Are the Gypsies like the Navajo?

As I read a rather long article about France's attempts to expel the Roma from their country, I kept trying to figure out a humane solution to the problem.  My first reaction (and probably yours) is to tell these folks to get a job.  But, when you start to analyze the situation from a historical perspective, you realize that, in their minds, they have a job.

For generations, the Roma have lived happily on the outskirts of society.  They first appear in European history during the 14th century, and from the outset they faced persecution.  According to National Geographic, "At various times they have been enslaved, sterilized, forbidden to speak their own language or to wear their distinctive bright clothes."  (Source:  Gypsies:  The Outsiders - NatGeo)

Before European governments interjected their laws, the Roma lived a primarily nomadic life.  And this included choosing a career that could be maintained while traveling.  Men whose grandfathers traded in livestock make a living bargaining with automobiles today.  Women have had a harder time adapting their palm reading and crystal-ball- gazing to modern laws.  (Fortune telling is outlawed in much of Europe)   Instead, they just hide in corners and within their tents.

To us, it seems like they are perpetually camping.  To them, it seems that we are  hopelessly tied to our homes.  To us, they seem unemployed and lazy.  To them, we seem like slaves to our careers and offices. 

The French government, like many modern European countries, could care less about maintaining the Roma's cultural heritage.  All they see is the eye soars makeshift camping sites make near tourists attractions.  So, as the article describes, the French government has found itself caught in a perpetual cycle of sending them back to Romania.

Is there a better solution?  Perhaps.  The more I think about it, the more I see the Roma like our own Native Americans.  They have a rich history, steeped in peaceful nomadic traditions, that deserves to be preserved, both for their own benefit, and for the worlds.  Instead of constantly spending "euro300 ($386) for each adult and euro100 for children" to be sent back to Romania, why not invest that money in purchasing a permanent reserve for the Roma?  So that when they are passing through France, or if they decide to stay for a while, they have a place they know is their own?

It may not work because there is no Roma government that makes decisions for everyone like we are use to.  But, I bet if Sarkozy set aside a nice little bit of land on the Rhine for the Roma, word might spread and he wouldn't have to worry about them bathing in fountains by the Eiffel Tower.

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Update:  9/5
Who Are Gypsies, and Why Is France Deporting Them?

The difference between the Romani and the rest of Europe's many ethnic communities since the 1400's is that the former always come in dancing and bartering, while the later usually come with swords swinging, or guns blaring.  The former move across the land, claiming no place as home, while the latter establish borders, then fight to keep them in place. 

Oddly, the result is that the Romani are shunned for this pacifism.  European societies have been more concerned with expounding the perceived moral ineptitude of the gypsies, than learning anything from their generally peaceful ways.
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11/3
Mom 'delighted' that her 10-year old gave birth  (MSNBC, 11/3)

Spain is also the home to groups of Romani.  One particular gypsy girl of 10 made international headlines this week after she gave birth to a child fathered by her ex-boyfriend, who is 13.  Her mother could not understand why everyone was making such an uproar over the birth, stating that extremely young marriages and motherhood is normal in her culture.

Which leads me to question how countries like Spain should respond to this instance that, to most Western eyes, is an obvious case of child abuse and possibly rape.  Do they prosecute, and try to find the ex-boyfriend who has already booked back to Romania?  What about health coverage for the 10-year-old mother and her new child?  Did Spanish taxpayers foot the hospital bill for the delivery?  I don't have answers to these questions, because this article shocked me into thinking about them for the first time.  I will update this post if I think of any resolutions.
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