn for life. What dazzles the public is the art, that belongs only to these musicians, the art of playing without a break, the art of short turn and variation, which never betrays the composition but enriches it. They transmit to the spectators the energy of a nation, which has chosen music as its universal language.

Instinctive as a Gypsy gathering, rigorous as a Vienna concert, in black tuxedo or traditional dress the Budapest Gypsy symphony Orchestra gives as much to look at as to listen to.

With no contest, it is the most exciting Symphony orchestra of our time, the worlds greatest orchestra of Gypsy musicians. The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra will play the Royal Theatre Castlebar on Friday October 5 at 8pm. Tickets cost from €39.50; for more information log on to www.royaltheatre.ie.

The Romani Yag Gypsy Festival Unveils its Program

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Sept. 27, 2007) - Mr. Jorg Metger, Consul General of Germany, Ms. Ljuba Radman, President of Romani Yag, and a special guest will present the program of the international festival dedicated to Gypsies (shows, exhibitions, films, conferences, round tables), followed by a live performance by Le Hot Club de Ma Rue.

The Romani Yag Gypsy Festival's 2nd Edition will take place from October 11th to 14th, 2007 in Montreal.

Date: Thursday, September 27th
Time: 5 pm
Venue: New Cafe Sarajevo,6548 Saint Laurent Boulevard, Montreal

50,000 signatures for polar bears - can you help?

Hi -

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We owe it to future generations to do everything in our power to save polar bears from extinction and fight global warming.

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